A/N: I'd usually promise that the next update will be on time, but honestly? I'm a college senior coming up finals. It'll be a true testament to my planning abilities if I get it up on time.
"Excuse me?" Eleanor sputtered, at a complete loss. Hunter smiled in an apologetic way, shrugging like he was confessing spilling her drink or ripping her notes. She looked to Rich and Rob, who both nodded solemnly, as if affirming this ridiculous excuse.
"Nope," she said after a beat. "Try again, the truth this time."
"E, that is the truth. The wolf that you saw last night was me, and the guy that attacked you was a vampire," Hunter explained, putting on a more serious façade. Eleanor looked around, hoping for a camera, anything to prove that this was a joke. The other alternative, that Hunter was telling the truth, was too strange to contemplate. Hunter shook his head sadly, like he knew what he was thinking.
"Can you read minds?" she blurted, suddenly fearful. Hunter laughed once, surprised but shook his head.
"Uh, no, can't do that, but I am faster and stronger than a normal person, plus, all my senses are enhanced," he said. "That, and I turn into a wolf every full moon."
"Are you fucking with me, yes or no?" Eleanor demanded, voice rising in her hysterics. She felt like her mother, out of control and spiraling.
"No, this is the whole truth. I'm a werewolf and this vampire, Paulina, is out to get me." He launched into an explanation after that, about Wolfsberg, Transylvania, his sister, and a creepy caretaker called Madame Varcolac. Eleanor barely paid attention, feeling dizzy. She needed a drink.
"Okay!" she interrupted Hunter, just as he was describing Moonlight Mania. "I'm getting a drink, then taking a nap. My freak-out capacity had just hit max." She strode purposefully back into the house, rummaging in her mother's liquor cabinet. She pulled out an expensive bottle of amber liquid and gulped it back without looking at the label.
"Woah! Easy, E, that's a lot of whiskey for 8 in the morning," Rich said, easing the bottle out of her hands. Rob snatched it from him, taking a curious sip and gagging on it. Hunter looked at her sadly, which made her feel worse somehow.
The burning in her throat, eased her guilt a little, and the warmth settling in her chest made her feel better. She sighed, taking a seat at the island. She folded her hands in her lap and looked to Hunter.
"Look, I just… need a minute to wrap my head around this, okay? I'm not so good this sort of stuff," she told Hunter softly. "We're still friends, I just need a minute."
"Okay," he agreed, just as soft. "Do you want us to stick around?"
"Nah, I'll be okay. Besides, your dad and Jordan are probably worried about you." She waved her hand, dismissing them. Hunter sighed but nodded. He turned to go but stopped suddenly. "You don't have a ride, do you."
Hunter gave her his signature smile, and for a moment, Eleanor could believe this was one of her closest friends, that nothing had changed.
"Someone else has to drive," she declared, getting the keys from the hook by the door. "By the way, what the hell did you burn last night?"
"Don't worry about it," Rich said.
"Vampire pieces," Rob said.
"Sorry I asked." She handed the Hunter the keys, but stopped, appraising him. "Are you okay to drive?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. A little tired, but totally good," he answered, reaching over to pat her shoulder. Suddenly, Eleanor couldn't bear the thought and flinched back. Though Hunter worked to keep his face neutral, Eleanor couldn't have missed the flicker of hurt that played across it. The group made their way to Eleanor's car, somber and strangely quiet.
Hunter drove carefully, taking care to be kind to her car. Eleanor watched his hands, big and strong, that could rip apart into monster claws. She looked away fast.
When they parked outside the Sands house, Jordan already stood in the doorway, waiting for them. Her hair was pulled up into a pony tail today, which bounced jovial as she jogged up to greet them. Eleanor rolled down her window when Jordan came over to her side.
"Hi!" she said brightly. "I'm Jordan."
"Eleanor," she replied, sticking her hand out to shake. Jordan took it with a sly smile.
"Oh, I know exactly who you are. Hunter can't shut up about you," Jordan smirked, laughing as Hunter sputtered indignantly. While hearing this might've delighted her yesterday, today, it made her feel trapped, hunted almost. Whatever residual warmth the whiskey had given her disappeared fast, and along with it, the promise of a buzz. She wanted to laugh at the irony. Jordan's expression softened.
"I know that things are really freaky right now, but I promise they'll get better, okay? Why don't you come in and have some breakfast." With that, Jordan opened the car door and took her hand, gently leading her out. There was something about Jordan, a sort of aura she exuded, that seemed to quell the panic. Eleanor truly did believe things would be better.
Mr. Sands sat at the table, staring at his hands, but perked up at the sight of her and boys coming through the door. He exhaled hard, doubling over in relief and clutching a chair.
"Oh, thank god," he sighed. "Everyone's okay."
"Of course, Dad, because we trust Hunter," Jordan said pointedly. The boy—werewolf, she'd never get over that—said nothing, sitting heavily in a chair.
"Of course," Mr. Sands agreed. He turned to Eleanor. "Do you need to call your mother? Maybe your dad?" Eleanor shook her head, trying for a smile and falling short. Mr. Sands looked around helplessly for a moment before starting to plate breakfast and put it in front of the kids. The boys shoveled their food, but Eleanor mostly played with hers. The alcohol sat like a rock in the pit of stomach, turning it over. Her head was starting to hurt.
"I'm going to take a shower," Hunter muttered after he'd finished, pushing away his empty plate. The boys exchanged glances, getting up as well and following Hunter upstairs.
"Jordan, honey, I promised I'd catch up with Jackie soon, will you… be okay?" Mr. Sands asked, not-so-subtly glancing over at Eleanor.
"I got this dad," Jordan assured him. Confidence rolled off her in waves, absolutely effortlessly. For a moment, Eleanor envied her. Mr. Sands waved to both of them, yelling upstairs to Hunter after, then headed out the door. Jordan took a seat next to Eleanor.
"I've been where you were, by the way," Jordan started, helping herself to a second serving of sausage. "Totally scared and in the dark."
"Hunter told me what happened, with the LB 217 and the glass shards," Eleanor offered quietly. "That must've been really hard."
"It was, but I wouldn't been able to get through it without Hunter. He's a lot more reliable than he looks," Jordan laughs. "And he was only fourteen then!"
"I just don't know what to think," Eleanor confessed. "That… vampire attacked me at a party, and then again. I feel weak and I hate it."
"And it's even worse that Hunter has to come save you, right?" Jordan asked, like she already knew the answer.
"Yeah!" Eleanor hadn't realized it before but that weird feeling had been shame. Shame for being weak, for needing Hunter, for being a damsel in distress.
"You're not weak," Jordan told her in a no-nonsense tone. "It might feel like you are right now, but that's just because your confidence is shaken. I can help you with that."
"Really?" Eleanor believed Jordan was a badass, with her confident eyes and her easy smile, but she had a hard time imagining she could be a badass too.
"Sure. I lost all my power after I broke the curse, but I adapted. LA's not exactly supernatural-free, you know. I've had my fair share of Buffy moments," Jordan told her, winking conspiratorially. "I can show you how to take care of yourself without ever needing to get into a fight."
"How'd you learn to do all this?" Eleanor asked. Jordan's optimism was catching, and suddenly, Eleanor could see herself as Buffy, kicking ass and taking names.
"Well, I have a boyfriend to protect, but more than that, it makes me feel more in control. When I turned, it felt like I lost all control, like I was a slave to this curse. I never want to feel like that ever again." Eleanor thought for a moment, her mind inadvertently going to back to Hunter.
"Is that what Hunter feels like?" she asked fearfully. She might not understand him right now, but she didn't want his to feel like what Jordan had just described.
"Hunter? No way. He's really in tune with his inner wolf. It's not a curse for him, it's a gift. I guess it's a bloodline thing," Jordan answered, getting up put her plate away. Eleanor felt better, not all the way, but better. Enough to face Hunter, at least. Together, the girls cleaned up the kitchen and Jordan promised to take her out to coffee and show her how to be supernaturally savvy.
"You can go on up, he's probably expecting you," Jordan said, settling on the couch. Eleanor nodded and made her way up the stairs. As she got closer to Hunter's room, she heard all three boys whispering urgently.
"Hey," she said, waiting in the doorway. "Can we talk? All of us?"
"Hey," Hunter said softly, moving aside to let her in. Rob took a seat on the bed with Rich, leaving a gap for her in between. Rolling her eyes, Eleanor sat, allowing them to swing their arms over her shoulders.
"We're here for you, E," Rob says. "As fellow humans, we understand the mental upheaval you must be going through." Hunter started to pace then, looking worried.
"I don't know about mental upheaval," Eleanor grumbled.
"So, a mild freak out, then," Rich corrected. "Either way, we're here with answers to any questions you may have."
"Hello? Actual werewolf in the room. One who can answer questions better," Hunter reminded them, looking cross. His hair stands up on one side, like he's been running his hands through it.
"How does it work?" Eleanor asked before she could stop the words from leaving her mouth. "How did it start?" Hunter shrugged, sitting in his desk chair.
"Genetic mutation, maybe? Magic? I've been combing through my Uncle Dragomir's notes forever, but I guess even he didn't know." Eleanor nodded, wrapping her arms around herself.
"And the vampire?"
"Who knows, but they're undead. It's my job to protect people from them," Hunter told her, rummaging through his desk. He pulls out a file folder, flipping through it once before passing it over to Eleanor. "Here, this one's pretty comprehensive."
"Your uncle's notes?" Eleanor asked, open the file to a random page. There's a diagram of a huge wolf, drawn carefully with pencil. Eleanor wanted to trace them, but she was scared of ruining them.
"Give her the war file too, the history one," Rich suggested, scooting so he sat against the headboard. He turned on the TV, flipping through channels.
"Give her the hypotheses one, too," Rob said, smirking. Hunter flipped him the bird, scowling though his cheeks turned red.
"Two is fine, we don't want to overwhelm her." Hunter slammed the drawer shut, pulling one knee up to rest his chin on. He looked back at Eleanor. "That'll help with the questions."
There was a knock on the door then. All four of them looked up in surprise, finding Jordan in the doorway. She frowned at them, clutching her cell phone.
"I got off the phone with Madame V." Hunter stands abruptly, waiting for the rest. "She's doing her best Buffy impersonation, but there were only two vampires in Wolfsberg."
"That means they're all here," Hunter finished the sentence grimly. "They followed Paulina."
"Probably not, Hunter. We killed a lot of them, remember? My best guess is that she's got a one minion with her, maybe two, and they're turning people here," Jordan said. She flopped down on the bed, running her hands through her hair. "I can't go back to LA until we solve the vampire problem."
"Go back to school, Jordan, I can deal with this on my own—"
"No way! We've got your back, dude. Team wolf all the way," Rob interrupted, jumping up from his spot. There's a serious determination on his face, a kind of assuredness Eleanor had never seen from him.
"When's the next moon?" Rich asked, pulling his phone out.
"October 30th," Hunter answered instantly. "Day before Halloween."
"That's when we strike," Rich decided, nodding to himself. "Between the three of us, we take down the sires. After that, the baby vamps will be easy pickings."
"Four of us," Eleanor corrected. "I want to help to. That vampire attacked me, and I think they attacked Natalie too." Against her better judgement, she tells them about what happened to the cheerleader, about the strange bruises and the lack of sex. Jordan snarled, angry on Natalie's behalf. It endeared her to Eleanor, that she could feel such protectiveness for someone she didn't even know.
"So we wait for the next party, then," Rich said. "Figure out who the bloodsuckers are. Any idea when that might be, E?"
"No clue," she confessed. "I'll ask Natalie if there's anything going on." She remembered the cheerleaders suddenly, drooping and pale. "Can vampires feed without killing the person?"
"No clue," Hunter admitted. "Uncle Dragomir's got a ton of research about vampires and stuff, but honestly, I mostly skimmed it."
"Well, there's a lot of different lore concerning the transformation myths," Rich explained. "In some ancient lore, vampires have to transfer blood to their progeny. Others, vampires kill their progeny, and bring them back, like they're reborn again. Then finally, you have the venomous vampire trope, which pretty self-explanatory."
"So, which is true?" Jordan asked, already googling it on her phone.
"You have to look at the frequency of the lore," Rob interjected. "Not in movies or TV, but real mythology. Most sources generally agree that it's a blood-sharing process."
"Then I think I know exactly where the vampires are hanging out," Eleanor informed them grimly.
"Wait, E, I think just the three of us should handle this," Hunter said, corners of his mouth pulling down. "We have a ton more experience—"
"Five of us," Jordan interrupted. "I'm not going back when you need me. And I'm not leaving Eleanor defenseless."
"I don't think so—"
"Hey!" Eleanor yelled, catching everyone's attention and ushering a silence over the room. "I'm in the room, guys, you can't talk about me like I'm not here. I'm going to make my own decisions. The first one is going home."
"Okay, I'll go with," Hunter said, standing. Eleanor stopped him, raising her eyebrows.
"It's the middle of the day, Hunter, I don't think anything's out there. I need to be home for when my mom gets back." She turned to Jordan. "I'll get your number from Hunter later and I'll call."
With that, Eleanor strode purposefully out, slowing to let Jordan catch up.
"You're pretty cool," she said, getting the door for Eleanor. "I get why my brother's likes you so much."
"Oh, I don't think…" Eleanor trailed off, unsure of what to say. She wasn't going to embarrass herself in front of Hunter's sister.
"Oh, but I do," she laughed, a pretty musical sound. "We'll hang out."
"Sure," Eleanor said sincerely. Jordan was pretty much everything Eleanor would want in a big sister. She waved goodbye before backing out of the driveway, driving back to her own house. Once she'd put her car away, she walked through the front door fast, intent on cleaning up the remains of the vampire before her mother saw.
"Eleanor Davis." Her mother's voice rang out all through the living room, Eleanor whirling around to find her at the top of the stairs, wearing a pale blue negligee and a silky robe. "Just what were you burning in the backyard while I was away?"
A/N: Alright, so now we're getting somewhere plot-wise! See you guys next time!