by Jones, L. A.
"What's wrong with that?" asked Saul.
Aradia just shrugged. She didn't really mind it, but what bothered her was the way the vampires stared at her as if they were wondering what flavor she would taste. At least among other hiddens, she didn't have to worry about them always being tempted to eat her. What really bothered her though was how arrogant the vampires were. They threw their weight around wherever they went, and weren't above picking fights with other races. They made fun of other hiddens by calling them mutts, posers, and so on.
Aradia knew what was it like to be judged harshly and cruelly. When she had been dating Dax, she hadn't understood why people seemed to hate the vampires so much. Now she was beginning to understand why and she wasn't happy about it.
Chapter Seventeen
The buck stood still in the thickness of the woods, bending his head down to nibble at the grass. Considering how skittish these creatures usually were, it was surprising that he couldn't sense the pair of eyes staring at him. It wasn't just one pair though, in the bushes nearby a few other eyes stared at the buck hungrily. Suddenly, the buck raised his head and looked around quickly. It was as if he was finally sensing something was wrong. He then took off but by that time it was far too late. Four wolves dashed out of the bushes and ran after it; one black, one gray, one sandy brown, and one snowy white. The white wolf took the lead as they began to close in on the buck but the buck surprised them by taking a sharp leap to the left. The white wolf didn't even pause, however, he just nodded to the sandy brown who immediately followed the buck. The white wolf ran then nodded to the gray and the black who went the opposite way. The white wolf then ran straight ahead. The buck kept bounding fast and forward until it finally saw a road. As if it were a finish line, the buck raced toward the road. It was like the buck believed that if he crossed that road he would be safe from the wolves. However, the moment it was a few feet away from reaching the road the sandy brown wolf appeared out of nowhere. He leaped from the left as regular as any wolf, and tackled the buck. Unlike a regular wolf though, the sandy brown seemed to wrap his arms around the buck as he took it down to the ground. The buck and the wolf wrestled on the ground until they reached a hill. The wolf took one final bite to the buck's throat and pulled him over. It was as if the wolf could sense the advantage of plunging off a hill would give him. When they reached the bottom, the buck's back hit a rock while the wolf seemed to somersault off him. He then landed on all fours a few feet away. The other wolves appeared while the white one stood above them on the hill. Another jerk of it's head made it seem as if the white wolf was giving the others permission to take it down. The buck tried to defend itself with its antlers and was able to spear the sandy brown and gray. The black wolf then stood on its hind legs and leapt. Jumping onto the buck's back the black wolf wrapped its arms around the buck's neck. Narrowly avoiding the buck's antlers, the wolf gripped the buck's neck and twisted it hard. The buck struggled, only for a few seconds, until it finally lay still and moved no more.
The black wolf then let go of the buck and stood up. Slowly, his skin began to shift back to it's original tan brown form. The white wolf's skin began to change as well. The fur seemed to melt away and become skin on the person's body. The front legs and paws of the wolf changed back into arms and hands. Once the very last remnants of the wolf disappeared, the man who took its form stood up straight and stared down.
"Well done Reynaldo," said Jose Morales, "well done."
Melina was sitting in Roy's truck and listening to Scream by Usher. As soon as the song was over, she started fiddling around with the radio. She was distracted by the radio dials, but was still still able to see Roy and his brothers come out of the woods. Melina then smiled and raced out of the car.
"Roy!" She cried out as she ran towards him.
Roy didn't even hesitate. He held out his arms and let Melina throw herself into them. He then held her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. He even smirked at Al and D. Al just rolled his eyes while D chuckled softly. D turned quickly to help his twin readjust the heavy burden on his back.
Melina's eyes widened as she soon as she noticed that the burden had antlers. "What on earth is that?"
"What's it look like?" Al said as he slammed the buck into the pickup. "It's a dead deer."
"Stag," D interceded.
"What?"
"It's a male deer," he explained, "so it's called a stag."
"No, no," Roy said interrupting both his brothers, "the British call the male deer stags. We Americans call them bucks. Females are called fawns..."
"No," said Melina, "the babies are called fawns."
Roy nodded and then continued, "so the females are called deers."
A long pause followed as they all processed the new information until their father interrupted angrily, "what difference does it make?"
There seemed to be no further argument so D just helped Al tie the buck down.
Roy started to go over to help but Melina held him back.
"What?" He asked.
She then slung her backpack over her shoulder and reached into the pocket. Smiling and with an extreme flourish of her hand, she pulled out a dark black jacket.
Roy looked puzzled but only for a second. Once he recognized the jacket, he gasped in joy and grabbed Melina. He then hoisted her above his head and twirled her in the air.
"Oh Mel," he cried, "How I adore you!"
Jose was busy putting on his own clothes but hearing his son shriek got his attention. "What?" he asked as he pulled on his shirt, "what's going on?"
Roy put Melina back on her feet and grabbed the jacket. He then ran over to his father and said, "look Papa, the jacket Uncle Pablo bought for me on my last birthday. You know the one that got ripped a few nights ago when I transformed. Melina mended it! She mended it for me!"
Jose's eyes widened and grabbed the jacket. Where the tears in the seams used to be not to mention the gigantic holes neat little stitches were now shown. The jacket looked more than fixed, it looked almost as good as new. The cloth was cleaned of all the food, dirt, and drink stains and shone brightly in the sunlight.
"Mi dios," Jose exclaimed, "this is wonderful hijo. Absolutely wonderful! Your Melina is truly skilled."
Roy smiled at the praise, although it wasn't meant for him. He then ran back to Melina who had his clothes already for him. He quickly put on his jeans, Bowling for Soup t-shirt, his socks, and his shoes. Last but not least, he put his newly mended jacket on. He then turned around expecting to see his Melina happy but she wasn't. She was staring at the ground in sad contemplation.
"What's wrong baby?" Roy asked as he titled her chin up.
Melina sighed heavily. "Seeing you with your family...it reminds of how things used to be."
She didn't finish the sentence but Roy already know what Melina was going to say.
"Have you heard from her?" Roy asked.
Melina shook her head. "Not since we saw her at the diner. My mom and dad have been going out of their minds with worry. Marietta is even starting to freak out and I don't know what to do. I have no idea what's going on Roy. My family is falling apart and I don't know how to save it."
Roy took Melina in his arms and held her close. Melina hugged Roy back and they stood still together until Al's shrieking voice brought them back. "Hey Romeo and Juliet, would you get over here!"
Roy grunted and considered shouting at Al to shut up but Melina reached up and put her hand on his cheek. It seemed they had reached a point where no words needed to be exchanged. Therefore, Roy just took Melina's hand and walked her back to the car.
"Why did you guys need to get a buck anyway?" Melina couldn't help but ask.
"We may look human most of the time but it doesn't mean that the wolves instinct go away," Roy explained, "and a wolf's main instinct is to hunt. Therefore, we occassionally go out and we hunt live animals. It's as natural to us as getting an itch and scratching it."
Melina processed the information in her
mind. "So you guys get urges and you go out and hunt to satisfy it."
Roy nodded. "Yeah that, but the thing about fresh meat is it one of the best cures for us werewolves."
"Cures?" Melina inquired.
"Yeah whenever we get ailments we go out and hunt animals because the fresh meat enhances our werewolf selves. Our immunity get stronger and we heal faster."
Melina took a few moments and then asked, "is there someone in your family who is sick?"
Roy didn't say anything as he pressed on the accelerator.
They had all driven to the woods in separate cars. Al and D owned a jeep, Roy still had his truck, and their father owned a huge white van with the SilverMoon dinner logo emblazoned on the side. The buck was tied down in the back of Roy's truck and covered up by a blue tarp. Still Melina couldn't help but worry about the tarp flying off. Hence why she kept glancing back at it.
"Would you relax?" Roy said finally.
"I am sorry," Melina snapped, "but I can't help but worry what people will think if they see a dead buck in the back of the truck!"
"You can tell them that I bagged it for hunting season," Roy muttered.
"Are you even allowed to hunt deer in Salem anymore?" Melina asked.
Roy shrugged.
"Furthermore," Melina went on, "how are we going to use the hunting excuse when people realize there are no bullet wounds in the thing?"
"Look," Roy stated, "it doesn't matter baby. Really it doesn't."
"Yeah it does," Melina argued, "the point of being a hidden is keeping a low profile. You drive into town with a buck that has it's neck broken questions are bound to be asked. Questions lead to curiosity and curiosity leads to things being found out."
"Yeah well then I guess it's a good thing we are not driving into town," Roy asserted.
Melina raised an eyebrow. "Then where are we going?"
The house wasn't as big as Roy's but it was just as isolated. Perhaps even more so, considering where it was built. Instead of a field, the house was literally built in the middle of the woods surrounded by thick tall trees. The bricks of the house were various shades of red, brown, and black. The colors of the bricks matched the porch, shutters, and door. They all matched so well that it made the house blend into the background. The fallen leaves in the scenery also helped with the blending so much so that come nightfall the house seemed almost invisible. In fact Melina wouldn't have been able to spot it hadn't Roy taken a sharp turn from the road. He started driving towards the house along a dirt path. As they got closer Melina could see a house hidden in between two trees. Roy's truck bumped along the dirt path until it finally reached the house and parked up the driveway.
His brothers and father parked their cars a few feet away from the house and got out. Almost instantly, a woman came out of the house as if she had been at the window expecting them. Upon seeing her, Jose ran up to the driveway and up the cobblestone stairs. The same path from those stairs lead to the front door where the woman stood.
"Sarai," Jose said as he took her hands in his, "how is he?"
Sarai sighed deeply and hung her head. "No es bueno Jose, no sirve para nada."
Jose's face grew pasty white and raced into the house. Al and D were busy taking the tarp off the truck. Melina had been watching Jose and Sarai and turned to Roy who was busy undoing one of the knots.
"What's going on?" Melina demanded.
"What do you mean?" was Roy's reply.
"Roy, that woman who talked with your father just said not good and not good at all. This I hear after you tell me that fresh meat can help cure werewolves. What am I suppose to think? What on earth is going on?"
Roy sighed deeply and rubbed a hand over his face. After running his fingers through his hair was when answered her question. "Our Uncle Adrian (my father's eldest brother) is sick and we don't know why."
Melina gasped.
Roy sighed again. "It happened so suddenly and we have tried everything to help him but nothing has worked. We don't know what it is but it's killing him. He hasn't been able to even leave his bed for the last two months. It's why we got this."
He flicked his thumb in the buck's direction. "This is one of the most effective cures we know. If this doesn't help cure him, I don't know what will."
"You must be very close to your father's brother," Melina murmured.
Roy shook his head. "It's not that."
"Huh?"
Roy turned around so he could lean against his truck. He then titled his head back so it would rest against the window. "Adrian is my packs' alpha, if he dies than we have to to choose another alpha. Every place where there are werewolves there are different traditions. In Salem, our tradition is every wolf in the pack must fight in the challenge until only one remains."
Melina was astounded. "You mean you have to kill each other to choose your next leader?"
"No," Roy said firmly, "we just have to fight until we publicly admit defeat. In other words, we have to fight our friends and families until we humiliate ourselves."
Roy then crossed his arms angrily and stared down at the ground. "Hmph! We might as well tattoo the word loser on our foreheads for the rest of our lives. We sure as hell don't live it down and neither do the kids."
"Kids?" Melina repeated.
Roy nodded darkly. "When I say all the werewolves I mean all the werewolves so yeah even the kids have to compete in it and that includes Johnny and Robbie."
"What!" Melina cried as she covered her mouth with both of her hands. "But Johnny is only ten and Robbie is fourteen!"
"I know," Roy muttered bitterly, "but it doesn't matter. It's tradition so to speak. Of course, Robbie is all for it being the braggart that he is. He really believes he will be able to defeat the other pack members and become the next alpha. As for Johnnny..."
He sighed heavily as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "For christ's sake, the poor kid cries every time he sees a zebra get eaten on animal planet! The only reason he can stand bugs getting eaten is because he feels that since they are so ugly it's no big loss if they died."
"Jesus," Melina murmured with her hands still over her mouth, "and they are going to force them to fight?"
"Yep," said Roy conclusively.
There was a long dramatic pause before Melina asked, "isn't there some other way?"
Roy chucked bitterly. "Yeah. Adrian can get better."
"Other than that," he added as he turned away, "there is nothing else we can do."
Al and D had already hauled off the dead buck out of the truck and carried it into the house. Roy could tell by the faint blood spatters along the walkway. He was about to jump over his truck as a quick shortcut when he heard Melina mutter, "I bet if Aradia was here she would think of something."
In spite of its modest appearance, the house was big and more than able to comfortably fit Roy's relatives. Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and more waited in all of the rooms looking completely forlorn. Of course, there was a bedroom that was on the top floor. Some people seemed to be making their way from or towards it but the others mostly avoided it. Melina walked into the house hand in hand with Roy. Suddenly intimidated, she clung to him with both of her arms. Roy stopped himself from smirking.
He was worried about Aradia and he would be lying if he said that she hadn't meant anything to him. To be brutally honest, Aradia was his first real friend. He sometimes hung with other people at school but because of his secret he couldn't risk revealing too much. Therefore, his friends mostly consisted of his family. He was attractive enough to get asked out on dates but they never lasted. After his mother had left, Roy had never felt like he could ever trust another woman. His relationships never lasted what with him keeping secrets and all. Plus the feeling of paranoia he always felt. His entire school life he had been approached by girls but never bothering to get close to them. There were other female werewolves living in Salem but most of them were his relatives. Also in regards to dating a fellow werewolf, there other types of protocol Roy had to
follow. He had seen others try and seen them end up in arranged marriages. Rumor had it was that was the reason his parents had married as well. So such an option was not possible at least not for him. All this in addition to hearing numerous horror stories about Brenna's failed marriage made Roy sure that the last thing he wanted was to have a relationship with a fellow werewolf.
Aradia, however, had changed all that. She wasn't a werewolf but she had been something special. She had forgiven him when he stood her up, she had helped him when he had broken loose from his bonds, and she had stayed by his side all night when he was in his wolf form. Most of all, she had been the one to approach him. Whenever Roy met someone, he always put up barriers between them. Not many girls had the patience to break through such barriers but Aradia had. She had hung out with him, talked to him, and done so much more. Finding out she had powers made things even better. Now he had a friend he could be perfectly honest with.
He had had romantic feelings for her. After all, she was the first female to really get to know him and she was attractive. Upon Dax entering the picture though things had unavoidably changed. At that point Roy had been determined to win Aradia at any cost but then Melina appeared.
He then glanced down to the lady of his heart who clung to him like a damsel would to a knight. Roy couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. When he and Aradia had been dating so to speak Roy had noticed complications. He wasn't stupid and he sure wasn't blind. He could tell that Aradia and him were not completely compatible. She would flirt with everything that moved even when she knew Roy didn't like it. Roy liked to kiss passionately and Aradia sure as hell didn't. Roy liked to protect his woman and offer support in any way possible. Aradia was too independent to let anybody be her protector.
Truth to be told, Roy wanted a typical woman who would need him completely. He wanted a woman who would become his wife, cook his meals, and take care of his children. All the while he provided her with everything she could ever want. Aradia was definitely not that type. Melina, however, was different. He remembered the first time had ever seen her. In spite of her being human, he had never seen anything so beautiful. He had even thought she was more beautiful than Aradia. So when Melina started showing him affection he naturally jumped at such an opportunity. Unfortunately, since Melina was a human Roy could not risk getting close to her.