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~RELOCATION~
The convoy pushed further north, only stopping for fuel. They decided to stay on the main roads and highways, where there would be less chance of an attack. Vincent had lost his hold on reality, but no one thought he would be crazy enough to risk exposure. To do that would be like signing his own death certificate. Other pack leaders, even those not at war with the crazed alpha, would arrive at his front door and with no one left to protect him, he would be a sitting duck. As they reached the next campground, their last before they would make their final push into the Northern territories, Mara returned. She stood waiting for them under the rising moon.
“That bitch has the nerve to show her face here?” The moment Stephanie saw the vampire she was ready to attack, but Malcom held her in place in the passenger seat of the SUV. “Let me go!” Stephanie grunted. “I told you I was going to kill that bitch when I saw her.” Mara smiled and waved at Stephanie taunting her and Stephanie growled in response.
“Calm down! She did what she had to do. Yes, she could have found a more tactful way, but we had to get out of there and you know it.” Malcom tried to reason with her.
“Oh, so you advocate my being kicked upside the head?” Stephanie’s struggle stopped as she frowned at Malcom’s calm expression. “You really have changed.”
“No, but you know as well as I do that you were being irrational at the time. As I said, there were better ways to handle it. Now is not the time for us to turn on each other, and whether you like it or not she is on our side. Swallow your pride and get over it.” His words elicited a shocked glare and hardened features from Stephanie.
“Yeah, whatever. Just keep her ass away from me.” She gave up her fight. It no longer seemed worth it, she had too many things to worry about and one of the largest points of interest was sitting next to her. She had so many reservations about the man, and the list was growing with every passing moment.
“I am sure that won’t be difficult to do.” Malcom turned his eyes from Stephanie to Mara who was pretending not to know exactly what was happening inside the vehicle.
“You can let me go now.” Stephanie looked down at the large hand still placed firmly across her chest.
“Oh, sorry, yeah.” Malcom released his grip from her. He wanted to continue their conversation, but the angered woman jumped from the vehicle heading in the opposite direction of the vampire she wanted nothing more than to pummel into the ground. Mara, never the one to let a chance to be petty slip away, waved and smiled which got her a flip of the bird from Stephanie.
“Why must you taunt her?” Malcom stepped from the car.
“Because it’s fun!” She laughed. “How was the drive?”
“Tiring.” He signed and tossed her the keys.
“Really? Hmm, I feel refreshed!”
“Yeah, I’m sure I would too if I had slept the entire day.” Malcom grunted. “Oh, and your precious cargo is fine.”
“Well thank you very kindly for taking care of my things, good sir.” Mara tried her best at a southern belle impression. It was a tragic fail and she couldn’t help but laugh at her own attempt.
“Real cute.” He grunted and stared in the direction that Stephanie had escaped.
“So, have you talked to her yet? Have you told her why you’re really here?” Mara tossed her bag into the back seat.
“No, I mean, she knows that I didn’t come here just for this. I think she can put two and two together.” Malcom had sensed that Stephanie knew his intentions for being there even if she wouldn’t call him out on it for fear of being correct.
“What are you going to do about Serene? Are you going to tell her about that unexpected development?” Mara began to change her clothes. She pulled off her tank top, which had splatters of blood on it. Messy eater.
“I am not sure if that would be such a good idea.” Malcom shook his head as he continued to avoid looking at the half-naked woman.
“Why is that? Ashamed of your vampire lover?” She turned blew him a kiss over her shoulder.
“That isn’t funny.” The muscles in his back tensed and Mara took that as evidence that she had gone too far.
“Sorry, backing off.” Mara held her hands up in surrender. “Well, you do know that you need to tell her. It will all come to light anyway. What is the point in holding anything back?”
“I haven’t fully wrapped my own mind around it yet. How am I supposed to explain it to her? How can I tell her that I am here to kill her brother in order to protect a woman that he supposedly killed years ago? The same woman that I was punished for loving, who we now know is alive as a vampire. So not only am I here to kill him over a love that was outlawed, I am here to kill him over someone who is the very thing we despise most. Serene is the enemy now and yet I choose to protect her. How do you suggest I explain that to her?”
“Yeah, that is pretty heavy, but still, you need to tell her. No matter how hard it will be for her to hear. She had better hear it from you and not Duvein.” She sighed at the wolf who was clearly doing everything he could to keep his eyes away from her. “I’m dressed, chicken!”
“I understand all that you are saying. Stephanie needs to be the first to know and she needs to hear it from me. I know the damage this is going to do, especially if someone else tells her first. I just need time to figure it all out.” Malcom turned to see she’d swapped the jeans and tank top for a short strapless summer dress and sandals. He shook his head. Vampires always over dressed in his opinion. They were running for safety and yet she was dressed like she was headed for a day party at the beach.
“Well you’d better figure it out soon Just think about it, technically I’m supposed to be your enemy and here I am helping your little crusade!” She rubbed his shoulder and moved to the back of the vehicle to her waiting coolers. “I am starving!”
“You took an entire backpack full of blood with you, how is it possible that you are starving?”
“Hell, I did a lot of running and my resting place wasn’t as protected from the sun as I needed it to be. I had to gorge myself on blood to make sure I survived the day while I slept.” She opened the cooler and pulled out a bag of blood. She dropped her fangs and bit down into it as if it were a human neck.
“Must you drink it that way?” The bag had a convenient tube and spout for her to use to cleanly drink from. Instead she went into full savage mode. A lot of good it did for her to change her clothes.
“Yes, I must, it adds to the experience. It’s bad enough I am drinking it cold.” She gave him a sour face.
“Well I can’t watch this. I am going- “
“For a run, yeah, yeah I know.” She waved him off and continued her meal.
Mara was lying across the backseat, listening to the static filled radio transmission of a new song from Janelle Monae, and sipping the last few drops of her blood bag when there was a light tap on the window. “Oh shit,” she whispered to herself not even having to look up to know who it was that had the audacity to be interrupting the enjoyment of her meal. “Look, I am sorry for knocking you out.”
“Yeah, you have a lot to be sorry about.” Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest as she looked on at Mara.
“Excuse me?” Mara sat up, she wasn’t looking to fight but she did not intend to take any shit from a werewolf. There was a lot she would do for Malcom, but allowing herself to be talked down to wasn’t one of them. She was much older and stronger than the wolf and she had better show some respect for that.
“It isn’t bad enough you fucked my brother, but now you got your little vampy hands on Malcom?” Stephanie slammed her hand against the side of the SUV, rocking it. Mara sat up and shot her a warning glare.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Mara waved Stephanie off and lay back in her previous position. “Leave before you get yourself hurt.
“Oh, I am quite sure that you know exactly what I am talking about.” Stephanie repeated the abuse of the vehicle.
“Okay chick, time to take your meds.” Mara got up from the back seat. It was best if she moved away and lured the girl away from her baby. If anything happened, Malcom would never be able to forgive her. She had passed the point of returning to her previous relaxed state of mind.
“For a vampire, you are a terrible liar. Besides, I know all about you and Vincent. It's not as if it was a well-kept secret, you were never exactly quiet when you dropped by for your little visits. Yeah, my parents were away, but you two never considered the little sister. Now I get to smell your dead ass stench all over Malcom. All the running in the world won’t erase that smell.”
“Are you done? Do you feel better now that you got that off your chest?” Mara turned to Stephanie with pity in her eyes.
“Oh, I will feel better once I knock your head off your shoulders. Lucky for you I promised Malcom that I would play nice.”
“Right, I’m the lucky one in this scenario. Don’t misjudge me little girl.” Mara abandoned her efforts to escape the presence of the girl. Instead she moved until there was only about an eyelash length of space between them. If the wolf wanted to make it personal, Mara had no problems with appeasing her. “You know those wolf boys are just so...yummy, I can’t get enough of them. You know, I hear that Sirus isn’t tied to anyone, perhaps I will have a go at him.” She winked and smiled.
“Yeah, like he would ever touch you.”
“Aww, I see I touched a soft spot. Pathetic, you spend all your time crushing on men you can’t have. Pity, with a body like yours, men should be falling all over you. I guess they figure you are defective in some way considering that Malcom left you for a human.” She smiled.
“Shut up.” Though her fist were balled at her sides, she held herself back. The vampire was egging her on, she knew lashing out would solve nothing, no matter how good it might make her feel.
“Or what? Will you cry?” Mara laughed. “Chill little girl, I don’t want your puppy. However, trust me when I tell you that the best thing for you to do right now is to back the hell off. I’m not here to play games with you. The only reason I’m here it to help Malcom. That is all. Remember; you were the one who made a promise to play nice, I did no such thing. Fuck with me and shit will get really bad for you.” Mara dropped her usual playful act. The two were standing on a very thin line and the point had to made just how close she was to saying to hell with it and stepping off the edge.
Stephanie wanted to snap back, but she knew that there was truth in the warning issued. Mara was a monster, it was why she lived on her own, forbidden to every return home. A vampire who did the terrible things she did to her own people, wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to tear a wolf apart. “Just stay away from me.” Stephanie said as she stomped away.
“No problem.” Mara smiled and waved as Stephanie disappeared into the crowd.
“That was big of you.” Malcom spoke as he returned from his run missing the shirt he had on when he left. His chest and arms were covered in sweat and panting slightly. The soft light of the moon highlighted every muscle of his body with each breath he took.
“Did you think I would attack her just because of a few choice words?” Mara bit her lip as he stretched in front of her. He was simply conditioning his body after the run but she swore the man was intentionally teasing her.
“No, I suppose not, but she did throw some heavy accusations at you.” Malcom had heard their entire conversation. He heard what the insulation about the vampire and his crazed ex-best friend. It was something he had never been aware of.
“Yeah, she did, I suppose.” Mara retrieved a towel from the car and handed it to Malcom. “Fix yourself, please.”
“You didn’t really do much to deny any of it.” He took the towel and began to wipe away the sweat. Mara didn’t voice her wish that she would her do it for him, with her tongue.
“Should I have?” She tilted her head to the side. Was he jealous? She’d never told him, she had her reasons, but she never thought the wolf would be jealous.
“I guess not.” Malcom said as he passed the vampire to go after Stephanie.
“Yeah, she wasn’t denying anything either. She has eyes for Sirus now, you can’t tell me that doesn’t get under your skin.” She didn’t know why she said it. Perhaps pushing his buttons was just in her nature. She just had to have the final bitchy word.
“It doesn’t.” Malcom lied.
“I didn’t catch any sign of Vincent or his men on my run. We will need to do perimeter checks throughout the night. We had the advantage of surprise on our side yesterday. Today, Vincent knows what we are up to no doubt and he will be searching for us. I think we covered our tracks pretty well but we can never be too safe.” Malcom spoke to Sirus who nodded in agreement. He allowed his eyes to glance over Stephanie quickly. She was staring at Sirus in the way she used to stare at him. He looked away. There was no way he would ever admit that it bothered him. He had no right to be bothered by it. He had no right to have to urge to attack his friend boiling beneath the surface. He had no claim to the she-wolf. After all, he was the one who walked away from her, not the other way around. He also wouldn’t admit that it pleased him that Sirus didn’t seem to notice the way she watched him. Either that, or he was a damned actor.
“How long will we have to travel tomorrow until we make it to safe grounds?” Stephanie asked.
“About a half day. We took the long way around. Vincent has a lot of eyes and ears out there; we had to be sure to dodge them. Soon we will be in the Northern territories and we will stay on American soil for just a few days before crossing over into Canada.” Sirus confirmed the details of his plans before asking JR, a young wolf to relay the message of patrols. JR was being groomed for a life as a warrior. He looked up to Sirus and the others. Sirus wanted nothing more than to protect JR from the tyrant that had become their Alpha. The two were connected, bonded by a common history. Warring with the vampires had taken the lives of those they loved the most. JR was left with no family at the age of 11 and Sirus had long since been on his own. For too long he struggled with the idea of fighting by the side of the man who had taken so much from him. It was when JR was called to the field; Sirus knew that he could no longer remain true to his position.
“Who’s our contact, will they be ready when we get there?” Malcom asked.
“Her name is Tatiana. I have been communicating with her for quite some time. Met her at the last summit, just before Vincent took the steep decline in his metal compacity and started warring with the Vampires. She offered her help then, as if she knew what was to come. We will meet her just at the border. At that point, we will leave behind our vehicles and swap them for new ones. Just in case Vincent somehow got a lock on one of them, we don’t want him to be able to use the cars to track us down. I’m not too worried about him coming into the Northern territories to find us, but it was a precaution that she insisted on.
There are five different packs within the Northern clans willing to take us in. We will be separated among them. The goal is to try and keep the families together and integrate them into their new homes. Once they take the vow to their new Alphas, Vincent won’t be able to touch them.”
“Okay so we cross the border and go our separate ways. What about Vincent?” Stephanie asked.
“Stephanie, you keep asking me that question and I have given you my answer. It will not change. I will not lift a hand against your brother. Unless he attacks first, I will not aim to harm him, but I am no longer concerned with his safety.” Sirus turned to Malcom. “Rest well tonight, I’m sure tomorrow is going to be a difficult one.” He walked away from them both, leaving the pair sitting at an open fire pit.
“You want Vincent to be protected?” Malcom asked.
“Yes.” She stared on at the flames, her anger becoming more of a cross to bear than she ever though it would be.
“Why? After all that he has done, why would you ask anyone to protect him from the consequences of his own actions? I know that he is your brother and you want him to be safe, but it is selfish to keep insisting that these people turn a blind eye to all the damage he has caused. They will not harm him and that alone is more than I can say.”
“So, you mean to say- “ Her head snapped up and she locked eyes with him. He would say it, he would say it to her face. Her gut told her why he had returned, but he needed to admit it to her.
“If ever given the chance, there is no way I would be able to keep myself from harming your brother.” Eyes never leaving hers, he said the words. Malcom was no longer friend. Not to her brother, not to her.
“I came to you asking you to help me save him.” Her eyes watered, tears sitting at the brim of her lids were echoes of the cracked tone of her voice.
“Yeah, and as I told you, it was a selfish request. Your brother is not asking to be saved, in his mind there is nothing he needs saving from. You need to let him go or you will spend the rest of your life on this pointless crusade to save a lost man.” Malcom stood to leave.
“That is why you came back, isn’t it? You said you had no idea what Sirus was planning, so it wasn’t to help everyone escape. I never stopped to question any further, I didn’t want to, but you came back, with a mission. You came back to kill Vincent.” Stephanie spoke in a horror-filled whisper. “I can’t believe this.”
“It’s more complicated than that, trust me.”
“Is it really?” She stood from her seat and forced their eyes to connect once more.
“Yes.” His jaw tightened, he wanted to grab the woman, hold her and apologize for it all, but he couldn’t. She wouldn’t allow it, he knew it.
“You know what, keep it to yourself, you obviously do not trust me enough to tell me, and I refuse to stand here and beg you to. Whatever your reason is, it had better be worth it. There is no coming back from that!” Stephanie took off running into the woods, but for the first time, Malcom didn’t want to run, he didn’t want to move. He wanted time to remain still, but that wasn’t an option. He’d have to accept that Stephanie would be lost to him. Vincent had to die.