Title: In the Blood
Author: Sairalinde
Type: FPS
Pairing: Gabriel/Carl
Rating: NC-17
Beta: Cousin Shelley
Warning: None.
Disclaimer: The characters from Van Helsing belong to someone else; I just borrowed them for this fic.
Feedback: Yes please send to sairalinde @ hornofgondor.com
Archiving: Eternal Twilight, OEAM, Saira's Library
Summary: Carl goes to the mountains to get away from controlling family and meets a mysterious neighbor and makes friends with a black wolf.
A/N: A.U. set in modern times. This story is based heavily around the novel Enchanted by Nora Roberts. When I read the book I kept picturing Carl and Gabriel in the place of the characters in her story, so I decided to take her story and slash it and change the plot slightly. If it seems an awful lot like her story…well it is, just a slash version of it with a much different plot. :-)

//Indicate thoughts

................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................

~~~~~~~~~~

Dark as midnight and swift of foot, the wolf raced under the silver light of the hunter's moon, its light shining through the grand spikes of trees, where purple shadows danced in the magic of the night. This was his domain for almost a year now.

The wind blew back the dark fur as he raced through the woods, the small creatures of the forest spilling their scent into the damp air. He knew they were there, could smell them, sense them, and hear the rapid beat of blood in their veins but he hunted nothing this night.

No pack, no mate, only solitude, and he preferred it that way.

Something seemed to press against him…something elusive. A thought, a call, and a hum in his veins that told him his world was about to change. The calling. Blood to blood, fire to fire, and heart to heart.

//Not ready. It's too soon.//

Barreling through the woods, with great powerful strides, the wolf broke through the trees toward the soft glow of lights, a cabin of stone and wood where the whispers of night fell quiet. As he bounded up the steps, light flashed, the air shimmered and swirled and wolf…became man.

~~~~~~~~~~

A day later and a half-mile away at a different cabin, Carl sat staring at the two-story structure of light wood and stone, with a large covered porch. It looked comfortable and it *fit* right here in this little isolated glen. He was here. He'd done it, finally taken his life into his own hands. For once he just decided to do something for himself, despite having his family argue with him about it.

Now he just needed to let go of the steering wheel and actually go in and start this new life that he knew in his very soul he needed. First things first, get out, take his things in, and unpack. Make some coffee, take a shower, and not have a soul telling him what he should think or who he should be. All very practical, reasonable things yet he couldn't seem to let go of the steering wheel. He had the oddest feeling that his life was about to change much more here than simply moving away from Los Angeles and the hustle and bustle of his life there. The life his parents wanted him to lead. The life everyone wanted him to have...but him.

"You're such a fool, Carl," he whispered to himself. "Such a coward, just do it. You've come this far."

He thought about why he was here, why he had taken this step in his life. He wasn't entirely sure himself, it was as if he had simply been drawn here. He had disappointed his family, and he did feel guilty for it, but not enough he supposed to stay in Los Angeles. He just couldn't continue down the path they wanted him to. The more they pushed, the more he felt he needed to break free. And now that he had, he was terrified of what may come.

Finally, he unfastened his seatbelt and got out. As the cool spring air washed over him, Carl decided in that instant *this * was where he was meant to be. And he felt his body relax for the first time in what seemed a lifetime.

Making his way for the cabin, he tried not to focus on how quiet it was. He was so accustomed to the noise of the city; he was feeling awkward not hearing the rumble of traffic, people's voices, and sirens. He unlocked the door, the jingle of the keys sounding extremely loud in the peaceful silence, and stood on the threshold.

The cabin was exactly as it had been described to him. All polished hardwood, and rustic charm. He grinned to himself, knowing his parents seemed to think he'd be staying in a hut. He explored the cabin, noting where each door led, went upstairs and found the bedroom and a large studio type room with huge windows that seemed to beckon the sunlight happily within. He could focus there, he thought, such a cheerful place compared to the stale gray cubicle he worked in for the last five years.

Smiling happily, Carl trotted back downstairs to begin unloading his things and get settled in. Opening the back of the SUV, he reached in and grabbed a box, then suddenly felt the skin on the back of his neck prickle. It was as if someone was watching him. He felt his heart beating wildly in his chest and turned, almost slamming back against the vehicle. He gasped and stared at the sight before him, knowing he should run, knowing it and not being able to will his feet to move.

A wolf, pure black with eyes that sparkled like golden coins stared at him from the edge of the trees. The animal was still as a statue carved from shiny onyx. Watching. Carl felt like an idiot, simply staring and unable to do anything else. Then he realized, //I'm not afraid. I should be terrified.// But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was more surprised than afraid.

It seemed…familiar, not entirely unexpected, though he'd never seen a wolf, especially one as large and as magnificent as that, outside of the San Diego Zoo anyway.

The wolf didn't move, simply stared patiently at him, INTO him. Seconds, or maybe minutes ticked by that felt like a lifetime, before Carl seemed to come out of whatever trance he had fallen into.

"Uh…hello?" He heard himself say to the beautiful animal, and then laughed nervously feeling silly for speaking to the beast. In a split second he blinked and suddenly, the wolf was gone.

For a moment, Carl swayed from the shock of it all and shook his head. He stared intently at the edge of the trees, searching for movement…something to tell him he hadn't just imagined it.

"Only my imagination," he muttered. //If there was anything there, it was a dog. Not a wolf, just a big, black German shepherd or something. Besides…wolves are nocturnal right? They don't just walk up and stare at people. Not in broad daylight. // He'd look it up on the Internet…just to be sure. Was probably just a neighbor nearby with a dog? That's all.

The wolf watched the man from the shadows of the trees. Who was he? Why was he here now? It was too soon! He watched the man with dark golden hair and bright blue eyes move nervously and toss glances over his shoulder as he carried things from the vehicle to the cabin.

The wolf had scented him from over half a mile away. His worry, his excitement, his longing, his…innocence, all of them had come to him. And called to his blood bringing him to the man.

The wolf narrowed his eyes in annoyance and bared his teeth. He'd be damned if he was going to let this man change what he was or what he wanted. Fate be damned, he wasn't ready for this. Not yet, and more importantly the golden haired man wasn't ready.

The wolf growled, a low rumble in his chest and turned away vanishing into the trees.

~~~~~~~

Carl had been slightly shaken after seeing the wolf but soon he got everything hauled inside and unpacked. After everything was in its rightful place, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He didn't feel like working. He had set his computer up and powered it on, tested the Internet connection, checked his email, and then powered it back off. He didn't feel like toying with bits of code today.

He explored the cabin and decided since it would still be light out for a few more hours he should take a walk. Explore a bit and get familiar with the woods surrounding the cabin. The Realtor had given him a small drawing, showing all of the paths around the cabin and he just decided to pick one and see where it took him. Locking the door out of habit, he turned in the direction of the tree line and followed the path there.

Growing up in the city hadn't prepared him for the quiet peaceful sounds or the vastness of the forest around him. Everything about the place was like something out of a storybook…or out of the dreams he had. He shivered at that thought… the dreams that had haunted him for years, some since childhood. They weren't nightmares, he knew that much. They had been vague, but Carl knew deep down there was nothing to fear in those dreams. There was a flash of foreboding, a thought that something, that his life, that *he* might change but he didn't think that was necessarily a bad thing. His parents did, they hated that he'd decided to come here to Washington. They wanted him to follow the neat little 'life' they had prepared for him and he'd disappointed them by no longer wanting to follow their wishes.

Why couldn't they just see that he needed to find who he was, on his own? "They love you, and just want what's best for you," he whispered to himself, and though the argument had worked in the past, it no longer did. He couldn't continue to do what didn't make him happy. That didn't change the fact that he felt guilty for letting them down.

Coming out of his thoughts, Carl looked around the path. The woods were his as long as he wanted. And here, there was no one to shake their heads indulgently if his mind wandered to fairy tales and magic. His latest choice of 'career' had left them completely baffled, saying he was crazy. He had explained how much money was to be made in what he wanted to do but his father saw it as a slap in the face.

It wasn't an easy decision to make after all these years but he just *had* to do it. He had found that changing his path in life was easier than he thought it would be…at least on the surface. Quit his job at his father's firm. Get another company to believe in his ideas enough to agree to bankroll him as a freelance developer for a year. Rent a cabin in the woods; trade in his loafers for hiking boots, and his suits and ties for jeans and comfortable clothing. The problem was changing what was in his mind, all of the conflicting thoughts, responsibilities warring with desires, and guilt warring with the need for freedom.

When he looked around and took a deep breath he realized he could hear the sea and smell the tang of salt in the air. He hadn't realized he was so close to the ocean here. He came to a fork in the path. As he turned to the left, the sound of the sea became louder and the smell of the salt in the air was heavier. When he came out of the cover of the trees he saw the cliffs.

His boots clattered as he climbed up the rocks. The wind whipped around him, and he found himself smiling at the sight before him. Miles and miles of blue ocean, lined with foaming waves throwing themselves against the rocks with a force he could almost feel sizzling in the air around him.

He could see boats in the distance, and a small island not far from shore. So entranced by the scene, he simply lowered himself onto the rocks and watched the waves rush in and the gulls circle overhead.

Carl lost track of time as he let his mind simply wander and when he glanced down he realized the shadows were much longer. He looked at his watch and blinked. "When have I ever done that? Just waste an entire afternoon on…nothing?" he whispered to himself and smiled contentedly. It felt good.

He rose, stretched his arms high to un-kink the muscles of his back, turned, and saw someone standing so close that it startled him. Carl stepped backwards automatically, unthinking about the sheer drop behind him and nearly stumbled over the edge of the cliff.

The blond man he'd been silently observing would have fallen if he hadn't moved quickly enough, so quickly that the smaller man had no sense of anyone near him at all. But strong hands closed firmly over his arms and pulled him to safe ground.

"Steady," a deep voice said, and it was more an order than a suggestion.

Carl's voice seemed trapped in his throat as he stared at his 'savior,' a prince or a dark angel were the only thoughts that came to mind. Dark hair almost the same shade as a moonless night hung loose to his shoulders in soft waves and flew around a face lightly gilded by the sun. He was tall. Only the sense of height seemed to register for a brief moment as Carl's head spun. He blinked twice when he stared into the darker man's eyes…they seemed so familiar.

Blinking and dropping his gaze from the other man's he cleared his throat. "I was…you…startled me. I didn't hear you. You…you…were…just there," he said, wincing slightly at his stammering babble.

Gabriel sighed. His own fault, he could have made the man aware of him gradually, but something about the way he gazed out at nothing with a half smile on his face had muddled Gabriel's mind.

"You didn't hear because you were daydreaming," he said and then grinned slightly, "And talking to yourself."

"Oh…bad habit…talking to myself…nervous habit actually."

"Why are you nervous?"

"I'm not…I wasn't," he stammered thinking that he might actually tremble like a girl if the dark haired man didn't let him go.

"You weren't," the dark haired man replied skimming his hands down to Carl's wrists, felt the jittery bump of his pulse. "Now you are."

"You startled me, like I said." It was a bit of an effort, but he glanced over his shoulder and down. "And…it's a long drop."

"It is that," he said as he tugged the smaller man away from the edge another few steps. "Better?"

"Yes, well…I'm Carl Avery, I'm renting the MacDonald's cabin for a while," he explained, thinking that he'd offer his hand to shake, but it would have been impossible since the other man was still cuffing his wrists. He swallowed and looked up at the taller man.

"Gabriel Van Helsing," he said quietly, stroking his thumbs over Carl's pulse and somehow steadying it.

"But you're not from around here."

"Aren't I?"

"I…mean your accent," Carl corrected himself, feeling silly since he didn't have an American accent either. He'd grown up in London before his parents had moved to California when he was a teenager and his accent had never really wavered.

"One could say the same about you," Gabriel answered, his lips curving into a smile.

Carl nearly sighed like a teenage girl with a crush as he stared at the other man. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on Gabriel's words.

"I moved here a few years ago from Wales myself. I've lived here for nearly a year now, my cabin is actually less than half a mile from the MacDonalds' cabin," Gabriel explained.

"You know the MacDonalds then?"

"Well enough. We're what you might call distant relations." His smile was gone now and he released the smaller man's wrists. Carl's eyes were as blue as the ocean he'd been staring into, and as Gabriel looked into them he found no guile at all, only a unique sort of innocence that was refreshing.

"They didn't tell me I'd have a neighbor so close by," Carl said, feeling awkward now that Gabriel had released his hands. What…is it you do up here?"

"As I choose. You'll want to do the same. It'll be a good change for you."

"Excuse me?"

"You haven't done what you pleased often enough have you, Carl?"

Carl shivered and stuffed his hands in his pockets. The sun was already dipping down toward the horizon and he could have blamed that for the sudden chill. "I guess I'll have to be careful what I say to myself with a quiet-footed neighbor about."

"Nearly a half mile between us should be more than enough. I like my solitude." Gabriel said firmly, and though it was ridiculous, it seemed to Carl he wasn't speaking to him but to someone... something in the darkening woods beyond. Then Gabriel's gaze slipped back to Carl's. "And I won't infringe on yours."

"I didn't mean to be unfriendly." Carl said trying to smile; he hadn't meant to irritate the other man. "I've always lived in the city with so many neighbors I barely noticed any of them."

"It doesn't suit you," Gabriel murmured half to himself.

"What?"

"The city. It doesn't suit you or you wouldn't be here, would you?" And what in bloody hell did it matter to him what suited Carl? He asked himself. He'd be nothing to him unless he decided differently. It *was* still his decision.

"I'm just…taking a little time to myself."

"Well, there's plenty of it here. Do you know your way back?"

"Back? Oh, to the cabin? Yes. I take the path to the right and follow the stream."

"Don't linger long," Gabriel said, turning and starting down the rocks then pausing briefly to glance up at Carl. "Night comes quickly here this time of year, and it's easy to get lost in the dark. In the unfamiliar."

"No. I'll start back soon. Mr. Van Helsing…Gabriel?"

Gabriel stopped again and looked back up at him and Carl thought he caught the quick shadow of impatience in his gaze. "Yes?"

"I was wondering…where's your dog? The big black one?"

Gabriel's grin was so fast, so bright and amused that Carl found himself beaming back at him. "I've no dog."

"But...I thought…are there other cabins nearby?"

"Not for three miles or more. We're what's here, Carl. And what lives in the forest between us." He saw Carl glance uneasily at the trees and softened slightly. "Nothing that's there will harm you. Enjoy your walk home, and your time here."

Before Carl could think of another way to stop him, Gabriel stepped into the woods and was swallowed up by the trees. It was then that he noticed just how quickly twilight had fallen, and just how chilly the air had become. Abandoning pride, he scrambled down the cliff path and called out.

"Gabriel? Wait a minute, would you? I'll walk back with you a bit!" But his own voice echoed back, turning his throat dry. Carl moved quickly down the path certain he'd catch a glimpse of the other man in the trees. He was sure the breeze off the ocean had whipped his words away and Gabriel just hadn't heard him. As he moved forward along the path into the trees there was nothing left but deep shadows, not even the rustling of leaves where Gabriel had passed.

"Well damn. Not only quiet, but fast," he mumbled to himself. "Okay…nothing in here that wasn't here when there was more light. Just go back the way you came and stop being an idiot."

The deeper he moved into the forest the thicker the shadows, and he could have sworn he heard music. "Just a radio, or a TV. Sound travels oddly in some places that is all. Gabriel is probably watching TV at his place now. It just seemed…that it was coming from his own cabin but maybe the wind was just playing tricks... or his mind was.

Carl sighed heavily in relief as he came around the last bend of the stream but then his breath froze in his throat as he saw the glint of gold eyes peering out of the shadows. Then with a rustle of leaves, they were gone again.

Carl increased his pace to a jog and didn't break stride until he'd reached the door. He wasn't sure he even started to breathe again until he was inside and securely locked within the cabin.

Moving quickly he began switching on lights until the first floor of the cabin blazed with them. Then he went to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and took a long drink, trying to ignore how much his hands were shaking. Raising the bottle in a mock toast he whispered, "To strange beginnings, mysterious neighbors, and big invisible dogs."

TBC…