Children of the Fallen: Bloodlines (BOOK #3)

Chapter 8: What Are You?

Morgan Sinclair

15 Years Ago

I had to get some fresh air tonight. My father was losing his mind over some hunter issue near his main palace in Eastern Canada and I didn't really want to listen to him screaming at his nobles for hours on end. If he was screaming at Jacob I'd sit and listen gleefully but it was some other random ones.

Wandering around, not necessarily hunting but should an opportunity arise I'll take it. I walk down a lively Chicago block filled with bars and restaurants, contrasting the relatively quiet blocks I was walking on previously. The bright neon lights in the windows of every bar, or the lit up signs of the restaurants illuminate the area better than the dim overhead street lights. People both drunk and sober yelling, laughing, and chatting away. The long lines outside of a particularly crowded bar take up the majority of the sidewalk. The other half is taken up by a group of girls all crowded around one girl sitting on the curb crying and throwing up on the side of the street. So many scents- alcohol, food, sweat, vomit, blood from the two assholes who just fought each other and got thrown out of the bar.

I continue my walk listening in to various conversations around me. Gossip, complaints about their significant others, trauma dumping, "I'm not drunk," discussions about splitting the bill, then: "please get away from me."

That one caught my interest.

I focus in trying to locate where that came from; it was close and in front of me somewhere among the herd standing around or walking. "I bought you a drink." A man says.

"And thank you but I have to go home now." I hear the girls voice again.

I pin point the voice to a redhead fast walking ahead. The man behind her- about 5'10" with a baseball hat barely on his head, hurries after her. I trail them as she rounds the block onto a much quieter street- all the restaurants and stores are closed, and a only a couple of drunk people walk here and there- likely to get to the previous crowded block.

The man still follows her, stumbling a little as he does so. "You can come home with me." He slurs his words.

"Please, go away." She says not turning around and picking up her pace to a jog. He picks up his pace as well, when she turns her head to see him now gaining on her she breaks into a full sprint. And so does he.

They make it down the block and she turns the corner but he quickly catches up to her grabbing her arm and yanking her into him. "Hey. I liked talking to you." He says lowly taking her other arm in his grasp.

She struggles to get her arms out of his grip, whimpering as she squirms trying to get him off. "Let go of me."

Using my enhanced speed I go to the other side of the street and watch from there. He steps straight into her until her back is up against the brick wall of a closed restaurant next to them. I can see the tears in her eyes. I also see something in them shift when he leans down next to her ear to whisper some incoherent mess of what he'd like to do to her. Next thing I know she turns her head quickly, he screams in pain, and the scent of blood hits my nose.

She spits onto the floor and I realize she's spit out a piece of the guys ear. She bit off a part of his ear. A smile tugs at my lips. I like her.

He tightens his grip on one of her arms while the other goes to his mangled ear. "You bitch!" He shouts, more enraged than before. He lets go of her arm but he instead wraps his hand around her throat startling her enough for her black clutch to drop to the ground.

I sprint over to them. His arm is outstretched as he chokes her so I take his elbow and push upward breaking his arm, I then kick in his knee breaking that as well. He drops to the floor crying out as so many places on his body are in a wild amount of pain. I turn to the girl who's mouth is still dripping with blood. "Thank you." She pants with her stare fixated on the man writhing in pain below. Her nostrils flaring, that anger and revulsion remains in her eyes.