Title: Twilight
Author: Tapestry
Email: Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Standard Disclaimer Apply
*...* denotes mind speaking
19/01/03

"Woman was created from the ribs of man
Not from his head to top him
Nor from his feet to be walked upon
She was made from his side to be his equal
From beneath his arms to be protected
From very near his heart to be loved."
--Anonymous--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN: Thanks to all my reviewers, you've all been great. :) I could have
done werewolves, but I like big black cats better. Oh yeah, since the
olden name is Endymion, and right now, this is modern day...I'll stick
with Darien. To answer some of my reviewers, please read the AN at the
bottom.


 ~ Chapter 1: An Unusual Stranger ~


  The wind didn't move, the grass didn't rustle. The forest was silent.
A small herd of deer stood calmly, grazing beneath old pine trees. Unaware 
of the danger that would soon explode out of the night.

  An old deer lifted its head, listening...waiting. Sensing nothing, it
returned to the sweet smelling grass, oblivious to the large hungry
predator watching.

  Up high above in the trees, a pair of strange startling dark blue eyes 
shone like jewels in the night. If one did not look hard enough, those 
pair of eyes could have been mistaken for the stars above. Above the herd, 
a large black panther waited, its tail twitching. Intelligent eyes 
separated the weakest in the herd. The easiest prey. Shifting softly on 
the branch, the panther waited for an opening.

  The moment the panther spotted its chance, it sprang. A good two 
hundred pounds of flesh, muscle and bone, dropping fluidly from the 
branch and down to the ground among the startled deer. Its prey startled, 
tried to bolt.

  The panther leapt once more, faster, stronger than any other cat in the 
wild. Sharp long canines bared, going for its prey's jugular. Teeth sank 
into the helpless deer's neck, tearing through muscle and veins. Blood 
poured from the wound.

  The herd escaped, leaving the predator with its kill. Twitching its 
tail victoriously, surveying its prize, the panther following age-old 
instinct, dragged its kill up towards a tall tree. The large cat snarled 
hearing the howl of wolves.

  Above in the trees, the cat hissed and growled a warning at the scavengers 
emerging from the trees at the smell of blood. The wolves sensing the 
panther growled in defiance as they slowly slinked back, away from the 
unearthly creature that inhabited their woods.

  With an eerie cry echoing into the night, the panther settled itself down 
to feast...


  He was back at his estate, away from humans. Stretching his taut muscles, 
he worked a crick out of his neck. With the invention of cars and modern 
technology, his people had had to adopt and adapt to the ways of humans.
  With technological advances, it had been necessary to change.

  Of course, the good thing about their long life spans was the ability to 
amass a fortune. With money, their kind had been able to hide their
existence from human eyes in plain sight.

  Endymion Dariyavien Praedari, known to the modern world as Darien
Praedari, mysterious billionaire and eligible bachelor extraordinaire. 
His reputation reminded him of the woman he had sent away only this morning. 
She had gotten angry, shrieking hysterically at him when he had informed 
her he wouldn't be seeing her again. She had hissed curses at him before 
leaving his apartment.

  Human women were unpredictable, growing more and more unreasonable with 
the passing of time. Rubbing his neck, he turned to look out into the 
forest, with the arrival of dusk, light from the sunset would turn the 
trees to a beautiful dance of russet and flame. Now, with the rise of the 
night and the moon, the woods were dark, with an eerie beauty and radiating 
a mysterious aura. Hiding secrets and creatures of the night within their 
depths. This was his world. Creature of the night.

  Two slender arms wound around his chest, holding him, stroking his hard 
muscled chest. The woman pressed her body so that he could feel every curve, 
every line against the back of his body. The woman purred loudly, rubbing her 
cheek against the back of his shirt.

  "Welcome back, Darien..." whispered the woman. Her inviting scent rose to 
greet his nose, a clear enticement. "How was your trip to the city?"

  "It went well. How did you get in here, Ramona?"

  "I missed you, darling." smiled the Panthera woman. Ramona was a known 
seductress among the Panthera. Acknowledged for her dark beauty and welcoming 
nature. The woman had an insatiable appetite for pleasure. Darien had once 
asked what she had thought of a true mate.

  The female had merely shrugged and replied non-comittedly. She would 
have liked a true mate, but until that time came, she had the right to 
pursue her own fun and bestow her charms on whomever she pleased. After 
all, a true mate was for all-time, and she wanted to live a little first.

  Ramona moved seductively in front of him, licking her lips. A feral growl 
rose to his throat as he reached out a hand to catch hold of her. Pulling 
her close, his mouth came down hard on hers, plundering. Ramona gave a 
mewl of pleasure as his hands roamed her curves, investigating scented 
hollows.

  Suddenly, he lifted his head, his senses alert. Putting the enticing
female from him, Ramona gave a yowl of protest, her lips turning into a
pout. Dark eyes irritated before pricking her ears to listen for whatever 
disturbance that had drawn Darien's attentions from her body.


  He sensed her before she came. His mind fanning out to pinpoint her
location. Walking towards the side doors, he opened it and inhaled. Scents 
of the forest filled his lungs. The scent of prey. The scent of his 
brethren. The scent of the forest.

  But another scent lingered, one he hadn't sensed earlier. Brows knitting, 
he inhaled once more, trying to place the smell. It was the scent of a human 
and yet, not. Puzzling over the mystery, he waited.

  A panther, its glossy fur gleaming like a raven's wing. Queer intelligent 
amethyst eyes looked up at him. He frowned down at the cat, his eyes going 
back to the forest line, searching.

  Not finding what he was looking for, his attention once again came to
rest on the large feline.

  "Hello Raye."

  The black cat's form wavered, changing to that of a petite woman with
dark glossy hair and amethyst eyes. Raven Ceres Praedari Daravinsky, known to 
her intimates as Raye.

  "Hello Darien...Ramona." nodded Raye noticing the Panthera female behind 
her brother. "Jade isn't here. He's out fishing." murmured his sister seeing 
his wandering eye, scanning the dark trees behind her.

  He frowned down at his baby sister. "And Celeste?" he questioned.

  "With Lita."

  His black scowl grew. With good reason.

  Celeste Daravinsky was one of the two females that had been born barely 
two years ago. She had been the only survivor of Raye's litter of three. The 
child was precious and a hope for their race. A possible mate for one of 
their males.

  "You should be the one watching her, Raye. It isn't like you to leave
your precious cub alone." he reprimanded.

  "Oh, don't give me that tone, Endymion Dariyavien Praedari. Celeste is my 
baby. But I felt I had to be the one to inform you. You weren't here earlier 
this evening, so I had to come round again." snapped Raye, her eyes flashing 
then flicking over to Ramona once more, taking in her appearance.

  "The human."

  Raye nodded. "The human. But she smells different. She came here two days 
ago, camping in the woods. Our people have been keeping watch on her. It 
has been most unusual. Indeed, Zoy swears she is no ordinary human."

  He lifted an eyebrow.

  "Zoy says she's quicker. More agile than normal humans. He believes she 
also almost discovered him watching her," said Raye.

  Frowning at this revelation, he walked out of the mansion, turning to
stare at his sister, a question in his eyes.

  Ramona frowned. "Who cares about the human? She's probably just taking a 
vacation from the city and doesn't know this is private property."

  Raye gritted her teeth. "Well, she shouldn't be here. One of our males 
might just turn at her scent and savage her. We don't need a dead woman 
on our hands. The authorities would come looking."

  "That is such an exaggeration." sniffed Ramona. Raye scowled at the
younger woman. Ramona was a good two centuries younger than she was. 
Merely a fledgling. The woman couldn't comprehend the trouble the human 
could bring to their doorstep.

  "Darien?" prompted Raye.

  Darien had remained silent all this while, his dark eyes gleaming.

  "Show me where, Raye."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Two panthers weaved in and out through the trees, leaping over fallen
logs and across streams. Both cats moving as one. Their movements fluid as 
quicksilver.

  One large male with glossy blue-black fur sheltering the smaller female 
with its large size and weight. The female snarled in warning, irritation 
in its every movement. With their speed, the pair reached a clump of trees 
that opened out into a clearing with fairly level ground. By the trees, 
they saw a blonde man and a young woman with chocolate hair and flashing 
emerald eyes. The man held a small child in his arms protectively as the 
pair of cats approached.

  The large male prowled about the pair and child, sniffing the air. The 
female merely padded straight towards the man and child, butting her head 
against the man's legs, purring affectionately.

  The blonde man laughed, bringing the child down to the cat's head. The 
child giggled, cooing in rapt attention, its chubby arms flailing trying 
to reach the panther's glossy black head.

  The panther purred, nuzzling the child. The child squealed softly, 
hands batting at the cat's head. The panther merely nuzzled the child 
once more.

  The blonde man chuckled softly. "Celeste missed you, Raye."

  The female feline shape-shifted, returning to her normal human form. 
Her arms plucked the baby girl out of her mate's arms. "And mommy missed 
her little girl." cooed Raye, lifting the child up to eye level. The baby 
stared with fascination into her mother's gleaming jewel eyes. Celeste 
gurgled, blowing bubbles at her mother. Tiny hands reached out to pat her 
mother's face.

  Raye laughed softly, nuzzling her daughter's nose.

  The blonde man smiled, then turned to face his brother-in-law.

  "Hello Darien."

  The large male panther took the form of its dark-haired counterpart. 
Dark flashing eyes frowned on Lita before meeting Jadeite's eyes.

  "Jadeite." acknowledged Darien with a nod. His gaze flew once more to
Lita whose emerald eyes scowled at him.

  "I know what you're thinking, Darien...but Nephlyte isn't the boss of 
me." hissed his cousin.

  "He is your mate, he has the right. You females are becoming more and
more unreasonable each century. Just like the human females. We've been
mixing among them for so long you've forgotten just how territorial our
males are." bit out Darien.

  "We're merely adapting, cousin. And don't scowl, you'll get wrinkles. I 
know how territorial our males are. But we are family, so you should trust 
in each other instead of snarling at each other." murmured Lita
affectionately, smoothing a hand over Darien's forehead.

  He snorted, jerking his head away. "Panthera females don't do that."
He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Females" under his 
breath.

  Lita sighed dropping her hand to her side. With a sardonic look, she
poked Darien in the chest. "Well, this female does, oh great high and mighty 
one. Now come and see this human, and don't growl."

  Raye snickered before stifling it with a swift hard glare from her mate. 
She had learned long ago that sometimes, it wasn't too good to poke a male 
too hard in the dominant egotistical protective streak. She'd done that 
once with Jadeite, and it hadn't been pretty.

  It wasn't that he had abused her in any way, no, Panthera males never
abused their females or children. But Jadeite had tortured her. Tortured 
her with pleasure. She could still remember herself begging him to end the 
fires of her body that had made her so damn sensitive to every sensation. 
Sometimes, it just didn't pay to be a female of a species so sexually 
vibrant and virile like the Panthera. He had in the end of course, allowed 
her release. But he had started it right back again afterward. By morning, 
she had been amazed at her ability to move.

  Her eyes found Jadeite looking at her smugly with a sort of feline
satisfaction in his eyes. Lifting an eyebrow and grinning at her, Raye
flushed and returned her attention to her daughter. But his voice echoed 
seductively in her mind, sending warm shivers of awareness down her spine.

  *I love you, Raven...and tonight I will again tell you how much.*

  Raye peeked at her mate from under her long lashes, a smile curling on her 
lips. *I love you too, mate.*

  The pair found them being eyed by Lita and Darien. Raye flushed, and hid 
her face in Celeste's shoulder. Jadeite pulled Raye towards him, one arm 
curling round her shoulders. He grinned at them unashamed, a gleam in his 
blue-green eyes.

  Lita rolled her eyes. "Get a room. Your pheromones are polluting the air."

  "Hey! We don't say anything when you act all mushy with Nephlyte."
protested Raye.

  Darien sighed, leaving the couple and Lita to argue. He moved swiftly, 
silently down to the clearing below. His acute eyesight noted the camping 
tent. The fire pit and various objects and utensils strewn about. He frowned, 
searching his memory for the layout of the land. There was a stream nearby 
with a clear pool and waterfall. Not sensing the human about camp, he made 
his way slowly towards the waterfall, his sensitive hearing picking out 
splashing and humming.


  Creeping towards the waterfall, he crouched low by a boulder, balancing on 
the balls of his feet, his body tense, coiled like a spring ready to attack 
at the slightest provocation.

  The human woman was unusual to be certain. He doubted he had made a sound, 
but the woman had somehow sensed his presence. Her humming had stopped. He 
watched as she cocked her head to the side as if listening for him. He 
hadn't been breathing loudly, but she had suddenly swung about, searching 
the forest for an intruder.

  "Who's there?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  His eyebrows lifted in admiration, stepping out from behind his hiding 
place. No human had ever managed to detect his presence unless he wished it. 
No human had ever heard his silent approach until it was too late. It 
intrigued him that this slip of a woman whose appearance looked more 
child-like than woman had known he was close.

  The woman gave a gasp of outrage before submerging her body into the
water, right up to the neck. A smile crept onto his lips as he noticed her 
flushed cheeks while she tried to cross her arms over her breasts
discreetly. He took a moment to study her appearance.

  Her silvery blonde hair was wet, shining silver in the night from the
light of the moon. Her eyes were of deep aqua blue that glared at him. A 
small pretty nose and perfectly luscious pink lips in a pout. She had pale 
smooth porcelain complexion that any woman would have died for. Even with her 
arms over her chest, he noted her ample breasts that he suspected, would fit 
perfectly in the palm of his hand.

  His eyes lifted to stare at her face once more. This time, her features were 
locked in a dark angry scowl, her blue eyes flashing with fury, though her 
pink cheeks proclaimed her embarrassment. He could see her clearly as if it 
were day.

  "Are you quite finished you pig?! And who the hell are you?!" she
demanded heatedly.

  A sardonic smile lifted his lips, his dark eyes pinning her on the spot.

  "That, my dear lady, should be my question as this is a private preserve. 
My property. My friends say you have been here for the past two days. I can 
charge you for trespassing." he drawled smoothly enjoying her anger.

  "And I'll sue you for being a pervert!"

  "A pervert? Lady, this is MY property. Any naked women I find on my
grounds can be labeled as a flasher or guilty of indecent exposure."

  "A gentleman wouldn't have skulked about." hissed the woman indignantly.

  "As a trespasser, I have every right to be cautious."

  "Well then, turn around and allow me to dress, dammit!" exclaimed the
woman angrily. With his psychic abilities, he easily picked up the riot of 
emotions rolling off her. Embarrassment, fury and irony at her situation.

  "By all means, we wouldn't want you getting a cold." he grinned, turning 
and presenting this strange tiny woman with his back although every animal 
instinct of his shrieked at him to face the woman and not turn his back.

  His ears followed the sound of her movements as water sloshed. Bare feet 
hitting rock as she climbed out of the pool. A cry broke through the night 
as he heard her slip.

  He whirled immediately, his reflexes kicking in. With a burst of speed, 
he was suddenly at her side, catching hold of her. Wet and naked.

  Eyes locked as he set her safely onto solid ground. A curious wrenching 
within him left him feeling curiously whole. He frowned at the sensation. 
What the hell had just happened?

  He dragged her scent into his lungs. Human and yet not human. He waited 
for the demonic predatory urges to come. Ready to wrestle his predatory 
urge to kill...

  Nothing came.

  No urge to kill assailed him.

  Nothing.

  His eyes hardened as he heard her pounding heart, her lungs working
furiously, dragging air into her body. Her eyes were wide, almost fearful. 
He frowned. Had he done something to frighten her? Had he for a moment 
turned into a panther? Grown long canines? Claws?

  His mind tried to understand. Tried to believe....

  This woman was his true mate. But how could that be? It was impossible! 
A human woman could not possibly be his true mate and yet, her presence 
brought none of the usual instinctive urges to hunt, to kill. He sought 
deep within himself, trying to find any dark madness that whispered to 
kill and maul. There was none. She didn't call to the demon within as 
the other human woman had done. With this woman, the beast was tamed....

  Suddenly, a prickle went up his spine. Images, emotions and thoughts
assailed him.

  Fear hit him. It wasn't because she was afraid of him...no. She was 
afraid because of what she thought he had seen...

  Her thoughts were a mass of jumbled words. The images that assailed 
him made things clearer. Even if he had not grabbed her, she would not 
have fallen back in. In her mind, he saw her slip on the rock...saw her 
sudden agility that no human should have possessed. Watched as she landed 
on the tips of her toes on solid ground a moment before he caught her.

  His grip tightened on her arms. His gaze was accusing.

  "You would not have fallen in." a statement, not a question.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darien watched her face. Her eyes grew even wider than he would have
thought possible. With a sudden burst of strength that surprised him, the 
woman shoved him backwards.

  He frowned and growled at her sudden attack. He had been caught off 
guard, not expecting her strength. With an inhuman speed, he watched as 
she snatched her clothes and disappeared into the trees.

  She was fast disappearing into the night to his great surprise.

  "Darien? What th-?" came Raye's voice. He knew she had seen the woman. 
Her unnatural speed for a human.

  He wasn't about to let her get away, human or not. His possessive 
instinct snarled at her escape. Whether she was human or not at this point 
didn't matter. She was his true mate. She was his. His mouth curled in 
anticipation of the hunt. The woman was fast; he'd give her that. But not 
as fast as a Panthera.

  "Darien!?" called Lita as he shape-shifted to his feline form. Powerful 
hind legs getting ready to spring, his predatory instincts wanting to 
pursue. To catch. Every fiber of his being shrieking at him to seize and 
mark her. Claim her as his own.

  Jadeite ran in front of his path, blocking him. "Darien, you can't!
You'll turn into a man-eater if you hunt her!"

  "Oh god, please Darien!" cried his sister as she clutched a crying 
Celeste to her.

  They didn't understand...his true mate was getting away. His mate. His 
female. The one being that stood between his destruction and salvation. 
She was fleeing and he didn't have time to explain or time to be 
courteous.

  His muzzle snarling, eyes blazing...he leapt, straight at Jadeite.

  Jadeite in his human form, was no match for the full two hundred 
pounds of muscle and fury flying at him. The large cat knocked him onto 
his back, landing squarely on his chest. The air left his lungs as 
his back connected with the ground.

  Intelligent eyes blazed at him. Jadeite remained still, careful not 
to provoke the large killing machine sitting squarely above him, 
tail twitching angrily.

  The panther snarled, exposing large powerful teeth. Darien struggled 
to sort out his awareness, everything in him angry at Jadeite's 
interference. Instinct calling out to him to kill the man who had gotten 
between him and his mate.

  His mate!

  The cat snarled deeming his escaping mate more important than the
interfering man lying motionlessly, submissively on the ground. With a 
final growl and a hiss, the panther sprang away, running with amazing 
fluid speed in the wake of the escaping woman.

  Jadeite accepted Lita's hand and got off the ground. His frown deepened 
as he stared off into the direction Darien had gone. He had to go after 
him. If Darien did one wrong thing tonight...it was possible he would 
go right over the edge and be lost to them forever.

  "Raye, I have to go after him." murmured Jadeite solemnly.

  His mate nodded. "I-"

  "No. Celeste needs you. You need to tell the others of what has happened.
I may need their help to restrain Darien."

  "I will go with you." volunteered Lita. "Nephlyte already knows of what 
has happened and he has gone to gather the others. Come, we must go now. 
Raye will go back to the mansion with Celeste," said Lita.

  "God..." choked Raye. "Jade, Lita...bring him home. Please."

  They nodded.

  Raye watched as her mate and her cousin changed, becoming panthers.
Powerful legs carried them quickly out of sight towards the direction 
Darien had gone. Their speed matching that of the wind.

  Raye lifted her head, clutching her child close. Let him be safe...
prayed Raye to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Feet pounded in the earth. He rejoiced in the body of the panther. His 
mind and senses soaring free. The world had become beautiful again.
Mysterious and alluring. His mind focused on the swift-footed silver-blonde.

  A true mate. A soulmate to give him new life. He had existed for over 
a thousand years and never had he imagined finding or having a true mate. 
Had never thought that he would be so blessed, for there had been many 
nights when he'd wandered the forest, his lonely cry echoing through the 
trees. Hatred for being tormented and alone, festering deep within his 
soul, staining it black like the night.

  His ears caught the sound of feet in front of him. She was fast for a
human, yes. But he was a powerful Panthera male. The oldest. The strongest.
There was no way she would be able to escape him.

  For the first time in his life since the moment he had been old enough 
to understand the meaning of a true mate, he dreamt of a family. Dreamt 
of passion and love...of someone to keep the darkness and loneliness at 
bay.

  His powerful vision spotted her. She was dressed now, rushing to 
collect her belongings. To run.

  He padded quickly and silently towards her, giving her no opportunity 
to bolt. She belonged with him and he would never let her go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued...

Q&A+AN:

1. To the reviewer who asked if this was based of a book. Technically,
this isn't based off a book but most of my ideas do come from things I
have read.

2. To the reviewer sara beth, the idea for big black cats did come from
'After Twilight'. *note the title* :P But, I don't know about 'Fantasy'.
I haven't read that one. The bookstore isn't currently stocking. >:\

3. And to the reviewer who called him/herself 'reviewer', glad you
recognize that bit from the 'After Twilight' poem, "Masquerade". But
hey, I only got that line off, I didn't follow fully. The rest was
REALLY written by me.

4. To Erin Finnlaith, yes! I've read Christine Feehan's books. But only
limited to her 'Dark Series'. I haven't found the time to go get her
'Scarletti Curse' yet. *note my fic 'Dark Angel'*

Your questions answered? Good. Thanks for all the comments. :))

Tell me what you thought of this chapter. I know it's shorter than the 
ones I wrote for 'Dark Angel', but I couldn't think of much to write 
in regards to this chapter's title. I'm already planning on the next 
chapter though. :)) Betcha can't guess! :)

note: *Twilight can also mean period of decline or destruction*
Praedari means Predator or 'plunder'

20/01/03
Edited: 20/01/03