He felt odd, checking into the hotel, alone. He hadn?t stayed anywhere like this since his first arrival from running away from Vegas. The room was on the top floor; they called it a ?City View.? And it was a way to really see the way the place was a mesh of old and new.

Trav stood in the silence of the room. The tick of the compressor from the mini bar?s fridge, the soft currents of air from the air conditioning vents, and if he thought about it hard enough, he could hear the traffic thirty stories below. He walked to the mini bar and looked over the selection of small bottles, then thought about the price. He didn?t want to get drunk, not that he could, but if he was going to have a drink, he?d rather pay per glass than per tiny bottle.

The room was locked and after a short ride in the elevator he was in their bar. The place was like other hotel bars. Nicely decorated with the cheapest made stuff. Fake wood bar, plastic stools made to look like wood, and lights that hung dangerously low for a man Travis?s height.

?What can I get you?? The bartender was smiling brightly, obviously glad to see someone other than the couple in a corner booth.
?Guinness,? Was Trav?s answer. ?No, wait, Crown.?
?Beer to liquor.? The bartender?s smile never faded. ?Man only changes his mind mid order if he?s drinking to forget.?
?Thanks Doc, but you misdiagnosed.? Travis slid onto a stool close to the bar. ?I?m celebrating.?
?Oh really?? The bartender placed a tumbler in front of Travis and added two square cubes of ice, followed by the liquor. ?What are you celebrating alone?? He glanced around to be sure that his customer was indeed alone.
?My marriage.?
?Where?s your betrothed? She?s not beside you is she??
Travis laughed then. He was certain that the guy on the other side had probably encountered the crazy sorts that had their invisible friends.
?Divorced? Deceased?? The Tender kept guessing.
?No, we are getting married tomorrow. Her mother is old fashioned, and kicked me out so I didn?t see her before tomorrow at our ceremony.?
The bartender?s smile changed to something more genuine. ?That?s nice, really. You don?t see old fashioned ideals in weddings anymore.? The man picked up his coffee mug to Travis in a toast. Travis lifted the tumbler and tapped the man?s mug. ?To you, Sir. May your wedding be flawless, and your marriage perfect.?
Travis nodded with a small smile. ?Thank you.?

An hour passed and though he helped a few people that would come in for a beer or something similar, the bartender and Travis talked like old friends. They shared jokes, construction tips and bartender psychiatry. The man fell silent for a moment but then leaned toward Travis and spoke quietly. ?Damn you should see this chick. Make ya think twice about vows,? Then he moved down the bar to help the woman.

?Vows, damn it.? He pulled the small slip of paper from his hip pocket and started to work on his vows again. It was something to make their wedding more personal for the two of them. ?I promise to you, perfect love and perfect trust?? He was quietly saying the things to see how they sounded as he wrote, but was interrupted as a tan arm slid around his shoulder and the hand attached came to a rest on his chest.

Travis moved and gripped the hand gently to push it away, but found that grip tighter than should be. He stood and turned, which made her release.
?Look I don?t?? He paused when he saw Audrey?s smiling face looking back up at him.
?Don?t what?? She asked.
?The hell are you doing here?? Travis?s mood soured.
?I came to see you, Silly.? She said as she leaned in close. ?Drinking Crown? That?s not like you.?
?Why are you here? Why didn?t I know you were??
Audrey pulled the small, silver vial from where it rested on her chest, in the low cut V of her dress. When she moved it, the wave hit him again. ?Wolfsbane.? She answered and dropped it back to its resting place. ?Makes it hell on me too, but you are easy to track, even if I can?t smell you.?
?You saw me, now go.?
?That?s not nice, Travis.? She pouted up at him. ?Sit down, and lets talk.? She patted his stool like she was calling her pet. It was hard for him to stand his ground.
?You don?t have control here.?
?If I wanted to, I?d have you on your knees.? She looked at him then back at the bartender who placed her order behind her.

?What are we drinking to?? She asked as she held the glass toward Travis.
?Your departure.?
?You are sure surly. Your Fianc? make you that unhappy at home??
Travis stepped forward but she held a hand up while she was taking a sip from her glass and he stopped. ?Relax. We should go to your room to talk.? Travis found himself wanting to go upstairs but knew it was only at her suggestion.
?We should go out of the city for less collateral damage.? Travis growled.
?You are not happy.?
?You are the reason.?
?Trav, that hurts,? She took another sip. ?After all we?ve been through.?
?Go to hell.? Memories of his childhood friend and his father?s obsession came slamming back. Everything he?d found in old journals about how many nights his father looked for him, and the creature that had turned him into what he is.
?Take me upstairs, Travis.? Her voice slammed into his head like a truck, and he complied.

The bartender watched them go and shook his head sadly. ?Hope you know what you are doing, Big Guy.?

Audrey opened the door and walked in like it was her place. The red dress she wore was tailored for her. It moved when she did, and anyone could tell she was a predator posing as a house cat.

?Nice room, Trav.? She looked over the mini bar then sat on the edge of the bed to get a good look at him as he leaned against the wall. ?Join me??
?No.?
?Please?? She batted her lashes.
?No.?
?Okay, so I?ll get to the point.?
?About bloody time.?
?Remember when we were kids?? She looked at him then out the window and back. ?You promised you?d always be there for me, just like I promised you the same.?
?Before you went bloody crazy and attacked me in the middle of the night??
?Still, it was a vow.?
?Stupid kids talking is what it was.?
He remembered the night of the promise, the rain fell on them while they were standing under the gas lamps. She was almost as tall as he was, as he?d not hit a growth spurt yet. Big, blue eyes shining like the dress she?d worn to the community dance. He was in an ill fitting suit, but they locked their fingers and made that promise. It was nearly two weeks later that she?d attacked him in his bedroom, forever changing his life, in many ways for the worse.
?You were my first love. Always special to me.?
?You ruined my life, Audrey.? Travis growled as he moved toward her. ?I was a kid, they locked me in the deepest, darkest pits of hell to fight my fucking way out.? He could feel her trying to stop him, her words were lost as his pulse hammered in his ears. She beat on his arm, trying to get him to release as his hand went around her throat and picked her up from the bed.
?T-Travis...stop, please.? Her voice was cracked as she tried to push air from her compressing windpipe. Her face turning red from the pressure.
?I should kill you!?
?I made you for me.? She coughed out. ?You were supposed to keep that promise, with me, forever.?
He dropped her to the floor and she fell to her knees, grasping at her neck and throat.
?You should be mine, Travis. We were supposed to be living in your estate.?
?The estate is Jules. I signed it over to her to do with as she pleases. I have no memories there, other than the bad.?
?Why would you do that??
?Her memories are there, her whole life is there. It?s rightfully hers.? He turned to go to the door. He wanted to go home.
?We can make new memories, Travis. I?ve always wanted you?? She was cut short as he turned and stared at her with yellow gold eyes.
?You wanted me? You want memories? Where were you when I was in a cage? Where were you when my parents died?? Veins in his neck started to pulse and bulge, and his arms followed suit. ?Where were you the nights that I cried out into the bloody black, moonless nights wanting to go home?? He started for her again, intending to leave her for dead, but again he felt her in his head, stopping him cold.
?I looked for you, Travis. I made you so that I would always have someone to call my own.? Her hand was on her chest, pointing. ?You were here, even when I couldn?t see you.?
?Bullshit!?
?Okay, I?ve tried to play nice. That?s over.? She used her power over him to push the giant to his knees. ?You. Are. Mine.? She moved again, and his left arm shot out only to be easily stopped and opened by her smaller hands. She pried the ring off that Dylan had given him on their first trip back to see and meet her family. The ring was replaced with a solid titanium band. ?This was made from one of the cages you were in. I found the place too late to save you, but everyone else was freed. A friend made the ring for me to give to you.? His stomach churned and he could hear the words in his head but they wouldn?t come from his mouth. ?I made you, Travis. You have to obey me.?
His thoughts turned to Dylan, he knew he had this power over her, but it wasn?t something he used, ever. His head snapped back when Audrey backhanded him, hard.
?You will be mine, and we will seal the deal, tonight. Just like when you first came home from being in Las Vegas. Remember that night? I know you do, cause I?ve never forgotten it. So raw, so...animalistic.? She licked her painted red lips. ?I want that again? I want that forever.?