Of Watchers & Wolves- The Awakening
Page 15
Emiline gasped.
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
Sophie shrugged.
“I didn’t know you. I didn’t know if I could trust you. Listen, maybe work is your passion. Maybe, justice is what gets you fired up.”
Em didn’t like that Sophie had been keeping details from her, but she had a point and it wasn’t like she hadn’t been doing the exact same thing to Sophie.
She tried to think of something, to focus on a situation that would get her fired up.
“I can’t,” she said after trying for a couple of minutes.
“Get out,” Sophie mumbled as she turned her back and walked away.
“What?” said Em confused.
“Get out. You’re nothing but a worthless pile of hypocrisy.”
She turned back around to face Em.
“You’re no sign of justice.”
She stepped closer and pointed her finger at Em’s chest.
“You’re a killer. A murderer. You’re a plague, bringing death and destruction wherever you go. You don’t deserve to wear a badge. You’re just like your father...”
Sophie turned back around and began to stroll away. Em’s fists clenched. It was all true. She couldn’t argue with it. She didn’t deserve to wear the badge. She was a murderer, but being likened to her father sent her through the roof.
“A sorry, drunk, piece of…” Sophie turned her head back toward Emiline.
A white wolf stared back at her, it’s back hunched, teeth showing.
“Hmph, anger it is, then.” Sophie slowly turned to fully face her snarling guest. “Good. Now, that you have shifted, shift back,” Sophie explained, nonchalantly.
The wolf inched closer to Sophie. Sophie stepped back just as much. She casually knelt down and looked the wolf in the eye. It growled and dug its paws in the ground. It crept closer to Sophie. She searched its green eyes.
“There you are,” she smiled. She held out her hand, palm up. “Em, come back to me.”
The wolf growled louder, lips curled, teeth showing as it motioned toward Sophie. Sophie remained unaffected. She continued to hold out her palm as she knelt down. The wolf snapped at her fingers. She pulled her hand back as she gazed into the wolf’s eyes.
“My heart belongs to you, now.” She reached out her hand. It was mere inches from the wolf’s face. “If you want it.”
The wolf inched closer, teeth still showing. It lunged forward with its mouth. Sophie turned her head away and squeezed her eyes closed, bracing herself. The soft feel of hair ran through her fingers. She opened her eyes. Emiline knelt before her, her eyes apologetic.
“There you are,” Sophie whispered.
Emiline lunged forward, almost knocking Sophie backward from the force. She wrapped her arms around Sophie and nuzzled her chin in her shoulder. Sophie reciprocated the gesture.
“You mean it?”
Sophie pulled back and gazed at Emiline, her golden hair falling in her face. Sophie gently brushed it back with her finger.
“Of course.”
Emiline searched her eyes for truth.
“Even after all I’ve done?”
“Yes. We’ve all done things we can’t take back,” Sophie said with a smile. “I can’t hold it against you.”
Emiline hugged her, again, squeezing her tight in her arms. Sophie cradled Em’s head in her hand.
Em was learning how to control her shifts. She felt like she was finally regaining some control over her life and it felt empowering.
The two spent the next several hours wrapped in each other’s arms, relishing the feel of their touch, their smell, their taste. Sophie could hear Em’s pulse beating fast and hard. It drove her crazy. She terribly wanted to taste her, to know her...on a level that no one else ever had. Every memory, every want and desire, hers alone to savor in each delicious drop of blood. The sound pounded in her ears, beckoning her...pleading to have a taste. Her white skin, soft and delicate, pulsed to the beat of her heart. She rolled her tongue along her teeth. Sophie desperately fought the urge to bite down. She couldn’t betray Emiline’s secrets. They belonged to her and were hers to give. She wouldn’t take them without permission.
Emiline struggled with her own battle. Since she had awakened, her sense of smell and touch were supremely heightened. The aroma of her partner drugged her senses in a dazed splendor. Everything about her smelled delectable and tasted even better. Sophie’s delicate touch sent a rush down her thighs. The touch of her arm alone was enough to send shudders down her spine. She struggled to maintain some sense of authority over her body, but it was a battle she was desperately losing.
Sophie sat up on the couch, trying to regain control of herself.
“I’ll be right back,” she said with an embarrassed grin as she got up and headed down the hallway.
Em laid on the couch trying to regain composure, as well.
Then, she heard the elevator doors open. Her body tensed up as she listened. Footsteps motioned closer...heels.
“Well, well... Do you taste as delightful as you sound?”
The steps moved closer. Em sat up with alarm and looked toward the sound of her voice.
Luce waltzed over and propped her elbows up on the backside of the couch as she offered a devilish smile to Emiline. Em sat wide eyed, unsure of what to do.
Sophie came into the living room with a bottle of wine in tow. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Luce leaning over Em like she was some helpless prey. Em glanced over at Sophie, hoping for an explanation for her friend’s unannounced visit. Unfortunately, Sophie had none.
“Good job, babe,” Luce said as she strolled over and kissed Sophie on the cheek.
Sophie stood frozen.
“I knew you’d nab her,” she said as she looked her prize up and down with a mischievous grin.
Emiline just stared at them both, her mouth agape. What the hell was going on?
“Take her,” Luce directed.
Sam walked into the room and grabbed Em by the arms. Sophie’s face revealed betrayal as she watched her own right hand man take Emiline out of the room. Luce stepped in front of Sophie and placed her hand on Sophie’s arm as she smiled.
“I knew I could count on you.” She started for the elevator. “Oh and...uh…”
She walked back over to Sophie and leaned into her ear.
“I could see why you kept her around. I bet she tastes amaaaaazing,” she said with a grin.
Sophie was floored. Luce was excellent at reading people and knew exactly how to push Sophie’s buttons. The look on her face when she walked in said it all. Emiline was hers and she had no intention of giving her up. From how Luce saw it, Sophie’s desires had gotten the better of her. This was typical Sophie fashion, apathetically grinding through life for awhile then finding something that tickled her fancy for a bit, only to fade away with time and return to grinding, again.
This was pretty much the same for everyone. Life was for the most part a dreary wasteland sprinkled with fleeting sparks of delight. In no time Sophie would be back to grinding away.
Luce strutted into the elevator. Sam held the doors open with his foot as he gripped Em’s arm in one hand and a gun in the other pointed directly at Em’s temple. Sophie stood helpless. There was no way she could disarm him fast enough, especially with how little she fed these days. She could kick herself right now. She knew it wasn’t a good idea for Em to stay in town, but she let her stay, anyway, because of her own self interest.
Luce gave a naughty smile and a wave as the doors closed.
Sophie ran over to a glass door that led out onto the balcony. She opened the door and hopped over the balcony railing. Her head rushed forward as she turned into a nosedive, her body straight and wings tucked back. She felt herself gain speed as she plummeted towards the concrete, turning her body up just before impact. She hit the ground hard, one knee on the ground busting the sidewalk below her. She didn’t have time to slow up. Timing was crucial. She rushed
inside the front of her building and stood in front of the elevator just before the doors began to open. To her dismay, a gun was pointed right at her head as it opened, Luce smiling behind the trigger. She was always one for proper planning. She learned that lesson a long time ago, and unfortunately, Luce knew Sophie all too well. Figuring out her next move was child’s play.
“Tsk, tsk,” said Luce. “Have we grown fond of our little pet? Playing with our food? My dear friend, how unbecoming of you.”
She motioned with her pistol for Sophie to move aside. Sophie glanced over at Emiline. Sam still held a gun to her head. He looked a little disgusted. Sophie wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was the situation, that he was caught in between them two, when he had always been loyal to them both, to the Watchers which they both led. However, Sophie betted it was more plausible that it was his displeasure of touching the unclean, the genetically engineered bloodline of a jealous and murderous man, a man which Sophie’s faction had defended from such extreme punishment. Though, it didn’t matter. It happened anyway. They’re faction lost that fight and were left behind on Earth for their disloyalty, a fact which still spurred great resentment among many Watchers.
Sophie cautiously stepped aside. She saw no other options. They exited the elevator and headed out the front door.
“Toodles,” Luce said merrily as she waved bye, gun in hand. Sophie watched, unsettled, as the three entered the backseat of a black car that pulled up to the curb. Her stomach churned.
The car drove off as Sophie considered their destination. She already knew their intent. Murder of a Watcher was a punishable offense, one that the Sons never got away with. Emiline had killed two. Such a high profile execution should take a couple of days to arrange. After all, what was the point of an execution without an audience?
The way Sophie saw it, she had two options: do nothing and Emiline would die, or find a way to get her back. The latter would permanently alter her relationship with Luce and her status within her own clan. Luce had been her best friend for centuries. They led the clan together, fought together, laughed together, and everything in between. Usually, they agreed on the direction to lead their people, but on this, Luce was firm. The status quo would be maintained, which for her also meant maintaining order against an incessantly rebellious and savage race.
But, Sophie’s heart wrenched at the thought of losing her Emiline. From the moment she first saw her walk into her bar her heart melted. Em thought she was playing sly detective, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. Sophie found the whole ordeal cute and endearing, a beautiful creature searching for truth and justice in a chaotic world, swimming against the current of carnage. In a way they weren’t much different. Sophie had done much the same for the Watchers, creating rules and structure and enforcing them when necessary. But, for her, it had evolved into an absurd circle, constantly pushing against chaos which never failed to push back. Doing it for so long had left her jaded. She failed to see the point, anymore.
Emiline still had that fire in her. It was something that Sophie greatly admired: a sense of purpose. Emiline had it, so did Luce. But, now their roles crossed paths and Sophie would have to decide what role she would play.
The former option would mean losing the one thing that brought light in her life and joy in her heart. Before Em she felt hollow. Her life had been on autopilot, going through the motions of mind-numbing daily tasks which ultimately fulfilled no greater good, offered no real value. Life was a zombie walk. Just do what you have to to keep living, but in no way did that mean thriving. For Sophie the choice was easy, she wanted to thrive. She yearned to feel the way she did when she was with Em. She needed purpose and Em was it.
Accomplishing that task was another story. Saving Em would mean abandoning her own and losing her family. It would also mean doing a deal with the enemy.
Screw it.There’s no going back from this.
Chapter 10
“Take her down to the basement,” Luce ordered as they arrived at one of Luce’s many strip clubs.
Emiline could tell it was a club by the music but couldn’t tell which one. They blindfolded her on the way over.
Why is it always in some dungeon or castle?
To her the basement felt basically the same: stale, cold, and bare. She thought of that damn toad: “Sorry, the princess is in another castle.”
Why didn’t you say that before I came busting the place up with fireballs?
She wondered how long it would take Sophie to figure out where she was, but then a different thought popped in her head. Maybe, this was exactly what she wanted. Maybe, it was all a ruse and she the foolish victim. How else would Luce had known she was at Sophie’s? She felt like such an idiot. The timing was impeccable. Sophie had gotten up and left and then Luce just strolled in. She had to have known. Sophie must have told her she was there. But, then she remembered how Sophie had kept a constant eye on their surroundings when they went out, as if she knew it wasn’t safe. And, then there was the fact that she was there waiting at the bottom of the elevator, like she wasn’t letting them take her without a fight.
If she was in on it she wouldn’t have done that, right? Right?
She didn’t know what to believe. Why didn’t Sophie just take her down right there in her living room. There was no gun pointed at Em’s head, then. She had an opening...but she just...froze. Em sat on her knees on the cool concrete, bound and blindfolded. She pouted. Yeah...she was an idiot.
***
Sophie knew all that stuff Luce said was a front, a sick little game meant to break Sophie down into submission. She hadn’t actually helped bring Emiline to “justice”, she had been hiding her from it. She knew there was no way Luce was letting her close to Emiline while she was still alive. She would need someone else to do that.
Sophie stood in front of the door to the Sons’ mansion. The wind rustled through the trees. They swayed side to side, her hair dancing along in rhythmic fashion. The door creaked open revealing Cecelia’s angered expression. She cut straight to the chase.
“Where is she?”
Sophie took a deep breath.
“I need your help.”
***
Em heard someone walk up behind her. She was still bound and blindfolded, but she knew that smell. It was Sam. He helped her to her feet and guided her into a different area. They stopped and he let go of her arm.
“Wait here,” he said.
She heard the sound of metal clanging behind her.
“Hold out your hands.”
She stretched her arms out behind her, and felt the tearing of the fabric as he cut the rope from her arms. Her hands free, she took off her blindfold and looked around.
Great...another cell.
He held out a pink box of donuts .
“Want one?”
She looked at him for a moment. He gave a half smile that seemed genuine. She was starving and death was imminent anyway, so she figured what the hell. Poison donut or not, did it really matter? She reached her hand through the bars and grabbed one of the donuts. Her arm brushed against the bars as she pulled it back in. She immediately felt a burning, stinging sensation and almost dropped her snack.
“Ah,” she gasped from the pain.
“Careful. It’s silver.”
So, it was true. Werewolves and silver. She had never believed it, but then again, she never believed in werewolves...or vampires for that matter. The more she thought about it the more it kind of made sense. Her whole life she had never been able to wear silver. An ex had joked that she was allergic and she kind of believed it. It always left a red mark and irritated the hell out of her skin.
She looked around at the bars. They were all silver.
Guess I’m not getting out of this one.
She looked at her donut and took a bite.
“Thanks,” she said sullenly.
“She’s not half as bad as she seems,” he said. “I mean, sure she can be a total bitch, sometimes, but she has her reasons.”
“Sophie made a pretty good case for ya. Even had Luce reconsidering for awhile…”
He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.
“Until your partner…”
He stood up straight and grabbed the box off the table.
“It’s too bad. I liked your spunk,” he said.
He left the basement, donuts in tow. Em’s stomach growled as she watched her dinner walk away.
Now, she was alone...behind bars...again. But, this time it was the Watchers who were her captors. And this time, she didn’t feel like escaping. What was the point? She deserved it. She had hurt others and now it was her turn. She had run from it long enough. She was surprised about how okay she was with it. The fact that she had nothing left that she wanted probably helped. Nothing but Sophie. But, Sophie had just let her go. She must have been in cohorts with Luce. She had betrayed her trust and made her feel like a complete fool. Yes, death was better than feeling like an idiot. It’d kill two birds with one stone: justice achieved, and embarrassment subdued.
She doubted her conscience would ever be at peace, anyway. Not after Jack. Nope. Death and a donut. That was her life, now.
***
Sophie sat at a table before Ralph and Cecelia and explained the situation. She had an air about her that even Ralph couldn’t ignore. It cried out confidence, intelligence...power. Ralph would’ve killed for that kind of aura. It was the persona of a leader, the kind that earned respect and loyalty without demanding it. Ralph admired her for it, even if they were immortal enemies.
Cecelia, on the other hand, detested Sophie. She stood for everything she hated about the Watchers: repression, arrogance, false superiority. Hell, Sophie was a highly educated medical doctor and didn’t even use her skills to help people. People were dying and she just sat back and watched, selfishly hoarding valuable information and skills at the expense of others. Sure, that was the bargain that humans had pleaded for, a return to non-interference in human affairs, but how could anyone with a conscience do that? Just watch...people die? The whole idea of it disgusted her.