Chapter Twenty-Seven: This is How We Meet Again

Chapter Twenty-Seven: This is How We Meet Again


Meanwhile, Carin lurked in the woods on the night of the full moon and as he had expected, it was swarming with Lycans of all types and shapes. Knowing that they would be able to smell him, he kept his distance and watched them from afar.

It looked to him like they were in the process of performing some kind of mating ritual. There was a high fire burning inside what seemed to be a circle made with stones. Carin maintained a safe distance but still watched them intently.

A teenage girl who wore a long white gown, strolled into the circle holding the hand of an equally young male. He watched as an older werewolf woman gathered soil from the earth and plastered on their faces. Carin stopped himself from gagging, werewolf rituals were just so impractical.

Although he wasn’t a big fan of Lycans, it fascinated him to see how dedicated they were to their cultures. He watched as every step of the ritual became more and more strange. From the couple digging their claws into each other’s necks and then making out with each other like both their lives depended on the action.

He heard the other onlooker wolves cheering and applauding them. Carin thought that werewolves had to be the strangest of creatures. Just when it couldn’t get any more exciting, the Lycans who were mating shifted from their human form to their wolf form.

They tackled themselves to the ground and began wrestling with each other. He watched with fascination as they clawed at each other. Was that the way werewolves mated, by fighting each other? But then, looking closely, he noticed that they were not at all fighting, but they were… making love.

What he found even more bizarre was that the rest of the pack watched them like it was the most normal thing. After finding a fitting position, the wolves got stuck together which was yet another odd sight.

Just when he’d positioned himself to see the end of the ritual, the figure of a girl caught his eyes. He watched as she hurried away from the mating ground, avoiding contact with other wolves.

Carin’s ears tingled with excitement. This was the chance he had been waiting for, he had the chance to capture a Lycan and force out the identity of his sister’s killer from her. Without making a sound, he jumped down from the tree he’d been hanging from.

He tailed her slowly, making sure not to get too close to her. He couldn’t see the face of the werewolf girl, but she was walking so briskly as if she was being chased down by something. This made Carin all the more willing to capture her, she was in her head and would not even see him coming.

After walking in circles for a while, she finally came to a halt in a very secluded area of the woods. She stood backing him, but Carin could see her shoulders heaving up and down. She seemed very stressed about something.

Just then, she turned in his direction and plopped down to the floor. Carin’s breath caught in his mouth as the moon lit up her face. He couldn’t believe it! It was her. Ember.

Memories of the way her lips twisted up to form a smile flooded Carin’s head. The memories of her warm and soft skin made his eyesight blurry. No way! No way!! There was no way that this was happening. What were the odds that he would run into Ember in these woods on a random full moon night?

Carin could see all the weeks of his careful planning crumbling before him. Of all the things he had planned, running into Ember had not been part of them. As much as he wanted to show himself to her, the best thing to do would be to turn around and walk away.

As he turned to leave, his foot rammed into a large piece of metal and it crashed down, making a loud, clanging sound as it fell. A loud gasp escaped from Ember’s lips and her head whipped up. Carin watched her silently as she jumped to her feet, alert.

“Pete, is that you?” Ember asked and Carin felt his chest squeeze with jealousy. Who the hell was Pete? He made no sound as he watched Ember whip her head left and right, her eyes scanning through the area for any kind of movement.

He watched her from where he stood as she bared her fangs, hissing loudly at the air. “Whoever you are, show yourself” She shouted. 

Carin told himself that he had no other option but to come out of hiding before Ember did something erratic. He walked out of the shadows, raising his hands to mimic a surrender. “I come in peace”, he said.

She hissed loudly at him, her nose tingling from his smell. She replied, “You’re a vampire. There’s usually no peace when it comes to your kind”

Carin’s breath hitched in his throat. It was truly her, Ember, alive and in the flesh. Her voice still held the kind of repulse that she felt for his kind. Against his better judgement, Carin found himself scanning Ember’s face for a hint of recognition.

Maybe there was a slim chance that she remembered him, that he was not the only one feeling what he felt. “Good observation, Lycan” Carin told her. It was best for the both of them if Carin remained a stranger to her and to achieve that, he had to show her that he held no kindness for werewolves.

Ember, on the other hand, was all the more alert in the presence of a vampire. Her mind was playing out all the possible ways her meeting with this vampire could go. Maybe she should make a run for the bayou and call the other members of her pack. She shook her head, reconsidering that.

Vampires were very fast and since it was just her, he would catch her before she could even reach the pack.

Carin noticed that there was some kind of contemplation going on in Ember’s mind, so he cut into her line of thoughts. “Is this how you go about ambushing innocent vampires?”, he asked sardonically.

Ember frowned, unimpressed by his little joke. “What are you doing here, you undead thing?”, she spat. Undead thing? Wow, that was a new one, Carin thought to himself.

“I was just in the area looking for my next meal” Carin lied. He raised his eyebrow, looking puzzled. “Or is that a crime now?”

Ember didn’t believe him, vampires were known to be very sly and slippery creatures. “That’s a lie. Vampires generally know to avoid this area”

Carin shrugged, Ember was actually really good at this questioning thing. “Well”, he said. “I’m not your neighborhood vampire. I had no idea that these woods were off limits to vampires”

Before Ember could form her next words, she heard the shuffling of different feet. She recognized that they were the footsteps of other werewolves. Shit! The last thing she wanted was to be found out here with a vampire. It wouldn’t matter that she actually had nothing to do with him, she still would be in big trouble.

Then another thought came into her head, maybe she would just tackle this vampire and when the other Lycans eventually showed up, she would hand him over to them. 

In that instant, Cathy’s face flashed in her eyes. Cathy was a vampire and she had been really kind to Ember. Even this vampire who stood in front of her right now, had not actually threatened her.

She was torn because the right thing to do would be to turn him into the pack, but then, it would feel like she had betrayed Cathy all over again. For the sake of Cathy, she would let this one go.

“Come on” she called out to him. “You need to get out of here before they come”

“Before who comes?” Carin asked. He had sensed the approaching werewolves but he didn’t think he wanted to leave Ember just yet.

“Members of my pack. You need to hurry and get the hell out of here” Ember’s voice was getting impatient and Carin knew that.

Carin scoffed. “I’m not scared of members of your pack. Why should I be running from them when I can take them all down?”, he asked.

Ember narrowed her eyes at him, genuinely shocked by his nerves. “You sound silly. There are over forty members of my pack and just you. If you don’t get out of here now, you’ll be wolf food in seconds”

The footsteps became even more louder and this made Ember all the more panicked. “Just get out of here, vampire” she whispered. Without waiting for him to say another word, Ember dragged Carin by his hand and led him to a hole hidden out of sight. It was a small hole, but it could fit him well.

“That hole will lead you out of these woods. Now, get out”, she ordered. Without protesting, Carin climbed down the hole and soon disappeared into its darkness.

The werewolves approached Ember. “Hey! What are you doing out here?” One of them asked her. She gave them a big frown. “What? Can’t I take a piss anymore?”, she asked. Even though she tried to look brave, her heart was racing wildly in her chest.

They walked away, not bothering to ask her any further questions. Ember released a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.

What the hell had just happened?