Lost and Found

Lost and Found

Jasmine Collins squinted her eyes in an effort to see better through the rain that pelted her windshield. Suddenly, through all the black darkness, she saw a light come on. “Oh Claire look, a house.” She took her foot off the accelerator.
“You’re kidding right?” Claire pressed her ghostly face into the window.
Jasmine pulled to a stop in front of the almost dark house. One window was lit up though; like a beacon of hope. “Come on,. Let’s go see if we can use their phone.”
“No way. You’re crazy!” Claire looked at her friend as if she were insane.
“It’s the only house we’ve seen for miles.”
“Which is exactly why we shouldn’t go in.” Her pale green eyes widened to take up most of her equally pale face. “Back road, scary isolated house, stormy night. This will end badly.”
Jasmine rolled her gray eyes. “Claire, you’ve seen to many scary movies.”
“I’m not going in there, Jazz.” She pouted her full lips and crossed her arms over her ample chest.
Jasmine bit the inside of her cheek. She and Claire Mills had been inseparable best friends since that fateful day of the third grade picnic. Cody Williams had asked Claire to be his girlfriend and when she refused him, he dumped his grape juice down the front of her white tee shirt. Jasmine had a flannel over her own tee shirt and peeled the tee shirt off so Claire could change. That had been it, they had been closer than sisters ever since.
Jasmine knew that the guys liked Claire’s blonde hair Barbie doll look better than her own dark hair tomboy look, but jasmine also knew that she had blossomed a lot this past year at college. A late bloomer, her mother had said.
“What do you suggest we do Claire?”
“We can just sleep in the car.”
“It’s storming.”
“We’ll be safe.” She squirmed in the passenger seat.
“The house will be safer.”
“I’m not going in there,” she repeated firmly.
“Fine.” Jasmine swallowed loudly. “I’ll go in and use the phone. You wait out here.”
Claire chewed nervously on her fingernail. “Ok, just hurry. If you see a man in there with no head, come right back out. Okay?”
“I can’t believe you felt the need to tell me that.”
Claire laughed softly. “Go, ,hurry up!”
Jasmine pushed her door open and stepped out into the pouring rain. “I’ll be right back,” she called to Claire.
“I’ll be here waiting,” she smiled wide.
With a final nod, Jasmine slammed the car door and made her way quickly to the front door of the house. No matter what she had just told Claire in the car, her heart was hammering in her chest as she knocked softly.
A flash of light lit up the sky momentarily, followed closely by a loud clap of thunder. She knocked again, harder this time. She looked back at the car but could barely even make out the outline through the heavy rain.
Biting hard on her bottom lip, Jasmine prepared to knock again but then she heard something. There were muffled voices coming from inside the house. Then she heard footsteps followed by a dragging sound. Click slide, click slide.
Jasmine felt a moment of indecision. She almost bolted back to the safety of the car, but she really didn’t want to have to spend the night out here. The door opened a tiny crack.
“Is someone there?” a frail voice asked.
“Hi.” jasmine tried to see inside the house but wasn’t able to make much out. “My name is Jasmine Collins. My friend and I are lost. If I could just use your phone…”
“Jasmine Collins you say?”
“Uh…yeah, and my friend Claire Mills. We’re lost,” she repeated softly. The door had already shut. She groaned loudly, the sound lost in the raging wind.
She thought about knocking again but then the door swung open wide. A tiny old lady stood there, hunched over a walker. “I bet you don’t recognize me dear,” she said in her cracked voice.
“Mrs. Graff?” Jasmine’s mouth fell open. “Didn’t I have you for a fourth grade teacher?” She was old then, now she was ancient.
She chuckled, her shoulders rising in amusement. “You have changed a lot too dear.”
“Do you have a phone Mrs. Graff?” Claire was waiting in the car, she couldn’t go on a trip down memory lane with a one hundred year old woman.
“Why yes I do,” her eyes crinkled in amusement.
“Can I use it?”
“It doesn’t work. Storm knocked it out.”
Jasmine’s shoulders fell. “Oh. Then can you just point us in the right direction back to town?”
“These roads tend to flood. Why don’t you and Claire just stay here tonight?”
“We couldn’t possibly…”
“Of course you could. We’re all old friends. Some of us older than others.” She laughed again.
“Maybe…maybe we could come in and wait out the storm.”
“That’s right dear. Go on and get Claire. You can just let yourselves in. you don’t have to bother with a knock.”
She turned to go but then turned back with a smile. “Thanks Mrs. Graff.”
~
The rain had increased in intensity as Jasmine jogged toward where she had left the car. She came to an abrupt stop, confusion wrinkling her brow. The car was gone.
She looked first to the left and then the right. Maybe the car was further down than she had thought. But the car, and Claire, was not on the road at all as far as she could see. She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Claire!” She screamed as loud as she could but the storm covered most of the sound. “Claire!”
Over the sounds of thunder and wind Jasmine heard a muffled cry. Panic threatened to take over, but she managed to stay calm. She just needed to find Claire and get inside Mrs. Graff’s house where it was dry and safe.
The lightening flashed and something caught her eye. It was the car! It was laying on its side in a ditch a few yards down. “Claire!” In her haste to get to Claire, jasmine fell to her knees on the road. Blood oozed from the tiny cuts on her knee. Her favorite jeans were tore through.
When she reached the car, her breath caught in her throat. The passenger door was ripped off and laying a few feet away. Blood was splattered on the ground and what she could see of the inside of the car. It was obvious that there had been an accident or some kind of struggle. Claire was no where to be found.
Jasmine’s mind whirled with the possibilities. Maybe the storm had knocked the car into the ditch and Claire had hurt herself trying to get out. If that were true, then where was she.
“Claire?”
“You might not want to be making such a racket out here. They may come back for you,” a deep voice said. It sounded like it was right beside her, but when she whirled around there was no one.
“Who…who’s there?”
“No one of consequence,” he spoke from the other side.
She turned quickly and once again saw no one. “Do you know where Claire is? Did you take her?”
“It was not I.”
This time his voice seemed to come from every direction. “But someone did?”
“Yes, and they’ll be back soon to get you.”
Jasmine’s heart fluttered in her chest. “What do they want?”
“Blood.”
The world seemed to stop spinning, leaving her suddenly dizzy. “Where did they take her?” she whispered.
“There is no hope for your friend. You need to go now before it is too late for you as well.”
“I can’t just leave her.”
“She wanted to stay in the car. It wasn’t your fault.”
Jasmine’s mouth felt horribly dry, making it hard to speak. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve been watching you.”
Her jaw clenched tight. “For how long?”
“Since you turned on Milsbrook.”
She blinked in surprise. They had turned on Milsbrook hours ago, before the storm even hit. “How is that even possible?”
There was a loud rustling in the leaves. “You must go now,” there was a new urgency in his voice, “they are coming.’
“Should I go to Mrs. Graff’s?”
“That won’t do.” Suddenly he was directly in front of her. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. Even in the midst of a storm and potential killers, his close cut brown curls stayed perfectly in place. His bright chocolate colored eyes were serious and focused right on her. “they will follow you and kill her,” he said in his deep voice.
“Oh.” She nodded stupidly, to awed by him to say anything else.
“We don’t have much time. May I?” He held his hands open and took a step closer.
Jasmine looked down at his hands warily. “May you what?’
“Do you want to live?” She soundlessly nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all. Then he was running, or maybe he was flying. They were moving so fast that jasmine couldn’t tell if they were running or flying. He held her tightly, but gently, against his chest so that she was barely jostled at all.
Unbelievably, jasmine fell asleep while a strange man carried her through a stormy forest.
When she opened her eyes again they weren’t moving anymore but he still had her in his arms. The storm was over. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.
“Where are we?” Sleep made her voice husky.
“I’ve brought you to my home and we are waiting for permission to enter.”
“You need permission to go into your own home?”
“Not I,” he shook his head. “You do.”
She followed his gaze to where three women were walking towards them. They looked like they had just stepped off a photo shoot for a sexy perfume. “Rembrant, a decision has been made,” they spoke in unison.
~
“Who’s Rembrant?” Jasmine whispered.
“I am.” He set her gently on her feet and held her steady until the world quit spinning.
“Who are they?”
“The wives of Dexter.”
“Who is Dexter and why does he have three wives?”
“You ask many questions young Jasmine,” Rembrant said quietly.
“That’s because I don’t know what the hell is going on,” she hissed back.
“It has been decided,” one of the women spoke in a beautiful whisper, “that if you will take responsibility for the human, you may keep her.”
As one, their lips upturned into a hint of a smile. Jasmine had to admit that Dexter was a lucky man. The three wives were all dark-haired, dark-eyed beauties.
“Human? Does she mean me?” Jasmine turned her pale gray eyes to her rescuer.
“You would be the human,” he replied darkly. “Come.” Without waiting to see if she would follow, he ducked under a low branch and through a wide, mostly brown, bush.
The bush ripped at jasmine’s skin. By the time she cleared it, her arms looked like they’d been attacked by feral cats. Rembrant stopped without warning and Jasmine barely stopped herself from running into him. She peered slowly around his shoulder.
Rembrandt’s “home” looked more like a refugee camp. Plain gray tents were set up haphazardly around a large fire pit. A frail looking woman with pale blond hair was stirring a large black cauldron over the fire. People stood very still all around them, staring directly at Jasmine.
“This is Jasmine Collins,” Rembrant announced. “Her friend was taken by the brothers.” Low murmurs broke out amongst the people.
“The brothers? What brothers? Where are they?” In her panic, she grabbed onto his arm.
He looked down at her hand with disdain. “You can wait in my tent.” his dark eyes pierced straight through her.
She was barely conscious of someone tugging on her arm. It was only after she was picked up by large, rough hands did she tear her eyes away from Rembrant. “I’ll deposit her at your place Remy,” a rough voice murmured.
“Put me down,” she squealed.
Rembrant nodded and turned to a small dark haired man who had come up to him. “Remy, it is good to see you my brother.” Remy bobbed his head in greeting.
“Dexter.”
In her shock, Jasmine stopped struggling. This man was not how she thought Dexter would look. She had conjured a tall, dark, and handsome sort. In reality Dexter was scrawny, very pale, and short. He only stood as tall as Remy’s shoulders.
“The brothers have taken another?” Dexter asked.
Remy nodded solemnly. “What do we plan to do about that?”
Jasmine didn’t get to hear the plan. None to gently, she was deposited in front of a small tent set up several feet from the others.
“You wait here for Remy.”
“How long am I expected to just wait here?”
“Until he comes for you.”
“Claire is out there somewhere. She could need me. I can not just sit here and wait for him.”
“Is there a problem here?” Like a shadow, Remy was suddenly there.
“No,” her captor replied quickly.
“I have to go after Claire,” Jasmine scowled.
“You can not go after Claire.”
“I have to, she’s my best friend.”
“What do you think would happen if you went into their camp and demanded your friend back.’
She bit the inside of her cheek. “We can call the police. You know where their camp is, don’t you?”
“I am not sending humans to their camp.”
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “What else is there to send, monkeys?”
He didn’t smile. “You should try to sleep.” His eyes shifted to the large man still standing there.
Jasmine looked from one man to the other. “Did you just tell him to make sure I stay here?” she demanded.
“This is Jeremiah,” Remy introduced them, “and yes, he will make sure you stay.”
“I am not staying here. I have to go help Claire.”
Remy was already turning to go though. He stopped only long enough to speak quietly to Jeremiah, then he was walking quickly away.
“What did he say to you?”
“That you should sleep.”
She recognized the threat and took a step back. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”
“Try.”
She exhaled loudly. It didn’t appear as if she had much choice. As she turned to go into the tent she saw a young woman watching her. Her orange carrot colored hair was braided loosely down her back. Her pale face was smudged with dirt. She didn’t smile or turn away when Jasmine caught her staring, she just stood a few yards away - staring.
~
“Who is that woman?”
Jeremiah turned in the direction that jasmine was looking. “That is Marissa.”
“Why is she staring at me?”
“Everyone is staring at you.”
Jasmine heard the slight hesitation in his voice. “She doesn’t look curious, she looks pissed.” She kept eye contact with the girl until Marissa jerked back as if she’d been slapped and then stormed away.
Jeremiah nodded his thick head towards the tent. Jasmine flung the tent flaps open with a grimace. She could only hope that it didn’t take Remy long to come for her.
Inside the tent was cozier than she would have imagined. A thick bed roll was made up against one of the far walls. Books were stacked up neatly beside it. She only recognized a few of the titles, and those she had never read. A brown duffle bag was propped against a corner. Remy kept his place very neat. It didn’t look like anyone stayed here, just put their things inside.
Jasmine laid on the bedroll determined not to fall asleep but all to soon her eyes drifted shut.
She was alone in the woods, the door of the car laying at her feet. “Hello?” jasmine called loudly. Her voice came out muffled.
The sound of laughter came to her ears. “Claire?” She began walking towards the sound.
Suddenly a dog looking creature stepped into her path. It was bigger than any wolf she had ever seen. It stared at her with intelligent eyes.
“Jasmine,” Claire called from the trees.
“Claire!” The creature took a step toward jasmine.
Jasmine bolted upright in the tent. She was disoriented from her dream and couldn’t place where she was. She screamed out loud when someone else entered the tent.
“It’s ok,” a calm voice reassured her.
His voice brought her back to reality. “Remy.” The shadows were deep inside the tent so she couldn’t see his expression clearly enough. It wouldn’t have mattered though, she threw herself into him, forcing him to catch a hold of her. “I had an awful dream,” she wailed into his chest.
“It was only a dream.” His voice was soothing. It was much softer than she had ever heard it.
“It was so real.” She couldn’t stop the tears that ran down her face.
“You’ve had a long night,” he stroked the back of her head.
“Will you tell me something Remy?” She pulled away enough to look up into his face. He was watching her with a tenderness she hadn’t expected.
“I’ll try.”
“Will they kill her?” Her voice broke.
“It is likely that they already have.” He brushed his thumb under her eyes to wipe away her fresh tears.
“But you don’t know for sure right?”
“We’ll send out scouts. Tonight. Then we’ll know for sure.”
The space around them faded away. “Why are you helping me?” she whispered.
“Because I don’t want you running off to get yourself killed.” He moved his fingers slowly down her face.
“I won’t.”
“You must promise me Jasmine,” he was watching her lips but then he met her eyes straight on, “promise me that you’ll stay with me.” It was an easy promise to make, she had never felt this safe with anyone in her entire life. “Until we figure out what is going on with your friend and then I will see you safely home.”
She brought her face closer to his until she could feel his warm breath on her lips. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, trying to break free and jump into his arms. She inhaled the scent of him, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. If he didn’t hurry and kiss her she was sure her heart would explode.
She just barely felt the softness of his lips on her own before he pulled back and tilted his head. “They have decided which scouts to send.” She couldn’t believe how formal his tone was. She could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in her ears.
She nodded, trying to make her eyes wide. “Good,” she croaked.
Butterflies swarmed into her belly when he leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose. “Shall we go?” He held his hand out to her.
She placed her own hand firmly into his. “Lead the way.’
When he smiled at her, her brain had to scramble to remember how to tell her legs to move. She smiled back stupidly and was still smiling when they left the tent hand in hand.
Marissa watched the couple from a safe distance. She couldn’t believe that Remy was making such a fool of himself over a human. She ground her teeth together.
~
“Do you want to tell me about your dream?” Remy asked jasmine as they made their way through camp.
“I was in the woods, looking for Claire.”
“That makes sense.”
She bit her lip and glanced at Remy. “There was a…wolf there.”
“A wolf?” He sounded surprised.
“But it wasn’t like a regular wolf.”
“Then what was it like?”
She looked at him to see if he was teasing her but he seemed serious. “It was much bigger and its eyes were like human eyes. I mean, they were intelligent - not like an animal.”
“I can understand why it scared you,” he said kindly.
She smiled and ducked her head against his wide shoulders. She felt the heat of his strength through his thin gray shirt. “I don’t even know anything about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why do you live in a tent?”
He looked up sharply as if someone had called his name but Jasmine didn’t hear anything. Dexter approached them quickly, a grave look on his face. The two men nodded to each other. “The scouts will leave in ten minutes.”
“Who are you sending?’
“Hex, Albert, and Nonnie.”
“How far away are the brothers?” Jasmine asked. A small group had surrounded them. She pressed herself closer to Remy.
“No more than a days run.”
“What, are you going to run the whole way,” she laughed. Her laughter died quickly when Dexter and Remy both stared at her with very serious expressions.
She stared around her with growing alarm. As a shadow passed across the sun jasmine realized something about the people in Remy’s camp. They rarely ever smiled and she hadn’t heard anyone laugh. There were no children. Jasmine felt a chill travel down her spine. These people were as cold and colorless as the gray tents they lived in.
A woman wearing dirty pants and a torn shirt approached them. She was holding Jasmine’s purse. “I found this in the car,” she spoke to Dexter.
“Is this Claire’s,” Dexter asked jasmine.
“No, it’s mine.” A flicker of disappointment colored his features.
“Do you have any images of the girl,” a gruff looking man asked in a voice that matched his appearance.
“Images?”
“Still images,” he clarified.
She turned to Remy who smiled slightly. “He means photographs.”
“Oh,” she flipped open her offered purse, “you mean pictures?”
“Yes.”
“She came out to see me last month. Here,” she held out a picture of the two of them toasting huge glasses of a bright pink drink with tiny umbrellas in the glass. They were both smiling wide enough to crinkle their features. “Will this work?’
“She won’t be smiling so large when we find her. Do you have anything else?’
She pressed her tongue into her cheek. “Actually I left all the pictures of her being tortured at home, sorry,” she snapped.
“Those would have been more helpful.” He gave no indication that he realized she was being sarcastic.
“What about something with her scent on it?” Remy asked quickly.
“Her scent? Do you guys have dogs here?”
Everyone went completely still, some even glared at her. “No,” Remy answered. “We’re more of cat people.” Someone in the crowd snickered. It was the first sign that any of them knew what humor was.
Jasmine looked uncomfortably at the crowd. Most of them wouldn’t look at her. “Um…” She rummaged through her purse. “I don’t think I have anything,” she mumbled. “Oh,” she gasped when she came across a tiny pink knitted bootie. “She made this.” Jasmine held it up happily.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did she make that?”
“For the baby.”
“Claire has a baby?”
“Not yet. She’s pregnant.” Complete silence. “She’s only a few months along.”
“You must go quickly.” Remy snatched the bootie from jasmine and thrust it at the gruff looking man. Two other men came on either side of him and they all three took turns smelling the pink material.
“What’s wrong?” jasmine cautiously touched Remy’s arm. The mood had abruptly changed in the camp.
“You should have told me she was with child.”
“You didn’t ask.” He scowled. “I didn’t realize you would want to know. I juts found out. That’s why I came home. She’s giving the baby up for adoption.”
“Why are humans so easily parted from their children?”
“Her boyfriend is a jerk. She’s only twenty years old, she wants to finish school. You don’t know if this is easy for her.”
“This changes things.”
“Because of the bay? You want to save the baby too?”
“The baby changes things but not in the way you are thinking. The brothers will want to change the child.”
“Change it into what?’
“Into what they are. Into what we are.”
~
Jasmine sat on the cold ground, hugging her knees close to her body and watched the setting sun. the scouts had been gone all day and Remy wouldn’t tell her what he had meant earlier. So now, she was off sulking by herself.
Claire had called her lat week begging her to come home. She had just found out she was pregnant and wanted help picking out adoptive parents. The girls had always done everything together, of course Jasmine would come.
Everyone had been shocked when Claire backed out of their college plans two days before they were going to leave. They were going to be room mates and both study to be a veterinarian. But then Claire changed her mind.
“Hey.” Remy sank down beside her. “You ok?”
“Fantastic.” She didn’t look at him, she didn’t want him to see her cry again.
“She might still be alive.”
“Because of the baby? Why?”
“They are werewolves and they believe that if they change a woman while she is with child, the child could be very powerful.” She hadn’t expected that answer.
“And what about Claire?”
“Not likely to survive the delivery.”
“That’s insane, you know that right?”
“Which part?”
“Werewolves aren’t real.”
“You would be surprised to learn all that is real.”
“If they are werewolves, that makes you one too.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
“Yes.”
She stopped her nervous fidgeting and stared up at him. “Prove it,” she whispered.
He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re just going to have to trust me on this one jasmine. You asked how it was possible that I was following you since Milsbrook, you asked if the scouts would run all day, and you asked why they needed Claire’s scent. I have given you the answer.”
Jasmine listened to the sound of her thudding heart. “I’ll think about it.” She laughed. “How do you know so much about the brothers? Are they friends of yours?”
“I used to run with the brothers.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you leave them?”
“I grew weary of their violent ways so I found a new way to live.”
“Why are they so violent?”
“They hate humans.”
“They were once human, if I believe your story, do why do they hate them?”
He looked out to where the sun was just a line of brilliant color on the horizon. “I will tell you a story jasmine.”
“Ok.” Her eyes crinkled in confusion and amusement. It wasn’t like she really believed in werewolves.
He settled himself more comfortably on the grass and waited until she rested her head on his stomach before he began talking.
“In the late 1800’s my pack lived outside a small village in Virginia. We enjoyed a quiet life there and protected the village against all that would bring it harm.
One of my brothers fell deeply in love with a young woman from the village and he believed she loved him as well. But when he revealed his true self to her she became frightened and told her father what had happened.
The girl’s father formed a hunting party and tracked my pack down. We tried to talk sense into them, explain that we had always protected the village. But they wouldn’t listen. None of us wanted to fight them you see. We only ever wanted to keep them safe.
Our numbers were above twenty but by nightfall we were down to only eight.
The eight of us left alive limped away to hide in the forest. We felt like we’d let our brothers down by not fighting . We made a vow right there to kill all the hunters and any others that rose to take their place.”
Jasmine couldn’t take her eyes off Remy’s face. She was completely taken in by his story and the solemnest of his voice.
“We made good on that vow for many years. Then there came a day when no more hunters came for us. It was over, b but the brothers had tasted blood. They began to kill just for the sport of killing. I was the only one that left.” The pain was clear in his eyes. “When I joined here I told them what the brothers had become, and we made our own vow. To save as many lives as we could from the brothers. We have followed them ever since.”
“There are only seven of them. Why Don’t you guys just take them out?”
“Many of us here are not killers. Besides, they have added to their numbers since I left.”
“You call them brothers. Are you related to any of them?”
“Remy?” Marissa had come up behind them.
“Yes Marissa?”
“Dexter wants to know if your human has eaten today.”
Jasmine’s stomach rumbled loudly in response. She flushed bright red. “I’m ok,” she mumbled, fidgeting with the bottom of her jeans.
“I had not thought to feed her.”
“Dexter remembered.”
“I am sorry Jasmine. I haven’t been human for a long time.”
Jasmine laughed a nervous sort of sound. “It’s ok, really.” Remy did look like he felt bad.
“Come along, I am sure Dexter has something good for you to eat.” He stood up swiftly and reached to give her a hand up.
In truth, she had felt hungry most of the day and she was grateful that Dexter had thought to offer her something. She wondered if Remy had eaten. “Did you already eat Remy?”
“I ate yesterday.”
She blinked at his response. “So did I.”
“Humans,” he said with a chuckle, “need to eat every day.”
“Sometimes even three times a day.”
He took her hand in his again as they walked toward the center of camp behind Marissa. “It’s a wonder you can even move.’
She stopped and looked up at him with mock amazement. “Did you just make a joke?’
He laughed. Jasmine thought that maybe it was the sweetest sound she had ever heard.
~
Jasmine’s dinner ended up being a rabbit with a stick shoved through it and cooked over a fire. She could only stare at the tiny shriveled body. “Did you kill it before you put it over the fire?” she asked Dexter.
“We killed the creature before we skinned it.” He looked very pleased with himself.
“I don’t understand why humans feel the need to burn their food all the way through before they eat it.” Marissa’s lip curled in disgust.
“Wait a minute.” jasmine looked around her with ever widening eyes. “Are you all werewolves?’
Dexter laughed out loud, unfreezing everyone so they could join in with small chuckles of their own. “We are,” he said with a grin. “We are a very old lot. A little stuffy for your tastes huh?”
She sat down heavily on a tree stump. Could Remy have been telling her the truth? She looked up to find him watching her with an odd expression on his face. “Does this mean vampires are real to?”
“I believe there are a few covens still intact,” Dexter answered, “but vampires are a secretive creature. They prefer to travel alone so it is difficult to say how many are still in existence.”
One of Dexter’s wives brought her a tin plate piled high with meat. “Thanks,” she murmured. She had never had rabbit meat before but it didn’t taste bad. Dexter watched her while she ate, his hands templed under his chin, with a small grin on his face. It made her uncomfortable but she was to hungry to worry much about it. Remy sat on the ground close to the stump that Jasmine stayed perched on.
“What do you study in your university jasmine?” Dexter asked conversationally.
“Veterinary medicine.”
“You want to become a veterinarian?” His eyes widened slightly.
“Yes, to take over my father’s business one day. Claire and I are both going to.”
“Is she studying veterinary medicine as well?’
“Business.”
There was no judgment in his cool blue eyes. He didn’t think Claire was selling herself short. “How do you find your rabbit?”
“It’s not burnt.” She smiled and he smiled back.
Everyone, except Jasmine, looked up expectantly. “What is it?” she whispered to Remy.
“The scouts are back.”
She blew air through puffed out cheeks. Soon she would know if Claire was still alive or not. Her hands began to shake and she felt like she was going to throw up all the food that she had just eaten.
Remy put his comforting hand over both of hers. Her plate was taken from her so she could clasp tightly to him.
The scouts walked single file into the circle surrounding the fire pit. They nodded once to Jasmine and Remy then turned to Dexter. “We have located the brothers camp.”
“How far was it Hex?”
“A three hour run.”
There were a few gasps from the crowd. “It is closer than we thought.”
“They have the girl.”
Jasmine leaned foreword. “Is she alive?” Dexter asked the only question she cared about.
“She is.”
“Oh.” Jasmine couldn’t help the noise of relief. She covered her face with one hand.
“How bad is the situation?”
“They have chained the girl up. There was a lot of blood on her but we were unable to tell if it was from serious injury or not.”
“They wouldn’t want to hurt her to bad for fear of injuring the child,” Remy said calmly.
“I believe you are right Remy.” Dexter was as solemn as ever.
“What do you mean she was chained up?” Jasmine demanded.
“There was a thick chain attached to her ankle which prevented her from going more than a few feet.”
Jasmine closed her eyes against the onslaught of mental pictures. “Why didn’t you get her?”
“There were only three of us.”
“And they are only scouts.”
“We have to go after her,” Jasmine’s voice was shaking as bad as her hands. “We can’t just leave her there with them.”
“They will not hurt her yet.”
“They already are!” Her voice was no where near as calm as Dexter’s.
“We do not know what is being done to Claire, only that she is still alive.”
“Didn’t you hear him?” She pointed to Hex. “There’s blood, a lot of blood.”
Remy put his arm around her. She buried her head into his shoulder and gave in to her tears. Poor Claire. They had always been best friends and now Claire was being tortured while she was sitting here eating rabbit.
“I have to go save her Remy,” she sobbed, “I have to.”
~
It took a while for her tears to subside. The sun had completely went down and the moon was high in the almost black sky. Remy had taken her back to his tent but he stayed with her, keeping his arm securely around her waist.
“We’re sitting here wasting time,” she sniffed.
He traced the outlines of her puffy eyes with tender fingers. “We are putting together a rescue team.”
“You are?”
“Yes,” he smiled gently.
“Will you be on this rescue team?”
“I will.”
She relaxed against his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart. She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “Thank you Remy,” she barely whispered.
“It is our purpose here.”
It was such a simple statement as if it should have been obvious to her that they would of course go rescue Claire from blood thirsty werewolves. She sat up straight to look at him. “I just…” She wet her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. “You’ll be careful right?’
Remy cupped her face between his two large hands. She watched as his tongue slid across his bottom lip and then he closed the few inches between their faces.
His lips were gentle on hers, undemanding. There was just the tiniest amount of pressure. If her heart wasn’t going so crazy and she didn’t feel the heat of his breath on her; she wouldn’t have been sure he was kissing her at all.
Jasmine wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his tighter against her. It was all the invitation here needed. His hand slid under her shirt to trace the skin at the small of her back.
His lips became more urgent. Prying her lips open with his tongue, he explored the heat of her mouth. When she could no longer breath he moved his kissed down her neck.
They were both breathing heavily when someone cleared their throat outside of the tent. Remy’s hands stilled. “Yes,” he growled.
“Dexter would like to see you Remy,” a female voice called from outside.
“I’ll be right there.”
“You’re leaving?” Her face clearly showed her disappointment.
“Yes. It is probably about the rescue team.” He pulled her shirt back in place with a playful grin. “I’ll be back.”
She nodded but didn’t trust her voice to speak. She felt awful. Claire was being tortured somewhere in the woods and here she was making out with Remy. She flung her arm over her face and tried not to cry again.
When she heard someone enter the tent just a few minutes later she didn’t bother to take her arm off her face. “That was fast. What did he say?”
“Remy is not back yet,” a female voice said.
Jasmine sat up quickly and came face to face with the beautiful Marissa. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to talk to you.” She was sitting cross legged on the ground beside the bed roll.
“About what?” Jasmine couldn’t help but be suspicious. Every time she had seen Marissa, the girl had not seemed friendly to her.
“Do you want to go rescue Claire?”
This was not what she had expected. “They are sending out a rescue team to get her.”
“I just thought you would want to go yourself.”
“I’m going with the rescue team of course,” she raised her chin a fraction.
“Remy said you could go?” Her eyes widened in surprise.
“I haven’t asked him yet, but…”
She was cut off by Marissa’s laugh. “He will not let you go.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“No. He’ll say its to dangerous, that he will go and get her. Then he will say “I promise, just trust me.”
Jasmine crossed her arms. That did sound like something he would say. “What are you suggesting?”
“He’ll be here soon,” she lowered her voice. “If it turns out the way I have predicted, you come see me.”
She rose gracefully and opened the flaps of the tent just as Remy was coming in. “Marissa,” he sounded surprised or maybe confused. “What did she want?” he asked Jasmine.
“What did Dexter say?” she asked instead of answering.
His eyes narrowed but he answered her question. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow evening.”
“I’m assuming we won’t be driving?”
“You are not coming along jasmine,” he said quickly.
“Yes I am.”
“It’s to dangerous. I’ll go and I’ll bring her back to you. I promise Jasmine, just trust me.”
~
“Remy.” Jasmine could hardly believe that he was being so stubborn. “I have to go, she won’t know who you are.”
“Even if she is frightened she will be safe.” he set his jaw. They had been arguing for twenty minutes already and he wasn’t budging. “I will keep you where you’re safe jasmine.”
“I am not a child. You can’t…”
“I am sorry to interrupt,” Jeremiah stuck his head into the tent, “there is a slight problem with hex.”
“What is it?”
“He is insisting on going with us.”
“He can’t. hex is not a good enough fighter. I have told Dexter which men will go.” His eyes grew dark. “I will have to go straighten this out.” His yes swung back to Jasmine. “You stay here,” he warned.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched him walk away. “Remy,” she thought with a scowl, “”I am not just going to stay here.” She waited until he was out of sight and then she ducked out into the cool night.
Marissa was waiting for her. “Let me guess,” she said with a grin, “he told you no?”
“When do we leave?”
“They will leave to go on a hunting trip within the hour. When they are far enough away, I will Come for you.”
“Will they hear us leave and try to stop us?”
Marissa shook her head. “They won’t hunt this close to the brothers territory. They won’t be back until tomorrow, probably evening.”
Jasmine nodded. “Okay, I’ll be ready to leave tonight.”
“In an hour. Now go back to his tent and try to act as if nothing is amiss.”
She went obediently back into the tent and clasped her arms tightly around her knees. She had to calm her heart down before he got back. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
She let her mind travel back to the day Claire had burst into her room with tears streaming down her face. She was clutching a crumpled sheet of paper to her chest. They had just finished seventh grade.
“Claire, what’s wrong?”
“It’s from my mom,” she sobbed.
Jasmine read the words even as Claire told her what they said. “I guess she decided that she doesn’t want to be a mother anymore. She’s gone to Vegas to be one of those peacock dancing girls.” She tried to smile through her tears but it was anything but funny.
“Oh Claire.” Jasmine’s own heart was breaking.
“I just don’t understand Jasmine. What is it about me that makes it so easy for everyone to leave me?”
“Not everyone.”
“First my dad leaves and now my mom.”
“I won’t ever leave you Claire,” she said quietly. She held up her hand where the angry pink scar puckered along the length of her palm. Claire sniffed and held up her matching palm.
The previous summer the girls had seen on TV how to become blood brothers. It had hurt bad and the cuts probably had needed stitches but they hadn’t shown them to anyone.
“Closer than sisters,” jasmine declared in a scratchy voice made thick with her own emotion.
“For life.”
“You can always count on me no matter what, for life.”
Jasmine had slid to the floor and held onto her friend as they both cried for things they were to young to understand or change.
Jasmine traced the scar on her palm. Over the years it had faded to a thin white line. The meaning behind it had never faded. It had only grown stronger.
“Hey,” Remy came into the tent with a nervous smile. She didn’t respond. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m just scared.”
“We will get Claire back. She’s going to be fine.”
“You can’t know that. We should have stayed together.”
“Maybe. But it’s not like either of you knew there were werewolves in the area.”
“I guess you’re right about that,” she smiled tightly.
“We’re going hunting,” he announced suddenly.
“When will you be back?” she asked flatly. His answer didn’t matter.
“Jasmine, you must try not to worry. We are going to get her.” His voice droned on as he tried to offer her comfort, but Jasmine barely heard him. As much as she liked Remy, she wished he would hurry and leave so her and Marissa could be on their way.
“Will you be aright here?” he asked again.
“I’ll be fine,” she smiled blankly.
“If you need anything…”
“I’ll ask Hex.” He kissed her quickly on the cheek and then left the tent.
True to her word, Marissa showed up ten minutes after Remy left. “You ready?”
“Yeah. Should I leave this here?” She held up her purse. Marissa nodded. Jasmine followed her quick stride to the edge of camp.
With a final look over her shoulder at the peaceful camp, Jasmine squared her shoulders and turned to follow Marissa into the dark forest.
~
“Are we almost there?” Jasmine leaned heavily against a large tree, trying to catch her breath. They had been walking for over an hour and Marissa didn’t look like she was slowing down any time soon.
“We’ve only been walking for an hour.”
“So no?”
“Even if we were running we wouldn’t be there yet.”
“We have been running part of the way.” Marissa glared at her. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
“I could carry you.” When she had first offered jasmine had refused, but now she wasn’t so sure. It probably would be faster. “I’m stronger than I look.”
Jasmine regarded the tiny girl with narrowed eyes. The girl couldn’t have stood much more than five feet tall and maybe weighed a hundred pounds. She didn’t look more than fifteen years old. “I’ll walk,” she decided.
“Suit yourself,” she shrugged.
With a heavy sigh, Jasmine pushed herself off the tree and followed Marissa. It was almost pitch black in the forest. The tall trees blocked out most of the moon light. She kept tripping over unseen dangers, at times sprawling herself out on the ground.
“How do you know where they are?” she called up to Marissa.
“I’m following the scent of the scouts.”
“The scouts?”
“Yeah, remember they went to the brothers camp yesterday. They are a part of my pack so it’s easy for me to track them.”
She fell silent, using all her concentration to not fall. it wasn’t until they stopped to rest again that Jasmine was able to talk again.
“How long have you known Remy?”
“A long time.”
“Did you know him when he was still human?”
She chuckled softly. “Not that long.”
“How did he…you know, become a werewolf?”
“They same way all of us did, he was bitten by another.”
“So that’s all it takes? You get bitten by a werewolf and you become one?”
“If it doesn’t kill you. You know that old adage; ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’?” Jasmine nodded. “Well this is in the literal sense. Most humans die from a wolf bite, but some change.”
Marissa sat up straight and turned her head sharply. She stood abruptly and disappeared into the night. Jasmine sat very still, trying not to breath to loudly. Marissa had heard something out in the trees and she didn’t want that something to find her.
Marissa burst back into view, her eyes wide. “We have to go, now!” She grabbed Jasmine’s arm with a hand that already didn’t look human.
Jasmine cried out in alarm. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“The brothers are coming.” The words snarled out of her changing face.
It was a grotesque sight and jasmine could only watch in horror as the beautiful girl that was Marissa turned into a hideous half-wolf beast. She crouched on four legs but her body arched up as if she wasn’t finished turning into the wolf.
Her whole body quivered violently and thick red fur grew to cover her entire body. When she finally stilled jasmine couldn’t believe her eyes. Marissa looked almost exactly as a wolf would look. She was nearly twice the size as normal though and her muzzle was shorter.
She raised her head towards the sky and howled extremely loud. Jasmine crouched low to the ground and covered her ears. Marissa howled again.
Suddenly there were more wolves, three more of the large creatures. The largest of the three, a wolf with thick black fur, turned to look at Jasmine. Marissa flew at him but the other two easily stopped her.
As the wolf began to saunter towards her it began to rise up into the shape of a man. By the time he reached her he was a dark haired man with a dark scowl on his handsome face. A long thin scar ran the length of his face.
“Are you Jasmine?” His voice was raspy but deep.
“Yes.” She held her breath.
“Claire has been asking for you. Will you come willingly?”
Her breath came out in a strangled cry. It was strange to hear this man say Claire’s name. “I…”
“Answer quickly.”
“Yes, I’ll go with you.”
Marissa’s growls quieted with her declaration. “This is a wise choice.”
The muscles in his jaw flexed and unflexed rapidly. He pointed in two different directions and his companions shot off. Marissa could only watch as Jasmine was carried away by the brothers.
~
Remy raised his head sharply when he heard the call. It was Marissa and something was wrong. His heart slammed in his chest. He raised his large head and answered the call. He was coming.
His heart thundered to the beat of his long strides as he ate up the distance between him and Marissa. Nothing could possibly be wrong with Jasmine, could it? He had left her safely at their camp. What if the brothers invaded their camp? He almost paused his step at the thought, but no it was only Marissa who had sent up the distress call and she wasn’t in the camp. What was Marissa doing outside the camp? Was Jasmine with her?
He knew he was a fool for letting himself get so emotionally attached to someone. And a human of all things. They were so fragile, so easy to break. But if something had happened to Jasmine…
He pushed himself to go faster.

Jasmine clung tightly to the back of the large man as he ran at a terrifying speed through the forest. The man had patiently waited while she fastened her legs and arms around him and then he took off.
This was nothing like the first time she had been carried through the forest by a werewolf. Remy had held her gently and securely; so gently that she had been able to fall asleep. Now she was holding on for her life.
It didn’t take them long to reach a small clearing where a camp was set up. It was a lot like Remy’s camp, only smaller.
He let her drop roughly to the ground. Jasmine got shakily up on her hand s and knees and looked around her. There were maybe a dozen men, and all of them huge, standing around with their shirts off. Where was Claire?
Someone grabbed her leg out from under her, sending her sprawling on the ground. She still felt dizzy from their suicidal run. She felt the cold clank of metal on her skin even through her jeans. They had shackled he to a tree.
The chain was so heavy that she could barely even lift it. “Hey,” she called to the man who had chained her. It was the same man who had brought her here. He turned to stare at her with cold eyes. “Wh…where’s Claire?”
Without a word, he pointed his long finger behind Jasmine. She turned her head slowly, afraid of what she might see. Lying on the ground, just a few feet away, was Claire.
“Claire!” She tried to lunge forward but the heavy chain slowed her down. She hobbled to Claire.
At first she thought Claire was already dead, but when she got close enough she could see her chest was still moving. She sank heavily to her knees beside her. “Claire,” she whispered. Tears were already streaming down her face, leaving trails of dirt down to her neck. “What have they down to you?”
She gently felt for any broken bones but didn’t find any. There was a lot of blood but it didn’t look like any of the wounds were fresh. She could not tell very well through all the dirt and dried blood though.
“She said you were a doctor,” a familiar rough voice spoke.
“I’m,” she wiped her hand quickly across her face before looking up at him, “I’m studying to be an animal doctor.”
“What do you need?”
She blinked in surprise. Had they brought her here to save Claire? “Uh…” She looked back down at Claire’s limp form. “I’ll need water and some rags or towels.”
There was an instant scurry of motion as they ran to do her bidding. “I am called Leo,” the glaring man announced.
Jasmine nodded. “You already know my name.”
“Yes.” Leo seemed even more serious than Remy. “Will she live?’
“Her breathing is stable but I’ll have to see her wounds better.” Knowing that Leo cared enough about Claire to go and get her made Jasmine less afraid of him.
“She hasn’t been awake since the sun disappeared from the sky.”
Jasmine exhaled loudly. “Well you have no clocks around here, but its still pretty dark so I don’t think she’s been out to long.”
He followed her gaze to the dark sky. “Sunrise is still several hours away.”
A large metal pan of warm water and several towels were placed on the ground next to Jasmine. Despite the fact that she was chained to a tree, she didn’t think the brothers were as bad as Remy made them out to be.
~
Remy found Marissa in the same place the brothers had left her. He could smell their scent, and jasmine’s, all around them. He immediately raised himself up to two legs.
“What happened?” he asked breathlessly.
It took Marissa longer to morph back to her human form. The others caught up with them by the time she was able to speak. “The brothers have Jasmine.” She avoided looking at Remy.
“How.”
“They asked her to go and she said yes.”
Remy slammed his fist into a near by tree, causing it to shudder. “Why was she not in camp where I left her?”
She sucked in a shaky breath. “Remy.”
“Why did you bring her out here?” he growled.
Marissa jumped back in surprise. She had never seen him so angry. She knew he had once run with the brothers but this was the first time he had ever sounded like one of them. “She wanted to go after Claire. I was just going to take her close to their camp and wait for you guys but they showed up here. They asked her to go with them and she said yes.”
“What would the brothers want with Jasmine? Why didn’t they just kill her here?” Remy’s heart constricted painfully.

Jasmine gently cleaned Claire’s face and arms. Under all the grime she found most of Claire’s wounds were just shallow cuts and scrapes with a few bruises.
There was a mark on her shoulder though that made her blood run cold. There were six puncture wounds and when she had cleaned them Claire had whimpered in her sleep. Claire had been bitten.
The realization made her fingers shake bad enough that Leo noticed. “What is it? Is it bad?” He sounded nervous.
“Was she bitten?” she whispered.
“Last night.” His eyes narrowed dangerously.
She wondered if he was the one who bit her but didn’t ask. “How long does she have?”
“It can take a few hours and I have also seen it take as long as two weeks.”
She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “T…two weeks.”
“And he died.” His nostrils flared slightly. “Her other wounds?”
“They’re not that bad. They looked worse than they were.”
“The baby?”
“I can’t tell.” She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “If we could take her to the hospital…”
“She’s not leaving.”
One of the men dropped a bag by Jasmine. It had a loaf of bread, a package of lunch meat, and some cheese inside. He handed her a bottle of soda.
“Make her eat,” Leo demanded. Then he stalked away with the other man at his heals.
Jasmine dropped her body over Claire’s and sobbed uncontrollably. What would happen to her now? She would either become a monster or die. Which was worse?
“Jasmine?” Claire croaked.
“Claire?” Jasmine sat up quickly and looked down at her. “You’re awake?” She tried to smile.
“Where are we? I feel so heavy. Like I just got pulled out of quicksand.”
“No quicksand,” she forced a laugh, “just werewolves.”
“Hmm. Am I still sleeping then?”
Jasmine pushed her hair out of her face. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“We were lost,” she turned her head weakly to look at her surroundings, “and you wanted to go in that creepy house.”
Jasmine smiled wide through her tears. “Do you know who lived in that creepy house?” Claire looked back at her. “Mrs. Graff.”
“From fourth grade.”
“Yeah.” Claire’s eyes widened.
“She was probably a ghost. There’s no way that old woman could still be alive.”
Yesterday she would have scoffed at Claire’s ridiculous statement. Today, she had seen weirder. “She did look really old.”
“So where are we now?”
“At a werewolf camp.”
“Be serious. It feels like we were in a car accident.” She moved her shoulder cautiously.
“The wolves knocked the car over but I’m not sure that counts.”
Claire’s eyes welled with tears. “So its all true then? I thought it had all been a horrible dream, especially when I woke up and you were here, but it all happened?” Jasmine nodded. “I was bitten. Am I going to turn into a werewolf?” panic seized her pale green eyes. “It burns so bad Jazz, it burns.”
~
Remy rounded the camp for the second time. He didn’t dare get close enough to see Jasmine but he could hear her, which was good enough for now. Her friend had already been bitten and the change had started just before sunrise. He hoped that jasmine had enough sense to keep her distance.
He looked up at the sky. The sun was already directly overhead and Dexter had still not returned. Soon he would have to go in alone. Perhaps Leo would let him have the girl. He cocked his head at the sound of human scream.

“What’s happening to her?” Jasmine screamed. “Can’t you do something?”
“The change is almost complete,” Leo replied calmly.
They all just stood and watched as Claire thrashed in obvious pain. They didn’t even try to help her. “Can’t you help her?” Jasmine asked again.
“There is nothing that can be done.”
“How long?”
“Not long now.”
Jasmine watched in horror as Claire’s fingers began to grow into claws. Then her face began to change. Her ears grew pointed and her mouth changed to a long muzzle. With one final agonizing scream Claire arched her back and her skin seemed to explode.
The change was complete. Claire crouched on all fours snarling and hissing like a rabid dog. She tried to lurch forward but the chain stopped her from getting to far. Leo watched her with a look of amazement.
“She’ll need to hunt,” he murmured.
“Hunt?” Jasmine’s breath was coming out way to quickly.
“Untie her,” he ordered.
“You can’t do that,” said an achingly familiar voice.
“Remy,” Jasmine breathed.
Remy stood just inside the clearing, a dark scowl clouding his handsome face. “You have to keep her secure.”
“Brother,” Leo nodded to Remy. “It has been way to long. Most of the time you stay hidden from us. Why do you show yourself now?”
His eyes darted to where Jasmine was still chained, betraying him immediately. “Let her go before you untie the girl.”
“Ah,” Leo grinned but he wasn’t amused. “You have fallen for a human? Did you hear that?” He was addressing his own pack. “The great Rembrant has fallen for a mere human.”
There was a smatter of laughter but they mostly just stood there. “Leo,” Remy called a warning.
“Fine Remy. We only wanted your girl to save Claire but now Claire is one of us so we don’t need her anymore. You can have her.”
Remy remained tense despite Leo’s words. “I just have one more favor.” Now Jasmine tensed.
“What do you want?” Remy’s voice was cold.
Leo looked directly at jasmine. “We want to know if she is still pregnant.” Jasmine’s mouth fell open. “You said you are an animal doctor, she is an animal now.”
“No,” Remy growled.
Leo kept his eyes on jasmine. “Will she attack me?”
“Claire?” He looked to where Claire had fallen silent. “Jasmine is going to check you to see if you’re still pregnant. You need to stand still.”
The creature that was once Claire seemed to understand and swung its large head up and down. Jasmine’s lips felt numb as the men let her free of her shackle.
She swallowed nervously and glanced at Remy. He stood very tense but made no move. Her heart was in her throat as she forced her feet to carry her the short distance to Claire. “C…Claire?” she stuttered.
When the wolf-like creature turned its head towards Jasmine, her breath caught. She recognized those pale green eyes.
She very slowly reached out her hand until her fingers touched the coarse fur along Claire’s side. She tentatively made her way to her stomach. “I’m just going to check your stomach Claire,” her voice shook.
She heard Claire’s sharp intake of breath before she saw anything. Then suddenly she felt a searing pain in her shoulder, as if she’d been stabbed by a million knives.
She didn’t have time to scream before she was jerked out of Claire’s reach. Claire had reverted back to the snarling, hissing creature. “What happened?” she asked in a daze.
Remy was hovering above her, a look of pure horror on his face. “She was bitten,” he screeched, “she was bitten.”
~
Jasmine wondered stupidly if Remy was talking about Claire. Of course Claire had been bitten, they had just watched her change into a monster. Then she remembered and touched her shoulder where Claire had bitten her.
“Why did she bite me?”
“She smelled your blood,” Leo answered, “you have scratches on your arms and knee.” His eyes were slightly troubled. “Take her Remy.”
Then they were flying again. This time Jasmine’s shoulder hurt to much to allow her to be comfortable. They didn’t go far and Remy laid her gently on the ground.
“Jasmine,” he touched her face gently. “I’m so sorry.” He bowed his head and when he looked at her again she saw his tears.

She wanted to tell him that it was okay, everything was okay, but she couldn’t find her voice. Everything was becoming fuzzy around the edges. She tried to focus all her energy on him. If she was going to die, she wanted Remy to be the last thing she saw.
“The poison has paralyzed you,” he spoke in a broken voice, “I’m such a fool.” He bent down and kissed her lips.
It wasn’t passionate like before but it was very sweet. Jasmine couldn’t tell if she was smiling or not but she hoped so. She wanted to wrap her arms around him when he laid his head on her chest and cried.
“I promise Jasmine, I promise that they will pay for this.” He sat up and looked down at her but she could barely see him anymore. Everything was getting so dark “Oh Jasmine, my beautiful girl.” He stroked her face until her eyes closed.
When her breath stopped coming he raised his head to the sky and screamed his pain. The sound echoed off the trees and seeped into the ground.
Heat seared through Remy’s body until he wasn’t human anymore. With a blind rage he raced back towards the brothers camp.
The brothers had killed her. Leo, his own brother, had done it. The same as if he’d stuck a knife through her heart. He would not rest until he had his revenge. He growled low in his throat, his anger pushing him faster.
Before he made it back to the brothers he ran into several members of his own pack. They were in human form so he quickly changed. “Remy,” Dexter greeted.
“She’s dead,” he said by way of greeting.
“Jasmine?”
“Yes.”
“And Claire?”
“Changed.”
Dexter’s eyes grew wide. Marissa covered her mouth with her hand. “What will you do Remy?”
“I will have my revenge.”
“I know you are upset Remy, but are you sure this is wise?”
“I brought her here and I promised to protect her. You made her my responsibility. They will not get away with her murder.” With a final curt nod, he changed again and was back on his way.
Dexter watched him go with a pained look on his face. “He will be missed,” he said sadly.
“You’re just going to let him go alone?” Marissa demanded. “He’ll be killed.”
“I fear that the loss of Jasmine has changed our friend.”
“We can’t just…”
“We will return to camp. We have lost much today.”
Marissa watched the place where Remy had disappeared but it was only silent forest now. Guilt hung heavy in her heart. This was all her fault. Why had she taken Jasmine out of the camp?

Not far from where they stood, Jasmine’s body lay very still in a patch of grass. Her lungs had stopped filling with air but her heart was beating wildly in her chest.
Her eyes flew open and she gasped for air. She sat up, choking and sputtering. Where was Remy? She was sure he had just been here.
A white hot pain began low in her belly and seared its way up her back. She arched back in pain.
It burned so bad. It was the worst pain she had ever felt. She fell back, exhausted, only to arch back when the fire began again in her back. It burns so bad her mind screamed.

The End