Chapter 29

Ren's jacket got caught on a low hanging branch. He cursed under his breath as he was pulled back. The tip of the branch stabbed into his arm and he hissed as the needle like pain pierced him like a hot poker. It was an overreaction—it didn't hurt that much, but it was a reflex. Just the same as saying ow when something actually didn't hurt at all.

Ashton yanked the caught jacket off the branch a little harder than what was necessary. He gave Ren a look that said the next time he decided to be a klutz Ashton was going to skin him alive.

He marched off, giving Ren the chance to breathe. Being around Ashton was worse now. He didn't know how it could have gotten this bad, but he had an idea that it had something to do with the fact that his body had taken an interest in Ashton.

It wasn't his personality. It was his blood and the way he looked. Attraction didn't mean that Ren had to like Ashton for who he was. It just meant that his body didn't know how dangerous it was to want Ashton like that.

It also wasn't ever going to happen. Ren wasn't ever going to let himself take up an offer like that, but also because Ashton hated Ren's guts. Them being together would be like Ashton saying yes to sleeping with a member of the Hunter Society.

A shiver of disgust went through him. His mind tried to picture it.

No. Fuck no.

"Are you done have a fit?" Ashton was standing at the edge of the forest. Beyond the line of trees was a ditch and then a large street that had once been a busy highway. Today, it saw about three or four cars a day. There were large cracks and holes in the cement as it hadn't been taken care of in some time.

Beyond it were deteriorating houses and buildings. From far away, they didn't look all that bad, but Ren already knew that the closer they got, the more details of the abuse would reveal itself. Broken windows, collapsing walls, and the stench of waste would be everywhere.

Ren ignored him. He was staring at the houses. "There's an alley way between those rows of houses. The people on that side aren't as violent. They'll leave us alone."

Ashton furrowed his brows. "People? There's actually people living in this dump?"

He wrinkled his nose in obvious disgust.

Ren shook his head, letting out a soft snort. "Yes. Not everyone lives in mansions as glorious as yours."

He looked both ways as he walked across the wide street.

"I know that. I'm not fucking sheltered!" Ashton was faster on his two long legs. Ren squashed down the annoyance he had about Ashton being the "perfect" image of a vampire.

Ren didn't want anyone to see them. He knew the people here well enough to know that they couldn't keep their mouths shut. Anyone could pull information from them if they were dangling the right thing in front of them.

They made it across and went through the short grassy distance from the street to the alley. Ashton was close beside Ren, as if he thought someone was going to come after him.

Ren couldn't help but laugh at that.

Ashton glared down at him. "What are you laughing at?"

He couldn't hold the bubbling laugh down anymore. He turned away, covering his mouth, and tried as best as he could to muffle the giggles that inevitably spilled over.

Ashton shoved him.

That only made him laugh harder.

"Be quiet!"

The laughs slowly died off. He didn't actually want anyone to see them, but he couldn't stop thinking about the scared look on Ashton's face. Ren couldn't believe this was the thing that scared him. Poor people. It shouldn't have been as funny as it was. It was kinda fucked up.

He wiped his eyes. He hadn't noticed that he'd been crying. Ashton was scowling, pouting like a child and that just made it worse. Ren laughed again, but he managed to choke it down when Ashton threw him the most deadly of looks. He was fucking pissed.

For a second, Ren thought he saw the look soften. Ashton turned his head away before Ren could find out exactly what he was seeing. "Are you done? I'd like to get something done."

The grin was still plastered to Ren's face. No matter how much he tried to get rid of it, it was back in a second when he thought about Ashton's pouty face. He was one of the most annoying and obnoxious people—one of the scariest too—yet, he seemed so young in moment like this.

Ren thought about the way his gut had twisted when Ashton leaned over his bed, had stared down at him as if he was just as hungry as Ren was.

That wiped away the grin. It didn't come back after that.

Ren threw his hoody of his head. He vaguely gestured. "Lead the way, majesty."

He ground his teeth. He didn't look at Ashton. He didn't want to look at anything they had to do with the Mantel. He was disgusted at himself and the feelings inside of him.

"This way, halfy." The way Ashton threw it back at him was like being dowsed in acid.

He burned and the boiling rage inside of him didn't like the way Ashton strutted down the street. He thought of himself as royalty. He was a Mantel. They all had sticks up their asses when things didn't go their way. They threw fits when people stood up to them.

They headed down the alley. Ren stared at the ground. He didn't want to be here. He was tired of all this. He wanted to go back home, crawl in his bed, and forget about the whole world.

He became lost in his thoughts. He was mindlessly walking, following Ashton like a lamb, and he didn't care. It was scary how fast his mood had changed, but he wasn't going to think about it. The thing inside of him didn't care either. It loved being this out of his mind. It liked when he wasn't thinking and he was just doing as his body wanted.

He was so lost in this thoughts that he hadn't noticed when Ashton had stopped. He almost bumped into him if he hadn't been yanked out of his thoughts by loud laughter.

Ashton grabbed his wrist. "Over here."

He was pulled to an old tiny shed that looked like one big gust of wind could knock it to the ground.

Ren didn't have a clue as to what was going on. However, he soon realized that they'd found the people they were looking for.

He and Ashton crouched in the shed, safely hidden by any wandering eyes in the darkness. They were far enough away from the gravel road alley that they wouldn't be seen, but if they made a loud sound, they would surely be found out.

Three people were coming down the path. There were two older men and a woman who looked around ten years younger than them.

Their voices traveled. They didn't care if anyone heard them. The woman was walking behind the men, looking at everything with a blank expression. The men were the noisy ones. The first man Ren saw was tall and broad shouldered. He had short gray hair with specks of brown. The other man was around the same age as the first man and was slightly balding.

They wouldn't have stood out so much if it wasn't for the blatant patch on the right of their jackets.

They were in uniform. How Ren hadn't noticed that first was beyond him, but now that he saw it, he was obvious that they were on some kind of patrol.

The jackets were more like windbreakers and weren't meant to be protection. The patch that was sewn on the right side was of a snake curling around, mouth open to eat its own tail.

An ouroboros.

He knew that only because he'd had the history of the Hunter Society shoved down his throat. Every year when they talked about the downfall of the vampires in the war, he had to hear about all the good things the Hunter Society did for their country.

They were war heroes. And when they'd been shut down—when they weren't supposed to be active—people thought it was theater work to please vampires.

The three Hunters walked by them. Ren's chest was heavy as he watched them go. They had to have weapons on them. He knew about stakes and witch brews they'd used during the war, but what were they using now? Were they advanced generations of the old ones?

They were almost completely out of sight when Ashton poked his head out from the safety of the shadows.

He looked back at Ren and gently jerked his head in the Hunter's direction.

This was it. They were going to follow three Hunters.

Ren really hoped he wasn't going to die today.

The thing that really bothered Ren at the moment was the inkling sensation that something was going to go wrong. His heart was lodged in his throat, his hands were sweaty, and his stomach was rolling with a sickness that made him want to hurl just so it would go away.

He tried to be as careful as he could. As much as he could be when he was too busy worrying about getting caught. That only made it harder for him to not trip over something.

They kept about fifteen feet away from the Hunters at all times. He was quite surprised that they hadn't caught them. They were Hunters after all. Weren't they supposed to be highly trained for spotting when vampires were near?

He didn't get the time to think about it too much as they kept going forward. His calves were burning from how much he was using them. Sneaking around wasn't exactly what he was used to doing. It had only started to become a thing he regular did these last two weeks.

They followed the Hunters down the alleyway and to the next street. It felt like they'd been doing this forever. The anticipation was building up and he just wanted it to be over. He didn't know if they would actually be able to find out where the Hunters were gathering officially or if they would find anything out that would help them figure out what was going on.

This was all Ashton's idea. He was starting to doubt whether he could trust his judgement.

But there really wasn't anything he could offer anyway. It wasn't like he had a plan to do anything.

His hands were freezing as he pressed his fingers into the rough bark of the tree he was hiding behind. Ashton was right behind him. The Hunters had stopped to enter a small house that had all the windows busted out. It was spray painted with obscene words and images.

Ren held his breath as Ashton rested his left hand right where Ren's was. His body heat bled through Ren's thin coat. His warm breath fanned over Ren's neck, sending a colder chill down his spine. The dark thing surged within Ren. He could feel it coming to the surface, begging for a drop of blood.

No. It was demanding.

Ren forced himself to breathe. It was like forcing himself to slowly step into a frozen leg. His entire body seized and he couldn't move.

Ashton moved closer. His chest brushed against Ren's back. Though there were many layers between them, it still felt more intimate. Ren couldn't bring himself to say anything. He was no longer focused on what the Hunters might be doing in that old house. His mind was solely on Ashton's breathing patterns and the thing inside of him that wanted to get closer.

Ashton leaned down, his mouth hovering by Ren's ear. "I'm going to get a closer look. Stay here."

He moved away. Ren was released by the blistering heat he'd been trapped by. He took in a deep breath.

Ashton stepped from the safety of the tree.

Ren reached out, his hand missing the sleeve of Ashton's coat.

"It's not safe," he said. There was hesitance in his words.

Worry. He was worried.

He frowned at his own realization.

Ashton looked at him. He thought the frown was because of him. The look in his eyes darkened for a reason Ren didn't understand.

"I'm not going to get caught."

He turned in a flurry, his coat tail picking up a slight brush of the wind.

"That's not—" He was too far away to hear Ren. "—what I meant."

The last of his words were drowned by the ever growing cold wind. His cheeks were frozen, kissed by the freezing lips of oncoming winter. His eyes were wide as they followed Ashton. He crossed the small alley and treaded on the dying grass that surrounded the vacant house. His steps were bold, no longer scared of being caught.

Ren hoped Ashton wasn't being careless because of anything Ren had done. He hoped that the misunderstanding—that a mere look—could have dire consequences.

He was upon the small house. He crouched by one of the busted window. His turned his right ear to the open window, listening for the Hunters inside.

Ren's hands clutched tight to the tree. He watched Ashton with a silent prayer repeating in his head. Ashton's tall and elegant form was a sore thumb against the deprecated background. As far as the eye could see, there was rot and death. Ashton was a hidden gem. His light skin glowed even in the gloomy overcast. His clothes were just as beautiful and when it was all put together, he was a painting.

Ren traced from the top of Ashton's hair, down his legs, and to the bottoms of his shoes.

When he looked back up, he was startled to find Ashton looking right back at him.

Ashton raised a brow.

Ren's cheeks burned, but he could barely feel it due to the cold. His ears were just as cold and the flush helped to warm him up.

His gut clenched as Ashton crooked a finger for him to go over.