Supernatural Flaws

by Charlotte Summers

  I slowly eat mine, showing her how to do it. After a while, she sighs and tucks in. I make a mental note to get something cooked next time.

  I lay and lick my paws as Holly finishes her food, she whines at me and I huff before getting up and licking her muzzle. My eyes widen as I realise what I’m doing and I jump away from her.

  She huffs and wags her tail and I purr at her. I roll my eyes and we leap into a race.

  My head jerks up as I scent silver up ahead. Holly looks at me and I dart left. She follows me and I slow down slightly to avoid being caught. I hear a snapping of a twig and I lift my lips in a silent snarl, my black fur raises up to make me look five times bigger than I actually am.

  Holly huffs almost silently at me and I jerk my head at her. She jumps over a fallen log and she wiggles into its broken trunk.

  My ears twitch as the strain to catch another sign of danger. I lift my nose into the air and sniff for the silver but it’s gone. I frown before padding back to Holly who watches me with wide eyes.

  I turn with a growl as I tense. A vampire, Holly yelps as the blur moves faster than my eyes can catch. I close my eyes and use my other senses to catch the vampire.

  I jump and bite, the vampire hisses and I leap away just in time to miss his fangs that were about to go into my shoulder.

  I dodge the silver knife and run around the vampire, I know it will not work but I continue to run around him. Hoping it will make him dizzy so I can attack without fear of his fangs.

  “Give up wolf, it’s over. I could kill you in a heartbeat” I frown as I remember the voice of the vampire. I gasp when I look into his eyes. It’s Jax’s brother, Dan.

  I bark at Holly and dart away from him, he chuckles as we slowly back away.

  “I have a message for my brother, your his pack mate am I right?” Dan asks and I nod, sitting on my haunches.

  “Tell him that no matter how long he looks for me that he will never find me. What he did was betray and I hate him for it. I will not take part in this stupid war but I cannot side with Jax” Dan sighs, rubbing his eyes and I frown.

  “Maybe one day I can forgive him” Dan whispers so low that I’m sure he didn’t mean for us to hear it.

  I bark at him and he waves before disappearing, my head reels and I lay down. He is a vampire, why would he let us go? He is the one that got me caught in the first place. I groan and shake my head.

  Chapter Five

  Holly whines at me and I get up from the ground and pad over to her, she nods at me and walks towards a road. I bark at her and follow. We trot with wagging tails.

  Dark clouds gather and I sneeze as the scent of rain in the air. Holly waiting by a tree and I realise she wants to shift. I shake off the clothes on my back and unbundle them with my nose. I grab hers and place them by her paws before going to another tree and closing my eyes.

  The shift comes easily and I sigh as my fur disappears to be replaced with naked skin.

  I quickly pull on my clothes and hop out from behind my tree. Holly grins at me and I walk to her, I gently grab her hand and pull her towards the road. I strain my ears to hear for a car but I roll my eyes.

  We are in the middle of a wooded area, who is going to be driving down here? I think to myself as we step onto the road.

  “Maybe we should just follow this road, it’s got to lead to a town at some point” Holly suggest and I sigh.

  “Yeah, let’s do that” I reply and start walking.

  We walk for hours, the heavens open and I grumble about having to walk in the rain.

  Holly shivers and the wolf demands we do something to get her warm again. I mentally roll my eyes at the wolf. We are in the middle of nowhere, we cannot help her until we find somewhere.

  “What’s that” Holly points out after at least five hours of walking, my leg cramp up as I slow down.

  “Looks like a cafe” I mutter as I narrow my eyes.

  I grin as it comes into full view, Travelers stop is written in big letters and I sigh in relief.

  “Maybe they have a phone we can use,” I say and Holly nods.

  I nearly skip with joy as we duck through the door, warmth hits my face and I sigh.

  “What the hell happened to two you,” Someone says as we walk up to the bar.

  “We were on a hunting trip and got hopelessly lost. Do you have a phone I can use to get hold of my brother?” I ask.

  “Of course, I’m guessing you have no money so it'ss on the house. Don’t want you two dying on me, bad for business” The man smiles while showing me the phone. Holly sits down near me and the man brings out hot chocolate, my mouth waters at the smell.

  I watch Holly out of the corner of my eye while I type in Jax’s number, I hope to god that he still has the same phone.

  “Hello, who’s this” A growl sounds as he answers the phone.

  “Jax?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I told you no pack rubbish I’m busy” He growls and I roll my eyes.

  “I haven’t been gone that long man” I grin.

  “Jake? Wait how are you alive! Oh my god, where are you I’ll come get you” Jax rambles.

  “I’m fine man and I’m not actually sure where I am” I bite my lip, being able to hear his voice is something I’ve only dreamed about.

  The man holds his hand out for the phone and whispers about giving Jax my location.

  “Jax the owner is going to give you my location, I’ll tell you all about it when you get here,” I say into the phone before passing it to the man who tells Jax where we are.

  Once the man has finished he hands me the phone and I sigh.

  “I swear when I find the people who caught you I’ll kill every single one of them slowly” Jax snarls through the phone and I chuckle.

  “Calm down, I got away. Just be quick as I’m not sure how long we can stay here” I whisper into the phone, knowing Jax can hear me.

  “Be safe brother, we are coming” Jax mutters before the line goes dead.

  I sit down next to Holly and rest my arm around her shoulders. She leans into me and I purr.

  I grab a cup and sip the hot chocolate. I close my eyes with a sigh.

  “He’s coming?” Holly asks after a while.

  “Yeah, he’s pissed though” I reply.

  “I could hear” She giggles and I grin.

  “We are closing for the night, you are welcome to stay here and I’ll lock the door when your brother comes,” The owner says.

  “Thank you, we don’t mean to be any trouble” I reply.

  “It’s fine, get some sleep. You two look like you could fall over any second” The owner laughs before heading up the stairs.

  I sigh as the lights are turned down. My wolven eyes easily able to pick out the blacks, greys and whites of life.

  I look to Holly who has fallen asleep. I shake my head with a smile before gently sliding out from under her. She grunts but doesn’t wake up.

  I pace as I wait for Jax to arrive, two hours pass and I sigh as I look at the phone. I hope that he hasn’t been hurt while trying to get to us.

  Car tires squeal into the car park and I grin, Jax jumps out just as the van pulls to a stop.

  I rush over to Holly and instead of waking her I decide to carry her to the van.

  “It’s okay, Jax is here” I mutter as I pick her up, she huffs as reply and I grin.

  Jax opens the door and I see tears in his eyes. I shift Holly so she rests safely in my arms before nodding to him.

  “Is she hurt?” He asks as concern filters through his normally emotionless mask.

  “No, I didn’t want to wake her. We have had a right time and she needs to sleep” I shrug.

  Jax nods and opens the van door, I lay Holly on the seats before hopping in the passenger seat.

  “You come on your own?” I ask as my eyes narrow.

  “Yeah, I thought you would just want one person instead of a whole pack hounding you” Jax chuckles.

  “You got that right” I reply, my wolf
relaxes fully at being so close to my pack mate.

  Chapter Six

  Jax glances at me every so often as we drive back to the pack house. I shift in my seat and chuckle.

  “I’m not going anywhere” I mutter and Jax relaxes.

  “I’m sorry, I should have stopped them from taking you” Jax replies and I sigh.

  “There was nothing you could have done, stop beating yourself up” I smile, trying to make it look like it was nothing.

  “I guess” Jax mutters, his eyes focused on the road.

  “Who taught you to drive” I laugh, trying to change the subject so he doesn’t keep beating himself for the past.

  “Nat, she thought it would be better than me stealing cars and trying to drive away to find you” Jax rubs his neck and I shake my head at him.

  “How many did you wrack?” I ask.

  “Four” Jax replies and I bite my lip to keep the fit of giggles at bay.

  “Jake” I hear Holly panic and I whip around.

  “I’m here, don't worry” I smile at her and she nods before curling back up and falling asleep.

  “Is she what I think she is?” Jax chuckles and I growl at him.

  Jax laughs and shakes his head before pulling into a service station. He tilts his head before locking the doors and jumping out.

  I roll my eyes as I try the door and it doesn't open.

  “You don’t need to lock us in, I’m not going anywhere” I shout and Jax smiles sweetly at me.

  I lean back in my seat and wait for Jax to fill up the van. He disappears into the shop and my wolf starts to pace. My body tenses as I wait for him to get back.

  “Chill out” I mutter to myself.

  Jax waves as he walks out of the shop and I sigh in relief. He unlocks the door and jumps in.

  “I could sense your fear man, chill” Jax chuckles and I nod, being with other werewolves could be difficult with my emotions all over the place.

  “How long until we are home?” I ask as he pulls onto the main road.

  “About an hour” Jax shrugs and I sigh, a yawn escapes me and I close my eyes as the hum of the van lulls me into a dreamless sleep.

  “Jake wake up!” I hear Jax shout in my ear. I snarl as my eyes pop open, I scan the road and notice we have stopped.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, Holly groans as she wakes up and I scowl at Jax.

  “Vampires” He whispers and I shiver.

  I hear Holly whimper and I tense, Jax nods to me and I jump out of the van. I growl as I tell my senses to guide me, three vampires surround us.

  “Jake!” Jax shouts and I turn to him, he throws me a knife and I pluck it out of the air.

  “Bring it” I snarl, the wolf within tries to make me shift but I know that I will take too long and the vampires will be on us.

  A vampire blurs out at me and I snarl as I blindly jab the knife around. I see Jax shift into his monster form and I grin as he takes out one vampire without so much as flicking his arm.

  I grunt as a vampire slams into me, his fangs sink into my neck and I howl in pain. The venom of the bite works quickly and I feel my grip on the blade slacken. I growl and shove the knife into the heart of the vampire.

  The vampire falls back, clawing at his chest before collapsing to the ground. I use the van to make sure I don't fall before turning and making sure Holly is still inside the van.

  “You were bit” Jax rushes to my side as my vision blurs.

  “I’m fine, can we go home now?” I ask, frowning at how childish it sounds. Jax helps me into the passenger seat and I breathe deeply.

  “Nearly there” I hear Jax mutter after a while, I can feel my heart beat slowing form the venom and I cringe as the van slows down.

  Jax rushes out and cups his hands together, he howls low and I grin as others howl with him.

  “I missed this place” I pant.

  “Stay with me, you’re not leaving again” Jax growls as he picks me up like I weight nothing.

  “I’m trying man” I whisper but my tongue is heavy, I’m not even sure if he heard me.

  *********

  “Jake!” My eyes snap open and I growl, familiar scents meet my nose and I sigh in comfort.

  “Jax?” I mutter into the dimly lighted room.

  “I’m here buddy” He grins at me and I chuckle, not even a vampire can take me out.

  I slowly sit up and cringe as old aches become alive. I let my eyes adjust to the dim light, afraid for a second that this is a dream and I’m really back in a cage.

  I hold my arm around my body to give myself just a little bit of comfort. Jax frowns at me and I try to grin but it doesn’t reach my eyes.

  “I decided not to tell the others you are here” Jax sighs, he jumps up and starts pacing.

  “Thank you” I smile but my wolf snarls, he wants out of this place.

  “I need you to do me a favour?” I whisper as nerves shake through me and I gasp.

  “What’s wrong?” Jax stops pacing and turns to look at me, I cringe as he frowns at me. He already knows, he must do.

  “I’m leaving, I need you to keep Holly safe and away from me” I look at the ground and rub my neck as the wolf tries to force us to shift.

  “I’m not letting you go after I have just found you” Jax growls and my eyes snap up to meet his.

  “Please Jax, I need this” I sigh.

  “Only if you promise to let me come with you” Jax tilts his head and I frown.

  “What about Maddie and the pack?” I ask, my mind reeling at the thought of him leaving everything behind just for me.

  “She is an alpha, she can take care of the pack for a while” Jax shrugs.

  “No, I can’t ask you to do that” My hands ball into fists.

  “Tough, I’m coming whether you want me to or not” Jax chuckles and I roll my eyes.

  Chapter Seven

  “What are you going to tell them?” I ask as Jax packs a bag.

  “I’ll just say I found a lead that needs handling alone” Jax shrugs as he swings his bag onto his back.

  I nod and climb into the car, Jax grins as he jumps into the driver's seat. I shiver as the wolf tries to force me to shift.

  “Thanks, man” I mutter, Jax nods without saying anything. His silence tells me all I need to know, he is here for me and isn’t going anywhere.

  “I know where we can go for a while” Jax sighs after an hours silence.

  “Hit me with it” I grin, trying to feel like my old jokey self.

  “You don’t have to pretend with me” Jax replies and I frown while rubbing my neck, a new habit formed while being tortured.

  “It’s hard to trust when you go through something like that” I mutter before frowning. I remember how Jax was tied to a table and tortured in front of us. My wolf surges at the memories and I growl before throwing open the car door.

  Jax slams on the breaks as I jump out, the wolf forces me to shift at the side of the road and I whine as black alpha fur lined with silvery grey scars runs along my body.

  In a flash Jax is in wolf form by my side, I nudge him with my shoulder and he wags his tail. I can see the worry in his eyes.

  I shake myself to settle my fur before darting off into a grassy field. The dark night shields us from anyone watching.

  Jax howl meets my ears and the emotions I’ve been battling bubble up to the surface. I lift my muzzle into the air and let out a mournful and pain filled howl, Jax’s voice mingles with mine to create a hauntingly beautiful song which travels throughout the night.

  After my pain has lifted my howl changes to one of the new beginnings and to being free. Jax cuts his howl off and settles next to me as I pour out all the feelings and thoughts that have circled my mind for months. My thoughts turn to Holly and I let my howl become full of happiness.

  I howl long into the night, Jax sits patiently by my side. I forget about hunters, vampires and others who are trying to wipe us away.

  I huff slightly before standing,
my legs ache from being sat for so long but my heart feels lighter than it has done for years.

  We run in silence and I let myself just exist. Running with a packmate soothes my wolf.

  Once we get back to the van Jax shifts first and grabs me some clothes. I grab them in my mouth and shift away from him, I don’t need him seeing my scars.

  “You feeling better?” He asks quietly as I hop into the van.

  “Yeah, who knew a howl would do that” I chuckle, feeling more like my old self than the fearful instinct driven wolf who would have torn humans apart if they so much as looked at him wrong.

  “Let’s get to the house” Jax mutters, his eyes tighten and I watch as we turn onto a motorway.

  “Is it far?” I ask, my wolf already feeling caged again. I roll my eyes slightly.

  “No, twenty minutes at the most” Jax mumbles, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

  With a sigh, I lean my head against the window. Jax hums to himself and I shiver as I think about Holly, she could be waking up right now and now knowing where I am.

  I curse myself for leaving the way I did. Jax tilts his head towards me and I look at him.

  “Don’t worry, Maddie told me Holly is fine. She is upset with you though” Jax chuckles.

  “I shouldn’t have left like that, I couldn’t get away from the wolf needing to run away. I’m a mess” I growl as I bury my head in my hands.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll have you back to your old self soon” Jax places a hand on my shoulder and I nod, not really believing him.

  Chapter Eight

  My mind swirls with darkness as Jax drives slowly through the curved roads of the countryside. I lean my head against the door again, wanting to sleep however the need to shift surges strongly through my veins. I frown, my wolf was never like this before I got caught. I wonder to myself about what happened to trigger my wolf to become so violent.

  “We are here,” Jax says quietly as if guessing my mind to be somewhere else.