Chapter Fifteen (Xed)
"Nice job."
I shot Hunter a glare, but he was one of the few people in the world that wasn't intimidated by me. I couldn't tell if it was stupidity or cockiness that made him unafraid, but it didn't matter because I didn't care about him.
I cared about Newell.
And I cared about the fact that I had just destroyed years of trust by confessing what had happened. I couldn't get the image of Newell's expression when I had told him. I had never seen that look on his face before. I could only name it as something between humiliation and rage. The color had drained from his face and his eyes widened. At first I was expecting him to accuse me of being a liar, but instead, he'd just stared at me before taking off back to the car.
I couldn't understand it. Had I hurt him? Was he angry? Embarrassed?
"I didn't mean to hurt him." I said at last, hoping Hunter would find some of his humanity to help. I expected too much because he scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.
"You didn't hurt him," Hunter replied drolly, "He's probably embarrassed as fuck. You just told him he kissed you as a drunken mistake. I don't think anyone would appreciate that." I frowned, glancing at him out the corner of my eye.
"But it was the truth. He did not mean to do it. He was drunk. Granted, it was a first, but--"
"Oh, please," Hunter groaned, "I may not be Nora Roberts or anything when it comes to romance, but man, seriously. Ain't nobody ever tell you that the truth comes out when you're drunk? Or ain't you ever been drunk?"
"I don't enjoy the flavor of alcohol."
"Dear God. You really are a monster," Hunter snorted, making me glare at him before he sighed, looking off into the woods with a frown, "Well, we ain't solvin' nothin' by standin' around. We need to catch up to your butt buddy before something else bad happens to him. In case you've forgotten, he's the most wanted fugitive in the world. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if aliens came out of outer space and abducted him for the reward, or just for anal probing. They do that, you know." I ignored his ranting and pulled myself out of the water. I dragged myself on shore, letting my fin crack, snap, and rip itself back into a pair of legs.
But the pain was nothing compared to the pain of not having Newell here, of having destroyed our trust, and what was left of our relationship. Surely he would not want me around now.
I kept asking myself what exactly had upset him. I mean, aside from the fact that I broke an important rule and sang to him, resulting in his short memory loss issue. Was he disgusted at the thought of kissing me? Or was he disgusted in himself? Even though he never told me out loud, I knew he was self-loathing. He purposely avoided his reflection and curled his lip when a human mistook him for a child and gushed about him.
My heart sank deeper as I tried to think of something that might reconcile to Newell, but I kept coming up empty handed and Hunter was hardly a help. We trudged back through the woods back to the car when an odd scent hit the air. I frowned, sniffing for a moment before Hunter caught me by the shoulder and whipped me back around so we were standing behind a cluster of large trees. I glared at him for touching me and he held a finger to his lips.
I frowned, confused as I watched him take out his gun. I narrowed my eyes at him, but then the scent in the air grew stronger and this time, I recognized it. It was the same scent we had picked up on when we passed through the toll booth on our way out of New York.
Werewolves.
And I was willing to bet that they were after Newell.
Him, or Hunter, who threatened the she-wolf at the toll booth.
I wanted to go out and find Newell as soon as possible, but jumping out now would startle the wolves and while I could take them down just fine, I wasn't going to risk attacking them when I wasn't sure how many there were. A pack could very well kill me if I wasn't careful.
Hunter and I remained silent, listening through the darkness. I could hear voices speaking angrily somewhere out in front of us, in the path of Hunter's car, but I still couldn't see much through the darkness. Not even the moonlight helped. It just cast an eerie milky glow to rustling trees.
The smell of blood soon reached my nostrils and panic welled up in my chest so tight, it was painful. I started to move, but Hunter caught me by the wrist and tore me back. I went to snap at him, but he pressed the barrel of his gun right into my throat. I glared at him as he glared back, eyes narrowed.
He didn't speak. Just held a finger to his lips and made a gesture for me to stay put and not move. I wanted to tell him to take his order and shove it, but my instincts knew he was right. So against the screaming in my head, I remained absolutely still until I noticed that Hunter was beginning to creep forward. I frowned and followed after him, walking in his footsteps and moving as quietly and slowly as he was.
While I didn't enjoy this human at all and constantly debated on devouring him when no one was looking, I had to admit, he stood by his namesake well. He moved fluidly, blending in with the foliage cloaked in shadow. He managed to stay out of the moonlight, hiding against trees and tall grass. His muscles flexed and tensed, eyes narrowed and darting around, watching every little thing around him.
He was more than just a hunter.
He was a predator.
We moved through the trees silently, approaching the car that glinted in the moonlight. The scent of blood grew harsher. Hunter came out of the woods before me, coming into the clearing beside the car. I followed close behind him, watching as he crouched down in the grass and touched the blood there. It glistened on his fingers, and I instantly recognized the scent of it.
Newell.
My heart clenched as Hunter sniffed at it before rising to his feet, looking around while wiping the blood off on his pants.
"Looks like someone got to your kid before we could," He muttered, then paused to sniff around some more, "And from the smell of it, werewolves." I looked at him questioningly as he scanned the surrounding woods before turning the safety off his gun.
"If we keep moving, we can find them. Keep up and keep quiet. If you become a liability, I'll kill you." He told me. I frowned, but said nothing to that as Hunter started to move into the woods again. I stuck close behind him, watching him expertly track the wolves through the woods. The whole way we moved, I could smell the strong scent of wolf. The grass was pushed down where they walked, and very faintly could I hear their voices. It was a wonder they hadn't picked up on us already with their strong sense of smell.
It was the thing of legend. Wolves used their sense of smell to hunt their prey for miles. Did they already know we were here? Were they planning to turn and fight?
At the way Hunter was relaxed as he hunted, gun tucked close to him, he didn't even seem to suspect an ambush of any kind. We continued on for what felt like forever before Hunter pulled up short and put his arm out in front of me to keep me from going any further. I frowned curiously at him and he held his finger to his lips, indicating that I remain quiet. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him, seeing as I couldn't talk. We stood there for a few minutes before Hunter gestured me to follow him.
We approached what looked like a small village set amongst all the trees. The log cabins were scattered around a large dirt clearing where dozens of people milled around. Children were laughing and playing with toys, mothers hanging clothes out to dry or cooking inside their homes that spit smoke into the sky. They had electricity to fuel the lights that lit the place up almost as brightly as day might be.
My eyes drifted to see a group of people standing around in a cluster away from the rest of the people of the village. I scanned their faces, counting six men and four women. They were definitely werewolves. They all had athletic builds and seemed quite tall. A few dressed in flannel with winter jackets, others decked out in leather. There were two that stood out amongst the others. One was an auburn-haired man, slender and feminine unlike the others. He wore a pair of sunglasses on his head, his eyes an eerie shade of green. He dressed in blue flannel under a leather jacket that definitely did not belong to him judging from the way it hung on him.
But the next one I knew instantly was the alpha.
He was muscular and strong with broad shoulders with hair as black as the night sky, wavy and almost touching his shoulders, and eyes as dark as his hair. He only wore a tight black t-shirt and matching jeans. There was also a very prominent tattoo of a circled pentagram at the base of his throat.
"You nearly killed him." The auburn-haired man snapped angrily, eyes glaring across the circle at another raven-haired man, who curled his lip.
"We were told to teach him a lesson, and that's just what I did." The man sneered.
"We were told to scare the man who threatened Melinda, not a kid."
"He's not a kid! That was Newell C. Drakon!"
"I don't care who he is! We weren't supposed to attack him! We were supposed to attack the hunter!"
"What's the difference?!"
"Stop yelling," A red-haired female snarled, catching their attention and making them fall silent, "We don't have much time before his friends catch up to us, if they haven't already. If we're not gonna sell him or kill him, then we need to dump his ass and get the pack together to move again."
"No," A dark-haired female protested, clutching at her stomach, "I'm only a couple days along! I can't risk traveling now, not since the state changed its policy on hunting wolves. It's hunting season in Michigan and I am not about to end up on some human's wall as a trophy!"
"Claire's right," The blonde man beside her insisted, putting an arm around her and holding her close, "We've lost enough people because of our run in with Zephyra. We don't have time to make rash decisions. I say just heal the kid up and hand him over to his friends peacefully. Maybe if we don't hurt him, they won't hurt us."
"They're just two people against almost fifteen of us," The second raven-haired man sneered, "They don't stand a chance." The auburn-haired man snorted, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at him.
"Don't be stupid. There could be seventy-five of us and those two would rip through us like toilet paper. Obviously you didn't study well, because mermen are natural enemies to any of us on land, and last I checked, we're on land! They're known to take down entire ships." He insisted.
"Oh, please, Vini," A woman with black hair scoffed, "That's a tribe of mermaids. This is just one single merman and a human."
"A hunter," Vini snapped at her, clenching his fists, "Hunters aren't just regular humans that run around waving knives and throwing holy water at vampires. These kinds of hunters don't hunt deer and bear and foxes. They hunt us. They hunt werewolves, vampires, shifters. They're equiped to kill all of us."
"Then why is this one traveling with a merman and a vampire?" Claire asked, confused. Vini frowned, averting his eyes.
"I asked the vampire, but he's still unconscious. All I'm getting out of him is dazed babble, and I would've gotten something important if someone hadn't of beat the living crap out of him." He shot a pointed look over at the large black-haired man he'd been arguing with earlier. The guy started toward Vini, but the alpha finally moved from his rigid stance and blocked the other guy's path. Everyone went still and silent, even Vini as the alpha raked them all with a harsh stare.
"I said find the one who threatened Melinda. Make sure he knows that if he threatens one of us again, we'll be ready to fight him. Instead, I have Vini come to me with a mangled vampire. I don't recall ever asking you to hurt an innocent." He announced, his voice holding so much authority that it sent a chill down my spine. The black haired female stuttered.
"B-But, Drake, he's not an innocent! That's Newell C. Drakon! The rumors--"
"I never base my opinions of others on stories from other people's mouths," Drake cut her off sharply, sending her a dangerous stare that made her back down, "To me, he is just another vampire. He was hurt because of your negligance and arrogance. Vini, I want you and Claire to keep an eye on him and keep him safe. Make sure he gets the blood he needs, even if it's animal blood. But not your blood. Stone, Leo, Sahara, guard my cabin to ensure his safety. Jacob, Ronny, go set up some patrols around the village. Take Tania and Rachel with you."
"And you?" Vini asked. Drake's expression noticably softened as he turned to Vini while the others rushed off to obey their alpha's orders.
"I'm going to greet our guests." He answered. Vini hesitated, peering behind him and into the woods, right where Hunter and I were standing. Hunter cursed under his breath and I frowned, watching as Hunter shoved his gun into its holster and started to push past the brush to get to the clearing where Drake and Vini were standing. I reluctantly followed him, watching Vini grimace as we made our appearance. Drake turned to us with a coolness that told us he was hardly intimidated by our presence.
"Was it the Hershey bar in my pocket that gave us away?" Hunter asked casually as he approached the werewolves. Drake gave Hunter a droll stare, folding his arms over his chest and sizing Hunter up quite easily. It was difficult for someone to be taller than Hunter, but this alpha was as tall as I was and that was quite a feat.
"It was your B.O." He answered. Hunter scrunched up his nose at that and lifted his arm to take a whiff. I ignored him, studying Drake suspiciously. He'd known we were there the entire time. Had he purposely attempted to seem innocent just for show? Or did he really plan on returning Newell? Either way Newell would be back with me again.
Even if he didn't want to be.
"I think you have something that belongs to us," Hunter said, then made a gesture at his knees to indicate height, "S'about this big, black hair, blue eyes, PMS like no other bitch on the planet." Drake didn't seem too amused.
"Yes. We have him. He's currently recovering in my cabin. I can take you to him, but I'll have to ask for your weapons. All of them." He added, holding a hand out. Hunter frowned at that. He looked incredibly reluctant, eyeing both Drake and Vini suspiciously. He glanced at me and I glared at him. We didn't have time for his paranoia, not when Newell was hurt and under werewolf supervision. Hunter rolled his eyes and unhooked his belt from around his waist, handing it to Drake, his weapons clinging and jingling. I expected to be done, but Hunter kept going.
He reached into his boots and took out a pair of twin daggers, twirling them before handing them off to Drake. Hunter then proceeded to open his jacket, revealing several more guns and knives. I stared at him, surprised. I hadn't even noticed them there.
He continued to strip off all his weapons until Drake was standing with his arms overflowing in dangerous weaponry. Drake raised an eyebrow and looked at Hunter, who shrugged, then held up a finger for him to wait before he reached up and plucked a small sharp knife out of a comparment under his jacket collar.
"Paranoid much?" Vini asked dryly as Drake handed him some of the weapons to carry. Hunter flashed him a wicked smirk.
"I'm equiped to kill all of you." He said, repeating Vini's earlier words. Vini shifted uncomfortably at that, but Drake gave him a look that seemed to relax him.
"Come this way." Drake told us, gesturing for us to follow. We obeyed, walking across the clearing. The patrol Drake had ordered was shooing people away, clearing a path for us. The children that had been laughing and playing earlier now hid behind the adults, peeking past pantlegs to watch us with terrified curiosity. Most of the adults glared at us as we passed, but no one made a move for fear of what their alpha could do.
A few people also shot Vini dirty looks, much to my surprise. What a curious thing for a werewolf pack to hate one of their own. Werewolf packs were usually very close knit and would do anything to back each other up. Obviously this wolf had done something to upset them.
Drake led us to the largest log cabin, two stories high. We walked inside, the scent of pine and alcohol infiltrating my senses. It was very plainly decorated with leather furniture and a large Native American designed rug laying out in the middle of the living room in front of a flat screen television that was coated in dust. The open dining room was off to the right and just beyond that was a large, elaborate kitchen with black marble countertops. Straight ahead was the hallway that led to the staircase and two other rooms. Drake led us to one of the rooms and inside was a large bed with the blonde woman, Claire, seated beside it.
Newell lay on the bed, sleeping heavier than I'd ever seen him sleep. A bruise swelled on his left jaw and there was a nasty gash on his forehead that Claire padded with a gauze pad. He'd been stripped of his clothes and was lying naked with the blankets up to his waist. His torso was wrapped tightly with gauze. Sitting on the nightstand beside him was a bowl of water saturated with blood from a cloth sitting beside it.
My eyes widened and I looked at Hunter, who cocked a brow before turning to Drake.
"What the hell? You're lucky he's a vampire. That kind of beating could have killed a human." He said to the alpha, who frowned.
"Yes. I understand that, and I apologize on behalf of my pack. By no means did I give them permission to do this. If anything, I was actually expecting them to do this to you." Drake responded, making Hunter stare at him.
"Gee, thanks. I knew I loved dogs for a reason." Hunter said. Vini scowled.
"We're not dogs; we're wolves." He responded heatedly.
"Four legs, fluffy bodies, big teeth, bark? If it looks like a dogs, acts like a dog, and sounds like a dog, it's a dog."
"And you're a--"
"Vini," Drake said in a strained voice, making Vini fall silent, "We're not here to argue. You may stay with us until your vampire recovers. After that, you must leave and stay gone." Hunter didn't answer to that, which made me suspicious. He had threatened to return for the she-wolf back at the toll booth. No doubt he'd come back here, but we didn't have time for his stupid mission to destroy all non-humans. I ignored them and came over to the bed side, looking down at Newell, feeling a wave of guilt hit me.
While I was positive he would make it, it still made me ill to see him like this. He looked fragile and pale. I reached out and very carefully touched his cheek, relieved that it was still warm and soft. I pulled away and looked up to see Clarie staring at me. I frowned, but she smiled as she got up.
"You can sit here," She said, gesturing to the chair, "He should be stable for the rest of the night. He's unconscious because of the morphine. Even vampires can't handle the amount we dosed him with. He will wake up, though. Just give him time to heal. A sleeping body heals faster than an active body." She smiled at Drake and Vini before ducking out past Hunter, who watched her go before turning to look at me as I came around and sat in the chair beside Newell's bedside.
"I'm having a lot of trouble accepting the fact that you're going to let us go without a catch." Hunter muttered, folding his arms over his chest, glancing out the corner of his eye at Drake, who watched Newell. Vini frowned, cocking his head and averting his eyes, an obvious expression of annoyance on his face, but he said nothing as Drake finally turned to look at Hunter.
"You're right, but we'll discuss that tomorrow. Right now, I'll have my other guest room cleared out for you to sleep in." He told Hunter, who frowned.
"I only sleep in my car." Hunter responded flatly.
"Then you're welcome to sleep on the floor because we don't welcome motorized vehicles in the village." Drake replied, then started to walk out, then paused beside Vini. He leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Vini stiffened for a moment, then nodded and averted his eyes. Hunter rolled his eyes and looked away, but I caught the quick movement of Drake placing a quick kiss under Vini's ear. Vini shivered and went to say something to Drake, but the alpha had already vanished.
"I'll sleep on the floor in here," Hunter said at last, making Vini frown at him, "If I can't have my car, I rather have the floor."
"The bed has an adjustable setting so you can choose the firmness if that's what you're worried about." Vini answered. Hunter gave him a droll stare, then looked away with a smirk.
"Nah, I just don't want fleas." He replied. Vini rolled his eyes, then looked over at me with a frown.
"Do you need anything?" He asked. I looked at Hunter, who sighed and leaned against the wall.
"He's mute, Fido. And I have a feeling he won't be sleeping tonight, so don't bother. Unless you have a spare corpse in your fridge, you won't be able to move him." Hunter explained to Vini, who grimaced before leaving the room.
Upon Hunter mentioning my diet, my stomach clenched tight with hunger pains. I had forgotten how hungry I was after the incident with Newell. I grimaced, turning back to Newell, who continued to sleep peacefully. I didn't take my eyes off him as he slept. After a couple hours, Vini came in with some blankets and pillows, but Hunter was the only one who used them as he laid down on the floor to sleep. He looked surprisingly comfortable.
"He'll be okay." Vini told me, making me look up at him with a frown. I noticed his hair was a bit messed up and the buttons on his shirt were done oddly. I raised an eyebrow at them and he looked down. He blushed hard and redid his buttons, clearing his throat and looking away uncomfortably. I turned back to Newell as Vini stood beside me for a while longer.
"Uhm, so, you can't talk. You know what I'm saying, though, right?" He asked. I nodded, glancing up at him. He shifted a bit, running a hand through his hair to fix it.
"He's not a kid, right?" He asked. I shook my head.
"So he's, like, legal then." He said. I frowned and nodded slowly, confused. Vini sighed in relief, shrugging uncomfortably.
"Just wondering. Cuz, then your relationship would be awkward." He admitted. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong and misunderstood. Newell and I could never and would never be together, no matter how much I wanted to be with him. It would never work, physically and emotionally. Vini seemed to catch onto what I was thinking by my expression because he blushed.
"Sorry, that's totally none of my business. I think I'm just..." His voice trailed, but he didn't leave. He just went quiet for a while. I waited for him to say something, but he seemed to change his mind and finally left, shutting the door behind him. I turned back to Newell to see that his eyes were partially open. I stared at him, surprised, reaching out and touching his hand. He jumped, startled at the contact before he stared at me with blue eyes wide.
But from the way he was staring at me, he wasn't actually seeing me.
I cocked my head, frowning to try and get his attention, but he just stared at me for the longest time. I touched his hand, but he still didn't move. Concern formed a lump in my throat as I reached up and touched his cheek. His eyelids fluttered and he breathed out a long sigh, reaching up a tiny hand to place over mine. I stared as he touched my hand and slumped back on the pillow, his eyelids slowly shutting again, moaning softly.
"Xed..." He murmured. I watched him hold my hand to his cheek for a while longer before his hand fell to the bed limply and he passed out again. I blinked, staring in surprise. I looked over to see if Hunter had seen, but he was still fast asleep on the floor, snoring lightly. I turned back to Newell, but he didn't wake up again for the rest of the night.
I pulled my hand away from him, however, clenching it into a fist and looking away uncomfortably.
Now I knew what Hunter had meant when he said he was "hungry".
Because I was starving.