"Is it because of the money he pays you? Do you think the money would give for your life if you end up losing it? Our uncle has a big farm in the city, you can make a lot more from there and even have time to explore and learn new things."
"It's not about the money. I love my job."
"Job my ass," Fred scoffed. "Is that what you call a job?"
"I don't know why you're deciding to be on a different page with me in this. At least show some support."
"I promise to support anything else you do asides this," Fred assured his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"But I'm really happy doing this," Zen insisted.
"Look, I know how it feels to want to do your best at what you do. But Evan is dangerous. I don't trust him at all. We grew up together, I know what he can do."
"I really haven't seen him act weird since I have been working with him. All he does is smoke cigarettes and play chess. I don't even eat there because you told me not to, isn't that enough?"
"You see? He never shows you his shady side. He uses people like you to do his work, so you get your own hands soiled instead of him," Fred tried to convince his brother's, but his arguments seed to be falling on deaf ears. It was as though Zen had been hypnotized. He was so determined to continued working for Evan.
Fred rubbed his hands anxiously across his face. He didn't know what else to do to dissuade his brother from risking his life spying on dangerous packs. He couldn't still get over the pain of losing his childhood friend, Festus. Like they say, you never know the pain until you get to experience it yourself.
When Jeph and Ham died, Fred had not really cared much or thought about what could be happening. But after his friend was killed by another clan because Evan had ordered him to mobilize some other men to steal some artefacts, he knew the pain. The worst news came to him when Zen broke the news that he had started working for Evan in the mansion. He felt like he had been hot with a rock on the head.
His tried to stop Zen from doing it, bit he refused. Their mother had even tried maki him stop, promising to send him to a better place, but it was as though Zen had been spelled into working at such a vantage point of danger.
"Do you think he's not going to throw you away when he has the opportunity to?" Fred asked his brother, whose head was resting on his knees.
"He says I'm different," Zen blurted.
Fred gave a pain-filled chortle, saddened by how foolish his brother was.
"You're so foolish. You're working for him because he told you you're different? Even without anyone telling you that, you don't already know you're special? So you're only going to listen to that bastard? The words of your family mean nothing to you now? My goodness! We need to get you out of this town before you damage yourself."
Zen raised his head from his knees and scratched his feet from a mosquito bite.
"Even the other boys respect me now. I have a say in the town now. Something I never got all this while I was here, doing nothing," Zen told his brother.
"You think you can't earn their respect in any other way? You're talking like a coward."
"Ugh! Your talk is getting me sick. I think I'm going to go deaf. Fine! I'll think about it."
"You better do, and heed my warning before you dive deep."
"I said I'll think about it!"
Fred stood up from the steps and looked down at his brother who was still seated, staring at nothing ahead.
"Have you had anything to eat?"
Zen shook his head. "I'm completely famished."
"There's a lot of food left from the thanksgiving, come in and have some then go to sleep."
"I'm going to do all of that even if you don't tell me to."
Fred shook his head and went into the house.
Sarah drummed her long freshly cut fingers on the dining table impatiently, waiting and wondering why Adam had asked her to sit there. She didn't want to upset him again, since she felt she had stressed him so much already.
Her stomach sang the chorus of hunger, making her twist uncomfortably on the chair. It's been a long time since she had anything to eat. Adam appeared behind her from the kitchen with a big plate of toast in his hands. He placed it gently on the table, telling her to wait a little more whole he went to get some juice. Once she saw him leave for the kitchen, she picked up each slice of toast without bothering whether it tasted good or bad. She lived the taste of it by the way.
In less than two minutes, the plate was empty. Adam returned with the juice, he wasn't surleo when he saw that she had gobbled up the entire food. He posted her a glass of juice from the jar and asked her to have some. Sarah snatched the jar from his hand and swigged the whole of it in one gulp.
"We were going to share that," he noted rather pointlessly now, because there was nothing Sarah could do about it, not he.
"Blood. I want blood," she sang hungrily.
Oh what a hassle it is to have to harbour a vampire in your house. Adam looked at her confusedly.
"Huh? Where do you expect me to be that? I'll just make some more toast," he offered nicely, to his own surprise. Adam never acted like this with anyone, but this vampire ure knew how to push him beyond his limits.
"No. Blood. I want only blood," Sarah panted hungrily.
"There's no fucking blood here, man!" Adam yelled, making gestures with his hands. Sarah's black eyes were lightening up into brown ones. Adam watched her in familiarly, he had seen her eyes change like that when she had pounced on him when they first met.
She dropped weakly onto the dining chair, resting her head in the table. She panted continuously, "Blood... please…"
Adam went to get more cartons of juice, she gulped them dry of any drop. Her eye colour had returned to normal by the time she had more to drink. Adam slapped her gently on the back, telling her to make do with what was available. A few minutes later, he left the house, telling her not to step out. Even after Sarah had agreed not to step out of the house, He still made sure to lock all the doors from outside.
*****
Sarah sat still in the living room, daydreaming that Adam was going to return any time soon with blood. A gentle ram sounded on the door, she knew Adam had returned, runnier instinctively towards the door. The knock persisted. Sarah discovered it wasn't Adam. Checking the person outside through the window, her eyes met with his.
Ian jumped at first when he saw Sarah peeping at him from the window. She did take her eyes off him and it creeped Ian out. Her eyes were do big and black...and pretty.
"He said he wasn't with any woman. Liar," Ian smiled to himself. He moved towards the window, Sarah was still staring at him.
"Hey. Let me in" he told her, but she stood there and watched him without moving from the window
"I said let in me in, girl," Ian added, knocking on the door again. Is she deaf? He asked himself, wondering why she kept looking crazily at him.
"Alright, if you don't let me in, at let Adam know I'm here. I can't keep standing outside like this, you know?"
Sarah didn't know who he was, neither did she know how to open the door even if she wanted to let him in.
"He's out," Sarah finally spoke, drawing the curtains shut.
"Oh-oh so you actually do talk," he commented, sitting on the porch. He took out his phone to call Adam.
"Hey, I'm at your house," he told his friend over the phone. "Your girl is not letting me in," Ian added. Adam knew there was no way he could hide Sarah from Ian now.
"Yeah, she's not going to let you in because I have already locked the doors from outside," he said.
"Why would you lock her in though? When is not like you kidnapped her or…. wait! Did you kidnap her? Cos she does look like she's being held hostage here."
"Keep your voice down! And wait for me, I'll be there in a few."
Ian was Adam's best friend and beta. Believe it or not, he was completely human, the first non-wolf in the pack to ever become a beta to an Alpha. Most times, betas were humans turned to wolves by the alpha themselves, but Ian was nothing like that. He had a more speci and unique relationship with the wolves of the Colven pack.