Bearly alive

18

Roman

Stella arriving is the shock of a lifetime. If I wasn’t convinced she was telling the truth about being able to hear things so far away that not even the best of trackers could, or see sound as she described, after I found the vampire more or less where she told me I would find her, I definitely am now.

I don’t even want to know what she had to do in order to get out of the house, and despite having successfully shut down all and any emotions except for anger about 4 years ago, the second I sensed Stella close by, guilt rained down on me, making the rocks weigh a ton more. Guilt that she got herself really hurt while getting out, only to try and help someone she didn't even know. It occurs to me that if she came, then she must have heard me saying I needed her help is the vampire was going to make it, and something stirs inside me. Pride? Neah, it's just my stupid bear, filling my head with things I don't need.

To be honest, I was waiting for the vampire to fall asleep, her strength had left her shortly after I arrived. I’m not completely heartless, despite our last encounter, the vampire isn’t my enemy and she hasn’t done anything to me other than take the money I gave her voluntarily. So as soon as her breath evened out a bit, I planned on giving my arms a much needed rest and let the rocks fall. Chances are she would have gone quickly. Not pain free, but considering she had a wooden stake in her for Goddess knows how many hours, what does a little crushing of the bones even matter?

I almost thought that Stella’s arrival was a figment of my imagination, yet here she is, looking like a scared little bunny unsure of what to do, regretting the s**t she got herself into, yet at the same time taking charge. Again, that weird feeling that I fight to push away.

Following her countdown, I adjust my uncomfortable position and shift my weight so I can drop the rocks while making sure I get away with my arms still attached to my body. Although deeply wounded, the vampire is safe from the boulder’s way, so I anxiously wait for Stella to crawl out before I move too.

“Watch out!” The vampire croaks out and I can tell she used every last bit of strength she had for this warning. Judging by the fact that vampires aren’t exactly known for watching someone else’s back, I instantly know it’s bad and I curse myself, having sensed the danger too late.

I know Stella’s not in the clear yet, so something inside me doesn’t let me move. I convince myself that it’s because if she gets hurt, or worse, it doesn't matter if I make it out alive, because the King of beasts will find a way to end me too for failing at my very important task.

The pain in my shoulder tells me I’ve been hit, but it’s not what I expected. Whoever took the shot, didn’t aim at me directly, but rather at the monumental load I was trying to keep from squashing the vampire and then Stella.

It takes me less than a blink to figure out that the cut on my shoulder is courtesy of a fallen rock with sharp edges. Just as everything went off balance and half the hill came sliding down, taking me along. The girls too, no doubt.

I have no idea how long I've been out for, but my world did go black after I fell. It wasn’t a long way down, but a ton of rock falling on top of you will knock out anyone. I should consider myself lucky I woke up. Goddess knows I’m not invincible. A slippery motherfucker that managed to elude death quite a few times during some jobs, but definitely not invincible.

Not moving too much in case there’s unwanted company around, I take a second to listen to my surroundings and scan for anything that might be off. Since it’s still pitch black aside from the silver moonlight shining down and barely illuminating the earth enough to see an inch in from of you, I have to conclude I wasn’t unconscious for too long. That's good.

When I deem it safe to, I try to stand up, assessing my injuries. I look like a freight train ran me over, but I should be back to normal in a couple of hours. My bear at least had the courtesy to try and shift when I fell, so the sheer size of my beast helped absorb the shocks. It’s not great that I’m naked now, but I manage to find what’s left of my pants nearby, so at least I’m not dangling more limbs than necessary as I search through the rocks.

I see Stella first and my stomach does this weird changing thing, a mix between relief and anger, two feelings I don’t want to unpack now when I’m a sitting target out in the open and wounded. Or ever, for that matter.

I suspect her lycan had the same idea as my bear, her wounds not looking particularly life threatening if she weren’t so frail and malnourished. I make sure she’s breathing and take advantage of her not being awake so I can reset the left shoulder which is sitting at a very unnatural angle.

I flinch when I hear movement behind me, then turn and I’m faced with the vampire. She looks better than me or Stella. She looks too good. Too alive.

In an instant, my hand wraps around her neck and I squeeze, her shocked expression not fooling me. She splutters trying to speak, her nails clawing at my hand, but I’m so angry for what we have gone through while trying to save her, suspecting it’s all been a f*****g trap.

But for what, what was the end goal? The other side of my brain tries to rationalise. The vampire was really hurt when I got here, and there was no way she would have known about Stella’s unique ability. Right?

“Let her go. Please.” I frown and turn to my side, seeing Stella with her big eyes brimming with tears. The moonlight reflects on each teardrop that slides along her cheeks, and I feel like I’m under a spell. My hands unclasp from the vampire’s neck and she drops to the ground coughing and wheezing. Syella look relieved for a second, then she must realise I'm almost naked and despite the darkness, I can see her cheeks colouring bright pink.

“Needed… to… “ My attention turns back to the vampire as she struggles to speak. I barely resist the strong urge to just snap her neck like a chicken and call it a night. Pretend the last few hours never happened and this time really lock Stella in that room until the King calls again.

“... feed.”

Stella moves to the woman’s side and rubs circles on her back. I shake my head in disbelief at the scene unfolding before me. Stella's eyes are almost pleading with me. For what? I have no idea.

“Talk!” I urge the bloodsucker.

“I had to feed and regain some of my strength, heal.” She says breathlessly. “The one good thing about that was that the stake got caught again. It wasn’t fun when it slid out of my chest, I can tell you that, but something tells me that you would have been just as gentle if things went differently.” She looks at me with flashing eyes, her voice cracking a little at the work stake. Like she has any right to even speak after what almost happened.

“Who the f**k was that and why is he after you?” I growl and at the same time take Stella by the elbow and put some distance between the two women. She glares at me, then I notice that I'm grabbing the arm she broke earlier. So she might not be glaring, but rather grimacing in pain, therefore I quickly release her like her touch burns my skin. Guilt pokes its head again. I ignore it. I don’t have anything to feel guilty about.

“If you know it’s a he, then you also know who he is.” The sassy vampire narrows her eyes, watching me carefully in case I give anything else away.

I realised the mistake I made as soon as the word left my mouth, but to my credit, I've been through a lot just now, and most definitely hit my head, so all things considered, I’m grateful I didn't start telling the vampire about the King commissioning me to kidnap Stella. Or how my brother and my mate died and the trauma that haunts me every single day. Or better yet, night.

“Be on your way, vampire. No need to repay me for saving your life.” I turn my back to the inconvenience that ruined my night and make a gesture for Stella to start walking too. She seems conflicted but doesn’t voice anything. She probably doesn’t want to leave her patient alone, but let’s face it, we’re more wounded than the vampire is, despite having a f*****g stake near her heart not too long ago. She’ll live, and she doesn’t, I don’t care, I’ve done my good deed for the decade. I've made Stella happy.

Wait, where the f**k did that come from?

Annoyed, I start walking faster despite seeing how Stella struggles to keep up. For some reason, I want to punish her, like it's her fault that my stupid bear is clouding my mind with these ridiculous thoughts. And it's even worse when she tries her best to keep up, not complaining even once. It just pisses me off even more.