Tip of the Tongue [CMS Bk. 1 - BoyxBoy][Complete/Editing]

Chapter 16

Ren was alone in the forest at night once again. This time he was prepared for a fight, his hand clenched tight on the knife in his pocket.

Ashton had made it clear he didn't want to be a part of this and didn't want Ren anywhere near where the girl was. The Hunter Society could come back at any time. That was Ren's biggest worry. Forget about an angry teen vampire, Hunters who killed vampires for sport wouldn't care about slicing Ren down.

The woods were easy to navigate. The flashlight wasn't bright enough to see farther than a foot and he was glad. If it was any brighter then it might alert anyone in the forest.

He found his way to the clearing and noticed the boulder near where the body was buried.

His feet stopped there, in the middle of the jagged circle. He was going to do something incredibly stupid. It was going to work. He knew Ashton would be here, but he still didn't like that there was a chance that he was different than what Ren assumed.

He was a Mantel though. And this was his place.

A chill swept through the forest. Ren's hoodie was no match for it and he shivered. The leaves rustled, what was left of them anyway. Most of them had already fallen to the forest floor. Every step he took was alerted to anyone listening closely. Ren thought he would be here by now. The last two times he'd come at his own volition. And the last time, it seemed even more so that he'd been watching Ren. That feeling, like someone was tracing their fingertips up the back of his nape, was there again.

Hot, scolding like rocks straight from a fire, aches in his chest bloomed as Ren waited for him. The seconds ticked by and he feared that he'd jumped to conclusions. There had really been no reason for Ashton to keep tabs on Ren any longer. If he'd been paying close attention to Ren in the first place.

It was all in his head. Messed up. Fucked up even because he couldn't think clearly these days.

But Ren wanted to get this over with.

So, instead of turning back, he opened his mouth.

"Ashton!"

The yell pierced through the quiet forest. He flinched, hand on his knife, scanning the forest. There was nothing. It was quiet as ever.

There had been another expectation from him then. He wanted Ashton to come racing like he did the night before. Ren didn't know what it was about Ashton that terrified him and drew him in at the same time. But his feelings were irrelevant. Ashton was the only one that knew the Hunter Society was forming again. He knew about the dead body.

And so it had made sense in Ren's head that Ashton should know about the thing that had taken control of Ren's body.

He hoped Ashton could help. But it was dawning on Ren as he stood in the middle of the forest where a killer was lurking, that asking a Mantel for help was the equivalent of selling his soul. Truth be told, he hoped it was only that bad.