Waking up in the middle of the room on a torn mattress, he takes in his surroundings.
"Damn, this place is a mess," said Dean, looking at the destroyed room.
"Oh my god! What did we do last night?" Leah nearly shrieked at the destruction. Practically everything was broken, from the TV to the bed and bathroom.
"Last night? We didn't fall asleep until 12, missed two meals, and if you're talking about that whole nightclub thing, don't worry, no one saw anything except maybe your post orgasm face after I put you down," he smirked.
She blushed angrily, "Not that you idiot! Look at this place, we destroyed everything! How much is this going to cost?"
"Well, I know some older gentlemen who would be willing to help," he said, moving his eyebrows suggestively.
"Not funny, we're not going to rob and kill them just to pay this back," said Leah, rolling her eyes.
"Why not?" he pouted.
"Dean!" Leah exclaimed.
"Oh, alright, you're no fun," said Dean, "It's fine, though. You've seen our bank account. We'll be taking a hit for sure, but we hardly use it anyway, and our new raids should fill us back up in no time."
Getting to his feet, he looked out the window at the wet streets below. "Must have rained while we were sleeping. How about we grab some dinner before you leave?" said Dean.
Leah frowned, "Leave? Why would I leave?"
"This was a nice date, but you're not staying here while I hunt. We can't have a giant wolf running around the streets," said Dean.
"What about you then?" asked Leah, and then it hit her, "You're not seriously thinking of going around in your human form fighting them, are you?" she asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine, I'm strong enough now," said Dean confidently.
Without warning, she threw a fist with all her might at his stomach.
He grinned knowingly and allowed it to hit him, flexing his abs.
A loud smack echoed as he was pushed back a foot.
"See," said Dean.
"See? I see shit, you took a step back, and we both know vampires are far stronger than us in human form," said Leah, exasperated.
"Leah, if you hit a vampire with that amount of force, they'd take more than a step back," said Dean.
"What two?" she snorted, "That doesn't mean you can take them on in human form. I don't think you thought this through, and what if you came across a gifted who can hurt you?" she argued. Shaking her head, "You don't know that. None of us has fought a vampire in human form."
"I wouldn't say no one," said Dean, awkwardly looking away.
"You, you didn't. When the hell did you fight a vampire in human form?!" asked Leah, pushing him angrily, her voice rising.
Catching her arms, he explained, "When I was younger and dumber, had to try it at least once, didn't I?"
Leah could only sigh, rubbing her face glumly, "It's a good thing we aren't human because I know you'd drive me to an early grave with worry."
"Don't say that, soon you'll never have to worry about me again, and there's likely only a few vamps at most here. It hasn't been that long since the Newborns were taken care of," said Dean, bringing her in for a hug and rubbing her back.
"Come on, let's get some dinner," said Dean.
"Fine," said Leah gloomily.
After eating at a burger joint, she reluctantly took the keys and drove home when he promised to be safe and turn into a wolf and run away if he had to.
Avoiding the hotel in case the destruction was found, Dean waited for night to settle before prowling the streets for his prey. Unfortunately, it began to rain again, and he was stuck, unable to catch a scent.
Ears catching the cries of a woman being assaulted brought him to a mugging in progress in a dark alley.
Looking around for something loose like a rock or pebble, he opted to tear off a piece of concrete with his fingers from the corner of a building and tossed it at the mugger's side. Hitting him like a bullet, causing the man to fall, crying out in agony as the woman flees for her life.
Walking over, Dean crushes the man's hand reaching for his fallen weapon, and takes him by the foot to drag him around, ignoring the cries and threats to let him go.
He was the perfect bait, bleeding all over the place, intending to drag him up and down alleys for the rest of the night.
When the rain grew heavier, he tossed the man to the curb, likely already dead, and headed back to the hotel. There was no point in wasting more time; he'd have to try again tomorrow.
Sadly, the hotel discovered his disaster, and he was forced into a meeting with the manager to resolve the situation, which led to a hefty fine on his bill. Thankfully, he wasn't kicked out; they had plenty of experience with such scenarios involving their various wealthy patrons.
He was, however, downgraded to a regular room. Not that he minded; he couldn't afford the suite much longer anyway, and there was no point with Leah gone.
Two days later, after he had failed to find his quarry in the rain, it finally stopped, and he had the opportunity to look for fresh scents.
He tried the bait idea again with another thug for half the night before scrapping the idea after a few close shaves with cops being called on him.
The rest of the night and the next day were wasted looking from street to street as he scoured every corner of the city.
Not much left to go, he was beginning to think the place was vampire-free, when he caught multiple scents all at once coming from an apartment complex.
Following a fresh trail leading to the outskirts of the city, to a building across from a bar where the vampires were meeting. He kept his distance, staking out the place to learn how many there were.
It wasn't long before a couple of pitiful drunks walked by and were subsequently pulled inside.
Another hour and a half passed when he spotted three vampires leaving in a car, followed by two more going in opposite directions.
Figuring the two were going back to the apartment, he went to take care of them first.
Once there, after confirming his suspicions, he entered the building.
Taking the stairs, he quickly ran up, stopping off at each floor to sniff around for confirmation, all the way to the top, where he at last located them. Their smell wafting out of the unopened stairwell door.
When he went to open it, he found it locked like the previous two floors. The rich private wing, in which emergency doors only opened from the other side for security purposes.
Carefully grabbing the door handle, he yanks it open, instantly setting off an alarm. Cursing, he sprints past each of the floor's doors, pushing the face of one man who wanted to see what was happening, making him fall back inside.
Finding the right door, he listens inside for movement, surprised they haven't already poked their heads out. Hearing nothing, he pushes his way inside, the door left unlocked, only to find the place empty and the balcony's sliding door wide open.
He wondered if they smelled him or something, unable to think of another reason they would leave like that.
Hearing the fall of heavy footsteps coming down the hall, he stepped out onto the balcony. Taking a chance, he climbed up to the empty roof and sighed heavily.
With nothing left to do, he climbed down the side of the building, deciding to hit the streets again and circle the area a few times to see if he could pick up their trail.