Chapter 19: Chapter ☾ XIX ☽

Just as Henri was warning us, a whole group of vampires came from the trees at the end of the cul-de-sac. Brendan still had his arm around me, and he was pulling me behind him as the vampires got closer.

They all had on dark clothing that covered their skin. There was a man leading the group, but each person stood out to me.

Maybe it was their red eyes.

“Henri!” The woman with dark long hair shouted when she saw Henri underneath the white wolf. “Haven’t seen you in a while.” She did not sound enthusiastic. She bared her fangs towards him.

“I’ve been out...and about.” He said calmly, though the others were coming closer.

The woman didn’t find his comment funny. In fact, I think she became angrier because her hands balled up by her sides. “We’re going to kill you, Henri, right after we take care of those dogs.” She snarled.

My hand tapped Brendan’s arm to get his attention. I hope he has a plan to get us to safety because I’m not sure how Ty can handle six vampires on his own.

“Think you can run?” Brendan asked quietly.

Is he joking? Does he really think I can run from a whole group of vampires who look ready to kill us.

“You’re kidding-”

“Not you.” He glanced over his shoulder to me. Then who was he asking? Henri?

The white wolf had moved to go after the vampires. Before I could even say anything, I was pulled from Brendan’s arm. Just before I could reach to grab on to him again, I saw a blur of a large animal in his place.

Then I was gone.

I could see green. Like the forest. I was holding on to Henri as he ran. I don’t know where he was going, but I had a feeling he wanted us far away so we couldn’t get caught. The last time he did this, I was dizzy for thirty minutes. I know that feeling was coming but I was still mesmerized by the green of the forest.

When he stopped, a giant gush of wind blew by us, disrupting the trees and creating a loud popping noise through the forest. My vision blurred and I felt wobbly on my feet. I needed a second to get my balance but Henri didn’t give me that.

“We’re surrounded.” He was holding on to me as he looked around us. I couldn’t see anything coming, but as the seconds passed by, Henri got more tense.

That’s what made me even more frightened. I was staring in the direction he was, but I couldn’t see anything. Henri’s hand tightened at my waist, and he began moving me behind him.

Something was coming.

“I’m going to let you go, Gabriel-”

I panicked. “No!-”

“Yes, you have to run, okay.” Henri tried to calm me down, but it didn’t work. I can’t go anywhere without him, without anyone protecting me. It’s not like I could do anything! “I have to hold them off.”

I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to convince him not to make me go, but when he didn’t have his arm around me, I knew he was going to push me back. His stance was defensive and I could hear a low growl when he breathed.

That’s when I saw the others come from behind the trees. There were three of them with pulsing red eyes.

They hadn’t lunged towards us yet, but Henri didn’t wait for that to happen. “Go, Gabriel!”

I don’t know where to go. I saw an opening and I ran, and I didn’t look back. I could hear Henri fighting the group on his own as I kept going. My hairs were standing on ends, like that feeling like someone was just about to grab me by the back of my shirt.

I didn’t look back.

I had to trust that Henri could fight them, but I was so terrified that it just about brought me to tears. If he gets killed, I’m next.

And there’s no one here to protect me.

I kept running deeper into the forest. There was no time for me to stop. My legs were getting tired. It’s not exactly easy to keep up when there’s obstacles all around, but I didn’t stop. If I tripped, I didn’t stop. I didn’t know where I was going but I didn’t stop.

I was hoping that I could get to someone.

Anyone.

But I was stunned to see someone I didn’t recognize in my path a few feet away from me. Their eyes were blood red and they bared their fangs at me. I turned around to go back, but they were there.

He smiled. “This will be my favorite murder.” He said as he stepped closer to me.

I was naive to think I could run from him. I was stupid to think I could turn around and keep running like he wouldn’t catch me in a second. Still, I tried anyway because I just wanted to save myself.

It felt like I wasn’t going to get very far.

I couldn’t even scream for help.

There was a forceful shove on my back and I hit the ground, my head knocking against something solid, probably a rock or the bark of a tree. The pain jolted me for a second, the throbbing pulsing all over my head and to my neck.

I tried to get up on my arms but I was shaking.

And bleeding.

A few drops of blood fell in the dirt.

Something blocked my view of the forest. My eyes were shielded from the sun by a ball of fur. My ears were ringing so I didn’t hear the growling from the wolf that was standing over me. The warmth was what made me feel safe. But I saw the vampire that was in front of us, snarling viciously at the wolf that was protecting me.

I couldn’t move.

My head was swirling and I couldn’t keep myself up. I closed my eyes, hearing the shrill of the vampire in front of us. The warmth was still over me and I hoped that it would stay.

I was absolutely terrified.

“Gabriel!” It was Henri. “Gabriel! Are you okay?”

I lifted my head up to look at him, but my gaze went to the body on the ground that was limp. The other vampire, Henri...

The wolf wouldn’t let Henri get close. He crouched down lower over me and growled louder, warning Henri to stay back.

I couldn’t speak. A few words sputtered out of my mouth but I didn’t make a coherent sentence. That’s when I gave up on trying to speak. My head hurt so bad and I was so dizzy. If I could get a minute to lay down, then maybe the pain would go away.

“We have to keep moving.” Henri said urgently. “There’s no time!”

I groaned from the headache. When I touched the sore spot, I got blood on my fingers.

“Gabriel...” Henri had hesitated. I looked up to see that his eyes were red. I had a feeling he was looking at my hand, the blood that was on my fingertips.

I was more upset that I hit my head again. As if being close to getting killed wasn’t the problem.

“Ty...” I whispered. “I’m okay.” I assured him, though I couldn’t stand up. I tried but I couldn’t.

The wolf moved around me and laid down on the ground in front of me, whining like he was wounded...because I was wounded. Henri couldn’t come any closer but the wolf had his eyes on me.

“I don’t know how much time we have.” Henri said to get our attention. “And I’m not much of an army either. If we’re going to outrun them, we need to leave now.” He warned us, but the wolf didn’t move.

He blinked slowly, his blue eyes still on me. A quiet whine came from him again, but he didn’t move. Was it because I couldn’t? My head was throbbing and I couldn’t exactly see straight. Surprisingly though, this was the calmest I’ve felt since all of this started.

“Gabriel!-”

“We’ll be okay, Henri.” I said quietly.

“What?” He shouted in our direction. “I have absolutely no idea where the others are but if they catch the scent of blood, you can bet some will come this way.”

I know.

I rested my head on my arm as I looked into the wolf’s eyes. I don’t think I’m giving up, I just believe that Ty will protect me. I get so scared when he’s not around, and when he is, it makes me feel like everything will be okay.

I was content with staying on the ground with Ty.

At least we’ll be together.

“Okay.” Henri was still here. “We’re going to the hospital. At least there, your smell will be masked by others.”

That sounded like a good idea.

My head hurts.

Henri got close enough to touch me. His hand pulled on my shoulder to turn me over so he could pick me up. The movement was fluid, I barely noticed I was in his arms until I opened my eyes. The wolf was up on all fours, and he brushed against me gently.

“They’re coming.” Henri looked off into the forest. “I don’t think we’ll have time to get you some help.”

“Why...me?”

“I told you vampires were vengeful.” He said, his voice flat. “Your dogs burned their place, they’ll ruin everything here.”

He did tell us this would happen.

I’m just collateral damage.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better, Gabriel.” Henri apologized to me.

The words were fading. I want to listen to him talk but I was passing out. As much as I tried to stay conscious, I couldn’t. My eyes closed and that was it.

It’s not a good idea to be asleep.

I know that. I’ve had too many head injuries, and I know better than to doze off.

When my eyes opened again, I was staring up at the sky. Usually it’s dark when I suddenly wake up with no recollection of what happened. There were clouds in the sky and there was this familiar smell before it rains.

“Oh, thank God!” Henri helped me sit up. “I thought you weren’t going to wake up.”

My head was throbbing uncomfortably. At least this time when I put my hand in my hair I didn’t feel the warmth of my blood on my finger tips. “What...happened?” I asked, still confused because I didn’t know where we were.

There were wood planks, shovels, bulldozers, and other construction equipment around the area. Some of the trees were gone, but it had been like that for a while, or so it seems. It had to be one of Conrod’s construction sites.

“Its only been five minutes.” Henri said quietly. “You have a loyal pack of dogs willing to help you.”

“Are they okay?”

“I didn’t actually get a good look at them...but they seemed fine.” He smiled gently towards me, his eyes kind. “They bought us some time, but I know for a fact that the vampires are going to set fire to as many places as they can.”

That is going to be awful.

“That...and kill people for the fun of it.” He added. “If the dogs kill enough of them, they’ll stand down, but right now it’s bad.”

I closed my eyes and took a breath to calm myself down when I felt my heart racing. All of this happened so suddenly. It seemed like just a second ago I was sitting with Brendan on my front steps. Now Henri and I were hiding from being attacked. My heart wouldn’t slow down.

“Don’t pass out again, Gabriel.” Henri nudged my shoulder so I would open my eyes.

I’m exhausted and I know that’s the head injury talking.

“...Hospital...”

“Definitely not going to happen. They’re just waiting for me to bring you close by.”

That’s when I thought about my parents. My mom works at the hospital. If I go there and even just one vampire finds out, I’m putting her at risk. I have to stay far away from places that have people. Then again, I’m not the only one the vampires want.

“The woman that called me out earlier, that’s Sheila, and she wants my head on a stick.” Henri explained. “Hopefully I can get hers there first.”

“You don’t seem that shocked.” I said as I looked up towards him.

He began wrapping something around my head tightly. “I did choose to betray the people who took me in and side with a human that hangs around a bunch of pets, so I can see why she wants me dead.” It was hard to ignore his bleak tone, even if the pain to my head made it hard to hear.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized.

He let his arms down and stared at me. I wish I could see the blue in his eyes. Right now they were a piercing red and that made him look frightening. Though, he did have a sincere expression on his face.

“Why would you apologize?” He asked.

“Well...” I looked down for a second. “I always tell Ty not to choose me over his family. I should’ve been telling you the same thing, too.” I felt bad because maybe this was all my fault.

His expression turned blank as he continued to stare at me. Was it something I said? I hope I didn’t offend him. After a second, he began to genuinely smile at me the way he used to do.

“Wolves and vampires are not the same.” He said. “You hurt one wolf, the rest will come find you. We don’t work like that. As much as we look out for one another, we’re all in this for ourselves.” He shrugged. “You can equate us to...” He thought of something that could be compared. “I don’t know, psychopaths-”

“Henri.” I sighed.

“All I’m saying is that my decision was based on wanting to do what I like and be with people I enjoy being with, not for some loyalty.” He continued to smile. “I’m not a dog.”

“I definitely know that.”

“But...” He started slowly. “It would be nice to remember what it’s like to have a real family.” He looked off, thinking to himself. He shrugged again once he looked at me. “No time for that now.”

I closed my eyes.

“Anyway, Sheila’s going to come find me so I have to be ready for that.” He didn’t seem worried that another vampire actively wants to kill him.

“She has...a group with her.” There were others who wanted him dead too. How does that not scare him.

“Yeah she does.” Henri got up. “But like I said, vampires are vengeful so I can bet she’ll come after me alone so she can rip my head off.” He smiled even though I had the gruesome image of him getting killed in my head.

Even now, he manages to be as bright as the sun.

“So your dog has entrusted me with the task of keeping you alive.”

“That’s not too hard.” I said sheepishly as he helped me up. I was a bit wobbly on my feet but Henri didn’t let go of my hands. “He’s probably coming over to find me now.”

Ty doesn’t want to trust anyone to protect me. I can tell him so many times and ways but he won’t give anyone the credit they deserve. He wasn’t going to trust Henri even if he said he would. I also had this feeling that he was coming to me now, like he absolutely had to make sure I was okay. I wanted to see him, too.

“How’s your head?” Henri asked, wanting to touch me but he hesitated. I don’t understand why since he was touching me a minute ago.

“I’m more concerned about you.” I said. Was he hungry? That’s probably why he hesitated. “You’re not going to bite me, are you?”

“Even with a head injury you’re still hilarious.” He said dryly, but he was still smiling.

That made...everything feel better.

“Maybe I can get you to a clinic somewhere. I just don’t know if I can guard it by myself.” He said, though it seemed like he was talking to himself. “They’re probably waiting in a number of places...I’m not good with first aid...”

“Henri, I’m okay.” I wanted him to stop muttering to himself. I couldn’t prove that I was okay though. Standing was not fun. I just wanted to sit down.

“Hold on.” Henri stopped walking and let go of my hands.

Something poked my upper back and breathed on me. I turned around to face the white wolf.

There was debris and leaves all in his fur, but other than that he was standing tall. I wrapped my arms around him, mostly to hug him but also I needed help to stay up. I buried myself into him, feeling the warmth of his fur against me. There was this relief that flooded me, knowing he was okay put me at ease.

Henri cleared his throat to get my attention. When I looked up, I saw more wolves coming closer to us. All of them were here. A few were limping, others had blood in their fur, but they all made their way around me. Henri was clearly uncomfortable, I could see it on his face.

“Sorry.” I apologized.

He didn’t answer to that. There were ten wolves here. He was out numbered.

“They’re really nice.” I tried to convince him, but Henri just narrowed his eyes. “They won’t hurt you-”

There was a sound that came from one of the wolves behind me. I looked to find the black wolf sitting on his hind legs, poised perfectly still as he looked off into the distance. It sounded like Channing wasn’t going to let me speak for the rest of the wolves however.

“Are you...going to leave?” I asked Henri, hoping he would stay around.

“Considering that I’m wanted, I’m not sure.” He said cautiously and looked to the other wolves. “If they offer their protection, I’ll offer mine.”

I heard movement behind me from the others. Even Ty shifted beside me.

“Yes.” I said, although I had a strong feeling that an alliance wasn’t going to work.

“You’re not exactly the wolf whisperer.” Henri could tell I was trying to offer something I obviously couldn’t give.

“All they want is to protect where they live. If you can help with that then it’s fine.” I made it seem simple. I made it seem easy. I made it seem like these two biological enemies could work together. “And it’s not like Channing is going to make you prove your loyalty or anything.” I added.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the black wolf moving. He walked slowly over to Henri almost as if he was stalking his prey. A very low growl erupted from him as he bared his teeth. Henri didn’t move as the wolf got closer to him. Comparing sizes, the wolf could easily devour Henri. I knew Henri was strong, but just from the looks of it, he could get crushed by the animal in front of him.

Channing wouldn’t want Henri anywhere near his brothers. And I almost had this feeling like he didn’t want Henri around me either. It’s not like Channing is the friendliest or nicest, but right now felt like I was in a horror story. He could bite Henri’s head off.

“Gabriel.” Henri’s eyes shifted to me.

“He’s just being nice.” That clearly wasn’t it, but maybe saying it might make Channing calm down.

It didn’t.

“Let’s go home.” I patted Ty’s fur gently, rubbing behind his ears. He closed his eyes and his jaw opened more to let out his tongue. He likes when I scratch behind his ear.

The other wolves began turning away to leave. Channing backed away slowly from Henri though he kept his eyes on him.

“Will you be close by?” I asked Henri.

“Within ear shot.” His smile returned to his face before he was gone.

Ty parted my hair so he could clean my wound. He was being as gentle as he could but it hurt. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t shout every time he pressed the cloth to my head.

“Sorry.” He said quietly.

Though, my headache was getting worse because Channing was yelling at me for being friendly with Henri. Usually my involvement isn’t so serious that he yells at me. This was the first time I’ve felt what it’s like for him to actually raise his voice at me and it wasn’t pleasant.

He’s worse than my dad.

“I don’t understand why you feel the need to include him.” Channing was pacing around in my living room. “He’s literally the reason this whole shit happened.”

“Henri gave me the clue about where the vampires’ place was-which you didn’t mention you destroyed-”

“If there’s nothing tying them here then they can leave!” Channing yelled again, and this time I winced from that instead of the pain.

His brothers were sitting around in the chairs and on the floor, and their silence was chilling. No one said anything as Channing went on his rant. He has a temper so I can’t be surprised. But this is different.

“While they’re here, we all have to deal with their shit. They know that and don’t care. Now they want to piss me off.” He continued pacing around behind the couch.

“Henri wants to help-”

“For his own gain!”

“That’s still helping. If he wanted to stab me in the back or something, he would’ve done it already.” I said. As Ty pressed a dry gauze to the side of my head, I winced from the pain. “You two have a common goal. Think of it as when everyone helped you deal with Conrod.”

I think I could literally hear Channing grinding his teeth from frustration and anger. I made it worse when I brought up my point, which in my opinion is a good one.

Ty slightly shook his head, a gesture for me to shut up, but I’m not going to. I get that Channing’s mad but he doesn’t have to rip me a new one. I didn’t do anything.

“You don’t have to trust Henri if you don’t want to.” I finally said to Channing.

“I know you’ll have a fit if I touch him.” Channing said, his tone acidic and mean.

I was about to make a passive aggressive comment but Ty’s eyes widened once I opened my mouth. He was seconds away from putting his hand over my face to stop me. The first time I didn’t take his warning seriously, this time he’d make me.

I closed my mouth, and he went back to placing the dressing over my wound.

“He’s already a target. Wherever he goes, they’ll find him. I don’t want to deal with that.” Channing continued. “I thought it would be easy to just kill them, but there’s more than I thought. How the hell are we supposed to run them out?”

No one had an answer for that question.

None of his brothers spoke. No one said a word since Channing started his tantrum. It wasn’t that they were scared, though I can’t tell if they were or not. I kind of was, just a little. Maybe it was just them listening to their alpha.

Channing left the living room and went outside through the front door.

It was still quiet in the living room. I didn’t want to say anything, well I did but it wasn’t till now that I realized I shouldn’t. The Martin brothers remained silent. I looked at Ty, hoping he would at least do something but he ignored my glances.

“I’m going to talk to him.” I said once Ty finished. As I got up, his brothers rushed to sit me back down on the couch.

“Leave Channing alone-”

“Just let him cool off-”

“Give him ten minutes and he’ll be fine.”

I waited for them to stop talking at me all at once. Even Ty had his hand on my shoulder to keep me down on the couch.Were they all that worried that Channing might get so pissed off if I go to him? I looked at his brothers that were concerned I’d get up again.

“Fine.” I gave in.

That’s what calmed them down. And that’s when I made my escape. They know better than to think I’ll make this easy. Channing needs someone to reason with him. I want to be that person. He needs to see that he’s not doing things alone. The others were warning me but I went outside anyway to go talk to him.

He was standing in the driveway with his arms crossed over his chest. He was facing the forest, so all I got was the view of his back. There was this fierce aura around him, like he was getting angrier by the second.

That didn’t stop me.

I walked over to him and stood right in front of him so he couldn’t avoid looking at me. His eyes were a cold blue and I saw him clench his teeth down, his jaw tightening. I know he’s mad. I get it. He’s frustrated. And I’m not going to be mad at him for being frustrated.

“I’m supposed to leave.” He said angrily. “I was supposed to get out of here and start my life and this is what I have to deal with.”

He’s always been bitter about that.

“I had to tell Candice that maybe things won’t go the way as planned because every fucking day I have to make sure none of those shits kill someone else.” He continued, pacing around just as mad as before. “I physically cannot turn my back on this place. If I so much as take a step out of bounds I feel like I’m abandoning an entire world.” He ranted. “I didn’t ask for this!”

I just listened to him complain because I had this feeling like he never gets the chance to. He’s the leader. He’s the one his brother looks up to. He has to be strong and not show a moment of weakness even when he’s feeling like this. Someone has to be here for him, and if he has to yell at me to get that out then that’s fine.

He stopped walking abruptly and looked at me. “I thought if I burned that area then maybe the vampires would just move on as if it was that simple.” He admitted, though he scoffed, the idea not sounding as good as he thought it did. “Instead, I ended up feeling like I burned a part of my life away.”

I really can’t imagine what Channing feels right now. As much as I wanted to understand his pain, I can’t. His other half belongs here. When he tried to destroy a part of it, he hurt himself in the process. That kind of tie he has, that his brothers have, it’s not something I can understand. I know that.

He’s not mad at me for being friendly with Henri.

He’s mad at the situation, how everything is turning out, how he can’t be a normal teenager about to graduate.

He started pacing again from the frustration. Then he stopped, turning around to face the other direction. “Go away.” He said.

My heart broke a bit because he didn’t want me to help him. It hurt to not be wanted. I knew I couldn’t help a lot but being told to leave just made me feel worse.

“I can help.”

Henri was behind me. I didn’t notice when he approached, but Channing did, that’s why he turned away. He wasn’t talking to me, he was talking to Henri.

Channing didn’t speak.

“If you want to run them across the border, you have to give them a display of power.” Henri continued anyway. He made the suggestion like it was easy, as if Channing hadn’t already done that. “There’s five people you want to kill. Get at least three out of the five and the others will flee.”

“Why are you doing this?” Channing asked, turning around to face us. “And don’t say it’s because you’re friends with Gabriel cause that’s not good enough.” He cut Henri off before he could give his answer.

The silence became cold. Henri hadn’t looked away from Channing but he didn’t answer the question for a moment. Even I looked at him because I was curious what he would say.

“Who do you want revenge for?” Channing asked.

That’s right, vampires are vengeful. Henri says that all the time. He has to be included in that as well, after all he is a vampire too.

Henri still didn’t answer.

Channing stepped closer to us, to Henri, until he was right in front of him. Channing was just inches taller and he could prove that to Henri rather easily. He was more muscular, too, but Henri had enough strength to handle himself. Even if Channing was bigger than him, he didn’t show that much fear. To be that brave with Channing that close to him was astounding because I was getting a little frightened.

“I will know everything you do.” He warned Henri. “If you bite someone, I’ll know. If you kill someone, I’ll know. And I rip you apart.” He threatened. Henri’s plain expression didn’t waver.

But when Channing took another step forward, Henri took one back. That was enough to show that Channing was getting to him.

“If you get close to my brothers, I’ll kill you. If you betray me, I’ll kill you.” Channing continued, towering over Henri even more. He made sure every word, every threat, was understood. “If you so much as make Gabriel frown, .”

This was Channing’s way of accepting the help, though I could tell he was itching to just pin Henri down on the ground. Henri stared into his eyes, but he nodded slightly, agreeing to every warning that Channing forced on him. This means that they have a common goal and a mutual understanding about how to accomplish it.

Will they actually get along? Well, that wasn’t either of their concerns.