And There Were Wolves

(d) eighteen

"You know her," said Eros, his eyes narrowing. Despite everything else, he was still a person I'd grown up with. He could tell from the expression on my face.

I had to be careful in answering his question. "Witches have a tight relationship. We know each other, and we take care of each other. Blair was an Easterner so of course, I know her."

Eros seemed to buy my reasoning as the frown lines on his forehead slowly smoothened out. "She must have known that I was coming. I did a stakeout in that club for ten hours straight and it's all for nothing. Fucking witch didn't show up." He shook his head, scratching the back of his head out of frustration. He moved to the sofa, no longer blocking my way, then sat there. His head was bent between his knees while both of his hands were resting on the back of his neck.

Even though I didn't entirely approve of his job, I was curious about Blair so I decided to approach him instead of seizing the chance to run away. "What did Blair Balfour do that warrants her death?" I sat next to him, there were only a few inches separating his thigh from mine. "You said she's a wicked witch, right? So what's her offense?"

He looked up and his blue-green eyes met mine. He was looking at me as if he was weighing his options on whether or not to tell me. "She killed other witches and warlocks. There are hundreds of them that she has killed. As I said, Xy, the world is a much better place without people like her."

"W-what?" I thought the fact that Eros was working as a trained killer would be the biggest surprise tonight. It seemed that I was mistaken. "Why?"

"What else?" Eros shrugged one shoulder. "To steal their power, to make her stronger."

This was too damn familiar. "Just like my mother?"

He blinked. "Your mother?"

"Yeah." I leaned my head back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. "Don't you remember what my dad said last time?"

"Is this—" Eros seemed hesitant at first. I glanced at him, lifting one eyebrow in question. "Please don't get offended. Is this common amongst witches? You know, stealing each other's power to make them stronger."

"No," I replied with a sigh. "I mean, it all comes down to each individual, you know. Some are greedier than others but you and I both know that this doesn't just happen to witches."

"I know." Eros bobbed his head. "Everyone has their own dark sides. The only difference is whether they will let it control them or not."

He was absolutely right. More than a few times, I had been tempted to suck people dry or to be exact, I'd been on the brink of sucking Adelina dry. Although thus far I'd managed to control my power, I feared that one day I wouldn't be able to do so. I was scared that the temptation would be far too great to resist.

Thinking about it alone made me sick. I desperately needed to put my mind on something else. "How long have you been doing this, Er?"

"More than a year, less than two."

I realized that he'd started a few months after I'd left. Somehow I could feel guilt start creeping in, reminding me that I was partly to blame for Eros taking this path. I shook those dark thoughts away. "Are you still with the Erebus?"

"Yes." A small smile lingered on his lips as his eyes turned kind. He looked ahead but I knew that his mind was elsewhere. "They're my family."

"Are they okay with, um, the path that you chose? Is your dad okay with this?" Eros's dad was the current Beta. After my dad had been kicked out of the Erebus, Eros's dad resumed his position.

The gentle kindness in his eyes was gone. His eyes turned icy cold. "Yes." He turned to face me. "What I'm doing now is like an everyday job in the Erebus. We're a pack of mafia werewolves. I'd told you before. So many horrible things happened."