Chapter~
Draken was already at the car park with the others when I arrived. I greeted everyone, and they all responded enthusiastically, except for Brianna, who only gave me a curt nod. Drake, unsurprisingly, said nothing and didn’t acknowledge anyone. He headed straight to Draken’s car, settling into the backseat without a word.
“Of course, no one’s surprised by Drake,” Betty mused with a wry smile. She stood beside Hannah while Links was engrossed in his phone. “So, what’s the plan for getting there? I’ve got a contact in Cortland who can help us.”
“Eline’s riding with me,” Draken said, pulling me closer to him. I leaned into his side, his familiar scent both comforting and unsettling. My neck throbbed slightly, but I ignored it. Draken glanced at his car and smiled. “And Drake’s with me, too.”
“I’ll take Killian in my car. Anyone else can join if they want,” Topper added.
Brianna scoffed, rolling her eyes as she opened the door to a car I assumed was Kelvin's. “Only a cheater rides with a cheater,” she muttered before climbing in. I caught the flash of hurt in Topper’s eyes as he watched her.
“Brianna’s being a drama queen—again, no surprise,” Betty started.
“Coming from the real drama queen herself. Can you quit the commentary, Betty?” Links interrupted, looking up from his phone as he casted her a playful glare.
Betty crossed her arms dramatically, letting out an exaggerated sigh. “You guys are no fun.”
“Don’t worry, Betty, you know I’ve got your back,” Hannah said, bumping knuckles with her in a show of comradeship. Then she glanced over at Topper. “Anyway, I’ll ride with you, Topper.”
Everyone split into three groups: Drake and I with Draken, Betty and Hannah with Killian and Topper, and Brianna with the Barlowe brothers—Links and Kelvin.
Cortland University was about a thirty minute drive away, and the journey passed in a mix of comfortable silence and idle conversation between Draken and me. Drake said nothing throughout the ride.
When we finally pulled into the parking lot of Cortland University, the rain had started to drizzle, lightly pattering against the windshield. The others were already parked and waiting. Topper and Killian stood by their car, talking quietly. Brianna leaned against the Barlowe brothers’ vehicle, her arms crossed, a defiant expression on her face.
“I can't wait to flex some muscles today,” Kelvin said excitedly as he jogged on a spot as I got down the car with Draken and his twin, Drake.
“So where do we start from?” Hannah asked, looking around the campus. We're beginning to garner attention of those around.
“We'll split up just as we came and search for Tyler. I'm sure we'd find something about him,” Kelvin replied easily.
Without wasting any more time, we all spilt up like our arrangement in the car — three sets, and begin to move into the campus. Topper, Killian, Betty, and Hannah will be scouting the north east part of the campus, while Brianna and the Barlowe brothers will be scouting the north west. Me and Draken alongside Drake are to scout the South west then we'd all gather at south east — since it's the largest part of the campus, if we do find nothing.
When everyone has left to go scout their respective position, Draken holds my hand as we proceed towards the south west when Drake suddenly stops walking.
“I'll go by myself,” Drake announces just as I turn around to look at him. “I'll go scout the South east to make things faster.”
“What?” I asked, confused as I free my hand from Draken’s grip. “We all decided to meet up in the south east later. You can't just destroy a plan, Drake.”
“Well, I just did. Besides what difference would it make if I go alone?” He asked, frowning.
I shrugged. “All of us together were barely able to stop Tyler, what if you do see him at the south east? You won't be able to do anything alone. That's why we need to do things as a squad, not a lone wolf.”
Drake lips curved into a smirk as he raised a brow. “I think I can handle myself pretty well, Eline.”
“Of course you can,” I didn't forget he wasn't a medium with powers. If anything, that just awakened questions in my head. I looked around to see no one staring at us, and Draken just kept looking unbothered as he rested against the wall with his hands crossed. “Come to think of it, Drake, you're a medium right? Why don't you use your powers to fish him out?”
“Wait, Eline,” Draken said, moving from the position he was as he heads over to me. “If Drake wants to go alone, then I think we should let him be. He's fully capable of taking care of himself. Besides, even if Tyler gets a hold of him, he's immortal. He'll be save.”
“I'm no fool Draken,” I faced him, lowering my voice since we were still in campus. Draken's words made me remember what Drake had said after Karina's death.
‘…None of you are. You aren't cursed with the gift of immortality. I couldn't care less about anyone's life, because at the end it's only going to be me left—’ those were his exact words.
But, “No shifter is immortal,” I voiced our my thoughts.
“Well you've met one,” Drake said, leaving immediately without any more words.
I turned to look at Draken, speechless at the revelation. “Your… brother is gifted with immortality?”
Draken nodded. “Yes. He thinks of it as a curse rather than a gift, and I do agree. He can't be killed, but he can be staked to rest.”
My mouth hung open at that as Draken held my hand.
“Can we continue our search now, my love?” He asked.
“Can you answer a question first?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Drake has medium powers, right? If so, why didn't he just use to to search out Tyler's location? That should be easy for him regardless of Tyler's power, right?” I question.
Draken gave me a look with a smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. “There are three things to that. One, Drake probably doesn't want to do that because he's fighting with Topper and Topper's the only one he trust with his life—”
“Why not you? You're his twin, he should be able to trust you with his life right?”
Draken stopped smiling at my question, and I could easily tell I'd struck a nerve that wasn't meant to be struck. Or even opened a old wound. “We have something to do right now, Eline. We can talk about all this later. I promise to tell you everything you need to know.”
Without hesitating, he held my hand in his and began to drag me a
long. While I follow quietly.
However, the throb on my neck persisted.