Poisoned Rose

Chapter 19: Even in the dark, I'll find you

Chapter 17:

Fear rose so quickly it left me dizzy, almost numb. And how could I be so numb when surely I should be feeling a dozen emotions? The events around me should have fired up the strings of fear, panic, horror, shock and everything else related to that moment when death walks across your path, but I felt nothing. But if numb was a feeling that was what I felt.

Derek’s face contorted to apprehension as his eyes narrowed on my paled face. His hands shook my shoulders and tried to snap me out of my funk. My name fervently escaped Derek’s lips, but all I could do was frown at him because there was a mute button hovering on every sound that he made. My heart cringe, usually I was automatically tuned to his deeply bass voice that was laced with the zealous charms that could easy lure in any woman.

Ahead of us was where danger stood.

Derek leashed out a string of curses that would have any old woman’s ear bleeding because I was being unresponsive. I was never unresponsive. What was wrong with me?

“Are they going to kill us?” I half whisper and it’s barely audible to me. Next to me, Derek slumped in his seat on hearing me slowly resurface. His hand wiped his face and the sound of his bones cracking next to me makes me cringe. He’s losing control on his human self, becoming something more animal, more wolf-like. I didn’t want to look at him. I was scared too and that was ridiculous because for some reason I knew Derek would always protect me.

“I wouldn’t let them let that close to you for them to even try.” His breathing was getting heavier.

 “Come on, pretty boy!” yelled the Hunter in a beige trench coat that reached his ankles. He held something metal in one hand and a gun in the other in the front, his voice sharp as razors and guttural. The metal glinted under the white moonlight.

He had a thick, foreign-sounding accent – it sounded Russian. “Come out and play! I heard roll over is your favorite.”

Derek ignored them and grabbed my cheeks, his hands steady and strong. “Listen to me, Arianne. Stay in the car. I’ll deal with these s.hits. Don’t leave the car, do you understand me?” his forehead dropped to mine. “We’ll be home in a few minutes.”

“Derek—”

“No. You do as I say right now!” he said sternly, “Say you understand.”

Perhaps I shouldn’t have to fear those men standing in the middle of the road. It seemed that they should fear what Derek was capable of instead. But, then again there were three of them and only one of Derek, maybe more secretly hiding in the fields, who knew? The odds weren’t good. I had no idea what these hunters were capable, who they were, what their deal was. I wanted to be selfish because I didn’t want him to go and confront those men outside.  “Please don’t do this! Start the car and run them over—”

“I can’t. They could still come after us and I’m not about to walk away from a fight. It’s in my blood to protect and kill.” His eyes met mine for a second. “Don’t look, Arianne, don’t look. This might get messy.” And then he turned, letting out a resigned sigh, and opened the car door. Derek’s shoulders squared, and his swagger was full of confidence. That c.ocky smile, the one I’d wanted to smack off his face many times, appeared on his lips.

“Wow,” Derek said. “You guys sure know how to piss of a werewolf, but you’re messing with the wrong guy. Didn’t think that was possible. You look like you’ve been living under a rock if you didn’t know that. See the sun much?”

The one in the front, presumably their leader, snarled. “You have your arrogance now, like all werewolves. But where will your arrogance be when we kill you?”