Title: Twilight
Author: Tapestry
Email: Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Standard Disclaimer Apply
*...* denotes mind speaking
31/05/03

"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: Look, I'm really sorry for not continuing the story sooner. Yes, I'm
    NOT dead. But I do have something called REAL LIFE. Not to sound snappy
    or anything, but I did mention to everybody my usual PC is down and no 
    internet connection on it now either. Plus to top it off, I've started 
    college and am being swamped in assignments. So please, try to 
    understand. I'm already taking time off to write this chapter.

6/8/03 - Wow! 3 months since I started this. Sorry. I've got a break now,
         so, to thank you guys for being so patient with me, I'll try to
         make this extra long, without a cliffie. (^^)

25/11/03 - Okay, I'm a big fat idiotic liar....I just couldn't think of 
           anything to write. But I'm making progress now. Honest!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~ Chapter 3: The Half-Breed ~
                           

  Serena stared up into burning eyes. She was trapped against the door.
Dear Lord, he was so beautiful, even in anger. But now wasn't the time to
be lusting after a pretty boy.

  Even if he was a damn lot stronger than she.

  "My father's name was..."

  A loud banging on the door broke the tense atmosphere. She could have
sworn she'd heard him groan. 

  "DARIEN!!" shouted a voice. Banging on the door grew louder. Though
Serena was sure the man on the other side of door could probably break the
solid oak french doors into matchsticks, nothing like that happened.

  Releasing her from the cage of his arms, he stepped away and answered the
voice through the door.

  "What is it?"

  "The news just reported a murder."

  Darien threw the doors open, coming face to face with Nephlyte. His
face dark.
  "An animal killing?"

  "Yes. A camper was found mauled to death. Not far from the city. The
killer points to a large cat."

  "Dammit. Do you know if it was one of ours or was it a real cat?"

  "It's uncertain. Malachyte is already checking into it, asking if any of
our brethren are missing." answered Nephlyte.

  Serena listened to the conversation in interest, though confused by
what was happening. A person had been killed by animals. What was so
troublesome about that?

  "We will leave immediately. Tell Malachyte to come as soon as possible
once he had found all relevant information." muttered Darien. "We do not
need any animal hunts or killings."

  Serena tried to sneak past the two engrossed men. She didn't need all
the testosterone floating about the mansion. The men of the mansion held
a dark aura about them that she couldn't understand.

  "And where do you think you are going?"

  Serena pivoted on her foot to face an angry Darien. "Away." she hissed in
defiance.

  Burning blue eyes locked with her own. For a few moments, she could have
sworn Darien's eyes had gleamed like a predator's reflective eyes. The
air between them thickened in warning.

  "Nephlyte, leave us." he snarled.

  No sooner was the brunette out of the room than Darien slammed his hands
once again on either side of her head. Both glared at each other, locked
in a heated battle of wills.

  "Hear me and hear me well, Serena..." hissed Darien. "You will remain
in this mansion and be here when I get back. You will NOT leave here. For
if you do, there won't be anywhere in the world that you can hide. And
believe me, I will drag you back here."

  "Go to hell, bastard." snapped Serena as her hand flew out and slapped
him across the face.

  Who did this arrogant man think he was? Human or not, Panthera or not,
no one told her what to do. No one threathened her.
                 

  Darien turned to look at the spitting cat in front of him and gave a
predatory smile that usually cowed men stronger than her. Oh yes, he would
enjoy taming the little wildcat.

  "You'll be here, Serena....because, we aren't finished." said Darien
darkly before exiting room and leaving her to glare at his back in fury.

  Darien joined Nephlyte who was waiting for him at the foot of the huge
staircase, wearing an idiotic grin on his face.

  "Slapped you didn't she." grinned Nephlyte.

  "She's a wildcat, that one." chuckled Zoycite.

  He turned to look back up the staircase, imagining her furious face.
She was a wildcat. One that was his. He liked her spirit and that probably
wouldn't be the last time he would be feeling the lady's claws.
  Yes...life would be eventful. He wanted to thank the heavens that she
had been sent into his care. Even if she was stubborn and a handful. It
wouldn't be difficult to love her...

  His face fell back into its solemn mask.

  "Lets go. Has Malachyte contacted either of you yet?" questioned Darien
as the exited the mansion.

  "Yes. He says Simon Ranul is missing. So Malachyte has gone to track him
down to make sure of his whereabouts."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena leaned back into the hard wood a moment, trying to catch her
breath and calm her jumbled thoughts. She had lost her cool and slapped
the arrogant man on the face.

  "He deserved it, ass."

  Closing her eyes, she inhaled, her heart and lungs slowing to a normal
rhythm. Why wasn't she making a run for it? Maybe she was going insane.
Maybe she WAS insane. There was no other explanation.

  How else did one describe the odd things she had imagined only...how long
ago had it been?

  Pushing away from the wall, Serena's eyes focused on the door, the marks
drawing her eyes. His fingers had gouged pieces wood out from the door.
The marks looked as if they had been done by a large feral animal.

  Brushing back her bangs, Serena strode out of the room. she wasn't
staying because he had imperiously ordered her to. She was staying because 
it was late and she wasn't going to find any comfortable bed out in
the boondocks.

  Heading towards the room that the dumb male had designated as hers, she
made a beeline for the bathroom.

  Yes, she was going to soak in the tub and waste an extravagant amount
of water and spend all the bath salts and lotions in the bathroom.
That would show him. He'd probably throw her out himself. She smiled
to herself. Right, she'd send him to the poor house.

  A soft chuckle vibrated in her mind, sending an arrow of fire down
her spine.

  *You won't get rid of me so easily, dear one. I am never going to
send you packing myself. So you can give up on that notion. And
incidently, I'm a very very wealthy man, so it's going to be a challenge
for you to put me in the poor house.*

  *Shut up, you're just a figment of my imagination.* she hissed
bristling at his humour.

  What was it about her that attracted all this attention? Especially
attention of weirdoes. Serena gave a sigh of comfort as she stepped
into the warm sweet smelling water of the bath. The warm water loosening
the tense muscles in her back.

  *I am not a weirdo.*

  *Go away. Were you not hunting something?*

  She could almost see him nod his head. Which was slightly disconcerting.
Not yet even a week and the man was burrowing himself into her life.

  *You will be at home when I return, Serena. I will be very angry with
you if you do the exact opposite.*

  *I will be here. And before you gloat, it is only because it is very
dark and I'm enjoying this bath.*

  A dark velvet throathy laugh invaded her mind, sending heat to the pit
of her belly and making her toes curl.

  Dammit, why was it so much more difficult to resist the man when he
was not directly in front of her? She dunked her head beneath the water,
hoping to cool whatever insane notion that was fast overheating her brain.

  She really needed to put an end to her acquaintance with Darien Praedari.
She wasn't certain her sanity would survive if she didn't. He was too
exasperating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darien turned away from the thoughts that were flowing through Serena's
head. He was a quiet shadow in her mind, soaking in the interesting things
that passed through her head.

  She would never leave him. He would make sure of it.

  Turning back to his friend, Darien sniffed the air slightly. He had
sent Zoycite and his brother-in-law to the site of the kill, but the 
spore of the large cat hung heavy and thick in the air where he and
Nephlyte were investigating. The cat had definitely passed by and
could probably still be in the nearby vicinity.

  *Darien, Simon has been accounted for. The cat is not one of ours.*
came Malachyte's voice.

  *How very odd...*

  *Darien?*

  *Nephlyte and I have come across an animal kill. And there have been 
no zoos that have lost a panther. There are no other places that the 
panther could have come from.*

  *Odd indeed, Darien.*

  "Nephlyte, can you sense the cat? Simon has been accounted. This cat is
not ours. But I do not think it wise to let it roam, Panthera or not. I
have a strange inkling, but I cannot pin it down."

  "I cannot. How strange... it is almost as if this cat is one of our kind.
But, unusual...strange and unfamiliar." murmured Nephlyte absent-mindedly.

  "Have there been any other prides that have entered our domain?"

  "None, Darien...you know it is a rule that any prides within our vicinity
make their presence known. You are the leader of our race after all."

  "The pride council should keep in touch more." snarled Darien agitatedly.

  He felt uneasy. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, that
something was not as it should be. After all, he'd just found his mate,
and this killing wasn't too far from his home. He didn't like this. A 
Panthera man-eater could travel far within one night....and this was the
edge of the city.

  Instinct bade him monitor the thoughts of his mate, an instinct he
would later come to thank.
                          
                                        
  Serena paced the length of the room like a caged animal. The bath had
done little to calm her besides easing the tension from her body. Her 
inner alarm was going haywire in her being, shrieking like a banshee in
her head. But her senses told her there was no danger within the mansion.

  She was sure she'd wear a path in the carpet of the floor. That would
make that arrogant male throw her out. Yes, she'd destroy as many of
his things as she possibly could.

  But in the back of her mind, she knew that thought was ridiculous. There
was no way, she'd be able to lift a finger to all the treasures and
antiques in the mansion. She had a healthy respect for beautiful works of
art.

  She was just feeling confused and jumpy by the conflicting signals her
senses and instincts were sending.

  *What is wrong, little one?*

  Serena jumped in surprise, startled from her reverie. His voice was
invading her head once again.

  *Nothing! Nothing that concerns you!*

  *You lie.*

  *Shut up.*

  *Tell me what is wrong.*

  It was an imperious order. The resolve and edge in his voice clear to be
heard by all.....well, if there WERE any other people in her head besides
him. She found herself sending him mental images of what she was feeling,
something that came entirely unbidden to herself. She had not planned on
telling the man anything. And yet, here she was doing the exact opposite!
                                  
    
  Darien experienced a bombardment of emotions and mental images from his
link with Serena. He knew she was feeling confused at the conflicting
signals being sent to her by her senses. Carefully, he examined the 
emotions and perceptions that were being percieved and slowly pieced the
information together, suddenly... he understood.

  His body tensed and his senses flared out into the night, trying to
detect the danger. The warning bells that were shrieking in Serena had 
less to do with her situation than it did his.

  Somehow, her subconciousness had picked out the danger he was in through
the mind link he had kept going between them. Curious that she was able to
sense the danger towards him when his own senses were, figuratively
speaking, blind.

  "What is the matter, Darien?" asked Nephylte, his own senses reaching out
to find the cause of sudden tension in Darien.

  "Serena senses danger in our immediate vicinity..."

  "Impossible, Darien. Your mate isn't even here. Plus, no human senses
can be better than our Panthera ones. Humans have long evolved and 
forgotten the instincts and preternatural senses that were once programmed in 
all life." said Nephlyte arrogantly.

  "Serena is sensing the danger through my perceptions. And I KNOW no 
human senses can match any of ours. But you have to admit....Serena is no
ordinary human." growled Darien. "This isn't getting us anywhere...."

  Immediately, his form began waver as the transformation from human to 
sleek predator took place. Finally, in the place of Darien, there stood
a large black panther with gleaming blue eyes.

  The large cat sniffed the air experimentally, turning one way and then
the next. Stopping suddenly, the cat's tail twitched before it let out a
low deep snarl, teeth bared.

  Nephlyte's eyes took on a cat's glow as he turned his head, trying to
catch scent of whatever it was that had the large Panthera male in such
agitation.

                   
  Suddenly, without warning, a sleek dark cat with shimmering topaz eyes
leapt from the trees, teeth bared and snarling straight at Nephlyte and
Darien.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena shot up in alarm. Her alarm system was shrieking into overtime.
Had something gone wrong with Darien? All the while, he had mantained a
psychic link with her and now, he had suddenly cut her off.

  She had never known such stifling tension before. It was like a pressure 
on her heart that made it difficult to breathe, even to think. Beads of
sweat popped out on her skin, as she clutched a hand to her bosom.

  It felt like she was hyperventilating...

  "Serena?"

  Looking up from where she stood wobbily, one hand supporting herself on
a table edge, she turned to the sound of the voice before collapsing on
jelly legs.

  "Oh my God, Serena!"

  She couldn't focus on whose voice it was anymore, couldn't remember where
she was....

  "Serena, do you hear me!?"
  "Serena!"

  Her vision blacked out, and she knew no more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The two large black cats fought ferociously, fangs bared and claws
unsheathed. Each snarled at the other, circling.

  Nephlyte was out unconcious, his shoulder in a pool of blood. The unknown
feline hissed in hatred. Hackles raised.

  Darien in his feline form, bared his teeth in warning, standing guard
over his fallen friend. If this cat had no human sentience within, the
smell of spilled blood would definitely trigger its instinct to hunt and
devour.
  How could he let this unknown upstart beat him?

  He was the oldest of all Panthera that walked the earth. There were none 
of his kind that knew him not...and none would dare challenge him.

  He spotted the tell-tale sign of the panther getting ready to pounce.

  As the large cat flew through the air, another suddenly leapt from the 
bushes intercepting the rogue feline.
  Darien recognized him as Malachyte with his piecing gray eyes.

  *My thanks to you, my friend.*

  *No need, Darien.*

  The cat screamed in anger and dove at the new-comer, a paw coming 
straight at Malachyte's face.

  Malachyte managed to avoid the claws by a hairs-breadth.

  Darien delivered a hard swipe with his own claws, tearing flesh at the
panther's side. A yowl of anger and pain accompanied the deep wound.

  Gushes of blood spilled down the panther's side as it tried unsteadily 
to get to its feet. A pang of sadness filled Darien's heart at the need 
to destroy such a beautiful creature. But he couldn't allow things like
this to happen if his race was to survive. The secret of the Panthera's 
existence needed to be preserved.

  The cat collapsed to the ground in a heap, exhausted from the loss of
blood. Its breathing became shallow and uneven.

  *Do we leave it here for humans to discover? That way they will know the
cat responsible is caught.* suggested Malachyte.

  Before Darien could agree to the suggestion, the unconcious panther
suddenly shimmered, its body shape wavering between cat and human.

  *What the-...* breathed Malachyte in surprise.
                     

  Darien resumed his human form along with Malachyte. There was silence
for the moment as both men could not believe their eyes.

  Without a word, Darien bent to check the unknown man's pulse. It was
steady, but weak.

  "Nephlyte is fine. How is the man?" asked Malachyte.

  "He is alive."

  "We cannot leave him here, Darien. Humans will think he is merely another
victim of the panther. A victim that survived." advised Malachyte as he
lifted Nephlyte into his arms.

  "I know."

  Darien picked the unconscious man up easily.

  "What about the blood?"

  Darien stood quiet for a moment. Setting the man down at a nearby tree,
he returned to the pool of blood. Lighting a match, Darien dropped it onto
the dry grass and watched as the weeds caught flame, smoke rising from the
ground.

  "What blood?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  A breeze wafted over her face as she slowly awoke. Her vision was blurry
and her mind was fuzzy. Where was she?

  "Serena?"

  She recognized that deep masculine voice.... who?

  "Serena, wake up. I'm not going to tell you again."

  Oh, she hated that tone of voice. She hadn't heard such a tone since her
parents died. No one spoke in that tone to her.

  "That's it, you're waking up now." murmured the voice imperiously.

  A large hand suddenly...FELT HER UP! Her eyes snapped wide open, and
instinct had her balling her hand into a fist and letting it fly at the
unknown pervert.

  Her tiny fist connected with the intruder's jaw with a satisfying crack!

  "Take THAT, you insufferable sex-starving pervert! Asshole! Bastard!"
screamed Serena in fury.

  "Nice, little cat....very nice. If I weren't a Panthera, I'm pretty
sure my jaw would be broken right now." came a voice from the side of the 
bed. 

  Recognizing the voice, Serena stared at the hateful man sitting on the
carperted floor, nursing his jaw.

  "You deserved it..."

  "Heh, nice to know you have something in you besides all those delightful
little curves." muttered Darien as he massaged his jaw.
  "I asked you nicely to wake up...you didn't. You only have yourself to
blame, my darling."

  "I'm not your darling, and if you dare do that again, I'll do more than
sock you in the jaw." hissed Serena threatheningly.

  A small curve appeared on his lips at her comment. She couldn't be sure
if the exasperating man had truly smiled, or perhaps her eyes had been
playing tricks on her. Either way, it sent an arrow of heat down her spine 
to the pit of her belly.
               

  "How are you feeling?" asked Darien as he slowly rose form the floor. She
truly was a delight. Taming her would provide the rest of his life with
plenty excitement. Guranteed.

  Yet, the dark thought about the unconcious man in the South Wing of his
mansion disturbed him. The stranger had yet to awaken and it didn't seem
he would any time soon.

  "After smacking that nauseous obnoxious face of yours? So much better.
What happened to me?"

  "You passed out from the tension you were unconciously recieving from
me. I don't want you ever trying to hold a link like that to me again.
Especially when I cut you off." he growled imperiously.

  Serena glared at his bossy tone. "I don't take orders, Praedari. Not from
you, not from ANYONE."

  She hated people ordering her about. She didn't need anyone taking over
her life. She needed no one. It was true in the past, and it was true now,
and it would be true in the future.

  A loud scream made her ears perk. Her eyes flew to meet Darien's. His
eyes were smoldering and with a quiet oath, he spun on his heel and headed
towards the door.

  Not one to be left behind, Serena pushed the covers off her body and 
padded on barefeet after the tall, dark imposing Panthera who was swiftly
striding down the corridor towards the South Wing...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darien knew Serena was following right behind him, but he couldn't be
bothered with that right now. No matter how much he wanted his mate far
away from the stranger they had brought back.

  The future, his life with his mate, depended on what he could learn from
the man in his home. And by the sounds that came from the South Wing, it was
prominently clear that he had woken up.

                        
  Entering the room, he saw Malachyte trying to come the anxious man down.

  Serena followed shortly and saw a man she had not met before during her
arrival, in a massively large bed, swathed in white bandages. She could
clearly sense his fear, confusion and anxiety. The grim look on Darien
Praedari's face unnerved her slightly.

  "Who are you? Why am I here? What have you done to me?" cried the man in
confusion. He was agitated, backing himself into the pillows. It was very
clear he was a fairly jittery man from the way he kept fidgeting and the
way his eyes kept moving, as if something monstrous would leap out of the
shadows and devour him whole.

  "We found you bleeding near the woods." answered Darien. "I am Darien
Praedari. This is my home, do you remember how you came to be near my 
property and outside the city?"

  The man had dark black hair and odd light brown eyes that sometimes 
flashed a golden glitter. He ran his hands through his hair several times, 
shaking his head negatively.

  Malachyte then took over the asking of questions.

  Serena stood silently, unmoving. The longer she was in the room, the
more she began noticing little oddities about the man in the bed. She 
could sense the feelings emanating from him, but nothing else. She could
only feel the impressions that the man himself was broadcasting.

  This man has a natural mental barrier.

  She also felt an intense pressure that made her feel uneasy. The man
though confused and frightened, made her instincts stand on an end. As if
there was danger just underneath the exterior. A spark at the back of her
mind caught her attention, and she turned to look at Darien who in turn
was staring at her.

  Almost at once, she was ushered out by Darien. His face a mask.

                            
  Darien kept his emotions in check. The possessive jealous side of him 
had roared out in outrage the moment he felt Serena's untrained mental
abilities reach out towards the man like feelers.

  However, that meant perhaps Serena could offer an opinion on his views.

  "You sensed it too, did you not?" he asked in a quiet voice.

  "Sense what?"

  "You could only read what was most prominently being broadcasted by his
mind. Nothing else. That man has a mental shield."

  Serena was surprised. "You know? Could you read him?" asked Serena
suddenly curious as to what other abilities a Panthera held.

  "I tried communicating mentally with him as I do you. There was nothing.
I do not believe he even knew what I was doing. However, if I pushed past
his shields to read him, he would know. It is an interesting an unique 
mental barrier."

  "But he has no mental abilities besides the shields?"

  "I do not believe so. However, he is the animal that the news has been
reporting. The man killer."

  "WHAT???"

  "He reverted to the form of human when he was injured and became 
unconcious. His scent is....odd. Like yours. Human yet not. He changed 
into a panther, yet he does not have the scent of Panthera. And he could
revert back where else Panthera's who have killed humans and become
man-eaters, cannot." 

  "What are you saying? He's a hybrid?"

  She didn't know why she was even discussing this. She had promised herself
she would not get mixed up anymore than she already was in Darien Praedari's
world. However, she could not help herself. For some reason, she cared.

  She stopped and Darien continued to walk. He did not turn around or look
back at her. And that annoyed her for some reason. Made her feel a bit 
lonely.

  "Hey."

  He turned.

  "My father's name was Raphael. Raphael Ferale."

  With that, she turned and walked off in the other direction, leaving 
Darien standing in the corridor, stunned at her revelation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena walked down the corridor, her mind awhirl with shock. Why had she
just told Darien Praedari her father's name? She hadn't even wanted to 
tell him earlier.

  Unwittingly, she found herself back in the South Wing. Confused, she
merely stared at her feet in annoyance. What had brought her back here?
  She tensed suddenly, catching her breath. Her sensitive hearing picked
up the sound of a door closing and footsteps walking away muffled by the
carpeting on the dark polished expensive rosewood flooring.

  Peeking around the corner, she saw Malachyte turn the corner. What the
hell was she doing with the sneaky stuff?

  Serena didn't know what in the world was making her act like this, but
for some reason, she didn't want anybody to know of her visit to the
injured man in the South Wing.
  However, she would regret that decision very soon....

                        
  Darien was still staring into thin air dumb-founded. She was the daughter
of his former bestfriend. This was just too unbelievable. Raphael had
fathered a child. With a human.

  This thought suddenly slammed home into his brain. Serena had Panthera
blood in her veins. And yet, her scent mostly that of human. Her mother
had been human.
  His thoughts brought him back to the murder report of a human woman the
night Raphael had disappeared. Serena's mother had been Raphael's mate...

  So, it now boiled down to the fact that, what was once impossible in
nature, had finally occured. Serena was half-Panthera, and that was the
proof. But she couldn't take on the form of a panther...

  What of the man that was now injured and lying in the South Wing?

                                
  Serena entered the dark room, closing the door shut behind her. The 
window drapes fluttered in the wind, bringing a chill to her spine.

  "Who's there?" came a frightened voice.

  "My name is Serena. I was here earlier." she answered slowly. "You are?"

  "My name is David E. Scott."

  Serena walked closer to the bed and sat down. She felt waves of tension
and fear smothering the room. It made her head ache and her heart pound.

  "I know you're scared. Did Malachyte frighten you? I'm sure Praedari's
men are asses just like-"

  "Oh no, he was very kind. I just wish I knew what had happened to me."

  Serena felt her pulse speed up and the other mysterious part of her
scream in her head, telling her to get away. Somehow, she could not...

  Licking her lips, Serena probed...

  "You,...really don't remember? What do you remember?"

  The man's odd eyes locked with hers. Taking a deep breath, the man 
shook his head.

  "The only thing I remember was going back home. I was very tired...I'd
been feeling strange the whole day. I thought I was coming down with the
flu. Maybe my dreams have been getting to me."

  "Dreams?"

             
  Darien stared at his computer. Being wealthy really had its benefits.
He was staring at the files and records of the man, Malachyte had said his
name was David E. Scott.
  According to his personal files, the man was an orphan. Both parents had
died when he had been 5 years old. Scott was his mother's maiden name.

               
  "I've been having these dreams ever since I was a boy. Of climbing trees
in the night. Jumping over rooftops."

  Serena merely stayed silent.

  "Well, that night, I felt like my body didn't belong to me. Like there
was something, a part of me I'd never known before and it was trying to 
get out. I must have fallen asleep after that. I had a fever and stomach
cramps."

  Serena noticed his glazed look, as if he was suddenly a million miles 
away from her. His eyes took on a golden gleam. Her inner alarm was making
a racket in her brain now.

  Suddenly, his head spun to face her. His eyes were gleaming.

  "David?"

  David shook his head and wiped his brow. "I don't feel well. My skin
feels like it's crawling...it hurts."

  His scream of pain was suddenly very terrifying and Serena watched as
his hands suddenly became paws, the extended claws tearing at the bedsheet.

     
  Darien shot from his chair as shock and fear slammed into his mind. His
preternatural hearing picked up the sound of somebody screaming. He was
out of his study and racing towards the South Wing in a shot.

  David E. Scott had to be half-Panthera like Serena. Only that he had
inherited a different set of abilities compared to Serena....

  While Serena was fast, strong and had psychic abilities, David had none
save a strong mental barrier....and the ability to morph. However, it
was clear...David had no control or human rationalization in his feline
form. He was all wild cat, and the human David had no recollection of
anything the cat did.

  And Serena had inadvertantly put herself in danger....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued...

29/11/03
Edited: 29/11/03

Okay, I'm finished! *shock* I know I know, I said no cliffie. But I really
have no idea how to end a chapter without a cliffie. I seriously apologize.
I've been in a manga funk. Still have a craving for manga, but I'm slowly
beginning to read books again. :)
So, what do you think? Plus, I'm now working on that spin-off from 
'Dark Angel'. Focusing on Geoffrey and Zach. ('-^)/ *wink*