Among Demons : Rebellious Huntress

Chapter 9 : Unexpected Emotions

Once my brother finished explaining things to our Scouts, we moved to the far corner of the room where we had several chairs and a small table set up for the interviews. We had the room organized so that the tables with snacks and chairs for relaxing were in one corner of the room. And the farthest corner away from it held our little interview space, so no one could clearly hear what was being talked about.

It helped that we had Verilla here too, since she created a soundproof barrier around the chairs with her potent potions, so the Shifters and Vampires in the room can’t use their heightened senses to listen in.

The first interview we conducted was one of the few Humans we found among the files. His interview was quick and reinforced our confidence in him after hearing him run through his previous assignments and how he completed it without trouble. The next one was the older Human mother who also proved her value by explaining her motivations as well as how she used her status as a mother to her benefit in order to obtain critical information. Both of their Handlers were proud of their work and praised them openly, showing us how much trust they had for the Scouts.

Then came Morgan and our uncle.

She sat straight in her seat when she came over, her expression neutral while our uncle stood behind her with his arms crossed. I was surprised that he didn’t take a seat beside her like all the other handlers did, but the look in his face told me why he chose to stand.

He was protective of her, and clearly showing how much he liked and trusted her by firmly staying out of the interview altogether.

Atlas was stunned just as much as I was when he looked at our uncle, but quickly masked his emotions with a serious and slightly angry expression, moving his unfeeling gaze back to the Human in question. The silence stretched on as my brother sized up the quiet Human, their eyes both unflinching and hard, as though they were trying to read the other, or look through them.

“Name.” My brother demanded, cutting into the silence with a firm tone that vibrated with a growl.

“Morgan Evans.” She answered swiftly, not seeming bothered in the slightest by his aggressiveness.

I, on the other hand, moved my knee closer to Atlas, tapping the side of his with mine in a silent protest.

I couldn’t outright question him or admonish him in front of any Scout present. It would send the wrong message to them, not when they were all meeting their new leaders for the first time in an official setting. It could bring about doubt and potentially split our Village apart just as we’re working to build it up. We’re meant to be a cohesive unit, my brother and I. Agree together, plan together, and fight together. All in the name of our peoples safety and well being. It was why Devin, the Succubus that works closely with the Matron, decided to name us both as leaders of our Village.

Still, I couldn’t condone his sharp, biting attitude towards Morgan when she hadn’t even had the chance to prove herself.

My brother took a deep breath before speaking again, pulling back the mild rumbling growl he had been emitting and managing to soften his angry features. If only just a little.

“Let’s not waste time beating around the bush.” He said, earning a firm nod from Morgan who still appeared unphased. “You know why I’m giving you the third degree, right?” Again, another nod. “Then you also know what comes next, yes?”

Finally, Morgan’s face brightened considerably when she cracked the tiniest of smiles, nodding softly to Atlas’ words.

‘Pretty.’ Koa purred in my head, his tail whipping violently from side to side.

I hummed in agreement back to my wolf, though I was trying to focus more on the interactions still happening between Morgan and Atlas. But I was becoming increasingly distracted by the strange emotions spreading throughout my body.

It was beginning to bother me that her gaze never once flickered towards me, though I couldn’t figure out why. I barely know the woman, other than her name and the fact that she was a close friend of my cousins. Yet a growing irritation and annoyance was pressing into my chest the longer I sat here, essentially being ignored while she spoke to my brother. Minutes passed and still not a glance. Not even a word thrown my way, and it was starting to really irk me.

Soon, I started bouncing my leg as I sat back, barely paying attention to the words being said now. Koa was pacing in my head too, walking in a wide circle while keeping his eyes trained on the Human that had yet to look at us. I quickly realized that I was grinding my teeth too, my jaw aching from the prolonged pressure I was causing.

“Then we are in agreement.” Atlas stated, rising from his seat all of a sudden and reaching out to shake Morgan’s hand. “I’ll reach out once a task comes along.” Morgan rose to her feet just as I did, feeling nothing but confusion and simmering irritation sizzling under my skin. “I hope that you’re capable of backing up your words, otherwise I’ll be forced to take certain steps to ensure the safety of my people.”

Morgan nodded along as she shook his hand, not wavering in the slightest to the thinly veiled threat my brother gave her.

“If I fail to meet your expectations, or do anything that causes harm to an innocent Demon, I would be happy to take whatever punishment you deem necessary.” Her gaze was determined and unafraid, her hand still gripping Atlas’ even though they had stopped shaking them. “But I do hope to be given a clear and unbiased chance to prove myself. Otherwise this entire conversation has been nothing more than a waste of time.”

There was a challenge in her soft voice that I clearly picked up on, and I glanced at my brother to find him mildly amused with a brow arched up before he released her hand. She then turned to our uncle and hugged him, her face breaking into a beautiful full smile that strangely pushed aside every agitated feeling that had been clinging to both my wolf and I.

I couldn’t deny that she was breathtaking when she smiled and Koa immediately started to purr in my head as if trying to call out to her. Our uncle nodded to us before turning away and heading for the doors, not saying a word to either of us and leaving Morgan still standing there.

“Olcan has a half day at school today.” She explained, turning to face us again. “And it’s Dolph’s turn to pick him up.”

Finally, making my lungs constrict for a long solid second, her ice blue eyes moved to me. Her smile changed ever so slightly, filling with a hint of that playful mischief I recognized from that night I met her. Her body relaxed into a posture that left her right hip popped to the side and her arms pulled back behind herself, her torso leaning forwards ever so slightly.

“Wasn’t expecting to find you here, handsome.” She said softly, her voice a tinkling chime filled with a mixture of teasing and attraction.

I smiled back and crossed my arms over my chest, unable to stop myself from playing along with her obvious flirting.

“Neither was I.” Koa purred just loud enough that it could be heard just beneath my words as I spoke, but I didn’t acknowledge it, too busy watching this little vixen of a Human that was still eyeing me openly. “Gotta say, I’m pleasantly surprised.”

She pouted a bit and straightened up, keeping her hands tucked behind her body while taking a few slow, deliberate steps towards me.

“Damn. Only surprised?” She questioned, angling herself so she was walking right past me, brushing her arm against mine as she continued to move slowly. “I’ll have to work harder next time then.”

I chuckled low, my mouth beginning to salivate a little too much as I kept my eyes on her as she passed me.

Fuck! That damn smile was keeping me transfixed and making a whole other type of simmering heat begin to grow somewhere else on my body.

Once she was completely past me, I shook my head to try and clear some of the lustful images that were taking over my mind. Koa wasn’t helping things either, whining in my head to continue watching her as she walked away. But I knew that he only wanted to drool over her luscious ass and I couldn’t exactly gawk at her like that in front of all our Scouts and their Handlers.

“Really?” I looked over at Atlas and raised a brow, confused by the look of annoyance that was filling his eyes.

“What?” I asked, feeling Koa bristle a bit when our brother and his wolf let out a half groan, half growl that we recognized.

“You said you were looking for your Match, Wren.” He scolded lowly, making me instantly angry.

I wasn’t a f*****g kid for him to be treating me like this.

“I am.” I snarled back, glaring at him as Verilla appeared from behind him. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but his girl cut him off, placing a hand on his chest while looking over at me.

“Knock it off.” She turned to him after a second, frowning slightly. “Both of you.”

I took a deep breath to relax, letting the silence ease some of the tension that had filled us both. Once we were both no longer growling or glaring, V stepped between us and smiled, though she kept her hand on Atlas’ chest the whole time.

“You need to quit hounding him so much when he flirts or hooks-up with girls, Atlas.” She told my brother, shaking her head softly. “He’s honestly increasing his chances of finding his Match if he actively goes after women that he’s attracted to.” My eyebrows nearly reach my hairline at her words, but I keep quiet, listening intently. “It’s gonna take a bit more effort for him to find her than it did for you.” She laughed and smiled bigger, pausing for a second to gaze up at my brother. “I was the one that knew about you and found you before either of us could settle for someone else.” She then turned to me and smiled that knowing smile again, making Koa irritated and me feel more confused. “Wren, on the other hand, has to get close enough to his girl to find that starfish on her body before he can be sure that she’s the one. So flirting and hooking up is only going to help him.”

“Wait!” I shouted, taking a big step towards her while she continued to smile at me. “The starfish you mentioned before, it’s on her? Like on her body?”

Verilla just nods once before turning back to Atlas who was now much more amused than he had been all day. I tried to ask some more about this damn starfish she had told me about just last year, but both my brother and Verilla were off in their own little world. Hugging, cooing and smiling at each other all dreamy-eyed, totally ignoring me and Koa who was once again pacing wildly in my head.

‘What does she mean?!’ My Wolf growled, stalking back and forth in my mind. ‘A tattoo? A birthmark? A damn scar?!’ I flinched a bit, picturing a starfish-like scar somewhere on my Matches body, but quickly pushed that image away. ‘This doesn’t help us narrow it down at all!’

‘Damn Sorceress.’ I grumbled back to him.

Verilla had told us that she had certain restrictions that prevented her from outright telling us a name or even a location when it came to the Match of anyone she helped. I couldn’t really understand what she meant, but it had something to do with the balance of powers, the Fates and somehow was related to the ‘thread of my story’. Whatever that means.

But all of these rules and limitations prevented her from just telling me everything about who my Match was. Everything, that is, except for this one, broad clue that didn’t make sense to me at all.

I mean, seriously?

How the hell was I supposed to connect the dots and find my Match using a damn starfish as my one and only clue?