Jason wasn't quite sure what he was expecting when he walked into Reyna's apartment. Being asked for a silver cure left him confused and worried. Because if he was supposed to go to Reyna's place and bring a silver cure, that could only mean one thing. That was probably why Jason bypassed the elevator and took the steps two at a time.
Jason made it to Reyna's floor and lightly jogged towards Reyna's apartment. He stopped at the door and knocked on it. After realizing how dumb he was being, he opened the door and hurried inside. Upon closing the door behind him, he heard someone call for him, "Bedroom!"
"Is every oka... oh," Jason exhaled as he walked into the bedroom. It took him a few moments to process the scene in front of him. His attention moved to his sister. Thalia was pacing back and forth, looking irritated. There was another woman laying on the ground, and her wrists were handcuffed in front of her. The woman had black hair, and she almost looked like Reyna.
Speaking of Reyna, she was being cradled by Clarisse. Reyna's head was lulled against her chest, and Clarisse was dabbing her face with a small rag that was covered in blood. A bandage was wrapped around her upper leg. A set of handcuffs were on her wrists, but they had been broken.
Jason wasn't quite sure what to say. Thalia walked towards him, "You have it?"
Jason held up the small box. Thalia took it and tossed it to Clarisse. She hurried out of the room and came back with a glass of water. Clarisse gently touched Reyna's face, "Hey, can you hear me?"
"She's a werewolf?" Jason asked surprised, staring at Reyna. It did explain why she insisted Jason wouldn't hurt her during sex and also how she was able to fight Lycaon and survive. And how she could hear them when they were whispering.
"That's not what you should be focused on right now," Clarisse muttered as she tried to pour water down Reyna's throat. The woman was unresponsive. "Fuck!"
"Who... who is that?" Jason asked as he focused on the stranger that was handcuffed. Looking back at Reyna allowed him to see a bullet hole in the wall. "What happened here?"
"Why don't you stop talking and help me force this down her throat?" Clarisse hissed. Her body was tense. One of her hands was shaking, and there was visible stress in her eyes.
"That's not going to work," Jason said as he walked toward them. He knelt by Reyna and grabbed the cup from Clarisse. He gently lifted her head and studied her. Reyna's head was burning up, and she was starting to sweat. Jason gently cradled her head and poured water through her lips.
Reyna seemed to swallow some. Jason grabbed the silver cure and dropped it into the cup of water. He tilted her head back slightly and poured the water into her mouth again. Then, he gently held her jaw closed. After a few moments, Reyna swallowed, and her body instantly relaxed against Jason.
"She should be awake in a few minutes," Jason assured as he looked at the two. He knew from experience that a silver cure could act like a shot of adrenaline. Granted, his experience ended with him jumping up so quickly that he hit his head on something and almost knocked himself out. His friends never let him live it down. "So, what happened here?"
"Reyna's sister is a member of Exterminata," Thalia answered as she waved her hand in the direction of the woman. "She came here to kill her."
"I stopped her," Clarisse said softly. She stood and gently picked Reyna up. A groan left the smaller woman, and Clarisse laid her on the bed. Then, she began to pace back and forth. Jason stood there awkwardly.
"What do we do?" Jason finally asked. Thalia still had that irritated, even agitated look on her face. She was glaring daggers at Reyna's sister.
"I should arrest her," Thalia muttered.
"Why don't you just leave and take a breather," Clarisse suggested. "I'll handle things here."
"Fine, I'll step out," Thalia agreed. "Just don't do anything without me. I have a lot to think about."
Jason didn't like the sound of that, and he didn't like the look on his sister's face. Thalia turned and left the apartment. Clarisse walked toward the unconscious woman and picked her up. She walked towards the living room. Jason was left alone with Reyna.
Jason turned towards Reyna and watched her. As minutes passed, the pain on her face slowly disappeared as did the tension in her body. Jason knew the best thing to do after a silver cure was to sleep, but he wasn't sure what Reyna's thought process would be.
The woman in question gasped suddenly, and her eyes snapped open. She tried to sit up and made it halfway before she hissed in pain. She collapsed back onto the bed and placed both hands to her side. Her eyes shot around, and she focused on Jason.
"You okay?" Jason asked gently.
"What happened?" Reyna slowly questioned. She slowly sat up and placed both hands to her side.
"I'm not sure," Jason began. He looked around. "I got called here. For a silver cure."
Different emotions flashed on Reyna's face before she deadpanned. She just looked away and then tried to stand. Jason quickly helped her. Before he could begin to ask what she was doing, she walked towards the living room. Jason had no choice but to follow behind.
Knowing now that Reyna was a werewolf explained a lot. It also left him with so many questions. Did Reyna have a pack? Why didn't she tell anyone? Could she teach Jason the things that his mentor couldn't?
The two of them made it towards the living room. Clarisse was pacing around and had a small frown on her face. She stopped and looked at them, "You need to rest."
"I need to talk to Hylla," Reyna replied. Her gaze moved towards her sister. Jason took a few seconds to look at Hylla. There was no doubt that this was Reyna's sister. They had the same tone of skin, same hair color, and the same regal face, though Reyna wore hers better.
"There's nothing to talk about," Hylla muttered. Her head was hanging lazily as if she had just woken up, and her sight was focused on the ground. While Hylla wasn't tied to the chair, she didn't make a move to stand. Her hand moved to rub her neck.
"You're not going to stop hunting me," Reyna stated. She slowly walked towards the table and grabbed the silver knife that had been placed on it. There were other supplies nearby that Jason realized belonged to Hylla as well and had been stripped from her by Clarisse.
"Go ahead and kill me," Hylla said as she met Reyna's eyes. Jason tensed and looked at Clarisse. Reyna walked toward her sister and gripped the knife in her hand. Jason went to step forward, but Clarisse grabbed his shoulder.
"You know where I live. You can finish the job at any time," Reyna stated. She flipped the knife in her hand and held it out to Hylla. "Or, you can finish the job right now."
"I am not the monster that you think I am," Reyna said. "You have been brainwashed by our father and his lessons. By Exterminata. Our father was going to kill me. I heard him calling and making a report. He wrote it down."
"That's why I ran, but he caught me. He pinned me down and was going to kill me. I had to defend myself, and that is why I tore his throat out. I regret it every day," Reyna finished. Tears brimmed her eyelids, and she was starting to shake. Hylla just stared at her, but she made no movement to grab the knife.
Reyna reached into her pocket and grabbed her wallet. She slowly opened it and pulled out a piece of paper, almost like parchment weathered with age. Reyna carefully unfolded it and held it out to Hylla. After a few moments, Hylla grabbed the paper and studied it.
A silence filled the apartment as Hylla looked over the paper. Jason could see her eyes slowly moving downwards before shooting back up. Her eyes glanced down again to scan the old document. Clarisse kept a hand on Jason's shoulder, but she kept an intense gaze on the two sisters. Reyna silently watched her sister.
Jason could see how Reyna was almost curled in on herself. She was in pain, and while she was doing her best to hide it, they could all see through the facade. Hylla looked over the paper a few more times and then finally lowered it.
"I was a terrified kid," Reyna started as she lifted the knife again and held it out to her sister. "But not a monster. If you want, you can just kill me right now."
Hylla slowly stood. Her hand grabbed onto the knife, and she studied the deadly blade in her hand. Jason found himself ready to jump in between the two. It didn't matter if the knife was silver or not. He wouldn't let his friend be hurt. Hylla pulled the knife away from Reyna. Then, she dropped it.
"I don't want to see you ever again," Hylla stayed.
"Hylla," Reyna began. Hylla pushed past her sister. "Hylla!"
"I am going to tell Exterminata that this was a false alarm," Hylla answered back. She grabbed her backpack from the ground and shoved her items into it. After zipping up the backpack, she turned towards Reyna. "After that, don't let me see you again. You are dead to me."
Reyna slowly nodded, but the tears in her eyes threatened to streak down her face. She swallowed painfully and looked away. Hylla studied Reyna for a few moments and let out a shaky breath of her own. Then, she threw her backpack over her shoulder.
Jason silently watched the show. He wanted to tell Reyna to fight for her sister to come back. If this was him and Thalia, he would do anything to keep his sibling from leaving without them resolving their issues. Instead, Reyna just watched. Words seemed to escape her.
Hylla turned and left the apartment. Reyna did nothing to stop her. As soon as the door closed, Reyna's shoulders slackened. She walked towards the chair and collapsed into it. Her face was buried in her hands, "You two weren't supposed to see that."
"I'd rather you be miserable about this than dead," Clarisse muttered. She sighed and walked toward Reyna. "You need a doctor. And to file a report."
"I just want to sleep," Reyna grumbled.
"Not here. We don't know if any other hunters are going to come after you," Clarisse said as she looked around. Reyna remained silent. Jason tried to think of something comforting to say. Even when nothing came to mind, he opened his mouth. He was interrupted by the front door opening.
Thalia walked into the apartment. She was staring at the ground. There was a conflicted look on her face. Her fingers tapped against her belt. Against the handcuffs resting there. Thalia slowly looked up, and a look of determination came to her face.
"I'm sorry," Thalia began as she unhooked the handcuffs.
"Thalia, you're fucking kidding me," Clarisse snapped as she stepped forward. While she had seemed passive, Jason could tell that she had been ready to step forward and defend Reyna from anything. Or anyone. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"My job," Thalia answered. She looked at Reyna. "I was warned by Hylla about a dangerous werewolf that came here. I also saw Hylla at the crime scene of where Ma Gasket's sons were murdered. By a werewolf. Reyna is a suspect, and she must be questioned."
"Thalia," Jason protested. Clarisse narrowed her eyes and stepped forward.
"I don't like it either," Thalia began.
"Then, don't do it," Clarisse snapped.
"I already neglected some of my duties by not arresting Hylla," Thalia stated, shifting her gaze to Reyna. "The werewolf told Tyson to go back to Percy. Lycaon and his boys wouldn't have done it. Jason has an alibi. That leaves you as the only suspect."
Clarisse cursed and stepped in front of Reyna. Jason looked in between his sister and his friend and felt himself being torn between them. Thalia lifted her head and was unwavering.
"Fine," Reyna said.
"Reyna," Clarisse protested as she turned to her friend. Reyna shook her head and stepped forward. She held out her wrist.
"Go ahead," Reyna continued. "Arrest me. Question me. When you realize that you have nothing on me and have to let me go, I'm leaving this fucking place. It was a mistake to settle here."
"Thalia, just leave," Clarisse ordered as she looked at the woman. Then, she turned back to Reyna. "You need to sit down and stop to think. Running isn't going to solve your problems. It never has before, and it never will. That's a lesson I had to learn the hard way."
Thalia stepped around Clarisse and then grabbed Reyna's wrist. She locked one of the handcuffs around it. Reyna stared into Thalia's eyes and then offered her other wrist, "There is a reason that no one trusts the hunters. Officiated by the government or not, the only difference between your group and Exterminata is the fact that you have a badge."
A scowl twisted Thalia's face, and she roughly jerked Reyna around to cuff her other hand behind her back. Clarisse looked like she was seething, and all Jason could do was just watch. What the hell was happening? Thalia led Reyna towards the door.
"Don't say anything," Clarisse finally ordered. "I'll get a lawyer for you."
Reyna remained silent as Thalia led her out of the apartment. As the door closed, Clarisse let out an angry breath. She turned her furious gaze to Jason, who just flinched. A terrible feeling settled in his gut, and something told him things were going to get worse before they got better.