Reaper

Forrest stormed out of the pack meeting, fuming.

Couldn’t Hunter see that whatever Sawyer was so concerned about was obviously important? Still, he couldn’t help the jealousy bubbling up in his throat. He had known Sawyer longer – why wasn’t he concerned for him like that? What made that girl so special, when he had been striving for Sawyer’s attention for years?

Forrest stalked around the corner, picking up Sawyer’s scent as he walked. It was a path he obviously travelled heavily, especially in recent nights, because the scent tickled his Senses the way it always did when Sawyer was in the room. He guessed that the trail would lead to this mystery girl, and he was determined to find out what made her so unique that she could catch Sawyer’s attention.

And he was determined to make her go away.

He strode through the empty streets, thinking to himself. It had been an entire day since Hunter and Sawyer’s fight, but the tension among the pack was so thick that no one could be around the two of them in the same room. Everyone knew that Hunter was first in command, and no one thought Sawyer would try to take that from him, but the idea suddenly became more believable at the sight of them. While Hunter was much larger and intimidating than Sawyer, Sawyer was stealthy, cunning, and charming – he could fare just as well as Hunter could when hunting. He would easily make an excellent pack leader.

The thought made Forrest stop in his tracks, just outside a bar.

That was it. Forrest’s mind whirled. If he could get this girl out of the picture, Sawyer would be able to see clearly the distrust that Hunter had in him. Sawyer would see that he was better off on his own, in his own pack, and would leave. Forrest, then, would be able to join him, to be his second in command, to be the person he counted on and trusted. And, eventually, he’d grow to care about him.

Forrest smiled and inhaled deeply. Yes, that was a good plan.

He nearly gagged at the Scent that he inhaled. It was sweet, like vanilla, with a hint of something acidic that he couldn’t place. It wasn’t a smell in the normal sense of the word – Forrest could gain a scent from a person much like the other Reapers used telepathy, only he had to be much more careful about the other scents that clouded his thoughts. Still, he was nearly hit over the head with the smell, mingled with that of Sawyer’s.

He felt the hairs of the back of his neck stand up. It’s her.

Forrest ducked behind a mailbox just as a girl and a boy stepped out of the doors. The guy was tall, as tall as Forrest was, with short blonde hair that he wasn’t used to seeing. The scent from him was subtle, not the smell that had hit him so heavily. No, that was billowing out like a cloud from the girl who stood next to him.

He snarled as he snuck peeks at her. Her long, curly red hair hung limply around her pale face, shielding her big brown doe-eyes. She had a small nose with a few freckles, making her look altogether a little like an elf. She was of average height and weight, a rather small chest. As he looked over her, he realized that this must be the girl. But, for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what Sawyer saw in her.

“Alright, I think that’s everything,” the girl said to the guy. Her voice was sing-song-y, too sweet to be genuine on anyone else but her. He understood somewhat the appeal of that voice, especially to someone like Sawyer who wasn’t used to such things.

The guy nodded, taking his keys out of his pocket. “You ready for this, Red? I’m going to make sure you have some fun this weekend. You’ll forget all about what’s-his-face by then.”

The girl blushed. “Jess, it’s got nothing to do with him, okay?” Forrest perked up at this – they were talking about Sawyer. “I just… want to forget the city for a while.” She smiled. “Let’s just go have fun.”

Forrest’s fists clenched. How could she even be deemed worthy of Sawyer’s affections? He does so much for her to keep her safe from a threat that might not even pan out, and this is how she repays him? He felt the anger bubbling beneath his skin, laced with envy. It was only because she was a girl. A human girl. And here she was, desperate to get away from the only person Forrest cared about. The person Forrest would give anything for.

“Atlantic City, here we come!”

The duo laughed and began to walk down the street away from where Forrest crouched. Every bone in his body wanted to go after her, to hunt her down and to demand from her what she thought gave her the right to do that to Sawyer, to just leave with no warning. He wanted to let her know just how heartless she was, leaving Sawyer in the dust for another man.

Wait.

Forrest couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. It was perfect as it already was. He didn’t have to do anything but tell Sawyer the truth. The girl Sawyer was enamored with was skipping town with another guy – that wouldn’t break Sawyer’s heart, it would simply make him move on. Sure, it would hurt Forrest to upset him like that, but it was for his own good. This human girl was willing to leave him – she couldn’t be trusted.

He waited a few moments for the two of them to be out of earshot before he sprung up from the spot where he had been crouched. He quickly turned on his heel and headed toward the warehouse, hoping to find Sawyer there immediately. He had hoped that he was still there, and not roaming the streets as well.

However, just as he passed an empty alley, a pair of hands grabbed him and yanked him down.

Forrest yelped in surprise as he was hit from all directions. Fists flew at him everywhere he looked, and pain followed promptly after each impact. He saw red as his face hit the ground with a sickening thud, a noise he only heard while he himself was hunting. He didn’t know what was happening, only that when he tried to scream, is mouth filled with blood and was promptly gagged.

He caught a quick glimpse of his attackers in between hits. They were two Reapers, that much was apparent, but he didn’t recognize them. He soon pieced together that they must be Alphas, then, but… they were hurting him. They obviously weren’t trying to Feed from him. Then why go to all this trouble?

Forrest groaned against the gag as one of the men slugged him in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Hot tears streamed down his face as he did so, wishing with all he had that he could just make the unbearable pain disappear. It was worse than anything he imagined, and the punched kept coming, this way and that, knocking the wind from his lungs each time they did so. He began to feel light-headed at the lack of oxygen – he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to withstand the assault.

As the barrage continued, he only hoped, vainly, that Sawyer would find him soon.

“Enough.”

The word wasn’t loud, but it was stern enough to stop the punches. As suddenly as it had started, the attack stopped in its tracks, leaving Forrest completely disoriented in the dark alley and gasping for air. He could hardly feel his body anymore, not while it was so wracked with pain. He could barely open his eyes enough to see the figure in front of him.

Two glowing red eyes peered out at him from the depths of the alley. They were cat-like, and narrowed, as if they were the predator and he was the prey.

Slowly, as they inched closer to him, a figure that belonged to the voice emerged from the darkness, suddenly visible under a street light. It was a Reaper, but this time a woman, unlike the goons who had beat up Forrest. She was inhumanly beautiful, not at all like the girl Forrest had seen earlier. She was a strange sight, for a Reaper, though she obviously was one – her long, straight hair was a brilliant shade of white, and her skin was ghostly pale in comparison to her surroundings. She was unbelievable thin, and looked as though she might be snapped in half at any moment by the slightest breeze; but Forrest could see, even in the dim light, the muscles and sinew that lay just beneath her porcelain skin. And as her eyes dimmed, his gaze was met by that of a pair of massive, crystal blue eyes.

As she approached him, Forrest could feel himself becoming more and more on edge, but at the same time more and more entranced by her beauty. She was like no one he had ever met before, not even Sawyer – she made the stupid girl pale in comparison.

The woman reached out to Forrest, placing a finger lightly underneath his chin to urge it up towards her. “Aren’t you a young one?” she purred. It was the same voice that had spoken a moment ago, but in an entirely different tone.

Forrest couldn’t respond. He simply blinked in response, and lulled his head.

“Pity, it’s always the young ones.” She placed a hand along his cheek and gently stroked it. Forrest tilted his head into her hand, feeling an overwhelming sense of security at her touch that he couldn’t resist. She was his savior. His beautiful angel. He didn’t even question what she was saying.

The woman looked at him, her eyes narrowed. She suddenly snatched her hand away from him, leaving him feeling like he had done something wrong, like he was being scolded. “Ah, well. You take what you can get.”

With that, she reached her hand back out to his forehead and grasped onto it.

The pain radiated from her hand, burning a print into his skin. He could feel the hot pain surging throughout his body, reaching every corner that he wasn’t even aware of. He wanted to cry out, but even if no one could hear him, his body betrayed him. He was paralyzed. He felt her hand searching his mind, raking through his memories as though he were a book, full of facts but devoid of life. Slowly, he felt his mind slipping away from him, his thoughts pulled through the burning hand as the darkness that surrounded him grew thicker, more prominent, than it had ever been before.
Before the darkness completely overcame him, the hand disappeared. Forrest collapsed to the ground, unable to control himself.

The two goons that had held him down now released him. The white woman hovered over him, looking down at his crumpled form with a snarl. She bent down, close to his ear.

“You tell your commander that I know he’s hiding something,” she hissed, grabbing him by the hair. “Tell him Isis knows what he has, and that she’s willing to do anything for it.”

She shoved his head into the ground, and left him there to lay on the asphalt, broken and bleeding. Just as the darkness overcame him, Forrest could feel more tears stream down his face.

He just hoped Sawyer would be the one to find him this way.