Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Twenty Two - To Feed

Feeling unease slither down his spine, Sean pulled his fangs from the neck of the night's donor and lifted his head to scent the breeze.

He could sense his brothers nearby as they finished their feedings and began the process of scrambling the minds of the mesmerised humans to ensure that they remembered nothing of their meeting with the Immortals.

"Owen,"  He murmured, only a small part of his mind distracted as he rearranged the human's memories. "Can you feel it?"

There was a pause, giving Sean time to lower the young man so that he lay comfortably against a brick wall. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds for a short second, a distance wolf throwing his head back in a mournful call.

"There is something..."  His brother answered, thoughts of Sang making his bloodied teeth snap together is frustration as he tried to distance himself from the disgusting obsession. "The night seems to be holding its breath."

Aware that all of his brothers were listening to the conversation and picking up on the same sensation, Owen gently dropped his meal and ordered them all to make their way towards the building where he knew that Sang had been utilising a room.

"Is the warning aimed at us or Sang and Gabriel?"  North's gruff voice cut across their connection, his muscles tensed even though the euphoria of fresh blood flowed through his veins and the moon's seductive call compelled him to fly high and free until the dawn forced him back to their basement.

Gabriel sent a rush of calm to the others, his mind surprisingly content even though all of his brothers felt the creeping of darkness within his soul, "Sang and I remain unthreatened and I feel no warning. Be careful."  His voice faded into a whisper as they felt his attention turn to something else — something that made a bolt of foreign emotion crack through them all.

"I believe that the pretty human is keeping our youngest brother well distracted,"  Silas murmured with amusement, his eyes easily adjusting as he ran with blurring speed towards the building where they could all, disturbingly, smell traces of Sang's alluring natural scent.

"Why does that seem to amuse you, Silas?"  Nathan asked with a sense of cold curiosity — although he too had felt the pull of the soft human woman, he didn't believe that anything but madness would come of it. Immortals were legendary when it came to their uncontrollable rages once they reached a certain age and Nathan was sure that developing an attachment to the same woman, a vulnerable human no less, would eventually lead to complications.   

Dakota arrived at the inn, listening to the movements of the humans within for a moment before he moved around the building and located the small balcony which was attached to the room he knew Sang had been occupying. A slight push against the cement and he leapt the distance onto the bare space.

It had been previously decided that he and North would empty the room of all traces of the young human woman now waiting for their return while the others swept through the entire town and wiped the memory from any who had even glimpsed her.

Knowing where all of his brothers were, Dakota wasn't startled when North dropped down next to him, his bulk taking up the majority of the space as Dakota made quick work of the door's locks.

Stepping into the room, their gaze stopped on the articles of clothing thrown everywhere, linens torn from the bed whilst the other furnishings lay broken and carelessly strewn across the floor.

The noxious smell had them baring their teeth, their eyes swirling with living darkness as Dakota hissed to those of his brothers hunting throughout the small town, "Sang's room has been destroyed by a hybrid!"

Owen answered immediately, his attention shifting from his current task, "Why did you enter? The stink of their kind is distinctive."

North paused in his search of the room, "Neither of us smelt or sensed anything until we opened the balcony doors. What would you have us do? We cannot leave a hybrid to hunt amongst the humans."

"Collect what belongings you can and then vacate until we reach you. All of you, move now!"

The urgency within his tone cut through them all, precision now forgotten as they wiped the existence of Sang from the collective minds of the people within the Toplita village.

"It seems that Miss Sorenson has drawn more attention than any normal human would,"  Victor mused, his silent presence a shadow even as he moved through a group of rowdy, drunken men spilling out from one of the bars. A quick scan and he moved on when it appeared that none of them had caught even a glimpse of her.

"Does this prove her innocence?"  Lucian queried, worried for his youngest brother who remained quiet and alone in the presence of the human beauty while they still remained unsure of her truth. "It appears that she is being actively hunted and I've never heard of hybrids being interested in women unless they were Immortal."  For Immortal women were the only species capable of surviving mating with the hybrids.

"It does raise even more questions but they can be answered at a later date,"  Sean interjected.

"Yes," Owen agreed, "If this creature has found a way to contain their scent, I want our task completed quickly so that we can return home and discuss our findings."  He didn't bother to insult his fellow warriors by giving the impression that he was worried for their safety.