Silent Restraint

Sam looked up as the door opened.

"Hey, Sam," she said.

"Perenna."

She smiled. "How ya doin'?"

He shrugged and scooted over so she could sit next to him on the bed. She reached a pink finger-nailed hand into her pocket and produced half a peanut butter & jelly sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap. She handed it to him.

"It isn't drugged, I promise."

Sam unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. The sandwich was gone four bites later. "Why?" he asked when he was done.

She smiled again, looking up at him through her lashes with a sigh. "Sam. Me and Amare are, uhm, really close. Like closer than normal twins. And you're her Soulmate. So therefore you and I have an- uhm- a connection. And because of that connection, I care for you. And thus the sandwich." The way Perenna spoke, Sam noted, was more like she was constantly gossiping, while Bayleigh was mostly blunt and to the point.

"Soulmates?"

She giggled. "That's exactly what she said. Yes. Soulmates." He raised his eyebrows. "You two," she murmured, still smiling. "Made for each other. I read about it in a book in Jason's library. Most of the books in there're true, and they're mostly about vampires. But the part I found on Soulmates-- apparently there's one person for everyone in the world, but no everybody finds theirs. Some people just settle, right? Anyways, those two people have this immense bond. To the point that, if you get close enough, if one of you dies, the other will, too. I have to admit, I sort of used you. When I was looking for her." He looked at her questioningly. "Look, I didn't tell her all this, but I kinda knew who-- what you were when we first met, in that basement. And so I kinda meant to run into you in that bar. I mean, honestly, do I look like someone who would frequent the bar scene? Maybe tea with the Queen, but not that. I knew you were staying in town, so I kinda assumed..." she trailed off.

"Anywho," Perenna said, "that's kinda the reason why I asked you to come along, right? Because with my connection with her, I could find the general area she's in, but you, as soon as we caught up with her you found her. just like that. And you didn't even know it, did you? Remember how you told me you found that guy who had the note for you? How do you think you found him? The way you described it, he isn't just someone you would run into on the streets. But you found him."

Sam swallowed. "So what does this mean?"

The girl shrugged. "I guess it means that I'm going to do everything in my power to get you back together. And out of here." She stood abruptly. "I probably won't talk to you again, but I'll see if I can call in a favor and get them to stop drugging your food. And get some sleep. You look horrible. Goodbye, Sam."

And then she was gone.
<><><><><>

"Here you go, pet," the vampire said with an accent that could be Spanish or French, or maybe even both. Her arm was wrapped tenderly around Emma's waist as she led her into a room. A man-- human-- watched them from the wall. His shirt was removed and his neck was bloodied down one side. He had the look of a caged animal in his eyes. Emma's mouth watered but her stomach lurched.

Hayden had dropped her off outside of town and she'd stumbled into the nest, beaten and starving. They had taken her in like a long lost daughter, but not without questioning. After nearly an hour of it, which she responded to with flawless and beautiful acting in her opinion, they were finally bringing her to food. She was actually surprised to see a man here; it was a misconception that most people, including her, possessed that they kidnapped only girls. When she had told Hayden that she was new to the operation, she hadn't been lying. By the time they picked her up, she had only been with them for a matter of months, and had only been to two of the participating nests, one of them being this one.

"I'll leave you here," Isadora said, releasing her and turning away from her, her pale cinnamon skin dark, cast in shadow as she moved from the glare of the window and out the door. Emma made an unenthusiastic noise of thanks as the door clicked shut and locks rolled into place.

The man was pressed against the wall opposite her, chains binding his feet so he could go no faster than a walk. He was standing straight, pretending to be unafraid, but he was terrified. Emma tried to get in the mood, to get as hungry as she had been just minutes ago. But even this delicious-looking human was making her queasy now. She approached him, ignoring his flinch, and put a hand to the dried blood on his neck. His breath came out in a strangled gasp and she drew her hand back, startled. Frustrated with herself, she put a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down, pressing her teeth against him. Nothing. She pulled away, her lip curling in disgust, and pulled his wrist to her mouth where she bit down on the pulsing vein, determined.

As the blood flowed into her mouth, all she could think of was the look of
guilt on Hayden's face as she ran away from him, his obvious struggle with letting her go into uncharted territory.

And then she heard the man whisper, "Please," and it was all over.

She pulled her lips away from his wrist and took a forceful step back. She was nowhere near full, but what she had drunk was threatening to come back up rather quickly. She went and sat against the wall at the human's side. He looked down on her, confused.

"Don't look at me like that. I know I'm a fuckin' wreck." She put her head in her hands, not wanting to look at him. "But it isn't even my fault! Do you know how long I've been craving you? They were feeding me cow blood, for god's sake. And now I have what I was meant to survive on right in front of me and I want to hurl.
What is wrong with me?" she asked, spreading her palms and looking up at him.

The man looked down at her, scared but curious, and shrugged. "I don't know," he said hoarsely.

She groaned. "It's cause I'm insane. And you know what the worst part is? A coupla months ago, I'd have been all over you. But now- god- I can barely even look at you. I know you're gonna die and I actually feel shitty about it. And I don't understand why." The look on his face sent a wave of guilt through her and she said quietly, "I didn't mean- you had to have known- I'll go."

She stood and slipped out of the door quietly.

Isadora met her halfway down the hall with a warm smile, similar to the one Emma had plastered on just then. "How was he?"

"Fabulous," she said. "I didn't want to gorge myself, though. I haven't eaten in a while."

"Oh, Darling, I know. Your color is off." Isadora pressed the back of her hand against Emma's forehead. "What can I get you now, pet?"

"You know, a hot shower would be magnificent."

"Up the stairs, first door on your right, love. Towels in the closet."

"Thank you. And my bag--" but it was being thrust into her hands by a monster of a man with soft, dark chocolate skin and a big-lipped smile.

"Right here, Emma," he said in his booming voice.

"Thanks, Ty," she said, accepting her bag. All it really had in it were stolen thrift store clothes she'd nabbed on her way from California.

"No problem," his lips spreading in a huge grin. His huge hands reached out and patted her cheek tenderly before she turned away.

<><><><><>

She slipped out of her room. She had been waiting, listening, for the rest of the pack to go to their rooms and they finally had. She left the house and wandered around town, anyways, just to make sure she wasn't being followed. She zig-zagged for a whole hour before she stopped at the Motel 6. She knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice more. Hayden threw open the door and ushered her inside. The door slammed behind her and suddenly his rough hands were on her, checking to make sure she was unharmed. Then he wordlessly sat her down on the edge of the bed and took a seat on the couch, facing her.

"What happened?"

Emma shrugged. "Nothing. Nothing important." She paused, then shook her head. "Only that your people have taken down a huge amount of nests in the last coupla months alone. Making them all pretty nervous." She gestured in the general direction of the door.

"I told Garth and Gerard to have their people lay off this one, but they know where it is if anything goes wrong."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Have you heard from the Winchesters lately?"

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No. Just that Dean isn't in California anymore. Why?"

"Because apparently, rumors from HQ are there's a huge-ass Winchester currently holed up in a basement cell up there, wherever that is."

Hayden lifted his head and raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

She nodded. " 'Parently they picked him up with one of their girls and took him in. No word on a ransom yet, if there's even gonna be one. I can't see why they'd want one though. All they would probably ask for is some lenience from the hunters wiping out all these damn nests. But still, hardcore hunter like Winchester? He'd probably sacrifice himself before he'd let them do that shit." Hayden swallowed taking it all in, and she stood up and went to the door. "I must be off now," she said.

He stood up and joined her. "Be careful," he said.

"You first," she whispered, and wrapped him a quick hug. She escaped out the door a second later and was back at the house within five.