Jagged Embrace

Chapter 36 - Maeve

She had done it to herself. Maeve stared out the window of the SUV. After her argument with Will, it was no wonder he'd left her in the SUV to bake in the sun. She'd almost forced his hand, if she was honest. Ander had been kind enough to tell her to sit in the driver's seat in case they needed a quick getaway, but they both understood why she was stuck in the SUV. Will hadn't said one word to her on the way there or when he got out. Ander had relayed all of his commands.

The hours passed, and Maeve put the windows down, but she was sweating profusely in the damn body armor he insisted she wear. She was still mad at Will, but she was also worried about them both. She'd made a stupid mistake and picked a fight with him at the worst possible time. If something happened, it'd be her doing. She checked her phone again. No messages. After another hour, she was losing her patience. 

Would it be how it felt if she waited in the room? Just sitting and waiting to hear if they were okay? She wondered if any of the Soldiers of Night got married. They had to, based on what little she'd learned. Will had been born into it because his father was a Soldier of Night. He'd alluded to others that had been born into it as well. How could someone be married to them? This is what their life would be, always worrying, never knowing if their husband or wife would return. Of course, that wasn't so different to someone married to someone that was a firefighter, police officer, or in the military. Perhaps she was the one not cut out for it. She was the problem, not Will. She shook her head. Will definitely had issues, but this part was her issue.

Maeve was starving. Most of the time, they'd have stopped to grab food, but Will had been too angry, so they had skipped breakfast and now it was past lunch. Suddenly, Will and Ander ran towards the SUV. She turned on the ignition, based on their pace, and climbed into the back seat. As they entered the front, she noticed Will was bleeding. Her stomach bottomed out. He put the SUV in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, fast. Maeve said nothing and buckled her seatbelt, sensing he would speed.

"You get the tongues?" Will asked Ander.

Ander nodded and held up a bag. Gross, the creature's tongue was in there? Maeve tilted her head and peered at Ander. His eyes were dimly lit.

"Shouldn't have used magic," Will grumbled.

"It had you pinned down, and we were not told it had a mate. It was supposed to be solitary," Ander replied.

"Yeah, they fucked up that report. Mason is gonna hear about it, believe me," Will said before he turned the wheel roughly. "I hate that shit, a whole fucking family of monsters. Someone should have fucking told us." His voice was filled with bitterness.

Oh god, another family? Did they destroy everyone?

"You get the fire going well enough?"

"Yes, it will appear as an electrical fire," Ander answered.

Maeve sat back. They'd killed the entire family. She wasn't even sure what that meant, but it made her sad. Will smacked the steering wheel.

"Should have fucking told us," he mumbled. 

Maeve caught the shift in his tone. He was upset. She thought back to Kevin and their argument about his family, when he'd talked about the other monster children they'd destroyed. It was the same tone, but she didn't understand what it meant before. She felt even worse for her actions earlier.

They returned to the motel room and filed in quietly. Ander retrieved his doctor kit and checked over Will, who complained, but let him look at his wounds. Maeve watched from a distance and felt responsible for every wound on him. He had raised red circles all over his neck and arms that looked like burns. Ander cleared him to take a shower, but it had to be cold. Maeve waited until the door closed and the shower turned on to approach Ander.