Sorry I haven't been able to write lately. Just went through finals and barely had any time to spare. Sadly, this will be the only chapter I'll be able to post until the end of August comes around. I wont have time to get to a computer since I'll be working. But don't worry. I will finish Mehrcy and Victoria's story and will begin on the next installment very soon. Thanks for be so patient with me!
Chapter Twenty Eight
There had been little to convince Wrath that Victoria wouldn't try another escape attempt. After explaining why she did it, he decided that Victoria was free to roam around as long as she stayed on the grounds. She hadn't regained his full trust along with the Brotherhood but it was a start. As for the full moon, it was only a few days away and that meant the Scribe Virgin would come to see if Mehrcy had reclaimed the darkness.
No one was anticipating the visit more than him.
Taking a deep breath, he rolled to his side and watched Victoria sleep. Turned out the two were tired than they thought. With the both of them explaining to Wrath and the fact that Mehrcy was still getting used to his new senses, they had both retreated to Mehrcy's room and instantly fell asleep. With a strong arm around Victoria's waist, Mehrcy gently pulled her closer. Even in her sleep, Victoria curled closer as if seeking his touch. He wondered how long she had imagined feeling him like this. Having loved him and knowing she couldn't have him, Mehrcy wondered what Victoria would think every time she thought about him.
He hated himself for not being there for her all those years. He had seen how much hurt Victoria went through by telling him everything. He saw her heart break away every time she spoke that it pained him beyond believe. Knowing he had actually met her nine years ago and not knowing her pained him even more. Victoria had wasted half of her life protecting him when he never knew she had existed. The male he was felt ashamed. But he couldn't focus on the past no matter how much he wanted to. Victoria was his now and he would die to protect her.
Resting his chin on top of her head, Mehrcy brushed his nose across Victoria's hair and inhaled. He coughed once because his nose was still sensitive. But when he took another whiff, it wasn't as strong as before. In fact, Mehrcy relished in Victoria's scent. For a moment, he couldn't decipher what he smelled. But when he didn't think too hard, Mehrcy could smell the scent of the rich earth. Victoria's scent reminded Mehrcy of the earth during its richest harvest before the rains would come to replenish it. In other words, Victoria smelled like life on the verge of rebirth.
Mehrcy closed his eyes and felt sleep ready to come when the shutters opened. Amazing how the both of them had slept for a full day and he was still tired. Victoria must've been tired because she barely stirred and wrapped her legs around one of his in her deep sleep. Now that she had him, Mehrcy easily found sleep with his female in his arms. The both of them slept for another three hours or so when someone came knocking to check on them.
Stretching out of her sleep and not fully awake, Victoria reached out and managed to wrap her arms around Mehrcy's chest. Only when did she open her eyes was she on the verge of pulling back when Mehrcy tightened his hold around her waist. Victoria reacted to his touch and tightened her own hold on him. Kissing her on the forehead, Mehrcy found her lips and lingered there for a while until he reluctantly pulled back.
"Do we have to get up?" she yawned.
If Mehrcy had a choice, he would stay in bed with her. But when they talked with Wrath, it seemed the king was tired of the whole curse thing and wanted Ahnger to be found immediately. Since Sohrrow just found out about the family curse and had no clue how to summon a tiny percentage of his light, Mehrcy would be the one hunting down his son. The only thing different than his ninety year search was that he would have backup if needed. It would be hard finding his son and harder because Wrath ordered the Brothers and Mehrcy to bring in Ahnger alive.
"Afraid so."
Giving Victoria one quick kiss, he unwrapped himself and sat up. Victoria took her time by arching her back and stretching her limbs. When the last limb was stretched to its fullest, she sat up on her knees and shook her head before combing her messy hair with her hands. Mehrcy couldn't help but laugh.
The both of them were wearing the same clothes they fell asleep in and the room only had Mehrcy's clothes. So Victoria leapt off the bed and raised her arms above her head. Standing on her tiptoes for a second, she leaned back as far as her spine would let her and she snapped straight back. Mehrcy didn't do any stretching. Just twisting his neck to get some kinks out, he was already up and walking to the door to see who it was. There was no surprise it was Nightmahre. Mehrcy was just glad it wasn't Sohrrow. His son was a bit uneasy with when it came to his twin even though he hadn't seen him in person. However, Mehrcy had noticed that his son was slowly opening up to him. It would take time but he liked that his son was accepting him back into his life.
"We're getting ready to head out," Nightmahre said.
"Fine. I'll be down in a minute."
Closing the door, Mehrcy turned around to see Victoria eyeing him. There were emotions skittering across her eyes which she tossed aside and looked the other way. Mehrcy had a feeling he knew what she was thinking. When he had confronted her the other night, he had said he had seen the conversation between her and Lassiter. His words must've been weighing on her mind because he also said he saw through her eyes on her birthday. But by the way how she changed her thoughts showed that she really didn't care about it. She had lived with the darkness her entire life to know things weren't normal when it came to the curse. Seeing though her eyes probably made her nervous at first but that was it. Just another weird thing to add to the list of light and darkness.
Even though she seemed to not care about it, Mehrcy just knew she was uncomfortable about a couple of things. When Victoria was about to head to the bathroom, Mehrcy walked up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. Pulling her against his chest, he rested his head on top of her head and took another deep breath of her rich scent. Victoria was fairly tall to where Mehrcy didn't have to bend over to rest his chin on her. Feeling her shoulders reach above his chest and a couple of inches under his shoulder, her body fit perfectly under him that Mehrcy tightened his hold on her as if not wanting to let her go.
As he leaned over her, some of his hair that escaped his tie fell over her shoulders. Victoria leaned back in his grasp and inhaled his scent as well. Strange how he never noticed her doing that to him until now. She used her sharpened senses so casually that anyone would've overlooked it. Now Mehrcy understood that because of the darkness, Victoria looked at the world in a different view that it had helped her protect him in a way and hid her from him. Her senses were so sharp to where Mehrcy had learned a few things when they began to change. It seemed he still had a lot to learn even though he was getting used to them.
Placing her hands on his arm, they both knew they couldn't stay no matter how much they wanted to. Mehrcy was needed in the field for his expertise in hunting his son and Victoria had to prove she was trustworthy.
Besides the fact that Mehrcy was the only one who could track down his son and seemed to be falling back in place amongst the Brotherhood, it wasn't clear if he was returning or not. No one talked about either because they never thought of it or they didn't know when to ask. The only reason why Mehrcy returned to Caldwell was because of Ahnger and the question remained. His sons were part of the Brotherhood and it seemed the male was on good terms with the Brothers so far. If things went well and the Brotherhood managed to capture Ahnger, Mehrcy would then decide whether or not to return to the Brotherhood.
It nearly pained him but Mehrcy unwound his arms from Victoria and turned to the closet to start changing. Victoria closed the restroom door behind her and came out right when Mehrcy was securing his sword to his waist. As he was about to put on his trench coat, he noticed Victoria staring at nothing. Mehrcy could tell the way how she was zoning out didn't have to do with the light and darkness but something else.
"Victoria?"
Snapping her head up, she blinked a couple of times before shaking her head.
"It's nothing," she said. "Just having a blond moment."
"Remember when I said I can tell when you're lying? Something's bothering you. What is it?"
Taking seat on the bed, Victoria ran her fingers through her hair and rested them on the back of her neck.
"It's Ahnger. Something just doesn't add up."
Hearing his son's name caught Mehrcy's attention. Forgetting that the others were waiting for him, the male took a seat next to Victoria and placed his arm around her shoulder. Back then she would've pushed him away. Instead, Victoria leaned into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What about my son?"
"I don't know what but something was off that night when we fought. The only way how I got Ahnger to come after me was when I attacked his friend. And when you showed up, he got loose and acted as if he had to protect Adam. Forgive me if I'm wrong but I figured the host consumed by darkness didn't hold any attachments whatsoever."
Now that she mentioned it, she was right. Even though Victoria could basically see the previous hosts who once possessed the darkness inside her, Mehrcy knew it firsthand. His own twin had the darkness for crying out loud. He remembered when Rihgor was succumbing to the darkness that his brother started detaching himself from everything. When Mehrcy found out his brother was nearly gone was when he and Rihgor had been practicing and Mehrcy got hurt. His brother usually showed concern when they went a little overboard on their training but that day Rihgor didn't care.
Thinking of when Mehrcy was fighting his son, he figured Ahnger was only days away from being consumed by the darkness. But Victoria had a point. Ahnger had abandoned his fight with his father and went to aid the male named Adam. He even stood in front of him like a shield to give his friend time to escape. Mehrcy had never seen Ahnger with a companion before and seeing him protecting someone else was strange.
"I know you're probably not used to hearing this but be careful when you deal with Ahnger."
"You're right. I'm not used to hearing someone saying that. But I've been hunting my son for so long. Why should I take precaution all of a sudden?"
Pulling back so she could look Mehrcy in the eyes, Victoria said, "Because I don't think the darkness has a hold on Ahnger at all. When he protected Adam, Ahnger looked as if he was ready to die in order for his friend to escape. And it wasn't just Ahnger who acted. For that split second, I felt the darkness react the same way and went on the defense. I don't know how to describe it except it seemed the two worked together like how I do with the darkness inside me."
"Wait. You think Ahnger has control?"
"I'm not saying that. I mean, when I fought him, he was feeding off of the darkness like crazy. But when it came to Adam, he placed himself in danger and the darkness reacted in the same fashion. So if he can do that, I don't think we know your son's full extent of his side on the curse. That's why I'm telling you to be careful if you see him. Maybe all these years you've only been fighting a small portion of the darkness inside your son who's only been looking out for himself. We don't know what he'll do if he really can control the darkness."
Mehrcy was about to say Victoria had control over the darkness when he remembered she only contained a fraction of it. Ahnger, on the other hand, contained all of it. If what Victoria was saying was correct, Mehrcy had wasted years on fighting his son who probably never used the darkness to its full potential. He had never fought his brother who was once a host of the darkness and not once did Mehrcy ever ask his father when he fought Dhark. Victoria knew way more about the curse than him and this new information was disturbing.
There were questions Mehrcy wanted answered but it wasn't the time. He would get his answers either when he caught his son or when the Scribe Virgin came. Until then, he would put them away. Right now he was with Victoria and he was touched by how worried she was. She must've been for a long time and not able to show it. Seeing her like this brought a smile to Mehrcy and he kissed her one more time before promising he would be careful. He then stood up and walked over to the door.
There were things happening he had never planned on happening. Everything was changing so fast that Mehrcy could barely grasp it. Finding his family for one had been a changer. Figuring out Victoria had the darkness had been mind-blowing. Seeing his son with someone intentionally around him was beyond anything. Now finding out that there might be something more to the curse and the full moon approaching were just too much. Never had Mehrcy strayed from his black and white world. Now it seemed shades of gray were starting to mix in them and he didn't know what to do.
However, there was one thing Mehrcy was sure to do. Besides all the crazy going on in his life, Mehrcy still looked forward to the full moon which was only a handful of days away. It would be the time where he would confront the Scribe Virgin and do anything to make sure Victoria would make it. That was his main concern. He had been hunting Ahnger long enough to where Mehrcy felt like he was going through the motions. How easy it was to put his son out of his thoughts. Even meeting up with his sons and Brothers did he forget about his son. Mehrcy would let his body deal with finding his son. His mind was on thinking of anything he would offer in exchange for Victoria's suffering.
Mehrcy would never again allow Victoria to suffer ever again.
There was no way Victoria was going to sit around and do nothing while the others got to go out. Thanks to a full days rest, both Victoria and the darkness were restless. She wasn't sure taking a long run through the woods would count to restrictions so she had to settle with the gym. Of course there was no one there and Victoria wasn't in the mood to hit the punching bags. So to spend the first hour of her workout, Victoria had taken the same two wooden swords she had used on Mehrcy and had been hitting the Mook Yan Jong.
Going so fast and using her arms to deliver the strength, Victoria basically danced on her feet so she could rotate around the device and inflict more damage. There were times where she grunted because it hadn't been her who had practiced on the Mook Yan Jong. Because the darkness had practiced first and mastered it, Victoria already knew how to work the device. Everything the darkness learned first was knowledge Victoria could tap into and use. Using the twin blades had been knowledge from Rihgor since he learned it first. Of course the Bishop women who believed they would find Mehrcy continued to improve the style until there was nothing to improve.
So in other words, Victoria had no skill whatsoever that was hers.
Turning her hour into two hours, she was still at the Mook Yan Jong when someone walked in. Victoria ignored them, thinking they were only there for supplies when she heard them stop. Not stopping her attacks, she took a quick whiff to see who it was. Only when did she catch their scent did she finish her last two strikes and faced who it was.
"I thought all of y'all left for tonight," she huffed.
Phride chuckled and tossed her a bottle of water. Victoria gulped it to the last drop and crushed the plastic in her hand.
"Not tonight. Wanted to spend some time with my family. I just got out of diaper duty since I'm not that very good at it," he answered. His eyes darted to the Mook Yan Jong and darted back to Victoria. There was a sign of curiosity in his eyes but Phride went back to looking around the room.
Victoria couldn't help but chuckle as well. She had seen how the male was with his shellan and daughter. And she had seen how Zsadist was with Bella and Nalla. There was a slight sensation of envy in Victoria. She wanted so damn much to have a family of her own for so long. Getting Mehrcy was a dream come true. As for her wants, they would just stay as dreams.
Checking out the male, he was wearing a simple black shirt and slacks. Flipping the swords in her hands, Victoria debated whether to ask him something. Even the darkness wanted to ask him. There was no end to her stupidity that Victoria spoke.
"What are you doing down here?"
"Well, since you and my dad have become close, I just wanted to check up on you. I mean, being stuck in a place would drive a person insane. Everyone kind of figured that if you weren't running through the trees you would be down here. Just wanted to see if you were cool and stuff. Seems you're doing just fine."
Victoria nodded in appreciation and continued with her stupidity.
"Do you know how to fight with these?
Surprise sprouted over Phride's face when she waved the swords.
"Eh, no. That's more of Nightmahre's territory. Actually, one would say it would be my dad's territory since he taught my brother. I'm more of a hand-to-hand type of person."
No longer finding any fun with the Mook Yan Jong, a wicked smile formed on Victoria's lips. There was a rack of wooden weapons near her and she picked up two wooden swords just like hers. Walking over to Phride and handing him the two, he had a hard time finding a comfortable grip. Taking five steps back, Victoria raised her left sword above her head and brought the right one around her back.
"You wield only guns, right? What if you lost those during battle and there are only poles around you? Can you use them as a weapon and not an object to swing around?" she asked.
There was a sign of hesitation before it was replaced. It seemed Phride got Victoria's point because he tried to replicate her stance.
Part of Victoria was curious to see how the male would do. The other part of her looked past her envy towards the male and thought it would be best to give him another option of fighting. Phride had a family and it was clear he didn't have anything else to rely on if things went bad. The Brothers had been part of the Brotherhood for so long they could stand against the lessers if they were weaponless. There was no denying Nightmahre could fight off the enemy since he favored using his sword more than guns. Victoria had witnessed Sohrrow spar a couple of times and saw the male had a strength he was born with that was a valuable weapon. Ehnvy on the other hand seemed to be learning to fight with only the daggers. Victoria was positive the male could find any sharp object if the time called for it and put his training to use. It was only Phride who hadn't developed a second skill.
To see how things went off, Victoria allowed Phride to attack first in which he did. Yelling as he attacked, he brought the right sword in an attempt to hit her side. It seemed he had no clue how to wield one sword let alone two because he was done in a second. In one swift motion, Victoria spun on her feet to change her stance and blocked with her right sword. Twisting her ankle for momentum, she spun around on her heel and hit Phride on the back of the head with the left sword.
Even though he was down, Phride jumped back up and tried to use both of the swords. Again, Victoria blocked him by raising her left sword up and placed her other sword against his throat. Phride paused for a second and found himself on the floor again because Victoria knocked the swords from his hands and shoved the end of her sword against his stomach.
Phride coughed a few times before collecting the swords and taking Victoria's stance. He fumbled with the stance just like the swords. Watching him nearly pained her just like any ordinary attack. Holding her swords in one hand, she brought up her other hand to stop him.
"First of all, you need to find your stance. The only thing wielders who use twin blades have in common are their foot length. You need to have the width for mobility and room to twist around. As for holding you blades, you need to feel it. You need to feel which holding will give you the agility to spin."
"Spin?" he questioned.
To prove her point, Victoria took her stance and started rotating on her feet. As she did, the wooden swords moved around like she was a tornado. Every move Victoria made was swift and continued to move as if she were countering an oncoming attack. Finishing her demonstration, she helped Phride by finding the right foot length so he could balance his weight. The rest would take lots of work since they would have to start from the very beginning.
Victoria was slightly sorry she was sending Phride back to his shellan with a bunch of bruises. They had managed to find a stance for the male which was bringing his right sword in an angle in front of him and his left sword right under his first one. He had little movement at first and kept tripping over his feet. Victoria thought he was a lost cause until he proved her wrong and managed to block one hit. One hit out of a thousand.
Shaking her head, Victoria's edge was gone and so was the darkness's. The two had spent another two hours in the gym and it was barely the middle of the night which meant the Brothers would be out for another few hours before sun up.
Finding her way to the kitchen and finding it empty, Victoria went to the refrigerator. As she was snooping around to see what was good to eat, she started scratching her arm. It wouldn't have bothered her when the darkness started to twitch around. As Victoria grabbed an apple, she bit it to hold it in her mouth as she continued to scratch her arm. Closing the door with her waist, she turned to see Lhyra walking in. The female's eyes latched onto her immediately and narrowed. Victoria sensed she would have to speak and took the apple of her mouth. She quickly dumped it so she could scratch her arm.
"Is there a problem?" Victoria asked.
Lhyra stalked up to the island between the women and placed her palms against the smooth surface. When she stood firm, a tiny gust of wind blew from her and towards Victoria. There was a slight spicy scent to her but Victoria ignored it as she moved from her arm to her shoulder to scratch.
"You're the problem," she stated.
Victoria stopped scratching for a second.
"Excuse me?"
"Mehrcy coming back was an acceptation. But ever since you came here, everything's gone to hell."
The darkness stopped its twitching long enough to growl. It wasn't the only one to growl. A low growl came from Victoria's throat before she started scratching her neck. What the hell was with the scratching all of a sudden?
"Care to explain," she challenged.
"My hellren and his family went through a lot when they believed they lost their father. Seeing him alive should've brought joy only to find out their family is cursed. Do you know what kind of toll it took on Sohrrow and his brothers? Finding out the twins are cursed and that Mehrcy has been hunting Ahnger? Sohrrow is still wrapping his brains around it but Nightmahre and the others have already accepted their father back. Then you come in and ruin everything. You and your darkness ruined our family."
Practically on the verge of scratching her skin off, Victoria firmly leaned against the island so her hands would be still. It still felt like ants were crawling over her skin and the darkness kept twitching around inside her. Something was bothering the both of them and Lhyra was adding gasoline to the fire. The darkness would have to deal it its issues on its own. Victoria had to deal with the female.
"So you think I screwed up your family by showing myself?"
"Yes. I do."
"Well, sweetheart. I got some news for you. Your family was already screwed. Mehrcy had the decency to hide his sons from the truth and tried to end it without any of y'all finding out. As for me, I did my part by staying away. Not once have I ever messed with your kind until recently and that saved Mehrcy's life. So again, how is this any of my fault?"
"Look around! No one trusts you. For some unknown reason, only Mehrcy does. You've caused chaos when there was none and no one knows what to do with this curse. You act like nothing affects and your attitude is what's breaking this family apart. Not once has Sohrrow shown such detachment towards his family and he is still learning to accept Mehrcy back. The Sohrrow I know would've forgiven anyone, especially family. And he was on the verge of doing so until you showed up. Showing off how you have control over the darkness and not his twin only deepened the wounds in him. How do you think the others feel, huh? Ahnger is their brother and has no control whatsoever. What makes you so special?"
"So that's what this is about."
Leaning in close so her face would be mere inches from Lhyra's, Victoria snarled at the female when she spoke. "You're pissed because your male isn't too happy. Right now, you sound like you don't give a crap about the others except for yourself. Do you think you feel brave telling me this? You sound like a damn brat. Crying over how Sohrrow feels and presuming how the others do. You just fucking pissed I came in and ruined your perfect little world. I swear to God, you sound like all the bitches I've met. Your kind complain when they don't get what they want and they find someone else to blame."
"Why you—"
"And have you thought of this, princess? Did Sohrrow ever seem whole after he thought his brother had died? His light is so puny that it barely exists. Your precious hellren has been miserable since that day. You think he's angry that he found out his father and twin are alive? You are sorely mistaken. His light has started to grow which means he's starting to feel a piece of life. Sure you've been there and probably brought joy to his world. But the sudden changes have helped him in ways you don't even know. He has hope. His light is shining, clinging to life like nothing I've ever seen. And the only reason why it's doing so is because he has his father back and hopes to see his twin again even if he's on the verge of being consumed by darkness."
Lhyra went silent. The color from her face drained from every word Victoria basically shouted to her face. Forgetting about the itching which was tough to do, Victoria continued since she was on a roll.
"As for my part, it's not like I asked to be any part of this. Analisse has been dogging me from day one to interfere with your family. I could've made your life a living hell if I had outed myself at The Pack two years ago. Your little fantasy would've burned if I had told everyone about the curse. Instead, I left and no one got hurt. No one found out about this fucking curse and would've stayed that way if Ahnger hadn't been in the same city as Mehrcy. Because of them and Analisse constantly bugging me, I stayed and decided to do what was right. I saved Mehrcy. I would've saved Sohrrow more pain if I had taken out his twin. I would've saved your family if no one came after me! Now you have the gall to tell me I screwed up everything?"
Victoria would've continued if the scratching hadn't become unbearable. Taking a moment to scratch her arms, she looked away as Lhyra processed what she had said. The female clearly didn't think this one through. She probably just shouted her feeling at her without backing them up. Hearing Victoria's side and logic showed how childish she had been to bring up the subject.
God, why was she scratching so much!
Scratching her neck while scratching her arm, Victoria checked up on the darkness to find its twitching had gotten as bad. The black wolf paced around the bayou and kept shaking its head as if to get rid of a tick that wasn't there. Coming back to her senses and taking a deep breath in hopes of coming herself, Victoria picked up something. It was the spicy scent she had ignored at first. To her surprise, it had gotten stronger over their conversation that it was getting harder to ignore.
And it was coming from Lhyra.
"Aw, shit."
"What? I get it! I was stupid and wasn't thinking. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, okay?" she practically cried.
"That's not what I meant. When was your—"
The scent exploded right when Lhyra nearly hit her head on the island. She took a couple of breaths before she started screaming. Falling to the ground, she curled up into a tight ball as if it would stop the pain. Every time her body shuddered, the scent soared across the room that it nearly knocked Victoria over. The darkness yelped in fear and jumped around in agitation after catching the scent. It took everything Victoria had to not fall over.
Since they were the only ones alone, Victoria went down to her knees and got close to Lhyra. Hollering over the female's screams for help, she reached out in hopes of easing some pain. Victoria had just smelled Lhyra's needing period coming without her even knowing and she didn't know what to do. All Victoria could do was yell in hopes of someone hearing them.
Touching Lhyra's arm, Victoria yelled when she saw Sam run in.
"What's going on?"
"Lhyra just went in—"
Something burned under Victoria's hand and she was instantly engulfed in darkness.
For once in her life, the Scribe Virgin gasped.
One moment she could feel the darkness she had kept at bay from the Bishop line and then it was gone. It flooded out of her control so fast that not even the goddess could stop it.
Turning her gaze to her real world, the Scribe Virgin sensed one of the females in the Brotherhood's mansion go into her needing. Focusing her mind, the darkness nearly overwhelmed the goddess. This was not the curse she had created. If it was, the goddess would've had a hold over it until the full moon. She would've unleashed it upon Victoria upon her arrival. She would've been the one to control the amounts she would send down on the human. But when she felt the darkness in the real world, it was something the Scribe Virgin could not control.
Something had caused the darkness to react and attack. There was no control over it. Victoria would either die from the pain or give it to Mehrcy. The Scribe Virgin could do nothing. The curse had changed so much without her knowing that there was nothing in her power to help. Only Mehrcy could save Victoria by becoming the host of both the light and darkness.
As the Scribe Virgin watched from the Other Side, she silently hoped Victoria would do what was right. The goddess had gotten used to the human's defiance over the years. It would be strange to no longer hear her arguments.
"We've been all over the city," complained Rhage.
"He's got a point," moaned V. "We've checked every place and no sign of your psycho son. Tohr and his group came up zip and so did Nightmahre and his group."
Mehrcy just shook his head. Since their night had started, the Brothers had searched in hopes of finding Ahnger. Turned out his son was being elusive again. The only times this had happened was when Mehrcy found out Ahnger had left and gone somewhere else. Considering everything that had happened, he worried his son did just that.
Looking at his group, Rhage was in the back yawning and Vishous eyed the street below as if to find some entertainment while Sohrrow stared of into the night. Ehnvy was with Tohrment, Phury and Zsadist while Nightmahre had been grouped up with John, Qhuinn and Blaylock. The building they were standing on was right next to an alley where Butch sat in the Escalade.
Turning his gaze up to the night sky, it seemed the snow had given them a break for not a single flake had fallen. Mehrcy drew in a freezing breath and felt his body shudder from the cold. As he did, he closed his eyes and opened his senses. At first he felt the light in Sohrrow. It had grown bigger over the days in hopes of seeing his brother. The tiny light that had once been in him slowly grew day by day that Mehrcy was sure his son would eventually feel the light's presence. But since he wasn't looking for the light, Mehrcy focused on the darkness he had been hunting for so long.
He nearly doubled over.
Snapping his eyes open, Mehrcy threw out his senses to where he had felt the darkness. He wasn't the only one to react to his sensation. The light inside him went to full attention and demanded to go towards to the darkness. The both of them could sense this particular darkness was screaming out in pain. And from the experience Mehrcy had been gaining, he knew for a fact Ahnger's darkness never feared pain.
Mehrcy immediately looked up at the sky.
The moon was slightly oval shaped but it wasn't full.
Someone's phone went off and it turned out to be Sohrrow's because he answered.
"Yeah?" He went silent for a second to listen. "What!"
Everyone turned towards the male. All except Mehrcy.
There was no doubt in his mind whose darkness he was feeling right now. The pain, the agony, the torture. This darkness was begging for it to end. It screamed to where the light reacted with the urge to run towards its opposite. And it wasn't only the light who wanted to run. Mehrcy got a wave of those emotions and his mind went blank.
Sohrrow said some rushed words but Mehrcy didn't listen. Focusing his mind, he dematerialized without knowing his son was behind them and the both of them ended in front of the mansion. Sohrrow ignored his father and rushed inside. As the door flew open, the sound of someone screaming made the male's blood go cold.
Right as Mehrcy ran inside, he was instantly overwhelmed by a powerful scent. It was all over the mansion. He quickly realized it was a female going into her needing period and that was probably why acted so afraid. But by the way how the scent was lingering, he was sure Sohrrow got to his female to take her someplace. Hearing the screams coming from the kitchen kicked his senses into gear and he ran over to the door. However, he was stopped because Gabrielle was standing in his path. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the male come to a halt.
"Wait for Jane," she ordered.
"What's going on?" he demanded. Another scream came from the other side of the door and Mehrcy nearly ran over Gabrielle who placed herself in the middle of his path. "What the hell is happening?"
Gabrielle kept a stern face when Jane finally arrived with her medical bag. Taking her eyes off Mehrcy, Gabrielle spoke to Jane.
"Do you have a sedative in that bag of your?"
"Of course," responded Jane. "What about Sam and Lassiter?"
"They're doing their best to hold her down. But I think you'll need a stronger dose if you plan on helping her."
The scream was the last straw. Shoving past Gabrielle but not too hard, Mehrcy burst through the door and stopped short. Victoria was thrashing on the floor as Sam did his best to hold her legs down while Lassiter held down her arms. Their attempts did little since they kept sliding on the floor every time Victoria thrashed about.
Seeing Victoria scream out shattered through Mehrcy. As he heard her scream, he also heard the cry of the darkness inside her. Without his doing, the light instantly reacted and Mehrcy saw the darkness in its wolf form yelping out in pain as some invisible attacker attacked both it and Victoria. He even felt a wave of something slam down on the both of them and Victoria screamed out again.
Mehrcy wasn't the only one to act without thinking. The light practically threw itself to the darkness when he lunged to Victoria. Grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her down, he broke every time he watched his female scream out in pain. Even with his help, Sam and Lassiter struggled to hold onto her since her thrashing increased. Mehrcy caught sight of Jane kneeling next to them and attempted to inject the sedative in Victoria. The only problem was that she couldn't get a clear shot.
"Damn it," she muttered. "Hold her still! And get something for her to bite on or she'll bite her tongue off."
In the background, Gabrielle searched for something for Victoria to bite on while Jane tried to get the drug in. But it was useless. Victoria kept fighting thrashing around where the three barely had a hold on her. There was a second where Sam slipped and she kicked him in the face. The human quickly shook it off and managed to grab her leg before she kicked him again. Lassiter seemed to be struggling since there were times where he was nearly thrown back up to his feet.
As for Mehrcy, he couldn't tear his gaze from Victoria. Watching her scream under him was crushing him to the point where he didn't know if he could hold onto her for long. When another wave crashed down, he could slightly feel it under his touch that the light snarled at it. But it was useless considering they weren't the ones being hurt.
Mehrcy wanted to know why the darkness had been unleashed before the full moon. The Scribe Virgin had said on the night of the full moon she would release the darkness and the goddess never broke her word. What had caused the darkness to attack him female a few days early?
When Gabrielle was about to hand a towel over to Jane, a wave both Mehrcy and the light felt came crashing down and Victoria's body arched up as she screamed. Right then she opened her eyes and Lassiter jumped back with shock all over his face. Behind Mehrcy, Sam was kicked so hard he slid across the tile while clutching his side. Both Jane and Gabrielle backed up when the males accidently released her. Being the only one holding Victoria down, Mehrcy was about to call her name when he saw why Lassiter looked so scared when she opened her eyes.
Black surrounded Victoria's dark blue eyes.
