Sisters by chance - The beginning

He Needs More

Tobias POV

We have been sitting in this poor excuse for a restaurant an eternity. The entire interior is greasy and sticky. The waitress, a fake-blond slim woman with too much makeup on her face, is shamelessly flirting with Hugo. She is making me uncomfortable with her countless attempts to seem, desirable. Her high pitch voice feels like a drill against my eardrums. She has tried every washout line in the book of pickup lines and, the annoyance of coming up empty is starting to show. I sigh slightly, giving her my most bored look. 

"Leave us…" Hugo orders, dismissing her. The vile smell of her arousal lingers by the table when she walks away, still looking over her shoulder. Hugo observes me with dark eyes looking mean as always. 

"You should f**k her!" He states bluntly. 

Being werewolves doesn't just give us the ability to heal rapidly. We have heightened hearing and a very sensitive sense of smell. We are also incredibly strong and fast. Our stamina is good and we have defined muscles even if we don't train frequently. Most of us are considered: good-looking, handsome, beautiful even and humans have a habit of drooling over us. Most of us aren't interested. We want our mate and, often, we wait. A mate is your other half, the one who makes you whole, complete. A blessing, chosen for you by the goddess, Selene. Some have 'fun' with random people while waiting. A wolf's s****l urges are strong. Hugo thinks mates are bullshit and f***s everyone he can. His turning the waitress down is unheard of. And makes me worried. Hugo's dark eyes are fixed on a table in the far corner, four girls sit and celebrate something. Probably their graduation. 

"Which one?" I ask, feeling drained. 

"All!" he hisses with a wicked grin. He has lost it completely. 

"All? We can't do that. It's too noticeable… two and no more from this dump, then we leave! We have to go back north."

"I say we take them all, and you do as I say…" 

"Why?" I interrupt him. He is going to make me pay for this. But being so reckless, stupid?

"We need more, and you know it. My little pet is gonna be with us for quite some time, and it will cost us when winter comes. We need the money!" 

"But still, let's take two. And then two the next time. Six is enough. And we can make it with a day to spare!" 

Hugo contemplated my words for a moment. 

"If the southern pack comes after us, you will lose your new toy," I added casually, my wolf, Seth, scolded me for using her as bait. There is a flash in Hugos' eyes for a split second. 

"Let's take the blondes, they are always easy to sell too, and for a great profit!" He said, then downed his beer and dried off with the back of his hand still with that evil grin. I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back, putting on a relaxed expression.

An hour later the girls said their goodbyes. The two blondes walk arm in arm down a street. They must live nearby and appear to be sisters. f**k, one family will lose two children. This isn't good, not good at all. Hugo is in the truck ready to follow. I walk in the shadows behind the girls, listening in. 

"I promise Rose, he is perfect for you!" 

"Na, he's so serious. Always with a frown. I want someone happier… " 

"Well, if you make him happy, then win-win!" 

"Ruth, you're crazy!" the second one giggled with a playful slap on the first girl's shoulder. 

They keep gossiping about this boy, and it appears to me that they are twins. They turn right and enter a public park surrounded by thick bushes and tall trees. There in the semi-darkness, they light a couple of cigarettes and sit down onto a swing each. Hugo shows up in the dark. The excitement oozes from him, he likes this, the hunt.

"You know what will happen if you fail…" he pointed out as a warning before shoving me towards the playground. I walk towards them with raised shoulders and my hands in my pockets. With all the strength I can muster, I force myself to relax and lower my shoulders before pulling up my hands. I raise a hand as I'm getting close enough, and call out to them making them jump slightly.

"Hey, do you have one to spare?"

I step into the light, letting them see me. 

"Sure!" one answers and tosses a pack "the lighter is in it!" she clarified. Leaning against a lamp-post I slowly light a cigarette and throw the package back. The girls are checking me out, one even licks her lips and wounders:

"Where are you from? I don't recognize you, and you don't speak like us, your accent… You're from the North somewhere, am I right?" 

"Yeah, I'm not from around!" I say lingering, taking another smoke. "But you girls live here, don't you? What're your names?" 

In the corner of my eye, I see Hugo. He is lurking in the shadows. Making his way around the playground, hidden in the dark. He is circling us to come up behind one of the girls. 

"Yep!" the most outspoken one answers, popping the p, 

"My name is Ruth, and this is Rose…" A familiar flash in the dark alerts me of his actions. With inhumane speed I follow his lead, I launch myself forward, gripping Rose and interrupting Ruth mid-sentence. The last thing I see before covering her head is her surprised face. After that, I can smell her body responding to the deed, fear rays of her. Covered and muffled, I carried her to the truck. Hugo is in front of me with Ruth, she is putting up a fight, and still, she isn't making any impact on him. We quickly reached the truck, and Hugo opened the side door and hoisted Ruth inside, jumped up himself. I climb up the ladder with Rose over my shoulder. Her body is shaking from sobbing. Inside the truck's rear confinement there is commotion. In the thick darkness, Hugo is straddling Sofia on the ground.

"NEVER. DO. THAT. AGAIN!" He roars with fury, emphasizing every word with a slap to her face. The two girls tied on the other side of the halfway wall are screaming loudly enough to burst my eardrums. Ruth is struggling to get up on the floor. For a split second, I consider overpowering Hugo, helping the girls. Sofia is barely conscious on the ground. I can see her eyes fade. Ruth is curled up in a corner staring at Hugo, fearful. He is upon her with the blink of an eye, grabbing her by her hair. He drags her to the other side, where I know he is tying her to a rope just like the others. Without a word, he leaves to drive us away. I take Rose to the others and hastily tie her up before checking on Sofia. 

Her swollen throat is dark from bruises, her cheeks reddened and wet from tears. I can't touch her too much, he will smell it. But still, I stroke her hair, I'm not sure why I feel so strongly for her. Maybe it's because we are in similar situations, we both are expected to do as he pleases without resistance. Otherwise, we lose more than our lives. I wonder what happened to make him snap like that. 

With one last stroke over her honey hair, I sigh and leave her. She is breathing and out of harm's way for the moment. With the sound of the other girls sniffling and comforting each other I leave through the door that verges between the truck cab and the trailer. Not knowing what to expect from him next.

He is fuming at the driver's seat and speeds away before I take my place. I don't say a word. Everything went fine until we entered. But I'm not stupid enough to ask him about it. He is probably already planning on making me pay for not helping him. Not that he needed it.

The radio is dead. The only sounds heard are the humming from the engine and Hugo's ferocious breathing. Slowey, he calms down. I've been with him my whole life and know better than to think he is calm just because his breathing is. I sit on pins and needles in my seat, not daring to move or make any sounds at all. If I could stop breathing, I would.

As he regains control over himself, he slows down, and soon we are driving within the limit. We have two more now. And in the next town, two more girls are unfortunately meeting the same fate. 

The small roads meander like snakes through the landscape. Farms are scattered along the road, and in some, the lights are still shining in kitchens or bedrooms. We are met by a single tractor that Hugo stops and lets pass. Other than that, the road is empty. The stillness is making my eyelids heavy, and I have to dig deep to force myself not to fall asleep. 

I can't sleep. 

I will not sleep.