A heavy silence had fallen upon the room after my brother revealed the grave trouble our parents were in.
"We've gotta find her, Blake, and prove Dad didn't do anything wrong," Amanda whispered, her voice shaky.
"When did they take Dad away?" I asked, feeling my heart sink.
"A few days after they snatched Mom," Jake explained. "They were out looking for her, got word she was held outside the city. When they reached her, things went haywire, and Jerry got killed. Now, they're blaming Dad."
My legs gave out, and I sank onto the nearest couch.
Ginevra jumped up, his usual gentle demeanour replaced by anger. "Jake, you didn't tell me any of this when we made that alliance with my folks!"
My gaze shot to Ginevra. I never expected him to get so riled up.
"I didn't figure it concerned you," Jake replied casually, using that classic Hunter nonchalance.
"Don't try to outsmart me, boy. I've been around long enough to spot a trickster," Ginevra hissed.
Now, this vampire, speaking all harsh and fierce, made me wonder just how many centuries he had seen.
"I backed you up in front of my whole family. Maybe I should've heeded my elders who said you're not trustworthy," Ginevra stated, heading toward the door in a few quick steps.
Jake's attitude shifted from indifference to remorse. "Ginevra, I'm sorry, alright?"
"Were you planning to save my brother or just off him?" Ginevra demanded.
Jake opened his mouth, then closed it, realizing words wouldn't help.
"I'm gonna find my brother on my own. Our alliance is over," Ginevra declared as he opened the door and left, shutting it behind him.
"Well, just so you know, we're in deep trouble without him," Jake admitted sadly.
"I didn't take you for a liar." I never thought Jake would be the sneaky type. He had always been the honest one, ready to confess to his deeds even before anyone found out.
"Yeah, thanks for pointing out my deception. So, what's the plan now?"
"Why do I get the feeling we really needed that vampire?" I mused, unable to shake the thought.
"Because we do." A frown formed on Jake's lips.
Ginevra's scent still hung in the air, slowly fading away. I felt an urge to go after him and try to mend things, even though he seemed pretty angry.
Jake and Amanda watched me with sombre expressions as I headed for the door.
"I'll be back," I assured them, closing the door behind me.
Shifting into my wolf form, I followed Ginevra's scent into the woods. Running, I couldn't help but remember what my sister had said.
"Find a cure for the monster. I'm not some disease,"
My journey hadn't been an easy one. Mastering my wolf took time, and the lack of a pack or guidance from others made it even harder. There were nights I had to knock myself out or lock myself up to prevent waking up in strange places after an unexpected transformation. Trying to separate my own thoughts from my wolf's.
"This bond isn't something they can break. You've grown to kinda like me, so why not tell 'em?" my wolf aided, mirroring my own frustration.
"I know, but for now, let's focus on finding the vampire," I replied.
Soon, I picked up Ginevra's scent as if he was right beside me. It made me stop in my tracks.
"Why are you following me?" Ginevra asked, leaping down from a tree and landing in front of me.
I don't even know. I guess I wanted to talk to him.
Honestly, I hadn't thought it through. I just felt a need to talk to you.
Ginevra smirked. "I don't speak wolf, Blake. Though I find your whining kinda sexy."
Embarrassment rushed over me. I didn't talk to many people, so I'd forgotten that I had to shift back to my human form to communicate.
I quickly transformed and said, "Right, sorry about that."
Standing next to Ginevra, I realized how tall he was, at least a foot taller than me, though he had a leaner build compared to my bulk.
"I'm sorry about Jake," I said.
"I think he can speak for himself. What do you want? I know you didn't come all this way just to apologize," Ginevra narrowed his eyes.
"I wanted to ask about your brother. How's he tied to my mom?"
"One day, he came home all panicked, smelling strange, and acting weird. Later, I met Jake, and we both ended up tracking my brother. Long story short, when I told Jake about my brother's odd behaviour the last time I saw him, he spilled the beans about why he was hunting him. It didn't end well, but eventually, we decided to team up. Jake gave me your mom's scarf so I could get used to her scent. And guess what?" Ginevra explained
"It was the same scent you picked up from your brother?" I guessed.
"Bingo. So long, Blake," Ginevra said and vanished so quickly that all that remained was his scent.
"Wait!" I called out, but he was long gone. Had he let me follow him? I wondered.
Knowing he wouldn't be coming back, I headed back to my cabin.
When I got home, my brother and sister were still there, looking worried.
"Blake, sorry for dumping all this on you," Amanda said, wringing her hands.
"We promised Mom and Dad we wouldn't burden you," Jake added.
I looked at my siblings, realizing they'd been keeping something huge from me. What if something happened to them? How could I trust them to share important information, especially when it has to do with their safety?
"So, if I find Ginevra's brother, he'll lead us to Mom?" I asked.
"If Amanda and I find Ginevra's brother," Jake corrected, pointing to Amanda and himself.
"No, you're gonna take a bath, change your clothes, and head back home," I ordered, not leaving room for arguments.
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "And just sit at home while..."
I cut her off. "And just sit at home while keeping an eye on Dad and anyone who visits."
"I'm gonna find Ginevra's brother. He's probably linked to the murder Dad's being blamed for," It couldn't be just a coincidence that Dad had gone searching for Mom, someone had died, and then they pinned it on him.
"Okay, we didn't think of that, but you can't go alone," Jake insisted.
"Like you did?" I reminded him, and his face fell. He had no comeback to that.
"Besides, I need you guys at home to be my eyes and ears. Pay attention to anything that involves us."
"Keep us updated, alright?" Jake said, gathering his bloody clothes from the floor.
"How? I can't use runes to talk to you, and we can't use phones; someone might be eavesdropping," I pointed out.
"And don't try runes; the Angels will know. Use the crystal ball," Jake reminded me of the crystal ball they'd given me.
I scoffed, not having a clue how to use the darn thing.
Jake sighed, realizing my confusion, and Amanda helped him to his feet.
"Give me all the info you have about Dad's mission on the day Jerry died," already trying to piece things together in my head.
"Alright," they both nodded.
Once again, I found myself alone in my cabin, scouring the internet for any news of strange creatures or attacks. But I came up empty-handed. The night world remained hidden from most humans, making it difficult to find supernatural leads through mundane methods.
I shifted my search to missing persons, hoping to find any connections. Several cases had popped up, but none matched what I was looking for. Hours passed, and I finally stumbled upon an article that caught my attention.
The headline read, Several homeless folks reported missing, police ignoring their cries for help.
A glimmer of hope sparked within me as I continued reading. One witness claimed to have seen a man with wings forcefully taking their friend. In a normal world, this comment would have been dismissed as a hallucination, but the article hinted at a deeper knowledge of the supernatural.
"But a man with wings? Could it be a Hunter or a shifter? I hope it's not a demon," That could mean we were dealing with a worse enemy.
The possibility of a shifter was been ruled out since the witness had seen a man. Hunters typically used runes to hide themselves from human eyes, so why would a Hunter be so careless?
I pushed aside my suspicions about Hunters and focused on the information at hand. This narrowed down the list of possible culprits to a few winged creatures. If this was related to our search, it could be a valuable lead.
With a heavy sigh, I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together who might be behind these disappearances.
I decided to start by retracing Dad's steps. It had been months, but I hoped to find a clue that could lead me to Mom. I prayed that my siblings would remain safe while feeding me information. Our mission was to find Mom and clear Dad's name before it was too late.
Days later, armed with all the information my siblings had provided about Dad's last known location, I ventured into the outskirts of the city at night. As I entered the area, an eerie darkness seemed to hang in the air, sending shivers down my spine.
Something inside me warned me to turn back, but I pressed on, determined to uncover the truth, ignoring the ominous feeling that accompanied me.