Chapter 46
Cleo POV
We were sprinting through the woods, Alec was carrying Wyhatt across his shoulder. Our mind link had passed which was fortunate as my head was spinning with questions. Why had there been so many Hunters? Why had they been stronger than the other ones I had met? And why did Alec recognise one of them? I relived his flash of recognition when he face the red haired Hunter. How could he know her? Was there something he wasn't telling me? As we ran towards Jackson and the rest of the pack I felt a small sliver of suspicion. Could Jackson have been right? Was it strange how much Alec knew about the Hunters?
"We have to run!" Alec shouted as he approached them. None of them questioned this. They all turned on their heels and started running of towards the van.
We sprinted out in between the houses and I could hear that Adrian had already started the van. I jumped in and stretched out my arms, taking some of the weight of Wyhatt as Alec worked on getting his lifeless body into the car. For a quick second our eyes met, Alec's eyes help worry and a darkness I had not sense before. Whatever had happened in the woods, now was not the time to talk to him about it.
"Drive!" Alec shouted as he slammed the door shut behind him. Adrian stepped on the gas pedal and we speed off. I craned my neck, looking back towards the woods but I couldn't see anyone following us. I felt Alec's hand close around mine. In the darkness and silence of the van, I felt calmness spread over me. We had gotten Wyhatt back that was the most important thing. We were all safe, for now.
~*~
I pushed the door open and the pack carried in Wyhatt. I felt my knees buckle and sunk down against the wall. Alec closed the door and before I could say anything Jackson where by my side.
"Are you okay?" concern filled his voice and his fingers lightly stroked against the wound on my cheek.
"Will he be okay?" Tim said, looking at Wyhatt who was laying on the couch, still unconscious.
"He'll be fine. He was affected by the smoke bomb, there was no way around it," Alec explained. He walked over and grabbed the healing paste and walked over to where I was sitting, Jackson still hovering around me.
"Excuse me," Alec said briskly and almost shooed Jackson away with his foot. Jackson growled but stepped back enough to give Alec room to examine my wound. Alec's eyes meet mine, steady and calm. His fingers touched my cheek and I felt a tingle from the paste.
"You'll be fine," he said softly, his eyes saying more than his lips could.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jackson said hunched down next to me again, looking at me like I was fragile and would break. His concern right now felt slightly overbearing. I had just rescued his friend. I may feel a bit out of it right now, but as the healing paste started to work I felt better.
"I'm fine," I said and stood up.
"You should probably check on Wyhatt," I looked at Jackson.
Guilt flashed across his face before he turned and walked over the couch and gave Wyhatt a pat on the shoulder.
"Are you okay?" he said, looking down at Wyhatt.
Wyhatt was slowing coming back to consciousness, he turned over before slowly sitting up.
"Um...," he rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I think so," he said quietly.
"What happened?"
"We saved you," I said.
"Thank you," he said, his voice still low.
"I'm sorry we couldn't come and get you sooner," Alec said. "We had to make sure that we could rescue you without anyone else getting hurt."
"It wasn't my idea," Jackson added in, shooting a glare in Alec's direction as he spoke. "I wanted to rescue you straight away."
"That's okay. I get it," Wyhatt responded. "If someone else got hurt I don't know how that would make me feel."
"No one did. So it's all fine," I said and tapped him awkwardly on the shoulder.
"They said stuff when I was there," Wyhatt continued. "Could I get a glace of water?"
I walked over to the sink, filled up a glass of water and handed it to him. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept for days. I guess he must have tried to stay awake while the Hunters had him. Wyhatt grabbed the glass from my outstretched hand with a weak smile, drinking it all in one go. He sat down the empty glass on the coffee table and looked at it for a moment before continuing.
"They were talking about when the others would arrive. They said that they would need more fighters." His body shook and he closed his eyes, as if he was trying to remember something more, something important. "They said they were planning for a big fight."
We stood in silence and stared at each other. Jackson looked taken back, his fists where clenched. I looked over at Tim, he looked scared. I looked over at Alec, hoping that he would know what to do in this situation.
"Let's all go home and stay safe. We'll figure this out and we'll be in touch." He said the words in such matter of fact way. If it wasn't for the tiny second of doubt I saw darting across hi eyes, I would have believed him. He was right, we should all just call it a night. Wyhatt looked like he could collapse at any moment and the wolves where all a bit unhinged from the days events. Nothing productive would come from trying to hatch a plan right now.
"Fine," Jackson agreed. His eyes looking at me, as if he thought that by keeping his eyes locked on me that would somehow keep me safe.
"I think we all need some rest," Tim agreed.
~*~
I looked out the window, seeing the faint lights from the van as they speed down the road and turned the corner. Once I couldn't hear the van anymore, I checked the locks on the window before closing the blinds. I knew that a window lock wouldn't stop the Hunters if they wanted to get in but I didn't have to make it easy for them.
"Hey," Alec walked up to me, searching my eyes. I'm sure that he could sense that something was on my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about the red haired Hunter.
"What's going on?" he stepped closer, almost closing the distance between our bodies.
"I felt something when we were in the woods," I stepped backwards, increasing the distance between us. I could see that he must be connecting the dots when realisation played across his face.
"Yes, I do know who she is," he said.
I felt a jagged breath slip through my lips.
"Who is she?" I asked, afraid to know the answer. Alec's eyes switched to amber and as soon as the jolt passed through my body I felt my mind flash into a memory. I saw the red haired Hunter, in the vision she was a young girl. She was playing with Alec and that's when the emotions fully wrapped around me. It was his sister, he loved her but the feelings were conflicted when he looked back at this memory. I felt the enormity of his pain, the pain of his parents death. I saw glimpses of the attack on them. I saw something that I couldn't understand, his sister she was the one that opened the door. She was the one that let the Hunters in to their house. Alec broke the mind link, I looked up at him. His eyes were filled with tears. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around him.
"I'm so sorry," I didn't know what else to say.
"It's okay. It's a long time ago now," Alec was trying heard to keep his voice steady. He broke away from the hug, slightly turning his face away from me and wiping the tears away with the back of his hand.
"She was not like us," he said. His eyes burned fiercely as he spoke of her. "She wasn't a Basati. She was one of the rare children born to Basati parents but still only human."
"I didn't even know that could happen..."
"It can but it is rare." He stayed quiet for a moment, thinking before he continued, "They targeted her because she wasn't like us. They convinced her that she was special, that she could be special with them. That being a Hunter was her calling."
I grabbed his hand, holding it so tightly.
"She wanted to be part of their calling so badly that she sacrificed her family for it."
"I don't know what to say," I was struggling to find any words that would fit in this situation.
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I don't like talking about it. But I didn't want to keep anything from you." His eyes filled with warmth as he looked at me. Grabbing a hold of both my hands with his.
"I want you to know, that if it comes to it I would kill her to keep you safe," his eyes burned fiercely as he spoke.
"I would do anything to keep you safe too," as the words came out of my mouth I knew that they were true. Alec moved closer, closing the distance between us. His breath danced across my lips. I closed my eyes. His lips gently brushed against mine and I push myself closer to him, feeling the warmth of his chest. His arms wrapped around me, one holding me around my waist and one nestled in my hair. The kiss deepened and turned more passionate, our minds slipped into the bond and I felt the storm of passion that was raging in his body perfectly mirroring what was happening within mine.