Shera sat next to Gerard, the vampires sitting around them and talking amongst one another. The two had been there for an hour already and they were the only ones with food in front of them at the restaurant. The others had only glasses filled with water. It made her uneasy as they stared at the food and her, looks of slight disgust on their faces. Shera was finished with the plate before Gerard, wanting to avoid any further staring.
"It seems you bring good news," one of them finally said, staring at Gerard with a gleam in his eyes.
"And a fully developed system ready to be placed," Gerard pulled the treaty from his bag and slid it to the vampire, leaning back and poking at his plate. It was moments before the treaty was handed off to another and the man leaned forward. Salted hair and reddened eyes stared at the two as he rested his jaw in his palm.
"And who is this fine young lady," he asked.
"My mate," Gerard replied curtly. "Don't get any ideas, Jeremiah. You know how I am."
Jeremiah held his hands up in surrender, chuckling, "She doesn't smell like yours beyond the skin, that's all my friend. Virgins just taste too good to resist." Shera's face turned a bright red and she heard Gerard growl.
"Don't push it. We aren't here for judgement but to discuss the terms," Gerard sniffed. His hand grabbed Shera's under the table and she tried to hide the embarrassment from her face. "A few of the wolves had uncertainties I want to clear up. You being on your own council, I'm sure you can do that."
"This is helping us finally reach peace with you," Jeremiah nodded. The smirk that had decorated his lips vanished as he sat back as well. "What are your questions?"
"About the coordination between our enforcers, we need to know who is in charge on your end. We also have issues with yearly meetings between the two of us. We were wondering if we could have more than that," Gerard nodded.
"Who is your lead for the enforcers," Jeremiah waved his hand as a waiter offered more water for his empty glass.
"Shera is," Gerard motioned to Shera and she stiffened a bit as a few more sets of eyes gazed at her.
"Isn't she a bit small," Jeremiah's eyes bore into hers and she didn't know whether to shirk away or glare back. It kept her expression blank as the vampire leaned forward.
"She's more than capable," Gerard sniffed.
"Isn't she a bit quiet," a woman took the seat next to Jeremiah, her bright red curls being pulled over her shoulder as Jeremiah's hand found its way around her waist.
"This is only my second time officially meeting your kind," Shera spoke up, a smirk crossing Gerard's face at how shy she sounded. "I would rather stay quiet than say something insulting without meaning to." Her hand squeezed Gerard's as Jeremiah hummed softly at her reply, his head bobbing side to side as if mulling over the words physically.
"A thoughtful dog," the woman snorted. Shera grit her teeth a bit, fighting her shock from showing itself at the sudden tone. "Neither of you bark very loudly and it's dreadfully boring."
"Penelope, I'm trying not to get bit tonight," Jeremiah sang. "Besides, the girl could tear you in two. If she's the one in charge of enforcing animals, then what makes you-" Shera's fist hit the table. Their facial expressions and the blatant insults had begun to spark her temper.
"I'm sure you expected something more uppity," Shera growled, "But it sounds like you aren't even taking this whole thing seriously."
"I was the only one against this," Jeremiah hummed. "Do you know why?"
"Shera," Gerard warned. She glanced at him, his finger tapping his nose. She had shifted slightly, her control having been lost momentarily.
"I would rather our feral offspring tear your species to ribbons. To have the last of you beg only to be strewn across the streets," Jeremiah's smile turned twisted as the words came out in a purr. Jeremiah held his hand up as Gerard opened his mouth to say something, his eyes never leaving Shera's. "Granted, I didn't expect you lot to tear each other apart instead. It's almost like you all have fallen to your primal instincts. How sad for all of you."
"If we lose, everyone gets exposed," Shera stated. He blinked at her, the smile falling. "Humans outnumber us a hundred to one. Us all combined couldn't take on humanity. So this isn't just our fight, it's yours too. I guess you're pretty young for the council aren't you? If you can't even see the big picture. Who knew age still made vampires blind."
Her claws had dug into the table, leaving behind gouges. She couldn't physically do anything but she could insult them back. Jeremiah let a small hiss escape him but she could see the cogs turning in his mind. She assumed it was the suddenness of the treaty that finally made sense to him, it would have made sense to her after hearing what she said.
"Fair point," he sighed. "How will we deal with those that don't want to follow the rules now?"
"That's why we have enforcers," Gerard nodded. "A coordination of the two separate entities would be preferred. Knowing each other is a good portion of the fight now, don't you agree?"
Jeremiah sighed and stared at the woman, motioning his hand to Shera, "This is where you come in, dear. Don't disappoint."
Penelope cleared her throat and sat straight, her face filling with pride, "A coordinated training session would be enough. Coordinated missions won't be plausible however. We don't want our boys mixing with your kind too much."
"Why is that," Shera asked.
"Because they'll get lazy and lose their ability," Penelope snorted. "Unlike you, they are highly trained and hand selected. They'd bury you with their pace."
"I beg to differ," Shera replied. "I'm not the nicest teacher-"
"And she's developed her own way of enforcing things," Gerard cut in. The vampires glanced to him, Penelope's mouth in a thin line. "Please refrain from cutting us down before you have a chance to see us in action. Shera not only keeps up with me, but puts many experienced alpha's to shame without second glances."
"She's your proclaimed mate. You're speaking highly of her out of affections," Jeremiah sniffed. "I don't see the harm in having a go though, just to see for ourselves." His hands clapped and a pungent smell filled the room. People didn't react as she had, her head turning to find where it was coming from. The entirety of the restaurant was vampires, she realized; they would have screamed in terror at the skeletal, morphed being that was dragged towards the table.
It seemed calm with the blacked out goggles over it's eyes and elongated claws were cuffed by thick manacles behind it. The mouth had rows of sharp teeth, the lips almost nonexistent as a red dribble leaked from between the canines. Gerard was glaring at Jeremiah as the vampire grinned maliciously.
"We don't have time for these foolish games," he growled.
"This is the toughest feral we could get our hands on," Jeremiah ignored Gerard. "It took sweet Penelope a while to catch him. Let's see if you can end him, hm?"
"Jeremiah," Gerard barked.
"Fine," Shera stood up, putting a hand on Gerard's shoulder. "If it gets you to shut your trap and take the treaty back to those that matter." Jeremiah's grin fell as she turned around and stared at the creature. Those holding it started to unchain its hands, most moving away as one started pulling the goggles off. A switch went off and the man with the goggles was torn in two. Shera shifted just as it launched at another person, her claws digging into it as she forced it to the ground quickly.
It's claws raged close to her and she struggled as it started lifting her from the ground with it. The arms snapped backwards, the claws digging into her sides. If going feral for them meant that they starved, couldn't she just feed it? Her mind raced as she was thrown, her body shifting so her claws slowed the fall and stopped her from causing too much damage. It was like the thing had a homing device, screaming leaving its chest as it closed in on her.
She lunged to its chest, grabbing its jaw and slamming it back again. It's claws scratched at her back, tearing it as she struggled to keep it down. She looked up, catching sight of a few of the vampires watching. "I need blood," she grunted.
"You c any save a-"
"Have you tried," Shera snarled at Penelope's voice. The building was silent save for the guttural sounds from the feral vampire under her. The claws jammed themselves, becoming stuck as they wrapped around bone and it took everything for her not to whimper. Gerard was the one to move, his eyes quizzical even as the cogs in his head turned. He was next to her with a large pitcher of the water the vampires were drinking, tilting it and watching as the liquid hit the creature's opened maw. The struggling slowly stopped, its mouth left wide open for whatever it was that was being fed.
The body slowly began to gain mass, the muscles replacing the space between skin and bone. Shera relaxed when she felt the claws recede, her grip loosening with it. She was tired, her vision beginning to get blurry. If they wanted her to fail, they were going to be angry. This hadn't been much of a chase, not much of a fight, so how did it take them so long to catch one? What was in the water that was feeding this thing?
A man replaced the monster under her, brown hair sprawled out around his head and tight muscle making up most of his body. Shera slowly moved from on top of him, shifting back as she sat heavily in an open chair. The dress was ruined, stained red as she continued to bleed out where she stayed. Gerard was next to her, the man taking the pitcher and guzzling by himself.
"Shera," he mumbled. She slowly stared up at him, taking note of the proud smile on his face. "You're not even a doctor."
"You're just slow," her voice was lower and her tongue felt heavy. Gerard carefully picked her up as she closed her eyes, words being passed to Jeremiah before the man walked with her quickly.
"You'll be okay," he chuckled lightly, "We aren't far from the hospital." He carefully shifted her so he wouldn't touch Shera's back and she snorted softly.
"Why did no one try force feeding them," she asked.
"No one could get close enough. When they do, it becomes a life or death situation," he explained. There came a dry laugh as he got into the car, shifting her to keep her in his arms. "You not only proved we were reliable, but you just showed them how to save lives. Where has your simplicity been all my life?"
"Watching my own pack," she smiled a bit at his scent. Her eyes didn't need to be open to see him, his smell was calming enough. "What's in the water?"
"The synthetic blood I developed recently. It packs more of a wallop than the fresh stuff. It probably would have taken a lot more blood if we didn't use that," he replied.
"Vampires suck," Shera mumbled after a moment. That had Gerard laughing and his grip pulled her closer to his chest.
"That they do, foxy. That they do," he hummed.