"Sorry, Lahey, but I'm more of a cat person."
Vera Pérez is no stranger to the supernatural. Growing up alongside the Hale family has kept her fairly well-informed about the creatures that lurk in the darkness. However, she didn't become one of thos...
┌─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┐ chapter thirty-three! THE GRAVITY OF EMOTIONS └─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┘
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( illuminated, pt. iii — riddled, pt. i )
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
VERA WINCES AS her mother presses a damp washcloth to the brand behind her ear. Even though the shadowed figures had bestowed it on her about an hour ago, the skin is still tender and raw around the mark— a backward number five in the exact same spot Isaac's had been.
Mai frowns, her brows pushed together, but not in concentration. She's been frowning ever since Vera and Derek had walked through the door. Something is bothering her aside from the mark.
It could be that the town is still smothered in darkness, with only a few candles illuminating Vera's bedroom in a hazy orange glow. The flickering wicks cast dancing shadows along the walls and furniture. It could be an eerie sight, but the familiar cinnamon scent of her mother prevents it from being so. Instead, the room feels intimate and homey— a sensation that's usually absent when Mai is off on her business trips.
Vera hisses when the cloth rubs the injury a bit too harshly. Mai pulls back, her dark eyes still locked on the strange symbol. "That's because you didn't hold still."
"It hurts," Vera replies defensively.
"I know, mija. That's why I'm trying to help you."
Mai sets the cloth down and grabs a bottle of Hydrogen peroxide. Vera's stomach drops at the sight of the familiar brown container, every muscle stiffening in preparation for the burning pain.
"No," she pleads.
"It'll help. We have no idea what's in this — this thing."
Derek has been watching this process in silence from behind Mai, his arms folded across his chest and his signature frown pulling down his lips. The crease between his brows is almost identical to Mai's. When Vera shoots a pleading gaze at him and extends her hand, he waits a second before relenting with a sigh. He grasps her palm in his larger one as Mai dabs the burn with a cotton ball dipped in the peroxide. Thanks to him, she doesn't feel the usual fiery agony for longer than half a second, his veins turning black as he takes her pain with nothing more than a slight cringe.
Having a werewolf brother figure does come with its perks. She'd done this many times after falling off of her bike or tripping when playing in the Hale's yard with Cora. Back then, it had been Talia taking her pain, but the familiar touch of a Hale has been a constant in her life since birth.
"Where did you say you were again?" Mai questions skeptically.
