Claws (Rewritten)

Twelve

Chloe

Weeks had passed, and everyone settled into a busy schedule.

The pack, united again now that the truth had been revealed, had organised regular shifts patrolling their borders. They spent most of their time these days out in the forest, searching for any hint of Damien's scent and ensuring he didn't slip past them.

The pack house was only used as a sort of way station. A brief pit stop for food and rest before their duties continued.

Though Caleb, Markus, Lyn and I had returned to our house and settled back into university, we weren't far from the action.

Lyn had dedicated every free moment she had to practicing tracing spells, determined to help her friends by finding out where Damien was to put us all at ease. I helped her whenever I could, but between the lectures, lab sessions and placements, I didn't often have any time to spare. She wasn't having much luck, given that she'd never tried tracking a person before, but her determination was admirable.

Caleb and Markus were almost always out in the evenings, patrolling the forest by our house. Whenever their shift ended and Renée and Ash arrived to take over, Caleb would stay out for hours, determined to do all he could to ensure Damien couldn't get close to our house again.

Even Caleb's father and Daniel were helping out, scouring the city for any sign of the rogue, not to mention doing all they could to keep us all hidden from the new group of hunters.

So far, all of their efforts had been wasted and their energy used up. No sign of Damien. He'd disappeared again. Still, no one let their guard down.

University didn't help. If anything, it seemed determined to undermine us.

It had been a long day. Lectures, practicals, study sessions, workshops and tests thrown at us from all directions. It was a wonder we'd escaped to the library, where the silence that greeted us was like heaven.

Even more so, when Markus found an empty table in the far corner away from everyone. It would give us enough peace to finish the rest of our work.

Not that all of us were doing work. Caleb had his head resting on his arms on the table, eyes closed, looking as though nothing would rouse him.

Markus' gaze shifted from his laptop and the abundance of work to Caleb, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He must've kicked him under the table, because Caleb opened his eyes to glare at him. "Fuck off," He mumbled, eyes closing again.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Lyn asked him. Ah, so none of us were doing work, then. Oh well.

"No. Too busy."

"You're not going tonight. I'll go instead," Markus stated, eyes brimming with guilt and determination. "I'm not having you burn yourself out with this when it should be me--"

Caleb sat up, giving Markus an equally challenging look. "I said I'd help, and that's what I intend to do."

"Not tonight."

"Why not?"

I studied him briefly. Though I think it was impossible for vampires to get bags under their eyes, the exhaustion was clear in his expression, and the weariness in his gaze was difficult to miss. "You don't want to exhaust yourself too soon. None of you do. I think it's better to rest and focus on, I don't know, training or something. Then if Damien does show up, you'll be ready for him, and not sleep-deprived," I told him, holding his gaze with a firm one of my own.

"Thank you," Adelyn sighed. "Couldn't have said it better myself--"

I rounded on her. "I'm talking to all of you," I stated. "Not just Caleb. I can't just sit back and watch you all work yourselves to death over this. I know how much it means to you, but you all mean far more to me."