Chapter 36

"What is that?"

Ren hadn't opened his eyes yet. He was too afraid of what he would find. And he was slightly hoping that he was in a dream. That maybe if he held out for long enough he would wake up and find that he'd fallen asleep with the TV on.

He knew that wasn't the case.

He was weak, but he could feel the people around them. It wasn't just that he could sense them with his body. It was that ability that he hadn't had before—the one where he could feel people's emotions like he was reading the weather.

The pain was faint, covered in layers of foggy-ness that he couldn't name. He tried to stay as still as he could, but his hands were twitching. He was laying on something. It was hard and solid.

Cold like ice.

"Answer me."

The voice was just as cold as the thing he was laying on—metal perhaps? He pressed his fingertips to the surface slowly so that no one notice.

"Ren. I know you're awake."

Ashton slid his fingers around Ren's wrist. His middle finger pressed over Ren's pulse point. His heart sped up even more.

He still didn't open his eyes.

The person before—a man—yanked Ashton's hand away from Ren's wrist.

"What have you done, Ashton?"

Ren jolted as he was slapped with anger and deceit. He opened his eyes in panic, moving away from the man who was spitting fire.

He didn't get far. He sat up but groaned as his stomach was hit with a wave of hot pain. It was like a hundred needles with sharp prongs were being stabbed into his gut.

He panted as his eyes flickered around the room, looking at everything, but not processing it all. His heart was lodged in the middle of his throat and he was clawing at his chest as if that was going to fix the helplessness he was feeling. There were four people watching him, one of them being Ashton. And the thing that he was laying upon was thankfully not a metal surgical table like he feared. It was an island table in the middle of a small kitchen.

The man that had struck fear into him had the same piercing look Ashton had sometimes. The man's hair was pitch black and styled back so that only a few locks of hair was touching his brow. He was dressed like he was going out for a dinner party, but Ren was starting to become used to Ashton's particular fashion choices. At this point, it didn't seem odd.

That didn't matter though. What mattered was that the man looked like he wanted to do nothing more than slit Ren's throat.

Things were a blur. He couldn't focus his eyes for long before his vision was swirling things. The man's disgusted gaze made Ren sick in return. He couldn't move as the pain struck him like lightning, forcing him to stay on the island as he was surrounded by the Mantel family.

Ashton stepped between Ren and his father. He stayed away from Ren—Ren didn't know if it was because he wanted to appease his father or if he was worried it would set Ren off more.

"I made a contract with him."

Ren wished he was dead then. The look on Mr. Mantel's face could have seared Ashton's face off if he tried hard enough. The man's light skin looked deadlier paired with the changing of his brown eyes. They changed to the bright red that Ren had seen numerous times on Ashton's face, but this time, it felt like he was staring into the eyes of a snake ready to snap.

A laugh broke through the tension. It was Kai—the redhead.

He was the only one out of the bunch that was dressed somewhat casual. He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and black fitted pants. He was smirking, not bothering to hold back his amusement.

"And you all thought I was the idiot between the two of us."

"Fuck off," Ashton spat.

Kai's eyes flashed red. "Try that again and I'll break every bone in your body."

Ashton started, but he stopped when his mom—Mrs. Mantel—snapped her fingers.

Her thin blond brows were pulled down as she glared not at Ashton or Kai, but at Ren.

"He's dying."

There wasn't an ounce of worry. She didn't care. Her blue eyes looked down at Ren, not seeing a person in pain, but a thing that was hindering her child.

"Yes."

Kai let out a choked laugh.

Mr. Mantel smacked him upside the head. "Out."

"I'm going! Jesus."

The door slammed and then Mr. Mantel was beside Mrs. Mantel. They painted a dreary but beautiful painting together. They were dark and light, strangely mystical though it was obvious that they weren't the nice type.

"Move out of the way, Ashton."

Mrs. Mantel didn't wait for him to obey. She walked around the island toward Ren.

There was nowhere for him to go. He shuffled back, almost losing his balance. His hand slipped on the edge of the island. He caught himself just barely with his other hand, but she was there, behind him, too fast for him to keep an eye on.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. That was all it took for him to fall down on the island, screaming in pain.

"Hush."

He couldn't. The pain rocketing through him was so much worse than the pain of the bite. His insides were being melted down to hot liquid. He was being pumped full of lava and his skin was being stripped off of him. His nerves were pinched and pulled. Every inch of him was experiencing agony which he didn't know existed.

"This bite..." Mr. Mantel stayed away from his wife. He lingered by the end of the island, not watching Ren, but gazing at the wound on his side.

His body slumped as Mrs. Mantel removed her hand. He gasped. His lungs were weak, barely taking a small breath. His limbs jerked as shocks of electricity went through him. His tongue was heavy in his mouth and he couldn't swallow. His eyes rapidly flickered around the room.

Tears of pain streamed down the sides of his face. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Ashton watching him. Their gazes held. Ren pleaded for Ashton to not look away.

And he didn't.

"Hell Hound."

Mrs. Mantel didn't respond. She turned Ren's head to face her. Her ice-cold eyes stared down at him. They inspected him, looking into his eyes for a response.

"Eyes are dilated. He's responding well." She pulled her hand back, letting his head fall back to where it had been turned in Ashton's direction. He felt her hands prod at the sensitive skin where the wound was. "The healing has started. The blood—"

She shoved her finger into his exposed flesh. He jerked and more tears fell from his eyes.

"The bleeding has stopped."

She removed her fingers. The pain lessened, but as it receded, the thing began to hum. Ren knew that if he was strong enough, he would have tried to rip her throat out.

She raised a thin brow. "He seemed so meek when I met him."

Mr. Mantel stiffened. "You've met this thing?"

Mrs. Mantel rolled her eyes. "I don't tell you everything."

She turned away from Ren. Ashton was still staring into Ren's eyes even when she snapped her fingers for his attention.

"I hope you've learned your lesson. Socializing with halfys brings nothing but trouble. Ashton Mantel, look at me right now."

That was when Ashton broke the connection between them. Ren pleaded again though he knew that Ashton couldn't hear him. He felt more alone than he'd ever felt before. The pain had drifted from his body, but it was still present in his mind.

They were the same height. Mr. Mantel towered just a little over them both, but they were almost all matched. Mr. Mantel marched past Ashton. He barely cast a glare in Ren's direction.

"Get to the boiler room before I drag you by your ear."

There was a second of stillness. Ren's mind was fleeting. He couldn't grasp onto any feeling. He tried to feel Ashton's emotions, but he was only met by dark smoke and contempt that tasted like tar. For a second, he thought about Ashton's blood. His stomach grumbled and his teeth ached.

He felt better. Yet...

Ashton left. His vague form was blipped out of Ren's eyesight.

Mr. Mantel left with him.

The door closed.

"I had wondered if there was more going on with you two."

Mrs. Mantel ran her hand around the island. Soft clicks of her heels echoed in the small room. He saw now that this kitchen was for the staff. It was all metal on metal and so small that it couldn't be converted to a room.

She gazed down at him with a small smile on her face. Her eyes were lifeless. The smile was fake.

"My son and a halfy..." She stopped. "I'd kill you if it didn't complicate things."

Ren ground his teeth. He thought it was strange that she grouped Ashton's death with other 'things'. Though she looked like the abusive parent type. It was probably normal.

The arch of her thin blond brow irritated him and the thing. He felt it rumbling in his chest. It was just as weak as he was. It was clawing to rise to the surface, but the pain buried it and the numbness made it easier for Ren to gain control where he usually wouldn't have been able to.

"Go to sleep." She effortlessly pushed him down onto the island.

He went down, his back hitting the metal. Where she touched him on his naked shoulder burned like he was being poked with a hot metal rod. He strained his neck as he swallowed down a scream. It tore through his throat. His head ached from slamming it onto the metal surface. His eyes went cross-eyed and what he could see was a blurry figure of Mrs. Mantel. He ground his teeth, but that didn't stop the blood-curdling screams that were being pulled out of him as easily as unraveling an old sweater.

He was floating in a sea of darkness. He could still feel her. The pain rippling through him was getting farther and farther away. That didn't mean that he didn't still feel it. He wouldn't be able to forget this pain. This pain that she'd unleashed onto him was worse than the Hounds' teeth. It was worse than any of the pain he'd felt in his short life.

And then he was gone, enveloped by the cold dark pain.