‹ Prequel: Just a Sip
Status: YAAAARRRR!!! ©AFos2011

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Kapitel Neun

Sebastian's POV

I came home from work completely worn out. Rowan had called about a hundred times, but I couldn't pick up or else my boss would have let me have it. I held my coat close to my face as I let myself in the house and sighed.

Markus came from the kitchen holding a sandwich and greeting me.

"Oh honey you're home." He said, his mouth full. He was wearing my clothes and smelled like aftershave. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you have homework to do?" I asked heading up to my room. Markus followed.

"Well...I was just planning on copying off of yours. But you seem tired." We reached my room and I turned all the lights on.

"What have you been doing all day? Watching yourself flex in front of the mirror?" I scoffed taking my sweaty uniform polo off. Markus leaned against my dresser, picking up a photo of Rowan and I at summer camp from middle school. He chewed on the last bits of his sandwich thoughtfully. He swallowed loudly before answering.

"No. I've been doing some research though." He said putting the picture away. I pulled flipped my nose hoop down from my nose and clear studs from my lips to replace them with the steel ones. "Why do you have all those piercings, it's like you're trying to be a Tokio Hotel extra or something." Markus laughed. I have him a look.

"And why do YOU have a tattoo of an orca whale on your hip?" I said smirking. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I told you...I.Was.Drunk!"

"Methinks you're a tad bit gay." I said mockingly. Markus leaned back and folded his arms.

"Ask the girls at your school which one of us is the gayest. They'll gladly tell you." He said angrily, our Irish family blood igniting his temper, or maybe it was the half animal thing. I put a hand up before we began fighting like dogs (pun intended).

"Anyway. What were you researching?" I asked wearily rubbing my eyes.

"Radu." He said happily. "The little fucks name doesn't show up ANYWHERE on the Internet. In fact, it's as if he doesn't even exist." He pointed out. I stared at him, not sure whether to be impressed by his researching skills or the fact that this guy bothered him this much.

"Not anywhere? What about Facebook, a lot of old people and perverts have that." I asked. Markus shook his head excitedly.

"Nope! He's not even real!"

I shrugged. "Okay, so what if he doesn't have anything about him on the Internet. Maybe he's a private guy!" I wondered why I was defending him. Maybe because I was scared of the truth. Markus folded his arms under his armpits, shrugging.

"You can't tell me you didn't smell it." He said as I turned away from him, rummaging through my dresser for some clean clothes.

"Smell what?" I lied, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Desalvo smelled...different. My cousin and I of course had this advantage of smell, and this odd fact was undeniable.

"He smelled, not right...not human." Markus said in a low voice. I turned and faced Markus.

"Okay, so what if he smelled like dirt fresh off the earth! So what if he smelled like the pits of hell! WE walk around every day out in the open! It happens!" I said throwing my hands up.

"What's got your panties in a twist? You've got to figure it out! Because if one thing is for sure, he's not one of us."

I ignored him and headed to the bathroom. What was with my psycho detective cousin, I didn't care nor want to know what was going on with the teacher. For all we know, his big secret could be that he likes kiddy porn. But I couldn't hide that strange feeling I had, like I had met him before...

"Do it for Rowan." He said before I shut the door on him. I paused, taking a deep breath. I think that's what bothered me the most. This new teacher had a strange interest in her, and he could possibly be in the supernatural category? Fuck. I didn't even want to think about it.

I opened the door wider, leaning against it.

"Okay Mcguyver what do you suggest we do? Throw water on him and see if he evaporates?" I answered snidely.

Markus glowered. "Cute. Real cute. But it can't possibly be that easy. Just think about it. You figure out Desalvo's secret, you shut his ass down, get the girl, and have the best hero sex EVER."

I scratched my healing arm nervously. Was it weird that I wouldn't mind getting the girl? Markus was a bit far fetched when he mentioned hero sex, but he wasn't far from the truth. Markus' eyes landed on my arm.

"Sheesh, you've got a ripper. Did you get that changing?"

I nodded, rubbing a thumb over the long pink scab with the stitches.

"Yeah. Except I don't know how I got it."

Markus lifted up his shirt, revealing a large gash that was also healing up under his rib cage.

"Same. We probably got it around the same time. This one still hurts like a bitch." He lowered his shirt. "Oh well, battle scars. Right cousin?" He said leaving my room. I shook my head and went into the bathroom, glad to be rid of the supernatural talk for at least a little while. Why couldn't things just be simple, where I lived life, had a girlfriend, and made music? Instead, I deal with this shit.

Rowan's POV

The night I found out about Ethan's death, I didn't sleep. Partly because May was on my bed, sleeping over because she didn't want to be home alone. It was a weird thing for me to have someone sleeping in my bed. I always had sleepovers with Sebastian when we were kids, but I had never had a girl friend sleep over at my house. I also couldn't sleep because of the shocking revelation concerning Ethans death, the wolves killed him. Did my wolf kill him? I shivered rolling over in my sheets and hearing May's snores get louder.

It couldn't be him...could it? School was cancelled the next day to mourn this small town's loss. Even the election was halted until further notice. I thought about how awful it must have been to find the body. Who found it? I wondered if Sebastian had heard the news? My phone buzzed underneath my pillow. I jumped, scared out of my skin, I fumbled for it answering before May awakened.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Hey." Sebastian said softly. "Were you sleeping?" I looked at the time, it was 11:30.

"Kinda. I was just thinking. Hold on." I said getting out of bed gingerly and grabbing my bathrobe, heading to the bathroom to talk. I turned the light on and sat in the bathtub, avoiding the mysterious red stain that was etched into the tile. I hated that thing, no matter how hard you scrubbed at it, it lingered.

"Are you okay? You called like something was wrong." He asked after I settled down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little scared..." I said poking the still wet soap from my shower earlier. Sebastian paused.

"About what? What's going on?" He asked urgently.

"Ethan?" I prompted. Maybe he didn't know.

"Can we meet up? My cousin is sleeping in the next room and I don't want him to wake up and bother me." Sebastian said quietly. I stood up.

"Yeah. The swingset?" I said referring to the jungle gym we had set up about a yard away from our backyards.
He agreed and I began to get ready and go out. I headed downstairs quietly, going to the kitchen to grab a snack. I was really hungry, for some odd reason. Digging through the pantry, I found some Oreos. I popped one in my mouth, feeling sick, for some reason the thought of food was grossing me out. The cookie condensed to mush and began sliding down my throat. But something was wrong. I gagged heading to the sink and spitting it all out. I hung my head over the drain, the waning moon glaring at me from through the window. My stomach gurgled. I was still hungry, but food didn't feel like an option.

I tossed the Oreos in the waste bin and headed outside from the backdoor. I rubbed my stomach and winced. Why was I feeling like this? Certain foods I couldn't eat, but it seemed as if lately ALL food was uneatable. From where i was walking, I could see Sebastian sitting on the hard plastic yellow slide. He stared at the moon, rubbing his eyes sleepily. I crept up on him, pushing his side.

"Boo." I said quietly. Not even flinching, he turned and smiled at me.

"I could hear your footsteps anywhere." He said moving over so I could climb and sit by him. "Besides, you forget about my superhearing abilities." He joked dryly.

"You always won at hide and seek...and every other game we played." I said bitterly, he shrugged.

"What can I say? I rock."

I rolled my eyes, sobering after that. "Ethan died."

I said, a cold and lonely breeze blowing my hair into my face as I looked down at my lap. I could feel Sebastian's body grow rigid next to me.

"Ethan Strathmore?" He asked as I pulled my lips into a tight line.

"Yeah." I croaked. Sebastian shook his head in disbelief.

"Jesus." He breathed. "How did he die?" He asked blowing air out of his cheeks. I looked up.

"The wolves killed him."

Sebastian's POV

My heart nearly stopped.

I broke out into a cold sweat.

But Rowan wasn't allowed to know how much this information phased me. It was like a blow to the gut, whenever one of my own kills a human. It could have been any old normal wolf...but they don't normally stray as far as our school. I knew it in my stomach that it was a shifter.

The last time something like this happened, the wolf was put down...and not by the vet either...Mason and some of his friends tore him down the werewolf way. It was only fair. A life for a life. A part of me was relieved that it wasn't me, I hadn't shifted since the night of the party. A part of me was saddened. Who would die because of their stupid decision...or bad timing.

"Sebastian? Are you okay?" Rowan asked putting a cool hand on my cheek. I reconnected with the real world.

"Yeah." I said looking into her eyes. They brimmed with tears. I grabbed her wrist.

"Whats wrong?" I asked as she brushed one away. I couldn't help notice that in this light...her tears almost looked...pink?

"I'm just scared. Something is very wrong and I don't know what it is. I'm just so scared Sebastian!" She choked, I looked at her sleeve which was damp and two toned. I brushed her tears away with my fingers to get rid of the mess. I didn't want her to worry about anything. Not about wolves, not about Radu, not about ANYTHING.

"Rowan, I promise. I promise, everything will be okay. Just don't cry anymore." I pleaded. She nodded and looked away, choking out a few more sobs and ceasing. I put my hand in hers and held on tight, warming her always cold hands with my always warm ones. And suddenly I wanted to tell her...but I couldn't. I just wasn't man enough. I couldn't find the words. I wanted to tell her that I was a werewolf. I wanted to tell her that I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I wanted to tell her that I loved her more than I loved anyone.

I reeled back at my own thought. Wait, was this really happening? I was in love with her? She finally looked at me, sighing and rubbing thumb over our intertwined hands. I opened my mouth to speak.

"Rowan, I-"

Her head snapped away from me and to the woods. I knew why she had done it too. There was a sound, not too far off. She put a finger up.

"Shh." She said putting an ear out. I let go of her hand, slowly walking down the slide.

"Stay here." I said adjusting my eyes to the darkness beyond the trees.

"Sebastian! Wait!" She hissed. I toed the earth, making sure I was quiet enough to walk up on whatever was out there. My heart raced. I squinted, making out a figure in the trees. It was a man for sure, standing and watching. My breath sped up. It was just like my dream. I couldn't see him, but I felt he was there. I turned to make sure Rowan was okay. She was curled up, frightened. I turned back to the wood, planning on keeping out of her sight so I could force myself to change...if I could...and snag whoever was out there. But when I looked again, the figure was gone, without a sound.

I frantically searched, but saw nothing. No movement, no shadow. I backed away, not daring to turn and leave my back vulnerable. I approached Rowan and helped her down, she clutched on to me, burying her face in my chest.

"Sebastian don't you ever do that again. It could have been them! It could have been the wolves!" She weeped. And at that point I was ashamed. There was no way I could tell her, confirm her fears and beak her trust in me. If she knew I was a wolf, she would know I was a monster. Just like the one on the loose that killed Ethan. The figure in the woods, I'll admit, scared the hell out of me, but I had to make sure that I was brave for her. It's the least I could do.

I dropped her off at home with plenty of coaxing, reassuring her that my house was only a few feet away and that May was with her.

"But May can't protect anyone! If it wasn't for that wolf that saved us the one night, we would have..." She trailed off, her eyes exhausted. I brushed her hair out of her face.

"Do you want me to stay?" I asked looking at her dark house. She nodded rapidly, opening the screen door.

"Please." She requested, I followed, shutting the door and locking it. She turned on the kitchen lights.

"Do you want anything?" She offered, bags under her eyes in this light, but she was still beautiful. I shook my head going to the sink, my hands felt sticky. She came up behind me and hugged me, her arms snaking around my waist.

"Thank you." She said, her voice reverberated around my whole body and I decided it was worth it to stay even for one night If I could have her rely on me.

"No worries. I said as she squeezed once more and padded to the stairs going to her room. My whole body felt warm, despite the chilly conditions of the house. I turned the water on, running my hands under the water. The white sink, became a pink color as I stared aghast at my hands. There was blood on my hands. Shocked, I scrubbed my hands and looked down to see that there was a little blood on my shirt, but I wasn't bleeding anywhere.

"Oh my God." I whispered praying nothing was wrong with Rowan. I looked up at the stairs, wondering If I wasn't the only one with a secret around here. I shut the sink off, going to my usual sleeping place on the couch and immersing myself in a restless sleep.
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Hey guys! Its me! I'd really appreciate it if I got some feedback! Like what are you all thinking so far? What do you think could be better? Let me know!:D