Ambassadors              _Once_Upon         "Aim to Engage" Day 14 ... Flash fiction (500 words max) ... Prompt: Nothing can go wrong for an invincible young werewolf until he meets a pretty girl in a red cape. 

Kraus feasted. The supple flesh of the hot and twitching roebuck's heart gave way with a single twist of his clawed hand. He tore it effortlessly from the cavity he'd just cut through his prey's chest.

Opening wide his salivating maw, Kraus' dry lips curled up over his misshapened gums as he sank his freshly used fangs into the tender muscle. It melted like well churned butter on his tongue. He let out a moan of satisfaction as he swallowed a mouthful of the delicious and sumptuous meat.

A lantern in the dark wood caught his frenzied eye. He devoured the remains of the heart in single, sudden gulp and let out a low growl from his throat. It was well past the witching hour. Who dared to trespass in his domain?

Kraus' impossibly keen senses came alive as the instinct to hunt and kill took over. Confident about capturing his newest victim unaware, he took his sweet ol' time tracking the lantern wielding stranger through the Sarmatic forest of alder, birch and elm.

Even on a moonlit night such as this, the unwanted visitor's poor night vision, dull hearing and insufficient sense of smell would prevent him from comprehending the danger he was in. He was entirely vulnerable and would soon be at the mercy of Kraus' two-inch canines.

Kraus' patience paid off. The object of his insatiable bloodlust came to rest on an old stump between the high mossy walls of a dark gully hidden in shadow. The man set his lantern at his feet. The light from it illuminated the ground around him and the ends of the dark red hooded cape he wore. The red cape appeared strangely familiar.

With inhuman agility, strength and precision, Kraus lept from twenty-five feet above and took down his quarry without a struggle. The pitiful human fell to the cushioned mossy ground with a startled cry. That sound fired up all Kraus' base instincts. He bared his razor sharp teeth in anticipation.

However, the hood fell away and revealed an exquisite feminine face. His murderous impulses subsided without complaint at the sight - as if he were under the power of a masterful enchantment.

Kraus gazed with bewilderment at the ethereal beauty. She had calmed his raging appetite with a single terrified look. It was eerie. How could she control the monster within him so effortlessly?

He slowly reached out a clawed hand. Kraus yearned for a closer look at her under the moonlight. He gently brushed the silky auburn hair from her tanned and slightly freckled face. She seemed as familiar as the cloak.

"What are you doing here?" he growled at the enchanting Aphrodite still trapped beneath his hairy and distorted frame.

"I'm lost," she whispered the moment her tongue would move.

Kraus snorted with amusement.

"I suppose you were on your way to Grand-mama's house?" he asked with a sardonic smirk.

She nodded vigorously.

Kraus rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath.

"Wailing witches! Not again." 

(500)