Tempest: The Moments In-Between (#1.5)

Chapter Nine: Old Wounds

Des Louvière

Shortly after paying the bill, I made my way outside. I could sense Hunter following closely behind, and whenever I glanced back, his gaze was relentlessly secured on mine.

"Where are you taking me?" his whisper caressed my ears in the same way someone might hold a loved one.

"Somewhere where we can talk." I spoke back quietly, trying not to draw any attention to myself or Hunter. Although, he was quite capable of doing that on his own.

After a brief and silently tense car ride, I parked by the curb to Shaker Park. I found a secluded field and stood my ground at least three feet away from Hunter.

He tried to come closer to me, but I couldn't bear the thought of him any nearer. "Arrete. That is close enough." He took my warning tone in stride as he stopped a foot away from me. "You wanted to talk. So, speak."

"Down to business so soon, eh?" Hunter's smirk was surprisingly playful. "Can't we take a minute? You look good." He took a step closer to me and reached up towards my cheek. His eyes softened as did the red in his soul. "I've missed you..."

Just as his fingers grazed my cheek, I pushed him a few feet away from me. My gaze steely while his appeared hurt. He quickly changed his mood, his anger consuming him as it seeped into his low, deep voice. "Was that necessary, Odessa?"

"Do not ever call me by that name again!" I hissed. "There is no Odessa here."

"That is your name. Odessa. Moreau." He glowered at me. "Ah! But I nearly forgot that you've turned your back on your family, isn't that right? You even go so far as to change your name. And to that mongrel's at that."

I felt this look of incredulity come upon me at his words. "Non! Non! You will not speak of him. He became my family. And I gladly wear his name. With pride!" I growled as he sneered at me. "And you know better than anyone that they—my so-called family—have forsaken me! After all, you helped them do it."

I pushed back the sting of tears as Hunter succeeded in opening old wounds.

"I helped you escape." He took a step closer. As if making himself bigger than me would succeed in making his point.

"You had a moment of weakness, and we both know it."

"I loved you!"

"And look where that got me!" I raised both hands around the area, gesturing to Cardinal City. "What more could you want from me? What more could they want from me?" I searched his eyes—his soul—looking for an answer to questions he could barely comprehend. "You all left me homeless, pack-less, and afraid. And now, just as I have made myself a new home. A new pack. You search for me?" A low growl erupted from my throat as I said, "I will not let you or anyone else get in the way of what I have accomplished here."

I tried to compose myself as he took a moment to see me as I am now.

"I guess four years is a long time..." he mumbled, but it didn't seem to be towards me.

I turned away from him for a second, my fist clenching tightly, in an effort, to keep me in place. "The only reason I am talking to you is because you did let me go. And I do not like to owe favors to unfavorable people. So, if there is something more you must say, do it now, or let me move on."

"Des, don't you even appreciate a little that it's me who has come to you?"

Oui. Non. I don't know...

Not wanting to answer, I stood quiet.

"They were going to send two others here instead of me. I convinced them against it."

"Why?" I turned on him, glaring daggers. "To make it more painful when you kill me?"

"To make it easier when I bring you back."

I stared in horror at his implication. "Non! Non! Non! I will not return. If I return to New Orleans, I will most certainly die. And you will be the one to have seen to it."

"The pack no longer wishes for your head. They wish for your help." He swallowed a lump in his throat before he said, "We need you."

I searched his aura then, looking for the truth in his words, and to my surprise, he was being sincere.

"What could you possibly need from me?"

"You're the most powerful seer in the pack..."

"Wait..." I glowered, hard. "You need me for the same abilities that I was persecuted for?"

He seemed ashamed as he nodded in confirmation.

"I will most certainly n—"

"La Reina has surfaced."

I shook my head, dispelling his comment. "La Reina is a myth."

"Non," his gaze cold as he spoke of her. "She is very real. Shortly after you... departed, she took hold of the coven, and has been snatching up all our seers."

"For what end?" I asked, a morbid curiosity coming over me.

"We don't know." He looked down towards the grass, a sadness coming over him. "They always come back... less than."

I waited for him to elaborate, a feeling of dread consuming me.

"They... they take their lives, Des. And their eyes." He looked at me then, a stern expression in place.

"And what am I supposed to do about that, Hunter?" He didn't answer me for a long moment. "Exactly! I can do nothing for those poor Rougarou that you have lost."

"But you can help us." He was persistent. I used to like that about him, but not anymore. "As I've said, you're the most powerful seer in the pack. You can identify the witches for us."

I shook my head, pacing as I did. "I will not help you slaughter them."

"They're the enemy, Des."

"They are your enemy, Hunter! They were never mine."

He folded his arms around his chest, defensively. "Ah. I see! You speak like this because of L—"

"Do not speak her name! You have no right to speak her name after what you have done to her!"

He became quiet then, regret glowing a bright green in his aura. "You know I didn't mean to."

"And yet you did." I tried hard to let the multitude of atrocities Hunter has committed pass by me, but it proved to be difficult. "And now... now you want me to help the pack identify witches?" I shook my head. "Non. I will not."

He let go of a deep breath before saying, "There's been chatter. Talk that La Reina is looking for you. How she knows about you though, I can't say."

A panic rose within me, but I did my best to push it back down. Even if La Reina was a 'myth,' the thought of a being so powerful looking for me was petrifying. "So, you lead them directly to me!?"

"I assure you, Des, no one knows where you are."

"How do you know, Hunter? How do you know they did not track you?"

"Because no one knows I've left except the pack leaders. And I'm under explicit orders not to return until I'm able to bring you back."

"You will return without me, and you tell my parents to bite me." I snarled.

"I won't." He challenged.

I stepped toe-to-toe with Hunter then. I left little room for anything but my deadly tone. "You will return. And if I see you around here anytime soon, you will feel my fangs."

Hunter kept his gaze on mine. He tried to hide his amusement, but he could hide nothing from me. "I think I might enjoy that." He took several steps away before he spoke one last time. "La Reina, the witches, they will come for you. If I found you, it's only a matter of time until they do."

"I will deal with it then."

Hunter wore a look of displeasure but did not fight me any longer as he turned his back and walked away.