Ren and Ashton shared a look.
Ren stepped back. His heart was back in his throat. He clenched and unclenched his hands as Ashton opened the door.
"What?"
Ren could just see a hint of vibrant red hair from where he was standing. He didn't think it was Ashton's father—not with the way he was talking to him.
Whoever was on the otherside tried to push the door open.
"What do you mean what? I heard you talking to someone."
It was a man. He had a higher pitch voice than Ashton, but it wasn't a feminine sounding voice. He sounded full of himself. Ren wouldn't doubt this was a relative of Ashton's. A brother? They sounded around the same age.
"That isn't any of your business, is it?"
Ashton tried to push the man out.
"Are you sneaking them in for the night? Who is it? I really don't think anyone is willing to sleep with your ugly corpse."
The man managed to slip through the small space between Ashton and the door. They came to a halt and looked around with a smirk on their face.
He was much taller than Ren expected. His vibrant red hair couldn't have been natural, but by the way he had it pulled up into a no nonsense ponytail, he didn't seem like the type to really care about the color of his hair. He wore black silk pajamas that couldn't be cheap and a pair of gold wire glasses.
That was unusual. Vampires didn't need glasses. They had more than perfect vision.
Ren was right about the fact he and Ashton were related. They had the same eyes. The same eyes that Ashton had gotten from his mother. And Ren had also been right that they were around the same age.
The man stopped and stared at Ren. He cocked his head.
"Well that's surprising."
Ashton tried to slam the door, but it was so well built it came to a soft close.
"Is there a reason why you need to see what I'm up to?" Ashton crossed his arms and walked in front of the man.
The man was still looking at Ren. Ren shifted back and forth on his feet, trying to shake out the uneasiness he got from the man's wandering gaze. When he seemed to have gotten over his curiosity, he looked away. The smirk on his face reminded Ren so much of Ashton, yet it was different. The smirk on this man was unsettling. Like he was planning devious acts. When Ashton did the same, he just looked like he knew he was better than everyone else.
Ren would choose that over the other any day.
"I don't think I need a reason when you're bringing in strangers into the house I live in," the man said. He looked around the room and his eyes settled on the book on the bed. "What's this?"
"Don't—"
The man jumped on the bed. He landed with a thump, messing up the neatly made bed. He grabbed the book and flipped it open. The page Ren and Ashton had been looking at was freshly creased. The book made it easy for the man to find what they were looking at.
He gave a long whistle. "Demon Hounds, huh. You two going on a hunt or something?"
Ren stepped further to the side when he saw the look on Ashton's face.
Ashton yanked the book out of the man's hands. The man rose a brow.
"Okay. I didn't know it was that serious."
Ashton shoved the man in the shoulder. "Get out."
The man raised both his hands. "Alright. I get it. I'm sorry I interrupted your important matters."
He rolled his eyes and jumped off the bed. But before he made it to the door, he turned to Ren.
"I'm Kai, by the way." He held out his hand.
Ren stared at it.
After a few silent seconds, Kai got the message. He retracted his hand. "Have fun."
He gave Ren a lingering look that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He left the room, but it didn't feel like he was entirely gone.
Ren didn't know what to say. The whole scene felt like a dream. The man—Kai—had seemed more curious about Ren than he had been disgusted. However, there was a certain level of something Ren couldn't put a name to that made him wary of the man. More so than he had been about Ashton.
"I think you should leave now," Ashton said as he closed the old book and set it on his desk.
He didn't look back at Ren. He put his hands on the brown desk, staring down at the book like he was waiting for it to reveal a huge secret to him. Ren couldn't help but take a long look at Ashton. His walls were down. It was a split second in time in which Ren could simply look at Ashton without being cautious of being caught.
His dark blond hair looked light when they were inside. Ren hadn't seen him in the daytime which might be why Ashton's hair looked darker than it might be.
He looked normal. As normal as he could when he was standing in a room that looked like it was taken right out of a history documentary.
Ren was so caught up in analyzing him that Ren didn't notice when Ashton looked up.
There was a solid second where neither of them moved. They both knew how awkward the situation was—they didn't belong together like this, acting as if they were closer to friends than they could ever be.
Ashton let out a soft sigh, his hair falling in front of his face. The medium length strands slightly curled at the end, brushing over his fair cheek.
He continued to look at Ren. Ren could still remember clearly how those eyes had looked when they were bright red. He remembered how he thought his life was over and also how they had pierced him through the heart. They had stolen his breath and instilled fear inside of him.
"I guess I can show you out."
Ren had been so caught up in just looking at Ashton that he didn't even think to realize it was a little strange of him to just stand there. He straightened as Ashton crossed the room and walked right out the bedroom door to the hall.
He gave one little glance at Ren before he walked to the stairs.
Ren stood there for far longer than he should have. He jumped out of his little frazzled headspace and followed Ashton down to the front door. On the way, Ren kept going over the conversation they'd had. He looked down at his cut hand. It had stopped bleeding, but the lingering sting was making the area ache. The skin was puffy and he wanted to scratch at it.
He was practically bound to Ashton now. Contracts like these were normal during the war when vampires were assisting soldiers. He'd never thought he would ever be in one of them.
Ashton opened the door. He looked at Ren, but it was a look that felt like there was no one on the other side.
Ren didn't wait to be told to get the hell out. He was ready to go. He was ready to be safe in his bed—as safe as he could be when there was a murderer on the loose but much safer than being in a house full of vampires he didn't know.
He walked out of there. He was not at all confident in his walk, a sharp contrast to how he felt earlier tonight when he yelled for Ashton. But he would say that he'd been out of his mind then. He'd been pulling straws trying to come up with a solution for a problem bigger than him.
It had been a last resort.
He was in the middle of the yard. The cold air against his skin was refreshing. He breathed it in, hoping he could find some kind of calm from it while he was wading through chaos in his mind.
However, when he looked out to the forest and he saw the dark shadows reaching out toward him like ink seeping onto a page, he was thrown back into a pit of frazzled nerves. His heart thudded in his throat, his eardrums pounded, and he couldn't stop the twitching in his hands.
Ren didn't want to say it. As he looked out at the dark forest from the middle of Ashton's yard, he hoped he wouldn't have to say it. He wished he was the type of person who was strong enough to take on anything. He wished he could be dumb enough to head out like he had a few hours before.
But he knew what was out there now. He knew if he was attacked again by Hounds—this time alone—he wouldn't make it. He would be dead.
He turned around.
Ashton was still standing in the doorway with the door open. He looked at Ren like he knew what he was thinking. Or that he was thinking the same thing. The difference didn't matter.
Ren waited. Either for Ashton to go back inside and close the door or for him to join Ren.
When Ashton finally closed the door with him on the outside, Ren got some kind of relief. It wasn't enough to make him feel better about the situation, but it was enough for him to not feel like he was about to faint.
Ashton slowly walked down the steps. He took his time, the wind slightly blowing his hair back, and t-shirt he'd changed into billowing. He didn't look uppety as he had earlier that night though he would always be stuck up. It was rooted in his DNA. That part of him would never be taken away.
He was silent as he stopped in front of Ren. There was a silent agreement between them. Their eyes locked and that was it.
Ren was the first one to walk away. He took the path back to where the clearing was. He looked for the path that would lead him back to his house. While at first he was unsure about letting Ashton know where he lived, he had to outweigh two different evils. The Mantels weren't going to kill him and his mom just yet.
Maybe in the future he would have to worry about that, but as of right then, his main problem was Demon Hounds and the Hunter Society.
The house and the woods surrounding it was quiet. Ren was relieved he didn't feel like someone was watching him. He didn't even have to worry about the hunger inside of him. Everything seemed to be fine.
He turned. "Thanks—"
Ashton Mantel was already gone.
Ren stared at where they'd come from, wondering just how long it would take before the two of them tried to kill each other.
He bet it would be soon. Very soon.
***
"Do you want fish?"
The bored lunch lady stared blankly back at Ren from across the plastic partition.
"Yes, please."
She slapped the poor thing down onto the plastic blue tray and then slid it out for him to take. He gripped it with both hands. He kept his head down as he grabbed a water cup instead of a carton milk and headed toward the check out area. After typing in his lunch code, he glanced up at one of the large televisions mounted to the cafeteria walls.
The standard news network was playing. It was mandatory that the less than factual Reginae propaganda was shoved down kids' throats.
He almost dropped his tray when he saw what they were talking about.
"Seventeen Carla Withings has been missing for six days. Police are now suspecting this might be in connection with two other murders earlier this month."
His hands tightened on the tray. Students walked around him, giving him weird looks, but he couldn't care less about it. He stared at the screen as two other pictures of teenagers were shown. They were both human, around the same age, and typical. They looked normal.
His eardrums thumped as he stared at those photos. A girl with blond hair and brown eyes, and a boy with brown hair and brown eyes as well. They didn't look related. He was trying to hear more about them, but he was so stricken.
The girl. They're still looking for her. Of course, he'd expected that. He knew they weren't going to stop looking for her. She had connections to the Hunter Society. They were known for never stopping until they got the answers they were looking for.
If anyone could be accused of beating a dead horse, it was them.
He backed away from the screen. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't take his eyes off the TV. He didn't want to miss a thing. A single detail. Though he couldn't hear anything, he needed to know what would appear on the screen next. His eyes glanced around, taking in every single small detail, and read quickly over the red banner of moving text on the bottom.
It said something about the Hunter Society.
His whole world came crashing down around him. He felt weak at the knees. His right leg lost its strength. He stumbled. His tray almost went flying over the floor, but he managed to right his footing before it was too late.
The room spun. Everyone was looking at him. They whispered. They laughed silently.
It all crashed on him as he found an empty table. He kept his head down as he sat. His stomach twisted as he looked at the food. He was hungry—the loud and uncomfortable growling coming from his stomach was a testament to that.
The table shook under the force of his hand. He hid it in his lap. These tremors were new. They were more frequent too. They'd started after the urge or thirst for mayhem inside of him. It was nothing he could fix right now. Not exactly what he was worried about right now when there was news about two more murders.
He looked back up at the TV.
"—President Stantley has granted all rights to the Hunter Society to operate as its own police force. As of today, the Hunter Society is now officially active."
The symbol of the Hunter Society was shown in a box beside the blond female anchor. It was a snake chasing or eating its own tail.
If Ren could see himself, he swore his face would be pale.
The students and staff went about their lunch as usual. No one else stared at the TV screen like they were sentenced to death. No one cared that the Hunter Society—the organization founded on hunting down and killing vampires—was now coming back to find a serial killer.
But no one else knew the things that Ren knew.
He clenched his knees.
This had gotten way more complicated.
***
Ren rushed through the front door and almost collided with his mom.
"Woah! Why are you in such a hurry?" Margret put her hand on his shoulder to steady him. She was still in her work clothes.
Ren's brows furrowed. "I didn't see the car."
Her face dropped a little. She turned away, sitting her bag on the couch. "I walked. The car went out on me this afternoon."
"Shit," Ren said, placing a hand on his forehead.
"Language." Margret looked too tired to reprimand him anymore than that. She took off her jacket and hung it up by the door. "It's not a big deal. I need the exercise."
He marched into the kitchen. "It is a big deal. You can't be walking around in that neighborhood. It's going to take you forever to get there. Did you even think about how early you're going to have to leave?"
Shit. How much was this going to cost? He had money saved, but it wasn't that much. He still needed to leave some for her when he left. It would take a while before he got his first check and all that. There was no telling how much living there was going to cost and how much he was going to have to pay for synthetic blood.
He also had to think about paying the bills here. Though he made a bit from selling the synthetic blood for a higher profit, it wasn't a large amount.
And sneaking the money into her wallet without her noticing an extra twenty or fifty was going to take a long time before she had enough to pay for the car to be fixed.
Margret took down her hair. She rubbed her eyes and let out a harsh lengthy sigh. "I'm not going to argue with you about this. I'm a grown woman."
He made a loud racket as he shoved a large pot under the running faucet. "That's not the point."
The point was that she'd been taken advantage before when she was young. Ren's father had left her barely alive on the side of the road when she was seventeen.
She was strong, but there were things out there stronger than she was.
"Then what's the point, Ren? Care to explain it in black and white for me?"
He slammed the pot on the stove. "All I'm saying is that all of this would be easier if you let me drop out and work! There's nothing for me here! While I'm wasting my time in that stupid fucking school, you're slaving away to pay for everything. I just want to help, but you're too fucking stubborn!"
The room was quiet except for Ren's harsh breathing. He stared down at Margret who was only an inch shorter than him, but at that moment, it felt like she was slipping through the floor. Yet, at the same time, she was taller than the house. She was this large looming figure who could squash him like a bug.
He regretted saying the words. They were true. They were his thoughts, the things he'd been keeping down inside of him for too long. But he wished he'd kept his mouth shut.
Margret stepped back. It was a small step, the tiniest little action, but it was a title wave crashing over him.
His fingers twitched. The tremor. He couldn't stop it. There was a blazing heat in his chest. He wanted to smash something. He wanted to get the anger, the fire, that was inside of him out. She didn't understand how much this was hurting him. She didn't get that he didn't want her help. He wanted to stop feeling like he was a burden—a parasite leaching from her.
But all she could see was her son needing her protection. She wouldn't stop being so selfless and it was ruining their life.
And then he thought about what she'd been hiding from him.
She was keeping secrets, acting as if she was just some poor human woman who had an unfortunate past. He didn't want to believe she was lying to him. If she lied about what she was—what he was—what else would she be willing to lie to him about?
He curled his lip. He was disgusted by the feeling of rage inside of him, but then again, it was normal. His mom was the one person he trusted the most in the world and she'd been betraying him since the beginning.
It was probably what he deserved. He should have died inside her womb. She should have killed him the moment she found out there was something growing inside of her.
"I said I'm not going to do this with you. Not again," she calmly said. Her voice was level.
"Get out of my kitchen. I don't want to hear or see you until dinner."
She coldly ignored him. She finished what he started—cooking dinner—and made a point to not even glance in his direction.
He opened his mouth. He wanted to call her names. He wanted to hit her. He wanted to beat some sense into her, to make her realize that the best thing for them was for him to work his ass off. He didn't need an education. He didn't need anything if she was the one who was going to end up dying.
Where would that put him? Did she think he would be able to continue living if she was gone?
He didn't do any of the things he thought about.
His gut clenched.
That was the side of him his father had given him.
Both sides of him were disgustingly ugly. It didn't matter if he got some part from his mom, whatever was part of her inside of him had been tainted by the ugly seed of rot his father had left him with.
He clamped his mouth shut. He'd done enough. This boiling shit inside of him was ruining everything.
He actually thought about hurting her.
He was just like his father.
She didn't do anything as he left. For the first time, it felt like she actually didn't care about him. He didn't think it would feel this horrible. He thought he would be strong enough for it. Instead, he just felt like a piece of shit.
He went up to his bedroom. He counted how much money he had calculated how much he was going to slip to his mom and tried not to take his rage out on everything in his room.
He kicked the air, but that was it. He fell on the bed on his back with a loud thump. Staring at the ceiling, he watched a lady bug walk across the white little bumps. He almost got lost in the insignificant insect when he heard movement outside his window.
For a full minute, he didn't move. He listened closely. Margret was moving around in the kitchen downstairs. And that sound. It sounded like someone was by the side of the house. The sound was light. Like a mouse chewing away. He had to listen really hard to even hear it.
But when it came again, he moved from the bed as quietly as he could. He was by his window when he saw a figure move outside the corner.
The window flew up. He was about to scream when Ashton grabbed the front of his shirt and pressed his hand to Ren's mouth.
Ashton's red eyes stared into his own. "I'm here to talk business. Nothing else."
Ren shoved him off. "The fuck are you doing? Some kind of warning would have been great."
"I wasn't sure how to get a hold of you. I doubt walking through the front door would have been the smartest idea."
He climbed through the window. He was wearing ridiculous black slacks and another white button down shirt. He looked like he was going to a music recital rather than having a secret meeting with someone.
Ren hated that Ashton was right about not coming through the front door. He was glad Ashton hadn't. That would be the thing to set his mom off. Him hanging around a Mantel? After what he found out about her, he didn't know what she'd do if she did find out.
Ren narrowed his eyes. "How did you know this was my room?"
Ashton raised a brow. He looked around, smirking. "I mean, I doubted you had a vanity."
He walked around Ren's bed. Ren fought the urge to start straightening things up as he watched Ashton poke and prod with his invasive gaze. He could just see the shaming thoughts inside Ashton's head about how Ren's room was a dump. Anything was a dump compared to the mansion Ashton lived in.
Ren crossed his arms. "So, are you here for a reason?"
Ashton gave him a curious look. "Is this a bad time?"
It was. Ren was still reeling from the fight with his mom. But he doubted Ashton gave a shit about that. He was probably used to getting what he wanted right then and there. It didn't matter if Ren was dealing with other stuff. Ashton was the center of the universe.
"Never mind that," Ashton said, waving his hand as if that was enough to settle things. "Have you seen the news?"
He placed his hands into his pockets. He stood tall in front of Ren's dresser. Ren hadn't ever noticed how lean he was. His sides—his hips and waist—would feel so tiny in Ren's hands. Ren forced his eyes up to Ashton's face, ignoring the way his stomach was tightening.
It took a second for the question to hit him. The news. Ashton couldn't be talking about anything other than the missing teenagers and the fact the Hunter Society was coming back. Ren felt sick just thinking about it.
"Yeah." His throat had become tight. He felt like he'd swallowed a whole bag of cotton balls.
He sat on his bed. He was very aware of where Ashton was, but he felt more at ease when they were in his bedroom and not Ashton's. And he was finally starting to feel like he didn't have to worry about Ashton killing him. They had a contract now. They had to work together and for that to happen, Ren had to be alive.
"You haven't told anyone, have you?"
Ren scoffed. "Who would I tell?"
He could hear Ashton moving about behind him. He felt on edge, always ready to run away if need be.
Ashton gave a low laugh. It didn't sound right coming from him. Not when he looked like that. An angel. An annoying angel at that.
"That's good. I'm glad I don't have to worry about that." He walked around, facing Ren again. Whatever look had been on his face was gone now, replaced with that serious face that made it quite obvious he didn't like being around Ren at all.
"I came here because I think I know where to start." He pulled out his phone. It was silver and looked like it could cut through anything just like him. Typical. Ren wouldn't have expected anything less than the best for a Mantel.
He flicked through his phone for a bit. When he found what he was looking for, he turned it around to show Ren.
"There's a celebration at the town hall. Public. The reopening of the Hunter Society has everyone excited."
Ashton curled his upper lip in distaste. Ren completely agreed. There was just something foul about the way everyone seemed to think this was the best thing to happen since the ending of the war. They couldn't wait for the vampire police to come back and eradicate all of them.
Ashton turned on his heels. He was wearing black dress shoes. They looked like they gave blisters just by putting them on.
He looked out the window as if he was actually seeing something out there.
"My idea is to do a little observing. I want to know who exactly those guys we saw in the forest are. If they have any big connections to the HS."
He continued to look out the window without saying anything.
Ren raised a brow. "And then?"
For a second, Ashton didn't say anything. Then, he glanced over at Ren.
His red eyes were unnerving.
"Are you hungry?"
Ashton's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
Ren cleared his throat, only then realizing how his question could have been taken. "I mean…your eyes are red again."
Ashton cursed under his breath. He turned his face away. He slightly shielded his face with his hand. The gesture was delicate, almost, yet there was nothing less delicate than a vampire was thirsty. The animal caged within them would tear anything apart to get what they craved.
Other vampires included.
"I was in a hurry. Don't worry about it." He was cowering away as if he thought Ren was going to do something.
He obviously wasn't going to. He was the one who should be worried. Vampires were fickle things. He knew first hand what it felt like to be hungry. He knew it was going to be even worse for a full vampire who had to rely solely on blood to survive.
Ren had to bite back the words building up inside of him. Ashton was telling him to not worry about it when he should be. How much of a hurry did he have to be that he forgot to fucking eat?
Ashton wiped his face. "Anyway. Tomorrow evening, I'll meet you outside the high school. We'll head over to the city hall together."
He started to climb out the window.
Ren was over there beside Ashton before he could even think. He grabbed Ashton's arm, not sure what he was going to do, but he wasn't able to do anything when Ashton whirled around on. He grabbed Ren by his upper arms and slammed him against the windowsill. The air was knocked out of him. He stared wide-eyed into Ashton's red eyes. His back screamed from where he was pinned, but the boiling heat in his stomach was screaming for an entirely different reason.
He tired to swallow down the lump in his throat and will the intensity of the flushing heat in his abdomen to go away. The thing he should have been the most concerned about was the red glowing of Ashton's eyes and the look of hunger on his face.
This was the one time Ren had seen him so out of control. All the other times—except for maybe the first time they met—he'd been poised. He'd been like a rich aristocrat who couldn't be bothered to be roped into commoner problems. It didn't pass Ren that Ashton was rich, probably spoiled, and was hidden away from the problems of everyday people.
He wasn't like a poised rich snob. He was a poised rich snob.
The worst was that he knew he was eloquent and all that shit. He wasn't trying to pretend to be anything.
There were many things Ren hated about him. That was one of the things he hated most about the Mantel. Pretending wasn't a word in Ashton's vocabulary.
Ashton stepped forward. Ren wasn't expecting it. He stiffened, waiting for either the sinking of teeth into his neck or a hit to the face. When neither of those things happened, his anxiety spiked even further.
He turned his head slightly to the side. His lips parted. He took a slow breath. They were walking a thin line. He felt like they were going back and forth between being enemies and something else too scary to name.
Ashton flared his nostrils. His bright red eyes were burning into Ren's as if they were looking right through him to the center of his being. He was opening Ren up like a book, flaying him alive, and there was so much of him he couldn't hide from that hard gaze.
Ashton dipped his head. His hands slipped down and then they were leaving Ren's arms. They grabbed onto the base of the windowsill. Ren was completely trapped in. There was nowhere to go.
"Are you tempting me?"
His voice had gone down to a lower whisper. There was more than hunger in that voice. It was a possibility, an offering almost, that went beyond anything that should be going on between them.
Nothing should be going on. They were trying to find a murderer and find out what Demon Hounds wanted with them. That was all they were.
Ashton moved even closer, their faces almost touching. Ren could see Ashton's fangs. They were fully extended from his gums. Ren froze as Ashton ran his tongue over them.
"Don't." He wasn't even convinced by his own order. There was an edge of hesitance, like he was asking for Ashton to ignore everything he was saying.
The heat of Ashton's body pressed against his made his mind foggy. His own fangs extended, poking his bottom lip. He wanted another taste. The sweet flavor of Ashton's blood had been a hundred times better than the synthetic stuff. Ashton wanted it just as much as Ren wanted this.
It didn't have to be more than a mutual favor.
But just when Ashton's fangs brushed Ren's outstretched neck, he backed away. Ren's gut dropped as he was denied the pleasure of knowing what it would feel like to be on the other end of a bite. However, it was the loss of being able to drink real blood that was disappointing.
Ashton shoved Ren out of the way.
"The next time you do something stupid like that, I'll rip your throat out."
He was on the other side of the window, dangling with his hands on the frame. He glared at Ren—red eyes even brighter now and fangs pressing into his bottom lip.
"Tomorrow. Remember."
And then he was gone.