Part 4
  “And then you woke up,” Dorian finished his account of the events. He had only told her the essential parts of the story and he hadn’t mentioned the creature for what it was. He merely painted him as a thug, perhaps a rapist.
  “That’s…uhm…thank you.” Confusion brew in her head and she couldn’t grasp the fact that her life might have been in danger. She still had a lot of questions. “You said you couldn’t risk taking me to a hospital. Why?”
  “That is difficult to explain.”
  “Are you running from the police?” she blurted out and regretted it the moment she had said it. If he was he would hardly admit it and he was potentially dangerous.
  “No, but I don’t like attracting attention to myself.” He shrugged. He wished she would be satisfied with that answer but her whole look told him otherwise. She had raised herself into a sitting position.
  “Who are you?” she asked once more but her voice was no longer a whisper.
  “I’m Dorian,” he replied simply.
  “You’ve already said that.” She was beginning to sound annoyed. “Don’t you have a last name?”
  “Grisartre,” he said in a French accent.
  “Are you from France?” Her look was quizzical.
  “No. New Orleans.” His voice hardened as he said it. New Orleans was not a happy place for him and he had no desire of ever returning there.
  “Why are you here?” she continued her questioning.
  “I was thinking of moving here, but now I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
  “Who are you running from?”
  “I’m not running. Every once in a while I just have to move.”
  “OK. You’re apparently not comfortable with telling me, but I promise I won’t call the police. After all, you saved my life tonight.” She looked into his eyes and saw something there which she couldn’t identify.
  Dorian struggled to keep his mind straight. There had been such a long time since he had interacted with someone, much less someone who asked him direct questions and demanded answers. He had no cover story prepared and he felt like a stupid amateur. He wished he could tell her the truth but that would most likely end their conversation forever.
  “It’s better if you don’t know. Things will be easier that way.” He sighed tiredly. “Why don’t I help you get home? Or maybe to the hospital?”
  “You said it yourself, that will attract attention. Unless I lie, but I’m not sure I want to do that. I don’t think I can.” She shook her head.
  “And you shouldn’t. So I take it you want to go home then?” He looked encouragingly at her.
  “I guess so. What time is it?”
  “It’s four in the morning. Should I call you a cab?” He moved towards the phone on the bedside table.
  “At four in the morning in this town, that’s not possible. And even if it were that would raise so many questions. No, I think I’ll walk.” She moved to the side of the bed and put her feet on the floor. Her body screamed in protest as she tried to stand up and she was forced to fall back on to the bed.
  “You’re in no condition to walk. How about I carry you?” He waited while she made up her mind. After a few seconds she nodded her permission for him to lift her up.
  She felt like she was three years old again and being carried inside the house after falling asleep in the car. She gave away to the feeling and relaxed her head on his chest. He was cold and she realised she couldn’t hear his heart beating. Before she could think anymore of it his chest began to vibrate and she realised he was speaking.
  “You will have to give me directions,” he reminded her and she started to think.
  “Do you know the main road?” she asked.
  “Yes.”
  “If you take me there it will be easy. I live on one of the side streets.”
  He was already halfway there by the time she had finished. Liv hadn’t even registered the houses that had flown by.
  When they reached the main road he stopped and she felt it.
  “Turn left and then it’s the third street on the right. It’s house number 34.” She made an attempt to point but the movement sent a shooting pain through her shoulder and she gasped. He noticed and slowed down.
  “Did I hurt you?” he asked worriedly.
  “It was my own fault,” she moaned.
  He picked up the pace again and they moved swiftly up the road to Liv’s street. When they reached number 34 he stopped at the foot of the stairs leading to her door.
  The house was an apartment building with lofts on the outside. There were three floors and he could see shiny brass numbers on each door.
  “What number is yours?”
  “304. It’s on…”
  “…the third floor,” he finished her sentence and started climbing the stairs. She was amazed at how quick and effortless he walked.
  When they reached her door he put her down gently. He supported her as she took out her keys and unlocked the door. He even helped her over the threshold but he never stepped into her apartment.
  “Well, good night Liv.” He bowed subtly.
  “Are you leaving now?” she said almost disappointed.
  “It’s best if I do,” he said without explaining and backed away.
  “Please come in and stay for a while.” Her voice was distressed. “I’m not sure I want to be alone.”

Part 3
Dorian crossed the street towards his motel when he heard a rustling sound behind him. He spun around to face a little old man. He was going through the trash in the alley behind the motel. When he saw Dorian he fled, like so many before him. Dorian sighed and continued towards the entrance. From a distance he could see a girl walking down the street. He slowed down and gave her a second look.
  Her dark curls were bouncing off her shoulders as she walked. Her pace was confident and he guessed she had walked this road many times before. This was probably her hometown and he instantly felt jealous.
  Just as he was about to reach for the door he froze. He was certain that he had seen a shadow sprint across the street, right behind the girl.
  He quickly gave up the thought of ignoring what he had just seen and hurried stealthily down the street. The muffled sound of someone screaming lead him to a dark alley. His eyes adjusted quickly and he saw a creature pushing the girl to the wall, baring her neck.
  “Stop!” Dorian bellowed. The creature froze and looked up.
  “What?!” the creature said furiously. “She is mine!”
  “Let her go!” Dorian commanded.
  “Try and stop me.” The creature grinned and bent his head down again.
  Dorian moved instantaneously behind the creature and pulled it away from the girl. The creature wriggled out of his grip and gave him a blow to the head. Dorian was taken aback and the creature gave him another blow in the stomach. When he looked up the creature was back at the girl.
  “Let her go!” Dorian commanded once again.
  “Fine.” The creature slammed the girl into the wall. She took a hard blow to the head and Dorian was afraid her skull had cracked. He hurried towards the creature and filled with rage he struck it down. The creature landed flat on his back and Dorian bent down and put his knee over its chest. From under his sweater he pulled a silver dagger and shoved it under the creature’s throat.
  “Now, here’s what we are going to do,” he said in a calm fashion. “I am going to release you and you are going to get as far away from here as possible. Understood?”
  The creature nodded frenetically and Dorian lifted his knee, after which he let go of the pressure on the creature’s throat. The creature crawled away quickly but before he turned the corner he stopped.
  “To think that you were once one of us, it’s disgraceful,” he spitted out. “You’ll regret this.”
  Dorian watched from his cat-like position as the creature disappeared. A new enemy and he had only been here a day.
  A sigh woke him from his thoughts and he turned around to see the girl awake. The fear was evident in her eyes as she shied away from him. It pained him to see. He wanted to leave her alone but he knew he had no choice but to take her with him.
  He picked her up as gently as he could, he could see she was in pain. Her arms dangled as he lifted her and she grimaced. He carefully placed one of her arms around his neck and the other on her stomach.
  The girl felt tiny in his arms, like a wounded bird. He could feel her heart racing and the warmth of her body as he held her closely. He thought about taking her to a hospital but that would draw to much attention to himself. As quickly as he dared he took her back to his motel.
It wasn’t easy getting the door open without putting her down, but he managed. He had prepared a story about a drunken cousin in case the manager had any questions but he was in the back room watching television. Dorian could easily smuggle her to his room where he put her on the bed.
  He watched her silently for a while. He couldn’t help to think of her as beautiful. Her curly hair was spread out over the pillow and for the first time he dared to look closely at her face. She had all the features of a classic beauty, with full lips and high cheekbones and he fought the urge to trace her lips with his fingers.
  Suddenly he realised she was shaking and he felt her hand. It was ice cold. Carefully, not to disturb her, he tugged at the blanket underneath her until it was freed. Gently, he wrapped it around her and soon she stopped shaking.
  He leaned against the wall and waited. He listened to the sounds of the motel and her rapid breathing. After a while she calmed down and he relaxed.

Part 2
When she woke up again she was surrounded by compact darkness. At first she thought she had gone blind but seconds later she saw a flicker of light coming from somewhere below. She stretched out her hands in search of a clue to where she was. The feel of a soft fabric and the comforting pillow under her head made her deduct that she was in a bed. She lay flat on her back and she was covered with a blanket.
  Her limbs felt detached from her body as she made an attempt to roll over on her side. The pain she had felt before was still there but it had decreased markedly. She contemplated the thought of falling back into blissful unconsciousness but she was too afraid. She focused her thoughts and pushed herself into a sitting position.
  “You shouldn’t move just yet,” a deep voice said.
  Startled by the sudden sound she fell back into the bed, aching all over. She tried to determine where the sound had come from but the darkness made her disoriented.
  “Who are you?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
  “I am Dorian. Don’t be afraid, you will be safe here,” the deep voice replied. She found little comfort in his words.
  “Can you turn on the lights?” She was surprised at how small and scared she sounded and realised she was shaking.
  She was startled again by the sound of a striking match and the burst of flame that followed. Her eyes clung to the light as it lit a candle. Soon, the contours of the room were visible.
  Dorian was standing at the foot of the bed holding the candle. It was the same man that had picked her up previously. His eyes caught the reflection of the light and she was once again reminded of the cougar.
  The room itself was small and consisted of the bed she was laying in, a bedside table and a dresser. She could see a door and assumed that the flicker of light she had seen must have come from the gap under it.
  “Where am I?” She managed to keep her voice steadier but it was still almost inaudible.
  “This is a motel. Like I said, don’t worry. You’re safe now.” He picked up the candle from the dresser and walked across the room and put it down on the bedside table. She waited for him to continue but he kept silent.
  “Why am I here?”
  “I couldn’t risk taking you to a hospital.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
  “But why am I here? What happened?” She began to feel a little annoyed despite her fear.
  “You don’t remember?” He gave her a surprised look.
  “I remember walking home. It was night…” She concentrated on the details but it was all a blur. “I don’t remember anything else.” Panic washed over her as she imagined what horrible things could have happened.
  “I know what happened.” He sighed deeply. “But, considering that you don’t remember anything I think you should rest a bit more.” He moved to blow out the candle.
  “No!” she yelped. “Please leave it burning.”
  He backed away instantly at the sound of her distressed voice.
  “I don’t think I can sleep until you tell me what happened,” she whispered.
  “I see I have no choice but to tell you now then. But first, tell me your name.”
  “Liv.” She was unsure if she should tell him her last name too but he murmured contently from where he stood.
  “Are your parents Nordic?” he asked.
  “No. Why?” Her heart beat had calmed down and she had stopped shaking. Moment by moment she felt more courageous.
  “Liv is a Nordic name.” He started pacing in front of the bed. His pale features were exaggerated by the dim lighting and every muscle in his face was visible. Liv noticed that he was dressed in a dark hooded sweater and dark jeans.
  “Are you Nordic?” she asked sceptically.
  “No.” He smiled slightly and his white teeth glistened. “I just have a lot of time on my hands.”
  “Uhm, could we get back to what happened?” Although she was intrigued at his knowledge of her name’s origin she was unable to concentrate on anything but why she had ended up in a motel room with a total stranger.
  “Fine. So you remember walking home in the middle of the night?” He had stopped pacing and moved to her side. She didn’t bother to reply, she just nodded. Dorian started telling her what had happened.

This is a work in progress. Hopefully it will one day come together, right now it's just the beginning of something. Whatever you think, please comment. It is still UNTITLED, as so many of my stories are. Now, I'll stop being a coward and put it out there. Enjoy...
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Part 1
With a cloudy vision she could see something moving in front of her. She blinked. Her eyelids felt heavy. She blinked again. There was definitely something moving but she couldn’t make out who or what is was.
  Ignoring the pain in the back of head she blinked frenetically until her eyes watered. She still couldn’t make out anything. She closed her eyes again and relaxed for a moment. Her head was pounding and her heart was racing.
  She tried once more to open her eyes and this time she could make out the contrasts of a man kneeling in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak but she choked. Her mouth was dry and her jaws hurt.
  Suddenly it dawned on her that she had no idea where she was. She tried to look around but the pain in her head propagated down her neck and she gave up with a sigh.
  The man, who had his back turned on her, swiftly moved to face her at the sound of her sigh. She was struck by the intensity in his face. His eyes had a cat-like glow to them and they lit up his otherwise pale face. His features were strong and he looked like a predator. The jet black hair surrounded his face like a mane and her thoughts fell on a cougar. She instantly shied away but the pain of moving was unbearable a she rested limply towards the wall behind her.
  He came closer, quickly and silently. Before she could react his hand had reached her neck and was stabilizing it as he slid the other hand under her legs and picked her up. Her arms dangled from the movement and she moaned as the pain reached her shoulders.
  Without a word he took her closest arm and wrapped it around his neck while he carefully placed the other to rest on her stomach. The pain subdued and she slipped into unconsciousness again.