Scarred

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  I looked at him for a moment, uncertain that it should wait to be cleaned, before ultimately surrendering and heading out to my car. He followed a few steps behind me, locking the outside door behind us.

  “Upgraded the car, I see,” he said, walking over to the TT.

  “Yeah…I had a little incident. I totaled the old one.”

  “Looks like you survived that little incident unscathed,” he said, eying me intently.

  “Yeah,” I replied, squirming under his scrutiny, “seems I have my moments of indestructibility.”

  “Lucky girl.”

  “If you want to look at it that way.”

  “I'll see you around, blue eyes,” he said, walking to his car. “Sooner than later, I think.”

  “I hope so,” I said, opening the driver's side door. “Say hi to your parents for me.”

  He gave a nod before climbing into his car, and was gone before I fired mine up, driving off in the opposite direction. Something ached in my chest as I watched his tail lights disappear.

  “He's not leaving for good,” I said out loud to calm myself before putting my car in gear and heading out. I was in for what promised to be an interesting night at Sean's. Matty's return had made it pretty eventful already, so whatever details Sean was about to throw my way would only add to the colorfulness. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for any more surprises.

  5

  Cooper texted me on my way home, asking me to pick him up at Peyta's. He had escorted her home after work since the Rev was on the loose, and was stranded at the house without a way back into town. As I pulled up the driveway, I gave Sean a quick buzz to let him know our little meeting was going to have to be postponed for a few minutes.

  “So it's cool that I'm going to be a little late then?” I asked, closing the car door behind me. Given the evening hour, I didn't want to honk the horn to get Cooper's attention, and I wasn't sure it would be effective anyway. Those two would be thoroughly involved in some sort of shenanigans and not paying enough attention to notice. I questioned how reliable Cooper actually was as a bodyguard.

  “Yeah, it can wait a few more minutes, but you can't blow this off, Ruby. I need to update you on what the cops found out. Even more so what they didn't. We may need to exploit that relationship you have with the detective.”

  “You mean Alan?” I asked, referring to him by name intentionally. Sean seemed to have an aversion to addressing him correctly. He had issues with authority.

  “Yes. Him.”

  “Fine, we'll discuss it when I get there,” I told him, walking up onto the porch. “I'll see you in—”

  The crippling shot of pain through my head felt like it severed my cerebral hemispheres. A psychic lobotomy of sorts.

  “Fuck,” I ground out, wincing as I collapsed to the wooden surface beneath me. I heard Sean's yelling fading in the background as the Rev took over.

  He stood sheltered by the overgrowth of trees and shrubs surrounding the property. The lights from inside the house illuminated the yard in a patchwork pattern of golden light and shadowy dark. He moved slowly, weaving through the black patches until he reached the front of the home where his love lay silent and motionless. His tentative approach became more frenzied and less calculated after he saw her, daring to go into the light to reach her.

  Crouching alongside the raised entrance, he sniffed the air, eyes wild.

  “So close now...”

  He needed to collect his possession, reaching under the railing to touch her white-blond curls. Before he could round the stairs and grab her, the door opened...

  “Ruby!” Cooper yelled, leaping over me to put himself in harm’s way. It was necessary for only a brief moment. Scarlet was enthusiastic about coming out to play.

  The Rev had made it to the tree line before Scarlet got to her feet. The boys had Ronnie restrained in the house, but somehow Peyta broke away from Jay and bolted outside towards Cooper and Scarlet.

  “Stop her,” Scarlet growled to Jay, turning her blood-red eyes on Peyta. Those stopped her cold.

  Peyta knew who Scarlet was, but never had the pleasure of meeting her. It was hard to fully prepare someone for a transformation like that, even though the physical differences were few. I really was the same outer shell with a very different occupant.

  “Cooper...,” Scarlet prompted.

  “Right there with you,” he replied as they made their way off the steps.

  “I only want the girl,” the Rev yelled across the yard. “And my Love, of course...”

  “And sadly,” Scarlet purred, “you will be getting us instead.” She was snubbing him intentionally, and it evoked a rage in him that left her satisfied to the core. “We have unfinished business, you and I.”

  “We do, don't we? Perhaps we could go somewhere a little more private. I want to make you an offer. You still haven't chosen yet. I'm wondering if I can sweeten the deal.”

  Scarlet nodded for Cooper to fan out across the yard and flank him around the far side, leaving the Rev with only the small wooded area behind him to escape into.

  “I'm not interested in your offer,” Scarlet said menacingly. “Only your death excites me.”

  “And that's what I love about you. You're cold and vicious. Imagine what we could do together. Join me,” he said, reaching his hand towards her. “Nothing could stop us. No rules, no limitations. Just us.”

  “No, Ruby! He'll kill you like he killed my dad!” Peyta screamed from just inside the house where Jay had managed to corral her. I was quickly reminded of how convenient it was that Ronnie's house was set relatively far away from her neighbors. “Don't do it!”

  The Rev looked towards the house with a raised eyebrow and growing smile. “Is that what you told her, Veronica?” he yelled at the house. “That I'm the monster that killed her daddy?”

  Ronnie's silence spoke volumes—and in that silence, things started to make sense. The reason Peyta hadn't been asking questions about the Rev was clear. She didn't need to. They'd already been answered, the truth notwithstanding. The Rev was after her mother because she witnessed her father's murder. The tiny detail of him actually being her father had been left out, but not for long.

  “Peyta, dear. Look at me,” he called to the house.

  I heard Jay whispering something to her, trying to talk sense to her—calm her down. She was as willful as her mother, and was hell-bent on staring down her father's murderer.

  “Let her see him, Jay,” Scarlet ordered, inching ever closer towards the Rev. “She'll figure it out eventually.”

  Peyta stepped out onto the porch, well guarded by three of the PC boys. The Rev stepped forward just enough so that the light fell delicately onto his face.

  The recognition was almost instant. There were no pictures of Keith anywhere in Ronnie's house, but Peyta didn't need them to identify him. As much as she was her mother's daughter in personality and spirit, her looks were clearly influenced by her father.

  “Dad?” she whispered, turning as pale as the moon above. Tears rolled down her face.

  “Come to me, Peyta. Come give your father a hug. It's been far too long.”

  Disturbingly, she looked torn. It was plain that some part of her desperately wanted him to be her father. The father she'd never known, and grown up without. But Peyta was not a child, nor was she a fool.

  “You tried to kill my mother,” she said, regaining her voice. “I know what you are...what you've done.”

  “She took you from me,” he protested.

  “All those women,” she said, her face masking her emotions that were plain in her voice. “You killed them, tortured them, and for what? Practice? Practice for what you'd do to Mom when you finally got the chance?”

  “I searched for you, not her,” he snarled, nostrils flaring.

  “Yet when you found us, the first thing you did was try to kill her,” she cried, pushing forward against the arm that restrained her. “You're a liar and a murderer.”

  “She's the liar
!” he yelled, pointing to where Ronnie had come to stand in the doorway. “She's fed you lies your whole life.”

  “And you would try to do the same now,” Peyta countered. “You'll never have me. I'll never choose you.”

  “Nor will I,” Scarlet added, looking over at Cooper, who, out of Peyta's line of sight, had Changed. “I think we should get this over with, no? We could even be civilized about it, though I do love a chase. Pick your poison, Rev. Any way you slice it, tonight you die.”

  Cooper stalked towards him growling, saliva dripping off his jowls. His yellow eyes glowed bright in the darkness, framed by glorious golden fur that faded to white ends. I'd never seen his wolf before. He was breathtaking.

  “This isn't over,” the Rev proclaimed, composing himself. “Failure is never an option.”

  With that, he jetted into the shrubs in the blink of an eye. Cooper was on him in a flash, and before I knew what hit me, I was flying through the air, landing on all fours in hot pursuit. Scarlet had let her wolf out as well.

  The Rev ran towards the vast new development that was being built a half-mile off the back of Ronnie's property. With none of the construction finished yet, there wasn't anyone actually living there, which made me extremely thankful. Scarlet could take him down before he got the chance to hurt anyone else.

  She gained on them both, watching Cooper as he prepared to pounce on his prey. He pushed off his massive hindquarters, flying high into the air above the Rev. As Cooper's wolf came down, a glimmer of metal flashed out of the Rev's pocket before being buried deep into the soft underbelly of his attacker. A painful howl broke through the air as Cooper crashed to the ground, unable to stand. Before the Rev could finish him off, he was forced backward in retreat as Scarlet barreled toward him, coming to stand over Cooper's wounded body. She straddled him elegantly, head lowered, ears back. A low rumble escaped from deep within her chest. The Rev had played his hand well, as always, creating the leverage he needed to escape. He smiled manically before disappearing quickly into the night.

  Still growling, Scarlet turned her attention back to Cooper, who lay nearly motionless at her feet. She nudged him over and over with her muzzle, trying to encourage him to stand, but his labored breathing seemed to be taking up all the energy he could spare. Blood poured out of his wound at an alarming rate. She bayed a mournful cry as she increased her attempts to rouse him.

  She was unsuccessful.

  The crunching of rock under feet snapped her attention back to her surroundings, and she poised herself for a fight, welcoming the opportunity. Anger coursed through her like a raging river crashing into a dam. She wanted to let it out.

  Sean slowly rounded the corner of the building that had sheltered them from sight. Protecting Cooper, she snarled at him, accenting it with a gnash of her teeth.

  “I need to take him,” Sean said, hands held wide, palms forward. “He needs Peyta. Now.”

  She snapped at him again, lurching forwards.

  “Scarlet,” he warned, eyes darkening. She took a small step in retreat and lowered herself down beside Cooper, taking slow deep breaths. It was an incredibly human action.

  In less than a minute, she lay naked and very human in the dirt alongside Cooper, who, due to a loss of blood, had morphed to his former self as well. She took him in her arms, cradling him against her chest, and sprang up gracefully in a sprint for the house. Sean followed at a slight distance behind her, not wanting to spook her too much. With the house in sight, she alerted everyone to her arrival.

  “Peyta,” she hollered, rushing the front porch. Busting through the front door without even attempting to open it, she landed in the living room full of PC brothers, Ronnie, and Peyta. “Fix him,” she ordered, laying Cooper down gently. She pulled a blanket off of the couch to delicately cover him.

  Peyta stared down at the body, teary eyed and unable to move.

  “FIX HIM!” Scarlet shouted, grabbing Peyta by the arm and throwing her down beside Cooper. Jay put himself between the two women, standing toe to toe with a blood-covered Scarlet. Before she could remove him, Sean grabbed her from behind in a choke-hold and hauled her away.

  “Do it, Peyta,” Sean ordered. “I know you can. Do what you did the last time. It's no different. Forget that it's Cooper.”

  “But...I...I...,” she sniffled, running her hand along the side of his face.

  “You have to, Peyta, or he'll die,” Sean said, heading upstairs with Scarlet in tow. “You must.”

  She said nothing else in response. Once again, Peyta was faced with the morbid task of trying to heal someone she loved dearly, fully understanding the fatal consequences of failure. That understanding weighed on her heavily. I felt her fear as she disappeared from sight.

  I prayed she would be able to do it―to save Cooper. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him any more than she could. Her calling was proving to be a burden of sorts with a heavy toll to pay. Though my concern in that moment was all for Cooper, I couldn't help but feel an unnerving sensation from Peyta. A dark and ominous energy warned of a loss of control―an instability. It made me wonder if Sophie herself hadn't started off as a bright-eyed and happy girl, who slowly had that light drained from her with every pair of dying eyes she looked into. I shuddered at the thought.

  While Peyta was hopefully working her magic downstairs, Sean dragged Scarlet into a bedroom and slammed the door before releasing her. They eyed each other carefully from opposite sides of the room―Sean's release was more of a throw to put distance between them. He then grabbed a pair of oversized sweatpants and matching sweatshirt off of the floor and chucked them at her.

  “Move,” he barked, pointing out the door while keeping a keen eye on her. “You need to clean up.”

  “I'm fine,” she snapped at him, unmoving.

  “You're fine when I say you are,” he replied, staring her down. “Now move.”

  “Did you catch him?” she asked, begrudgingly making her way to the door. She growled at the mere thought of the Rev. He was going to pay dearly.

  “No,” Sean said, flexing his hands. “I heard the howling...” He punched the wall next to him and dust flew through the air. When he removed his fist, the hole exposed the wall stud he'd just obliterated in his efforts. “I thought...maybe it was...”

  “You thought it was me,” she finished for him.

  “Yes.”

  “He can't hurt me,” she informed him as she made her way to the bathroom, naked as a jaybird.

  “He's dangerous,” Sean warned, snatching her arm just as she entered the tiny space. “Don't ever forget that. There's a reason he's still alive after all these years.”

  “Yes,” she said bitterly, reaching in to turn on the shower. “Because you can't seem to focus long enough to catch him. Stop worrying about Ruby. I'll keep her safe.”

  He said nothing in response, only watched as she lithely climbed into the shower. The water sprayed wildly off her body, but she left the curtain open, making a show of herself. Sean's eyes bled to black. I had no idea if that meant he wanted to jump her or kill her―it was a 50/50 at best.

  A knock on the door startled them both. Sean threw Scarlet a towel before opening the door just wide enough for Jay to pop his head in and say that Cooper was alive—in rough shape—but alive. It was going to take him a while to fully heal that night, but he would make it. I immediately pushed at Scarlet until she begrudgingly relented. I needed to see Cooper with my own eyes.

  Tossing on the borrowed clothes in record time, I moved quickly past Sean and toward the door, but he caught my arm. He wasn't finished yet.

  “Ruby―” he started, lightening his grip when he realized I was wincing under his grasp.

  “Not now,” I whispered, looking at the door. “Please, Sean...I need to see him.”

  He said nothing when he released me―he didn't have to. The emotional siege was intense but brief before he threw up a wall, blocking me off from the pain he felt. I couldn't bring myself to look back a
nd see the lack of emotion on his face.

  The boys had already brought him upstairs and placed him in the spare room that Jay had been using, leaving him to rest comfortably, sprawled out across the bed. without asking permission, I crawled into bed with him, wrapping myself around him tightly while trying my best to avoid the red-hot marking across his stomach.

  “Maybe we'll have matching scars after this,” I whispered to him, squeezing him lightly. I knew he was in his healing coma-like thing that all werewolves went into when they were injured, but I said it anyway. The intensity of the evening required a little humor to break it up, however inappropriate it may have been.

  Surprisingly, it took only a few minutes for him to return to consciousness. There was still something about my presence that sped his healing. I didn't know if it was something specific between him and me, or if it worked on all werewolves. All I did know was that it had to have been connected to my empathic abilities and I assumed that it was allowing me to force my will onto others. Theory or not, it worked, and I didn't care much about the why behind it. My will was to have Cooper safe and healthy ASAP.

  “Hey, you,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “Did Scarlet get him?”

  “No, Coop...he got away,” I replied, burying my head in his chest. “You almost did too.”

  “That?” he asked sarcastically. “That was just a flesh wound.”

  “Right...and Hell is just warm.”

  “Something like that.”

  I pushed up onto my elbow to look down on him. His words were in jest, but his face was serious. He knew how badly he had been injured.

  “You scared me,” I said, brushing a stray hair off his face. “I think you scared Scarlet too. She wouldn't let anyone near you. Not even Sean.”

  “That's because she's a good judge of character,” he said, knowing Sean would hear him wherever he was in the house. “Are we going home or what?” he asked, pushing up gingerly from the bed. He was willing to show his vulnerability to me, but I knew that as soon as we were around the others, he'd hide whatever pain he was in. He was such a guy.