Haitian Werewolf Chronicle

Stefano headed to the bus stop, shaking his head at Angelique's behaviour. He always thought she was a classy broad. If she wasn't feeling well, he'd have been glad to help her. His parents did raise him to be a gentleman. A hair-raising howl jerked him out of this train of thought. Stefano turned toward a line of thick trees in the dark parking lot, where the howl originated from. His every instinct screamed for him to run but Stefano didn't run from anything. As a Vampire, he was nearly Immortal. He had the strength of five men, more stamina than the best Olympic athlete and he healed ten times faster than a human. Only decapitation, a stake through the heart or prolonged exposure to sunlight while deprived of blood and sun-block could kill him. He wasn't about to run from what might only be a coyote.

The howl had morphed into a growl. Stefano made a dash for the line of trees. He had seen something move. In a flash he found himself face to face with a strange creature. What was that thing? It was wolfish yet also human-like and walked on two legs. The creature had yellow eyes and a mouth full of curving fangs. In his eighteen and a half years on the planet Earth, Stefano had seen something like it only once. When he was living in the Republic of Haiti, his parents told him of the Werewolves, enemies of the Vampire race. He once watched a Vampire policeman put down a rampaging Werewolf who mauled three people in the region of Trou Du Nord. Werewolves were stronger and faster than Vampires. However, in their transformed state, they lacked certain key reasoning skills which often made a difference in combat.

Most of the Werewolves Stefano knew of were from the Caribbean, Africa or parts of Latin America. They lived in close-knit clans and didn't like venturing far from home. What in hell was a Werewolf doing in the parking lot of Westgate Mall in Brockton, Massachusetts? The Werewolf growled and leaped at Stefano. The Vampire roared, fangs bared. He morphed into his Vampire visage, allowing his eyes to turn bright-red and his teeth elongated and sharpened. His fingernails turned into six-inch claws that could slice through steel and titanium like butter. If the Werewolf wanted a fight, he'd give it to it. The Werewolf raised its mighty paw and slammed it into the Vampire's chest. The impact sent Stefano flying. Howling in pain, he slammed into the roof of a Mercedes. The Werewolf came straight for him. Stefano leapt away, knowing he needed time to recover. His broken bones would heal fast but not instantly. If only he could stay away from the slavering jaws of that beast...he ran into the bushes. Once he made sure they were far from human sight, he would fight the beast. Werewolves were rampaging savages who didn't care whom they hurt. Vampires were civilized creatures who led lives of discretion.

Atop a large rock, Stefano stood his ground. In all of his life, he'd never fought a Werewolf before. These creatures were truly dangerous. In its transformed state, a Werewolf had seemingly unlimited strength. Roaring, it came for him. Stefano leapt aside and took a swipe at the Werewolf's shoulder with his claws. The wounded beast howled in pain and rage. Caterwauling and roaring, it struck Stefano again. This time the Vampire simply fell. A hit from a Mack Truck would have hurt less than a blow from a Werewolf. Stefano lay in a pool of his own blood, smiling at the irony. He was going to die, so far from home. And he wouldn't have been anywhere near this malevolent beast if he hadn't fallen in love with a human female who proved to be quite fickle. The Werewolf towered over the fallen Vampire. A single word escaped Stefano's lips. Angelique. At least she wasn't around to see him like this...

Upon hearing the Vampire's presumed last word, the Werewolf hesitated. Stefano looked at the terrifying beast. The gigantic jaws stretched open, ready to bite his head off. Solitary Vampires seldom survived battles against Werewolves. Stefano knew this. That's why the Vampires in the city of Cap-Haitien gave the Werewolves a wide berth. The Werewolves mostly lived in small farming communities near the wilderness. Places like La Savanne Desolee. Stefano felt immense regret as the beast's jaws got ready to close around his head. How he wished he'd talked to his parents more often, and spent more time with his friends. Oh, well. His Immortality was about to cut short. A Vampire could live forever, unless he or she ran into a Werewolf.

The Werewolf sniffed Stefano. The Vampire stared at it, disgusted and fascinated at the same time. Why did the bloody thing want? Why didn't it devour him already? He knew he didn't have the strength needed to overpower it by himself. While Vampires healed quickly, Werewolves could spontaneously regenerate any lost or damaged body parts except their heads. This made them exceptionally hard to kill. Stefano's features morphed back into his human facade. That's when the Werewolf did the last thing the Vampire would have expected. It licked his face. And then something truly amazing happened. The Werewolf's brutish visage morphed into the beautiful face of Angelique Joseph. A gasp of surprise escaped Stefano's lips. His eyes widened in shock. Angelique was a Werewolf? She looked at him, surprised. Well, how exactly was a guy supposed to react when he finds out his girlfriend's a Werewolf? And how exactly is a Wolf-woman supposed to react upon discovering her man's a Vampire? Only time would tell.

Angelique Joseph gently touched Stefano Veaux's face, and kissed him. Stefano looked at her, amazed. So, she was a Werewolf. Wow. How in hell did he not know that? Angelique gave him a hand up. He crossed his arms and looked at her. She had some explaining to do. Angelique looked at Stefano sheepishly. She asked him to take a walk with her. Stefano hastily agreed. Attracted by the sounds of inhuman battle, the guys and gals of Westgate Mall security were swarming the parking lot. One woman could be heard whining about her smashed Mercedes. In the dark, Angelique and Stefano got to know each other. Angelique told him about herself. She was the princess of a large family of Haitian-American Werewolves living in Randolph. They ran the towns of Randolph and Brockton. They drove the Vampires out of these towns decades ago.

Stefano Veaux was amazed. He never would have guessed that Angelique Joseph was a Werewolf. And a princess no less! Her father, Emilio Joseph ran the Pack she was born into with an iron fist. Angelique's mother Jeannette Xavier Joseph worked as a Sergeant with the elite Troopers unit of the Massachusetts State Police. She had a brother named Jacob who played football for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Yeah, this young superwoman was something else. Growing up in the Vampire community, Stefano was told that all Werewolves were savage beasts who threatened the Vampires and the humans with their predations. He never would have thought that someone as smart and pretty as Angelique could be one of them.

Angelique looked at Stefano, stunned. The young man she was falling in love with was indeed a Vampire. How could this be? The only Vampire she'd ever met was Jared Crowns, a rich South African businessman who used his wealth and power to persecute Werewolves. Finally, her father Emilio had enough of his antics and torched the bastard. Jared Crowns was the first Vampire whom Werewolf King Emilio Joseph killed in the state of Massachusetts but he was far from the last. Over the next few years, dozens of Vampires were killed by the Werewolf Pack in their war against the bloodsuckers. Angelique thought all Vampires were malevolent, power-hungry tyrants. How could Stefano be one of them and be so nice? Smiling at him, she took his hand and squeezed it. Stefano smiled at her nervously. He still liked her. Amazing.

And that's how it all began. Over the next few months, Angelique Joseph and Stefano Veaux learned a lot from each other. Namely that being different was okay and that different beings could be friends...and more, and the world wouldn't end because of it. That was eleven years ago, folks. Since then, they got graduated college with their degrees in Business Administration and Criminal Justice, respectively. A few years later they got married. Stefano now works as a police officer in the town of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife Angelique Joseph and their twin sons Dessalines and Toussaint, and their daughter Catherine.

Angelique Joseph-Veaux is the owner of Angels Realty, a real estate agency which employs thirty people and has three locations in Massachusetts. She's also President of the New England Minority Women's Business Association. The N.E.M.W.B.A. has been quite involved in fund raising for relief and reconstruction efforts in the Republic of Haiti. Angelique is quite happy with her hubby and their brats, who are half-Vampire, half-Werewolf and completely beyond both races. The town of Jamaica Plain has become quite diverse in recent years. It's also a place where neither Vampires nor Werewolves will voluntarily set foot. With two notable exceptions, of course. Stefano Veaux and Angelique Joseph-Veaux run this town, and have vowed to keep it a safe haven for their unique brood and the humans they would someday rule.