"Good guess. And you're older than that?"
"Yes. You know it isn't polite to ask a lady her age."
"I guess we can shelve that one for a while. I assume you being so warm is a wolf thing?"
"Yes, my metabolism is a lot faster than a human, so my temperature runs about a hundred and two degrees."
"That also explains why you eat so much?"
"Yes."
"Okay, and now I know why I couldn't influence you, vampires cannot influence werewolves. Wait a minute. Sarah influenced you the night of your showing."
"Not really."
"What do you mean?"
Elisabeth shifted slightly. "I knew she wasn't doing that of her own accord, that you had put her up to it, so I decided to let her have her fun."
Jackson laughed. "How did you keep a straight face?"
"It wasn't easy. I had to turn away pretty quickly. She tilted her head. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"How does a hundred-fifty year old vampire know so little about werewolves?"
"I don't know, guess I never took an interest. All I needed to know was how to stay safe from them. Do you know much about my kind?"
"Hell yeah. It's in my job description."
"Hmm… will you want to kill me when you're a wolf?"
"I have no control over what I do during the full moon, and after, have no memory of my time as a wolf, so I can't answer that."
"Really? That must be tough."
"Definitely one of the downsides."
"Then how do you keep from being obvious to humans?"
"I go to the closest, largest nature preserve that doesn't allow people in after dusk, and wait it out."
"Do all werewolves do that?"
"Most do. Sometimes small groups go rogue, and end up running around populated areas hurting or killing innocents. That's why I came here last month, to find a group and deal with them."
"And did you?"
"They ran and were last tracked in Canada. We have a group hunting them there."
"What made you stay?"
"I fell in love with New England." She turned to look at him for the first time. "And then I fell in love with you." Jackson could not bring himself to make eye contact, being certain he would lose it if he did. Elisabeth turned her attention straight ahead again. "I should be getting home."
"I'll walk with you."
Neither spoke on the way. As they approached Jackson's car, he said, "I'm going to need some time to absorb all this before I can even begin to figure out what to do."
"I know."
Allowing himself to meet her eyes, he found his anguish reflected back. The desire to kiss her gripped him, but he had already begun to fall apart, so instead pulled her in close. Elisabeth started to weep softly, and tears welled in Jackson's eyes. He whispered into her hair, "I'm not sure I know how to live without you anymore." Elisabeth broke the embrace and walked away without a word. She never looked back.