Of Wolf & Man

Chapter Seven

"Rachel! Rachel, you need to open your eyes!" A voice so familiar boomed in Rachel's head but she wasn't willing to follow its instructions. "Rachel damnit, wake up!" Liam was shouting at Rachel who was perched on the table growling and swiping at him. He couldn't get close to her without her possibly hurting him or herself.
Rachel's eyes flew open and a second later she gasped, "How did I get up here!"
Liam was frozen, and his lack of explanation made her worry. "Liam what's going on?"
Liam's features slowly defrosted, and he said "You started thrashing on the bed and when I ran in here I thought you were having a seizure. I came closer to check on you and you started growling at me and you jumped off the bed and landed on the table and started clawing at the air and cackled..." Liam's voice trailed off and he didn't finish his explanation. He knew something was wrong. "What were you dreaming of Rachel?" He sounded more worried than frightened by her behavior.
"I-I don't remember. I just closed my eyes and woke up to you yelling at me." Just then Rachel felt a sharp pain in her arm and she felt the blood pool up on the bandages.
Before Liam knew it, Rachel had slumped backwards and was going to fall off the table. Liam ran to the table and caught her before she hit the floor. He carried Rachel back to the bed and took the bandages off her arm. The smell of the blood brought Rachel back to consciousness. This was the first time she had seen her arm fully. The skin was shredded, and part of her muscle was exposed. The gruesomeness of the scene made her want to vomit. Liam left the room and came back with more gauze and another small bottle of the serum. This bottle was darker than the one Liam first brought to clean her wounds.
"What is that stuff?" The smell was nauseating, and Rachel felt sicker than she did when she looked at her arm.
"It's a more concentrated form of the serum. I'm hoping it'll stop the bleeding.
You're pale as it is. I don't need you to lose any more blood than you already have. If this doesn't work, I might have to cauterize the wounds. It'll be more painful so it's only a last resort." Liam handed the glass back to Rachel and she tipped the liquid into her mouth. While she was drinking Liam began to tend to her arm. He poured the serum on some gauze and began to dab her wounds. The blood slowly stopped flowing. The pain was so much that Rachel couldn't help but recoil and it made Liam grimace every time she moved away from him.
By the time he was finished Rachel's arm was dyed green and her cuts looked more disgusting than before. She closed her eyes as Liam put fresh bandages on them. While her eyes were closed Rachel started thinking about her dream. She remembered it with an intensity that made her feel guilty, but Rachel knew that she couldn't tell Liam that she was dreaming about attacking the wolves.
"We need to see Helene now, but you're not well enough. Tomorrow if you've replenished enough blood and the bleeding stops we'll leave. I don't want to risk it, but you need her help. And I can't keep you hidden from my colleagues for too long, they're already suspicious."
"What is happening to me Liam? Is it the scratches that are doing this to me?"
Liam's jaw dropped. That was his theory, but he wasn't expecting Rachel to think of the same thing.
"It's possible. I'll have to monitor you while you're sleeping." Liam was worrying again, and Rachel didn't have to look into his eyes to know it was so. Rachel decided then that the details of her dream needed to remain a secret. "I have theories but nothing more than that."
Liam didn't like how she was reacting to his scratches. What if her body wasn't strong enough to bond with the lycovirus?
"Can you tell me any of them?" Rachel hoped he wasn't forbidden from telling her some information.
"They won't make any sense to you and I can't reveal any information to you. So, there's no point in trying to explain them." Liam got up and left the room. Rachel didn't know how to react. He was so cold to her. It made her heart hurt. ================================
Liam's thoughts were swirling with all his theories. Rachel was so strong already. Liam's fears were realized; the scratches are bringing out the dormant vampire tendencies. Her hostility came from whatever she was dreaming. Liam knew Rachel was dreaming about vampires. He's seen enough of them to know how they act. Liam also knew that Jonathan was going to kill him.
He should after the danger Liam put Rachel in. She's so important to Helene and to him, even if he didn't want to admit it to anyone. He'd gone through a lot to keep her alive, even risking his life to protect her.
Luckily, Roman didn't dare touch him while being outnumbered. Roman was also caught off guard by the fact that the wolves appeared so quickly, and that Rachel could see them. Liam hadn't anticipated that fact either. Rachel has never been able to see them before, but it could be because she was paying attention this time, unlike the others.
Liam had one theory that made his pack lack trust in him. His biggest theory that has been in his and their heads for years, the theory that meant life or death to Rachel, the theory was also too radical to be tested on Helene's only family member. Liam has been Rachel's wolf protector since she was fifteen. Liam, being only three years older, watched her every move and eventually came to fall in love with the girl whose life was his to protect. Liam fought with the pack of wolf men about the best way to protect Rachel from the coven of Russian vampires out to kill her.
His choice to infect her with the lycovirus and turn her into a werewolf was shunned by the Elders and the other members of his pack. Rachel's body has bonded with vampire blood and because of that fact she couldn't be infected for fear of killing her.
Many vampires and werewolves had tried to combine the lycovirus with vampire venom and even vampire blood. The vampires wanted an army of hybrids to start their attack on the werewolves and destroy them. That next wave in the war was the one the werewolves feared the most and hoped wouldn't come. Werewolves, being more civilized wanted to see if they could possibly make themselves and their packs immune to the venom and prolong their death sentences if they do, in fact, get bitten by a vampire. Both parties came to no success.
All vampires infected with the lycovirus writhed in pain for days before they eventually died. There are amulets that every vampire in the Russian coven wears that allow them to be outside in the sunlight without being cremated. When infected with the lycovirus their amulets become embedded in their bodies and even without them the sun will not have it regular effects on the vampire. They have to endure the pain they have chosen for themselves. The scenes are gruesome and unbearable.
All werewolves injected with vampire venom or vampire blood die even faster.
They are also unable to phase to their human form if in wolf form and vice versa. If they are in their werewolf forms when injected they are in pain for hours while their hair falls out and the bones in their bodies break and they slowly become human again as their body dies. If in human form, they die almost instantly. The pain that is caused is doubled and their bodies can't handle it and death is almost instantaneous.
Liam was so lost in his thoughts and didn't realize he'd cleaned his whole kitchen.
Liam looked at his left bicep. The crescent moon scar was his first scar in the war. The scar was a reminder of what he had become. A Lycan. A man cursed into eternal servitude to the moon.
Nobody knew why it was shaped like the moon but according to legend it was because werewolves are servants to Artemis, goddess of the Moon. Liam didn't quite believe that, but anything was possible in the supernatural world. He grabbed the bottle of serum and placed it in the cupboard and remembered his cupboards were barren. How was he to feed Rachel? He'd have to risk leaving her alone while he went and got something for her to eat.
Liam walked out of the kitchen and back into the bedroom where Rachel was laying on the bed trying with all her might to finish her glass of serum. She didn't like the taste but knew something was wrong and she needed to get to Salem as soon as possible. Rachel didn't notice Liam was back in the room until he cleared his throat.
"I'm going to have to leave again. It won't be as long as the last time, but you need food. Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?"
Rachel just shook her head. She didn't feel like eating but if she refused, he'd probably shove it down her throat. "I'll be back soon. I promise." Liam, with a pained look on his face, turned to leave.
Rachel didn't see Liam leave but heard the door open, shut and the tumblers of the locks turn as they did the last time Liam had left. She feared if she closed her eyes once more that she'd dream about the wolves. Fighting her sleepiness Rachel sat up and looked at the window. She saw only the blanket covering it. Rachel thought about crossing the room and taking the blanket down to let some light into her lonely prison but knew Liam would be furious with her. Rachel didn't have anything to keep her entertained while he was gone and found her boredom was worse than her pain. She then thought of how she was going to shower and what she'll wear for the next few days. All her clothes were back at her hotel. Her cell phone was in her trailer, where she was headed when everything happened less than a day ago.
Time was something Rachel always counted on. Time was the only consistent thing in her life. The only thing she could depend on because it didn't depend on her. Being in Liam's house was starting to make her stir crazy. There were no clocks and with no sunlight coming into the house she didn't know if the sun was still up or if it was close to setting. Just as she was about to get up and check out the window, Rachel heard the door open. She sat back and grabbed her glass and took the tiniest sip she could and waited for Liam to appear in the doorway.