Chapter One - Mate
#6 of Malachai Backstory
Chapter One - Mate
Malachai was like any other loner; went about his business day in and day out trying not to get in anyone's way. He worked at the local supermarket, stocking the shelves after hours. He had always been a night person, preferring the comfort of the darkness to another living being; Until HE came into his life, born of the darkness, a physical manifestation of his only love.
Luckily, or not, Malachai was born a wolf, a natural born loner. He had jet black fur, and dark, blood red eyes. On that fateful night, he had just finished re-stocking the eggs when he heard something scrape against the back door. Curious as to what would be out and about at 4am, he quickly ran through the stock room to the door in question. He grabbed the wooden bat kept near the door for emergencies, and cautiously unlocked and pushed it open.
In the pool emanating from the lone security light, all he could make out were the couple of dumpsters and his beat up old VW Beatle. Even though he could not see the source of the disturbance, something in the back of his consciousness wanted to investigate further into the mystery. This was a strange, almost alien feeling, because he didn't usually like to stick his nose too far out of the safety of his routines.
Before he even knew what he was doing, he gave under the curious feeling and ventured out into the dark parking lot. It wasn't completely dark, as dawn was an hour away, but it was still too dark to make out any of the shapes outside the pool of light. Before he got to the edge of the light, a flash of movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention.
"Who's there?" He yelled half-heatedly into the dark.
It took a few moments for an answer to materialize, and not in the direction he would have liked. "Are you planning on using that bat on me?" A mysteriously smooth voice said from behind him. Shocked out of his skin, Malachai quickly spun on his heel in the direction of the stranger.
He was the most gorgeous being that he had ever seen. He looked mostly like a Guilmon, but taller and thinner, with clothes. His tail swept lazily from side to side, randomly snapping at the ground, probably a tick of some sort. His voice was smooth and calm, the opposite of what came out if Malachai's moments later.
"If you come any closer, I will!" He shouted feebly at the Stranger. "It sounds like you would rather not, am I right?" The Stranger poked. "Why don't you lower it and we can talk like gentlemen, Ok?" Malachai thought for a second, and, almost unwillingly, as if a foreign power were coercing him, lowered the weapon. "That's much better, isn't it?" The stranger said. "I guess..." Malachai said hesitantly. "Anyway, who are you, and why are you back here so early? The store doesn't open for two more hours." The Stranger then said, almost toyingly, "I'm not here to shop, I'm here for you."
He couldn't believe his ears. Who would want to see him, of all people? "Wh...what? Why would you want to see me?" The Stranger laughed, a cold, yet sexy laugh "Because, my friend, you need to live the life you're wasting." What? "How do you propose I do that?" Malachai gingerly shot back, "By becoming my mate, that's how." The Stranger countered. "How do you know I'm gay?" Malachai quickly asked, " I don't wear anything that would bring you to that conclusion."
"I know plenty of things you don't let on about, and how I know isn't necessary at the moment, so what do you say?" Almost as if the idea of this man somehow stalking him without his knowledge were pushed out of his mind, Malachai then said, "Sure, why not? I've never dated before, it might be fun." The Stranger than said, "Good! Let's meet at the old tavern downtown, say at 10pm?" Awesome! "Sounds good, I'll see you then!" And just as quickly as he had appeared, the Stranger vanished into the predawn light. "Wait! I don't even know your name!" He shouted at him. As if from a long way off, but still hearable, "My name? Yes, I did forget to mention that, didn't I? I go by Julius."
Julius. Even his name was sexy. Malachai rushed back inside, clocked out, and ran to lock up proper, all the while thinking about their conversation. It seemed like a dream, one that you didn't want to wake up from. He couldn't believe that he had gotten a mate, without even trying to look for one. All the way home, all he could think about was his voice; the way he talked, and the confidence in it. It sounded like the confidence brought on by many decades of experience, but he only ever heard it from his stepfather, who was fifty-three. Strange how someone who looked to be no older than thirty could act like someone so much older...
He pushed the thought out of his head, since it would lead to a dead end. As he parked in the driveway of his passed-down colonial house, he got himself together so he could go right in without pause. As he closed and locked the door behind him, his thoughts seemed to clear, and a strange thought came as if from out of a fog. He thought he saw Julius before, but couldn't place where.
.....Nothing. Oh well, he thought. I can't lose any sleep over it; I've got a big day ahead of me. He then ate dinner, did the few dishes from the past day, and got ready for a shower. When he got out, he got into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. As he got into bed and closed his eyes, the idea played at the back of his mind. WHERE did I see that vision before? In the last moments before he passed into the void, the image of an old newspaper flashed in his mind for an instant.....