Taekook and the ECLIPSE

18 | The Spirit Warriors Were No More

"Are you gonna eat that hot dog?" Dino asked Minghyu, his eyes locked on the last remnant of the huge meal the werewolves had consumed.

Minghyu leaned back against my knees and toyed with the hot dog he had spitted on a straightened wire hanger; the flames at the edge of the bonfire licked along its blistered skin. He heaved a sigh and patted his stomach. It was somehow still flat, though I'd lost count of how many hot dogs he'd eaten after his tenth. Not to mention the super-sized bag of chips or the two-liter bottle of root beer.

"I guess," Minghyu said slowly. "I'm so full I'm about to puke, but I think I can force it down. I won't enjoy it at all, though." He sighed again sadly.

Despite the fact that Dino had eaten at least as much as Minghyu, he glowered and his hands balled up into fists.

"Sheesh." Minghyu laughed. "Kidding, Dino. Here."

He flipped the homemade skewer across the circle. I expected it to land hot-dog-first in the sand, but Dino caught it neatly on the right end without difficulty. Hanging out with no one but extremely dexterous people all the time was going to give me a complex.

"Thanks, man," Dino said, already over his brief fit of temper.

The fire crackled, settling lower toward the sand. Sparks blew up in a sudden puff of brilliant orange against the black sky. Funny, I hadn't noticed that the sun had set. For the first time, I wondered how late it had gotten. I'd lost track of time completely.

It was easier being with my Quileute friends than I'd expected. While Minghyu and I had dropped off my bike at the garage — and he had admitted ruefully that the helmet was a good idea that he should have thought of himself — I'd started to worry about showing up with him at the bonfire, wondering if the werewolves would consider me a traitor now. Would they be angry with Minghyu for inviting me? Would I ruin the party?

But when Minghyu had towed me out of the forest to the clifftop meeting place — where the fire already roared brighter than the cloud-obscured sun — it had all been very casual and light.

"Hey, vampire stan!" Scoups had greeted me loudly. Soobin had jumped up to give me a high five and kiss me on the cheek. Yunjin had squeezed my hand when we'd sat on the cool stone ground beside her and Jackson.

Other than a few teasing complaints — mostly by Dino — about keeping the bloodsucker stench downwind, I was treated like someone who belonged.

It wasn't just kids in attendance, either. Minho was here, his wheelchair stationed at what seemed the natural head of the circle. Beside him on a folding lawn chair, looking quite brittle, was Soobin's ancient, white-haired grandfather, Old Soobin. Sue Clearwater, widow of Jaewoo's friend Harry, had a chair on his other side; her two children, Danielle and Yeonjun, were also there, sitting on the ground like the rest of us.

This surprised me, but all three were clearly in on the secret now. From the way Minho and Old Soobin spoke to Sue, it sounded to me like she'd taken Harry's place on the council.  Did that make her children automatic members of La Push's most secret society?