Ch. 4

My eyes were fixated on my hand as I worked to gather the few things my parents kept secret in their bedroom. I was a very feeble person, hurting me wasn't hard to do. However, I was quite confused by the way that Julian had reacted," what... uh why did you bite me like that?"

He sat on a small chair in their room,"the scent of your blood called to me. It tasted like the sweetest of candies... Eloise are both of your parents werewolves? Is there anybody in your bloodline that has mixed origins?"

Julian's face grew serious and I shook my head quickly," no, my family has been indentured servants for generations. I don't know much about my first ancestors here, only that they owe a debt my family will never be able to repay. Whatever they did was so bad that the Alpha and Luna aren't even allowed to speak of it."

He studied me hard before gracefully getting to his feet and pulling me closer to him again," you know a vampire saying your blood tastes like candy is a big compliment." I gave a small whimper and closed my eyes as his lips touched my earlobe," it's not something we say to everybody."

"N-No, I uh.. I didn't know that," my voice sounded so weak. How was he managing to keep making me feel this way? Nobody had incited these emotions from me. The room was hit thickly with my scent of arousal, just making me feel shameful. I had never felt worth being desired. This all felt like too much.

Julian inhaled my sent deeply and purred," we should pack." He spoke sounding as if he was trying to convince himself. He pulled away and I crossed the room trying to ignore how uncomfortable my underwear now felt on me.

I stared at my mother's vanity with the broken mirror. It had been passed down from my grandparents. The mirror broke one day when I had fought her while she brushed my hair, flailing my arms. I don't think I had been punished as severely by my parents as I had then. My bruised fingers gently searched underneath, a tiny lock clicking. I quickly grabbed the faded looking photographs and very faded family tree. Once I was gone they would be worthless. There were no other parts of my family alive and once my parents passed away they would just be tossed away.

Julian removed his cloak, draping it over me. Something about his gaze seemed different, but I didn't find it worth asking about.

"I'll transform and hide inside the cloak. Try making it to the well on the east side of town without getting caught. Depending on how long it takes... we may end up getting caught in the beginning of the invasion. Whatever you do, try to stay calm," his tone stayed gentle and he placed his hands on my shoulders.

"I'll be with you the whole time. I promise to keep you safe Eloise," he added quickly, stepping back long enough to disappear in black smoke. Learning from his mistake last time he quickly soared into the cloak, nestling himself onto my back and staying hidden. Something in the way he spoke made my heart flutter. I hesitated, looking around at the house that barely brought me any sort of comfort.

Finally I was going to be free.

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My pace was quick, not wanting to bring any unnecessary attention. Nobody in my pack wore cloaks so I was already receiving stares from people on the street. The only thing keeping me calm was knowing Julian was attached to me, and the thought of what a new life would be like.

I tried sticking to the back roads and alleyways as much as possible but it made it hard to be quick. The town bells began sounding, signifying that it was 3 o'clock already. The invasion would likely begin any moment.

The sound of children's voices rang out and I froze in place. The schools were letting out, which meant that Delmar would likely be near. Julian started squeaking at me, as if saying I needed to hurry up. I couldn't make myself move. I was too overcome by fear of being caught. There's no way Julian could defend me in direct sunlight, especially against a werewolf with alpha blood.

I was trapped in my thoughts, beginning to shake. My arms shot up and hugged my body as my knees threatened to buckle. Julian started nipping at my shoulder but it was all in vain. I could only move myself to the shadows of the alley and try to wait it out.

"Eloise what are you doing? We have to move! They'll be here-" Julian's voice was cut off as a ground shaking blast was heard. I had been so absorbed in fear I hadn't even noticed him crawl out of the cloak. He stood flat against the wall, breathing heavily showing how mortified he was of sunlight. I had to snap out of it!

Screaming erupted followed by the sounds of gnashing teeth and growling. Gerwulf's troops were wasting no time in causing complete chaos in the town. Julian was yelling at me, but I could barely hear it. It was like my ears were covered.

Somebody entered the alleyway trying to seek refuge in all the chaos. In that moment Julian stopped speaking.

Everything happened so quickly I almost couldn't process it. His lips curled back and his fangs extended as his bright yellow eyes lit up. The body of a sandy colored wolf came hurling towards us. I recognized that wolf, it was Delmar. He must've picked up on the scent of a vampire which lead to him finding us.

Julian lunged back, forgetting the safety of the shadows. He clawed and tossed Delmar like a ragdoll. His clothing was smoking, his exposed skin was burning and painfully blistering. I realized just how powerful he had to be. Most vampires would just turn to ash within minutes. He eventually manged to overpower Delmar sending him to slam hard into a wall. He'd been knocked unconscious.

I managed to snap out of it, reality finally hitting me. Julian was injured and badly. I had to get him to safety, fast. I ran to him, helping him into the shadows once more. Ragged breaths escaped him as he doubled over in pain. His body was covered in gashes and his skin was seared.

I steadied my shaking hands, moving his chin to force him to look at me," shift! I'll run the rest of the way." He hesiated shifting, his bat looking just as bad. I picked him up, this time placing him into my backpack. He seemed so weak that I was afraid he'd die while I ran. I carefully zipped the bag and took off.

My body was so malnourished that I was barely faster than a human. I pushed myself passed the pain. Tears began falling from my eyes as my body screamed at me. Something deep down inside of me wanted badly to protect this man just like he had protected me.

Just when I was thinking of giving up, strong arms grabbed me and began speeding. Loud howling echoed through the squares as wolves formed a circle around us, guiding us passed the well and quickly into the thick woods. My vision was blurring with tears and I was speaking in a hysterical manner as the stranger carried me. I could only repeat Julian's name over and over. Begging whatever gods would listen to save him.

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The smell of food woke me. I groaned loudly as I tried to move. Every muscle in my body still screamed in agony. Slowly I opened my eyes, letting them adjust.

Night air fluttered through the cracks in the tent I found myself currently in. Somebody had covered me in warm furs. I yelped hard as I sat up. My back was threatening to give out on me. One by one I swung my legs over, looking across the room and seeing Julian's cloak neatly folded up.

"Hello?" I started calling out as I was fearful of even trying to walk. I could hear many voices and the crackling of campfires outside. Yet nobody responded to me.

Reluctantly I picked myself up, snatching the cloak from across the room. I struggled with the tent's zipper and stepped outside. My knees felt like they were going to give out on me any second. I took many wobbly steps. Conversations stopped as people turned to look at me.

I didn't make it far before a medic found me, barely having to use force," woah there, who let you out of bed? You've been out for almost three days! You can't just get up and walk off. I'm surprised your legs are even working."

He began trying to redirect me back to the tent and I looked around frantically," where am I? Where's Gerwulf? Where's Julian?"

He didn't respond, and instead left me to my thoughts as I was sat back onto the bed. He pulled the clipboard from the table the cloak had been sat on.

My legs bounced frantically as my patience wore thin," excuse me-"

"Gerwulf is somewhere around the camp," the medic looked up at me finally. His eyes fogged over for a second and I knew he was speaking to somebody in the mind link. " Julian is still unstable. These grounds are off limits for hunting and we've exhausted our blood supply feeding the other vampires that had come to fight in the night. Most of them fed on the werewolves they'd killed and gone home with full bellies. Not the ideal meal but... you'll eat anything when you're hungry enough."

My eyes widened in shock, making the medic laugh," they're worse than wolves. At least we still have our humanity, they're just... a creature inhabiting a barely human body." My cheeks slightly heated. How could he say such a thing about Julian?!

Footsteps sounded outside the door and a throat cleared," Eloise?" It was timid, but I knew exactly who it was. Gerwulf. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

The medic jumped up perfectly straight and quickly opened the tent. I first saw his blood red hair, as he'd bent down to step through. He'd changed so much. The lanky boy I knew now was thick with muscles and masculine. It's what happened when one grew into their wolf, they went through many physical changes. He'd let his hair grow and no longer kept it combed so neatly. His face sculpted itself and his jaw was strong. I'd almost forgotten how tall he was, there was no way he'd blend in with humans on a street.

"Are you alright?" Gerwulf broke the silence with a smirk. He knew I was checking him out. It made my face heat up tremendously. I quickly looked away down to my hands," y-yeah I'm fine." He chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed extending his arms to give me a metal tray piled generously with food. A small piece of cake with a crooked candle was placed on a bowl in the corner.

"What time is it?" My eyes met his again," please say I didn't miss my birthday!"

"No no no. It is only about 9. I wouldn't let you miss it for anything," he reassured me as his eyes held a strange emotion within them.