The Silk Of The Predator (Book #1 In Series)

Elias

I feel drawn to her... I want to protect her... I will do anything for her.

I drew back, but I was still holding Althea. I finally figured out why I felt the way I did around her, why I couldn't hurt her, or stand to see her hurt.

I was in love with Althea.

I am in love with her. How can I be in love with my supposed greatest enemy? I don't know. But I was, and I didn't feel horrible or anything bad. It felt good actually.

"Althea. I figured out why I cant hurt you, why I want to protect you, why I took a bullet for you". "Why?". "Because I'm in love with you" I told her slowly. Silence followed my words. Her head was down, looking at the ground. Then she looked up at me, her eyes shining, with tears or happiness, I couldn't tell. "Elias" she started slowly. "I think I'm in love with you too". Suddenly we were leaning towards each other, and our lips met. My first kiss. Who would have thought that my first kiss would be with my "mortal enemy"? Someone started clapping, "Well, well. Isn't this like a true story of star-crossed lovers?".

We jerked apart, and looked to see who it was. It was Wade. Althea moved closer to me, and I wrapped an arm around her. "I was hoping that the wolves would have finished you off, but seeing they didn't, well, you should know what happens now". I pulled out my knife. "Althea, stay behind me" I said as I stepped in front of her. "No! You're not risking yourself for me!" she said, almost yelling. Then the click of a bullet sliding into a chamber brought us back to attention. I turned back to Wade, and found myself looking down the barrel of a gun. His finger was on the trigger. "NO!" Althea screamed. As he pulled it, Althea pushed me to the side. I hit the ground. Bang! The gun went off. I rose to my feet. Althea was on the ground, a pool of blood around her.

"ALTHEA!" I screamed and ran to her. "I dont see why you're so worried about her, it's not like that can kill her" Wade said from right behind me. I whirled, slashing with my knife. I got him right across the face, from jaw to the corner of his eyebrow. It wasn't fatal, but it was something. He threw himself at me, knocking me to the ground. His fist connected with my face and I felt a bruise already beginning to form. He punched me again, this time in the jaw. Black dots swam across my field of vision. No! I can't pass out! I put all my strength into a punch at Wade's temple. It landed, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he passed out. On top of me. I shoved him off. I grabbed some rope from my bag, and tied him up to a tree. I made sure to triple knot it, so he couldn't escape. Then I went back to Althea.

Her face was pale, so pale that I was wondering if the thing about her only being able to die by hands was a myth. Then I saw her chest go up, then down. I put my hand on her cheek, and felt that she was cold. This just had to be a side effect. She couldn't die by anything other than me, but if she came to a point that would ordinarily kill normal people, then she would have the characteristics of the dead. I picked up all the bags and shouldered them, except for Althea's bag, the one she'd had when I first met her. I lifted her up into my arms, and put her bag gently onto her stomach.

I stumbled out of the woods. I couldn't keep going. What, with all the packs, on top of holding Althea, though she wasn't that heavy. Also, combine that with the wounds in my chest and side, the bruises on my face and jaw, and my leg that was probably sprained for some reason. "Hey man! You alright?" a guy called from across the street. He came jogging over. "Don't worry, I'm a survivor. I can help you" he said, his voice lowered. I looked at him, he was almost a head taller than me, and had to be about 16 years older. His light brown hair was swept across his forehead. "Whoa! What happened to you guys, is she alive?!" he asked. "We ran into a bit of trouble. And yes, she is still alive, she'll be okay in a few hours" I said. "Alright then. You need some help?" "Yes, actually". Then he relieved me of the bags so I could carry Althea easier. He reached for Althea's bag, but I told him to leave it. "The name's Zay" he told me. "Elias" I told him.

We were now walking up a set of stairs, and to the front door of a house. A girl around 15 jumped up from a couch that was pushed against the wall when we came in. "V, hey, can you go tell Gray to make room for two people?" Zay asked her. "Yeah!", and she turned and ran from the room. "You can set her on the couch for now" Zay said to me. I walked over and gingerly set her down on the couch, grabbed her bag and put it on the floor next to the couch. Zay put down our bags in the corner nearest the couch. Zay stared at me. "You're a Supernatural!" he yelled. "Yes, but I'm not going to hurt you, the only people I hurt are the ones who try to hurt her" I said, gesturing towards Althea. "Okay," he said nodding, "What's her name?". "I'll let her tell you". A guy came running into the room, "Who's a Supernatural?!". Zay gestured at me, then said, "He's okay though, don't worry Gray". The guy, Gray, shook his head. "Gray, this is Elias, and girl-miss-no-name over there, he won't say what it is, so I'm guessing he's trying to protect her" Zay told Gray. "What, did she do something bad?" Gray asked me. "No, but a lot of bad people want her dead, so I'm not going to go telling everyone her name" I said, a little harshly.

"Elias" Althea whispered from behind me. "Hey, I'm right here" I told her, kneeling down beside her. "Where are we?" she asked, then sat up. "Where's Wade?". "In the woods, tied up, possibly still knocked out. And we are in a safe house" I said softly. Then she touched my jaw, "What happened?". "Well, after he shot you, I cut him across the face, he knocked me down, punched me, then I punched him and knocked him out. Then I tied him up, and carried you, and all the stuff away. When I got here, to the city, I ran into this guy Zay, who offered to let us stay here" I said, explaining. She looked behind me, at Zay, who was standing stock still, his face white like he just saw a ghost. "Zach?" Althea whispered. "Althea?" Zay said, shock and disbelief clear on his face. "I thought you were dead! I looked everywhere! I couldn't find you, or Vik, or Mama, or Papa! Is Vik okay?! Is Mama and Papa?!" Althea said, her voice rising. "Oh, Ally, we thought you were dead! Vik is fine. I never did find Mama and Papa" Zay said. Then V came running in, "What -? Ally?". "Vikky! Oh my god!" Althea said. She tried to get up, but then fell back down on the couch. "Don't!" I said, reaching out. Then I put an arm around her, and helped her stand. She put pretty much all of her weight onto me, but I was used to it by now.

Zay walked towards us, "Oh, girlie, what have you gotten yourself into?". "Well, a lot of Supernaturals and Souls want me dead, though that's not really my fault. It's just that I'm destined to save the world. The good thing is is that I can only be killed by one person" she told him. "And who is that?" he asked. "Me" I said, cutting in. Zay stared at me, he looked like he wanted to grab Althea, and pull her away from me. "Dont worry! He is not going to hurt me, or any of you" Althea said, trying to soothe the tension. "Like I said earlier, the only people I hurt are those who try to hurt Althea. As long as you don't put her in danger, then your safe" I said. "But, you're a Supernatural, who is the only person who can kill her, why would you fight for her, and protect her?" Zay asked. "Because I'm in love with her" I said simply, like it should be obvious.

Zay blinked, surprised. "Are you in love with him?" he asked Althea. "I am" she replied. "Well. You know I wouldn't have thought that your first boyfriend would be with a Supernatural that was pretty much your kryptonite" Zay said. "You know, it's not really your jurisdiction to tell me who to date and who not to date. I've been on my own for 13 years!" Althea said, her voice rising with every word. "Althea, we looked everywhere, we couldn't find you" he said softly. "I NEVER STOPPED LOOKING!" she screamed. He froze, "What?". "I never stopped looking. Even though I thought you were dead, I never stopped looking. Every town I went through, I searched for you, Vik, Mama, and Papa. Because, we were family, and family doesn't give up on family" she said, this time, her voice lowered with every word, until it reached a whisper. I looked down at her, and I saw tears in her eyes, falling down her cheeks. "Hey," I said softly, reaching to wipe the tears away. "Sorry" she said, looking down. "Don't be. It's okay to cry. But you are strong". "I am?" "Of course, the strongest person I know".