The Monster Within Me

Chapter 16

Quinn

She had nearly killed me. She probably would have too if Fen hadn't shot her. We knew to expect that dealing with blood in such proximity to her could pose a problem, but we had fed her. She drank all of the blood that had been on the table and she was still crazy with bloodlust enough to rip herself out of all the restraints and attack me with a silver bullet in her leg.

I should have been more careful, I shouldn't have been throwing those scissors in the first place. When I cut my hand, it was only when I heard her take a deep breath that I realized the danger I was potentially in. The scariest part was that she had overpowered 5 people to get to me and done it all before I noticed she was right on me. Her eyes were glowing red, no sight of the green color I'd grown accustomed to. Her fangs had poked through her bottom lop when they'd grown and the dried blood from that as well as the blood bags was dripping down her chin. She looked scary as all hell, and that was the first time I had been scared of her and not for her.

I knew she would never forgive herself for attacking me, but I would rather it have been me than anyone else in the room. When Fen had shot her with the second silver bullet in the shoulder, the concentration of the silver imbedded in her body had caused her to pass out. When she went limp in on top of me, I breathed a sigh of relief, she had attacked me but she hadn't hurt me or anyone else in the room and that was a win to me.

She had been carried out and they had taken her to one of the sterile rooms that were used by the Malek, the healer, when someone he helped needed additional rest to recover enough to be on their own. They had dressed the room up with ample amounts of silver in order to keep her in a weakened state and she was on an IV drip with blood to try to help control her craving. She had been asleep for the better part of the day, it was becoming late afternoon now, Malek had explained that after the procedure to remove the bullets, her body would automatically sleep until it healed and was feeling rested.

Gabby and Mel had come by and seen her while she was asleep under the watch of Marco and Gareth, we couldn't take any chances with anyone's safety right now, not even those who are closest to her. Her friend Nelle had come by after receiving a phone call from Ylva explaining the situation. Maya had been updating her so she wasn't all that shocked, just concerned for her friend. I had wanted to stay behind with her all day, but Maya had been right last night. Vlad's pet had come for another kidnapping.

This time he had taken 3 wolves, one was just a kid of fourteen. The other two had been one of the wolves who worked in the library with Ylva and the other had been one of the enforcers on duty last night. All in different locations on pack grounds, all taken without anyone noticing until the morning. He had left another note, this time written only in the dirt, no blood present.

Tell the hybrid to find me when she's ready. I'm waiting for her and so are they.

There had been no other clues left behind. No scent and not a single footprint for such a huge beast. Fen had decided to handle the families and had left Franky in charge of the scene before I left to head back to the infirmary where they were holding Maya. Malek had said she was still asleep when I had asked, but I was hoping she was awake and more in control today so that we could talk. I needed to know how she was doing, if she was okay.

As I reached the infirmary, I could see Maya's friend, Nelle, outside pacing. She stopped when she saw me and approached me, an angry look on her face.

"What's the matter? Is she hurt?" I asked my mind immediately going to the worst case scenario.

"No nothing I has changed since you left." She said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh, okay that's good news. We haven't really been introduced but I'm-," I started to say but she cut me off.

"Quinn. Yea I know, Maya won't shut up about you." She said, a look of disgust on her face.

"Really? Well that's good. She's told me a little about you two, considers you her best friend." I said, scratching the back of my head because of how awkward this exchange felt.

"Everything was great before you almost killed her that day you know. No werewolves, no f*****g vampires trying to kill her. She hadn't been attacked or frightened to near death. Nothing bad ever happened in this town let alone to her before you came along." She said, her voice deathly calm.

"Look, I get why you're upset, but those things and this would have happened to her anyway. At least now she can defend herself enough to survive and escape. She was a sitting duck before and now she can survive and fight almost anything that will come her way. To you it may seem like I've ruined her life, but what we've done is actually given her that life back." I said, my palms out to show that I wasn't a threat. I didn't want to argue with this girl, I wanted to go and check on Maya. Her scent was a little weird and it hinted at a distant memory that I just couldn't quite place at the moment.

"You only need her alive for your own selfish reasons. She's the shiny little hero who will save you all. None of you care if she survives killing off that asshole who is coming to kill her, you all need her to make sure you all survive. She's nothing but a tool to you." She said, her face nearly red with her anger.

"You don't know me. You don't know my relationship with Maya, so don't sit here after knowing me for six seconds and assume you know anything about me. Do NOT sit here and think you know anything about the people that Maya has been staying with for the past couple of weeks. She's grown on every single wolf here and we would all protect her with our life for what she is sacrificing for us. You don't know how much she means to me. She's more than just a tool for everyone," I said, my own anger growing. As I said each word, her face fell more and more, "But you know that, don't you Nelle? She wasn't a tool for us, will never be, but she was a tool for you, for something you were planning." I said she wasn't looking at me now. "Isn't that right witch?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes glowed purple for a moment, the air crackling and scented with magic. Before she did anything though, she shook her head and gathered herself. She was looking at me differently now.

"You've encountered a witch before then. You must be older than you seem." She said, inspecting me more closely.

"Yes. The same applies to you. The last witch that was born was over 70 years ago, which could be you, or someone else. Funny how Maya tells you everything and you hide this from her." I said, putting my hands in my pockets.

The last time I had met a witch, she had tried to kill me. I had been on a mission and she was guarding the person I needed to bring in for questioning at The Mountain.

"You're her guardian aren't you? Was it her parents who sent you?" I asked, suddenly more intrigued with her than before.

"Shh! Yes, I am her guardian, but I have no idea who enlisted me to her. The Witch's Guild handles all of that, and they don't give out that information freely. I couldn't tell her either for her own safety, the less she knew, the better it was for her own safety. It's normal for us to be assigned to man different species for protection and it is our discretion that makes us favored by all. Even if I did know who sent me, I couldn't tell you. As for the last witch born, unfortunately, I do not hold such a title and I won't reveal my age to a mere pup." She scoffed.

I laughed before answering, "Our goal is the same then, to protect her, even if it is from herself. Which means that you will be a valuable help for her first assignment after she recovers." I said, turning and making my way to the door.

"Oh yeah? And what assignment would that be?" She asked, following me inside.

"You can teach her how to use her powers." I said, stopping outside of Maya's room.

"I had already assumed that would be a problem, but you need to let me tell her about what you just learned. She deserves to hear it from me, not someone else." She said, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

"Nobody but me knows, and I have no intention of getting between the two of you with that." I said, nodding at her. She returned my nod and I opened the door.

Maya was still laying there, still slightly pale, and looking drained, but she was awake. Nelle and I froze in the doorway, looking at her.

"You wanna know the best part about this whole transformation?" She asked, leveling a cold stare right at Nelle. Neither of us answered, frozen in place by shock. "The best part is that now, all of my senses are far more sensitive. This door might be thick enough to prevent a werewolf from hearing anything, but not me." She said coldly.

"Maya, let me explain-," Nelle started, but Maya cut her off.

"I heard everything. You don't need to explain anything." She said, her eyes, still red, became glossed with unshed tears. "Why didn't you tell me when everything started changing? I told you everything, you know everything about me and you kept the biggest part of yourself hidden." She said, her voice breaking.

"They would have killed me. Made me disappear in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion and wouldn't make you want to look for me, and replaced me with someone else. I can only disclose what and who I am if you find out on your own. I never told Quinn, he knew I was a witch and then guessed that I was your guardian. I can tell you now because he knew and he is close enough to you that I would be allowed to disclose that information freely to you. I never wanted to hurt you Maya, and even though technically, being with you was an assignment, it never felt that way. You have been my best friend the past years, that hasn't changed. I was even jealous of the wolf because he was not only doing my job, but he was stealing you away from me." She finished with a laugh. Maya was smiling slightly too, and that was when I could tell that they were going to be okay.

"I'll leave you two to talk, and I'll get you guys something to eat too." I said dismissing myself.

"Thank you." They said together before I shut the door behind me.