Serpentine

by J. Kearston

  When we emerge into the basement, the four men are leaning against the walls, straightening to attention as soon as we appear. All are masked like I thought, but I’m surprised at how casual they are in jeans and t-shirts, though I’m not sure what I really expected. It isn’t like they’re some task force sent to retrieve me; these are people that are willing to work alongside my heartless mother, are in it for either the money, or a chance to buy me.

  Eyes rake over me instantly, assessing. I scan each face, making quick mental notes of the two who look unimpressed, like I’m just a cash cow that’s caused far too much stress for what they deem me worth, or completely disinterested. Another stares hungrily that I think might consider making a play at betrayal if it suits him, and I memorize his face; I might be able to get away, but I’d likely end up in another Zane situation, so a last resort. It’s the man with buzzed, chestnut hair, and eyes only a shade darker that I latch on to, deciding he’s my ticket out of here.

  There’s still hope in that one’s eyes that life hasn’t crushed yet, and I know without hearing him utter a word that he’s the one that brought up the dowry thing.

  “I’m not paying you to stand around,” my mother snaps, annoyed and gesturing for them to get moving up the rickety stairs.

  “You’re barely paying us at all,” one scoffs, walking away without a backward glance.

  My mother purses her lips. “And you’ll be well compensated within the week.”

  We enter the living room of an abandoned farm house, covered in dust and cobwebs. The more annoyed of the two are already walking outside, leaving the three of us to catch up while they either scan the surrounding area, or leave us in their dust now that they’ve found their mission disappointing. I rub my palm over my bandaged arm, pressing a bit too hard and making a few more drops of blood stain the white gauze. Both men’s eyes flit down to the injury, though they don’t react.

  I almost ask where we are so that I can gauge how long of a drive we have ahead of us, but I nix that idea before I even open my mouth, realizing it’ll put her on the defensive. Instead, as we walk down the dilapidated porch steps, I glance around with confusion when I don’t see a car.

  “Are we walking home?”

  One of the men up ahead scoffs with derision. “Like we’d drive right up to a shifter’s home and expect them not to notice. Car’s about a mile off; you can still walk, can’t you? Or are you nothing more than a pampered, glorified juice box?”

  “Xander!” the kinder man beside me snaps. “Fuck’s wrong with you, man?”

  “It’s fine,” I murmur, dropping my gaze to the ground in front of me. Though at the same time, I gravitate ever so slightly closer towards him.

  “It’s not fine,” he growls in annoyance before addressing his friend. “What part of finding her locked underground with that lunatic makes it seem like she’s pampered, huh? And if she was; what’s wrong with that? People are supposed to pamper their mates. It’s fucked up if you’d prefer he was down there beating her until we showed up.”

  Xander turns, mouth twisted in a scowl. “She’s too weak, Caleb; look at her. A boost isn’t worth it in the long run. She’d just be providing the energy necessary to take care of her, so we wouldn’t actually benefit from the trouble. We’ll drop them off, get our money, and keep looking for a better fit.”

  It’s so lovely that I’m not even a person standing right fucking here, otherwise that might hurt my feelings.

  It’s hard not to lob the words at him, to bite my tongue. But I don’t need to defend myself, especially to him. I just need to buy myself an opening.

  The house now behind us, we walk across a massive stretch of open field. To our right is the farmland, nothing more than dirt from years of neglect, and to the left, a forest. Straight ahead, a small hill blocks my view, but I assume on the other side in the distance is the road they left their car.

  “Keep being an asshole, X, and we’re never going to find a mate,” the man to my left declares, picking at one of his nails.

  Tentatively, I ask, “So, you’re a pack, then? Of what?”

  My mother grips the back of my shirt, forcing herself between me and the stranger to my left. “It doesn’t matter. You heard them; they aren’t interested. Useless questions will only serve to piss everyone off, and it’s a long drive home.”

  We walk on for several minutes before the man beside Xander softly declares, “Wolves.”

  Of course they’re wolves. The universe thinks itself so fucking funny.

  “That’s... nice.”

  Two snorts up ahead are the only response I get, all of us walking in tense silence as we start up the incline, climbing the hill. My shoe catches on a divot in the ground and I stumble, catching myself and scraping my palms before righting myself. Passing it off as brushing the dirt off my hands, wiping them on my clothes, I tuck the jagged rock into the pocket of my shorts.

  “Seriously?” My mother snaps out a hand and latches on to my bandaged arm only after I’ve already saved myself. Her fingers curl right above the puncture marks and I hiss in a sharp, pained breath, gently trying to pull back, but her nails dig in deeper. “You’re already the center of attention, you don’t need to be dramatic.”

  “You’re hurting me,” I whisper softly, but it echoes around the otherwise quiet night air.

  “Enough, already!” she snaps, dragging me forward with her. “I left those kids alone because you agreed to stop being so damn difficult. So stop dragging your feet and hurry the hell up, already. You forget, Risa, that you don’t have anything to bargain with. You’re coming home whether you like it or not, and I’m getting pretty sick of humoring you for no good reason when you continue to be difficult.”

  We nearly crash into Xander and the other’s backs, neither of them moving since my fall. And it might be my imagination, but I’m pretty sure the brief glance at my mother’s nails digging into my arm that has more hostility rising to his naturally pissed off expression, isn’t from me being a burden.

  “Everly,” he coolly states, as if disinterested. “It seems the only thing holding us up is your monologuing. If this keeps us, we’re going to have to switch to an hourly rate instead of by the job.”

  Lips pressed into a thin line, she jerks me forward with her, refusing to let go out of spite. “Then perhaps you should start walking.”

  Caleb reaches over, intent clear on his face as he grabs her wrist. “Let go of the girl first. Not like she’ll be able to go far with the four of us here, and making her injuries worse simply means that much longer until you can harvest a dose, right?”

  Eyes flashing with murderous rage, she gets in his face. “Listen here-“ A wet gurgle cuts off her words, the man beside her putting his fist through her chest. I watch in stunned horror as he yanks it back out, taking her heart with him. Chucking it aside like yesterday’s newspaper, he wipes his bloody hand off on his jeans.

  “Sorry, guys,” he states, not looking remorseful in the slightest. “Hit my breaking point.”

  Xander cracks his neck. “We all did, Aiden. You just beat Devin to the punch by half a second.”

  “Literally.” Caleb snorts before turning to me. “You alright?

  My gaze bounces between the four of them while I take a tentative step backward. “Yes?”

  He lifts his hands in surrender. “We’re not going to hurt you, Risa. We’re here to take you home.”

  “Oh, well, thank heavens for that.” I take another step, though we all know that I have little hope of outrunning them if they were to actually shift. Still, I’m nothing if not determined, so as I weigh my options, putting a little distance between us helps me think. “And home would be...?”

  Devin lifts an eyebrow from his position beside Xander, his blue eyes standing out startlingly in the darkness. “With the other incorruptibles.”

  He clearly drank from one recently, with eyes that bright.

  “So you’re gathering up the last unicorns? Driving them into th
e sea?”

  Three faces look back at me with utter confusion, but Xander of all people smirks. “No red bulls here. More like the dogs that keep the wolves away from the sheep.”

  I take a larger step back, testing the waters, but none of them make a move to stop me. “So, what? My mom hired you to track me down, and you went along with it for the sake of stealing me away from her? To toss me in with the rest of your collection?”

  Caleb runs a hand through his hair, turning his pleading gaze to me, begging me to believe him. “I know it looks bad. And, well, sounded bad, thus far. But Everly, she,” he trails off.

  Aiden finishes, “Was a bitch. A jealous one at that. Until we had a clear shot, got her away from those kids and knew we could stop her before she used you as a hostage, we had to buy some time. There were too many unknowns to risk it before. Gods know, we didn’t expect you to take down that bastard yourself.”

  “So you knew she’d never marry me off, but chose to play into the angle for an excuse to get close?”

  Xander tilts his head, watching me take another cautious step. “But when it became clear that she was jealous of the attention you were getting, Devin and I thought it’d be better to look unimpressed, get her to drop her guard a bit instead of trying to ditch us. If she thought the four of us were on your side instead of hers, she absolutely would have threatened to tear your throat out to keep us at bay while she drove off with you.”

  Caleb sighs. “It was a shit situation all around. But it’s done now, so we can take you back.”

  I hold his stare. “I appreciate what you guys went through, but you have to see things from my side. Everyone keeps claiming to want to keep me safe, to take me home with them. Best of intentions are great and all, but not a single damn person is asking what I want, like I couldn’t possibly make that sort of decision for myself.” Gesturing at the four of them, I shake my head, retreating a little further. “I have no interest following some strangers to a random place. If you actually want to help me, then just let me go home. To my home. I’ll be fine, I don’t need you to protect me.”

  While the four of them exchange a silent look, I bolt. Aimed for the woods, I push myself harder than I ever have before. Faster, I sprint until my muscles are on fire, thighs burning, and chase that state of tunnel vision like my ass is on fire. If I can just convince myself that I’m about to die, to get the fear-induced adrenaline to course through my veins, then I’ll be okay. All of the pain will fade, my instincts will keep me alive.

  If only I can slip into it.

  Footsteps thunder behind me, but I don’t look back, focusing on a point in the distance and racing for it like my life depends on it, because it does. But more than that, if they’re after incorruptibles? I need to give Hunter a chance to get Adelaide far away, and the fifteen minutes I told them to wait has almost passed. I might not be able to do much, and won’t stand a chance in an actual fight against any of these guys unless luck is on my side. But worst come to worst, if I can taunt them into biting me, I can make it out of this... so long as one or two of them don’t realize what happened to their friends until it’s too late.

  Breaking through the tree line, I hear fabric ripping behind me, at least one of them shifting at last. Without breaking stride, I plunge my hand into my pocket, pulling out the jagged rock and slicing across my palm. After the blood wells to the surface, I slap the nearest tree, using it to brace myself as I swing around with a wince as my arm throbs, veering off course.

  Because if he shifted, his mask will have fallen off.

  A warning growl sounds out far too close as I smack another tree trunk, changing direction again and weaving between the trees, hoping it’ll keep them from building up too much momentum. Pebbles shift beneath my feet, threatening to wipe me out as I tear down the current path, trying to ignore the stitch in my side. Every breath is harder to draw than the last, but I refuse to slow down. If I were to attempt climbing a tree, I might escape normal wolves, but not ones that can revert back to men. Not unless I drive them mad with bloodlust first.

  “Aiden! What the hell is wrong with you?! Stand. Down!” Xander shouts, chasing after his friend.

  My mother sent them away when Zane bit me, and though they may have been listening in, it would have been difficult to figure out that he was feral instead of simply hooked on my blood and finding it hard to stop. And unless you were there to witness it, no one would believe that he died from the poison in my veins. Whether it was my body building up antibodies to naturally protect me from when I was turned, if it was from the feedings and traces slipping in as they bit me, or something else entirely, it doesn’t really matter.

  It means that no one can use me for my blood anymore. No one but them.

  As the ground begins to dip into a shallow valley, I take a running leap, grabbing the lowest tree branch. Using the momentum to my advantage, fur brushes along the back of my ankles as I pull my feet up. Aiden skids down the hill, stirring up a cloud of dirt beneath his paws, teeth bared.

  Scrambling, my left arm screaming from the abuse and palm stinging, I haul myself up another branch, climbing out of his reach. It won’t do anything to stop the other three, but better than being mauled to death. And hopefully, if they get close enough to grab me, I can tear their masks off and knock them out of the tree, waiting down the clock until the guys can sense me again.

  Xander slams into Aiden, shouting and trying to restrain him. It’s the only glance I allow before I climb higher, my breaths and pounding heartbeat so loud that they nearly drown out the snarling below. My foot slips, only my death grip on the branch saving me until I can find a better foothold.

  The resounding snap as the limb breaks makes time seem to stand still. Anxiety and fear grip me in a stranglehold, but as my back slams into the next branch, I shove them aside. My attempts to grab something, anything, fall flat, leaving me only with splinters and scraped skin. Eyes clamped shut, I shrink in on myself, bracing for the impending impact and praying I don’t break an arm or a leg.

  Pain explodes in my side as Aiden’s claws tear into my flesh. I crash down a second later, his attack saving me from a straight fall, breaking the momentum as he pounced. Devin is there a moment later, driving a fist into his temple as he tries to sink his teeth into my throat. Xander and Caleb tackle him to the ground, the latter whipping his shirt off to wrap it around his mouth. While he’s only trying to muzzle him, it serves the dual purpose of cutting off the scent of my blood.

  While I press a hand to my side, scooting away from them, a bit of clarity starts to return to Aiden’s eyes. Caleb and Xander are on top of him, pinning him to the ground, and soon, he stops bucking and fighting, making himself smaller. Changing back, he keeps a hand pressed against the shirt, pinning it to his face, horror morphing his features.

  “I didn’t, I don’t know wha-“ He cuts himself off, shutting his eyes and whispering, “I didn’t mean to.”

  “What the fuck happened?” Xander demands, arm still pressed against the back of Aiden’s neck, pinning him to the ground beneath him.

  Devin offers me a hand to help me up that I don’t take, scooting back another few inches, determined to keep the tree between us. “No wonder everyone’s after you if your blood’s that strong. I thought the masks were overkill because we’re already used to being around incorruptibles, but it seems they were a good call in your case.”

  Something cool brushes over my fingers and with as high strung as I am, I jerk my arm back, turning away from Devin. Relief has my shoulders slumping, and I nearly burst into tears. A fraction of a second later, the sound of a telltale click divides my attention, looking away from Stryker to see Mason with a gun pressed against Caleb’s temple, Bane materializing a moment later, aimed at Xander.

  Before I can so much as breathe, Devin is crouched behind me with a blade pressed to my throat. “Easy, now.” A furious hiss slips from Stryker’s serpentine mouth as he rears up, prepared to strike. “You want the girl, right? No
t much use to you dead, so back the fuck up.”

  Xander removes the pressure on Aiden’s neck, but doesn’t move more than that, eyeing Bane with absolute hatred. “You kill him, there’s nothing keeping us from taking the girl down with us out of spite.”

  Bane raises an eyebrow. “Then you’d lose your only bargaining chip and there’d be nothing keeping us from killing the three of you next. So I’m only going to ask you nicely once. Tell your dog to get his hands off of my mate.”

  Xander’s eyes swivel to mine, furrowing in confusion before widening as it dawns on him. “Home.“

  Teary eyed, I nod, noting the way that Devin moves the blade the second that I started to move, like he didn’t want to risk actually cutting me. It makes me pause, reevaluating their words at surface value instead of searching for ulterior motives. If they had wanted to use me, they wouldn’t have stopped Aiden, trying to keep him from hurting me. After they killed my mom, they could have simply grabbed me and dragged me to the car instead of trying to explain themselves.

  “You said that you keep people like me safe. Explain.”

  Caleb doesn’t even hesitate. “The same way that shifters have convinced humans that we’re nothing more than myths, we’ve done the same. Why do you think most people haven’t even heard of incorruptibles, and the ones that have, consider them nothing more than legend? People can’t find them. When something is out of sight for long enough, people forget, and they move on.”

  Xander sighs, sounding weary. “But there’s always that one asshole that finds one before we do. Like Everly. When we heard about the way she was searching for you, caught wind of the pissed off people that had gotten hooked on your blood before you disappeared and stories started spreading like wildfire, we dug into it.”

  He scans my face before hardening his expression. “From what we could put together, the people we think were your birth parents died in a car accident. Jack and Everly probably came across the scene, and when they realized your father was one of us, assumed you might be too. So rather than call the police and leave them to deal with it, they took you in, instead.”