---Sean’s POV---
I was still a little skeptic about Peyton’s presence but I pushed it away, telling myself that I would keep a close eye on her. Well, I should call her Fawna now, since that’s the name of her fox. My eyes darted to the small red fox that ran under the reddish brown wolf’s stomach before she sprinted away after Nick let out a laughing bark and darted after her, playfully catching her by her scruff.
“Sean?”
Cary’s voice forged its way through my musing and I looked back at him, sharing a look as I glanced back at the fox-shifter. Cary followed my gaze and frowned slightly before he glanced back at me.
“Stay on your toes. She might be truthful but that doesn’t mean that Lucius will let her go without a fight. If I’ve learned anything about him, is that he always has a back-up plan. Hell, he’s probably sent for his troops already.”
Cary nodded with an understanding look in his eyes while he hitched Lizzie higher up his back. His eyes started spying the woods as we made more progress; Peyton has shifted back and was now sitting on Nick’s back.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Both Lizzie and Beth nearly shouted, forcing everyone to hit the brakes and skid to a halt. Jacob stepped closer, with Paige bounding towards us with her ears pitched up. “What? What is it?” she asked with a twitch of her ear.
I looked at her for a moment before I let my eyes wander away. Damned pull, it was getting stronger, slowly but surely and I had no idea what it was. My eyes switched from Jacob back to Paige, who yipped and jumped up and down before she bolted away, the rest of her pack close to her heals.
Cian laughed and slapped his hand on my back. “Lost in thought Sean? Our Beloveds said that they picked up the trail. It’s really weak but it’s there.” I nodded, still in thought as I ran behind my only two friends.
“Hey, what does that make us? Little pups on the side?” Paige yipped, jolting me out of my daydreams so that I could avoid the tree that I nearly slammed into. “Need glasses old man?” Paige teased as she jumped up and, in a whirl of fur and feathers, shifted in her barn owl.
The owl flew up before it landed on my shoulder, twisting its head to look at me with large golden eyes. I looked up at it and chuckled, despite of my inner turmoil. “Not many people can call me old and life to tell the tale.” I smirked and Paige tilted her head slightly, fluffing the feathers in her neck up.
Finally, she closed her eyes and opened her beak in what I could only describe as an owl smile. “That’s what friends are for…” she chirped before I felt her talons give a slight pinch and then she flew off.
I kept my eyes on the golden owl, who flew towards Beth and flapped her wings a few times as they had a small conversation. My eyes drifted to my companions while understanding slowly found its way in my mind.
Paige meant herself, her pack…the people I helped to rescue her. All of them had been friendly towards me, something that I hadn’t come across in a long, long time. Most of the people I met were other vampires, neutral or hostile, and the humans who ran the other way when I appeared.
“What the-“ I hissed while jumping away from the soft touch on my cheek. I quickly looked around before I huffed slightly, as Paige clicked with her beak, pulling it back in that smile before she flew on silent wings towards Jacob, eying his tail before she dropped down and pinched it with her talons.
Jacob yelped before he playfully growled and chased after Paige, who let out a short screech before she flapped her wings again and shifted back in her wolf. Just mid-shift, with the wind in my face, I tensed, realizing now what that pull was. I shook my head and scowled as I regained my previous rhythm. I needed to tell Paige, and soon.
---Jacob’s POV---
My eyes drooped slightly from the lack of sleep but I forced myself to stay awake. We had spent all day running, trying to win as much time back from my previous misdirection. It was already evening when I finally gave in and told the others to make camp. Right now, Cian and Cary were hunting animals so they could feed again without draining Lizzie and Beth’s blood every so often.
I blinked when my eyes closed on their own accord and growled internally, staring down at the map while I occasionally glanced at the stars above us. So far, so good; we were on track and nearing the Northwest Territories, slowly but surely. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I groaned slightly and leaned back, cracking my neck in the process.
“Wish I could sleep in a real bed tonight.” I thought wishfully to my wolf, which just rolled his eyes at me. Wolves were build for the outdoors and didn’t need a bed to sleep on. ”Just sleep as a wolf. Paige will lie down beside you in her own wolf form. You’ll get more sleep too.”
Hmm, maybe I should ask her later. Right now, she was building up the fire with Lizzie, who had made use of her magic to start the fire with a flick of her hand. They playfully pushed each other away, laughing as they did while the others shot amused glances at them. Cary and Cian were setting their large twin-tent up, where both of them and Lizzie & Beth would sleep.
“Tyler! You’re holding it wrong!” Amy laughed out loud as she came in the camp with a new supply of wood. I glanced at Tyler and snorted; he was trying to erect the tent but ended up with some kind of Alien contraption. He stepped back from his work and shoved his shirt of before he grasped it and flung it at the trees. “Stupid tent with those stupid things…doesn’t want to set up…I can do it! Really, I can!” he said when Amy started laughing harder, dropping the wood next to the campfire.
Tyler picked the plan up and waved it in the air. “It’s this dang thing that doesn’t make sense.” He threw it back to the ground before he started pacing again, glaring at the tent, which should be standing in an oval-like shape but was strangely square. “That’s it, I’m just sleeping in it as it is!” he said, stomping towards the tent.
Amy looked doubtfully at the contraption as she narrowed her eyes at it. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Is it even safe?” Tyler waved distractedly over his shoulder while he zipped the tent open. “Yeah, yeah. It’s completely- OW!” One of the poles pried loose and swished to the air, effectively smacking across Tyler’s face before it swayed back and forth, pulling the whole tent down.
“Oh my gosh, are you…alright?” Amy asked, trying to keep her voice straight but her question ended with a silent snicker. Tyler whirled around and I couldn’t stop the chuckle, which I quickly covered with a cough; diagonally over his face was an angry red welt where the pole had smacked against his face.
Amy quickly settled him down while they both worked on the tent. I snickered silently and shook my head at Tyler’s antics before I looked up as a shadow came closer. A smile crept up my face when Paige halted before me, stretching her arms towards me. I complied and stretched mine out, but instead of letting her pull me up, I pulled her down in my lap.
“Hey!” she huffed as she fell in my embrace before she turned around. “I liked you better when I could pull you over without a fuss.” She grumbled, giving me a fake glare. I laughed a bit and kissed her pouting lips. “You always seem to forget that males are naturally stronger than females. You’re my mate, stronger than any normal werewolf. The connection between us makes me stronger as well.”
Paige blinked in surprise, her mouth dropping in shock while I looked at her expression with a growing smirk. Eventually she huffed and pushed my face away. “That’s not fair! Never knew that werewolves are sexists.”
I rolled my eyes at that but didn’t comment on her playful jab. She leaned forwards as best as she could, since I wasn’t allowing her out of my arms before she managed to pull the bag of provinces towards us. She peaked in it and scowled slightly. “Either we need to stop at a town to get more supplies or we need to hunt more often.”
Looking in the bag, I realized that she was right. We could have survived for a few days of the food that was left…if we were human and with a smaller group. “Fine, we’ll stop at the next town tomorrow. We need to hunt for tonight.”
Paige smiled broadly and pecked a kiss on my lips, laughingly avoiding me when I wanted to deepen it. “I’ll do some scouting to see if I can find some deer.” She said while slipping out of my arms. Before I could form a decent protest, she walked away, happily shifting in her cougar before she pounced in the bushes around the camp. I shook my head at her with an unconscious smile tugging on my lips. Who would have thought that I could love a girl so much?
My eyes drifted away before they landed on Sean, who was staring at the same spot where Paige had disappeared. A growl threatened to leave my lips at the flash of curiosity and, more importantly, something that seemed an awful lot like longing that appeared in his eyes, disappearing in an instance.
“He might have helped us save her but as of now, he’s competing for Paige’s attention.” My wolf all but snarled as we watched Sean’s face contort to a thoughtful expression before he sat down at the fire again, poking in the flames with a stick.
“Paige is mine! He has no claim on her, she marked us.” I growled back at my wolf, feeling uneasy while I kept a close eye on the vampire. For all I knew, he could be lusting after my mate and I didn’t like it, not one bit.
---Paige’s POV---
My claws dug into the spiky tree bark under my paws as I prowled over the fallen pine tree. Pitching my ears for any sound close by, I sniffed at the air before I leapt down on the forest floor. There might be deer closer to the river that I could smell.
A low yowl caused me to freeze while I pitched my ears at the sound. A brown fur moved through the trees before a large male cougar walked out, its eyes guarded while he took slow, measured steps. His whiskers twitched before he revealed his canines with a deep, warning rumble.
My tail twitched slightly while I cocked my head, a soft purring sound emitting from my chest as I tried to convey to the wild animal that I was no threat. He paused in his steps as I flopped down on the ground, looking around the area while the male took another hesitant step before he sniffed lightly at my head.
The threatening yowling stopped as soon as he identified my scent, instantly knowing what I was before he rubbed his head against mine. I purred deeper, internally smiling at the reactions those wild animals had to me; they sensed my free spirit and would always greet me with affection, unless they had pups or a kill to defend.
Deciding that I had earned enough feline affection for the day, I stood back up and flicked my tail against the cougar’s cheek as a farewell before I took of in the trees. The male followed curiously before it decided that he wasn’t going to follow me any longer. I picked the scent up of deer close by and smiled lightly.
The trail leads me to a rocky outcrop, where I enjoyed flexing my muscles by climbing up and over the rocks, looking down at the view. Just as I thought; from here, I could see a stream of blue weaving through the landscape in the fading sunlight, with a few flecks of brown prancing around the water’s edge, flashing the white undersides of their tails.
“Found dinner! Some white-tailed deer about fifteen minutes from the camp. Are we going to hunt with the pack or do you want me to take one down?” I quickly sent towards Jacob as I held a close on my quarry. Enjoying the last rays of sun, I lay down on the rocks and looked around for a moment, spotting a large cave a few steps away.
“Nah, go ahead love. The others are still preparing camp and by the time we’re all ready and shifted, those deer might have run away. Besides, the sooner you can get one, the sooner we can eat!” Jacob answered back after a few moments of silence, his voice light and casual although I could hear an underlining irritated tone underneath it.
I closed my eyes, pondering what that had caused that irritation before I shook my head. Now was not the time to think about Jacob and his antics, I needed to think about our dinner that was still moving. My eyes glanced back at the cave and I nodded to myself; I would explore it after I made a kill.
Stretching all my limbs, I decided to stay a cougar for the hunt. The kill wouldn’t be so messy as with a wolf. All I needed to rely on was my stealth. Silently, I crept down the hill and stalked through the forest, until I could hear the thudding of hooves on the forest floor.
“Deep breaths, in and out, in and out.” I told myself while I slowly stalked through the trees, my stomach scraping over the floor as I eyed the deer. They were all still painfully unaware of my presence, so I had time to decide which one I wanted as my kill.
A large buck walked through the trees, avoiding the thicker branches with his antlers, causing my tail to flick; I had found my prey. The stag would have a harder time running away then the several doe, scattered around him. Slowly, I crept forwards, clawing myself inch for inch further.
The deer lifted their heads and I froze. Their black nostrils flared, the eyes widening slightly; they knew that a predator was stalking them. Just as one of the females nervously danced away, I darted out of the tree line, taking four big jumps before I pounced onto of the stag.
My canines dug in his neck as a doe cried the alarm, alerting the others of my presence. The stag turned his head, trying to pin me with his antlers before it cried out as I yanked its head to the side, breaking his neck. The stag stumbled and dropped to the ground as I leapt of it, landing graciously on my paws.
“Dinner’s ready! I’m coming back, see you guys in about twenty minutes.” I sent to the others while I shifted back, using my claws to skin and gut my kill. After that gruesome job was done, I cut the meat off of the carcass and used the skin as a makeshift bag. Just as I left the clearing, I noticed a wolf slowly stalking to the kill, eying me warily.
Now, let’s see what’s in that cave.
---Jacob’s POV---
Tyler was pacing back and forth, grumbling and glancing towards the tent that Amy, Nick and I had set up, since Tyler failed to do so, twice. I couldn’t help but smirk at the irritation that poured of him in waves as he stomped around the campfire. Amy shook her head at his antics and pulled him to sit next to her.
“Stop acting like a little kid that can’t go to the candy store! It’s just a tent!” She exclaimed tiredly, causing Tyler to huff while he sulked next to her. I yawned slightly and looked up at the darkening sky; Paige should be back any minute.
“Hey Jacob, did Paige say what she caught?” Nick asked, looking away from the fox he was petting to shoot me a curious glance before he continued petting his mate. I thought about it for a second before I shook my head. “No, she didn’t but I got an image of her hunting after some deer.”
Nick let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I was hoping it was something big because I’m starving! Say, shouldn’t she be coming back about now?” Both of us looked up at the same time and I noticed that my inner worries were being reflected on Nick’s face. Cian stretched his legs in front of him as he pulled Beth closer to his side.
“Don’t worry you guys. Paige will be fine and if something happens, she’ll warn us and we’ll be there before she can blink.” He said, soothing the growing tension around the camp. I nodded reluctantly and looked around, listening to the sounds of the forest. A pair of moths flew towards the fire, circling the flames in a deadly dance.
“Dumb things.” Amy remarked when one of the moths busted into flames when he came to close to the fire. It’s companion fluttered around the remains before it continued its dance. “I don’t understand why they would fly into the fire.” She said, shaking her head.
Fawna flinched slightly in Nick’s lap, staring with bright yellow eyes towards the flames as her hunches raised slightly. Amy was still explaining her thoughts about moths and their lack of brains when she suddenly stopped. “What was that?”
Tyler shot up, crouching protectively in front of his mate. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he relaxed and looked towards Amy. “What was what?” he asked in a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.
Amy pointed towards the sky and mused, “I could have sworn I saw something-Argh!” She yelled at the end when a blur of black and brown shot past her. She fell to the ground with wide eyes, causing the others to chuckle as Cary frowned and scanned the air.
An amused chortle escaped his throat when the black and brown blur shot past him, over the campfire and back towards Amy. “Relax, it’s just a bat.” He said, keeping his eyes on the little creature. Tyler tensed slightly as he groaned, “You shouldn’t have said that…”
Cary looked up confused, “Why wouldn’t I-“ He was interrupted by Amy as she shot up with a horrified expression. “BATS?! I hate them, keep it away!” she shouted, screaming even louder when said bat flew around her again.
I laughed at her antics, following the path of the bat with my eyes and smirked when it flew back. “Watch out Amy, it’s coming back!” I teased, making her jump up as she ran for the cover of her tent, flailing her arms like a deranged person. At that moment, all of us were rolling on the floor, having a hard time to breath between our laughs.
Amy dove head first in the tent and quickly started zipping it closed, letting out a sigh of relief. “Honey, you might want to get back…” Tyler said hesitantly, causing the rest of us to look up at him, slightly confused as to why Tyler would ask her to come out of her little safe haven. That’s when I noticed the little black shade sticking to the side of the tent, flexing its wings…on the inside of the tent.
“NO! I’m NOT coming out there until you chased that monster away!” Amy demanded adamantly, huffing as she spun around before letting out a wail that would make every banshee proud. She manically ripped at the zipper before tumbling out of the tent. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME IT FLEW IN THE TENT?!”
The bat flew out of the tent, low over Amy’s head before it circled the fire again, occasionally diving down to fly after a few insects. Sean frowned slightly before raising his hand, the palm facing upwards. After a few seconds, the bat flew around his hand before landing on it, awkwardly moving forwards by pulling itself up with its elongated fingers.
Sean chuckled to himself and looked my way. “Hold your hand up Jake. You might recognize our little intruder.” He laughed as the bat flew up. I frowned, not understanding what this was all about and scowled as the bat bumped against my head as it flew by, setting of a string of sparks.
Sparks?
I smirked at that, shaking my head. “I should have known.” I murmured as I reached my hand out and plucked the creature out of the air as it passed by. It let out a disagreeing screech, almost too high-pitched for me to pick up and I noticed as the three vampires winched and rubbed their ears. “Sheesh Paige, not so loud!” Cian complained, rubbing his offended ear.
“Paige?” Amy asked, not understanding what he meant as she looked from Cian to the bat and back again. Then, understanding flooded her face before she scowled. “You mean to say that that THING is Paige?” she nearly shouted as the bat wriggled out of my hold and hung upside down from my fingers.
“Yes.” The smirking reply sounded as Paige stretched her wings. I admired her nearly see-through wings, tracing the leathery extensions with my finger before I brushed through her fur. “You’re so tiny.” I said as I gingerly picked her up in my hand. She lifted her head towards me, her mouth opening as she let out a few high-pitched sounds, her ears twitching at the sound.
“Look at this.” She send out, sending us the image she saw. It was strange to see absolute darkness before a grey blur moved and I recognized my own face. The image died again before reappearing as she let out another string of high-pitched calls.
Sean nodded his head. “Echo-location. Strange to experience it first hand.” Paige nodded before jumping of my hand, flying off in the woods. A few seconds later, she reappeared with a furry bag over her shoulder. “Dinner time!” she said happily, smiling sweetly at a still scowling Amy.
------
All of us were lying around the fire, stomachs bulging, as we felt full and content. Thanks to the fresh meat and the remaining rations, we were able to create a small feast of our last food. The only ones that didn’t eat were the vampires but Sean explained that he would be hunting during the night while the twins were whispering something in Lizzie and Beth’s ears, making them blush.
I rolled my eyes at their behavior, grinning sheepishly when Paige sent me a pointed look. I shrugged my shoulders slightly before I pulled her against my chest, loving the way how her body molded against mine. Paige was frowning slightly before she looked at Peyton, who was nearly asleep in Nick’s arms.
“How are we going to free her from Lucius’ bonds?” She wondered out loud, changing the atmosphere in the camp. Before anyone could reply her question, a figure darted out of the woods, charging towards Peyton and Nick before Sean roared and slammed into it, knocking it back in the forest while he shouted out in warning.
“Drained!”
And another cliffhanger :)
Sorry for taking so long but i'm in the mids of my finals now ;)
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