Author's note: finally doing a bit better. I get released from the hospital tomorrow, but I have to go in next week and the week after that, and after that for frequent checkups. It's been one hell of a few weeks for me, but I'm slowly getting well again, thank god.
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
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Chapter Ninety Seven
"Wait, so... you two literally mated after only a few weeks of knowing each other?" Horst spluttered, ears sticking straight out as he stared Woody down. "Why is it that the people in your group have it so easy when it comes to permanent life choices?!"
Woody merely grinned and paused the intense fighting game they were playing in the big-ass arcade room Sebastian had somehow managed to turn his entire house's basement into so he could raise his left hand off of the PSXL7 controller.
'When you live to be hundreds of years old, and nobody you meet clicks with you in the way you are searching for, you end up feeling extremely lonely,' he signed, and I sighed before translating his words out loud, ignoring the way Horst latched onto my every word. 'Tiffany and I have only known each other for a little while, but there was an immediate connection to her on my end.'
"A connection?" Horst asked, fluffy tail flopping around as he leaned forward to set his own controller down. "Fuck, man. Sounds like you got some sappy romance novel shit going on."
Woody simply chuckled silently, shoulders quaking as he grinned to himself.
"Well, if the sappy romance stuff doesn't work, how about food?" I proffered, and both guys stared at me in surprise; I shrugged. "They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? I mean, Sebastian and everyone else made me food that I could taste and my world turned around completely. It was also around then that I think I started falling."
Horst snorted and Woody raised an eyebrow.
"So he used food to draw you in?" the kid asked me, and I cringed. "That's a little... uh..."
"Yeah, yeah, it sounds bad now that I think about it," I admitted, shrugging, "but hey, it worked. Tasting food was an experience I thought was gone forever... he gave me something extremely precious and even taught me a little bit about how my body works in the process."
"You still don't know how your own body works?" Horst asked, startled. "Seriously?"
"How could I?" I easily countered, and he gawked. "There's no guide on how to be a vampire, and until Sebastian came along I didn't even know that beings like you guys existed. I thought I was a fluke, or maybe a freak of nature... I didn't understand why I was the way I was. All I knew was that I occasionally needed blood to survive, so I focused on that and ignored the rest."
"Okay, fair," he drawled, glancing at Woody's wide grin, "but still... food?"
"Does it really bother you?"
Horst wrinkled his nose. "No."
"Then yes, food! Besides, he's been wonderful recently and he's also extremely good at... uh, a-adult... stuff." I trailed off for a second, then quickly said, "um, let's change the topic."
"Oh, no, do tell," Horst hummed, smirking at me when I flushed. "I'm intrigued."
"You're a minor, and... no," I deadpanned, folding my arms. "Let's move on."
"Shame," a female voice chimed, and all three of us whipped around to see Tiffany leaning against the stairs with a huge smile. "It was cute watching you three bond. I think its totes awesome that you're so different but can sit back and relax together. Such a guy scene."
Woodrow beamed and lunged over the back of the couch in a single bound, stalking over. She giggled when his hands smoothly came around her back, his face leaning down and pulling her into a kiss. Horst gagged and rolled his eyes, but I simply smirked and clapped for them.
"Behave, Big Boy," Tiffany giggled into his neck when he nibbled her ear; those dark eyes found mine and she beamed, pearly whites flashing in the dimness. "So, Aerin... the meeting is on hold for a few minutes since one of the Derkshires lost their temper and wolfed out. Bash wanted me to ask you if you're open to the idea of bringing Jak and Horst to Moonies."
I did a double take before answering, "yeah, sure, but why?"
She cast a glance at Horst's confused expression before looking back at me. "He wants to help you help them. Woody and I will be coming too, of course, but it'll just be us and Bash."
"Okay," I sighed, shrugging. "I guess a few rounds of Soul Calibur couldn't hurt."
"Oh, and... uh... Cassidy is also coming."
I looked at her curiously. Even Woody looked at her, baffled.
"She is? Why?"
Cassidy was a difficult person for me to be around. She wasn't hostile towards me anymore, but we didn't interact much and it was hard for me to be around her. I wrinkled my nose just thinking about it. I was making progress, but I didn't think it was the right time to hang out.
Not after what she'd done, forgiven or not.
"She plays online games," Tiffany told me. "Can you believe it?"
"Cassidy... games? What?"
"Fighting games," she said. "She expressed that she wants to come so she can start making amends, the way Richard did. Diana agreed with her choice, but they're leaving it up to you."
"Jesus," I groaned, not wanting to be put under the bus. "Why ask me?"
"Because you're awesome," Tiffany giggled, and Woody smirked before kissing her cheek and padding back over to the couch; she didn't follow, merely cocked her hip and tossed her platinum blonde hair. "You're winning everyone over. They want to value your opinion."
Oh. Well, progress, I guess.
I couldn't say no to an attempt at making progress, could I?
I sighed, flopping back in irritation as I groaned, "fine, she can come."
"Great!" a new voice, one I recognized as Kyle's, exclaimed; he trotted down the stairs and poked his head into the massive basement, waving at me. "I knew you'd say yes. Although, if you play any fighting games with her, be prepared to lose. She refers to herself as the queen of combat and spends a lot of time playing at Moonies. She's even beaten Leo a few times at Soul Calibur."
"Seriously?" I asked, recalling with a vivid flash that he was a nightmare in gaming combat.
"Yep," Tiffany agreed, then turned and poked the grinning redhead right in his freckled nose; his eyes crossed as he looked at her long, suntanned finger. "But you, Mister, shouldn't be eavesdropping on a private conversation."
"Kind of hard not to when you have supernatural senses, Tiff," he drawled, shrugging; he glanced at Woody and waved, deep amber eyes lighting up. "Hey, Woodrow!"
The older redhead smiled and waved from his spot on the couch.
"She also plays the game that you and Bash do," Tiffany added, and I paused. "What was it called? Ankles Crossi--"
"Atlas Chronicles," I interrupted, and then I let out a groan. "Please tell me she plays some big hairy goblin."
"Nope," Kyle chuckled, "I've seen her play it before. Ethereal archer elf with a giant red dragon."
"Oh? I thought it was a winged lion," Tiffany said, looking at him in surprise. "If its a dragon, does it match Bash's new blue ice dragon? You know, the one he was trying to catch the last time he was gaming with Aerin?"
"I'm surprised you remember he has a blue dragon."
"Leo sent me screenshots of it before I blocked his email."
Kyle howled. "That's amazing! I gotta tell Dicky!"
"No!" Tiffany shrieked, and he stepped back at the alarm in her voice. "He'll tell Leo and he'll... make a new email or some shit and annoy me all over again!"
Kyle burst into laughter and wailed, "but it would be so much fun!"
"No way," she finally begged, then shuddered and said, "plus, I can't deal with anymore vacation photos of you and Dick."
"Hm," Kyle hummed, "not a fan of my man in a speedo?"
"Please, I'm trying to be serious."
Kyle raised his hands in surrender. "All right, fine. I'll be waiting upstairs. The meeting should be starting again soon, so you might want to hurry up."
"True," Tiffany sighed, looking at us apologetically. "I'll see you guys later, but remember, we've got your back, Aerin. Ah, and don't forget, you owe me some juicy girl talk later."
"We'll turn it into a movie night or something," I promised, rolling my eyes. "Thanks for the info."
"No problem," she chirped, giving the three of us another big grin before darting up the stairs after Kyle and vanishing from sight. I sagged into the couch, letting loose a sigh.
"She's so high energy," I muttered. "I always feel exhausted in the best way after talking to her."
"You tap that?" Horst bluntly asked Woody, gesturing at the stairs with his thumb. "Really?"
Woody flushed as red as his hair, freckles disappearing in the purple tint that covered his fair skin, but to my surprise he nodded easily and patted his thigh for emphasis. The satyric hybrid leaned forward, looking past me to stare at him.
"So, she's really the person you chose," he said simply. "You love her."
Woody nodded.
"Why?"
Red lashes coated electric green eyes as he looked down at the floor, shyly signing, 'perhaps it is because she is young... I do not know, but the way she looks at me makes my heart boil and my stomach knot. She speaks to me as if I am a normal man, as if I am just like everyone else, and to be treated in such a way... it is... unspeakably lovely. The fullness of her heart and vibrancy of her personality and the way she treats everyone equally is what truly makes her so damn attractive.'
Horst looked dead at me as I recapped his statement, but then I sighed.
"Look," I mumbled, "the amount of time you two were together before you did the deed doesn't matter. All that matters is that you two mesh well, that you're happy, and that its working. As she personally puts it, it isn't how you start that matters... its how you finish."
Horst rolled his eyes, slapping his muscular black-furred thigh.
"Easy for you to say," he snorted, shaking his head. "When I'm grown, it's not like many ladies are gonna be jumping at the chance to date a walking talking man-goat who also happens to be a werewolf with a fucked anatomy. I already know I'll never find someone, and even if I do, it probably won't be anything more serious than having a fuck buddy or--"
"You're funny," I flatly interrupted, and he drew back with a rapid set of blinks, "you're handsome, you're tall, you're strong, and you're emotionally sensitive. Those are all qualities that a lot of girls like in a guy. Plus, Woody and I are living proof that love can find anyone."
He stared at me, but I didn't meet his eyes.
"Who would want to have kids with me?" he eventually said, and then I did stare at him, because why the hell was a fifteen year old kid asking a question like that? "When I'm an adult, what sort of woman would openly want to have kids with a lupine satyr hybrid? I've met hundreds and hundreds of werewolf females since I was a baby. They all look at my legs like I'm a freak."
"Many," I said honestly, and he stared at me as if he didn't believe it. "Let me put it like this, okay? If you were my age instead of just a kid and we'd met under pleasant circumstances... I'm going to be honest. I'd have had no qualms about giving you a chance with me."
He balked and Woody seemed surprised.
I held his eyes because I meant those words.
"Are you serious?" he asked, nose wrinkling. "Ew."
"I'm dead serious," I told him, lifting my eyes to the stone ceiling. "You're not ugly."
"Are you kidding?"
"No," I scoffed, scowling at his disbelieving expression. "Sure, you're different, but so is everybody else in this world, even regular people who aren't even like us."
"Huh?"
"You heard me," I muttered. "There are, in fact, many people out there who can and will look past what you are so they can see who you are. By nature, every individual on this planet is different, but that's why we're called 'individuals' instead of 'groupies,' okay?"
I trailed off, thinking hard.
My hair was still damp from the bath I'd taken and the meeting was going strong, but my nerves hadn't come down from the earlier confrontation and conversation with Jak. Sure, I was dressed in a clean pair of shorts and Sebastian's hoodie since I liked how big it was on me, but I still felt naked and insecure and bare. I wanted to help them get along but I was deeply bothered.
I'd already tried calling Louise twice but hadn't gotten an answer, which was completely unlike her. She had two phones, one for the day calls and one for me, she'd said so herself that she'd bought it after discovering what I was to keep herself available at all hours.
I was worried, and it must have been showing because Woody set a hand on my arm.
I turned to face him, saw his frown and furrowed brows, and swallowed.
'Are you all right?' he signed, hesitating as those green pools took in my features. 'You look like something is bothering you, Aerin. Is your wrist hurting you?'
"Louise," I said, gesturing to my phone, which was sitting on the blue carpeted floor in front of me; all around us, the soft cacophony of futuristic arcade games filled the air. "I can't get a hold of her... and, I don't know, this whole issue with my dreams, and the weird stuff has me on edge."
Woody looked confused until Horst snorted, "you're seriously still worried about that?"
"Well, yeah! Duh!" I snapped, and he drew back, ears pulling low; I instantly felt guilty and sagged, rubbing my face as I said, "sorry, Horst... that came out sounding way more aggressive than I wanted it to. I just... its weird, but I have this feeling that something is... wrong."
"Nobody was there," he said slowly, refusing to even blink. "I was looking right at you the entire time, but I mean it. Nobody was behind you, and I didn't hear anything, either."
'What are you two talking about?' Woody gestured, turning me to face him with a serious look on his face. 'Talk to me. This is the first I'm hearing about you feeling like anyone was behind you, so tell me what happened, okay?'
I swallowed, then proceeded to tell him about the first incident in his cabin with the perimeter alarm going off not long before feeling like someone was in the house, right behind me, and after that I explained the bizarre incident in the garden, going into detail about the voice.
'Peekaboo. Guess who.'
I shuddered as I brought the recap to a close, but to my confusion, Woody was looking at me with an ashen face and wide, frightened eyes. He swallowed and blinked, searching my face before he nodded and set a hand on my arm. With his other, he raised his hand...
'We need to talk to Sebastian, immediately,' he gestured, and I frowned. 'I've heard of this sort of thing before, Aerin, and if what you say is true... if this is really happening, we're all in danger. We need to go into that meeting and you need to explain what you've been experiencing.'
A chill went through me and I stiffened, brows shooting up. "What do you mean?"
He merely shook his head and rose to his feet, looking around the room with a disquieted expression before signing, 'wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes to get you. I'm going to go shed light on the meeting and then you and Horst will come into the kitchen with me, okay?'
"O-okay?" I stammered. "Fine?"
"What?" Horst asked, looking back and forth between us. "Fuckin' hell, what's he saying?!"
Woody's worry softened a bit and he mussed up the kid's curly hair, making it stick out in every direction before moving past us and heading for the stairs leading out of the basement. Horst watched him go with a mild level of frustration before turning his attention back on me.
"He's going to talk to them," I said dazedly, heart thundering in my ears. "The experience I had earlier is supposedly serious. He didn't say what it meant, only that he's heard of it before."
"Really?" Horst deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. "So, you staring off into space and having a mental breakdown was serious enough for him to bring it to everyone's attention?"
I didn't respond because I didn't know how.
His look of sarcasm faded into one of worry, ears flopping limply as his eyes slowly widened.
"Wait... is it?" he asked, sounding a little uncertain. "Is this something serious?"
"I have no idea, but Woody thinks we might be in danger because of it, so maybe," I muttered, and he stood up with a start.
"Are you kidding?"
"No," I sighed, looking up at the basement window; it was small, rectangular, and looked out into the garden. I could see trees swishing distantly and flowers swaying in the grass, but for the most part it was calm. Until, that is, I saw a strange shadow slowly move across the window.
I lunged upright, hair standing on end as two boot-clad feet slowly stopped before it.
I blinked, moving closer to the window, peering up to get a better view.
"What are you doing?" Horst asked, but I made a shushing gesture by putting a finger to my lips and he slowly closed his mouth, watching me with a frown. I faced the window and peered up, looking at whoever was standing in front of the window. The boots trembled.
Another set of shoes came into view, a pair of white sneakers with jeans.
They stood close together, and I squinted, trying to see... but then, the owners of both shoes collapsed in a heap. I saw nothing but a black leather jacket as Boots pinned Sneakers down, two white shoes kicking and fighting and then, bursting off of elongating feet.
A red flag shot through me when I momentarily saw pale skin and green hair.
However, when blood splattered on the window, my heart jumped and I whirled around. I focused on the first song that came to mind and blurted, "Mother knows best! Listen to your mumsie! It's a scary world out there!"
With a surge of electrical energy I burst into a supernatural sprint and lunged clean up the stairs, ducking low and arching to make the leap without tripping or hurting myself. I landed heavily and stumbled while running, but I kept going and tore through the halls, aiming to get to the front doors.
I skidded around two corners and tore past a figure dressed in black, hearing a momentary exclamation that quickly faded. I nearly slammed into the front doors, dragging them open before tearing outside. I kept singing, emitting high notes, low notes, keeping the music going in my head and from my mouth as I lunged off the steps, landed haphazardly, and burst around the house towards the gardens.
Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead, I chanted, coming around to where I was sure the window to the basement was. I skipped to a halt, slowing myself with my heart in my throat, peering at the window. To my confusion, I saw absolutely nothing,
There was no blood.
There were no bodies.
There was no sign that anyone had even been there. Confusion filled me and I tilted my head, moving closer to the window and peering down at the grass. I squinted, but there really wasn't a single sign that anything bad had happened.
Was it the right window?
To make sure, I stepped back and peered around a small pine tree. My eyes instantly bugged and I covered my mouth, stunned to see Jun lying beneath the green-haired guy with the mohawk. A hand was over his mouth, his hoodie was torn, and his eyes were wide.
Tears and blood had stained his face.
I stepped away, heart in my throat, trying not to make a sound.
"You know you want this," the green-haired guy hissed into his ear, clawing the front of his jeans open with long, sharp nails; his own pants were already around his ankles. "Come on, pretty boy, just let it happen. I can smell how turned on you are."
Pretty boy.
A sharp pain went through my head and I cringed, clutching it as a ringing filled my ears.
"Give up, pretty boy... you know you want this... just let it happen..."
Jun's dilated yellow eyes flitted up and he looked right at me.
Tears rolled down his face as they widened, shining, begging me for help.
And I lost it.
I lost myself, completely, blacking out in a rage that caused everything to pulse and turn red in my vision. Blood rushed in my ears and I was in motion before I could stop to think, hands raising, fingers curling, mouth opening into a snarl as I went for the rapist with sheer wrath.
I saw it from a place outside of myself, the way I landed on his back, the way I straddled him, grabbed him around the throat and squeezed until he reared, cursing and snarling and trying to fling me off. He took his hand off Jun's mouth to claw at me, but I leaned forward and bit his neck as hard as I could. He screamed, hot blood gushing into my mouth.
"What are you doing?!" a distant but vaguely familiar voice screamed. "Stop it!"
"HELP ME!" another voice screeched back. "AND HELP HIM GET THIS FUCKER OFF ME!"
"Donny, what are you doing?!" the voice wailed. "What the hell is this?!"
"MY NECK!" the man I was tearing into gurgled. "HE'S GOT MY--"
I reached around and covered his mouth, silencing his screams.
I heard and felt and saw from a distance as I pulled my fangs out of his throat. Blood ran down his skin, blood that I stared at as someone grabbed me under the arms and pulled me off of him. I hung limply, glaring at the holes I'd created, glaring at the pants around his ankles, at his naked ass and the fear on Jun's face, his own clothes shredded...
My heart skipped a beat and I felt as if I were suddenly being submerged underwater.
I floated back into myself, the pulsing red haze fading, vision returning to normal. Horst had me under the arms, holding me tightly, keeping me from attacking him again. Jun had kicked the bastard off, was backing away, looking from me to him to the boy that was now restraining me.
Those exotic eyes found mine, screwing up.
His hands were shaking and his soft mouth quivered as a wash of tears ran down his cheeks.
For the longest time, Jun Nang merely looked at me, shaken to the core... but then, he lowered his head and bowed to me before whipping around and bolting with a concussion that left a crater in the grass. He vanished within three seconds, blurring away from us.
"What the hell just happened?" Horst hissed into my ear. "What did he do?!"
"He tried to rape Jun," I said in a detached tone, and Horst instantly dropped my arms to step back; I turned to look at him, seeing the disbelief on his face, but his eyes flitted to the man who was currently pulling his jeans back up and fastening his belt, still bleeding and cussing.
"Donny," Horst said thickly, and the man turned to look at him sourly. "Did you really...?"
"Try to get my rocks off with a hot piece of Asian girly-boy ass?" he snidely asked, and Horst gawked in horror. "Yeah, I did, so what? He wanted it, and I was going to give it to him."
Red covered my eyes and I lunged forward, slapping him across the mouth so hard that his entire cheek rippled and he actually lost his balance. I was startled by the fact that he stumbled into the wall hard enough for me to hear a noise, and he shook his head dizzily.
He looked disoriented and a huge red welt quickly rose up on his skin. My anger vanished and I looked at my stinging palm, confused and disturbed, before I caught myself and rekindled my fury. I thrust a finger into his face, glaring him down despite the sour expression he gave me.
"If you ever," I said lowly, "put your filthy hands on someone living in this house again... next time, I'll go for your jugular. And I won't let go until you're either dead... or I am."
His eyes seemed glazed and extremely confused.
For a second, he stared at me, as if he were just waking up from a bad dream.
"What?" he asked, blinking slowly and touching his cheek. "What did...?"
"You heard me," I seethed, thrusting my finger in his face; he drew back, blinking at it dazedly, then looked around until his eyes fell on Horst, who seemed to be shocked speechless.
"Donny," he whispered. "What's gotten into you?"
"Huh?" he groggily asked, rubbing his cheek; I momentarily wondered how I'd hit him as hard as I'd done, and I worried a little that I might have hit him too hard, but I steeled myself against the confused, disoriented look in his eyes and tossed my hair.
I stormed off with every intention of finding Jun and making sure he was okay.
The guy was quiet... extremely quiet and very reclusive around everyone but Sebastian. He probably wouldn't say anything or talk about what had just happened, so I wanted to make sure he was okay. Even if we didn't get along, this situation wasn't one I could turn a blind eye to.
I saw a flicker out of the corner of my eye just as I walked through the gate and was about to turn the corner. My thoughts dispersed and I stopped walking, hair drifting on the wind as I scanned the scenery for what I'd seen. I leaned around, feeling a wash of prickles running down the back of my neck, and I swallowed as an odd sense of foreboding enveloped me.
I felt, for all the world, like I was being watched.
I narrowed my eyes, squinting at the trees.
My heart jumped when I saw a distorted figure slide into view.
I went rigid and froze like a statue as two glowing red eyes locked onto me, everything but the irises distorted by flickering shadow. I started hyperventilating as the silhouette slowly moved closer, moving into the moonlight with wide red irises surrounded by wider rings of white.
Step by step, out into the moonlight, but instead of being illuminated the figure remained dark and formless, sucking in the shadows and flickering closer, wide eyes locked onto me. I shook, shivered, twisted, trying to move, to look away from the eyes.
A faint voice filled my ears, a song that wasn't really a song, formless and deep and beautiful. I felt my mind going into a daze, felt my terror ebbing, felt those eyes sinking into me, the terror of seeing them drifting away. Two shadowy hands raised, brushing my cheeks, but I felt no fear.
I felt nothing, peaceful, as they wrapped around my throat.
Squeezed.
These eyes loved me.
They loved me, all they wanted was for me to sleep... to rest. The song was telling me everything, all I needed to do was let the hands tighten, let them put me at ease... ease?
Ease... eyes...
Eyes.
Eyes.
Those eyes.
Dead blue eyes. Crying eyes, begging me to escape, to run, to get away, the blood running from cracked lips, dark and nondescript liquid staining smooth white skin. I saw mangled limbs. A gaping wound. Horror, terror, and... eyes.
Hands.
Four hands. Not two, four, they were touching me, on me, these weren't the hands I knew, weren't the hands that... that what? Why couldn't I remember?
Terrified blue so full of love and yearning and death flickered to wide, soulless red.
Red.
Red.
Hands. On my neck. Choking! I woke up, and it was like coming out of a hellish nightmare. I realized in a single moment what was happening, felt the squeezing, formless hands on my throat, saw the bloodthirsty murderous eyes staring down at me like something from a fucking horror film, and I lost my fucking mind.
I pulled in as much air as I could, and with all the force in my lungs, I fought back.
"SEBASTIAN!" I screeched, and the hands around my neck flinched. "HELP ME!"
I heard sounds and the red irises flicked to the left, not twisting or turning.
Then, like smoke, it vanished and the pressure that had been strangling me disappeared. I collapsed to my knees just as my boyfriend came tearing around the corner with several other people, including Woody, Tiffany, Diana, Cassidy, and even Richard, who looked ready to kill.
His claws were out.
"What is it?!" Sebastian barked, bolting to my side and touching me carefully. "Aerin, are you--"
He froze. I felt his hands go still on me and I was momentarily confused until he touched the back of my neck with gentle fingers and pulled his hand away. His fingers were covered in blood, and I found myself stunned by how much was there. I looked up to ask him how bad it was but was taken aback because his face was warped into a mask of maliciousness and blood lust.
His eyes were searing so brightly that they were literally glowing white.
Not a hint of yellow.
"Sebastian," I whispered, mouth trembling when he leaned down, pulled my hair aside, and licked the back of my neck. Searing pain stung my skin and I gasped, startled, but the sensation slowly faded as he bathed my flesh with his tongue. I shuddered until he finished.
He stayed close to my ear as he hissed, "who hurt you?"
I didn't know how to answer that. I didn't even know what the fuck I'd just experienced.
"I don't know." I whispered, and he snarled, pulling back with a glare.
"Tell me," he spit, face cracking and crunching, a telltale sign that he was losing it. "Now."
"I don't know!" I repeated, firmly. "I couldn't see who or what it was, but its eyes did something to my head. It somehow made me feel... like I was... safe, and that being strangled was... what needed to happen for me to be okay. That it was all right. I almost, for a second, let it happen, but I have no idea what the hell just attacked me since it vanished when you guys showed up."
"Vanished?" Diana asked, brows furrowing. "Vanished how?"
"It disappeared into a cloud of smoke," I explained, and every person froze, even the man holding me; I felt, admittedly, disturbed. "Do you guys not believe me? I swear that's what happened--"
"We saw it, too," Horst suddenly said, and I turned to see that he and the green-haired guy were staring at all of us with pale faces. "Donny ran into it out in the woods earlier tonight, and he thinks it... somehow, manipulated him into doing something he wouldn't normally do. He hurt... one of your pack mates, but it wasn't his fault and he doesn't remember anything he did."
Shock flooded through me as I stared at the disheveled green-haired man.
He looked at me, face drawn, and averted his eyes.
Sebastian stared at me with a tense set to his mouth, then looked over his shoulder.
I noticed, then, that everyone either seemed stunned, enraged, or afraid.
"I think," Richard said lowly, face warped into anguished rage, "they've found me again."