"So you couldn't get the head off?" Will snickered as he drove down the highway to the motel.
Ander glared at him but stayed silent. Will told him over and over that precision and a sharp weapon wasn't enough. Ander wasn't as strong as he was. It took practice to get it on the first or second swing. Ander didn't enjoy that type of training like Will did, so although he did it, there'd been no regularity to his schedule.
Will pulled into a parking space, glad they'd decided to spring for a motel on this mission. Sometimes they stayed at campsites or slept in the SUV, but now that they had a normal with them, it was better to have a room. Easier to question the witness enclosed in four walls. He and Ander carried the woman into the room, held her up so it looked like she was drunk and they just helped her. His phone vibrated as he closed the door. Will handed the female to Ander to answer his phone. He tried to ignore her intoxicating scent of cloves and fresh leaves.
"Yeah," he answered gruffly.
"Where the hell are you?" Mason's husky voice answered him.
"You get my text?"
"Yeah, why'd you pick a fight with demons?"
"Why wouldn't you pick a fight with demons?" he quipped.
Ander laid the female on the bed. Why'd he do that? He was supposed to tie her to a chair.
"Fair enough, but why'd you go back to the room?"
"We have a witness. I wanted to ask some questions."
"For fuck's sake, Will, we don't have time for this bullshit. We are on a mission," she grumbled.
"I know, I know, but its been days and we're still trying to find the fucker. I was restless. You know how I get,"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." she paused. "Its better you stay in the room tonight. Question your witness,"
Will furrowed his brows. That was odd for Mason. He'd expected either more shit from her, or at least anger about them coming back to the room. "Ok, you good for now?"
"Yeah, I will keep watch," she replied.
"Good hunting, soldier," he responded automatically and ended the call.
Ander sat on the other bed and peered at the woman. Will's eyes strayed to her face, her rosebud lips. He remembered her mouth, wanted to taste her. Not the time for that. Maybe if she checked out, he'd show her a good time, but first things first.
"So you see what happened back there?"
"Do you mean with the female?" Ander asked.
"Yeah, something knocked those demons over, was it her?"
"I believe so. I of course did not witness, the initial use of her power because we were both arriving on the scene," Ander paused.
Will looked at the ceiling and forced himself to hold his tongue. It annoyed the fuck out of him when Ander talked like that. Weird and too formal. Most of the time, he remembered to speak more casually. It was only when Ander was stressing, on guard, or problem solving he sounded that way.
"However, based on the second time, when both you and the demon were knocked over due to her actions, I would say yes."
"Ok, what'd she do?" Will asked, impatient to get to the point.
That's what he needed to know before they talked to her. Maybe she was a magic user of some type, or a humanoid monster.
"After her initial panic, she opened her eyes and looked at you. The demon was about to strike when she called out with her hand extended, like this." Ander held up his hand with his palm, facing out like he was waiting for a high five. "You and the demon were knocked back and down. I believe she was attempting to protect you." Ander finished.
Did she remember him from earlier? No way Will could ever forget her or the weird feeling he'd experienced when they'd seen each other.
"Will, there is something else, she is-" his cousin began, but the female stirred in the bed before her eyes popped open.
She bolted upright, her expression twisted with fear. She blinked before her eyes darted back and forth between him and Ander. Finally, her eyes settled on the door to outside.
"Where am I?" she asked in a high pitched tone.
Ander should've tied her to a chair. Now they'd have to be cordial with their questioning.
"Doesn't matter, you're safe," Will answered.
She moved her gaze to him and narrowed her eyes before she tilted her head to the right and studied him. Reminded him of Ander, weird.
"You know why those men were after you?"
She shook her head no. "You both know each other?" her hand crept up and grabbed a pink flower necklace.
"Know each other?" Will asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ander shifted his position. That's what he wanted to tell him.
"Yeah. I mean, I guess it makes sense, but you weren't together, I didn't realize," she muttered.
What in the hell did that mean? Maybe she was crazy, an easy target for demons. They tended to prey on the weak when they first got out of hell. She stopped talking and peered at them. Her fingers moved up to her moist lips. Her eyes widened as they moved back to him. Silence filled the room. Will felt strange again. Something gnawed at him. His logical mind pushed him to question her, but something held his tongue silent.
"Are you," her eyes darted between both of them, "ok? Were you hurt?"
Ander shook his head no. Will cleared his throat.
"We're fine. You don't need to worry about us. What do you think they wanted?" Will said, finally forced himself to talk.
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Leaving work late is always inviting trouble, but nothing like that has ever happened to me or anyone else at the behavioral center before. I guess they could've wanted my car but more likely they were going to rape and kill me," she replied, her voice no longer too high pitched, her tone reflective. "Perhaps they were former patients, although I didn't recognize them."
Ander looked at Will. He thought the interview was over.
Her eyes moved back to him as recognition crossed her features. "You killed them," she stated.
Will didn't move and kept his expression impassive.
"You saved me, but you killed them. Why?" her brows furrowed.
"They were bad men who wanted to rape and murder you. We stopped them." Will shrugged as he spoke.
"Because that's what you do, you destroy bad things," she said with slow words, her voice trembled. She twisted her necklace back and forth as her eyes moved from him to Ander and then back to him.
"How do you know what we do?" he asked with narrowed eyes as he crossed his arms.
"I don't... exactly." she swallowed.
All that weird shit in his head earlier, memories of his life. Had she somehow seen that? Maybe she could read minds, although he didn't sense the psychic vibe from her. Course the more powerful ones could cloak themselves.
"You cut that man's head off. Why did you do that?" her voice strained.
Time to test the waters. "Those weren't men, they were demons wearing a meat suit."
Ander shifted and looked at Will with a surprised expression. Ander always showed too much emotion on his face.
"Demons? Why would demons attack me?" she mused.
She knew about demons? Definitely not a normal time to change tactics.
"Have you encountered demons before?" Ander asked before Will had a chance to speak.
Will shot him a dirty look. He led the questioning.
"No, I mean not in person. I've never seen a demon. I thought they'd be scarier. You know horns, claws or tails? Something like that." she bit her lip.
Will's eyes went to her mouth, her bottom lip it was slightly fuller than her top.
"Or is it they can't have that stuff if they're pretending to be human?"
"It is a bit more complicated, but you are correct. They are limited in abilities when they possess a human versus being summoned directly," Ander answered her like they were chatting over fucking coffee.
Will openly glared at him, warned him to shut the fuck up. Her eyes were glued to Ander.
"Summoned? That's real?" she sucked in air and sat back against the headboard. "I guess that makes sense if demons are real, of course they could be summoned." her eyes widened. "Are angels real too?" she asked excited.
Will clenched his teeth. Yeah, those arrogant bastards existed alright, and they weren't much better than demons, in his opinion.
"Yes, they do exist, although they are not exactly as depicted in religious texts. How did you know demons existed?" Ander asked, his voice took on the tone Will recognized.
Will relaxed. He'd wanted to handle the questioning, but Ander was probably right. The female needed a gentle touch, something Will wasn't particularly skilled in. The tone Ander used was the one he always used to charm people to get them to open up and trust him. Will was relieved that Ander was finding his way back to how he'd been before he'd run off. Things were gonna be ok, just like Mason told him months ago. Just needed to be patient with Ander.
"I didn't know exactly. I mean, doesn't everyone kinda know that? Or at least think there's a possibility?" she asked in an uncertain tone.
The corners of Ander's mouth tilted up. Was that a genuine smile? Or maybe he couldn't muster up a good enough fake one.
"I guess it is common knowledge, but most people do not expect to see or interact with demons during their life. And if they do, they certainly would not be so calm," he replied, his tone teasing.
She grimaced, but stopped playing with her necklace. "It was scary, but I didn't really know they were demons at the time. I knew they weren't normal, but I wasn't really sure what was happening and then you both were there. And then he had no head." she paused and took a deep breath. "Then suddenly one of them had claws." she looked at the bed. "I heard guns, and then I was here with you. Both of you." she looked up and stared at Will before turning back to Ander. "When I realized it was you, I knew what I'd seen was real, and that I was safe."
"Safe?" Ander asked quietly.
"Yeah. You destroy the bad things,"
Second time she'd said that. Will clenched his jaw, impatient with Ander's questioning. Wanted to cut to the chase and find out what she was.
"We do?" Ander asked, his tone still light and almost playful.
She nodded, her face solemn.
"Why do you think that?"
Her hand went to her hair, took a chunk near the front, and pulled her fingers through it. "Because," her eyes darted around.
She stared at Ander for a long time, painfully long for Will. Just as he was about to lose it, she nodded and took a breath.
"Because you're soldiers and you protect people like me. And I know that because I know you, both of you." she stopped and glanced at Will.
Ander was the human lie detector, but Will's instincts typically spotted liars pretty easily, too. She hadn't lied.
"I only saw you both today, but we shared something." her voice trembled. She took another deep breath. "I'm not psychic. I can't do any of that stuff. If I was, then I wouldn't have been surprised by the demons, right?"
"Then how do you know us?" Ander asked.
"Well, I mean, I don't know you, but I know the important things. The pain." she blinked her watery eyes at Ander.
"The never ending duty," her eyes moved to Will.
The weird feelings from earlier assaulted him, like someone punched him in the kidney. How did she know any of that if she wasn't some kind of psychic or a witch.
She is a not witch, she smells like home.
What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
Our mate, the growl in his head told him.
Fuck off, dickhead, I'm in the middle of something, he shot back.
Will shook his head to focus. Couldn't deal with the internal dialog or dickalog as he liked to call it.
"You felt that right?" she looked back at Ander her hand fluttered to her breasts and hovered over them.
Will raised an eyebrow. Ander's face for once held no expression, but his eyes were wide with wonder. He nodded, slow and deliberate. Why had Ander agreed with her? Even if Will had some fucked up "moment" he sure as shit wasn't gonna to tell the enemy that. That's what she was until proved otherwise. Ander had enough time to question her. Obviously, he still wasn't one hundred percent. Mason had mentioned he'd acted weird when she'd picked him up from the library earlier. Had Ander had another episode? Will thought going to the library was chill and wouldn't cause him to flake out, but maybe it'd been too much being on his own, even for boring research. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Will couldn't handle Ander flipping out on the mission. Werewolves were good hunters, almost indestructible and dangerous as fuck. Needed Ander to watch his back.
"I wanted to say something when you left with that lady, but I was exhausted. It takes a lot out of me when that happens. I didn't want you to leave without talking to you," her voice quiet but confident. Her eyes flicked over to Will. "I never had a chance to even get close to you but I wanted to." her voice changed and sounded husky.
Will wanted to get close to her right now. He couldn't decide if he wanted to tie her up and interrogate her properly, or put his mouth against hers and fuck her properly. He started at her, his body rigid. She flushed under his intense look. His teeth tingled.
"I did not want to leave," Ander spoke in a hushed voice.
She broke eye contact and turned back to Ander.
"I wanted to speak with you," he continued.
She smiled at his words. Her smile made Will's stomach feel weird. Enough of this touchy feely bullshit.
"We have bigger problems than this bullshit,"
They were on a mission. His fun beat down of demons and maybe get laid distraction annoyed him now.
"So you're a psychic who didn't know you were, and you have no clue why demons were after you?"
She seemed taken back by his harsh tone. "I'm not psychic, like I said. I have no idea why demons were after me. I never encountered demons before tonight."
"Maybe they knew you were psychic, and that's why they wanted you," he replied.
"How could they have known I was psychic if I didn't?"
He ignored her question. "Do you think anymore will come after you?"
"How would I know that? I didn't even know demons existed before or why they'd want me. If you're right and somehow I'm suddenly psychic and they also somehow know, then yeah I guess other ones would try to get me? Although I have no idea what they'd do to me if they got me. Nothing good, I assume," she finished in a sharp tone.
Shit, not only did she seem to be telling the truth, but she had a point. Will looked at his cousin Ander, signaled she'd been honest. They were on a mission, and didn't need civilians mucking things up. But what could they do with her now? He considered tying her to the chair and leaving her in the room when they left again. She'd be ok if they warded the room till they returned. Unless they all died. Then she was fucked. He rubbed the back of his head and cursed for involving himself in this mess.