Outcasts

[09]

"Excuse me?" Romeo said, taken aback. I shrugged, folding my arms against my chest. "Bull. Shit." I said again. Romeo glared at me behind his expensive-looking sunglass, a stupid accessory considering the constant overcast above us and the creeping fog below us.

Romeo moved forward as if to challenge me, but instead he stumbled on his feet, barely stopping himself from falling flat on his face. I couldn't help but my raise my eyebrow in confusion. "What are you? Drunk?" I asked as Romeo steadied himself.

"You could say that. Not in the traditional human way, but still effective." He said, flashing me a creeper smile. I shuddered in disgust. Is this bastard drunk on....blood? I thought, disturbed. Whose blood is he drunk off of?

Immediately one name came to mind and instinctively, I dropped my sports bag and phased into my wolf. Romeo stumbled backwards, shocked, landing on his ass. "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." Romeo said, holding his hands up defensively, "Whoa. It wasn't anyone from your territory, I swear. It was from a few donors in Seattle."

Donors? What the hell is a donor? I thought to myself.

That depends on the context. Bella's voice replied, Out on a walk alpha? I sat down, to preoccupied with the conversation in my head rather than the vampire cowering before me like the bitch he was. No time for sass, Bella. What is a donor for a vampire? I asked.

A donor is a human who knows of vampires and has become part of their world by donating their blood to vampires. Vampires can't turn them and they can't take enough to kill them, that way the donor can still produce blood. Bella explained, In return, the donors get special favors and protection.

Oh, okay. Thanks. I thought. I turned back to Romeo and growled at him. He visibly jumped back, and he wasn't the only one. I almost jumped back. My own growl startled me. It was different from...that night. It was challenging, possessive, protective. It sounded like (and felt like) thunder.

"Help!" A small voice called out in the distance. My head deadpanned toward the source of the noise, and the moment I did Romeo fled in blur. I grabbed my sports bag in my mouth and tore off to the direction of the sound. Just before approaching her, I phased back into a human and quickly changed into the jeans, t-shirt, and hiking boots that were in my sports bag. "Olivia?" I called out.

"I'm down here!" She replied, her voice cracked from crying. I looked down the crack of earth that was in front of me only to look straight into the eyes of a terrified Olivia, who was barely holding on to a rotting log. "Hang on!" I said, my eyes darting back and forth to look for a way to help. Olivia started crying again, making my heart beat even faster.

Without hesitation, I jumped into the gorge, barely landing on a ledge. Shit. I thought. I took a deep breath and started climbing down towards the log. I reached my hand out towards Olivia as I lowered myself as close as possible on the last ledge closest to her. "Olivia, grab my hand!" I said.

Olivia looked at me, her eyes puffy and her cheeks stained with tears. She reached her left hand out for me to grab, her right visibly wounded, a long gash from her elbow to her wrist. "Shit." I muttered. I grabbed her arm with my superhuman strength, tossing her on my back and climbing out onto the somewhat flat higher ground.

Olivia had passed out by the time we got to the top.

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"The two of you were very fortunate to get out of there so quickly." Michael, the deputy, said, "I commend you for your bravery." The ambulance that picked up Olivia and her parents was now a spot in the horizon and Deputy Michael had left to talk with his fellow officers. "I'm so happy you're safe, I really really am, but you should've called." My father said, his face undeniably full of worry.