There was something strangely reassuring, waking up in a place where you have woken up before.
I know it sounded weird, but it was true. Most of the times that I had been tortured or otherwise knocked out, I always woke up in a different location.
Before G-maps it would sometimes take me days to find my way home.
My eyes still closed, I took in a deep breath. It might not be home, but it was getting pretty close.
I opened my eyes, expecting to see the familiar guest room at Van Helsing's residence in Manhattan. What I was not expecting was the see the man himself sleeping in a chair beside my bed.
As if he could hear my thoughts (he can totally read my mind, I don't care what he says) he woke up and looked at me.
I smiled at him before the memories of what happened overtook me. I froze.
The Monster Hunter now knew I was a monster… I was going to die… again? Would he keep killing me for all of eternity? That didn't seem fun…
"Shhh," he said in the gentlest voice I had ever heard from any man or woman. "You are safe, I've got you. Just sleep until you feel better. Everything can wait until later."
My body relaxed without me knowing it, seemingly to trust him before my brain did. Seeing how sketchy my brain could be on occasion, that wasn't a bad thing.
I gave him another smile and noticed one extremely important thing… I was actually, warm.
I gave him a look of shock, "I'm warm!"
"I should hope so," came his reply as he got up and fixed the blankets under my chin. "You currently have a heating pad on your chest and another one on your stomach. I got Sasha to find those heating things that humans normally put in mitts and taped them to your feet. legs and arms. You are also under an electric blanket, two fleece blankets, and a duvet. If you are not warm, then there is nothing that would change that."
I burst out laughing. Being under five layers of warmth was really a new experience. Normally I just had to deal with the cold until my blood volume increased. Since my body was originally human, it still turned cold from shock and blood loss. Or at least that was what I was telling myself.
I was about to go back to sleep when the front door of his condo slammed open and a murderous roar came out from whoever just broke in.
I bolted upright, refusing to meet a quasi-death laying in bed. No matter how warm the bed was.
"Shhhh, it's just Lucas," said Viktor, putting his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down. It didn't work, but I had to give him points for trying.
"What do you mean, just Lucas?" I screeched, my voice coming out at a decibel level only Lucas could hear.
"It's okay, everything is okay. No one can get you here, and when you are ready, we can talk about what happened."
Have you ever been in one of those circumstances where the other party looked at you and said… "we need to talk"?
Yeah, me too. And the panic that those four words can invoke in a body was ridiculous.
Parents: "We need to talk." You're dead.
Teacher: "We need to talk." You have failed a class and when you get home, you're dead.
Boyfriend: "We need to talk." You are breaking up, and he's dead.
Van Helsing: "We need to talk." You are a monster and I am a monster hunter, you're dead.
See! No matter what circumstance, someone was going to die. And in most cases, it was you... or me... you know what I mean.
I quickly dived under the covers and pulled them up over my head. I could live indefinitely in this warm cocoon, food (although nice) was optional. I was not having 'a talk'. Nope, not me, no way. I was putting my foot down and Viktor would just have to deal with it.
I heard a soft chuckle as the door clicked closed.
'Thank God,' I thought to myself as I bolted out of bed and into the bathroom that was attached to the guest room. What we did before ensuites I never wanted to remember.
Using the washroom, I washed my hands and got into bed. The world would still be around tomorrow. Today, I would sleep.
------
The feeling of contentment that Viktor experienced when he was in the room with Nadezda, whether she was awake or asleep, faded as he walked down the hallway to where an enraged Lucas was pacing back and forth in his living room.
Taking a seat on the loveseat, Viktor crossed his legs and looked at the wolf, waiting for the monster to calm down enough for the man to speak.
"You killed my wolves," he started, but Viktor was not taking it.
Holding up a hand, he interrupted Lucas. "Three days ago, I killed a pack of rogue wolves that were killing humans."
"Those wolves were mine!" Came the reply as Lucas picked up a glass and threw it as hard as he could across the room, hitting the wall.
"They were unregistered wolves," Viktor reminded him, still calm.
"All wolves are mine!"
"Then you should have dealt with the issue before it became mine."
"You should never have touched my wolves!" Roared Lucas, his wide eyes falling on the too-calm Hunter. "My wolves," he stressed.
"Your unregistered wolves, that you refused to deal with, that became my problem and added more to my plate than I needed," pointed out Viktor.
The two men had been together for centuries, and they did not always get along as well as they do now.
"My Alphas and Betas are complaining that, like Vlad, you have overstepped your role," said Lucas, starting to calm down. He still paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair in agitation.
"White was complaining? I seem to recall him killing as many of them as I did," said Viktor standing up to go get himself a drink. Lucas could get his own.
"Not White, the Alphas and Betas from other packs."
"Once again, Wolf, that seems like a House problem. I do not get involved in those."
"They want the head of the human," said Lucas, fully expecting Viktor to comply.
"That human is a Pure-blood Gypsy who has her own House. You and yours cannot touch her. Don't blame me for any consequences you experience if you decide to ignore the Law of the Six," Viktor said, putting down his glass and staring at Lucas as if he was willing to rip the wolf's head off, damn the consequences.
"Bullshit, what House could she possibly be? I will talk to Jenny, I'm sure that she would be willing to hand the human over."
Viktor smiled and stood up. Approaching the enraged wolf, the Boogeyman of the monster world looked down at the smaller man. "Jenny has no say over the Gypsy, and if necessary, the House of Gypsy can easily fall. It would be my pleasure to make it happen."
He looked Lucas in the eyes for a moment, allowing his long-time friend and sometimes enemy to understand the next words coming from him.
"The world will burn before that Gypsy is handed over to you and your packs. Take control of your wolves, Vseslav, before I do."