He chuckled. "Danny told his teammates the moment you agreed. He has been working to get you since the beginning of this year. He was practically bursting with excitement over the news."
Savvy felt a touch of guilt. Danny obviously felt more for her than she did for him. She hoped she would grow to care for him in time. She would do what she could to make herself feel that way about him. “That’s good to know.” It was all she could think to say.
“Oh, you asked me to check if Hunter was in the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Jackson smiled as he disappeared behind the door. Savvy went into the ladies room to check for Rebecca. Two girls who were under the influence of something bumped into her as she entered the bathroom.
"Rebecca, are you in here?" The only response was a silent echo. Apparently the two girls who exited a few moments ago were the only ones in the room.
"Any luck, Jackson?"
He poked his head outside and shook it, his brown hair moving in time with the movement. "No luck, sorry."
"No problem, thank you." She said absently as the worry began to grow.
"Do you need help finding them?"
"No, I think I’ll just call them. Thank you again, Jacks." Savvy headed towards the exit door distracted as she struggled with pulling her phone out of her tiny purse. She dialed Rebecca's number, heard the first ring, and then was attacked. Someone had come from behind and placed a white cloth over her mouth and nose. She struggled against the man, who was cold and strong. The chemical on the cloth was already doing its work by entering her lungs and putting her to sleep. It was only moments before she was seeing darkness.
Chapter Thirty-Three
~”You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”
~Henry Drummond
Hunter
Natalia and Rebecca were fluttering around Hunter like irritating butterflies. He batted them away as reality started shining through the haze of the drug that he’d taken. "What happened?" His throat felt like he was talking around cotton balls. "Does anyone have some water?" He asked, barely able to recognize his own voice which was raspy and cracking.
"Be still while you get acclimated." Natalia's sweet voice soothed his nerves.
"How could you be so stupid?" Rebecca hissed angrily.
He put his head in his hands trying to stop the pounding and keep her angry voice out. Gabriel handed him some water which he accepted with a grateful, shaky smile. The water was cool and crisp as it flowed down his excessively dry throat. Bits and pieces of what happened after he took that pill started to flit through his mind, but nothing made sense.
"He should be fine now." Natalia offered a determined look as she placed the little pouches of herbs back into her purse.
"What on earth would posses you to take drugs?" Rebecca was still pacing and fuming and nothing about her looked to be slowing down.
He cleared his throat. "Don't judge, sis."
She stopped pacing and zeroed dagger eyes on him. "Don't judge? Really? I walked in on you taking drugs and the first thing you have to say to me is don't judge?"
"I can't talk to you when you’re like this." Hunter told her, irritated with her attitude. He tried to get up, but his legs and brain were not communicating correctly. Instead, Natalia helped him to his feet which only irritated him more because making a dramatic exit was ruined.
Rebecca turned and grasped both his arms. Her eyes locked with his. There was hurt, annoyance, and love in those eyes. "I can't lose you. I don't care why you did it. Just please promise me that you’ll never do that again."
Hunter nodded and he meant it. All the drug did was make him weak and the whole reason he was even willing to take it was to make him stronger and a tougher competitor on the field. Danny had promised him that Ethan could help. He lied.
"Say it." Rebecca demanded.
"I promise." Hunter nodded. "I promise." He looked around, "Where’s Savvy? Did she win?"
"Oh my gods, I forgot. I was so worried about you that I forgot why I came to find you in the first place. Surely she has been crowned queen by now. We need to get back." Rebecca started for the door. "Are you okay to return to the dance?"
Hunter nodded. He may be weak but this was Savvy's moment. He didn't want to ruin it. They made it back to the gym in record time, considering the small fact that his legs were not working one hundred percent yet. A quick scan of the gym told them that she was not there, but Danny was. Hunter approached him first. Now in truth, when he moved toward Danny, Hunter was intent on simply asking him where Savvy was. But that all changed when Danny turned that evil smile onto him. Danny stood up and without another thought the fist at Hunter’s side swung and hit his jaw with a resounding crunch. Gabriel reacted faster than was humanly possible by pulling Hunter away from Danny before a fight broke out. Lucky pulled Danny back and whispered in Danny's ear. Whatever he said made Danny's face fall and he put his hands up in surrender.
"Where’s our sister?" Rebecca asked.
Danny looked at her with surprise. "I assumed she was looking for you."
Danny looked coldly at all of them and Hunter knew he was making a promise to him silently that his life was going to be hell when they returned to school next week.
"Okay, we need to find her." Hunter ordered, his hand still throbbing from the impact of the blow but he felt a level of satisfaction he never thought possible. It felt good to stand up for himself.
"And fast, something doesn't feel right." Rebecca chimed in. She led the group; Lucky, Gabriel, Natalia, Sundae, Gabriel’s date Persephone and Hunter followed armed with purpose.
Jackson ran after them. “Becks, last I saw Savvy, she was heading outside to call you.”
“Thank you, Jacks.” Rebecca’s best friend gave her a dazzling smile and joined the group that was searching for Savvy.
"Any luck, Rebecca?" Gabriel asked a strange question, unless he was expecting her to use that infamous twin-sense they had.
Hunter watched as Rebecca closed her eyes and sniffed. He swore she sniffed the air. Without a word she led them in the direction of the front door.
When they got outside Hunter took in a deep breath. The rush of adrenaline from punching Danny and the cool breeze helped him to pull himself back to normal. He looked around; the front of the school was fairly empty. Savvy was nowhere to be found.
He happened to look down on the ground and noticed a pink, shiny phone winking at him from a rose bush. He picked it up and knew instantly it was Savvy’s phone. “Rebecca!” He held up the phone and watched as terror crossed his sister’s face. She grabbed the phone from his hand while Hunter picked up the purse.
Chapter Thirty-Four
~”As soon as there is life there is danger.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rebecca
Rebecca’s heart sped up as she ran back into the school. She didn’t have time to worry about her sister, she needed to focus on finding her and then she would worry about the situation. She pulled the purse open and noticed the necklace was still in the silky folds. She picked up Savannah’s scent. Just like before she focused on the strength of the scent line. All of them disappeared, one by one, until only one remained. “This way!”
She made her way down to the basement. She had no idea why Savvy would visit the basement in the amazingly beautiful dress she wore but Rebecca had a feeling the answer was something she was not going to like. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear the foot steps of Lucky, Gabriel, Hunter, Natalia, Sundae, Jackson, and Persephone, her unconventional pack. She was learning quickly that she didn’t need wolves to make up a pack; it was her family and friends that were honorary members. She had no time to look behind her and determine where they were. If instinct was right they were at her heels.
The basement was dark. Water leaked from pipes that ran along the wall and ceiling, creating a musty smell. It was hard to keep Savvy’s scent. The temperature became humid very quickly and she knew her hair would be frizzy within moments, but she did not care. "Savannah, where are you?" She didn’t have to speak very loud, her voice carried down the empty corridors.
Savvy’s scent mingled with the scent of death, ‘Vampires’ Rebecca’s alpha screamed the warning in her mind. Her heart rate quickened and fear began to seize her chest. Her sister's scent was mixed with fear and Rebecca knew Savvy was in trouble. She needed to calm down and focus. The wolf scratched against her skin to get out. ‘Heel!’ She commanded in her mind.
‘Let me help.’ The wolf begged.
‘You are helping.’ Rebecca was thankful for the night vision to help her find Savvy’s location, grateful for the ability to smell the danger, but she was not going to let the wolf out. “Vampires.” She whispered so that only Lucky, Gabriel, and Persephone could hear her. “Jackson, Natalia, Hunter, and Sundae you should go back to the gym now.”
They all shook their heads. None of them were leaving. “Someone needs to call for help. Hunter, it should be you.” Rebecca tried again.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not leaving.” Determination clear in his eyes. Rebecca closed her eyes against the sting on her hand. She took a deep breath and turned back towards the scent line. She didn’t have time to deal with the rules. She needed to find Savvy. Besides, she tried to remove him from the situation. She couldn’t control where he went and in a few hours he would know he was a witch so technically, she wasn’t revealing supernatural existence to a human.
Rebecca squatted down towards the floor; there was no breeze to carry Savvy’s scent towards her so she would have to find it.
"Rebecca what are you doing?" It was Hunter’s voice, which trembled with worry that broke her concentration. She turned back towards him and zeroed her eyes on him, he stumbled backwards and Gabriel stepped behind him to steady him.
“Tracking.” It was a simple answer and it kept her safe from breaking the rules. It wasn’t like she could tell him she was a werewolf picking up their sister’s scent.
"Your eyes are... yellow!" He swallowed hard.
Instead of responding she attempted to refocus on her task at hand. Almost immediately she picked up Savvy’s scent and began walking towards the back room of the basement. When Rebecca opened the door she found Savvy sitting in a chair... gagged. Her mascara had run which was an obvious sign that she had been crying and Rebecca’s heart broke. Once again, Rebecca’s actions put her family members in danger.
Celestia was running her fingers through Savvy's hair. The action reminded Rebecca of someone petting a cat. "It took you long enough."
Rebecca heard the rest of her friends and family come in behind her. Hunter gasped at the sight of Savvy being held captive. He tried to run to his captive sister but Persephone held him back. Lucky stood beside Rebecca, his chest swollen protectively and Gabriel joined her at her other side, growling deeply his warning.
"I see you brought friends." Celestia almost cackled and Rebecca fought back the urge to scratch her eyes out. "So did I." She signaled and they were suddenly surrounded by vampires, at least a dozen of them had slipped out of the shadows. And Felicity stepped in line behind Celestia.
She was protecting Celestia? Rebecca cast a questioning look at Lucky who shook his head signaling he didn’t know what was going on. Felicity held a bow in one hand and wore a quiver full of arrows behind her back.
Rebecca took a deep, steadying breath. She did her best to control the wolf. ‘I’m giving you permission to come out ONLY if I am on the verge of losing the fight. Otherwise, let me handle this.’
‘That is a mistake. You are stronger as an alpha.’
“That is my rule. Break it and I’ll make your life a living hell.’ Rebecca warned her.
‘Fine, but don’t blame me if this goes badly.’
‘I won’t.’
"This is between you and me, Celestia. Leave my friends and family out of this." Rebecca fisted her hands at her side.
"Let me think, um, no. They came here of their own free will and so they will die of their own free will." Celestia snapped her fingers and the vampires moved in on them, slowly, methodically. They were obviously masters of time. Felicity kept her post next to Celestia.
"Lucky, Gabe, Persephone, please keep them safe." Rebecca pleaded quietly knowing the wolves and Lucky could hear her.
‘Name me your enforcer.’ Gabriel’s voice echoed in Rebecca’s mind as he stood by her side, ready to fight.
‘What is that?’
‘Your second in command. It will give me the ability to harness the wolf in human form.’
‘I already thought you were.’
‘You have to say it.’
‘I name you my enforcer?’
‘Good choice.’ The wolf in her mind chanted something from an unknown language and Rebecca felt a shock of electrical current leave her body and watched as it entered Gabriel’s body.
Instantly Gabriel started to merge human with wolf. His nails grew into claws, his eyes turned yellow, his face grew side burns and his teeth became deadly.
In the next moment they were being attacked. Gabriel's claws started ripping vampires to shreds, Hunter grabbed a pipe he found lying around somewhere and used the vamps heads as baseballs; Rebecca had never been so proud of him as she was in that moment. He seemed to be protecting Natalia who was nervously preparing some concoction on the desk behind him. Lucky pulled out two pens which instantly turned into long fiery swords when he chanted something over them. He made quick work of the first vampire which had jumped high in the air towards Rebecca. The one that flew in the air behind him was met with Rebecca’s alpha's wrath as she clawed his neck and he screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.