The amiable mood she'd had when she fell asleep in Ander's arms tried its best to stay with her, but Will made it impossible. As nervous as she was on the way to kill a werewolf, she yawned, still lethargic. Ander had assured her he'd keep his word, waiting for the right time. She tried to stretch, but it still hurt to move her arm around. Her wound had healed at an alarming rate. The skin was no longer bleeding and itched. The bruise underneath was the problem. Even after the coffee, her mind was fuzzy, but she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to heal that quickly.
They pulled into the almost empty parking lot and parked out of the sun, near some trees, and away from the building. She closed her eyes and wondered how she'd stop Will if he didn't listen to Ander. They moved around in the front seat, probably checking their weapons. Once they figured out how many people were in the building, then she would play her part of the panicked woman to get Kevin to help her. If need be. She was to distract anyone else left in the building once they got him outside.
Ander had explained it was dangerous to act during the day, but they needed to take advantage of the opportunity they had. Based on the vehicles, it appeared the cleaners and maybe one other employee was here, unless someone had just left their car. Ander confirmed his family would be at church during the time they'd take to destroy the werewolf.
"Don't move around," Will said sternly.
She'd heard several people outside talking and opening and closing car doors. She opened her eyes. The cleaners packed their van. They didn't even bother to look their way. The van started and drove away.
"Those were the cleaners?" she asked to confirm she wasn't wrong.
"Fucking A they were!" Will's face broke into a large predatory grin. Something was different about his face. He looked the same, but more feral. His excitement bled from him and filled the cabin of the vehicle. "You ready?" he asked, his grey eyes sparkled in the sunlight her through the rear-view mirror.
She nodded but couldn't speak, again captivated by his image.
"You check the security system?" his deep voice resonated in the vehicle.
"Yes, it will be disabled when she reaches the door," he replied to Will, and then turned to face her. "The door code is 55783. Enter the code and the door will unlock,"
"That's the Bloom Accounting code right?" she asked.
"Yes. Any records will reflect the only code used today was by someone in Bloom Accounting," Ander told her.
"Right, ok. And I have to keep these gloves on so I don't leave any prints. At least until I get into the building," she reminded herself.
"Yes. Your objective is to get him to leave the building willingly. He is on the second floor, suite 205," Ander replied. "The phones are ip phones. Once the Internet is shut off no one can call out. His cell will not receive a signal."
"Your good, right? You can handle this?" Will asked.
She nodded. Maeve was frightened because they'd warned her werewolves were temperamental and he'd still be feeling the effects of the moon. Nervous she'd say the wrong thing or he wouldn't want to help her, her mind raced with hundreds of ways she could mess up, but she couldn't let Will know that. With a deep breath, she dug deep. This wasn't any different from admitting a violent patient. Her mind drifted to the soul touches that terrified her, she'd survived those, she could do this.
"Be back soon. Be ready," she told them with a forced smile and got out of the SUV.
She paused and relived that terrible moment when she witnessed a man lose his humanity and become a demon. Her mind recalled when that creature almost got her with its claws, well, almost got Ander with its claws. The blood as it seeped out of the thousand wounds she'd inflicted to get the enemy to talk. No, she hadn't done that. Will had in the military. Her insides quivered as she briskly walked to the front door.
By the time she punched in the code, she was rattled. Exactly how she was supposed to be. She looked around the lobby to see if there were signs of any people, but it was silent. She took the stairs to the second floor and turned towards suite 205. Good, the door was open. When more than once voice filled the hallway, she froze in her steps. Both of the people here were from Bloom accounting.
"So you want a foot long right with extra meat?" a younger male voice asked.
"Yeah. We're gonna be here a while. Stupid Miller really screwed this up. I was only out one day. This is going to make me late for dinner. My wife is going to kill me," the other male replied.
"See? This is why I'm not married. No one is the boss of me!" the younger voice laughed and headed right toward her.
Maeve panicked and ducked into the nearest bathroom.
Footsteps passed by the door and a muffled "Be back in fifteen!"
With a deep breath, she eased open the door. I can do this, I can do this, she repeated in her mind. The suite door was still open. Maeve ran into the suite, unsure what to expect, appearing frantic and scared because she was scared. Kevin sat directly in front of her. The blood drained from her face and made her lightheaded. He was an attractive thin man with wild, light hair and thick eyebrows. If she didn't know he was a werewolf, she would have found him attractive. The pictures Ander had shown her didn't do him justice. She wasn't sure why she thought he'd be farther in the suite, but she wasn't prepared for him to be the first thing she saw.
"Hi, you ok? You seem a bit frightened." his eyes bored into her.
Will had warned her he'd have an acute hearing and would probably monitor her heartbeat. "I... my boyfriend, I need help," she stammered.
"Ok, ok. Calm down." he put his hands up to show he meant no harm and stepped near her. "Tell me what is going on." His nostrils flared when he stopped in front of her.
Will had also warned he'd try to get close, to get her scent. Her heart raced in her chest. This mild man was responsible for the victim she'd seen torn to shreds? "My boyfriend, he's trying to hurt me."
"Hurt you? Is he here?"
Her eyes grew moist as she nodded. "We had an argument. His temper is bad, he's going to kill me. Please help me." her voice shook as she spoke.
He listened to her intently. Each word measured. "Of course, you don't need to be afraid. We'll call the police. You can stay here with me," he replied, and picked up the phone. He pushed several buttons and grimaced. He went to his computer screen. "Damn IP phones," he added as an explanation. He reached for his cell, and his face twisted with irritation. "Everything's going to be fine," he told her reassuringly. Kevin moved around the room and held his cell phone up.
"Is your boyfriend here in the building?" his voice sounded rougher.
Maeve glanced over her shoulder. She shrugged and almost yelped. He stopped moving and advanced in front of her, he'd noticed her pain.
"Please," she whispered.
He stood so close to her. She tried not to shake, but her body wouldn't cooperate. The image of the victim's intestines all over the ground flashed in her mind. His soft brown eyes didn't seem threatening as he studied her.
"He's hurt your before hasn't he?" his tone hardened.
She blinked. Oh god he was upset her imaginary boyfriend abused her. Maybe Kevin wasn't the werewolf.
"It's ok, you don't have to tell me. Let's go outside. I should be able to get a signal out there. The police will be here soon. Everything is going to be ok," his tone back to reassuring.
Maeve walked stiffly beside him. A stone sat in her stomach. Kevin's light touch on her arm was so gentle. She swallowed as they stepped into the elevator. Doubt filled her mind.
"If he is around, outside the building, I mean, don't worry, I will protect you. He will NOT hurt you." his voice grew fierce at the end.
They walked to the front door. He eyed the parking lot and noticed the SUV. She swallowed. They were so close, but what if they were wrong? What if Kevin wasn't the werewolf?
"Do you recognize that SUV?"
She shook her head no. He checked his cell again and grumbled in frustration. As Kevin opened the door, his entire posture changed. Gone was the mild mannered accountant. In its place was a confident, predatory male, focused on protecting her. The shift was so drastic she stopped moving in awe. He turned to see why she'd stopped. The next few seconds moved in slow motion, and then in a blur.
So focused on Kevin, she hadn't heard Ander's approach. His face looked alien, his features sharp and intense. It was the first time she'd seen that grim determination. His eyes almost glowed with murderous excitement. For a moment she considered warning Kevin, but she never had time. Ander struck so quickly her eyes didn't register what he'd done. Blood flew into the air. Ander grinned. His hand wrapped around what looked like a large knife that dripped with Kevin's blood. From somewhere beside her, Will appeared and struck Kevin in the arm with a hard thunk. Kevin's eyes bulged from the blows.
Maeve instinctively screamed. There was a blur of motion and then something hard crashed into her. She'd been swept off her feet, the buildings blurred by. Terrified, she looked beside her and found Kevin's rage filled brown ones flick over to her. He ran unnaturally fast towards trees, away from Will and Ander. Was he going to kill her? Once they passed the tree-line, he slowed slightly. She had no idea where they were.
"Was that him?" he growled at her and dropped her to the ground. He bent over. Something was terribly wrong with his posture, his back. Ander had done something horrible because parts poked out. The parts moved slowly and snapped back into place. His left wrist was twisted and covered in blood.
"What?" she asked, shocked at the turn of events.
Kevin's wrist had been cut do deep it was almost amputated the bone was cut through. His back was still open and bleeding. He paid no attention to it. "Your crazy boyfriend?" he snapped.
Oh god, he still wanted to protect her. Her body began to tremble, and she almost fell over.
"I'm sorry. I'm not usually this aggressive, its been a long couple of nights. Your boyfriend is involved in some pretty dark things," he muttered and grimaced as more insides bent and twisted into place in his back.
"Where are we?" she stammered, and scanned the wooded area. Tears burned her eyes as she sunk to the ground. Maeve watched in amazement as his back wound began to close.
Kevin held his wrist up, so it touched his arm and unbelievably, it began to mend together. "Safe for the moment, they'll track me, though. I dropped my fucking phone!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean, I'm worried about my family. These people your boyfriend is involved with, they won't stop, they'll hunt us till the ends of the earth." he cast his eyes to the ground.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. This wasn't supposed to happen. Kevin wasn't evil, he couldn't be. Maybe he didn't mean to kill all those people. No. Seven was too many. But then, why did he try to help her?
"I'm sorry." he crouched down, his brown eyes soft again. "I've doomed you too."
"What?" she asked, still rattled by his anger, and tried to figure out what she was supposed to do next.
"I grabbed you because I was worried what they'd do to you after they saw you with me. Now well, now I know what they'll do to you," he said, full of remorse.
Her eyes flicked to his hand, mesmerized by the fact his wrist had reattached itself. "Leave me, just go and save yourself and your family," she told him.
He cocked his head to the side.
"You said you had a family. They're more important than me. You don't even know me."
The skin on his wrist began to slowly crept over the newly formed tendons. "I can't leave you to those monsters. You don't understand what they are,"
She cried harder. She did understand, and right now she didn't want them to destroy Kevin. Maybe Kevin was a werewolf and maybe he did murder seven people, but there had to be a reason. It was too late. She watched Kevin's body posture morph in front of her. His face changed to a snarl. To her amazement, she watched claws extend from his fingertips. Fresh blood dripped on the ground from where they'd forced themselves through his skin.
"Kevin, please go. Go to your family, before its too late,"
He snapped his head around and glared at her, his lips pulled back from his teeth. "I didn't tell you my name," he growled.
"No, you didn't,"
He knocked her over and pinned her to the ground. His claws dug into her arms. She felt them cut through the shirt and pierce her arms. Lowering his head, he inhaled her scent.
"You don't smell like them, what are you?" his teeth had grown longer, it was hard to understand him. He drew back with the same murderous excitement in his eyes that Ander's held when he cut Kevin. He was going to kill her.
"You killed all those people," she whispered. "Why?"
For a second, he hesitated before he snarled. He reeled up as a loud explosion ripped through his chest and blood soaked his shirt. Another bang knocked his head and body to the left. He fell off of her to the ground. Maeve turned to him. Half of his face was gone, but he wasn't dead. He coughed up blood and blinked with his one eye. She laid on the ground, paralyzed, her eyes trained on him.
"Didn't want to kill," he choked out.
A large silver axe blade crashed down on his neck and separated it with one blow. Maeve had only seen one other person decapitated, but not like this, not so close with him staring at her. The last image he had was of the woman he'd tried to help who'd betrayed him. She rolled on her side and threw up. She couldn't see she cried so hard.
"Are you alright? Did he wound you?" Ander's voice was close to her, but it didn't sound right. Nothing did. Everything sounded far away, like she'd been to a concert and she'd just left. Ander's hand was on her arm. She pulled away. He moved back like she'd struck him.
"I'm fine," her own voice foreign.
Will barked orders at them; she only paid half attention. He told her to get up, so she did. He told her to walk fast, so she did. Everything felt surreal. They returned to the SUV covered in blood and dirt. She watched as Will and Ander loaded the body in the back. Was there always a tarp in there? Ander put Kevin's head in a bag. Numbly, she climbed into the back seat.