© 2014 SilverStream22. All Rights Reserved.
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE "NEVER LET ME GO"
Image is Jazz.
"Toronto?" I exclaimed, stepping back. "You've got to be kidding me! Why there?"
Draver settled his spoon into his empty bowl, swallowing. "He's right. Ties from Ireland are visiting there. One of strongest bloodsisters is a Lycan as old as vampires themselves. She'll be able to give us a safe place to stay."
I grew queasy at the thought of an ancient Lycan. "I'd rather not..."
"Well you don't have a choice." Stark snapped. "It's either that or put your pack at risk-"
"I can't just leave them, damn it!"
Jazz placed his hand on my shoulder, steadying my shaky form. "Keep calm. We need to think this through completely."
Castor snorted as he walked back from the kitchen, sitting at the edge of the bed next to the Draver as he pulled on his shoes. "Come on, Jazz. Well all know once those two make up their mind, there's no going back." he gestured to my mate and bed-ridden Alric.
"Please." I turned my eyes to Alric. "I can't leave here. What about my brother? And Marie? And Ryker and Ryland? They're hurt because of me, I can't leave- I won't!"
Stark sighed heavily, shoving his hands into the pockets of the blue jeans that he and the others had found in the closet. "You will. That's final. Do I make myself clear?" the icy tone of his voice had me flinch back. Gone was my mate, and here stood the Alpha of the Lycans.
"We should leave now." Castor spoke. "Their footsteps are in the snow. I can feel it."
I frowned. "How?"
"Natural affinity for speed and snow." he replied, standing up. "It's a Lycan thing."
"All of you have it?"
They exchanged weary gazes. "Not exactly."
I didn't have time to question Draver over what not exactly meant in Lycan terms. The door flew open under the strain from the viscious snow storm outside. Ballard and Erika stood there, both cloaked in parkas, the sound of Ballard's six seater Ford Explorer's engines rumming slightly.
"What are you doing here!?" This was bad. This was really, really bad.
Ballard frowned as he stepped in with his wife. "We came to bring you back out of this storm,"
"You need to leave." Alric muttered. "Now."
Shock slapped their faces once they took in Alric's bloodied and bruised form. "What happened?" Erika breathed.
"Vampires." Jazz stepped forward. "We're taking Katya to Toronto. She'll be safe there. The threat of the rogue clans will leave with her."
"She's our Luna," Erika started. "She can't leave! Our pack will collapse without her- and until Alpha Mikhail finds his mate, Luna Katya isn't going anywhere."
Stark took on a whole new level of possession, one that made me feel like an item rather than a she-wolf.
"I will not have you digging your noses in my and Katya's business. As far as you're concerned, she's no longer the Luna of her brother's pack; she is my mate. She belongs with me, in Ireland." he said slowly, anger layered thinly under his tone. His silver orbs flickered to mine, then locked back on Ballard and Erika. "We don't have time for you. If you value your lives, you need to leave. Now. Tell your Alpha that we're taking Katya to Toronto."
With that, he sped forward, shoving the two of them out of the way. I was baffled when I realized he had pickpocketed Ballard for his car keys. "We'll be using these, if you don't mind. Not that I could care less."
~
Sandwiched between Draver and Jazz while Castor called shotgun was not comfortable. I grimaced everytime we hit a bump in the road, hearing Alric groan backfully from the back of the six seater.
"Remind me again why we took the car," I shoved my hands deeper into the pockets of Erika's sweater, feeling a tad bit guilty for using one of her many spare clothes in the trunk. The boys had gotten better dressed, all using Ballard's clothing.
Stark's grip on the steering wheel was white knuckled, something that scared me seeing that he was tan. The freezing weather was no match for the broken heater. "They won't expect us to use modern transportation." he glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. "How are you holding up?"
I scoffed sarcastically, pairing it with a violent shiver. "Cold as hell. Scared as hell. Hungry as hell. Need I elaborate more on my not-so-wellbeing?"
Castor thumped his auburn head back on the headrest. "From the patterns and layers of the snow, I'm assuming that we'll reach a gas station in about four minutes."
"Thank God," I muttered. "A sweater and beach shorts are so not working for me right now."
Suddenly I felt Jazz and Draver's drape their arms over my shoulders, pulling me close to them. Stark growled low, but made no sounds of protest other than that.I was little startled when Draver lifted my legs in his lap, Jazz wrapping his arms completely around me. The car jerked to a stop and Stark slammed his fist down on the middle console. "Damn it. Castor, switch places with me. Jazz, Draver, move to the back with Alric.
Jazz refused to move. "Compose yourself, Xerxes. You are the only one you can see through this thick snow. We aren't going to make any attempts on your mate; you can trust us."
Alric snorted from the back. "What did I tell you all those years ago, Stark? You'd just be like the werewolves, possessive and territorial over not only your land but your woman once you found your mate."
Stark grumbled under his breath, shifting gears once more as the car started up again.
We reached the gas station in no time. Jazz and Draven went inside to get bandages for Alric, as well and proper winter clothing and snacks.
Before Stark and I could even begin a sentence, Alric groaned out: "Please, no sex while I'm immobile. I don't think I can crawl out of here fast enough."
Stark let out a low laugh, granted it was uneasy and exhausted, but it was a laugh nonetheless. I still didn't know why he was so stressed out about these vampires.
"Have you ever encountered a vampire?" I asked quietly, watching intently on his reaction.
Dragging a hand down his face, he paused before sighing heavily. "Unfortunately. Alric and I...before we met Jazz and Draver, we hunted down vampires. It was centuries ago, and honestly I don't even know what I was thinking- what we were thinking. Jazz and Draver haven't encountered a vampire before, not really. Lycans as ourselves are warned not to overestimate ourselves- especially when it comes to vampires." Stark looked pale, as if the conversation itself was as poisonous as a leech's blood.
"It was in Sicily when we first encountered one, right?" Alric muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Stark leaned back in his seat, humming his response. "God she was worse than me. Killed half the population like a plague."
I blinked, startled at the numbers. "Half? How is that even possible?"
"She had a siren affinity." murmured Alric, sucking in a painful gasp. "And God damnit if she wasn't the most beautiful leech alive."
"What's a siren?"
Silver eyes caught mine, ones that belonged to my mate who looked caught up in the past. "A coniving bitch who wants nothing but your false devotion to her before she tears your throat out. Pray you never meet one, Katya. They don't like competition."
The doors opened as Draver and Jazz piled in, arms full of parkas and camo pants.
"Here," Draver muttered. "I'd rather you change in the back instead of the gas station restroom. Not exactly the best place to step in if you don't have shoes."
I frowned, looking over my shoulder to see the sprawled out form of Alric. "Um, but he's back there..."
Stark sighed heavily. "Don't worry too much about it. He knows I'll gouge his eyes out if he looks at you. Now where's Castor?"
I climbed into the back with great difficulty just as Alric rolled to the side to face the trunk. "Oh God this is so awkward."
"Tell me about it." Alric mumbled.
I slipped off the shorts and pulled on the camo pants, the shuddering lessening to a slight chill now that my legs were heating up. Draver tossed a scarf for me in the back just as Castor opened the back a First Aid kit in his hand and a popsicle in the other.
"Bite down hard," was the only warning Castor gave him before shoving the popsicle in his mouth just as he started working on him.
He swished the rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad, brushing it over the wound as the owner growled low. I looked away, the site of his torn open stomach making me queasy. Once his growls of pain had subsided, I glanced back to see Alric sitting up right while Castor wrapped a fresh bandage around him.
"How long until he bleeds again?" I murmured, wriggling to the edge of the trunk to sit by him.
"I stitched him up, so he should be fine for another twenty four hours." Castor pulled off the bloodied blue latex gloves, throwing them on the ground carelessly. "No shifting though. Not until we reach Toronto."
"How much longer until then?" Draver called back.
Jazz answered for Castor, "About two hours. I believe we've exited the outskirts of her pack's territory. We can afford to take a quick break."
Jazz threw a plastic bag in the back, Chex Mix and Trail Mix spilling out. I frowned and lifted the snacks. "What's up with the healthy snacks?"
Draver stiffened. "My money spent. My choice of snacks."
"Okay, okay. I like Chex Mix anyways."
~
Stark and Jazz had switched spots now that we were out of the snow storm. He had pressed himself to the window, staring outside of it like a lonely middleschooler on a bus. His hand was bunched in a tight fists on his knee while the other was resting loosely on his bouncing thigh. I could tell he was nervous, and I wanted so badly to hold his hand- to give him some form of comfort.
KATYA SOLINA MICHAELIS.
Mikhail's angered voice filters though my head, making me wince in guilt. Hey?
Don't 'hey' me. Ballard and Erika are unconcious in front of the shed and you're missing along with the damn Lycans. Where are you?
I gasped, What do you mean? They were fine when we left-
WE? Who are you with?
I paused, a bit hesitant to inform him that I was stuck in a car headed to Toronto with five Lycans who I saw to be cold-blooded killers listening to classical music from the broken radio of Ballard's car. I settled for something that I believed would settle his frayed nerves. I'm safe, Mikhail.
That's not an answer.
It's all you're getting- The mindlink was cut off abruptly. Damn. He was mad.
"Maybe we should turn back," I voiced out to no one in particular.
Castor scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous. Toronto is your best option. You want to live don't you? You don't want to endanger your pack, right?"
"But my brother-"
"Cut off connection with him." Draver muttered. "He'll find us if you keep up the link with him. And then he'll be dragged into the whole matter. Plus, if he leaves then the pack will be vulnerable- and he can't exactly up and bring the enitre pack with him in search for you and leave his territory undefended."
"But-"
"No more arguments, Katya." Stark said. "Just keep quiet."
My eyelids felt heavy the moment he stop talking. Sleep was claiming me- again. Stark lifted me up into his lap, cradling to me with his chin on my head. "Sleep, mea lux. You need it. I don't want you to be stressed over this."
My hands grabbed at his arm, the one that draped over my thighs, and brought it to my chest, hugging it tightly.
It wasn't until I was on the brink of hopping into the dreamboat that I realized my hand and his were intertwined; on his left ring finger was a band of gold.