Chapter 8
Burning Ice
I made it to my house that morning seconds before my alarm went off and headed straight for the shower. It almost scared me when I saw how many twigs and blades of grass were left sitting in the drain. It felt great to get them off though. Don't get me wrong, I love the forest and the environment and everything but it's meant to stay outside. And as you may have guessed, from a night with absolutely no sleep, I wasn't exactly willing to talk to anyone. I went straight to my first period class and got the few minutes of sleep that I desperately needed. Unfortunately, those few minutes turned into the entire class period and the sound of the bell was the only thing that could wake me up. But, on the positive side, I was feeling much better- and certainly more social- by then.
I walked through the crowded hallways to the same intimidated stares and curiosity. Was this what it was like for Keith when he first changed? He was probably that big to start off with. His girlfriend must have hated it. The more provocative girls in this school were probably all over him.
I stopped walking and stared, a quick chill shivering up my spine. You have got to be kidding me. It wasn't even noon yet! Could I get at least a tiny bit of a break? Was it possible? Is that too much to ask? He was so close that I had to force myself to breathe so that I wouldn't attack him right then and there. I simply walked where the scent took me and turned the corner to see Jared being led through the double doors that led to the football field by the main harlot of the swim team. I shook my head at the fact that I had honestly just used the word 'harlot' in present-day language. This is what happens after a year of American Literature, even if that was back in my sophomore year here.
Regardless of my word choice, good things never happened on that field during school hours. I gripped my books and walked a little too quickly to the doors. He had Sheila against the wall, with the top of her shirt pushed down and his lips on the edge of her shoulder. Oh no. I gripped his shoulder and spun him around. His eyes were dark blue as he ran his tongue along his bottom lip calmly.
"Back off, bitch!" Sheila yelled at me. I was laughing in my head at the irony of that but I ignored her. Jared smiled.
"Yes?" he asked. I looked around him at Sheila. I half expected to see two tiny holes, but instead saw a full out bite mark. It was pretty nasty looking and Sheila wasn't freaked out by it in the slightest. A line of blood slid down her arm and I fidgeted as I watched it. It smelled remarkable! I shook my head trying to clear the scent. She didn't pay any attention to me as she wiped it away and pulled her sleeve over the mark. That's when it hit me.
"Sheila! You're into that kind of thing?" I asked with quite the disgusted look on my face.
"That's none of your damn business. Vampirism happens to be quite sexy. Maybe if you and Dominic tried it out you wouldn't be wound up so tight."
I didn't have time to be pissed at that last remark. My focus was just on Jared for now.
"She doesn't know, does she?" I whispered so quietly that I could barely hear it.
"No she doesn't."
"Is she going to change?"
"No," he moved closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist freakishly fast. He looked down at me intently. "I can make it happen if you want. But I wouldn't want to make anything that could hurt our relationship. Surely you would taste a million times better."
He slid his tongue up my neck. I shivered and grabbed his shoulder before landing a punch that felt like it could have gone through a brick wall. He fell to the side. Sheila eyed me angrily.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked. Why should she care? If anything she should be pissed at the fact that he had just licked my neck!
"Get out of here, Sheila." I shot a look at her and she shook apprehensively before scurrying off. It doesn't make any sense for anyone to be that bad of a person. I honestly feel sorry for her boyfriend. He either doesn't care or he is dumb as hell. Jared looked up at me and smiled. He cupped his jaw with his hand, and snapped it back into place. He spread himself out on his back.
"You know, you just did me quite a favor. She didn't have much flavor to her. I must ask though, are you proud of yourself? You just saved a life. Are you going to get some kind of wolf badge for it or something? Oh, and just for the record, I saw the look on your face."
"What look?"
Why was I even encouraging this?
"I'm talking about the look on your face when you smelled that Sheila girl's blood. I was a bit disappointed though. You did a better job of fighting it than I thought that you would have. I almost hoped that you would finish my job for me. Which reminds me, how's the boyfriend?"
I growled and kicked him in his side knocking him up a few feet before he landed on the ground ahead of me with a loud thud.
"You have quite the temper on you. If the circumstances were different, I'd fine that pretty damn sexy." He stood up and sniffed the air while walking in my direction. "You know, for a dog, you have quite the interesting scent."
"What are you doing? Why are you stalling?" I snarled.
"I've already given you my explanation for that. You should really work on your listening skills."
I jumped him, sending his head crashing into the sidewalk. He let out a quick sigh before looking up and smiling.
"You're going to have to do better than that, dog."
I growled and bit his shoulder and kept going until I heard a rip that certainly wasn't caused by his shirt. I had just barely broken through the skin. He breathed slowly in through his nose and out through his mouth and then stopped. For a second, I thought that blood was about to spill and then I remembered who I was dealing with. I felt pressure on my side as he pushed me off.
"Another day then, eh love?"
He was gone seconds before Keith appeared. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I looked up and Keith was staring down at me. I was still on my back.
"We really need to work on your timing." I said in between breaths.
We were back on our night shift and Keith wasn't all that proud of how I had handled the situation.
"You should've waited until I got there," he whispered from a branch beside me. Neither one of us had felt like changing tonight. Even more importantly, we didn't want to be in each other's heads.
"I think we both know what would've happened if I would've waited. No one was killed and no one found out any ancient secrets. I think that's an accomplishment."
"Letting your anger get the best of you in a situation like that can be more dangerous than you think. Lose it and innocent people can get hurt."
"I know and I handle my anger better than you may think. If I didn't then I would've ended up killing Dominic myself."
I shuddered as his deaths flashed in my head again.
"What are you talking about?"
"The first day that Jared showed up at school, I was already pissed and Dominic made it worse. I…saw myself kill him."
"You'll get used to that. You just have to make sure that you don't like what you see enough to actually do it."
We were silent while I thought about what he said. I really couldn't see myself getting used to the idea of seeing myself as a cold-blooded killer every time someone gets on my nerves.
"Human vampirism freaks you out, doesn't it?" he asked after a few more minutes of silence.
"I choose not to judge," I replied.
"That wasn't my question."
"Yeah, I know it wasn't, that's just not a very common question."
"And you still haven't answered."
"I've never done it, but I think that it would be dangerous if I tried."
"So you would consider it?"
"I don't know. Blood has never really turned me on. Well, I guess it kind of does now, but not in the same way. Would you?"
"My last girlfriend before Erin was into it."
"So the golden girl has a name. Does she know about this?"
I threw my legs over onto the branch and leaned back, still watching him curiously.
"Yeah, she knows."
"So you two have talked about exes?"
"Haven't you and your boyfriend?"
I readjusted myself on the branch and looked up through the spaces between the leaves. "It's not exactly a fun topic. I avoid it when I can."
"Did you get any sleep at all today?"
I looked back over at him and focused on his eyes. The space right below his eyes seemed darker than the rest of his face. I mean, I may not be nocturnal, but I could see pretty well in the dark and there were definitely small bags under his eyes.
"Hardly, I'm guessing that you didn't?" I asked.
He shrugged and leaned back against the tree. I didn't think that this was possible, but the bags under his eyes actually looked good on him. They really seemed to define the shape of his eyes. But of course, everything looked good on him. He's Keith. I sighed and looked away, forcing myself to stop staring at him. Why did we both have to be taken?
"Tell me about Erin."
I listened to him shift uncomfortably on the branch. The leaves rustled at the tiniest movements.
"Why?"
"I just want to hear about her. I know you want to talk about her. She's all you think about."
I closed my eyes and centered my hearing on the one thing about him that I knew was about to change: his heart rate. I breathed in through my nose slowly and silently. There it was. The little thump in his chest just got a little faster.
"I love her. What else is there to say?"
There was plenty of tension in his voice. I was making him uneasy, but I wanted to get to know him better.
"Describe her to me," I whispered.
"That's not funny."
He sounded angry. I smiled. He completely took that the wrong way.
"I've already seen how she looks to you. I meant her personality. Why do you love her?"
"Excuse me for saying this, but I honestly doubt that you really want to know. We both know that it doesn't compare."
This was very true. There was no possible way that he could love this girl the same way that I love him, but hey, who cares? Why bring up facts that we already know?
"I know, but you know better than anyone just how much I care about you. Would it be so terrible for me to want to know what it is that makes your life so worth living?"
"With all due respect, I'd rather not discuss it."
"Why are you so formal with me?" I asked, opening my eyes, but refusing to look in his direction just yet.
"I'd rather not talk about that either."
"Just get it off of your chest. It's not like anybody else is going to hear it, and you can't possibly care what I think."
He shifted again. "And why would you assume that?"
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't."
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I don't hate the admiration?" – He sat up on the branch and it wasn't hard to guess that he was facing my direction. –"I don't like the idea of cheating and I hate the idea of hurting Erin, but what you showed me made it really hard to just ignore you or push it all to the back of my head. And yeah, I have one hell of a thing for her, but nobody's perfect. I'm guessing that you didn't know that she has a drinking problem. Or maybe you knew that she got an abortion a year ago because she got drunk at a party and woke up with some guy that she barely knew. She didn't even tell her parents. She just did it. Worst thing about it is that the baby probably would've died from alcohol poisoning even if she would've kept it. So no, we don't have the perfect relationship. And I've seen what you look like. Damon's always worried about you and the day that he found out that you were tatted, he couldn't stop thinking about old memories. You really do seem like a fun person and that makes it even harder."
My heart fluttered and I was sure that he could hear it. But I honestly had no idea of everything that he had just confessed. And here I was thinking that Erin was the perfect angel. I guess I was mistaken. It took me a while to finally find my words and even longer to form them into a weak whisper.
"So…why should it matter that I'm 'in love' with you. We can't at least try to be friends?"
He was silent. I sighed and jumped down to the ground. If I was going to be here then I might as well be productive. I stripped down completely where I stood. Keith couldn't see me so what was there to ashamed of? Besides, I'd gone through way too many sets of underwear in the last few days. I took a deep breath, held it, and started to shake. I stretched my claws, shook my fur, and moved at an easy jog. I made sure to keep my senses open. There weren't any new scents to pick up. I doubt that Jared had been anywhere near the area. I stopped by a rock, unable to stop my mind from clouding.
This was obviously the path that Keith had taken to get here and it was driving me crazy! His scent is just so…uh! I can't even describe it. It's like a mix between intoxicating and addictive with a dash of seduction and a pinch of fudge. And yes, I have a monstrous chocolate addiction so that means a lot. There were small cracking sounds around me. It was going to rain soon. It was a bit sad though. The animals were trying to get away from the rain, but they were trying to get away from me too. I couldn't blame them. I'd be afraid of me too if I weren't me if that makes any sense. I ran around the area trying to find another scent before the rain starts and rinses it away or at least makes it harder to track. I stopped suddenly.
I had found a new scent and I had been around Jared too many times to know that it wasn't from him. This was someone, or something, else. I ran back to the edge to the tree that Keith was still in. I didn't have to make a sound. He had already heard me.
"What?"
He was lucky that that sounded more curious than rude or else I would've let my angrier side take over. I changed back quickly.
"There's a new scent. It can't be too old, maybe a day at the most."
He dropped down a few feet away from me and pulled off his shirt. I saw his tat for the first time. His was a simple claw print. It wasn't an animal in general or a part of nature, it was just a claw. He put his hands on the button of his jeans and stopped.
"Do you mind? I know you're still standing there."
I was staring again. I really hadn't meant to, in all honesty. I apologized, started running and changed in mid-step. I could hear the pop behind me as he changed.
'It represents my senses.'
His voice in my head surprised me and I ended up taking a wrong turn and had to double back.
'What does?' I questioned.
'My tat. We're all animalistic, but my senses are different. They were similar to an animal's even before I was tatted. It's irritating, but it makes me one hell of a tracker.'
'How were you tatted?'
'I'll tell you about that when we're not so busy.'
I stopped at the spot where the new scent was strongest. Keith was beside me within a minute and the rain was starting to drip down on us. He was pacing and panting for a while just taking in the location. I laid down out of his way and watched him work. Being in his head was so confusing! There were millions of things working in his mind at once and none of those things made any sense to me.
'I've never smelled it before, but there's a pretty good chance that it's a leech. It smells way too sweet for it to be anything else.'
'So what do we do?'
'I can try to track it, but the rain'll get rid of it before I get a good enough hold on it. Whoever, or whatever, it was I doubt that it was after your boyfriend. The smell was nowhere near his house.'
Great! Now there's even more things to look out for. Well this is just peachy. To make things even better, and yes this is sarcasm, I got another visit from a familiar blue-eyed boy later at school. His scent hit me even with all the students surrounding us at the time. I tried my best to dodge the bodies before he could catch up with me. Sadly, I'm the one with an identity to hide, not him. His arm wound around my waist and his lips met my ear.
"I'm having a party tonight, and I'm sure my family would love to meet you." – He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of my hair. Sliding his arm up to my shoulder, he tightened his grip and led me around the corner and outside. There was a snap under his thumb as he popped my arm out of its socket with a smile. A grunt of pain slipped past my lips. –"You should come and bring the boys." He ran his tongue up from my top lip to the edge of my nose. I head butted him. With my right arm still healing, my forehead was my most convenient option for a weapon. My forehead was throbbing, but he stumbled back away from me.
"I'm doing you a favor, love. You're going to need my scent to find me tonight. It's not like I would just give you my address. But don't worry, I'll leave a trail."
The smell of beer, cigarette smoke, and chlorine hit my nose the second that I walked through the back gate with the guys behind me minus Josh. The last thing I needed was to have to worry about my little cousin getting drunk or smoking at one of these parties. Besides, he has a curfew and his mom would kill all of us if she found out that we brought him here. But, Jared definitely had not lied about leaving a trail. His scent was all over the trees and roads that led to this place. And if his smell was bothering me this bad, they must've been driving Keith completely insane. Of course, I didn't dare to look back to find out.
"Okay, so where is he?" Damon asked as we walked along the concrete path. Eyes were drawn to us immediately. The girls were staring at the shirtless bodybuilders behind me and the guys were looking at me in my all-white bikini and sarong. This was a pool party and we had to look the part. I guess it was all a matter of our animal magnetism and their combination of hormones and alcohol. There really was something to what Jared had said about us attracting prey. If we had wanted to kill any of the people here, all we would've had to do is invite them into a dark place or do it quickly enough that no one would notice. It was all painfully simple. But, I guess to most we were quite a sight. Only Keith and I actually go to the same school as the majority of the people here and they had probably never seen the rest of the pack. In a way, it's all flattering, but it's annoying at the same time.
A growl erupted from my chest as well as Keith's, both so low that only we wolves could hear it. Our expressions were equally blank as we looked for the source.
"What is it?"
We ignored Damon's question. It's not that we meant to, we were just really distracted and we didn't want to lose the scent. Keith and I tried our best to be casual as we walked on. Another smell mixed in with the new one. Jared. I stopped. The whole area was starting to make my brain hurt. I pinched the bridge of my nose and forced myself to take deep breaths.
"Stop trying to control it and let it control you." These calm words of wisdom came from none other than Keith who was now standing beside me with crossed arms and a vacant stare that wasn't directed at me. Without a word, I did as he said and closed my eyes. The variety of smells and sounds pounded my brain and slowly evened out as I glanced around at the entranced faces of the students. Not as many were staring now. They simply looked up when they thought that we wouldn't notice.
Before I could really think to do it, my fingers were untying the knot of my sarong and letting it drop at the edge of the pool before I plunged in. I swam under the surface of the water easily, despite the seemingly collective pulse of the racing hearts within the bodies around me, until I had my destination pinned against the corner of the pool. To everyone else, it seemed like I was just flirting by having my hands on his abs and the rest of me against him, but to myself, Jared, and the pack, it was clearly more than that. Jared's expression was just as cool as his skin felt against my skin.
"How many are there?" I whispered. My eyes were locked with his and our atmosphere spread as the hearts thumped harder, forcing their blood to flow faster.
"How many what?" he asked with feigned innocence.
It's funny. I hadn't noticed how much longer and sharper my nails had all grown until I dug them into Jared's skin. He groaned quietly and regained his composure by slipping his hands onto my waist and clenching my sides. I gasped and he smiled. Judging by the number of splashes behind me, I guessed that the guys had heard me. I flicked my hair over my shoulder and shook my head, hoping that they would take the hint to let me handle this by myself. They did.
"The two big ones are still watching you." – He whispered against my lips. –"Now…what is it that you're looking for?"
"How many more of you are there?"
"Ah, you mean my family. Well, not my genetic family. They're dead." A sadistic grin lit up his face. A chill went down my spine.
"So there's more here?" I asked.
"Yes. I believe that you'll even recognize our newest addition."
I snarled at him instinctively. He ignored me and tilted his head to the side, taking his eyes off of mine for only a second.
"Do you still want to get rid of that boyfriend of yours?"
"W-"
He grabbed the side of my head, smashing his lips against mine. My nails went even further into him as he pulled me closer by my slowly shattering hips. My fingers were in deep enough to the point that my knuckles were left on the edge. I could feel his fingers avoid the back of my neck. He didn't want to accidentally snap any part of my spine and spoil his fun. My struggle was impossible to recognize from any angle and we both knew it. Angrily, his mouth forced mine open in one quick movement. The overwhelmingly sweet taste of his breath filled every part of me and I felt myself go limp against him. He let go of my head but kept his grip on my waist. With a smile he whispered, "I'm going to make your life hell until I can send you there."
He let go of me and pulled my fingers out of his skin, leaving me to sink into the water. The pain of my bones reconstructing themselves kept me conscious and I watched him as he climbed out of the pool and covered the holes and hanging skin that my nails had caused. My body sank farther as I let the healing continue. If I would've stayed under water for this long before I was tatted, my lungs would be screaming at me for air, but for the most part, I was fine.
Grey eyes locked onto mine and strong arms wrapped themselves around me. I jerked for a second in shock as Keith swam. I knew that our skin was normally warm, but his felt like a cool kind of burn. It was hot and cold at the same time and comfortable. For a second, I really thought that the water should be boiling right about now. It wasn't long before Keith's feet touched the bottom of the pool and we were both above the water to see Damon watching nervously at the edge.
"I wasn't drowning," I choked out. He looked down at me and I sank farther into his arms nervously. He looked…worried about me. Keith honestly looked worried about me. Albeit, he looked a little mad too but that wasn't the point. He propped me onto the concrete surrounding the pool and I automatically pulled my legs up to my chest. I was freezing now that he wasn't touching me. I watched him back away from me as my teeth chattered so hard and fast that I thought that they were going to scramble my brain. Whatever it was that I had just felt, he definitely felt it too.
"Um, you might want to go catch your boyfriend."
I can honestly say that that was the first time that I had ever heard him sound nervous.
"Where did he go?" I asked as I sadly slipped back into reality.
"He just went through the gate." Damon answered with a devilish smile. I grabbed my sarong and headed for the parking lot. I could still hear them whispering behind me.
"She's your soulmate, you know," Damon said.
"Yeah…I know," Keith whispered back. And just as I had successfully started having heart palpitations, I beat Dominic to his car by just seconds. I started tying the sarong back on carefully around my waist. My bones weren't exactly perfect just yet. He stared at me with a look of anger and confusion.
"Not now, Chanelle."
He tried to push me aside, but I held my ground better than he expected. My head started to spin as the smell of beer with just a hint of whiskey bombarded me.
"You've been drinking," I said.
He shrugged. "Yeah, so. Why don't you go complain about it to your new boyfriend back there?"
Dominic's no alcoholic, but it's never good when he drinks. Generally he'll just have maybe a beer or two, but when he's upset and starts experimenting with other drinks, all hell breaks loose.
"You're not driving tonight," I stated, crossing my arms across my chest.
"Last time I checked, this was my car, these were my keys, and this was my life. So stay here, whatever. I'm going back to the party."
I leaned on his hood and watched him storm off. Tonight was not a night to deal with our relationship problems, especially if he wouldn't remember in the morning. For right now, I had a job to do and the scent had just whipped past me again and was leading me into the flauntingly elegant mansion. My hands shot straight for my nose the second that I stepped through the door. The place reeked of the odor. I looked around at the high ceiling and what I guessed to be the living room. In said room was the largest TV that I have ever seen against one wall, two large beige couches opposite of each other, a large window and a mahogany coffee table in the center of it all. The window was blocked almost completely by the TV, but the exposed remainder of it showcased very expensive-looking black curtains and matching black blinds. The lack of light made the room perfect for watching movies or doing things that no one's parents would approve of.
After my little observation, I went right back to my tracking. This isn't my first house party and there are always those few couples who don't give a damn about privacy which is why I didn't bother to look in the kitchen. The smell of alcohol, vomit and tobacco had covered up the new scent completely. At the end of the hall was a flight of stairs, and at the bottom of those stairs, I was stopped by a beautiful boy with tan skin, brown hair, and well-defined muscles that he didn't bother to hide by wearing a shirt. He was drenched in the new scent.
"Judging by the bruises on your hips, it's pretty clear that you're the one that Jared's been going on and on about, so I guess I'll be the second ta welcome you ta our humble abode."
With that being said in a calm, Southern tone, he bowed deeply. While straightening himself back up, he let his eyes wander.
"So, just how many 'relatives' do you have?" I questioned. He ignored me.
"You know, they sure are making you dogs a lot more attractive these days." – I felt a breeze and suddenly he was behind me. –"It makes it much harder to resist."
"Resist what?" I asked, refusing to look at him.
"Why tasting you for the fun of it a course," he whispered into my hair.
"Then why do you resist?" I edged. He started twisting the top knot of my bikini between his fingers.
"I'm not like my brother. His past is not mine and his affairs are his burden alone. Personally, if it weren't for my instincts and your stench, I would be very tempted to take you up to my room right now."
I laughed a tad bit too darkly for my personality. "And if it weren't for my instincts, your stench, and my self-respect, I would take you up on that offer."
He laughed and his finger traced a line down my back. The line curved enough to let me know that he was tracing the rose. Considering everything that was going on, I had forgotten about it. Every part of me that his skin made contact with froze and stung at the same time, making me cringe. This made him smile.
"I like that. Most pups would fear the idea a coming in contact with us so early on, but you look for us. I've got ta say I'm impressed. I'm really gonna hate it if my brother really does go about killing you. You would've made a rather sexy house pet."
My teeth were bared and I was snarling the second that he finished that sentence. He smiled even harder showing perfectly straight white teeth.
"Aw, relax, darling. I was just playing. You can go upstairs if you want, but I doubt that you're gonna like what you find. It's pretty messy."
He brushed past me and headed out the door. These guys were really starting to piss me off with the comments. As if getting hit on by human guys wasn't bad enough.
