The room never stopped spinning. Even while I laid on the cold marble flooring staring straight at the ceiling, I could feel the earth around me spin uncontrollably in that moment. Nothing could have prepared me for this. Nothing could have signaled that Gustavo would go after my loved ones. My friends. How did he even know who Devin was? When had he seen us together? Nothing made sense other then the realization that it was me he wanted.
He wanted me to come to him, to turn myself in as the claimed one so that he could get the ultimate prize. The sounds of voices, muffled in the background was all I heard in the moment of pure shock. My body shuttered then moved from its current resting place and I knew I was being moved from my spot on the ground. The voices started to become more clear, more pronounced. I was coming out of my state of unconsciousness but I wasn't alone in doing so.
"Rebecca! Can you hear me?" The voices became clear but now I needed to channel them. Who was calling my name?
"Rebecca snap out of it!" The deep voice commanded. It was the only voice I knew who liked to tell me what to do. The voice that made me cringe suddenly for every negative feeling I had prior to passing out suddenly rushed my body like a freight train.
"Heath?"
"Rebecca are you okay?" He asked. I blinked open my eyes and saw the blur fade. There above me, was Heath. Staring straight into my eyes.
"Devin ... DEVIN!" I screamed.
"It's okay. It's going to be okay." He said as he wiped the hair out of my face. The sounds of heels walking towards us caught my attention and I remembered we were not alone.
"Here, drink this." The females voice said as a glass of water was being held in front of me. I waved my hand at it in protest but Heath's subtle and low growl was enough for me to know to just take it. The cold water felt amazing as it filtered down my throat and cooled my body. I could feel the pressure immediately begin to deplete from my skull and I wanted to just relax. But I couldn't.
"Heath we have to save him. We have to." I said as I struggled to get up. He lifted me to my feet but walked me over to the massive Dining room table. He sat me down then started to examine my head
"She's bleeding back here too." He said. I watched as Xiang ... Jade, picked up a first aid kit and walk it over to us.
"You hit your head pretty hard on the floor. Do you still feel dizzy?" She asked.
"No ... yes... a little" I answered. She wiped up the blood from the side of my head and started to separate my hair to get a better look.
"No stitches will be needed but let me clean this up." She said. I looked at Heath then back at her. I began to feel pressure build up in my chest for I felt like the big issue at hand was being ignored.
"Why aren't we reacting the way we should be?" I asked. "Why aren't we on our way to save him?" Heath took a deep breath and looked back at Jade. She didn't look back but I could see she was not trying to involve herself into this conversation.
"Rebecca..." Heath began. "We don't know where they are." He said.
"So we go look for them!" I replied.
"If it were that easy, we would have found them already and attempted to end this." He replied.
"So we don't go look because we don't know where they are hiding?" I asked.
"It's not that simple..."
"Call the pack Heath! Tell them to go to Devin's house and smell out the scent. Follow it... track it to where he is!" I said as I slammed my fist down. Heath took a deep breath and waited for me to calm down.
"I cant call on the pack right now." He said.
"What?! Why?"
"When the key leaders of a pack are at war with each other, it ruins the entire moral of the pack. Sides are taken, threats are made and it doesn't end well. We are in the midst of turmoil between each other. The pack is broken." He said.
"But Heath YOU'RE the alpha! You have the power." I said.
"You don't get it Rebecca. My being the alpha is exactly the reason why I can't call them to me. If they chose to side with me, it changes the ranks of each pack member which means it leaves doors open that should not be open."
"I ... I don't understand" I replied. Jade looked at Heath and lifted her hand as a way to ask for permission to explain. Heath took a deep breath and granted the permission.
"You see, in a pack, each member has a rank. A level of command in which they follow until the opportunity is given to change that. Once the levels of command shift, the lower ranking wolves can and will present themselves as a threat. They will attempt to fight for a power increase within the pack." Jade said. "Starting with Alpha. The alpha wolf is the
ultimate rank within a pack. If a wolf decides to take on member one by one, by the time they reach the alpha, they will
be tired, weakened. They will surely lose. However if they strike the alpha first, they have a great advantage and opportunity to win."
"But an alpha is the strongest member of the pack. They would all lose." I said.
"The alpha is only as strong as he is because he has the strength of his pack to back him. Without them, he is just another wolf. Another target that can easily be taken out." She explained.
"They wouldn't do that... they couldn't... could they?" I asked.
"They can and they will." Heath said as he looked down at his hands. "I need to make things right with Max before I can do anything else. If I step out of this house as a lone wolf, They will come for me."
"But they love you, they could never"
"It's instinct over morals Rebecca. They will not act as if human, they will act as the beats inside of them." He explained.
"You see, werewolves weren't always tamed beasts that they are now." Jade explained.
"When the first great lycanthrope was created, he was created in Athena's state of rage. She summoned a man to
become a savage, ferrel beast who would seek and kill supernaturals during the great war. After he did what she needed him to do, she disposed of him, Banishing him to live amongst humans. He was hurt, distorted by the love he had for
her. He walked the earth ready to die for love had broken him. Each night of the full moon, he would turn into the savage wolf and kill. He hated what he was. He knew he had to change his ways." She added.
"He wanted to change, not only for himself, but for the greater good of his kind. He traveled far from Greece and locked himself in a cave somewhere in current Romania. He spent a century channeling his inner beast, trying to understand him but he couldn't tame him knowing that at the night of the full moon, he would escape and still kill. So he surrounded the cave with Silver. He forced himself to stay put and after a century of trying, he succeeded. He became one with the beast inside and learned to be coherent when transformed." Heath added.
"The tales go on to say that he then created another Werewolf. One who acted much like himself but taught him the ways of being one with the beast. The chain went on from there. The two of them went around all of Europe in search for the beasts created by the original Lycanthrope to either rehabilitate or eradicate them. Once a group of 6 was established it became clear that the wolves were now becoming a pack. It was then that the fight for hierarchy began. It was the one thing that the first Lycanthrope could not stop between wolves, the one thing he could not tame. He realized that power would be one weakness that could not be overcome. So he sat back and watched his wolves fight to the death, leaving only his first tamed."
"Why didn't they fight him?" I asked.
"Because he was the first of their kind. A god in their eyes. His ranking was not one to be challenged or ever duplicated. He possessed powers that no werewolf would ever
be able to recreate or possess themselves. What is higher then a god?" Jade said.
"So what happened to him?" I asked. Heath and Jade looked at each other then back at me.
"Legends state that after the war between their small pack occurred, he felt defeated. He did not want to partake in the battle for power so he released his progeny as a lone wolf. To create others like him, but controlled. To establish the ranks between packs but at a level of respect for what they were. They were not to be looked at as beasts, but civil creatures of the night who were there to protect from the likes of other monsters." Jade added.
"So he is still alive?" I asked.
"No one knows. A werewolf is immortal until he or she choses to let go of immortality. He let go of his progeny, ran off into the wilderness and disappeared. Many believe he watched over the wolves for a millennia after, but then let go of his immortality and died." Heath said.
"So you see, the struggle and fight for higher rank has always been something the wolves carried. It is something they could never overcome and this pack is no different." Jade added.
"So we just let Devin die..." I said.
"No. We fight, but we have to save this pack first." Heath said.
"Plus, Gustavo won't kill him." The heavily accented voice said from the hallway. We turned and saw the reflective
eyes shimmer from the shadows.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"He wants us to come to him. He knows Rebecca will fight for her loved ones and if she goes, we go. He saw it happen that night on the highway. He is using Devin as bate." Sebastian said.
"Exactly." Heath said.
"What about the other vampires? what if we get them to help? We wont need the pack!" I said.
"They want nothing to do with us or this. They only want to assure that Gustavo is brought down. Devin dying would be just like the wind blowing to them. Irrelevant." Sebastian replied.
"I need the pack. WE need the pack" Heath said now placing his hand on my face. I quickly recoiled from it and stood up off the table. I walked over to Sebastian and leaned against the wall.
"Rebecca, he's right. He needs to take care of the things he cares most about. His family." Sebastian added. I looked at him and saw he was looking noticeably better. He didn't look like a rotting corpse anymore but now that the wolves are in turmoil, who would he feed off of? Standing there, thinking
about Sebastian, thinking about Devin and thinking about how this will all play out suddenly sent me into a downward spiral of emotions. I slid down in the chair as I cried to myself knowing that things would only get worst from here.
"Rebecca, how about you go upstairs and take a hot
shower. Then you can relax a bit while the three of us discuss a strategy." Sebastian said. I looked up at him and smiled. A shower would do me good right now, especially since I was covered in vampire blood. He helped me up and gave me a hug. I took a deep breath and inhaled the floral scent he gave off. I felt very comfortable there in his arms and I knew he enjoyed it. I backed away and he wiped my eyes and smiled.
"Go on... you smell" He added which caused all of us to laugh. I looked back at Heath who wasn't giving me eye contact, instead he turned out the window and stared. I knew he was bothered by my interaction with Sebastian but more so by the feeling of being alone. I could only imagine how Devin felt right now.
*
The shower felt amazing and definitely would have relaxed a person who didn't have the amount of stress I did. Even being cleaned off, staring in the mirror and looking at the baggy eyed, pale red headed girl who stared back at me only made me feel worst. I hated my situation and wanted only to just end it all but how would that help any? I walked out of the bathroom and continued to dry my hair with the towel. Inside Heath's massive closet, he added a section of clothes just for me. He said that it was added only in the event that I chose to sleep at his house I will have clothes prepared and waiting for me. I picked out some loose fitted jeans, a tank top and a zip up hoodie then walked out into the room. As I made it to the
bed, I saw my phone blinking as if I received a message. My heart stopped for I feared what the next message would say.
Slowly I picked it up, took a breath then unlocked the screen. The message simply stated:
"Come Find Me"
It was from Devin. My hands began to shake for I knew this was a set up, but something had to be done. I quickly responded back to the message and asked where he was. A complete minute passed before I got another message back. This time in the form of a picture message. I hesitated before opening it but I knew that what was on that picture would help me find my friend. I opened it and to my surprise, a picture of Devin's house was displayed.
"We're waiting" The caption read. How would I get there knowing what I know now? Even if I could convince Heath, he couldn't and wouldn't take me so I knew I had to do this on my own. I took a deep breath and began pacing back and forth before finally putting my shoes on and walking towards the door. Enough was enough. It was time I took matters into my own hands. Learned to stand on my own in this shitty situation and I knew what had to be done.
I stopped when I remembered that Heath, Sebastian and Jade would all stop me if they knew where I was going. This would have to be a sneak out mission. I turned around and made my way to the long wall of windows. In the middle, a sliding glass door was placed so I slowly opened it and exited to the balcony.
Softly, I tip toed to the edge and looked over. The only issue I would have is going down this way would land me
directly behind the dining room. The dining room that had the same wall of glass that Heath's bedroom did. They would see me as I landed. I looked to the right of the large house and saw that the ledge was just thick enough, for me to stand on and possibly shimmy my way to the front of the house without
being seen. This was my only resort.
Slowly I placed my left leg over the balcony and onto the ledge, then my right. Once completely on the other side, I took a deep breath and began my shimmy. I knew not to look down to avoid a panic so I continued on without doing so. Once I made it the mid way point of the house I knew there was a large pillar I'd have to go around. The ledge that wrapped around said pillar, became very thin, so my every move would have to be precise and calculated to a T.
I wrapped my arm rightly around the massive stone structure, then began to move my left foot along the small ridge. I repeated the same steps and made it to the middle of the pillar. I took a deep breath and attempted to keep going however, the falling of my cellphone was enough to make me look down unintentionally. The movement was so fast that my feet gave out and I began my descend towards the ground. Gripping on by the edge of my fingers, I held on and dangled above the 50 foot drop. I bit my tongue trying not to scream but I knew if I let go, I'd be seriously hurt. Using what little grip I had on the ledge left, I began to move along towards the wall, utilizing my feet against the pillar as support.
I was within arms reach of the larger ledge, so all I had to do was reach that and I'd be okay. I began slowly moving myself closer to it but felt my fingers losing grip. The only way I'd make it, is if I used my feet to push myself off the pillar but towards the ledge. If I did it with enough strength and from the correct angle, I'd be able to grab hold of it, then safely pull
myself up. I took a deep breath, stopped over thinking it, then pushed myself towards the ledge.
Instinctively my body turned and my arms reached for the thicker ledge and I made it. My legs swung back and forth
before finally making contact with the brick wall. I hurled myself up and finally was back to standing on the ledge. I looked down and saw that my phone landed in the bushes underneath me but at this point I wouldn't need it. I pressed on toward the next balcony which was directly above the ball room in Heath's house. Here is where I'd be able to climb down and not be seen.
I pulled myself over and onto the balcony and began walking towards the other edge. Before I could make it, I noticed that the door to this room was left open. A room that was mainly untouched and unused. No lights were on so the pitch black of the room was hard to see into but something was in there, something large and something moving. I didn't mean to gasp and make any sound but it was too late. The large beast stopped then turned around to face me. The yellow eyes shimmered as they walked towards me and I knew it was a wolf.
Instant flashbacks of Carson started flushing through my memories and I began to step backwards. Tripping over my own feet, I fell to the ground and tried to get back up but there was no where I could go in that moment. Slowly, the wolf stepped out into the light exposing himself. To my surprise, Hector stood before me and let out a low growl. It dawned on me suddenly that I knew why he was here. Why he was sneaking into the house through one of the bedrooms. I looked at him and tilted my head to the side.
"You're here to challenge Heath aren't you?" I whispered. He didn't respond with a nod or anything but instead showed me his teeth.
"Don't you see how bad that is?" I asked. "I understand you feel its about power and being on top, but Hector that
wouldn't help the outside situation. If all of you fought each other to the death, that would leave one alive. One sole weakened Werewolf to fend for themselves against these vampires." I explained. He looked at me and his eyes shifted a bit. It was almost as if he was thinking about what I said.
"Even if you did chose to fight right now, you would lose. He's not alone in there. He has Sebastian and he has Jade. From what I hear she is a bad ass spirit shifter who is ruthless in battle." I explained and Hector's eyes suddenly changed colors. The golden yellow went to his soft dark brown and he suddenly exhaled the way a very tired dog would. I began to pet and scratch his head now that he sat down next to me.
"See... I understand why you of all them want to fight. You want to be a higher rank. Being the omega must really suck for you." I said now as I pet him. He let out a low growl and I smiled.
"But Hector, your day will come when you will be able to become a higher ranked wolf. What you're doing for sebastian, already puts you leaps and bounds ahead of the others. They would have never agreed where you, just took it and did it because you understood it was for the pack. That alone, makes you stronger then any of those other wolves." I explained. He looked at me then licked my face. I wanted to cringe but I was happy I got him to change his mind. He
nudged me then nodded his head to the edge of the balcony. I knew he was asking me what I was doing.
"You want to know what I was doing out here?" I asked. He nodded his head and waited. I looked at him and suddenly got a brilliant idea.
"Hey, want to do me a favor?"
*
Seeing how easy it was to run right by all the armed forces, its no wonder how Gustavo got into town and no one noticed. Even now, as Hector crawled through the woods with me on his back, there are four different agents with guns and flashlights attached to them walking within 30 feet from us and we have gone unnoticed. How does one not see a massive wolf the size of a bear walking through the woods?
Hector pressed on as we approached Devin's backyard. He sniffed the air to make sure the armed forces searching the woods wouldn't see us before he leaped over the fence. We were only two steps in before he began to growl loudly after sniffing the air again. I had not told him about Devin and Gustavo so the smell caught him off guard. Quickly I jumped off his back and turned around to face him.
"I know what your thinking but hear me out!" He snapped at me close enough to feel the air fly from his mouth. Teeth bared and hair standing on the back of his neck, he crouched down in a defense mode and looked around.
"I have to try and save him. The Vampires are here and Heath was going to let them kill him!" I said. Hector swung his head around me and began to push me back towards the fence.
"Hector no! I'm staying! If you don't help me fine but if you continue to push me away from saving my friend, I will scream and those armed forces will come here." I said.
Hector bared his teeth then looked around at me once
more. His eyes were a fierce yellow now but he moved out of my way. I nodded my head at his understanding and staying to help then continued on with my mission. The backyard was kept neat and organized and it looks like Devin's mom was preparing it for spring. A rake and some other gardening tools were left out along with a watering hose that looked pretty new. Hector and I walked by it all and made way to the backdoor. Once there, I noticed the door was slightly cracked as if it were left open specifically for me, which only gave me chills thinking about it.
"Okay, I'm going in." I turned and said to Hector who let out a vicious growl as if to protest.
"You can attempt to enter as well but your quite large and probably wont fit. You'll have to phase." I explained. He bared his teeth again, then looked around. Within seconds, he crouched down and began to shift back into a human. I took the large cover that was placed over the patio set and handed it to him to wrap his naked body in.
As soon as his transformation ended, he stood up and wrapped himself up.
"Rebecca we need to get out of here, now." Hector said.
"Right after I make sure Devin is okay." I said then
entered the house. Inside was dark, no lights on and eerily quiet. I tip toed through the kitchen then entered the living room. The TV was still on and muted but no one was there to watch it. Hector's eyes were still yellow as we walked and his claws were extended. He had to keep his guard up just in case which made me feel better. Before walking up there stairs, I grabbed the metal letter opener that was on the coffee table just as a precaution.
The hallway at the top of the stairs was long and had lead to three bedrooms and a bathroom. To the left was the master, to the right was a bathroom. At the end of the hallway was a spare room and then Devin's. The master bedroom door was wide open and no one was in there, at least from what I could see. This did not make me feel good about what might go down here. I continued on and stopped at the door to his room. I took a deep breath before finally pushing it open then entered.
Inside, laid Devin, sound asleep on his bed. I practically ran over to him and checked his neck for bite marks but found nothing. I immediately started to shake him awake but nothing happened.
"Devin... Devin wake up."
"His parents are in the spare room sleeping in their office chairs. Something is up here" Hector said.
"He won't wake up. I think he is..." As I was finishing my sentence, I noticed a pair of red glowing eyes behind him. "WATCH OUT!" I shouted but the vampire knocked him over the head with a blunt object. As Hector fell another vampire grabbed him by the ankles and drug him out into the hall way, closing the door behind them. I ran over and tried to
open it, but had no luck.
"HECTOR!!" I screamed as I heard the sounds of furniture breaking.
"I think I gave you too much credit at one point. Thinking you were smarter then to come here after your friend. I almost didn't go through with the plan." The heavy
accent said from behind me. I turned around to see Gustavo sitting on the bed running his fingers through Devin's hair as he slept.
"Originally it included your uncle. It was him who I planned on using the powerful spell of heavy sleep on but when I saw you risk Devin's life for a necklace, I realized it was a perfect plan."
"What do you plan on doing to him?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing dear. I just needed him as a distraction. You are what I need for my plan." He explained. In the blink of an eye, he went from sitting on the bed, to being directly in front of me, inches away.
"Fuck, you smell divine!" He said as he smelled me. It was my only chance to use the letter opener and kill him. I quickly shoved it into his chest but he saw it coming and moved over just far enough for me to miss his heart. He exposed his fangs and his eyes went red. He screamed into my face as he slammed me against the wall but burned his hand as he tried to grab my neck. While he recoiled, I made a run for the window but he was much faster then me and had me by my hair.
"Oh no you don't" He said before slamming my head
down onto the corner of the foot board. I immediately saw stars and fell to the floor. The room started to fade and spin as he crouched down over me.
"The only place your going ... is with me." was the last thing I heard before blacking out.