The Waking (The Upturned Hourglass) (26 page)

Jack ended quietly, finally meeting Valie’s gaze. The girl’s eyes were saucers, her body frozen. It was the first time Jack felt like she might truly understand the implications of her existence.

“So, if I’m one of those half-bloods,” she whispered in a strained voice. “I could turn into a monster at any moment?”

Jack responded with a quick denial. “No! No. It could only happen if you were bitten.”

“And only by one of the Fated,” Noah clarified.

“Right.
You guys can’t, like, infect me,” Valie whispered.

Shane rolled her eyes and made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat.  “It’s not a
disease
,” she snapped, obviously offended.

Jack glared at the she-
wolf, appreciating any effort Valie was willing to offer in trying to understand her dangerous circumstance.

“That’s right,” Jack reassured the frightened girl. His eyes were less remote now as they gazed into Valie’s worried face. “But that is why Isaac wants you out of the way. Ever since Leian and the Abomination, anyone who produces children with a human is summarily executed—as is the offspring.”

Valie gulped spasmodically. “That’s why you think Isaac wants to…kill me.”

Jack nodded, but it was Shane who spoke. “We don’t
think
, we know, and now you know, too.”

Valie felt the fear, the exhaustion, and the ebbing of adrenaline, draining her of any strength, which had been keeping her in this room. She wanted to cry. Man did she want to cry.

In a daze, she looked around her. The Lycans were respectfully quiet, waiting. This wasn’t just her problem. These three were obviously sticking their necks out for her. Why they were doing such a thing—she still did not understand. There were so many questions in her head, but she couldn’t think clearly anymore. She didn’t know how to help herself. She had absolutely no control.

“Isaac . . . well, if its any consolation, we honestly believe he loved your mother,” Jack offered unexpectedly.  His voice had grown gentle and soothing. Valie refused to hear it and shook her head in a silent protest. She was trying her best not to burst into tears and he was going to try to now comfort her? The girl who was practically on death row?

Noah read the situation and added quietly, “But he loves his own life more. Even though he might have tried to shield you, the fact remains that he failed. And now he will do what is necessary to protect his own life.”

Addressing Noah, resignation in her voice, Valie asked hopelessly, “There’s no way around this is there?”

The three simultaneously shook their heads and helplessly they watched as Valie began to break down. Noah placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She turned to the boy with wide, tearful eyes.

“We’re here for you, Valie.”

That was it,
Valie thought.
The bottom line
. This was what Jack had been trying to
pound
into her brain, but it was really very simple. She couldn’t rely on herself anymore. She had to rely on these . . .
wolves
. 

Noah squeezed her shoulder and Valie, responding with a smile, nodded her head at each of the three. Noah had an engaging half-smile lighting his freckled face. He looked so young. Jack was eyeing Valie still, making her look away quickly. Shane was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the wall, resentfulness emanating from her body language.

Now, Valie understood.

Suddenly, she wondered about these kids—at some point in their lives, ordinary people who had been forced into a way of life not of their choosing. And now they were in such a horrible mess. . . .  How
had
they ended up as lone wolves, separate from any home or any family they had ever known?

Isaac.

Isaac, Valie’s own father, had changed them into what they were. He altered people, destroyed them. Now he was changing her.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” Jack said. His voice was back to that smooth-as-velvet, perfect timbre. “But there isn’t much that can be done at this very moment. We’re safe for now. Isaac will have to adjust his plans to account for our helping you. He’s fond of biding his time—and making a surprise appearance.”

Valie just nodded absently. “What do we do next?” she asked.

“Next,” Shane interjected, taking a few steps into the room. “We get some food in you. When was the last time you ate?”

Valie tried to think. She couldn’t remember having eaten anything at all on the day she fell in the lake—which meant it had been nearly two whole days. She admitted as much, and Shane groaned.

“You are going to have to learn to eat when you can. You don’t always get three standard meals a day when you’re running for your life, okay?”

Valie tried not to think about how much personal experience Shane may or may not have had running for her life.

“Okay,” Valie murmured meekly. Shane was certainly a fearsome creature for her to contest, even in her human form.

The blonde beauty motioned for Valie to get up and follow her.  Noah hopped up from the couch before she could manage to get on her feet.

“Cool. Breakfast…or lunch, I guess.” He trotted into the kitchen after Shane. 

Jack rose from his seat as Valie did and began to lead the way into the kitchen. Unwillingly, she found her eyes quickly roving over his shirtless body. He was muscular, but with the physique of a swimmer—long, lean, smooth muscles rippling across his back. Interestingly, he had an intricate, black tattoo weaving around his left shoulder. It was a mesmerizing addition to an already shockingly sensual body.

Jack looked back and tilted his head in the direction of the kitchen, motioning for her to follow him. When he turned away, Valie followed to be with her friends, her guardians,
her family.

NO CHOICE

Shane was flying busily about the kitchen, throwing pans on the stove and bowls on the counter with heavy
clangs.
Noah was nowhere to be seen, having mysteriously exited through the other door. 

“So,” Shane asked Valie without stopping. “Do you want something to eat now?” She glanced at the timid girl. “Or would you like to take a shower first. You don’t look so hot.”

Enviously, Valie didn’t think anyone looked hot compared to Shane in her polka dot underwear and long tee. Unconsciously, her hands went up to her own head of filthy hair; she knew she looked even worse than usual.

“Umm,” Valie murmured quietly. She bit her lip hesitantly, while her growling stomach decided the question. “I think I’ll eat first. What do you have?”

Shane opened the refrigerator door. Valie peeked inside only to be met with the gruesome sight of blood. The top shelf was totally filled with bags, plump with rich red blood—each neatly tagged with its type—
O-negative
. Her empty gut rebelled.

“Valie, it’s not ours, Jack insisted reassuringly, reaching toward her as she started to back away.

“There’s
blood
in your refrigerator!” she said in a high, tight voice. Her gag reflex kicked in; she was going to be sick.

Shane looked at her dismissively as she grabbed what she needed on the lower shelves of the refrigerator. “We’re werewolves, not Vampyres.”

“Then why do you have
blood
in your refrigerator?” she protested. She was starting to panic, her breathing quick and labored. 

Jack firmly took hold of her shoulders and held on, despite her efforts to disengage his hands. “Look. We are werewolves and we do not eat people or drink their blood. A friend of ours is a Vampyre and this is her house. The blood is from a hospital. It’s donated willingly, not taken.
Now. Please try to relax before you pass out again.” 

Valie kept her wild eyes fixed upon his face, but she was still hyperventilating. “Relax,” the boy ordered calmly. He took a deep breath himself. “Relax.” Her breathing began to slow down as Jack’s voice guided her.

“What’s up?”

Jack glanced toward Noah, who appeared in the doorway.  After a quick shower, the youngest Lycan looked clean, but was only half dressed in belted on jeans with one sock on his foot and one in his hand. Valie paid no attention, still entranced by Jack.

“Oh, nothing,” Shane replied to Noah’s question. “The half-blood’s just having a heart attack. Come and sit down.” She motioned toward the table on the near side of the kitchen. Most creatures in and out of the Occult would not have taken Shane for the mothering type, but apparently she was—at least to those she liked, which did not necessarily include “the half-blood.”

Noah shrugged and slid a chair out from the dining room table.

Valie continued to watch Jack’s solemn blue eyes, but she was now in control of herself.

“Vampyres?”

Jack looked at her rather bemused, finally allowing himself to relax once again. “What? You thought werewolves were the only things that crept around in the night?” he chuckled. He let go of her shoulders, his hands falling at his sides, but Valie still felt the ghost of a touch where his hands had been.

“I thought Vampyres and Lycanthropes were like mortal enemies or is that just a myth, too.”

Jack took a seat at the table and motioned for Valie to do the same. She did, although she shifted uncomfortably on the hard oak chair. Her entire body was still stiff from both her experience at the lake as well as her long sleep.

“Technically, we have a sort of long-standing cease-fire with them, but we are not necessarily at peace, even now. There was a war a long time ago, when Lycanthropes finally revolted against their Vampyric masters. Some Vampyres still view themselves as a master race. Other Vampyres, like our friend Max, choose to work to overcome the differences which have contributed to the discord between us.”

“Oh, we still find the occasional Vampyre bigot who believes Lycans
should
be subservient to them, but not
all
of them are that way anymore,” Shane interjected. Valie watched wistfully as the female Lycan whisked whatever was in her metal bowl. 

“The
occasional
Vampyre?” Jack broke in. “Try most, Shane. You and Maxine happen to be good friends, but Vampyres are not known for their tolerance of our kind, or of any other species, for that matter. We don’t trust them and they don’t trust us.”

Shane shrugged, pouting. “Okay,
some
Vampyres still hate our guts, but
definitely
not all.”

Valie was having a hard time following this discourse between the two. “Why? There has to be a reason why they would hate you—I
mean, us.” Valie frowned at herself. Would any of this ever seem real? The words just seemed wrong coming out of her mouth.

“Long ago, when both races were young, Lycanthropes found themselves enslaved by the Vampyres, who needed us as protectors during the daylight hours when they were most vulnerable to the humans hunting them down for obvious reasons. Protecting them was a laborious task for our kind, because we are naturally nocturnal as well.”

“Well that explains why I have trouble sleeping at night,” Valie muttered.

Jack smiled crookedly. “Yes. Night is as natural to us as the day is to humans. It’s preferable for us to be awake at night, but we can live in both worlds at will if we form the right habits.”

“Ah,” Valie said, blushing and looking away from Jack’s attentive eyes. He was so much harder to be around when he was in a good mood. “Sorry. You were saying? Lycans guarded Vampyres during the day . . . .”

“Right.
By playing upon our fears, the Vampyres tricked our people into breaking all ties with the world outside of their own. Little did we know that once we, too, were isolated, we were at their mercy—and they quickly took advantage of that position. After hundreds of years of enslavement, an uprising took place. The Lycanthropes overthrew their Vampyre overlords—sadly, with much bloodshed on both sides. There are still some who believe Vampyres are meant to rule over us, but we are strong believers in Fate, as I’ve mentioned to you before. We choose to think that it was Fate that led us into the Revolution, and Fate that safely saw our species through it.”