The Vampire's Requiem [malexmale]

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen (Xed)

I wasn't sure how to describe how I was feeling.

At first, I was angry. So angry that Newell would say such a thing to me. He was making fun of me, but I knew he hadn't meant it. He was upset and tired and injured. He also seemed concerned to be held hostage by werewolves, which would certainly be cause for obnoxious behavior.

Now I was dizzy.

I had left the village while the others were still asleep and made my way to the wetlands. Certainly not the lake from before as it'd been incredibly filthy and stung my skin with its garbage and toxins. However, I was itching to get back in the water. I was tired of walking, tired of socializing with so many people at once. I wanted to be alone.

I wanted to be alone with Newell, but obviously that wasn't happening any time soon. No, right now, if anything, I just wanted to be in the water. The water wasn't like anyone else, not even Newell. While every part of my being throbbed for Newell in a way that I considered sinful, the water was much more relaxing and gave me time to straighten everything out.

My boots squished into the soupy water that was hidden by tall grass and plants. The sun was warm on my skin as it peered through drooping trees and vines. However, while the sun was warm, the air was cold. It gave me goose bumps and sent chills up my spine.

I continued trudging through the mucky water until I reached the deeper parts of the wetlands. From mushy tall grass to a wide open lake that was much cleaner than the last lake, it was like paradise. I stripped off my boots and pants, hanging them on a nearby tree branch before walking into the water, biting on my tongue as pain tore up and down my legs. I could feel the skin stretching and pulling, scales sliding through the flesh and hugging me tight before I dove headfirst into the water, fin flipping into the air behind me before I went below the surface.

I swam along the bottom of the lake, frowning at the dark sand that stirred with my movements and the movements of fish around me as they scattered in an attempt to flee. There was garbage on the bottom of the lake, making me sigh. I swam further down, running my fingers through the sand and picking up cans, plastic, and some coins.

My head broke the surface as I sucked in air. I swam closer to shore before tossing the garbage onto the grass in a pile that I planned to take to a nearby dumpster. I hoped the werewolf village would have something I could throw it in.

I swam back and forth, riding the lake of its impurities, watching fish swim around excitedly. They seemed to warm up to me, knowing I meant them no harm. They weren't the type of fish that would satisfy the agony in my stomach.

I needed something bigger, much bigger. Something thicker, juicier.

Ugh, I paused to groan, holding my stomach as pain tore through me. My stomach protested and urged me to find something to eat, anything.

Even werewolf.

The thought made me want to cringe. Normally, I would be devouring every last werewolf in the village, but they had saved Newell and kept him safe.

Even though they were the ones that hurt him in the first place.

I shook the thought from my head and grabbed a plastic bag that was tangled in some weeds before swimming to the surface again. I neared the shore, tossing the bag there when I caught movement out the corner of my eye. I snapped my head around and caught sight of a small boy.

He looked to be around ten or so. He was small and pale with golden hair and eyes the color of mercury. However, it was only the fact that he was naked that I was sure he was a boy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known. He was feminine, small, and his hair, though pulled back into a braid, touched the small of his back.