7.
2656 Words
I joined the pack at Anneas’s place, just after class. It wasn’t yet four-thirty, but the sky was already darkening. How I hated winter in Scotland!
“Any news from Elgin?” Georgia asked immediately, opening the door for me. “He didn’t respond to anyone.”
“No.”
Gwen hadn’t even called me back yet.
Georgia darted a worried look at me. I thought I had to reassure her as I was starting to freak myself out.
“He’s on the Orkney Islands. It’s been raining a lot recently and with the wind, it makes mobile networks unreliable. There’s also no answer at his uncle and aunt. He’ll phone us as soon as he can, I’m sure.”
She nodded with a faint, forced smile.
“Come in,” she invited me, “everyone is here.”
Anneas’s apartment wasn’t very big compared to Elgin’s and the space seemed much smaller to me when we were all settled in the living room. Dan, Etienne and Anneas, with their huge thighs, were huddled together on a small three-seater sofa. They made me smile. They were ideally located halfway between the sandwiches, the chips and the beer that sat on the table.
As soon as I was seated, they picked up the thread of their conversation.
“So, I was saying he was lupus,” Dan said. “My father knew him well, they organized trips in the bay on a boat when they were young. At the end of his studies, the guy bought out a whole fleet. He was full of money. His only daughter will inherit a small fortune. She’s barely older than me and not too ugly, maybe I should go for a walk around her house!”
This bunch of machos burst out laughing as Georgia punched Anneas in the back of the head.
“Who are you talking about?” I asked.
“The guy who was found dead in Bow Butts,” Etienne explained to me. “I heard from John that you saw the body, Scarlett?”
“You’re speaking with that dog again!” Georgia scolded him.
“Not agreeing with him doesn’t mean that I will ignore a bit of politeness! He speaks to me, I answer.”
“You called him a son of a jackal!”
Etienne frowned in annoyance, unable to bear to be caught at fault.
“So what? Isn’t that what he is?”
“Exactly! I warn you, if you go to the enemy camp, I’ll tear your eyes out!”
Etienne burst out laughing.
“Oh, that’s enough! So, Scarlett, did you see him or not?”
I blinked once.
“Yes.”
“And? It seems he was in the same condition as the dark angel.”
“Except he was covered in drool,” I confirmed. “And not his.”
At that moment, Georgia, who had considered helping herself to a snack, quickly changed her mind. With her hand out over the stack of sandwiches, she stopped to turn her head towards me.
“A werewolf?”
“Crinos the Ripper on the streets of St Andrews!” Etienne hissed. “Only they could be so barbaric and meaningless!”
The contempt in his voice was unmistakable.
“Obviously, it’s a crinos!” Anneas said with a big laugh. “Let’s look on the bright side; the dark exploiters will perhaps understand that we had nothing to do with it. Anyway, let’s hope they’re smart enough to make that deduction and not come and sneak up on us for revenge.”
“Grigore found a dark angel’s talon covered in blood nearby,” I blurted out.
There was silence.
“But…,” Etienne stammered.
“He says that in the vampiric tradition, after a fight, the victor takes the head of the vanquished. There’s a good chance that the culprit isn’t a Were.”
“These bastards have taken revenge!” Anneas thundered, making the windows shake. “How much do you bet that the next body will be a dark angel?”
I shook my head vigorously.
“No one knows about it except you. He only showed it to Rufus, Simon, and me.”
“Not even to Rucker?” Georgia wondered.
My jaw clenched.
“Rucker still hasn’t reappeared,” I decided to confess.
New silence.
Etienne frowned.
“I see. What haven’t you told us yet, Scarlett? Did he have something to do with this?”
“My answer hasn’t changed since the last time,” I said immediately. “No.”
“Your friendship for him wouldn’t blind you a bit, would it?” he hissed
“Two minutes ago, you could already see Crinos the Ripper plaguing the streets of the city,” I retorted wryly. “Rucker has nothing to do with it. I would say he’s rather the victim!”
“How’s that?” Dan asked seriously.
All four turned on me, round eyes, waiting for the revelation of the century. What I was going to tell them wasn’t, strictly speaking, an international scoop, but they would all see the opportunity to throw themselves into a new confrontation. They loved it. More than anything, even.
“The Council of Dark Angels has reinstated Pitt.”
They all opened their mouths at the same time.
“Band of senile leeches!” shouted Etienne. “They unlocked Pandora’s Box! It will heat up in the city and without restraint! Because if they believe that we’ll let him walk the streets while waiting to find the best way to set a trap for you, they’re daydreaming! When Elgin finds out…!”
The protective instinct he displayed made me want to smile.
“Where is he? In St Andrews?” Dan asked.
“Not yet.”
“What’s this got to do with Rucker?” Georgia wanted to know.
“Grigore thinks he might be involved in his disappearance. That he would have had him kidn*pped in retaliation for his support for me.”
“Is he serious?” Anneas wondered as if finally realizing the improbability of Rucker fleeing. “Is he really missing?”
“I’m afraid so, Anneas. He would never have left his brothers alone without warning them first. He cares about them too much, they’re his only family.”
“So where is he?” Etienne insisted. “In town?”
“No, not that I know of.”
I was careful not to tell them that Pitt was a few miles from here. Considering their state of nervousness, it would only have made matters worse, when we had to know whether or not he was responsible for Rucker’s disappearance.
“Well, when he dares to show his rat face here, I’ll be happy to have a word with him!” Dan persisted.
“Thank you for wanting to protect me, but no. Let Grigore talk to him, they were very close at one time. Maybe he can get something out of him.”
Anneas slapped his palms on his thighs in a determined gesture.
“Very well, but while waiting, we’ll ensure your safety.”
I frowned as I looked at them one by one, I knew it would be impossible for me to stop them. With Elgin absent, they felt even more responsible for me.
“From far, far away, then!” I warned them, index finger raised. “I don’t even want to see you lurking around me, is that understood? If you’re even a little too close, I’ll tear your eyes out as well!”
“Give me five, sister!”
Georgia chuckled and raised her right hand for me.
I smirked and slammed my palm against hers. There followed a general male growl that made us laugh even more. I loved this pack.
I left two hours later, totally invigorated. At least, just enough to forget for a moment that everything was going wrong. I decided to do a bit of window shopping before heading home, I hadn’t done that in ages. Between classes, revision, research in the library, and homework, I had long given up shopping and going out, allowing myself just a few cinema sessions with Elgin and a few walks at Clobber Argyll with the pack. The odd thing was that I wanted to relax now when everything was going so badly. I needed to escape, to breathe and not to ask myself questions for a moment, however short it was.
I was in full contemplation of an overpriced pair of shoes when I heard my phone beeping in my bag. I hurriedly pulled it out, crossing my fingers that it was Elgin. It was a text from Kaley.
| Hello, old lady! Your mother gave me your new number. Are you alright?
I answered her immediately.
| Hi! Alright except that I’m salivating over a pair of shoes that must cost close to two hundred pounds. What about you?
| What colour? I bought myself a pair of red boots to die for! Wait, I’ll show them to you!
The next minute, I received a photo of her leather cowboy boots that I wouldn’t have worn for the world. Kaley and I had always had radically opposite tastes.
| Okay, but not for me!
| Ah! I’m not surprised; you still dress like a nun!
I burst out laughing to myself in the middle of the sidewalk.
| I missed you, Kaley.
| I missed you too, old girl! Can we talk on the phone soon?
| I’ll be home in ten minutes if you want.
| Great, I don’t have class! I’m calling you!
| So, see you soon ;-)
| ;-)
I stuck my phone in my pocket and hurried home, I couldn’t wait to talk to her. Just before turning the corner of my street, the smell of lupus came to me. He was very close. I scanned the area and saw, towards the Greek restaurant, the police officer who had asked me to leave the day before at Bow Butts. He was paying for his sandwich. He must have noticed me too since he c****d his head to the side. Our eyes met. He immediately nodded at me to let me know he recognized me. I imitated him and continued my journey. I turned my back on him, almost certain he was going to call me. I wasn’t wrong.
“Miss!”
I stopped short to do an about-face, he had almost caught up with me.
“Yes?”
“We met yesterday.”
“I know.”
I hardly dared to look him in the eye for fear he would ask me too many questions.
Bingo!
“What were you doing at the scene of the crime?”
I tried not to show my nerves and avoided swallowing my saliva.
“I already told you, I was there by chance.”
“You had passed the security perimeter.”
“I didn’t realize that,” I retorted confidently.
He studied me intently, narrowing his eyelids.
“Are you involved in this?”
“No!”
“I think it’s quite the opposite.”
I shrug my shoulders to hide my discomfort.
“What’s your name, miss?”
I was tempted not to answer, but I was convinced it wouldn’t have worked in my favour. I decided to cooperate so that he left me alone quickly.
“Scarlett Rittel.”
“Are you French? Your accent is impeccable.”
“Thank you. My father is Franco-Scottish, my mother Scottish.”
“On the other hand, you’re not a natural-born.”
I raised my eyebrows in incomprehension.
“A what?
“A natural-born,” he repeated dryly as if it was intolerable that I didn’t understand.
I suddenly felt him so hostile that, despite myself, I glanced at the door of my building. It was a few steps away if I needed to escape.
“Sorry,” I replied simply. “Uh..., I have to go now. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Do you live here?”
I could have slapped myself.
“With my boyfriend, yes,” I clarified in case he had wanted to follow me.
I still wasn’t stupid enough to think I could get the better of a lupus male.
“The Sutherland son?”
Surprised, my eyes widened.
“I… yes, you know him?”
“I’ve seen him,” he replied simply.
He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and handed me his business card.
His name was Keith Forbes.
He watched me for a few seconds and pulled up the collar of his jacket.
“Goodbye, Miss Rittel.”
When he turned around, I was on the verge of catching up with him to ask for some explanation. Of course, I didn’t.
Without wasting a minute, I rushed home. When I pushed open the door of the building, I was stopped almost instantly by a strange smell. Although my lupus senses didn’t allow me to accurately distinguish the scent of one dark angel from another, I was certain that I wasn’t dealing with Rucker, his brothers, Grigore, Simon, or Rufus.
Pitt!
It could only be him.
I had barely a few seconds left before he might appear. If I had smelled him, he also knew I was here. I rushed upstairs, faster than the wind, reassured that no humans were there.
I inevitably came face to face with him as he was casually leaning against our apartment door, a smirk plastered on his lips.
I had forgotten how tall and strong he was. His blond, curly hair falling over his forehead lit up the deep blue of his eyes. The whiteness of his teeth, the delicate curvature of his lips, his naturally soft eyes accentuated by long eyelashes, Pitt undeniably resembled the image we had of an angel. But the reality was quite different: Petre was a demon.
“It took you a while to get up here,” he hissed.
Every fibre of my skin rushed towards my b********y. It was almost painful as the animal wanted to come out and flourish in all its raw power. My backbone shook with a shudder as I had to force myself to not transform on the spot.
“Your threshold of resistance is crumbling, Scarlett?”
One thing was for sure, I wouldn’t bother talking to him. He was here to do battle; I was going to give him what he wanted. But not here.
“Let’s go out,” I said simply.
He stretched his lips a little more and moved his head from side to side.
“No.”
“What do you want?”
His last smile got the better of my patience. I felt my gums tear as my four fangs lengthened. I intended to show him that I was no longer afraid of him, that I was determined to fight him no matter what.
“Nice doggie,” he laughed. “But I found you more attractive before.”
He took a step towards me which I took for an attempted assault.
Without further controlling the hatred that raged inside me, and before he did, I pounced on him with a ferocious growl and knocked him to the ground. Blinded by anger, I didn’t notice that he hadn’t initiated the slightest gesture to defend himself, allowing himself to be controlled. I also didn’t notice that someone had called the elevator and was slowly ascending the floors, coming towards us as surely as I was about to tear Pitt’s neck.
“Scarlett?”
Horrified, and quickly retracting my fangs, I sharply tilted my head to check who the voice behind me belonged to.
“Scarlett Rittel! What are you doing? Let go of my boyfriend immediately!”
In a fraction of a second, the earth had just stopped turning.
“Kaley?”
- Writer
