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Chapter 54:
"Why are they staring at me like that?" I whispered to Tyler upon our arrival to the campsite.
Tyler rolled his eyes and pushed me forward as the werewolves stepped out from their hiding spots behind the trees.
Finding their exact location took some time when they lived so far away from civilization.
Their campsite appeared very primitive and improvised, however, we'd brought along rations to last for a couple of weeks and other necessities.
During the long trip on the road, Tyler informed me that he met them several months ago when he'd first triggered his curse.
He'd visited them with Hayley and gone through several painful transformations.
I couldn't imagine how excruciating it must've been to him and wondered if it still hurt his body whenever he transformed.
My mind was still focused on Kol and his current state, but I kept reminding myself to trust his judgment.
"Maybe because your heart is beating like crazy," Tyler remarked. "Relax, Beth. They're nice and old friends of mine."
"That's what worries me. Who would want to be your friend?" I grinned and Tyler pushed me playfully, causing a woman approaching us to snicker.
She was a beautiful woman in her late thirties with soft brown eyes and dark brown hair, but she also seemed tough as nails.
Tribal tattoos coiled around her and her body was athletically built.
A male spirit lingered beside her and judging on the way he gazed at her with loving eyes, I figured that he was her late husband or deceased lover.
"Tyler Lockwood! Long time, no see. Thank you for coming so soon, but… I sense you've changed since the last time we spoke…?" she mused.
"Yeah, about that… it's a long story. It starts and ends with Klaus," Tyler answered awkwardly and turned to me. "I hope you don't mind that I brought my cousin along? This is Beth Dawson and Beth, this is Paula O'Leary."
"Nice to meet you," I greeted kindly and noticed that the spirit beside her was staring at me. I tried avoiding meeting his gaze and failed miserably. "Uh, I think I'm gonna go sit down for a bit. My feet are sore."
Leaving the two werewolves to speak with one another, I walked up to a vacant log of wood and gestured at the spirit to join me.
If I were him I would want to deliver a message to the ones I loved, so I couldn't bring myself to ignore him or pretend I couldn't see him.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am to meet someone who can actually see me," he started and paused to release a heavy sigh. "My name is Scott O'Leary."
"You must be Paula's husband, right? I did suspect that was it," I responded. "What happened to you? If you don't mind me asking."
"I… it was a long time ago. Five years or so, I believe. A group of vampires attacked our home. They'd kidnapped one of the young ones, so I headed out to find the kid. It turned out to be a trap."
The sadness in his eyes told me enough.
I decided to get straight down to business before the painful memories started resurfacing and saddened him further.
"Usually, spirits have unfinished business and choose to stay behind until their message is heard. I could deliver it for you."
Scott frowned and shook his head surprisingly. "All I want is to stand by Paula's side – even if she doesn't know I'm here. I made a vow to stay by her side through everything and I meant it."
His determination and unwavering loyalty touched me deeply.
I wasn't sure if I could move on if I died and Kol was left behind to live a life of eternity alone.
"If you ever do want me to tell Paula something – anything – then please let me know," I urged. "I know how hard it can be to be apart from someone you love."
Rising from the log, I planned to return to Tyler and Paula until I noticed a werewolf staring at me.
My cheeks turned crimson of embarrassment because he must've noticed that I was speaking with seemingly no one.
Stepping forward, he buried his hands in his pockets and approached me, his gray eyes narrowing on my blue ones suspiciously.
"I'm not crazy," I blurted nervously and glanced in Tyler's direction. He was still examining how severe the damages were to the pack and their home. "I'm a medium."
"That's not why I was staring. It's not often non-werewolves visit us out here," he replied and shrugged. "Why are you here?"
"To help your pack recovering. I'm… Beth."
"Brent. Have you always been able to see the dead?"
I shook my head and sighed. "I'm still adjusting to it. I died as a vampire and woke up all fucked up in the head."
Brent offered a smile and joked, "At least you're not a vampire anymore. That's always something."
Forcing a smile on my lips, I refrained from telling him how much I missed being a vampire and headed back to Tyler.
Living out in the wild with these people would be good for me and I did look forward to helping them rebuilding their home.
Tyler told me that their pack leader died during the last attack, so there had been many arguments about who should be the next alpha.
One part of the pack wanted Paula to be in charge while others didn't think she could live up to the position.
It seemed that the opposing werewolves were living elsewhere, which meant the pack had been divided into two groups.
We needed to convince the rest to return or the pack wouldn't be able to fend itself properly against any upcoming attacks.
However, first we needed to help those that needed it the most, so while Tyler headed with a few others into the forest to gather wood for a bonfire, I handed out the rations with Paula.
"Tyler doesn't talk much about his family. How are you related to him exactly?" she asked as we carried the food from Tyler's car.
"My mom and his mom are half-sisters," I explained and smiled. "We haven't really been close in the past couple of years and only met at family gatherings."
"I see. He told me you're a medium. That means you can see spirits, right? Even supernatural ones?"
"Yeah, that's right. I…" I paused and considered telling her about her husband, but what could I say beside the fact that he was still around? "Was your husband the former alpha?"
Paula nodded solemnly but smiled nonetheless. "He was a good man. Did Tyler tell you about him?"
"Not really, no. He did…" I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth, but even though they shocked her, she didn't seem that surprised. "He's still around – looking after you."
A smile formed on her lips and she nodded understandingly. "Of course. I know. He was the most loyal man I've ever met. I would've done the same if our roles were reversed."
I sighed of relief and followed her back to the campsite, carrying a heavy box of canned food while she was able to lift two at once.
What I wouldn't give to have that strength again…
Returning to the car for the rest of the rations, we prepared everything for a good, warm meal for everyone in the camp.
Thankfully, Tyler was able to bring some easily burnable wood to us, so we lit the fire and started cooking the old-fashioned way.
"I can tell you've done this before, haven't you?" Paula asked with a smile, watching me stirring the mixture of ingredients in a pot.
"Guilty. I used to go camping with my grandpa and brothers. Not to brag or anything, but I make the meanest herb soup," I answered laughingly. "I've missed doing this."
I also missed how my grandfather used to be before he turned into an extremist vampire hunter, however, I'd learned to accept that I wouldn't see him again.
"I can't wait to taste it sometime. I have to admit, I was a little worried about whether you could handle living out here with us. We don't have cell phone signal and live like cavemen."
I laughed again and waved my hand dismissively. "I'd be lying if I said I don't miss Wi-Fi and cell phone signal, but I needed this. It's peaceful and takes my mind off my worries."
She started cutting the flesh off a deer one of the werewolves killed today and seemed more experienced being outdoor than I was.
I wouldn't be able to hunt down an animal and kill it even if it depended on my life.
"Ah, so you're escaping something. Let me guess… love trouble?" she mused.
"Um… something like it. My boyfriend and I were in a dangerous situation. He helped me escaping, but he's still there… with our enemies."
Paula stopped in the middle of a cut and released a sigh. "It's not easy being the one who's free and live while one's other half is trapped or dead. Is he human like you?"
I shook my head even though I wanted to lie, because I was worried what she would think of me if I told her that I was dating a vampire – and then an Original at that.
"Then you have nothing to worry about. Regardless of what he is, I'm sure he'll find a way to escape and return to you soon."
Oh, how I hoped that was true.
"Damn, that smells good. Who would've known you could cook?" Tyler teased.
I slapped his hand as he tried getting a taste of the soup and then slapped the back of his head playfully.
"You gotta wait like everyone else – also that was mean," I retorted. "Could you take over for me, Paula? I think I saw some herbs we can use right nearby."
Grinning at what I did to Tyler, Paula nodded and handed her hunting knife to Tyler instead. "Sure, go ahead."
A couple of feet from the log where I spoke with Scott, I'd spotted a bush of stinging nettles that would suit the soup once cooked.
Usually, I avoided nettles because of their painful stinging effect, but my mother taught me how to make nettle soup.
I brought my makeshift knife with me and borrowed a pair of gloves from Tyler's car to harvest the herb.
As I was gathering a handful of it, I suddenly felt an unnerving sense of being watched by someone or something.
Looking around carefully, I wasn't able to see anything unusual and shrugged it off as nothing.
After adding the nettle to a bag, I headed deeper into the forest to see if I could find any more herbs to add to the soup.
My heart skipped a beat as a group of playing children suddenly ran past me, and back to the adults calling on them.
They seemed so carefree and happy despite having to live in fear of more attacks.
I hoped my mother was enjoying her vacation with my father right now at least and as carefree as the children she taught at her kindergarten.
"Do you need a hand?" a familiar voice asked.
I turned around to face Brent and wondered how long he'd been standing in the area.
He'd pulled his dark brown hair back into a short ponytail and scratched his beard as if it was bothering him.
"Yeah, I'm sure you know the forest better than I do," I responded. "I was looking for some herbs to go with the soup I'm making."
His eyebrows rose and he grinned for some reason, nodding to my statement. "I think I can help you with that. Follow me."
I wasn't sure if it was the age or something about his behavior, but he reminded me of my older brothers and made me feel safe.
Brent took me to a clearing about thirty feet away from the campsite where various herbs blossomed thanked to the fruitful climate.
Nearby the clearing was a creek running through these parts of the forest.
"Sometimes I forget what it's like outside the forest even though I haven't lived here as long as the other adults," he told me. "I grew up in the city and moved here after the first attack that drove them into the forest."
"So you guys were living in the city before?" I replied curiously.
"Sort of. Some did, others preferred living close to the forest. It's easier to transform without hurting someone out here."
I fell silent as a thought crossed my mind and wondered if it was even safe for me to be here.
What if some of them started turning and I got in their way?
"Have you triggered the werewolf curse?"
Parting his lips to answer my question, Brent suddenly fell silent and glanced in the opposite direction of where we came from as if he heard something.
I listened carefully in an attempt to figure out what it was and sensed Scott's presence.
Something was troubling both werewolves and I worried it was someone with harmful intentions – like the opposing group of werewolves or vampires.
"We should head back," he suggested. "Do you have what you need?"
I nodded without questioning him and followed him back to the campsite, keeping an eye out for trouble.
The last thing I needed right now was being in a vulnerable position.
"Do I dare asking what that was about?" I finally asked as we returned to safety.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. It's just best to be here when it gets dark," Brent answered cryptically. "Save me some of that soup. I gotta help set up for the night."
"Will do. Oh, and thanks for the help, Brent." I offered him a smile and he returned it before heading to the other side of the campsite.
It seemed that I needed to be careful even here if I wanted to live long enough to see Kol again.
I only hoped he was doing better than I was and would find his freedom soon.
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