Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 15

Rhys shifted his weight in his seat.

"I had to do it," he said. "You were so weak. You weren't going to survive the transformation."

"Did you know it was going to brainwash me?" she asked.

"Brainwash you? Who told you that?"

"Drew said that drinking your blood will make me devoted to you. It will make me compelled to do what you want."

"Drew has been lying to you."

"I don't think so. I can feel this pull to do whatever you ask. That's the only reason I helped you kill Olivia. I did not want to do that."

Rhys let go of the steering wheel with one hand and put it on Anna's knee. She crossed her arms and dug her fingers into her forearms. She wanted to push him off of her, but she could not seem to move her hands.

"Listen, sweetheart," he said. "I don't mean to make you do anything you don't want to do. I am just trying to teach you how to kill and not be caught by a hunter. I'd feel guilty if you died because I did not train you not to be reckless."

"There's got to be another way," she said. "We shouldn't have to kill innocent people."

"Trust me, there isn't," he said. "I've spent hundreds of years doing this. If there were any loopholes I would have figured them out by now."

Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. She leaned back further in the seat. She kept her eyes shut and listened to the rock station Rhys had playing. Was Drew listening to 90s Pop and was Huxley singing along in the backseat?

"How much longer until we get there?" Anna asked.

Rhys looked over at the clock on the dash.

"Twelve more hours," he said.

Anna sighed. Her back was already sore and she did not want to be confined to the car all day. If today was like yesterday, Anna knew that Rhys would only stop a few times for gas.

"How much traveling do you do in a year?" she asked.

"A lot," he said. "We can't stay in one place for long if we want to survive."

"So you've been all over Canada?"

"Yeah, but I try to avoid the Maritimes."

"Why?"

"Too many hunters."

Anna bit down on her lip. She was from Prince Edward Island. She took a mental note not to mention she was an East Coaster.

"When was the last time you were out there?" Anna asked.

"1917," he said. "I met Huxley in Halifax."

"I kind of miss Huxley's commentary."

"That's not even funny."

Anna giggled. She turned in her seat and reached for her bag in the backseat. She searched through it for her notebook and pen. She bent her one leg so that her foot was on the seat. She rested the notebook against her leg and continued writing her novel. Her handwriting was messy from the bumpy car ride. She shut off her mind and tried not to think about her reality as she went into her own world.

--

The sun had set hours ago and Anna could no longer write. She tucked the pen behind her ear and clutched the book to her chest as she stared out the window. The trees were stripped from their leaves, and snow lightly dusted the ground. Anna did not usually see snow this early in the year. They passed the large "YUKON" sign hours ago.

"How come these people live in the middle of nowhere?" Anna asked.

"Werewolves always live up North," Rhys said. "They stick together in groups."

"You four stay together as a group."

"You'll know what I mean when we get there. They stay in packs."

Anna nodded. They had pulled off of the highway a while ago. They drove up the bumpy road. They were the only cars on the road, and Anna looked in the rearview mirror often to see Drew driving behind them.

Rhys pulled down a gravel driveway. It was long, and there were lamps periodically lined up and lighting up the driveway. Anna could see the large lodge sitting at the end of the driveway. She sat up higher in her seat as she looked at the wooden home. Lights were sporadically lit up throughout the house. There was a wooden porch that wrapped around the house.

An elderly couple were sitting on rocking chairs on the deck. They were wrapped up in a blanket. Three kids ran out of the front door. The screen door slammed shut behind them. A man soon followed and chased the kids as they ran down the driveway to the car. The man stepped in front of the children.

Rhys turned off the car and stepped out. Anna was relieved to stretch out her sore muscles. The kids were poking their heads out from behind the man. They had smiles plastered across their faces as they tried to see the vampires.

"Rhys?" the man asked.

"Nicholas," Rhys said as he nodded his head. "Is Oz home?"

"Oz is always here," he said.

Rhys walked past Nicholas and into the house. Everyone's eyes were on him as he entered the lodge.

Nicholas looked back over at Anna. A smile grew across his lips. He held out his hand and Anna shook it.

"I haven't seen you before," he said. "My name is Nicholas."

"I'm Anna," she said.

"Are you a bloodsucker?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Nicholas chuckled. A girl, who was the tallest of the three children, stepped around Nicholas and waved at Anna. Her dark hair was split into two braids. She had a large gap between her two front teeth.

"I'm Accalia," the girl said before pointing at the two other children. "This is Tasha and Olcan."

"Nice to meet you," Anna said.

"Huxley!" Accalia screamed.

She ran down the driveway. The stones were crunching under her feet. She ran to Huxley, who got down on his knees. They wrapped their arms around each other. Accalia giggled.

"How's my favourite wolf doing?" Huxley asked.

"Good," she said. "Did you bring me anything?"

"Not this time," he said. "We had to leave in a hurry."

Drew and Calvin walked up the driveway. Calvin tossed one of the bags to Huxley. Anna opened up the backseat of the car. She tucked her notebook into the bag before zipping it up and throwing it over her shoulder.

They walked together into the werewolves' home.