MARKED (Hunter Awakened)

by Rascal Hearts

  The final shop was a toy store, and for a moment I forgot all about my conundrum. There were no electronics, nothing pop culture. These were dolls, stuffed animals and hand-crafted toys, the beautiful, old-fashioned designs that were basically impossible to find anymore. If I had children or nieces and nephews, I would've come here to buy all of their gifts. In fact, I made a mental note to check with local places that gave out gifts to children to see about purchasing and donating from this shop.

  I must have stood there for a good two minutes before I realized that Elias was completely entranced by something. I followed his gaze and found him staring at a display of wooden, hand-carved animals. As if he was completely unaware of where he was, he set down one of the bags he was helping me carry and reached out for a horse. It wasn't painted, but it didn't need to be. The artist's work was amazingly detailed and life-like.

  Elias picked it up, running his fingers almost reverently over the wood. There was a softness to his features I'd never seen before, a sad sort of wistfulness mixed with joy, as if whatever memory this toy had sparked was both sad and happy at the same time. I took a step forward, but Elias didn't look my way. I thought he didn't realize that I was there, but when I was right next to him, he began to speak.

  “My family did not have much money when I was a child, but we always had something for Christmas. When I was seven, I wanted my own horse, but I knew that we could not afford one, so I did not ask for it. Instead, I told my parents that I wished for them to use any money they would have spent on me for Christmas to buy something that the family needed.” His voice was quiet, his eyes saying that he was lost in the memory.

  “That Christmas morning, I did not expect to see anything under the tree with my name, but there it was. A small package. Inside, was a horse very much like this one. It was the greatest gift I have ever been given, and one of my happiest memories.” He set the horse down. “I have not thought of that day for a very long time.” He didn't look at me, but I felt the change. “Please excuse me.”

  As he stepped outside to, I assumed, regain his composure, I quickly purchased the horse and hid it in the bag of fudge I was carrying. By the time I went back outside, Elias looked like nothing had happened. He didn't mention his story and neither did I. Instead, he took all of the bags and we headed back to the car. The ride back to my house was a silent one, which wasn't entirely unusual, but there was a difference to this silence, a weight to it, as if Elias hadn't completely shaken seeing that toy.

  When we pulled up to the house, I'd made a decision that I was going to give him his gift tonight. If I didn't let him help me unpack the bags, he'd know that I'd bought him something, and since the only time we'd been separated the entire night had been in the toy store, he'd guess what I got him and it would completely ruin it. Besides, something inside me told me that this was the right time. So, before he could open the door, I put my hand on his arm.

  “Wait,” I said. I reached down into the bag at my feet and withdrew the brown paper bag from the toy store. “I'd like to give you your Christmas gift now.” I held up a hand before he could protest. “No arguments. We don't have time since I have to be on set in thirty minutes. Just accept it.”

  For a moment, I thought he was going to argue, but when he took the package without a word, I knew he'd do as I asked. I watched him as he opened the bag and reached inside. The moment he withdrew the horse, I saw all of his defenses melt away. Everything that I'd been feeling for him, both admitted and denied, was suddenly laid bare and I knew, without a doubt, that what I felt for this man was deeper than anything I'd felt before or would ever feel again. I didn't know if I could call it love yet, but I knew that soon, I would.

  “Teal.”

  I'd never realized how full my name could sound until now. Elias looked up and his eyes were dark, shining. He leaned towards me and a thrill went through me. Finally!

  Just before his lips touched mine, Harrison's ringtone cut through the air. I really didn't want to answer it, but it would've been a little difficult focusing on a kiss with the theme song to a show about zombies played in the background. I saw my frustration mirrored on Elias's face as he sat back and I dug in my pocket for my phone. I knew Harrison wouldn't have called me this late if it hadn't been important, but it still sucked.

  “Yeah?” I knew it was rude, but I couldn't help it. Pretty soon, this sexual tension building up inside me was going to result in an explosion of some kind.

  “Are you okay?”

  The concern in Harrison's voice drove away most of my annoyance. The fact that he hadn't commented on my less-than-polite greeting and immediately inquired after my well-being said that something had happened. “I'm fine. Elias and I just did a little Christmas shopping.”

  “Damnit, Teal! I didn't think you were going to go anywhere public.”

  “Harrison, calm down. Elias was with me and we went to this little village of shops. There were, like, twenty people in the entire place.” I was getting worried now and I could feel Elias's eyes on me. “What's going on?”

  “Rufus Dietz was released from the hospital a few hours ago.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Teal, Bryson, set up for the two shot.” A PA walked by, apparently on a mission that hadn't ended with delivering the instructions.

  “Ready, Teal?” Bryson smiled at me as he set his phone aside. He usually spent our breaks texting his boyfriend, and this one had been no different. The two of them were sickeningly sweet together and I loved it.

  I nodded absently, my head still stuck in the events of the past two days. Harrison had gotten a restraining order against Rufus and it seemed to be working since I hadn't seen or heard from him since he'd been released. Pretty much everyone I'd talked to had been livid, but there wasn't really anything we could do unless there was proof that he'd violated the restraining order. Once a trial date was set for his attack on me, things could change, but his injuries were going to make things difficult.

  It was because he'd been assaulted, Harrison had said, that the judge had allowed him to be released. Apparently, the hospital stay, combined with the fact that the bruises on my face had faded, and that I'd kicked him in the crotch the day before made him a bit more sympathetic than me. I wasn't worried about it. Even he wasn't stupid enough to come after me again, especially with Elias and Paul on twenty-four hour alert.

  “Teal?”

  I pulled my thoughts from the past. I needed to focus. If Bryson and I nailed it in the first take, our coverage, and close up shots would be that much easier. I didn't know if it worked that way for other actors, but it did for us. Besides the time factor, this was also a very important scene. We were shooting episode fourteen, the one all of the fans were already clamoring for because it was the scene where angsty star-crossed lovers Kiana and Mason were finally going to have their romantic moment. Of course, in true story telling fashion, all hell would break loose shortly after it happened, but we'd filmed the chaotic aftermath on the first day. Right now, it was all about the love.

  I'd heard rumors that people were betting that Bryson and I's chemistry would fizzle as soon as the scenes became physical, that there was no way we'd get a believable performance. Bryson and I were determined to prove them wrong. Unbeknownst to anyone on the cast or crew, we'd actually spent the first two months we were shooting practicing for this exact moment. Yes, it was exactly what it sounded like.

  Bryson and I had spent hours making out, working on logistics about how to move to allow for good angles, the best gestures and caresses. Sometimes Bryson's boyfriend had given us pointers. That actually wasn't as weird as it sounded, believe it or not. I think they'd both just appreciated that I hadn't acted weird about kissing Bryson. Some straight girls looked at kissing gay guys as a chance to 'turn' them. Me, it was just like anything else I did in front of the camera, fake.

  Bryson and I headed out of the tent and into the chilly night air. We could have shot this scene inside, but show's creator and
executive producer, Doug Wylie, had insisted that as much be filmed naturally as possible, something that our show was now known for. So a scene like this, that was supposed to take place out on the front porch of a cabin in the woods, rather than using a built exterior on a sound stage, was being shot in front of the cabin that had actually been built for my character. There were definite drawbacks to this style of work, but no one could deny how beautiful it was.

  I stood at the porch railing and looked up at the moon. I felt the character of Kiana slip over me as Bryson stepped inside the cabin. The crew quieted and I closed my eyes, letting everything else fade away. It was Kiana and Mason who were here, their emotions raw from scenes we hadn't yet shot, ones that would elaborate on plot twists that would leave the audience gasping.

  I heard my cue and opened my eyes. The cabin door opened, then closed behind me. I could feel Bryson standing behind me.

  “How could you just walk away like that?”

  His voice was perfectly pitched. Not too loud, not too soft. It was just right and I matched it.

  “You do not understand,” I said. “What is at risk here is greater than me, than you, than any of us.”

  “So I'm just supposed to walk away?”

  I could see his expression in my mind's eye, the combination of pain and anger. “If you will not, then I shall.”

  I moved as if to go down the steps and his hand closed on my upper arm.

  “How can you just leave? I thought that this meant something to you.” He paused, then let the pain seep into his next sentence. “I thought I meant something to you.”

  I could feel tears burning in my eyes and blinked once to send them sliding down my cheeks. “I cannot allow what I want, who I want, to sway me from my destiny.”

  I took a step and felt Bryson's hand tighten. It was time for his line and then the kiss.

  “Screw destiny.”

  He moved as he pulled me towards him, angling us both towards the camera so that neither one of us was blocked. Bryson's bright blue eyes were shining as he bent his head towards me. I closed my eyes and let my body remember the feel of his mouth, how to move my arms so that they weren't in the way.

  It was weird, how I could feel the energy humming between us, but there was zero sexual tension in either of our bodies. I'd always found romantic scenes strange and awkward to film, as if there was always the possibility that one of us was enjoying it more than the other. That was one of the things I loved about this relationship. Neither Bryson nor I felt any pressure as we kissed. It was the memory of another's mouth on mine that made my stomach tighten.

  “And, cut!” the director called out.

  The crew started clapping immediately, some whistling. I grinned at Bryson, but he was staring off of set, a strange expression on his face, almost one of concern. I followed his gaze and found Elias in the shadows. His lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes unreadable. And there was one of the issues actors had while dating. A doctor's spouse might complain about the schedule, a cop's spouse about the danger, but acting was the only job where watching your significant other making out with someone else was a common occurrence.

  Sometimes, the chemistry on-screen translated to real life, but jealousy wasn't limited to those instances. I just didn't see what Elias had to be jealous about. While he and I hadn't talked about Bryson being gay, I would've thought that either he would've figured it out by now or that he would've realized how much these last few weeks had meant to me.

  “Reset for Teal's coverage!” the director shouted. “Ready in fifteen.”

  It wasn't until everyone around me started bustling and moving that I realized I'd forgotten my energy drink back in my trailer. I really hadn't been sleeping well since Rufus had gotten out on bail two days ago. I was halfway there before I thought that I could've just asked Elias to go. Or, better yet, I could have asked him to walk with me. Besides the fact that it hadn't been a good idea at all to leave the set without telling anyone where I was going or how long I'd be, it could've been a nice opportunity to sneak a little alone time with him.

  We still hadn't discussed when and how we wanted to take things public. I considered turning back, but it was pointless to do so. I was over halfway now, so heading back would take longer than continuing on. I had an emergency phone in my trailer. I could use it to call Elias and ask him to come by so he could walk me back. It would be embarrassing, but it would ease my anxiety, and after what I'd been through, most people wouldn't even think twice about it.

  I quickened my pace, my heart racing as I struggled to keep from breaking into a run. It was too much like that night. No one around. Strange shadows moving in ways that they shouldn't be able to move. I could taste the fear, sharp and metallic, on the back of my tongue. Then I saw it, the familiar shape and color of my trailer. I almost cried in relief as I opened the door and went inside.

  The show didn't have a huge budget this season, so the trailers were small, but right now, they were better than any vast domain. I was safe. That's what mattered.

  I sat down on the loveseat that was the closest piece of furniture to the door. I cradled my head in my hands, my breathing ragged as I tried to slow my pulse. I was safe, I repeated to myself. No one was going to hurt me. The man who had done it before was under a restraining order, and even Rufus wasn't stupid enough to violate it. Besides the fact that he'd get his ass thrown in jail if he tried, I liked to think that he'd be at least a little wary considering what had happened to him the last time he'd come after me. That thought calmed me a little more and I started to be able to breathe.

  I wasn't sure how much time had passed and I knew I needed to start back soon. I didn't want to hold things up or lose momentum with Bryson. I opened my eyes and that was when I saw it.

  On the small table against the opposite wall, propped up by a stack of books I'd left there a couple of weeks ago, was an envelope with my name on it. It hadn't been there when I'd been in my trailer last, just a couple of hours ago, and now that I thought about it, I'd locked my trailer on my way out, but I hadn't needed a key to get back in.

  Someone had been in my trailer.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I was frozen to the spot, my ears straining for any sound that would indicate I wasn't alone.

  “Teal?”

  I let out a surprised squeak and spun around. I wasn't entirely sure what I was planning on doing once I was facing the intruder, but I was tensing up for some sort of confrontation when my brain finally caught up to my eyes.

  Elias was standing in front of me, an expression of concern on his face. His gaze dropped to the envelope in my hand, and his eyes narrowed.

  “Stay there.”

  He didn't wait for a response as he began to move quickly through the trailer, opening every door, checking every nook and cranny while I did as he'd instructed. It didn't take him long to clear the trailer, but he didn't stop there. With a nod to me, he went outside, I assumed to make sure the area around the trailer was also secure.

  I didn't know what to do. Should I stay here or was it safe for me to go sit down? I had a feeling that as soon as I unlocked my legs, they weren't going to be able to hold me, so I'd probably end up in a pile on the floor. I was also worried that if I didn't do something, all the nervous energy gathering inside of me was going to make me explode. My fingers twitched and that was when I realized that I was still holding on to that envelope.

  My fingers were trembling as I opened it, and a small voice in the back of my head told me that it might be a good idea to wait for Elias to come back, that there could be something awful inside. I told myself to quit being a chicken and just do it. I held my breath as I flipped up the top of the envelope and peered inside. It was just a piece of paper.

  Feeling a bit more confident, I pulled out the paper and unfolded it. The message was short, written in bold block letters that would be impossible to trace. I read the words twice before they actually sunk in.

  The door opened a
gain, but I didn't have to look up to know that it was Elias. It sounded stupid, but it was almost like I could feel him there, like what had just happened had heightened the connection between us. I didn't dwell on that though. I had more immediate business to which I needed to attend. Like hiding the note so my bodyguard slash kind-of boyfriend didn't freak out.

  I tried to fix a smile on my face as I attempted to surreptitiously fold the note and slip it into my coat pocket. Even after only one day with Elias, I should've known better.

  Elias held out his hand. “The note, please, Miss Rhines.”

  I thought about just refusing, but it wasn't like I had a good reason to keep the note. I just knew that if I gave the note to Elias, things were going to go to def-con one, and I was going to lose any semblance of a normal life. I was going to have to become one of those celebrities who had to have bodyguards follow me everywhere. Bathroom. Family events... well that one only if I'd had any family to whom I was still speaking.

  “Teal.”

  The sound of my first name on his tongue sent a familiar shiver through me. As I always did, I wondered what would it be like to hear him say my name in my ear as his hands explored my body... I gave myself a mental shake and held out the note.

  Elias took it and unfolded it as I began to speak.

  “It doesn't make any sense,” I said. “'Beware the evil that comes at night. We will be watching.'” I sighed. “Cryptic, right? I mean, would it have killed him to at least make the threat more clear?” I was trying for glib but it fell flat. It worried me more than I wanted to let on. A thought suddenly occurred to me. “I don't think it's from Rufus.”

  “Explain.”

  I liked the fact that Elias didn't ignore what I'd said or just believe me because of our relationship. He'd listen to me and make a determination based on the facts. It was no wonder he and Paul got along so well. “Rufus doesn't really seem like the cryptic notes type guy. I mean, he's not exactly finesse. More like a blunt instrument. If he wanted to come after me again, why not hide in the trailer and attack me when I came in? Why leave a note? And not just any note, but a vague note that isn't even really threatening. There's no 'I'm going to kill you' or anything like that. Is this even a threat? It sounds more like a warning, but again, cryptic.” Something else clicked. “And it says 'we' not 'I' which is weird.”