Chapter 19

I: He could see it clearly in her eyes. When he mentioned Seth, there was a darkness there, as if she was hiding something from him. When she smiled, he knew he would not get it out of her. "Jess, I care about you very much. Always know, you can be honest with me. Always."

He left it at that and sighed deeply as he attempted to stand up and collect his clothing. "I need a shower, and I would much rather recuperate at my loft, however, I am going to be needed soon. We were overrun last night and if that ever happens again, we will lose a lot of people. I can't risk that. I will get cleaned up."

He went to gather some clothes and went to the restroom to turn on the shower. As it became warm, he turned back to her and smirked a little as he leaned in the doorway.

"Jess? I want you to know that, I am a man." He said honestly and looked down. "When I see you, whether decent or not, I have feelings. A feeling that a man has when he is present with a beautiful woman such as yourself. It is hard to control sometimes, but I want you to know that I am controlling it. However...the moment you desire it of me, I will provide it. Never be ashamed to tell me when you are ready. I know we will date first and try to make our relationship work. That is great for us both. So please, do not feel uncomfortable sharing with me if the tension of controlling our bodies becomes too much to handle. We can confide in each other and help each other with our urges. That's what adults do anyway, and you are an adult now." He grabbed a towel. "I am going to take a shower, and you are always welcome to join me. If you are not ready for that, then just wait for me to finish." he stepped inside and closed the door only slightly and began to remove his clothing and get into the shower.

B: As he spoke, she blushed at the thought of being in the shower with him. She wanted to badly. "I will not join you yet, but I will sit in there and talk with you." She smiled and walked in after she heard the shower turn on. "You know you can't go on a hunt with being hurt. They won't allow it. They will send others before they ever send you." She told him as he showered. She knew she would be called and that she would have to go. He would not be happy, but she had to go if she was called.

When the water went off, she left the bathroom. She sat on his bed and waited for him. She wanted to badly, but she wanted to wait a while before she talked to him about taking them that far.​

I: Once his shower was over, he dressed into a basic t-shirt and some sweat pants. He leaned out of the doorway with a toothbrush in his mouth. "Jess..." he grumbled a little as he said her name. "Half of our best hunters are hurt from that bullshit we went through last night. That means the only hunters who aren't hurt are the rookies or the loners who are never going to make headway being alone. That means you will be one of the hunters. I am not letting you go alone, and I don't care who tries to stop me. I could never let you out of my site that way and-" He winced a little as his injury began to hurt. He sighed deeply and realized he would not be able to hide the pain he felt from the other hunters.

"I will tell them you can't go. I will say you aren't ready. And that's the truth. You go with me, where I can protect you until I am sure you can handle yourself, or you won't go at all." He said firmly and then his face softened. "Unless Seth...or...or Blane..." He began and then realized he had no control over any of that. "Just be careful Jess."

B: She glared at him. "I am ready. I will be going with my brother and Blane." She smiled as he gave in to her. "I swear I will be careful. They will not let you go. Trust me. They will be sending all the hunters that are not hurt or can run. And by the looks of it you can hardly move. Isaac, I can't let you go. Alexander will not either. They all know how badly you were hurt. Sure, you can walk but you can't fight." She explained.

"Now please get in bed and rest. I will have to go, soon." She said as she looked at the clock. "I need to get my things gathered for the battle." She got off the bed and looked at him.​

I: "Jess!" He called to her as she stopped, and he guiltily looked down. "I don't want you trying to be a hero. I know you are hiding something from me, and it has to do with Seth. When I mentioned him before there was a look in your eyes. I am not dumb, so whatever is going on I will find out. Just..." He came closer and held her shoulders. "Whatever is going on between you two, solve it now. When you get out there those demons will not care, they will slaughter you both first chance they get, so please be cautious. Whatever you two are feuding about, it will create weakness in you and that will get you killed. Be careful, 'quierda'." He said the name in his natural Spanish tone and pulled her into a hug. "Go get them kid." He smiled and went to his bed and eased himself on it to rest until she came back. He hoped she came back.

B: She glared at him for a moment. "Whatever is going on between me and my brother will not affect how I fight." She said and left the room. She knew that they could put this behind them until the fighting was over. She knew she would have a hard time going back so soon but she had to.

She entered her room and changed into black ripped skinny jeans and a black tank top. She pulled on her black leather jacket and went to gather her weapons she had stashed around her room. She slowly walked out of her room and to the gathering hall. She waited and Seth joined her. They both nodded at each other and headed out with Blane. They all knew this would be the best team for them because they had a connection with each other.

While out Jess was careful around every corner. Seth and Blane walked next to her. No one spoke and no one dared too. As they rounded another corner a demon was spotted by Seth. He motioned and they all pulled out their weapons. The fight was on. The three attacked and Seth was the first to be hit with a counter attack.

As the fight went on Blane and Seth took the most hits. That was until Jess threw herself at the demon to block an attack on Seth. After that Jess was hurt badly. Her shoulder was ripped open, but she kept fighting. After Blane gave the final blow, Seth rushed to help Jess. She had already started a healing rune, but she was healing slowly.

She nodded to the small group and they set off to find the next demon to fight. As they walked Blane broke the silence. "Jessie, are you okay?" He asked her softly. She only nodded. They went back to silence as they hunted. By sunrise they all have bruises and gashes on their bodies. Jess had a torn shoulder and a broken wrist. She never showed any weakness to her brother and Blane.