Chapter 16

Ren was alone in the forest at night once again. This time he was prepared for a fight, his hand clenched tight on the knife in his pocket.

Ashton had made it clear he didn't want to be a part of this and didn't want Ren anywhere near where the girl was. The Hunter Society could come back at any time. That was Ren's biggest worry. Forget about an angry teen vampire, Hunters who killed vampires for sport wouldn't care about slicing Ren down.

The woods were easy to navigate. The flashlight wasn't bright enough to see farther than a foot and he was glad. If it was any brighter then it might alert anyone in the forest.

He found his way to the clearing and noticed the boulder near where the body was buried.

His feet stopped there, in the middle of the jagged circle. He was going to do something incredibly stupid. It was going to work. He knew Ashton would be here, but he still didn't like that there was a chance that he was different than what Ren assumed.

He was a Mantel though. And this was his place.

A chill swept through the forest. Ren's hoodie was no match for it and he shivered. The leaves rustled, what was left of them anyway. Most of them had already fallen to the forest floor. Every step he took was alerted to anyone listening closely. Ren thought he would be here by now. The last two times he'd come at his own volition. And the last time, it seemed even more so that he'd been watching Ren. That feeling, like someone was tracing their fingertips up the back of his nape, was there again.

Hot, scolding like rocks straight from a fire, aches in his chest bloomed as Ren waited for him. The seconds ticked by and he feared that he'd jumped to conclusions. There had really been no reason for Ashton to keep tabs on Ren any longer. If he'd been paying close attention to Ren in the first place.

It was all in his head. Messed up. Fucked up even because he couldn't think clearly these days.

But Ren wanted to get this over with.

So, instead of turning back, he opened his mouth.

"Ashton!"

The yell pierced through the quiet forest. He flinched, hand on his knife, scanning the forest. There was nothing. It was quiet as ever.

There had been another expectation from him then. He wanted Ashton to come racing like he did the night before. Ren didn't know what it was about Ashton that terrified him and drew him in at the same time. But his feelings were irrelevant. Ashton was the only one that knew the Hunter Society was forming again. He knew about the dead body.

And so it had made sense in Ren's head that Ashton should know about the thing that had taken control of Ren's body.

He hoped Ashton could help. But it was dawning on Ren as he stood in the middle of the forest where a killer was lurking, that asking a Mantel for help was the equivalent of selling his soul. Truth be told, he hoped it was only that bad.

"Ashton!"

He was beginning to think that he might call out Mantel instead when he was shoved from behind.

The knife was ready in his hand and he turned with every intention of sticking the blade into the gut of the person behind him.

That was until he saw Ashton's piercing red eyes and a fiery look to go along with it.

"I should fucking beat the shit out of you for this!" He snarled.

Ren backed up in surprise, still holding the knife out in front of him. He looked down at it, batting it away like it was some toy. He let him do it, though he couldn't be sure if it was because he knew it was him or if it was the shock.

"What are you thinking?" He stalked up to Ren and he was so taken aback at how angry Ashton was that he didn't back down.

When Ashton was an inch away, Ren couldn't help the way his eyes fell to Ashton's lips. This wasn't the time or place for this, but the temptation to just lean in was too hard to resist.

He was a breath away and for whatever reason, Ren thought about taking the chance. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he batted it away, hoping it would be the last time he would think it.

"I need your help."

Ashton glared at him. The red flashed for a brief second before it faded to his eyes natural brown. The look he gave Ren after sent a chill through his body which he ignored as best as he could. The knife was still in his hand. He didn't think he would need to use it, but he didn't know Ashton that well. He barely knew him at all. He'd put his faith into him blindly only because he was the only person who knew what had happened and hadn't already killed him.

He could have let the Hunters find and kill Ren, but instead, he saved him. That had to count toward something.

They stood facing each other, watching, waiting. Ashton scanned Ren's face.

He rolled his eyes and turned away. "Go home."

"Wait!" Ren grabbed his arm.

He wiggled out from Ren's grasp. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm not going along with it. If you think what you saw was the worst of it, you're dead wrong."

"How—What do you mean?" Ren tried to grab his arm again. Ashton growled in frustration as they fought against each other. It was more like two toddlers fighting over a toy. Ashton slapped Ren's hand as he tried to touch him again.

"Will you cut it out?" He gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed both of Ren's hands, holding them up in front of Ren's face.

Ren was caught between wanting to be held down by Ashton and the want to push him away. Either choice would have been better than just looking at him. Ren didn't know what had gotten into him in these past few days, ever since he met Ashton, it was like his life had been turned inside out. But he pushed those annoying thoughts away. Though it was hard to do, somehow he managed to clear his head and look Ashton right in the eye.

Ashton held his stare, not once faltering when Ren couldn't say the same for himself. There was something about Ashton's eyes that made Ren uneasy. They looked past his physical form and right into the center of his being. He would have laughed if he was in any other position. It was the forest, the moonlight, and the way Ashton's hands tightened around Ren's wrists that made this unfunny. And though the thoughts filtering through his head were embarrassing, there was no other way to describe what was happening here, between them.

"Tell me what you know and I'll leave," Ren said.

Ashton's eyes flickered. "You're lying. You're bad at this."

Ren frowned, pursing his lips. "I'm not bad at lying."

"Yes, you are."

"Shut up."

He shook Ren's hands. "I'm not doing this with you. Go home before I do something I regret."

"I'm not scared of you." It was the way he was looking at Ren that made Ren sound so childish. He reacted without thinking, saying what was on his mind. It was all because he kept brushing Ren off like he was some speck.

The look on his face was one that crossed between being irritated and bursting out laughing. If Ren wasn't standing in the middle of the forest with a burnt body close by and he wasn't the one being laughed at, he might have partaken in the little joke. But he wasn't and he was a little pissed that none of what he was saying was getting through to this dip-shit.

"That ring," Ren hissed, giving Ashton a good shove to make a point. "Means a lot to my family. I need it back. And what about the murderer on the loose? The Hunter Society?"

He blinked. "What does any of that have to do with me?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Ren gestured between them. "This might sound crazy, but we need to work together."

Ashton snorted. When Ren didn't say anything, he straightened up. "You're not kidding."

Ren shook his head. "If I tell you something, will you help me?"

Ashton narrowed his eyes. "I don't think you quite understand what I've been trying to tell you."

He stepped closer to Ren. "I don't want anything to do with you. I want nothing to do with the Hunter Society and if that means keeping shut about a murder then I'm going to do that. You should know better than to mix up with humans. They're the ones who'll cut you down."

There was an inclination that Ren should do exactly what Ashton was saying. Ashton wasn't the first person Ren would go for help, but it was that same reason that he had to. There was no one else he could turn to. Even a stranger was better than no one. And as stupid as it sounded, there was something pulling him toward Ashton in different ways. Whether it was the thing taking over my body or if it was my own feelings, it was all the same.

Ashton turned to walk away.

"Wait."

Surprisingly, he stopped.

Ren hesitated with the words on the tip of his tongue. But he was too late. The thing came over him once more, stealing his strength and mobility.

Ashton turned, annoyed, and crossed his arms. It wasn't until then that Ren noticed how young he was. They were the same age and were nearly the same height, but it was the blatant anger directed at the entire world that made Ashton seem like a child.

"What?" He flat out asked, but Ren couldn't answer.

His body moved on its own, taking out the pocketknife he'd thought to carry to protect himself. He screamed inside his new prison, locked inside his mind. It was a warning to Ashton, but Ren knew it was futile in the end. Ashton couldn't hear him and there was no way to signal that he was in danger.

Danger from Ren sounded like a joke in retrospect. There was nothing Ashton couldn't do that Ren could. But the thing in control of him had the act of surprise.

Ashton's eyebrows flew up as the knife sliced through the air. It missed him by an inch. He jolted out of the way, flinging his arm out to knock the knife out of Ren's hand.

"Excuse me?" He yelled in frustration. Ren would have thrown something just as snarky, but he was a little preoccupied with being possessed by another being.

He crouched down, knife held tightly in his hand. Their eyes met. Ashton's eyes flashed red and Ren could see the moment when he realized something was wrong. But he didn't let that faze him. He was calm and collected, more so than Ren could say for himself as he yelled and cursed at the thing holding him hostage.

He felt his lips upturn in a smirk and it was the most bizarre thing. The foreign feeling was made even more pronounced as he sprung up from the ground. He was mid-air, getting a boost of power from somewhere he didn't know and swiped down. The blade barely caught the sleeve of Ashton's white shirt.

Ren's eye deceived him for a second. He blinked and didn't catch that Ashton was now to the side. He turned to stab at him again, but just as the blade was about to make contact with him, he was behind Ren. The thing let out a growl as it twisted around. Its movements were becoming jagged, hasty, and out of control. It swung the knife in the air, not paying attention to where Ashton was or having a plan of attack.

Ashton appeared to the right. The thing didn't notice and was thrown off as Ashton grabbed Ren's right arm. Ren's hand clamped down on the handle of the knife as Ashton shook his arm to get him to drop it. Ren gritted his teeth. The movements of the thing were getting hard to differentiate from his own. It was becoming one big blur of limbs that he couldn't see what he really wanted to do.

Almost as fast as it started, the hold the thing had on him lifted. He staggered to the side and held up his hands. Ashton hadn't noticed the difference between him falling to the side and the thing trying to attack again. Ashton yanked him up, spinning him around so that his back collided with Ashton's chest. Ren fought against him for a second before Ashton let him go. His ragged breath was all that he could hear. His heart was pounding in his ears and he gripped Ashton's arm with both his hands.

He choked. Ashton's arm grew tighter.

"I-It's me," he gasped out, hitting Ashton's arm with his open palm.

Ashton let go and Ren fell forward with a sharp gulp of air. He coughed out the itch in his throat, hands on his knees, and tried to get the feeling back in his body. The more the thing used him the more it was harder to get back into control of his body. In the few times that it had a hold of him, it was doing so much damage.

"I'll be taking this."

Ren turned to look at Ashton from the side. He pocketed the knife Ren brought along. Ren closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I didn't attack you."

Ashton raised a brow and snorted. "That's not what it looked like."

He crouched down in front of Ren. Again, Ren was hit with how beautiful he looked in this light. He averted his eyes and tried to catch his breath.

"This is the part where I tell you something and you don't believe me."

"Seeing how you attacked me, I'm willing to believe anything."

Ren bit the inside of his cheek. "You believe me when I say that it wasn't me who attacked you?"

He didn't answer right away. Ren peered at him, wondering what he was thinking. His eyes were watching something in the distance. Another minute passed before he looked back at Ren. His hand dangled as he braced himself on the tips of his toes, arm balanced on his knee.

"Would it surprise you that I don't believe you're the attacking type?"

At first, Ren opened his mouth to argue that he was, or that he could be. But it was the pesky need to show Ashton up that had Ren jumping the gun.

Ashton broke out in a smile.

"Tell me then," he said and stood up. "Who attacked me when it looked very much like you."

And it was like a switch had been flipped. Gone was the vampire that had it against Ren. He guessed Ashton brought out the fangs and claws when they were talking about the dead girl and the HS. That made it seem like Ashton had more to do with this murder than he was letting on. Or what he'd told Ren when they first met.

Ren rubbed his eyes. They burned with tiredness, but he wasn't ready to go back now. There were still things he needed to pry from Ashton.

"It's hard to explain." Ren shuffled on his feet. "There's been...a thing."

"A thing." Ashton merely stared at him.

Ren swallowed down the fear of Ashton looking at him. "A thing that has been using my body."

Ashton continued to stare at him. Ren couldn't read him at all and it made his stomach twist uneasily.

"It started before we found her?"

Ren nodded.

The red of Ashton's eyes lessened. They were almost a natural color. "Sounds like a real problem for you."

He gave a half-hearted shrug and started to walk away.

Ren was stunned for a moment, watching as Ashton sauntered away into the direction he'd gone when he'd gotten the supplies to burn the girl's body.

Ren's legs wouldn't work at first. He stood there, mouth agape, as he tried to fumble for the right words to call out to him. In the end, Ren chased after him, cursing as he tripped over twigs and upturned dirt.

"This thing, it brought me there that night! It can't be a coincidence!" He stopped in front of Ashton, blocking his path. He looked around Ren as if he didn't notice that he was there. Ren frowned, fists clenching. "Listen to me. You're the only one I can think of to ask for help. I can't live like this."

"That's why you came here tonight?" Ashton's eyes finally drifted back to Ren.

Ren pressed his lips together. "There's a correlation. There has to be. What were you doing out here when it happened? Why was it us that stumbled upon her body?"

"Easy. It was a random occurrence." He shook his head. "What I was doing was irrelevant and none of your business."

The look he gave Ren was of pure annoyance. They were back to square one.

"Have you got nothing better to do than meddle in things that don't concern you? What is it that you're trying to prove?"

Ren was shaking. "Have you not been listening to what I've been saying—"

A high pitched roar broke out somewhere behind them. Ren spun around as another roar erupted, rocking his body from the inside out.

He couldn't move. All he could feel was fear taking over him, much like the thing that kept controlling his body like a puppet.

From the thick brush and trees, a black shadow appeared. It had thick black fur, red eyes, and when it opened its mouth, long rows of sharp teeth glinted in the moonlight. Black smoke coiled around its large legs. A tail swished at its back, striking the trees and ground as it moved toward them. Ren's eyes locked with its red ones and a deep growl came from its chest.

Like it was ripped straight from the page, Ren recognized the figure in an instant.

It was the Hound from the book and it looked like it was ready to kill them both.