Chapter Fifteen: One Human for The Belly.

"You are not a werewolf. You don't smell like one", Carin said, directing his observation to the priest. "Theo, are you sure we are in the right place?", he asked his brother. Theo was just as confused as Carin was. He had done a lot of research and asked a lot of questions, they had all led him here.

"What are you?", Carin asked the old priest, giving him a very piercing stare. "I am a priest", the priest replied. This reply earned him a frown from Theo who was already getting impatient. He said, "We know you're a priest, but if you're also not a werewolf then what the hell are you?"

The priest chuckled a little and walked over to a chair which he sat in. Carin couldn't help but notice that the man had a limp in one of his legs. The priest was old, but not that old. Maybe he was around sixty at most.

After he had sat down, the priest replied to him. "I'm just human. I know that it might be surprising to you vampires, but there are humans who know of your existence"

"Blah, blah, blah…" Theo interrupted him. "We have not come here to make friendly conversation with you. All we want to know is, where is the Lycan who killed our sister?", he asked.

The priest's expression twisted into a serious look. "There are different Lycans who have killed different sisters. Which one exactly do you search for?", he asked.

"Do you think this is a joke, old man ?", Theo said losing his patience and charging for the priest. Carin held him back, restricting him from pouncing on the man. Carin stepped in, addressing the priest now "You can see that my brother is not as patient as I am. You better start talking before he makes you his dinner"

The priest was visibly shaken by that, but did his best to appear calm. "And why do you think I know the Lycan who was responsible for your sister's death?", he asked. 

"This was the last place he was seen before he disappeared into thin air", said Carin. " he is either dead or in hiding and for his sake, I hope he is dead because no matter where he hides, I will search the ends of the earth until I find him. I will make him pay for what he did"

Theo was almost bursting from the joy he felt. He loved it whenever Carin went into scary mode because he became even more unhinged than Theo ever could be. "It was over ten years ago", said the priest. "You couldn't find him then, what makes you think you can find him now?". 

After the death of their sister, Carin had basically shut down. He couldn't bring himself to do the things he loved any more. He became less and less functional. He began acquiring different properties which he would stay in, secluding himself from the rest of the world.

But since he met Ember, a spark ignited in him. Something that forced him to face everything he'd been running from. He couldn't tell them this of course, so he said. "My grief is endless. Ten years or hundred years, I swore to my sister that I would avenge her death"

The priest held his breath, fear had obviously began to creep into him. "The wolf you seek for used to be a worshipper in my church when he lived here. One night, he packed up his things in a hurry and left town. When I asked him, he said he couldn't tell me why he was leaving or where he was going to", he paused looking rueful. "I never heard from him again after that"

Carin and Theo were silent, sharing a look amongst themselves as the priest spoke. The priest sounded convincing but there was just something about the way he spoke that told them he was lying.

"Are you telling us the truth?", Carin asked sounding calm, but beneath the surface one could tell that he was already at the end of his patience. The priest swallowed his saliva hard and nodded his head rapidly. "I swear, that's the truth", he said.

"My God! You are such a bad liar", Theo exclaimed. "We have lived for centuries on this earth, and you think it will be that easy to lie to us?", he asked. The priest maintained his story. "I swear to you, that's what happened. I am not lying to you"

Just then, the woman's voice interrupted their conversation. She had been quiet all the while, still reeling from the shock of seeing two vampires up close. "Just tell them the truth, honey", she said.

The priest shot her a disapproving look. "What are you doing?", he asked the woman, who was his wife. She shrugged and said. "How long do you think you can protect him? He abandoned you! For ten years, he abandoned us"

"Please, don't", the priest said to his wife, but she disregarded his plea. "I won't stand here and watch you die for a werewolf", she said to him. Turning to Carin and Theo, she added. "Ask me whatever you need to know . I will tell you everything. Just promise that you will leave us alone. Promise me that you won't kill us"

Carin smiled at her approvingly. "You're a good woman, much better than your husband here. Tell us what we need to know, and we'll spare your life. Both of you", he gave her his word.

"The Lycan was my husband's best friend", the woman started to say. The priest looked away from his wife as she spoke, feeling betrayed by her. "They met each other in med school and just became so close", she continued.

Theo and Carin listened to her, not wanting to interrupt any part of her story. She carried on saying, "One full moon night, he assumed my husband was away and transformed into a wolf right there in the room they shared. My husband screamed, being afraid of what he had seen, but he pleaded to the man not to kill him and promised to keep his secret"

"My husband kept his promise and didn't mention a word to anyone else. That seemed to strengthen their bond even more. They became so close to each other that they were practically brothers", said the woman.

She took in a deep breath and continued. "Ten years ago, he came to us with his wife and daughter. He kept on saying that he had messed up and needed my husband to help him fix what he had done"

Carin was intrigued by the story. He asked, "And what did the werewolf say he did?"

The woman took a deep breath. "He said he had killed someone. A girl. He kept saying that it was a mistake. That he had made a mistake", she replied.

Theo's jaw clenched tightly on hearing that. The woman unaware that it was a touchy subject for the two vampires, continued her story. "He was my husband's friend. We couldn't just leave him like that", she paused, fidgeting with her hands. "We knew another werewolf who lived across the country, so we sent him there"

Carin nodded. "Where exactly did you send him?", he asked. 

The woman replied. "Wyoming". That was not far off from where one of Carin's properties was located, he thought to himself.

"Thank you for that information", Carin said to her. "You're a good woman". But before he could finish his sentence, Theo sped to where the priest stood, looking exhausted. He brought out his fangs and sank it deep into the priest's neck, sucking him dry in seconds. The priest screamed and then went limp in his arms. After feeding on him, Theo released him from his grip and the man fell, dead on the floor.

A loud piercing scream from the woman rang in the air. "You promised", she screamed. "You promised you wouldn't kill him"

Theo shrugged. "My brother was the one who promised you, I didn't", he replied. He signaled to Carin. "Come on, big bro. Let's get out of here"

Carin was sad for the poor woman, but he couldn't do anything for her. He obliged to his brother's request. They both walked out of the church as the woman's cries pierced the air.