WINTER'S BROKEN MATE

EPISODE 4

On the other side of the city…

Damien Winter sat silent as he watched his cousins scare the human council member silly. He understood they found it amusing, but he was bored and his wolf; Daryl was antsy.

“Do we have an understanding?” Arthur, the more serious of the Winter twins, asked.

“We wouldn’t want a bloody feast any time in the near future, would we?” Allen, the younger twin, quipped.

The older, shorter, slightly obese human man with tiny glasses visibly shook in his shoes.

“N n no.” he said shivering, “We have a deal. I’ll start drawing up the papers.”

“Good. Our cousin would appreciate it. Why don’t you surprise him with the fast workings of human government offices? He swears that they are darn slow, but I promised him that someone like you would run his organization like a well-oiled machine.” Allen taunted.

Damien watched the interaction between the head of the New Orleans council and his cousins with uninterest. He was used to humans shaking in their presence, especially the ignorant ones who thought the royal families were a bunch of cannibalistic monsters. It was an absurd thought, just because they were predators didn’t mean they fed on humans. Damien despised humans, but some of him understood them, that part he stifled.

Humans had hunted his kind for sport, butchered them, locked them up for experiments, and dehumanized them. If they acted like animals, it was only because they were treated like animals and worse.

“Oh yes, we’ll get the documents to you as soon as possible.” The old man replied reassuringly, a hint of pride in his voice. Damien gave him no mind.

“Well, we look forward to hearing from you. Have a lovely night.” Arthur said as he stood up.

“You too, Mr. Winter.” The human said as he stood and shook Arthur’s hand.

“I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me, Mr. Murry. You are a fine fellow.” Allen said with a wicked grin on his face that disarmed the man, yet raised the hairs on his body.

“Of course not, Mr. Winter. You can count on me.” He replied quickly with a small nod, eager to leave the office.

Mr. Murry looked at Damien, who'd been quiet the whole meeting and was met with cold gray eyes. He gave Damien a small nod and scurried out of the penthouse like demons were after him. Damien smirked at the human antics.

“Well, that’s that, you will officially own the lands of this city in a couple of days.” Arthur told Damien.

“Good.” Damien simply replied. He had wanted to expand is territory for a while now. He liked the city, not the human presence, but the music, and it was a good investment.

“Well, someone’s a buzz kill,” Allen said irritated. “I thought you’d at least be excited. We went through all this for you, and you know how I feel about the humans, especially the ones like ‘our friend’ Mr Murry.” He continued exasperated.

“It rather looked like you were having some fun.” Damien retorted. Allen flashed a devilish grin, a twinkle in his gray eyes.

“I was just bummed that you didn’t join in on the fun. We could have scared him shitless.” Allen pouted. He was the youngest of the cousins, hence got away with a lot of things, like pouting. His free manner fooled some people, but he was still a Winter cousin, therefore just as ruthless as the others.

“Trust me, Damien scared Mr. Murry plenty. Just sitting there quiet and predatory made the hairs on that man rise. And with you making feasting jokes all through the meeting, I’m sure Mr. Murry thought Damien would carry out one of your not-so-subtle threats.” Arthur offered.

Allen seemed thrilled with his brother’s explanation, “yeah right.” He said with a faraway look in his eyes.

“I know we aren’t the friendliest of rulers, but cannibalism, really? That irks even me.” Allen said, “Anyway, I don’t mind being the bad guy if the supernatural community stays safe.”

Arthur slightly growled, remembering how creatures were hunted back in the day. Allen clasped his brother’s shoulder, which seemed to calm him down.

“Why don’t we celebrate? Drinks anyone?” Allen quickly changed the subject.

“I’m down for drinks.” Arthur said.

“What about you, D?” Allen asked Damien.

“I need to catch some shut eye. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Buzz kill.” Allen muttered.

“See you tomorrow,” Arthur said. The twins got up and headed out of the penthouse. Damien watched them leave before he got up and went to his room. He took a quick shower and went to bed. He was quite exhausted. Why? He didn’t know, but he felt jet-lagged somehow, which was weird, but he paid it no mind. He realized how quiet his wolf was,

“Are you alright?” he asked Daryl in his head.

“Yeah.” Daryl growled, he was anxious about something, but Damien wasn’t in the mood to try and find out what it was, so he just cut their link and went to sleep.