The demonic figure places itself in front of the huntress, a hair before reaching me. The huntress's attention is then completely redirected from me to the demonic figure. Holy shit. I know I'm supposed to be making a run for it, but my body collapses on itself. Everything is happening so fast. The air around us starts to pick up speed with the many creatures flying around. I don't know when it happens, but Luke is quite literally dragging me by my arms across the warehouse. The rocks hit my already open wounds, and I can't help but scream. Luke's fingers crawl into my open skin as he struggles to drag me out. I know Luke is hurting. His entire body is trembling so much that I can feel the vibrations. The door that seemed so close feels far away now. All we have to do is leave the warehouse, and we can teleport out of here. I lift my legs and push myself to help Luke drag me out.
We start going much faster, but I feel my consciousness slipping along with my energy. Luke's legs eventually give way, but that doesn't stop him. He wraps his hands around my waist, and we both start pushing ourselves out with our legs and hands. Our skin burns from the heat of the little exposed pavement that has yet to be covered with nature. "Fuuckkkkk!" Luke screams. "Luke, stop moving for a second. Turn us on our sides. There's a slight descent to the door, we can roll out of here."
"Or we hit our heads on the metal and kill ourselves."
"We won't pick up enough speed for that," Luke sighs in defeat and turns us on our side. We push ourselves and start rolling to the exit at a slow pace, but faster than when we were pushing. This doesn't stop us from colliding with the metal lining of the doorway, and it burns. The explosion has heated everything. Luke and I quickly scour away and scramble out of the warehouse. Delilah lands in front of us with the hunter on her tail, but far enough behind for her to cast a spell. "Lanuae!" Delilah yells, but before the spell takes place, I'm grabbed by my neck and dragged backwards. The touch is piercingly cold to the skin. "Argh!" I cry out.
"Soren!" Luke yells before completely disappearing. Tears cloud my vision, and I can barely breathe. "Wha-what…do…you want…from me?" I grunt out. Three shadow hunters surround me. Two of them are the ones that chased after Delilah and me, and the other one is much bigger. His hand, which wraps around my throat, is bigger than my head. He deeply inhales near my neck. "You're coming with us." It growls. A swirl of blue opens, and I can only assume that it's a portal. My temperature rapidly drops, and I see ice literally covering my skin. "Don't kill her," the huntress says.
Wasn't she just trying to kill me? What the hell is going on here? The original hunter enters the portal first. The mega hunter is about to enter the portal, but a loud growl stops him. The ground trembles with the presence of the new entity. I can't see what's happening behind me, only the hues of blue displayed before me. The mega hunter makes haste and throws me into the portal.
I instantly make contact with hard pavement, and the lighting is noticeably dimmer. Someone walks towards me, but I can't lift my head. The figure bends down and slightly lifts my head to look me in the eyes. The last thing I see is a man who is Jason's exact replica. His dark blue eyes are hard and fierce, but his touch is gentle. His face barely shows any signs of age, but his slicked-back hair, stubble beard, and broad physique give him a more mature look compared to Jason. He, too, has gold swirls in his eyes. Ears and a tail protrude from his body, and with the dark setting, the bioluminescence in his fur dimly glows. There's someone behind him, and judging by their legs, it's a woman. Something changes, and his eyes soften, but I don't get to figure out why before I'm dragged into the portal again by my leg. "For fucks sake," I barely whisper. My voice is hoarse and I have no more energy.
Next thing I know, I'm in Jason's arms. "God damnit, Soren," He growls. Despite this, I crack a small smile. "You came," My voice is barely audible. "Next time I'll already be with you." I wince from his touch. My open skin burns, and the frostbite doesn't help. "We're going home," Jason reassures me. I quickly try to recall what Delilah said before she vanished with Luke. I don't exactly know how this works, but I go with my instincts. I close my eyes, hold the necklace, and imagine Jason's bedroom and say, "Lanuae." When I open my eyes again, we're exactly where I imagined. "Since when could you do magic?" Jason questions. "Delilah" is the only thing I can muster out. Jason sets me on the bed. "I told you not to go without me. You could've died!" Jason doesn't raise his voice, and he doesn't need to. The message is clearly received.
"I know. I'm sorry,"
"You can explain everything later. Right now, we need to get you some treatment. "I'll tell Delilah where we are, and she can heal you the same way she did with Luke." He caresses my face but quickly retracts his hand. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt," I reassure him. Jason plants a kiss on my forehead before leaving to call Delilah.
A few seconds later, Delilah, Luke, and Jason are walking into the room. Luke runs to my side. "Thank God you're okay,"
"This is what you call okay?" I glare at him. He meekly laughs. "Thank god you're alive," He places his forehead on mine. I place my hand on his cheek, and he covers my hand with his. We both close our eyes and take a breather. "Alright, let me assess her condition," Delilah says, and Luke moves away from me. Delilah looks me over and sighs. "Sometimes I wonder how such frail human bodies can sustain so much damage and still function. Her body won't be strong enough to sustain the potion in this state, so she will pass out, unlike Luke. So don't be afraid when that happens. Soren, you're going to feel as if your life force is being drained, and it's going to hurt. Your body has just enough energy to stay alive, but you will temporarily be very close to death." I nod my head.
Delilah applies a green liquid to my wounds, and the pain is instantaneous. I don't get to react since I quickly lose consciousness.
~~~
My eyes are heavy but lighter than before. It takes me a while to adjust to the lighting. When I can finally see, I notice that my wounds are completely gone. I sigh in relief. I notice voices outside the room. "I won't let this happen again! You will tell me everything you guys do before you do it, and will inform me about everything!" I recognize the voice as Jason's. "I can't do that. It's not my choice, and I won't go behind her back. And you may be my boss in the office, but when it comes to magic, I'm the leader here." Delilah refutes. "Are all you women this stubborn? You won't go behind her back, but you'll go behind mine? This is my business. My family. MY future! If she is in danger, it's my concern. If she is hurt, it's my concern. If she's leaving for a warehouse with supernatural threats, it's my concern!" Jason's voice steadily rises.
"I get you guys are fighting, but you might want to tone it down." Luke jumps in. I'm assuming he's playing mediator in the argument. I slowly get out of bed and go to the bathroom. Upon looking at my reflection, I instantly cringe. I look like shit. Aside from my hair, there are no injuries to indicate anything that happened at the warehouse. My eyes make me look older than I am, and I'm afraid wrinkles are going to start catching up to me. You can tell I'm tired, even if it's more mental than physical at this point.
I leave the bathroom and exit the room. I follow the voices into Jason's living room. The same place with the mini bar, a girl's best friend. Luke is the first to notice me, which is ironic considering that between the three of them, he's the only human. His eyes look just as tired as mine, if not worse. Delilah did say that Luke didn't pass out, which means he's probably had no rest since the incident.
"Lower your voices. You guys are giving me a headache." I say upon entry and take a seat on one of the beanbags. "Soren, you're up. How are you feeling?" Jason is instantly at my side. "I feel like shit and I'm pretty sure there's grass between my ass." This makes Luke release a laugh that he quickly suppresses with his hand.
"I tried to get the debris out of your hair, but it's pretty entangled." Jason cringes. "It's fine, I need to wash my hair anyway." The room falls into silence, but I can tell that Jason has a lot on his mind. "Anytime you do anything that is a risk, I don't care how small, I'm coming along," Jason tells me. His eyes swirl with gold, so I know that he's in sync with his instincts. "I agree, but I'm afraid that's not possible," Jason growls. "Why not?"
"I'll explain everything, but first, how did you find me?"
"After Delilah and Luke came back, Delilah called me and told me it was urgent. She teleported me here and told me you were in danger. She briefly informed me about the enemies, and then I made her teleport me to you."
"Yeah, after he accused me of leaving you behind and threatened me," Delilah inputs. She and Jason glare at one another. "How long has this been going on for?" I ask Luke. "Ugh, way longer than I can handle. It's been five hours. It started as a hostile discussion after you passed out. Delilah told Jason everything that happened at the warehouse from her point of view, then I said my piece, and after that, everything went to hell. The injuries you sustained were…horrid. Jason kind of lost his marbles and almost ripped us a new one. And by that I mean ripped us a new body.
Delilah's instincts took over, and then they got in a mini-brawl that I decided to stay out of and would've recorded if it didn't put their identities at risk. Since then, Jason has been trying to pry information out of us about the events that led up to this, but we wouldn't budge. So here we are." Wow, okay…I don't really know how to respond to that. "I didn't expect you to care that much with our bond being severed and all," I say to Jason, who stops his argument with Delilah and directs his attention towards me. "Are you insane? Soren, you were cut down to muscle, your arm was fractured, you had thermal burns along your arms and legs, and from your throat to your chest, you sustained extreme frostbite. After all of that, you didn't expect me to care? Hell, even if you were grazed by a blade of grass, I'd care! Why can't you understand that? Instead, you recklessly put yourself in harm's way!"
Jason's muscles tense, and veins protrude from his arms and neck. "You almost died," He whispers, and I can tell that fact alone hurts him. He places his hands on both sides of my face. "Before you left, I told you that I wouldn't lose you. Especially not for people who are dead. They're gone, Soren. And I need you to stop looking before you get yourself killed. I'd never forgive myself. I can't lose you." He pulls my body towards him and engulfs me in a hug. He rests his head on mine and deeply inhales my scent. I allow myself to feel comfort in him before a memory comes flooding into my mind. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Jason!" I pull away from him and look him in the eyes.
He's confused and worried, but this news is nothing to be sad about. "Your parents aren't dead. Or at least I'm pretty sure they're not." Jason's eyes widen with hope, but then they turn bitter. "No, Soren. Enough of this. Enough with following clues and trails with some hope that we will find them."
"I don't need hope to find them. I saw your father, Jason." Jason's body instantly stiffens, and everybody is looking at me. "You-you saw my dad?" Jason exasperates. "When that mega hunter threw me into the portal, I landed on pavement. There was a bit of grass in between the cracks, so the place is most likely old. Anyway, a man walked towards me and lifted my head. He had dark blue orbs for eyes, pushed back midnight hair and a beard, and a broad physique that would make a Greek god cry. He definitely looked older than you. And if there's still any doubt in your mind, his eyes swirled with gold, and his protruding ears and tail were bioluminescent. I couldn't quite make out what he was wearing, but it was something black. There was a woman behind him. I don't know if she was your mom or not."
Silence fills the room once again as Jason processes what I just told him. He's visibly in shock. "And you're 100% sure of what you saw."
"A thousand percent sure. I think he may have recognized your scent. His eyes suddenly softened, and something tells me it takes a lot to make a burly man like him soft. If it really was a witch who made your parents disappear, then the products of the spell, the shadow hunters, have to have known where your parents were, which is why the mega hunter opened the portal to them only after smelling my scent. And the shadow huntress was telling the mega hunter to not kill me. They'd have no reason to spare my life if not for you."
"But we haven't been in contact with each other for days. How could my scent still linger?"
"Your scent is always on her. I may have temporarily severed the mark's bond, but that doesn't change the fact that you bit her, and the mark is technically still there. It's simply being prevented from being triggered now, but your scent wouldn't disappear." Delilah pitches in and defends my argument. A few more seconds go by before tears start falling down Jason's eyes. "My parents are alive," He says in awe. Delilah, Luke, and I look at each other with pride. We prevailed. We now have solid evidence that Jason's parents are alive and seemingly well. All that's left is figuring out exactly where they are.
"I was so close to them yet so far away," Jason reflects. "Don't worry, we'll find them again. Whatever happened to those shadow hunters? They would be of great help."
"They vanished after my attack. Funny enough, they never tried to hurt me."
"Then it's confirmed. The shadow hunters are definitely in league with your parents. Maybe Clarissa can provide us with more information." Luke states. "Delilah, do you know of any witch who could cast a powerful spell like that?" I ask. Delilah is quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath and talking. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I know a witch who specializes in magic like that, my sister. She was here on Earth around the same time as Jason's parents' disappearance. She also disappeared around that time, so I have no idea where to find her."
"Damn, okay. This is getting deep." Luke says. I agree, everything appears to be connected. We have the puzzle pieces, we just don't know where they fit. "Why did you and your sister come to Earth?" I ask. "We were also running from something, or at least I was. She ran after me to bring me back home. She only stayed as long as she did because she met someone. Last I heard of her, she was pregnant and on the run."
"Do you know who the guy was?" Luke questions. "No, but she did have a nickname for him. She called him Sin. I don't know if it's some kind of code name, but nobody that I know of goes by that name."
"That's fine, it's a start. If we can find your sister, we can find Jason's parents." I say cheerfully, but Delilah's expression is anything but. "You can't find her. Nobody can. She'd be more difficult to find than Jason's parents. When witches are on the run, we don't leave traces behind. She's a powerful witch. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be. And if we found her, she could easily kill us. Let's not forget that Jason's family was also running from somebody. There are multiple threats at large. None of which humans like yourselves can deal with."
"Okay, let's all take a breather and accept today's win. I don't know about you guys, but I'm fucking tired and starving, so how about we fill Jason in on everything while we're stuffing our faces with food." Luke pitches. "Better words have never been spoken," I tell him. Jason's tears are cleared up by now, and he grunts a response. It's only when pizza is delivered that I tell Jason about everything, including my relationship with Keith and the demonic creature that keeps trying to take over my body.
I don't tell anybody about the deal that I made, only that the creature exists. I don't make any comments about Saiya's situation with Ash, or that Ash initially asked if I had a sister. Saiya didn't tell Jason for a reason, and if I tell Jason, he'd go all alpha on her, and that could disrupt any potential peace with the vampires.
By the time I'm done telling Jason everything, we've run through three boxes of pizza, two bags of garlic bread, and a bowl of wings. It's safe to say that our appetites are satiated.
After getting the details about everything, Jason is livid. "Are you insane?! Do you comprehend how dangerous all of this is? You joined a gang to get details on my parents? Soren, that's going way too far. And what about the company's name? You didn't hide your identity or use a pseudonym!"
"I know, I know! But Keith assured me that I'd be safe. According to him, the fewer lies we tell, the easier it'll be to get their trust. They do background checks, and they don't have a third-rate hacker. They're the real deal. Keith knows what he's doing. He keeps me safe. He won't let anything damage the company or my reputation."
"Where was Keith when you were attacked by another gang, and let's not forget, vampires as well?!"
"Delilah saved my ass. I wouldn't do this without the proper sources."
"Magic can't always save you, Soren. I can't always save you. And I hate that, but it's true."
"What's done is done, Jason. I came out of it alive, and look how much information we've gotten. You can't lie and say that this hasn't been invaluable. Don't let my efforts be in vain, Jason. We're so close to getting to your parents. I won't hide anything from you guys anymore. We won't keep any secrets from each other that pertain to safety and the location of Jason's parents. Deal?" I ask the group. We all come to an agreement, and I make everybody pinky promise. Pinky promises are sacred.
"De, do you think that you can summon those shadow hunters?" I ask. "I don't practice summoning magic, and shadow hunters are high ranked, so it'll take some time, but I'm strong enough to get the job done. The problem is that those shadow hunters may be linked to my sister, which would make them her summons, and that means that nobody else but her can summon them, so don't bet on this."
"That's fine. We have to go back to the hotel, though, to get our things. Our flight boards early tomorrow. We'll go to see Carissa then and get as much information as possible."
"We can take the private plane instead. It's faster and more comfortable." Jason says. "Oh, thank god, I thought you'd never offer." Luke exaggerates. I giggle a bit before yawning. "Okay, I'm tapping out," I tell everybody. "I'll take you to a bedroom you can sleep in. You guys can get your things from the hotel tomorrow and teleport back to board the plane."
"If we're going to teleport to the hotel and back, we might as well teleport to Carissa's, no?" I ask. "No, teleporting to the outskirts of town is completely different from teleporting to another state. The further the distance, the more magic it'll take." Delilah states.
"And the less amount of magic, the smaller the magic trail to follow." Luke completes the conversation. "Exactly, you're finally catching on. Besides, it's better to teleport back here than to our exact destination. That way, we're even harder to track."
We all nod in agreement before throwing the garbage away and going our separate ways. "You're not going to show them their rooms?"
"I already did when you were asleep."
"Mh," Jason takes me to a room slightly smaller than his. The bed is large and has its own set of lights separate from the room lights. "There's a button on the board that connects to the bed lights that you can press to adjust the brightness. There's also an outlet by the bed."
"I left my phone in the car since we didn't have much signal over there, so it's still intact. Just another thing to go back for. Do you have any spare towels and a blow dryer? I need to get all of this grime off my body and out of my hair." Jason nods his head and leaves the room, and goes out into the hallway. He takes a towel from the hallway closet near the bathroom. He goes into the bathroom and grabs a large comb. When he enters the room, he signals me to sit on the bed. He sits behind me and starts coming out my hair. We sit in silence as he detangles my hair.
"You're surprisingly good at this."
"I've had the pleasure of playing house with Hayley and being the maid. Combing and brushing her hair was part of it, and her hair is thicker than yours. Diane taught me how."
"Mhm," I hum in content. We settled in silence again. Jason throws away the leaves and vines that were stuck in my hair and throws them away in the trash by the bed.
"I was terrified, you know. When I received that call from Delilah, I couldn't breathe for a moment. When I saw you in the grasp of the hunter and then thrown into the portal, I was filled with such unbelievable anger. I didn't want to risk the portal closing on me, so I reached in for you. I hated myself for the state your body was in when I held you. I'd never forgive myself if you died." He finishes combing my hair and hugs me from behind. His tail wraps around my waist, and his ears brush my face. I nuzzles his face into my neck, and I tense up before relaxing into him.
"Thank you. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have you in my life. To have met you. You're wonderful, foxy." He kisses my neck, and shivers are sent down my spine. He kisses the place where the mark would be glowing right now, and somehow, I still feel its intensity as if the mark's effects were still there. "Jason," Is the only thing I manage to say. I turn around, but Jason doesn't release his embrace. I wrap my hands around his neck, then entangle them in his hair. Jason sucks in a sharp breath.
"Why would you risk your life to find my parents? The reason isn't fun, and it's not just Saiya, so why? Why would you put your life on the line for two people you've never met?" He looks me in my eyes and I can't help but give him a sincere answer. "When we found Trevor and you learned more about your past, you were so happy. You smiled a smile I've never seen before. One that I wanted to keep seeing. And selfishly, I wanted to be the reason it was there. You deserve to know who you are, Jason. You deserve to know your parents."
"There's more. Tell me more," He hugs me tighter. My legs are criss-crossed between his legs that enclose me. "You had to have come straight from the company. What happened to your clothes after you shifted?"
"Delilah equipped me with some shorts. I put them on before dragging you out of the portal. I'm surprised you didn't notice."
"Near death will do that to you." This draws a laugh from him. "Keep going," he pushes. "After we met Trevor, I often thought to myself how far I'm willing to go to find your parents. And every time I had doubts, you would completely erase them with that stupid smile of yours. That happiness, I can't even begin to fathom taking it away from you. How could I hold the ability to find your parents and not use it? I'm not that cruel."
"So you did all of this out of altruism and this smile?" He flashes that beautiful smile, and its effects are the same no matter what. I massage my fingers in his hair and accidentally pull a groan out of him. "Something like that. For whatever reason, your happiness is important to me."
"You'd die just for me to be happy?"
"I mean, I wouldn't put it like that, but I guess? It's more like I would risk death to make you happy, which may be just as bad, but in my head, it's not."
"Well, newsflash, your death would tear me apart, and I highly doubt I'd be able to feel this level of happiness."
"Wrong, you'd have Saiya and hopefully your parents."
"And yet I still wouldn't have you. The woman who has made it all possible. After all, you were the reason Saiya and I met in the first place, and you'll be the reason I get my parents back. How could I have gained everything because of this amazing woman, and be happy with her death? I'm not that cruel."
"You'd learn, and if you didn't, I'd have to ask my dead self why you care about me so much."
"I could ask the same thing. Why do you care about me so much?"
"Not you per se, your happiness,"
"Same thing, why?"
"I asked you first,"
"Fine, I love you." All thoughts in my head stop. "I'm sorry, you what?"
"I. Love. You."
"Naughty boy. I don't think your fiancé would like that sentence." I try to play his confession off.
"I'm in love with Saiya, and I love you. I asked you how I could feel strongly towards Saiya and still have an affinity towards you. This is how. Even if we may not act like it sometimes, we're friends. And you're one of the most important people in my life."
"I mean, I am going to be your family, so you're not wrong. I could never love you like I love my siblings, or anything, but I would die for them too. So I guess my answer is the same as yours. I love you. Ugh, that doesn't even sound right." Jason's chuckle shakes us both. I continue to knead his hair. I feel something beating against me from behind. "Jason, are you wagging your tail?" I laugh.
Jason's face flushes in embarrassment. "So what if I am?" He tries to sound tough, but it comes out as a pout, which only deepens my laugh. I laugh so hard that I fall onto his shoulder. After composing myself, I look at him again, but keep my head where it is.
"What's with that look?" I ask him. "If it's my smile that gets you every time then your laugh is my equivalent."
"Please, there's nothing pretty about my laugh." I chuckle. "My hearing is better, foxy. There's nothing about your laugh that isn't pleasant to my ears."
"Even when I'm mocking you?"
"Now that's a different story," I chuckle before the room falls into silence again. The only thing that can be heard is the sound of our breathing. Our chest rises and falls together. The moment becomes less light-hearted and more intimate, and I can feel us treading in dangerous waters. "I'm going to go take a shower. Thank you for detangling my hair." Jason nods, and I separate myself from him. "Do you have any spare clothes?"
"Yeah, I still have some of the things from when we went shopping. You left a few things in my bags. I'll bring them here while you're in the shower."
"Okay," I leave and soak myself in the shower, but not too long so that I don't fall asleep in it. I get out of the shower and open my room door to find Jason settling some clothes on the bed. "Sorry, it took me a while to find them. I tried to leave before you came out."
"It's fine," I didn't buy any underwear, so I put the shorts on and then a hoodie over. I take the towel out from underneath the hoodie and set it out to dry. "Wow, you didn't even wait for me to leave."
"Wow, you didn't leave when you saw me putting some clothes on. Besides, it's nothing you haven't seen before."
"True, but still. You shouldn't just show your body."
I walk to where he's standing in the corner of the room. "I haven't shown you my body…yet." I smirk. Jason rolls his eyes, but then he focuses on something. "Is that my shampoo and conditioner?"
"Yeah, it works really well. Look how smooth my hair is. And that blow dryer did an amazing job. No wonder your hair is perfect all the time. He reaches to feel my hair and I let him. "Damn, that really is a difference."
"Hey, my hair wasn't that bad before," I glare at him. "I mean, when you had dirt and leaves in your hair, but if you want to touch up on the way your hair was looking before, you've got a lot of split ends." I wack his chest even though I know it won't affect him. He grabs my hand, and I have to wonder why I keep falling into this trap.
"I really have to stop doing that," I say, my regrets aloud. "Please, don't act like you don't love this." He kisses my hand. He snakes his hand along my back and draws me in. "I love this smell on you."
"Maybe you ought to start buying me shampoo and conditioner, then. If you want to make it a set, I won't complain. Bath bombs, lotion, soap, the whole works. You know, for my hard efforts."
"Why would I do that when I know I can just do this and get anything I want?" He flashes a boyish grin, different from his smile in the sense that it's goofier, but powerful nonetheless. "You're such an ass, get out of my room!" I push him away, and he lets me until he's completely out of the room. Before I can close the door in his face, he grabs mine and plants a kiss on my cheek. "Sweet dreams, foxy."
A small blush creeps onto my face. I quickly move my head out of his grasp and respond with a quick "You too," before closing the door on him.