Jagged Embrace

Chapter 2 - Will

Will stared down at Ander and Maeve asleep as heat spiked through his body, but he couldn't bring himself to smack Ander like he usually would. He still felt like an asshole for what'd happened. He finished his beer and watched for Ander to sense him. Maeve had nestled herself against Ander's chest.

Why didn't Ander have a shirt on? He ground his teeth at the sight, but gazing at his cousin's white back, ghostly fucking pale from spellcasting, cooled Will's temper. Ander's eyes snapped open and his jaw tensed. Good, he was awake. Will cleared his throat and let him know there wasn't a threat, it was just him. Ander rolled his eyes up to him and let out a breath before peering down at Maeve.

"We need to get moving," Will said in a groggy voice.

Ander gave a small nod.

Will backed up and then shuffled to the mini fridge to grab another beer. "We can grab breakfast on the way." He popped the cap off.

Quiet as a mouse, Ander slid out of the bed and placed a pillow where his body had been. "I do not think we can travel yet. She is not coherent," Ander said on the way to the bathroom.

Fuck. He rubbed the back of his head. He didn't want to stay in town or that room. He was unsure of what to do to help her, but staying there definitely wouldn't. Ander opened the door and moved to his bag and pulled out a shirt.

"You were hot last night?" Will asked.

"Not a first," he answered with back still facing Will. Ander tugged on a long sleeve shirt and grabbed a bottle of water. "I do not know if she will recover but she can... communicate, which indicates she should not go into a coma based on previous cases," he said, his tone cautious.

"So, she isn't gonna die?" Will wanted to ask since they'd arrived, but couldn't force himself to do it.

"No, I do not believe so. I am unsure what will happen. She is not responding the way others have. It is difficult for me to predict."

Will nodded. "But you don't think it's safe to move her anywhere yet?"

"I would prefer to observe her for a couple of days to be certain she is stable. Soul damage-" Ander began.

"Yeah, yeah, I know... Okay, we'll stay here," Will cut him off.

He didn't want to think about what that meant. She might be physically fine. She might even skip the coma, completely recover. But that didn't mean she wouldn't go batshit crazy or turn into a goddamn vegetable.

"We'll wait to turn in the report. I'll text Mason and let her know we're still working on things," Will said as he pulled out his phone.

 Will updated Mason and then cleaned up before he left for breakfast and paid for a few more days. On the way back, he grabbed two cases of beer, whiskey, vodka, and bourbon to be on the safe side. If he was going to gonna be stuck in a motel room for days, it called for supplies. He yawned as he carried the alcohol in. Fuck, he was still tired. Guess that's what happened when some shithead shade drained your life force. Ander sat on the bed with Maeve and checked her vitals again.

It was all Will could do not tear the room apart or find some random shitbag and beat the fuck out of them. The world was filled to the brim with scum, and he didn't have to search far to find some asshole hurting people that couldn't or wouldn't defend themselves. He couldn't stand how fucked up everything was. The idea Maeve might never get better gutted him and made it hard to breathe. Every time he even glanced at Ander, it made him sick to his stomach and he wanted to scream. He could've lost them both.

He'd volunteered to pick up a late lunch just to get out of the room. Ander spent hours reading while Will cleaned their weapons. Will tried to watch TV, but there wasn't shit on. He'd avoided conversation because he didn't want to discuss what happened, wasn't ready, and he sure as shit didn't want to have some talk about his feelings. Ander always pondered crap and wanted to know how Will "felt" about whatever the subject was. Fuck all that. It was pointless.

He rubbed his face. Once again, exhaustion hit him. Maeve hadn't woken up once today, hadn't even stirred. Maybe last night had been a fluke, and she wasn't going to nna wake up at all again, despite what Ander said. Why'd she come back after he took her to the SUV? So goddamn reckless and stupid. Fucking normals. Never did what you told them. His eyes burned.

She'd wrapped her arms around his neck when he'd ran back to the SUV and held him so tight, when he put her in the back seat, she didn't let go at first. When she did, she'd dropped her palms down his arms and held his hands for a moment and stared at him with those dark, dark eyes. It'd made his chest tight. He shook his skull and told himself that he needed to pull it together.