A Trail of Blood and Smoke

7 - A Lack of Subtlety

──●☾●──
M A R K U S
──●☾●──

As Caleb drives back to campus after a successful grocery trip, I catch myself staring at him from the backseat. Not in a creepy-stalker kind of way, though. More of an 'I can't actually believe you're here in front of me and not an apparition' kind of staring. It seems crazy to imagine that the old, worn photograph of him has manifested into an actual person. I mean, the only vampires I've ever known are Richard and Daniel, and here Caleb comes, out of nowhere, appearing in Fenbrooke like a ghost from a past no one mentions.

I have a load of questions for him, and judging by the way he keeps glancing at me in the rear view mirror, apprehension a spark in his eyes, he knows it, too.

Recalling the way he flinched at the mere mention of his brother, Daniel, I'm assuming there's a lot of bad blood (pun intended) between them. And if Adelyn has, as he mentioned, a therapy plan for him, what exactly happened between them? What drove him away in the first place?

I'm waiting for an opportunity to speak to him privately, to vow that I'm not going to run to the pack and announce his return. Not if he doesn't want me to. Besides, by the sound of it, he's only here because he knew his family wouldn't be. His appearance is supposed to be a secret.

I'm thankful he seems to have accepted my presence. He could have ran earlier, but he didn't. A good sign. A great sign.

As he drives back to our new home for the year, his eyes flicking up every so often and catching mine in the mirror, I think over his reactions back in the dorm and try to work out the puzzle of his sudden appearance.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Adelyn are caught up in their own world and they talk amongst themselves animatedly throughout the drive. If either of them notice the tension sparking between Caleb and me, they don't mention it. They seem to be getting along well enough. I like them. They're like a breath of fresh air.

I've never met a witch before, and she smells like vanilla and flowers and the woods, as well as something... fizzy. Magic, no doubt.

Chloe's lovely, too. She's sweet and joyful and even distracted Caleb so I could hide snacks in the cart, which means she and I are now officially partners-in-crime. I have to make a constant conscious effort to keep every supernatural element about myself under wraps. That means no glowing eyes, or mention of packs and wolves and whatever else. I'll get the hang of it, I'm certain. My wolf isn't too happy about the arrangement, but he accepts that I can't exactly reveal the fact I'm a werewolf to a human I've known for a few hours. I need to at least buy her dinner first.

At last, when we arrive back on campus and Caleb parks up, the girls dart out of the car and Caleb isn't far behind. By the time I join them, he has smoothly offered to take the bags, using that trademark charm all vampires seem to share and leaving Chloe looking a little shell-shocked as she's caught up in the fog.

Adelyn snaps her out of it with an animated conversation about how different her home is to this place and together they head inside. I grab the rest of the bags and follow with Caleb.

He's quiet until we reach our dorm, and then he breaks the silence gathering between us.

"I assume you have questions?" Caleb asks in an undertone as Adelyn and Chloe rush down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Maybe a few," I admit with a wry smile, closing the door behind me.

His own lips quirk a little and he taunts lightly, "You weren't very subtle, back there."

"I can be subtle. I can be so subtle," I insist. Caleb hums with a raised brow, not at all convinced, and I forge on, "I think you need to be a little more subtle, too."