Will came back into the room and peered at his phone. He still seemed angry, which meant he was still upset about the mission, or maybe he and Mason had argued. Without looking up, he retrieved a beer from the mini fridge and plopped on his bed. He cracked his neck and shoulders, and his expression grew more intense as he read.
Seconds later, Ander stood in front of Will. Maeve couldn't see either of their faces and, as usual, no words were used, but they were having some type of exchange. She ignored them and opened her journal.
"Your neck and shoulder are irritated again. Are you doing the stretches I recommended?"
Maeve paused in her writing and slid her eyes over to Will and Ander. Ander was behind Will, massaging his shoulder and neck. Will still stared at his phone.
"This is one of the few injuries that did not heal properly. Can you please have the patience to do the recommended therapy?"
"I'm not gonna do the PT, you know that. Why do you even bother nagging me about it?" Will replied gruffly.
"Because I dislike that you are in constant pain due to me," Ander whispered.
Will grimaced. "It's not your fault, Andy. I told you that. It was never your fault." Bitterness laced in Will's words.
Will was in pain all the time? Maeve raised her head, unable to keep herself from staring at them.
"Will-" Ander began.
"Don't. I'm not gonna agree with you. I'll never agree it's your fault. It happened because of him, not you."
"Yes, but if you had not tried to keep him from me-"
"Stop!" Will pulled away from Ander and looked at him over his shoulder. "I did what I did because I was tired of that asshole beating the shit out of you. I don't care if it didn't heal right. I don't care if it hurts. It was worth it."
Ander nodded and put his hands on Will. Maeve sat still, moved by Will's devotion to his cousin. Will slowly brought his eyes to Maeve. She held her breath. For the first time in weeks, she felt like an intruder again. Will slid away from Ander and stood. Ander pinched his eyebrows as Will pulled out another beer from the mini fridge.
Maeve sensed Ander staring at her and turned her head back to him. Her hand strayed up and touched her necklace. She felt certain that Will only moved away from Ander because she was there, and she pulled her bottom lip in and nibbled on it, wondering what Will didn't want her to know. That he was in constant pain? Or that Ander tried to help by giving him a massage? She spun her gaze back to Will, figuring it was probably both.
"We leave tomorrow," Will said with his impassive mask back in place.
She nodded and turned back to her journal.
********
Maeve yawned and rubbed her eyes, peering out the window and wondered where they now were now. She knew they'd headed south, but Will hadn't told her the destination for the next mission. She wanted to ask, but he was moody again, so she treaded carefully. He and Ander had been bickering for the past two days of the trip. As always, Will was impatient to get the location, but Ander reminded him they hadn't received the order to engage and he wouldn't want to sit with nothing to do for days.
To that end, they took what Will called the "scenic route". He even let them stop overnight twice. The first stop in Knoxville was for Will. All he wanted to do was stay out all night drinking. It irritated both her and Ander, but they both agreed that he needed to unwind a bit, so they went to bar after bar with him until they had to practically carry him into the motel room. Maeve had no idea how Ander could support most of Will's weight. She felt like she was trying to lift a car because he was so dense with all that muscle.
It was exhausting to put him to bed. She glanced at Ander several times, once again taken aback by how easy he made it appear, although he'd been doing it most of his life. She had been relieved it wasn't Will's night, because when he was that drunk, she didn't want to be around him.
When she and Ander settled in bed together, she'd asked him about the next mission. It was then he'd told her they were going after another werewolf. That night when she dreamed, she had nightmares about Kevin and her part in his death. Ander had to wake her up twice because she was crying or being loud. When he asked her what she dreamt about, she lied and told him it was about the demons. She didn't think he believed her, but he let it alone.
The next day they set off with a hungover and even grumpier Will, but he at least let Ander drive until they reached Savannah. Maeve wanted to see Savannah. She hadn't been that far south before and she wanted to experience everything, even in the heat. After lunch and his afternoon beer, Will obliged her and agreed to do silly tourist things. She rewarded him with a squeal and a soft kiss. They'd spent the entire day and into the evening going on tours and seeing important landmarks. Maeve was tired but in great spirits when they got to their room.
To her surprise, when she came out from her shower, Ander was gone. When she asked where he'd gone, Will told her that he went to an all night gym. Before she could ask another question, he had her on his bed and naked, and feasted on her until she called out his name repeatedly. She'd tried to reciprocate. He gently refused and told her they'd run out of time and seemed amused by her frustration, winking at her when Ander opened the door. Had he done it on purpose to make her crazy with desire for him? If so, it worked.
When they laid together that night, she'd been the one who had difficulty going to sleep. Her mind couldn't purge the images of his naked body moving with hers. He'd nuzzled against her neck and breathed in her scent before he made satisfied noises and tugged her closer. Maeve couldn't look at Will and not think about their bodies entwined. It didn't matter where they were or what they were doing. If she wasn't focused on something else, it was where her thoughts drifted to. Every time he caught her, his lips would tilt up in a wolfish smile. It reinforced her theory that he was playing with her.
Still staring out of the window, she was glad tonight was Ander's night. She didn't think she could trust herself with Will in bed again. How had things turned upside down? "Everything is so flat here," she commented to no one in particular.
"Yeah, Florida is flat as fuck," Will replied from the front seat.
"Where are all the beaches?" Now that she knew where they were, why didn't she see any beaches? That was all anyone ever talked about with Florida, the beaches and amusement parks.
"We were close to the coast, but we headed inland. Where we are going is more in the center. Florida is fucking huge. Huge and filled with idiots," Will told her.
"Where are we going?"
"Close to the everglades," Will said. Everglades. The only thing she remembered about them was that there were alligators. "Its gonna be miserably fucking humid and hot like you haven't felt before,"
"Have you ever been to Florida?" Ander turned his head to see her.
She shook her head.
"We have only been a few times. It is not pleasant in the summer," he finished.
"Not pleasant? It's fucking horrible. I hate fucking Florida," Will grumbled.
"You dislike Florida because you had an unpleasant experience."
"We both had unpleasant experiences here," Will corrected.
"Yes, but I was not shot by an angry father over his deflowered daughter," Ander said with a smirk.
"That's not why I hate Florida!" Will raised his voice. "And many others had deflowered his daughter before I got there."
"True, but you were the only one who attempted a relationship with her."
Well, that was interesting. Will tried to have a relationship before?
"That wasn't a relationship, it was convenience. I thought we were never gonna find that skinwalker and get the fuck out of here," Will grumbled.
"We were here for six weeks, but you were determined to destroy the skinwalker. You refused to leave without its head."
"And we got it, along with some goddamn respect from the other Soldiers of Night."
"How long ago was the skinwalker mission?" Maeve risked asking, concerned if she said anything, they might stop talking about their past.
"It was August of 2000," Ander replied.
"So fucking hot here in August," Will muttered.
Maeve did the math. That had been almost twelve years ago. Her eyes widened when she realized how young they'd been. She knew Wyatt was dead by the year 2000, from what both Will and Ander had told her, but that meant they were down there on their own as teenagers. How had they managed? Even just simple things like buying things, or getting a motel room? She sat back in her seat and recalled that Will had mentioned they'd camped a lot when they were younger, so likely they just camped the entire six weeks.
She really was sheltered. There was no way she would've managed on her own at sixteen while also watching over someone else. Being responsible for everything - no way. How'd they get out of school?
"Still can't believe it was the damn quickie mart owner. How many times did we go to that place, Andy?"
"Since that was our primary store we shopped at, possibly over a hundred."
Will shook his head. "I was so stupid then. What was its name? Joe, John, something like that. I talked to it all the time, and thought it was a cool guy. I was such a fucking moron."
"Not a moron. Inexperienced. We both were," Ander offered.
"You don't remember his name?" Maeve asked. It seemed impossible to her. If they interacted with him that many times and he'd turned out to be the monster, how could he forget his name?
"No I don't. I remember his scent, I remember cutting his head off," Will paused, "and I remember the people he killed, every one of them," his voice contemplative at the end.
Why did she always ask the wrong question? Damn it, things had been light hearted, and she'd once again ruined his mood by asking the wrong thing. She pulled a section of her hair and ran her fingers through it, trying to figure out a way to lighten his mood. The SUV pulled into a parking lot of a small motel. Will got out and stomped toward the office. Ander unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at Maeve.
"Its name was Justin." He paused. "It was the first time Will felt personal responsibility for the victims, because he was lead on the mission. Unfortunately, it never seemed to change after that. Every victim from a monster he is charged to destroy, he feels, is his failure."
"That's absurd. He's only one person."
"I agree with you. There are times where it is our failure, but not for every victim. I have tried many times to discuss it with him, but you understand how he is," Ander said.
She nodded, she did know. Great, once again, she'd triggered him.
"It is Will's issue. You are not the cause."
Her eyes flicked up to his. How had he known what she was thinking? A cool, peaceful feeling moved across her.
"Why did you lie to me about your nightmares?" he asked carefully.
She wanted to pull her eyes away, but couldn't. Her eyes burned, and she blinked. "I didn't want to tell you the truth."
"Why?"
"Because," she paused and swallowed. She wanted to look away. She didn't want to see the concern, feel his caring. "It was about Kevin," she admitted.
"The werewolf." He sat up straighter. "Because I told you about this mission. I caused your distress."
"No, it wasn't you." She pitched forward and put her hand on his arm. "It wouldn't have mattered. As soon as I realized what the mission was, it would've been the same. This way I had some time to work through things before we start." She tried to make her tone reassuring.
He narrowed his eyes. "For your own comfort, and to be able to process things... you should not use its name. If you do, it will continue to plague you."
"Don't call him Kevin? But that was his name."
"I understand that, but you cannot continue to see it as a human. If you do, you will never be able to move past it."
Maeve pulled her hand away from him and sat back against the seat in shock. She shook her head. That couldn't be right. Ander wanted to help people. She'd felt his humanity.
"I understand it sounds harsh, but it is important to survive this life. The things you have and will be exposed to."
"You want me to just see him as a werewolf?"
"Yes," he said with caution.
"You told me that werewolves and people weren't so different." The coldness in his tone shook Maeve to her core. Was it because of his duties? Was she the one being irrational, and he was right?
"True, they are not, but in war there are many casualties, and you can not afford to see each enemy as an individual. It will drive you mad." He turned to face her. "You said you did not regret your actions."
"I didn't - I don't, but I'm not going to just be okay with murdering people. Enemy or not," she said with fire in her tone.
The driver's side door opened and Will hopped into his seat. Seconds later, he looked at Ander and then her before moving his attention back to Ander. "You okay?"
Ander nodded and faced forward.
Will's grey eyes moved to the rearview mirror. "You okay?" She nodded and then stared at the floor. "Awesome," he said with sarcasm, and drove the SUV to the end unit.