Fang and Claw

Lacey's coven of origin had been destroyed five decades earlier by a lawless Wolf pack. She alone had survived, with the long, erratic scars left over from teeth and claws permanently marring the pale cold flesh of her right arm and shoulder as a constant reminder.

The sensation of 'someone walking over her grave' came to her, and she rubbed the uneven surface of the scar as if to scrub away the memories associated with it. Lacey stood staring out the office window of the city she was empowered to protect and serve, thinking of history.

It was just edging into late fall of the year 2118, the hot Texas days merging with crisp nights. The world had experienced a change of epic proportions many decades ago when the simple fact of the Undeads' existence could no longer be overlooked.

Later, the passing of the Undead Registry was an attempt by the government to track and control all immortal species. At first, anyone deemed Undead was required to undergo rigorous genetic testing, and their DNA was input into a database so they could quickly and definitively be identified.

And each of the Undead had to take the Undead Oath, probably derived from history, when immigrants had flooded the new world and were naturalized as citizens. The Oath made each of the Undead swear to abide by the laws of the country, especially where the harming of others was concerned. For each group of Undead, this might mean different things. Such as with vampires, who had to swear to be vegetarians, and not feed on the blood of humans.

These days, the Undead, while culturally accepted, still suffered prejudice similar to that experienced by Native Americans, African-Americans, Muslims, and many other cultures back in the early twenty-first century. Yes, they had equal rights, that is, until they went looking for a job, a promotion, or even a decent education. And human parents never wanted their children to bring home a member of the Undead, it just wouldn't be proper!