Lost Louve

The Train

It’s been just over an hour on the train and most of it has been spent in silence. I’ve been trying to look out the window most of the time. Otherwise I’m met with Eric’s piercing gaze and smirk. He’s pretty handsome for a vampire. All of a sudden a loud growl fills our car. I feel my face go beet red as he says, “Well louve, it sounds like you need some food. Let’s go.” It was been awhile since I ate, my last shift at the mine to be exact. He stands up and grabs my hand. He leads us back two more cars to what must be the dining car. It’s simple but elegant. Not too busy either, only two tables are occupied. We sit at the back right of the car. I can feel Eric’s gaze on me. Thankfully, the waiter comes along and hands us our menus. 

Eric glances at the menu and orders, “I’ll have a steak, rare, and a whiskey.” He sets down his menu and I quickly decide what I want. “A baked ravioli and a glass of water please”. The waiter nods as I hand him the menu. He goes to place our order and I’m stuck again staring at my hands avoiding Eric’s piercing blue eyes.  

He chuckles to himself, “pretty simple order. I thought you would be more picky.” 

“I’ve lived off sandwiches and whatever the camp cook prepared for the last four years. I’m not picky at all. I do love pasta though.” 

The waiter suddenly appears with our drinks and food, he disappears just as quickly. 

“So camp?” Eric says while taking a sip of his whiskey. “Were you at Coal Mountain?” 

I nod my head. 

“What were you doing there?” Why is he being so nice? 

“I was the mechanic until they started the closure. “

“Wow, that’s pretty bad a**.” I smile and finish my plate in minutes. Hungrier than I thought. Once Eric is done he stands up and pulls out his wallet. 

“No way” I stop him. “It’s my turn remember?” 

He smiles “Have it your way. I do love a free date.” I place the money on the table and rush to catch up. 

“A date? This was not a date.” I can feel how red my face is again. Ugh.

“Fine fine, whatever you’d like to call it” he smirks. When we reach our car again we sit at the table and his gaze lands on me. 

“So, tell me more about yourself.” 

Looking out the window I respond, “Not much else to say. I’m a pretty boring wolf.” 

“I highly doubt that. Where are your parents? Your pack?” 

“ I don’t have a pack anymore. Haven’t since my parents died when I was younger.” I feel my eyes getting cloudy as I try not to cry. This has always been a touchy subject. “My family and I were pretty close before the attack. One night we’re sitting on the couch watching a movie and the next thing I know my Mom is hiding me in the closet. I started hearing growling and scratching outside, it got pretty loud so I hid in the back of the closet under a bunch of old coats. I could hear fighting and I remember my Mom screaming ‘She’s not here! She’s not here. Take me instead’. I must have blacked out because when I woke up it was silent. I peaked out the closet and no one was around. There was blood everywhere and the house was destroyed. I looked around for my Mom but couldn’t find anything. At the time we lived on the outskirts of the pack, I can’t even remember the name of the pack anymore. I never fit in though, the kids always picked on me. I got in trouble if I fought back so my mom started home schooling me and training outside of the pack. My dad was gone most of the time as he was the pack’s warrior. I haven’t seen or heard from him since months before that attack. I don’t think he’s alive either.” 

Eric gives me a sad smiles and reaches across the table to squeeze my hand. “You sounds almost as messed up as me.” I raise my eyebrow because I’m not sure how it gets more messed up then that. 

“My parents died of a vampire attack when I was 15. They turned me and started training me to be a fighter. It was years before I escaped. I got pretty strong and made some loyal friends. We made our own group and I actually went back to avenge my parents. That was 105 years ago. Now I’m the Northern Clans leader.” 

Holy sh*t. He’s the leader of the biggest vampire clan in North America. 

My face most have shown my shock because he started laughing.  

“Don’t worry Louve, we’ve always had a good relationship with wolves. That’s why you’ll come to my clan and we’ll find you a new pack. My best friend is actually an alpha of a nearby pack.”

“I’m not sure I should.. I’m not very welcomed wherever I go. Vancouver was my plan.” 

“It’ll be fine. My clan will love you. Besides, there’s no good work for you in Vancouver. My main house is in Terrace. You’ll love it. It’s only a couple more hours so why don’t you rest?” 

I take a couple minutes to think and sigh, “I have nothing else to lose I guess.” 

He laughs and points to the couch. I go and lay down, I close my eyes and the next thing I know is I’m not in the train car anymore. I sit up with a jolt. I’m in a car, a pretty fancy car. As I turn to my left I see Eric. He smiles and it goes all the way to his eyes. 

“Relax louve, you wouldn’t wake up on the train so I carried you to the car. We’ll be home in ten minutes.” 

Ten minutes? How long did I sleep for? Home. I did like that word and the safety behind it. I felt his hand brush mine and I smiled. It’s going to be okay Maddie. Right before everything went wrong.