Chapter Nine
Hide and Seek
Vincent’s eyes opened. He couldn’t see anything but white stuff all around him. Covered with clouds of fog, the forest vanished and turned into a sky. He looked around, trying to examine the place, but he couldn’t see anything but a bed of cloud. He sniffed the air to get a feel of where he was, but all that he’d smelled was fog.
In an attempt to stand up, he leaned on his arm and pushed himself up, only to remember that he’d been shot. He yelled in excruciating pain and his voice echoed across the forest. He bit his lips and clenched his jaw. The blood oozed out and ran down his forearm; the bullet had not been removed. He touched the wound and to his surprise, it was bandaged. A sense of relief had calmed him down.
He stared blankly at the space, trying to make sense of who could’ve possibly helped him. The last thing he remembered was that he was running away from a dark shadow and then he collapsed on the ground. After that, he couldn’t remember anything except when he called out Samantha’s name.
“That’s right,” he said, having a sudden epiphany. “It must’ve been her. But why did she help me?”
It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. All that was apparent right now was that he was at risk. If the bullet was not removed within 24 hours, he would be in huge trouble. The poison was rapidly spreading across his body and in a matter of hours it would soon reach his brain and damage his vital organs.
Vincent felt warm rays on his back. Turning around, he saw the sun rising in the east. And the fog slowly disappeared, retrieving into the ground. A sigh of relief had escaped out of his lips. At last, he could now see the way. As he walked forward, his ears had picked up a screeching sound. Agitation rattled his nerves. If that was a dark shadow, there was no way he could fight it. His wound drained his strength.
“Hey!”
He recognized the voice. Quickly, he turned around and saw Samantha walking in his direction, holding something in her hands.
“Don’t try to escape because you can’t.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We’re trapped.”
He still couldn’t get it.
Samantha looked much better now than yesterday. Her eyes were no longer swollen and her face looked a little brighter. “I crashed the car last night.”
“What car?”
“The one I’ve stolen from an old lady,” she turned sideways and sighed. “The one I’ve used to save your ass.”
Vincent blushed. “I… I’m sorry! I should’ve been more careful.” He stooped down and stared at the ground.
“Tell me, what are you exactly?”
He was startled at her question. He feared that if she found out she would run away and leave him to die. She was her last resource to live. Without her, he doubted he would make it the next day. The bullet had to be removed and she was the only one who could help him.
“I’m a half-human and half wolf,” he said honestly, knowing that deceit could spoil his chance of making her stay.
She said nothing and stood still, untamed at his confession. Deep inside her, she wanted to run away and leave him behind, but somehow it felt wrong; leaving someone behind in this kind of condition didn’t feel right, and she was uncertain why when she had all the reasons to hate him to death. Mellissa just died. Her house was ravaged into an inhabitable state. And it was all because of him. So now, what more reasons did she need?
But her heart was objecting – because without him she would have been dead by now.
***
“I can’t track her down. Her phone is dead,” Anna said, holding the phone up to get a signal.
Lucas sniffed the air and listened to the surrounding. Vincent and Samantha couldn’t be far from here. He could sense Vincent’s aura somewhere, but it was very faint. It was like Anna’s phone’s signal, it kept turning off and on. “Keep walking, they couldn’t be far from here.”
Anna glared at him with annoyance. She hated being bossed around. It was her job to boss people around her. She followed behind and swallowed her pride. If not only because of Samantha, she would never go with this guy, especially after knowing who he really was. She kept glancing at her phone in the hopes that some kind of miracle would happen.
They had been walking for hours and her strength had drained. Her vision blurred and her stomach ached. She hadn’t eaten since last night or even drunk water. Not even a drop. Her throat was really dry. Unable to walk any further, she leaned on a tree and took a moment to rest.
Lucas kept walking, heedless of her plight.
“Hey,” she called out weakly.
But he kept walking. He was so occupied at finding Vincent that he’d forgotten all about Anna.
“Hey, wait!” she yelled out.
He stopped and turned around. “Are you alright?”
“Do I look alright?” she asked with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
He walked back and stood next to her. Being around her felt so comforting, and looking into her eyes couldn’t be any better. Though he kept suppressing his emotion for her, he couldn’t deny the fact that Anna had captured him more than she could ever comprehend. From that day he’d first glanced at her, he knew she was the one he’d been looking for. But a lycan could never unite with a human. And that was the reason why Vincent was an orphan; his human father had been assassinated and his lycan mother was sentenced to a death penalty. Had not his mother begged Lucas to look after him, Vincent wouldn’t have been alive.
“Are we there yet?” she asked. Gazing at him made her realize that he did not look so bad; he was actually a good-looking guy with tall height, broad shoulders, and a lean body. His chiseled nose and sculpted jaw gave him a piercing but gentle look.
“I think we’re close. I could feel that they’re not far from here.” He turned his eyes to her and their gaze locked. An inevitable attraction kindled.
She looked away quickly and fixed her gaze on the ground. “We need to hurry up. It’s getting darker. My sister must be starving.”
“And so are you.”
“I’m okay.”
He took a cracker from his coat’s pocket and reached it out to her. “Here, it’s not much but it should give you some energy.”
Anna looked so tempted to take it but swallowed her pride. She didn’t want to owe him anything. “It’s yours. You should eat it.”
“I’ve eaten a whole wild boar the other day and I’m still full,” he said, slightly scaring her.
She cringed at what he’d said. Her stomach made that crumbling sound and she was forced to take the cracker, which put a smile on Lucas’ face. He felt that he’d finally earned her trust. In a matter of seconds, she’d finished the cracker.
He reached out his hand for her to take. “Let’s go?”
She tapped it away. “I could go alone.”
“She’s so stubborn,” he said, smiling.
***
The night came. But they still had not found them. Vincent’s aura had finally disappeared, which gave Lucas a bad feeling that something must have happened to him. Walking into the unknown forest scared Anna, but she swallowed her fear and pulled herself together.
“Samantha,” she started calling, her voice echoed across the forest.
Lucas tried to connect with Vincent, but he couldn’t sense him. His mind was absent and he couldn’t hear his thoughts. “No, it can’t be,” he murmured anxiously. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air, focusing on Vincent’s scent. After a while, his eyes opened. He’d tracked them down.
“This way,” he said to Anna and then he took off.
She ran after him, but he was too fast for her to catch up. The leaves and vines as well the fallen trees served as obstacles that slowed her down. By the time she reached him, she was panting like a thirsty dog. Catching her breath, she looked up and saw Samantha staring at her, tears trickling down her eyes.
Over the moon, she couldn’t help but let the tears fall. “Sam.”
“Anna!” Samantha ran toward her and then embraced her so tight as to show how much she’d missed her. “I thought I was gonna die. Thank God you’re here!”
She caressed her little sister on the back, hugging her tightly. “I’m here, no one can hurt you.”
“What happened to him?” Lucas’s stern voice broke them apart, making them look at him with pity. Tears welled up in his eyes as he examined Vincent, who was lying on the ground, weak and helpless.
Samantha walked forth. “He’s been shot,” she said, her voice was gurgling with sadness, unsure of how Lucas would react. “I-I’ve tried my best to help him and even managed to pull the bullet out of his arm, but he’s lost so much blood that it’s impossible to save him unless we bring him to the hospital.”
“No,” he said abruptly. “It’s way too risky.” He wiped off his tears and took a deep breath. He examined the wound and saw the blue liquid that shook him. He took a sample of the blue liquid, smelled it and tasted it on the tip of his tongue. Without warning, she stood back up and spat it out of his mouth. It burned his tongue.
Anna rushed to his aid and held him still. “What’s the matter?”
“They’d put acid in the bullet and now it’s slowly killing him. If he was a pure lycan, he would’ve died in an instant,” he said in great indignation.
Samantha cut in. “I’ve also noticed some tiny particles in the bullet.”
“What does it look like?”
“They look like metallic–”
Lucas got it. “Silver. They’d incorporated silver into the bullet to easily burn him. Bastards!” he cussed out.
There was no way that they could save him now. The poison had already spread out and he lost so much blood. But he couldn’t just leave him here to die. He needed to do something. And he had to think quickly.
“He needs blood.” Without excuse, his fangs came out and he bit his hand and clenched it to bleed. He put it above Vincent’s mouth and let the blood run through his throat. But he remained unconscious. They waited for a little while in the hopes of any improvement. A minute had ticked by, but he didn’t wake up. His eyes stayed shut.
Tears had welled up in Lucas’ eyes, but he suppressed his emotion, reminding himself that sacrificing one’s life for many was part of their job.
Anna took notice of the sudden sadness on his face. “I’m sorry, we’ve come too late,” she said, disheartened at what happened.
But Samantha hadn’t lost hope. “He’s half-human, right?”
Lucas looked at her blankly and then nodded.
“And you’re a… werewolf, correct?” she asked with great hesitation in her voice, uncertain of how he would react.
He nodded again.
“If your blood didn’t work on him, perhaps mine would. Let’s give it a try, shall we?” She pulled up her sleeves and grabbed a rusty knife, and then walked toward Vincent. An obvious look of terror had crossed her face and though she tried her best to hide her fears, Anna could feel her nerves rattling.
She grabbed Samantha by the arm. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t be stupid,” she whispered quietly.
“If saving one’s life means stupidity and so be it,” Samantha said, her eyes were serious and determined.
“But you don’t even know him,” her voice raised an octave higher.
“That’s right, I don’t know him but he saved my life and it’s my turn to save his.” She walked passed Anna toward Vincent as she brought her knees down before him. Holding the knife in her other hand, she took a deep breath and prepared herself to cut her palm. Blood dripped down already when Anna yelled for her to stop.
“Please, don’t. I can’t let you risk your life.” She pulled Samantha up and wrapped her hand with a handkerchief. “I’ve promised Papa that I would look after you and I’ll keep that promise.” Without warning, she snatched the knife from Samantha’s hand and cut herself. A volt of pain slashed through her.
Lucas took a step forward with a stunned look on his face. He couldn’t believe it. He wished to stop her, but seeing Vincent in this pitiful situation left him with no choice. He had to swallow his pride and accept the fact that he couldn’t always protect his pack.
As she clenched her fist tight and the blood dripped into Vincent’s mouth, the agonizing pain afflicted her to the extent she felt as though she was going to pass out. She bit her lips and closed her eyes, taking in the pain as much as she could, but when it became unbearable, she screamed at the top of her voice.
Lucas pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her. “That’s enough. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said, whispering in her ears.
Anna said nothing. Instead of struggling out of his embrace, she let him hold her tight as to alleviate the pain. His warmth comforted her, making her feel she was in a safe fortress. The fast beating of his heart reminded her that she was still alive and though they’d only known each other for a short while, the attraction between them couldn’t be denied.
Her countenance brightened when she saw Samantha’s face beamed with gladness.
“He’s awake!”
Samantha fell on her knees and took Vincent’s hands. Not a word slipped out of her lips, but the sparkle in her eyes was enough to speak of her delight to see him back to health. Anna’s blood must have matched his blood type. Though he’d recovered well enough for him to stand up, he still needed to rest for his body to fight off the poison.
Lucas smiled and looked at Anna in the eyes. “I owe you his life…”
Her cheeks reddened. “It’s nothing, really. I just did what is right. It’s part of my job.” The way he gazed at her with those lustful eyes made her so uncomfortable, but she liked the attention.
But how far could she go when he could offer was trouble?