30

R U B Y

It took a while for me to start breathing normally again. Despite wanting to calm down, I just couldn't.

Xavier sat with me while all the adrenaline inside me took it's time to return to normal.

Then I was left unable to speak. It's not that I didn't want to but…I just couldn't form any words to answer any of Xavier's or Mathieu's questions. I was still in shock.

After twenty minutes, Mathieu told us we needed to get back on the road because it would be nightfall soon and we had a good bit of traveling left. So, we all piled back into the car. We drove with a horrible silence hanging over our heads.

Natalie was still out cold, Mathieu and Xavier were busy cleaning the blood off themselves with wet wipes.

All, while I just sat in the back, staring out the window. I knew Xavier kept glancing at me through his mirror since it was positioned to see the back window. I pretended to not see him though. I wasn't ready to talk.

I peered down at Natalie on my lap as she slept soundly before looking away once more. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I groaned. My stomach felt weird and my skin felt like a tingling vibrated under it.

"Ruby?"

I glanced up to see Xavier staring at me.

His neck twisted oddly since he was looking at me through the small space between his seat and the door. "You okay?"

My lips curved with a weak smile as I nodded and I could see the relief in his eyes. I started to feel bad.

He had no idea what just happened. He turned around in his seat somewhat to poke his head around to the backseat. "What happened?"

I sighed, as I gazed down at Natalie, a little more color appearing on her pale skin.

"I'm not sure but I had a vision," I replied in a low voice. "She held me. Then this world, the car, and everything, washed away and was replaced."

"Replaced by what?" Mathieu asked.

I looked up and blinked several times. "A town or city, I don't know but it was night time and there was smoke, a lot of smoke." I swallowed. "There were vampires killing people."

Xavier's brows instantly knitted at the mention of vampires.

I went on to describe it, "They were being ripped to pieces…all those people. There was blood everywhere."

Xavier looked at his father as Mathieu returned the glance.

"I could a-almost feel their pain and fear—i-it was horrible," I added.

Xavier stared at me with such pity.

I shook my head and sat up straight. Seeing those people killed like that, like animals being slaughtered, had made me feel sick to my stomach. Maybe this was why I couldn't get rid of this odd feeling, this tingling all over my body. I decided not to tell them about the feeling though.

Xavier looked like he was ready to lock me in a room for the rest of my life. "I'm sorry," he said.

I gave him a smile as I hoped showed him I was fine. "It's okay. I don't know if it was something that already happened or is going to happen but it felt like I was really there."

Mathieu unexpectedly sped the car up and I quickly placed my hand on Natalie's shoulder to keep her steady.

"It's almost dark," he told us. "We need to get off the road as soon as possible. We have an hour left to get to the location and it's almost dark. With Natalie being out, if we're attacked, they'll go for her first."

"Okay," Xavier replied. "Not too fast though, I really can't have her doing what she just did a second time. We won't survive it."

"What happened to you two anyway?" I asked. "You started bleeding from just her screaming. I mean it was loud but—"

"It was louder for us," Xavier interjected. "Humans can't hear dog whistles but it drives dogs nuts and wolves too. That's what it was like. There was a high-pitched ringing in my ear." He looked down at Natalie. "She's never done that before."

"She's getting stronger," Mathieu stated. "She got a lot of power in a short space of time. It's not like she's been nurturing these gifts to this level. So, it'll take some time for her to get the hang of it. What happened just now, however, was quite strange."

Xavier faced forward again, and placed his elbow on the window. "That was a lot of power. I've never heard of an Enchanted doing anything like what she just did. No one knows what she's capable of but Enchanteds usually don't have defensive powers." He snorted. "Well, that was one hell of a mental attack. It felt like my brain was going to be liquefied."

Mathieu removed one hand from the steering wheel to press his fingers into the corner of his eyes. It seemed obvious he was still feeling some lingering effects of Natalie's attack. "If she was seeing what Ruby just explained, and Ruby reacted the way she did, it makes sense Natalie panicked like that." He placed his hand back onto the steering wheel and the car accelerated a little more. "I've seen her have visions only to wake up and find cuts on her body as if she had experienced what she'd seen. Sometimes while in a vision, they would be real enough for her to feel the need to protect herself. Although, Enchanteds never experience the pain of shifting, they go through so much more continuously."

I again gazed down at Natalie. It seemed too hard to be an

Enchanted. I couldn't imagine being plagued with visions of horrible things while knowing there was nothing I could do about them. Right now, I felt sick to my stomach and uncomfortable. If that vision showed the future, all those people were going to be slaughtered.

I wanted to stop it. I wanted to help them. How had Natalie been this cheery girl when she'd had to deal with something so depressing?

I missed the old her as well. I missed that happy, perky girl I had met not so long ago. She'd been so quiet and distant ever since the transfer. With everything happening, it was enough to change anyone. I felt like I was watching her being stripped of her happiness.

"She lashed out because it was too real," Xavier explained. "But she shared her vision with Ruby. An Enchanted can show someone the memory of a vision but they can't share their visions while it's happening. There is so much to learn about Enchanteds, once their powers are transferred from another."

"I could feel them dying, that's why I lashed out," Natalie suddenly spoke.

I jumped as I looked down and saw her blue eyes staring up at me.

Xavier swung around in his seat to stare down at her.

I glanced his way as I laughed. "Natalie?" I said as I held her face. "You're awake!"

It looks like their goddess answers human prayers after all.

She nodded slowly—her eyes half-open. "Water," she said hoarsely.

Xavier immediately grabbed a water bottle out of his bag and gave it to me.

I pushed my knee up to elevate Natalie's head somewhat for her to drink slowly.

"I'm so fucking glad you're awake," Xavier said with a face splitting smile.

Natalie raised her hand to pull the bottle away from her lips and I screwed the lid back on it before helping her to sit up. She groaned and held her head, I kept holding her arm just in case she fainted.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she side-glanced at me. "It's okay. I lived," I replied.

She smiled weakly at me. "Welcome back," Mathieu said.

Natalie held her head up to look at him in the rear-view mirror. "It's good to be back uncle. I'm hungry."

Mathieu frowned. "We didn't pack any food. Another half an hour and it'll be dark and we're already running late."

She sighed. "Please. I feel like there is a crater in my gut. There's a root I must get. It'll help replenish the blood I lost and speed up healing."

"We're in the middle of nowhere right now Nat," Xavier said. "There is nowhere to get any kind of root."

Natalie looked out the window to find towering trees on either side of the car. "There is," she stated. "Turn left half a mile from here. There's a town. I'll be able to get it there."

Mathieu sighed. "That's going to even take us off course.

But…okay, sure. We'll just have to be on high alert okay?" Xavier nodded.

Mathieu glanced at her through the mirror. "So, do you mind telling me what happened back there? What was that scream?"

"I didn't know I could do that either," she replied. She pulled her nightgown away from her body and then gave Xavier a look. "You changed me? It had better not been Axel."

He rolled his eyes. "I changed you, you were covered in blood."

She swallowed and the look in her eyes was one I knew all too well. The same look I had when I'd woken up after being attacked, the memory—the lingering phantom feelings.

She peered down at her wrist. Although only a red mark was visible, her eyes fluttered closed as she pressed a finger against the bruises.

I placed my hand over hers.

Pausing, she looked at me and her eyes began to tear up. I squeezed her hand as she nodded and leaned back. She turned away from me to stare out the window and I knew it was just to hide her tears. Natalie kept holding my hand, however. She asked, "Is Axel—"

"He's alive," I replied before she even finished the question. "He went back to his pack."

"And the book?" she asked.

"It's with us." Mathieu nodded. "Ruby suggested we make a video. Xavier made one that'll be sent to other alphas that might not have come into contact with any vampires

yet. Those packs that might not have any information on how to deal with the vampires."

She finally looked my way again. "That's a good idea actually. "

"Yeah," I replied as I blushed. "We made it just before we left the house."

Mathieu made the left turn.

I frowned as that tingling sensation I'd been feeling made its way up my arm. My body suddenly felt warm like I was getting a fever and

Natalie's head whipped toward me.

I pulled away from her and scratched at my chin to distract from the fact that I was pulling away from her. I didn't know if it was an effect of what she'd done to me but I'd rather not say.

Natalie was already sick, I didn't want to be more of a burden to Xavier and Mathieu, especially now, since night was fast approaching and we were about to be caught in it.

"Are you okay?" Natalie asked. I nodded.

"Are you sure? Are you feeling dizzy or nauseous? I've never done what I just did to you. I don't know what effect it'll have on you or if it'll have any at all."

I gave her my best reassuring smile. "Trust me. I feel okay. My head was hurting earlier but that's gone now. Honestly, I'm just pretty hungry as well." I placed my hand on my stomach. "I'm starving actually," I told her truthfully. "We'll stop, grab something to eat, get the root you need

and then find a motel," Mathieu interjected.

"Sure. Trust me, I understand the danger," Natalie said in a low voice as she once again held her wrist.

I was having trouble moving past what had happened to me. I didn't think I ever would. I did feel curious to know if only one vampire had bitten her so many times or if there

was more to what happened to her. I held my tongue, as I didn't want to make her uncomfortable by bringing up her trauma.

We drove on in silence.

Natalie dozed off eventually, her eyes damp with tears.

Natalie

hat vampire had sunk his fangs into my shoulder and had immediately gone into a frenzy. His

blood lust increased a thousandfold as he started to attack me, only to bite me. He no longer wanted to kill me quickly.

He had won the fight. He had said he'd never tasted blood like mine. I lost my strength swiftly after he got the upper hand. It was then when he had begun biting me all over. His mouth was like a vacuum, sucking almost all the blood from my body within minutes.

I guess I had my lineage to blame for that. No doubt, he'd never tasted the blood of a demi-god.

On the brink of death, with my eyes slowly closing Axel appeared behind the vampire and ripped his head off with his bare hands.

I owed Axel my life.

Many animals licked their wounds because their saliva had antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. The same goes for werewolves. As expected, it's stronger with a werewolf than with normal animals, like dogs. He had acted promptly to find all my wounds and stop the bleeding then rushed me back to the house. I fell unconscious before we got there, but I did remember whispering Ruby's name to him before that.

He had told me he would go find her and then I lost consciousness.

I felt like I was falling down a bottomless black pit. I could hear everyone talking around me but my lips wouldn't move as I attempted to scream to them. I eventually stopped screaming and just kept falling. It wasn't a bottomless hole after all and I eventually fell into a black sea. There, I remained, floating until I had that vision.

I opened my eyes and I was standing in a small town. I looked around confused before concluding I must have dreamt of what happened with the vampire and the sea of black. I thought I was only remembering it quite vividly. While enjoying the cool night air, I stopped at a stoplight, waiting for the light to change when a man ran up and attacked a woman, ripping her throat out with his hand before pressing his face into the wound.

Vampires started pouring into the busy street—the blood, the screams, the fear, and horror that followed triggered my powers. I wanted to help, I wanted to stop the bloodshed around me and when I was attacked as well, I reacted.

I screamed with so much anger and pain like I had never done before. The vampire was thrown off me and I got to my knees as I continued to scream, my eyes closed as I focused on targeting all the vampire minds that I could find.

I wasn't sure how I was doing what I was, but I tried to kill as many of them as I could before whatever was happening to me faded. Enchanteds don't have abilities they could use to defend themselves like witches. We performed spells that took time and a lot of preparation, we saw the future, past, and present. We were dream-walkers and apparently, telepaths from what Reika had taught me.

This was when I felt a warm hand on my cheek and without thinking…I reached out.

Ruby had been pulled into my vision. It had been then when I realized I was having a vision and it wasn't real. Sometimes, I could tell it was a vision not long after it started and other times it took a while.

Since I'd woken up, moving even a hand required more energy than it should. Beetroot was what I needed. The drip Axel had given me had worked well, but now I needed more. I couldn't afford to be this weak when we were at risk of being attacked at any moment.

We arrived in the town just as darkness settled and immediately, found a diner.

Ruby had to help me to the bathroom to get changed, while Xavier and Mathieu ordered our food.

Somewhere, somehow, all those people were going to die.

I kept trying to keep a brave face on but I felt exhausted and petrified. Feeling that vampire sink his fangs into me, again and again, was the second-worst pain I've ever felt. I couldn't escape the memory of it. I sat in the bathroom stall with my hand over my mouth as I cried and the worst part was—I knew the worst was yet to come.

Ruby

finished my two sandwiches in record time and Natalie finished three.

Xavier stared at us in disbelief even though he

had eaten four of them himself. He'd said the waitress inside the diner recommended a motel and had given them directions.

Natalie however couldn't wait to eat and so, we were still parked in the diner's parking lot.

Mathieu remained outside, a beer in hand.

I knew he was angered that we didn't make it back to the others.

It couldn't be helped though and Xavier agreed that we had to stop here. It was better to rest in this town for the night, rather than risk driving for god knows long to get to the next town and then to the pack. A lot could happen quickly and without warning. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened to him, Axel and me on that highway.

I myself wasn't interested in being bitten ever again.

"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. You weren't supposed to see all of that," Natalie said to me.

I shrugged. Of course, I wasn't angry with her. It wasn't her fault. She was unconscious while it was all happening.

"That goes for you and Mathieu too," she said to Xavier. He waved his hand dismissively.

"You don't need to be sorry," I told her. "We were all there, we know what happened and that it was unintentional."

"Yeah, I still feel bad though, you know? Why couldn't I have discovered these powers the other night?" She sighed. "Everything happens in its own time, I suppose."

"Doesn't it bother you?" I asked. "Seeing visions like that and you're unable to help, unable to warn anyone."

She nodded and stared out her window at the darkness on the left side of the parking lot. "It's incredibly depressing, but when it's about someone I know, I always tell them or warn them if it's something bad. I don't get visions like…that one, often." She looked back at me and then at Xavier with a small smile on her lips. "If I got visions like that on the regular, I'd lose my mind for sure."

"Sooooo," I drawled. "It was the future then? Or has it already happened? Can you tell?"

"It's the future. I can tell sometimes by what's in the vision."

"Can you try and remember anything?" I asked. "I've been trying to, but the memory is blurry."

"That's because you weren't meant to see what you saw. You were pulled into it. That's why I was asking you if you were okay. I don't know what effect it'll have on you mentally." Her voice was low as she eyed me up and down.

I felt like wrapping my hands around myself to stop her from seeing through me. "I told you, I feel fine."

Xavier was now eyeing me from the front seat and that was something I didn't want. I could still feel an odd warmth throughout my body but other than that, I felt perfectly fine. There was no need for me to mention anything and cause panic. Natalie would only blame herself more. "So, do you remember anything? A sign, the name on a building, anything?"

She bit at her lip and shook her head as a distant look appeared with her eyes. "There's nothing familiar about the town, to be honest. Things like that miss me during visions. Sometimes, I'll be somewhere I've never been or seen but it feels normal to me."

I felt useless and could only imagine how messed up Natalie must have felt too. "So, there is no way to prevent it. All those people are going to die?"

"Even if Natalie could pick out something, we can't save an entire town," Xavier interjected.

I stared at him with disbelief. How could he say something like that and so casually? Innocent lives were going to be taken and we knew about it.

He stared back at me. "I'm still healing and Natalie can barely walk on her own. It's just you, me, and dad. He's the only one out of all of us that's at full strength. We can't go looking for trouble right now, based on a glimpse of a future that might change."

I bit down on my lip. As much as I wanted to argue with him, he was right.

Natalie bumped me with her elbow. "He's right. Sometimes, I get glimpses of the future but it's really only one possible outcome. Anything or everything might change."

I suppose I would have to live with that. I'd always been a loner and frankly, humans annoy me. However, I'm human, so I couldn't stand by and not care while my race got turned into food for vampires or any other supernatural. Now, since I know about this supernatural world and the work the Blackmoon Pack did, I wanted to be a part of it.

Of course, I couldn't be on the front lines, but I would find my place. I looked over at Xavier. For now, just being Luna would have to do. I guess as Luna I would at least have a say in making decisions about the pack.

"What do you think we'd all be doing right now, Xavier, if Ruby wasn't your mate and we were all still just normal college students?" Natalie asked.

I laughed.

"She said normal," I teased.

Xavier laughed while she elbowed me.

I sobered up. "I'd be doing overtime at the diner right now."

"I'd be working out right now," Xavier said almost yearningly.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he'd say something like that. I shook my head.

He glanced at me. "What? I'm losing my abs."

"There are more important things than your abs, Xavier." I scoffed.

He lifted his shirt.

I tried not to react. What the fuck does he mean by he's losing his abs? Even sitting down, I could clearly make out his

perfectly carved six-pack.

Natalie leaned over to me. "He just wanted to lift his shirt."

He flashed me a grin.

Natalie chuckled as she held her chin thoughtfully. "I'd be hooking up with someone."

My mouth fell open at this.

Xavier's face twisted with disgust. "Jesus Natalie, I really didn't need to hear that."

Natalie laughed.

Xavier and I glanced at each other for a second because it was the first time we had heard a genuine laugh from her in a long time. She'd always been the one to set the mood and make everyone happy. Without her, this bleak world just seemed so much more so.

"What?" She chuckled. "It's the truth." She started coughing really loudly.

I quickly gave her the rest of my water.

"I'm okay," she said once she stopped coughing. "I'm fine." She gave the water bottle back to me and paused as she stared at me.

I took it from her. There is that look again, why does she keep

staring at me like that? "Um, what?" I asked.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Sorry. I just thought I saw something."

I raised a brow. "Ah, okay then."

Mathieu opened the driver's door and was about to climb into the car when there was a scream and people started running out of the diner.

My heart began hammering in my chest.

Natalie grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. She held her head up and began inhaling deeply. Her hold on me soon relaxed. "There aren't any vampires. I don't smell anything."

"Me neither," Xavier added as he got out of the car.

More people were rushing out of the diner however and my interest was piqued. I hopped out of the car as well and Natalie followed behind me as we all stood by the car to watch people leave one after the other.

They all seemed to be in a panic and a horrible feeling settled on my chest.

"What's got their panties in a twist?" Natalie asked. I shrugged.

"I'll go check it out," Xavier said as he moved away. I quickly followed him.

"You should stay in the car."

I snorted and kept walking. "Not a chance."

A man rushed out the door and hopped into his car before speeding off.

"Seriously, what's going on?" I wondered aloud.

We entered the diner to see a few people bundled up at the counter with their heads back as they stared up at the television. I looked around the diner and sure enough, all the seats were empty.

A woman was walking by me and I gently tapped her shoulder. Her wide brown and teary eyes met mine and I frowned. "Um, what's going on?"

She pointed to the television and rushed out the door while pulling her daughter behind her. I watched her through the clear door as she picked up the little girl and started running.

The fuck?

"Ruby," Xavier called to me. I turned to look at him.

He too was now staring at the television. "Look."

The reporter was a woman with short black hair to her shoulders. "I must warn you, the video that is about to be shown is quite graphic."

My eyes widened as I read the headline.

Vampire sighting caught on camera. Fuck! I looked over at Xavier.

He looked at me and his jaw clenched.

Heavy breathing could be heard coming from the television and I peered up to see a shaky recording of what appeared to be a man hunched over another person.

The video was being taken through what looked like an iron fence and judging from all the flowers and trees, I guessed this must have been taken in a park.

It was night time and coupled with the clearly nervous and shaky hand, it was a little hard to see what was happening. The person suddenly stopped shaking as the man that was hunched over sat up.

My eyes widened as blood dripped from the man's abnormally wide mouth, the lamp above them offering some light to see him. The people around us started to gasp and more of them began to leave as the man's tongue darted out to lick his lips.

His fangs could not be missed as he stretched his mouth wide once more and fell forward onto the body beneath him, continuing with his meal.

"This can't be real?" a man suddenly yelled. "This has to be some kind of prank!"

The person holding the phone sobbed and my heart fell as the vampire looked up. His red eyes caught the woman instantly and within seconds, he was rushing towards her.

I closed my eyes as the woman screamed mixed with inhuman growls and hissing then the video ended.

The reporter returned to the screen, clearly shaken up as well. "The victim's body was found in the park two days after that video was taken, along with the first victim's body that had been mutilated. Both bodies were drained of blood

that matches several other murders that have been appearing all over the country in the past couple of days."

I stopped listening. My fear—our fear of the humans finding out about the vampires was happening. As I looked around at the terrified faces, I too started to panic for an entirely different reason. If vampires were now confirmed to be real, they would have no reason to hide.

The reporter continued speaking, warning people to take this threat seriously, to stay indoors during the night, and to not travel alone.

"This is bad. This is really bad," Xavier said under his breath. "I knew this shit was going to happen."

The rest of the people who were in the diner started to leave, even the man who'd been skeptical.

"Hey, I'm sorry but we're closing," a waitress said to us. She laughed nervously. "Just in case this isn't some prank, you know?"

Xavier smiled at her. "I understand." He turned to face me. "Let's go."

As he placed his hand on my shoulder, I winced and bent forward.

He paused. "Hey, are you okay?"

I paused and let out a breath as I tried not to show how afraid I felt. The pain had shot through my arm when Xavier touched me. It then faded as quickly as it had come. "A cramp," I lied. "Must be those sandwiches I had."

"Come on, the sooner we find a motel the better. I think Natalie's going to have to go without that root tonight."

We were almost at the door when a loud explosion rattled the glass windows. We hunched down as we started looking around then Xavier rushed outside. I was right on his heels as we ran back to the car. When we turned around black smoke was bubbling to the sky in the distance.

"It came from the town," Mathieu said. "What's going on?"

"Someone took a video of a vampire feeding," I told him. "It's all over the news."

He clenched his fists, his eyes turning black as he rounded the car and pulled the door open. "We need to go. Now!"

Natalie started coughing, harder than before and as she pulled her hand away from her mouth, her palm was coated with blood. "I can't leave without that root," she said shakily as she fell onto the car.

Xavier started sni½ing loudly beside me.

I didn't have to ask what he smelled. I could smell it too, the pungent scent that followed vampires like the rain clouds that appear before a storm.

He grabbed my arm as Natalie climbed into the car. "We have to get the root for her and get the hell out of here," he looked at his father.

Mathieu's eyes were still as black as the sky above us.

Natalie started coughing again and more blood began to spill from her mouth. She was starting to look pale all over again.

"We have to get it, dad, she needs it."

"Natalie, why is this happening?" I asked her, my hands shaking by my side. Not from the sight of her blood or the fact I could smell those disgusting vampires, but because of the pulsating heat under my skin.

"The power I used," she said breathlessly. "My body isn't reacting well to it, that's all."

Xavier hissed. "That's all? You're coughing up blood. You look like you're about to pass out!" He closed her car door. "Tell me where to get that root, so we can get the hell out of here."