Something Immortal

22

MAXINE

The moment I grab the knife into my hand someone runs into the kitchen. I turn around and come face to face with a tall thin man, with long golden hair. Some strands of them are falling in front of his face, covering his features. He places his arms on each side of the door frame, completely blocking the path with his body.

His red shining eyes caught my attention, and my blood becomes ice in my veins. Fear is on its way to conquering my senses and I tighten the grip around the knife's handle. He gives me a sick smile showing off his fangs.

He launches forward and I manage to dodge on time. He lands on a counter and the wood cracks under the impact with such ease as it was made of paper. How on earth would I survive such a hit?

He turns around and prepares for another attack. I bring my hand holding the knife in front of me and prepare myself for the impact. My body trembles as I feel my fate is sealed. I won't survive this night.

He launches forward again and moments of my life pass in front of my eyes. I grab the knife with both hands and pray.

All I see is a shadow jumping in front of me taking away the slender man with its momentum as it strikes him. The familiar by now bone-cracking sound and a cry of pain fill the room. I turn my face to the direction they land, and my eyes widen as I see Rey. His eyes are darker, and the muscles on his body bulge more from the tension. His look makes me take a step back. He's in predator mode.

His eyes connect with me for a moment and then my look drifts lower from his face, where his hand has crashed upon the man's neck. The man hisses under Rey's strong grasp, unable to move. I look back at Rey. His look is softer now on me with a hint of warning. He's about to do something.

Instinctively I turn my back to them and run toward the exit. I'm about to pass under the doorframe when I see a shadow on the wall to my side. For a second, I thought I saw someone tearing another man's head off.

The recreational area, with the soft sofas and the pool tables, where wolves were having fun, now looks like a wasteland. The place is full of bodies of both vampires and wolves lying. Some need medical assistance and some are lifeless.

The living have returned to their human forms. Those who remain standing are helping the wounded ones. My head is buzzing from the tension and the loud heartbeat inside me.

I see Lila in a far corner of the large room. I rush to help her. She holds a young woman by the shoulders. Her leg is broken, just below the knee and she needs medical attention at once, as they're healing much faster than us and it needs to heal properly and fast.

I look around to spot Rey but he's nowhere to be seen. On our way out I see Luke with Gina sitting on the terrace outside their home. A knot formed in my stomach. She looks intact, maybe she got lucky because in her situation it might be extremely dangerous for both her and the baby.

They look both in my direction and she gives me a nod that lifts a weight from my chest.

The girl next to me groans now and then. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "You want to slow down? Perhaps a short break to rest your leg?"

I look at her. The scowl she had on her face when I took her from Lila was softer now and her eyebrows were slightly untangled.

"Why do you help us?" she says between her sighs.

"Why not?" I give her a faint smile. She looks disarmed by my response.

Lila's practice is almost in front of us. I help her in, though she was complaining and resisting at first. When I finally made it, I left her on one of the examination beds and run to the supplies room to get some stuff to clean her wounds and do some preparatory work until Lila arrives.

"You're not like them." She speaks while I clean the area around her broken bone.

I turn to her, a puzzled expression on my face.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"People used to like us. Centuries ago, we were living together with the humans in their towns. Of course, we had our hierarchy and traditions like now, but we were getting along with them. There was equal respect for each other's culture." She sighs. "When vampires started attacking, we were there to protect them and fight alongside them."

Her face darkens and she averts her gaze to look outside the window.

"What happened then?" I request her to continue.

She looks lost in her thoughts. Thoughts that make her brown eyes look sad and her breathing quicker. She had anger within.

I bring the IV pole closer and continue my work. The moment the needle penetrates her skin she lets out a warning growl and turns toward me.

"I'm very sorry." I look at her startled and I lift my hands on each side of my head.

She softens for a moment. "It's just I'm not so good with needles." She speaks and a flush of red crosses her face.

I suppress a chuckle – it's strange to see the mighty wolves with superhuman strength and senses, be afraid of something so immaterial.

"Just don't look at it and you'll be fine." I smile at her putting some medication through the IV. After a couple of minutes, her shoulders relax – a sign that the medication starts affecting her.

Soon, Lila enters with another three behind her. I brief her on the status of my patient and she goes in to start the process to realign the bones.

I help the others – thankfully they had minor injuries and scratches from the fight – until Lila can check on them so they can leave. I knew what I was doing but I was merely assisting as Lila taught me.

We spend the whole day attending to the injured wolves. Luke with some others had gathered and burned the bodies of the dead vampires while funerals were to be arranged for the deceased wolves. However, I had a mixture of worry for Rey and curiosity about the things that woman said to me.