-Carmen Silvers POV-
I shot to my feet, "What did he do?"
She shook her head furiously, "I'll explain later but you have to come now!" she pulled me behind her while Alex followed behind us, all three of us sprinting.
She let go of my sleeve as I sprinted after her through the halls until we reached the front entrance. We shot through the doors outside and she lead us around to the back of the school were I could hear panting and groaning and someone sobbing.
Fear stabbed at me as I shot around the corner, slamming on the brakes as I took in the sight before me.
Caleb standing with a gleeful grin on his face while Liam and Matt lay on the ground panting, muscles jerking and tight as they practically screamed in pain, eyes closed with blood running down their cheeks. Kayla sat on her knees between them, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed, fear and pain on her face.
"Caleb!" I shouted.
His gaze shifted to me and the gleeful grin widened, "Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it amazing?"
I strode forward, Lena and Alex flanking me on either side.
"What have you done?" I whispered, looking at Matt and Liam on the ground. Lena went to Liam, cupping his face in her hand while tears filled her eyes. I fell to my knees, cradling Matt's pain filled face.
"I told you that the games were starting," Caleb purred, "And I'm only fighting fair."
I ignored him and focused on Matt, brushing his sweat dampened hair off his face, "Matt," I whispered, "Matt please, calm down. I'm here."
He groaned again, head shaking jerkily from side to side as the veins stood on in his neck and arms, puckered scars protruding from his skin.
"Matt, come on. Everything's okay," I whispered, wiping away his bloody tears.
But he didn't calm down; he didn't so much as look as if he heard me.
I stood, hate shooting out to Caleb, "What have you done to them?" I cried as Kayla started rocking herself back and forth, still sobbing while Lena was trying in vain to get Liam's attention and Alex stood downwind, looking helpless.
"I haven't done anything," Caleb said innocently, "I was simply talking to them when they started to Change."
I lunged at him, hand going around his throat as I slammed him back into a tree. Surprise flashed across his face in that split second and he struggled against me but I grabbed his one hand by the wrist and pinned his other hand between our bodies.
"What did you do?" I hissed, slamming his head against the trunk.
His eyes flashed flat black, "What difference does it make? You're going to have two full werewolves on your hands in a few minutes so why are you focusing on me?"
"Because you're the cause of all this," I spat, "This is all your fault."
"No it's not," he sneered, "This is your fault. This burden rests on your shoulders not mine. I wasn't the one who went a little too far into the forest. I wasn't the one who came back to tempt me."
His upper lip curled back, "I wasn't the one who ran away from your beloved Austin when you didn't believe him."
"So you see, the blame falls not on me but on you, my dear," he said, meeting my gaze with his glittery black eyes, "My hands are clean."
"As are mine," I said, my hand tightening on his throat, "Yours look clean but the blood of hundreds stain your hands no matter how much you wash them."
There was a loud yelp from behind me and my head turned to look. Taking advantage of my distraction Caleb shoved me off of him and took off running.
I don't know who yelped or why; I took off after Caleb. He'd barely gone ten strides before I lunged and knocked him to the ground.
"What did you say to them?" I shouted, "What did you tell them?"
"I told them that you didn't care about them," he shouted as he punched me in the gut.
I gasped and struggled to regain control, but he pinned me beneath him, "I told them that you loved that filthy leech Austin and that you wanted to save him so you and your boyfriend could be together forever."
Anger surged through me, giving me a burst of energy. I locked my arms around his neck and rolled us over so I had him pinned on his back in the snow.
"I told them you betrayed them!" Caleb shouted, fury clear on his face, "I told them you lied to them!"
I adjusted my arms so I had my forearm pressed against his windpipe, one of my knees on his thigh and my other one digging into his stomach.
I said nothing to him. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't deny what he said since what he said was true and then I'd just be lying even more.
"I told them that you didn't care about them, that every thing you told them was a lie," he spat, "That you hide things from them because you don't trust them."
"Carmen!" Lena cried, panicked.
I stared at Caleb for a long moment before I felt a cool hand on my shoulder.
"Go take care of your pack," Alex said quietly, "I'll take care of him."
I wavered, torn between my soul mate and my Pack and which needed me most. I looked down at Caleb, who looked at me with pure glee on his face before I stood up, hauling Caleb to his feet with my arm still around his neck tightly.
I handed him off the Alex who restrained him like I had before I rushed to my Pack.
"Oh God," I gasped, seeing the blood leaking from the puckered lines of Matt's scars. "No! Matt please, it's me. Carmen. Come on, everything's okay."
"Carmem," Lena said, tears spilling down her cheeks as Liam convulsed, letting out a painful whine, "Nothing's happening."
I set my jaw; Lena couldn't see me break down. I needed to stay strong and I needed to fix Caleb's mess.
I grabbed Matt by the shoulders and pulled him onto my lap so I held him in my arms. He writhed, groaning and grunting as I started to rock him back and forth.
"Oh, I do believe in all the things you see," I sang slowly, tears pricking my eyes, "What comes is better than what came before."
Matt convulsed again and I took a shuddering breath as I continued to rock us back and forth, "And you'd better come, come, come, come to me. Better come, come, come, come to me."
He took a shuddering breath, body relaxing slightly, "Better run, run, run, run, run to me. Better come," I sang, stroking his cheek slightly as he started taking deep breaths.
"That's it," I whispered, "Just breathe."
"Carmen," he sighed, his hand grabbing one of mine.
"I'm right here," I said softly, squeezing his hand, "Everything's alright now."
His face contorted, jaw tensing as he groaned again.
I went right back into singing again, "Oh, I do believe in all the things you say. What comes is better than what came before."
Matt shook his head against my shoulder, "I'm fine," he rasped, "Liam."
I squeezed his hand again, "Are you sure you're okay?"
He nodded mutely, eyes still closed as I carefully laid him down again, stroking his cheek before I moved onto Liam who already seemed better than before.
"Lena take care of Kayla," I whispered. She nodded, wiping her tears before she crawled over to Kayla, hugging her tightly as Kayla sobbed into her shoulder.
"Liam oney," I said, touching his cheek, "Can you hear me?"
His body jerked away from my hand and he yelped, his body convulsing again. It was heartbreaking seeing my Pack look so broken and beaten down and it was only with a few words from Caleb.
Words that were true. So True..
Words that brought to life all the fears of my Pack.
"Liam," I whispered, "It's just me."
He grunted, his fingers digging into the frozen earth, veins sticking out in his arms as blood flowed steadily from the puckered scars.
I sat beside him, singing softly the same song I sang to Matt as I slowly reached out to touch his cheek. He flinched but didn't move away again as I wiped the bloody tears from his cheeks.
The bell rang in the distance but none of us even cared. School felt like a million miles away as if it was from a different life entirely.
"Thank you," Liam said hoarsely, opening his eyes. The white's of his eyes were blood red and I winced, wondering if I looked like he did all those times I almost changed.
"Alex?" I called, turning around to see Caleb on his knees with Alex beside him, a hand on his back.
I took a quick sniff and realized it was Austin. I longed to go to him but I couldn't. My Pack needed me and after what Caleb did, leaving them for him would make things worse. The thought made me feel like my heart was being ripped in two; would it always be this way? My Pack and Austin. Would I only ever be able to have one or the other?
I looked away, blinking my tears away as I helped Liam to sit up.
"Now I know why you always looked so dreadful after almost Changing," Liam joked weekly, holding his head.
I patted his arm, "It'll go away after you get some rest," I assured him with a weak smile before I looked up at Kayla.
"You okay?" I asked her.
She nodded mutely, leaning against Lena while Lena stroked her brown hair soothingly.
I smiled gratefully at Lena and she smiled back before her gaze shifted over my shoulder.
I turned and saw Austin and Alex walking towards us before they sat carefully with us on the snowy ground.
"I'm so sorry," Austin said, pain on his face, "I tried to stop him but I couldn't."
"It's okay," Matt said carefully.
My mouth fell open in shock as I gaped at Matt.
"Oh don't give me that look," he scowled at me, "I may not like the guy but I know this wasn't his fault."
I blinked while Austin smiled, "Thank you Matt," he said, looking slightly pleased.
"Okay, so what happened exactly?" I asked, sitting cross legged on the grass while everyone adjusted themselves so they were more comfortable even though Matt and Liam looked like they wanted to pass out from exhaustion.
"After you left Caleb asked us to speak with him," Lena explained, still holding Kayla in her arms, "We said no and then he left and we figured that was the end of that."
She shook her head, her expression grim, "But then he started chatting up Caroline and led her outside."
Caroline was this snooty rich kid at our school. One of the 'popular' kids I suppose you could say.
"We went after them since we didn't really trust him," Lena continued, "And he led us here. They were practically making out on that tree over there," she pointed to the tree where I slammed Caleb into it.
I swallowed the bile that threatened to rise; Caleb kissing Caroline. The mental image of Austin and her together was enough to make me want to throw up.
"When he saw us coming he sent her away and then he..." Lena winced, "He started talking and Matt and Liam started to...you know so I took off to find you since Matt and Liam were listening to him and ignoring me."
I felt my lips twitch in the ghost of a smile, "You remembered what I told you this morning in gym about ignoring him?"
She grinned, "Well duh."
"What did you tell her?" Liam asked, rubbing his temples as he frowned.
I explained to them what Natasha said; trying not to look at Austin as I did so since I wanted so badly for him to hold me.
"How are we ever supposed to know when he's telling the truth or lying?" Matt asked when I finished explaining.
I shrugged, "You probably won't be able to tell, but that has nothing to do with it. If it's making you angry, back up the argument that what ever he's saying isn't true with reasonable arguments to keep calm and you'll be fine."
"So what he was saying about you being in love with Austin and the boyfriend stuff was a lie right?" Matt asked, eyes flicking between Austin and I.
I smiled and prayed it looked convincing, "It was a lie," I confirmed.
Matt relaxed visibly, "Maybe he should come up with a lie that's more convincing next time."
I arched an eyebrow, "Who was the guy who got so mad he nearly Changed because of said 'unconvincing' lie?"
He flushed.
"Owned," Lena cried, laughing.
We all chuckled or grinned and the atmosphere lightened significantly.
"Oh no!" I exclaimed, my eyes popping, "School!"
Lena shrugged, "No point in going to class now."
"I agree with Lena" Liam nodded, "We should just leave and then if they ask we'll say we got sick and you guys drove us home or something."
"Wow, playing hooky with vampires? Never thought that would ever happen," Matt said, shaking his head. He winced, clutching his head, "Okay, note to self; don't move head."
I laughed as I stood, "Take a nap and a Tylenol and you'll be fine."
"Nap?" Liam snorted, "I wouldn't mind sleeping for a week."
"Oh don't be such a baby; I've gone through it many more times than you have so I know it's not that bad," I rolled my eyes as I helped him to his feet.
"Maybe so, but that proves you have much more of a temper than I do," he said cheerily, slinging an arm around my shoulders. I let him rest some of his weight on me while everyone stood.
"I think we have some things we need to talk about," I said carefully, "And I think it's time you guys meet Natasha."
I cast a quick glance at Austin, "Do you think you'll be able to keep Caleb away while we're there?"
His eyes went unfocused for a moment before they regained focus and stared at me, "Yes," he said, nodding his head, "I think he's a bit worn out."
"Good, but the minute you feel him coming back tell me because he said he wants to kill Natasha and I doubt she'd appreciate that very much," I said as I helped Liam to the parking lot with everyone else following behind us, Lena supporting Kayla and Alex helping Matt while Austin walked on my other side, our hands nearly touching as our arms swung while we walked.
"Um..." I said uncertainly as Liam slid into the backseat of his car with Kayla, "Problem."
"What?" Liam asked curiously.
"I can't drive," I said sheepishly.
Austin chuckled, "Take the passenger seat; I'll drive."
I slid into the car while Austin took the driver's seat.
"Do you even have your license?" I asked nervously.
He grinned impishly, "No, but I do have my permit."
"You know man, I may not hate you anymore but if you crash my baby I will have to kill you," Liam said from the backseat.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of hurting your car," Austin assured him while I looked out the window to see Matt, Alex and Lena getting into Matt's car with Lena taking the wheel. I couldn't help but grin when I saw Alex sitting beside her.
Austin cast me a weird look but didn't ask as he pulled out of the school parking lot. I gave him directions to Natasha's house while Lena followed behind us.
When we got there I bounded up the steps and knocked on the door, chewing my lip nervously while Austin and Liam stood behind me and Alex, Lena and Kayla brought up the rear.
The door opened to a flustered looking Natasha and when she saw me on her doorstep with my Pack and two vampires her jaw nearly hit the ground.
"Um...sorry for barging in unexpectedly but it seems we need some help," I said wincing, "But if you're busy we can come back later."
"Caleb?" she asked, her black eyes wide.
I nodded.
---------
Ugh, I can't wait till the end of this story. The third story is going to be so much more fun to write XD You'll see why when we get to that one ;)
YUP I ALREADY PLANNED THIS STORY IS NOT GONNA END SOON MY LOVES 3 STORYS LOVE BITES AND MOON WOLF THEN U WILL FIND OUT THE NAME FOR THE 3RD BOOK LATA! ♥
:)) SOOOOOOOO
QUESTION "Since caleb told them about Custin and her pack reacted like that how do you think they would react when Carmen finally told them??"
COMMENT
FAN
VOTE
-mahomie