Lycan Blood (Alex Vane: Demon Stalker #1)

Late Night Talks

It was about 7 o’clock when I decided I should try and find Scott. The second Jacey left I threw her dress in the dryer, hoping it wouldn’t shrink in the process. I hadn’t exactly had a lot of experience washing dresses after all. Hope was all I had. My next task was dealing with the scratches I’d gotten last night. I could assume by the fact I wasn’t dead that thankfully the beast hadn’t been poisonous, but that didn’t mean I could just ignore my injuries either. My shower had washed away most of the blood but my legs were swollen and an ugly shade of red, so I ran a quick bath to soak them for a bit before smothering them in antiseptic cream. It was the best I could really. I secured the wounds with bandages and hoped I wouldn’t run into anything nasty tonight. I would not be on top form if I did.

After that I spent most of the day attempting to clean my dump of an apartment. I wasn’t sure if Jacey or indeed, Scott, were planning on coming over again anytime soon, but seeing their horrified faces had made me realise just how bad things had gotten. I definitely didn’t want to see those kinds of looks again. I spent two hours on the living room alone, filling up bin bags and scrubbing at weeks-old dirty dishes. By the time I’d finished, the place was still dark and cramped but at least you could see the floor and it didn’t smell so stale.

Six-forty and I was almost ready to go. I spent longer choosing my outfit than I would have normally, although again I wasn’t really sure why. It wasn’t like I had many clothes to choose from in the first place, but I managed to find a hoodie which was completely stain-free and some jeans which weren’t quite as baggy as the others. The moment I stepped out the door, I realised I had absolutely no clue where I was going. I had no idea what Scott had meant by ‘the usual place’. Did he mean the football field where he had threatened me? The forest by Gabby’s where I’d almost killed him? With so many good memories between us, it was hard to choose. In the end I decided to just head for the forest and hope for the best. Fortunately, on the way there I passed the library where a very-inconspicuous Scott was stood waiting outside.

“Is that a crossbow?” It was worryingly easy to sneak up on him. He jumped at the sound of my voice, spinning round with lightning speed. For a second I thought I was going to get an arrow to the face but he relaxed when he saw it was me.

“You almost scared me there. And yes, it’s a crossbow. We’re going hunting aren’t we?”

“You can’t just walk around with a crossbow strapped to your back! Are you crazy? What if someone sees you?” I was utterly baffled by his behaviour. Was he trying to get us killed by the werewolf?

Annoyingly, he just shrugged and gave me a goofy smile.

“No one cares. Anyway, the library’s shut. No one’s around to see.” Too irritated to speak, I just grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the building to a more secluded spot. I knew this was going to be a bad idea.

“Okay, listen very carefully. You’re not in a big city anymore. People around here will notice you have a crossbow. How have you even lasted this long?” His grin vanished, replaced with an annoyed look of his own. This was off to a great start.

“Okay, okay. Geez! And I haven’t exactly been patrolling these last couple of weeks. I was too busy trying to kill you.” I glared at him for a minute or two, wondering if I should just quit now. It wasn’t like I needed Scott’s help. I’d found plenty of demons on my own. And if we were just going to be getting on each other’s nerves, well then…

Come on, don’t give up so easily! What happened to trying to be more sociable?

Unfortunately, the voice was right. Taking a deep breath, I did my best to let my irritation go. I should give Scott a fair chance. After all, he was just about the only person I knew left who might understand this demon thing.