Bump in the night.

Chapter Thirteen: Hate and Love and Family.

I woke the next morning on the common room couch.
I still had the laptop beside me, open to a new report from another Hunter group in Guam. They'd been tracking what they thought to be a Sasquatch, but after reviewing their evidence and accounts from the locals, I'd been trying to get ahold of Ulrik, the team leader.
As much as my mind was focused on Seeth and his plan, I occasionally found myself turning back to the other Slayers, trying my best to help them.
Though I was younger and my time as a Slayer was short, I'd learned and spoken up enough, my opinion matters to the other Hunters.
Except Ulrik.
He'd always hated me, no matter what I did to prove myself, he never saw me as a Slayer.
I was glad our meetings had been few and far between, each interaction with him only served to drive his assumption I wasn't good enough.
I tried to call his number again, growling when I only got voicemail.
"Stop screening me, you Irish fuck!" I shouted, trying hard not to crush my phone as I punched in the number for one of his new team members named April.
I was so relieved when she answered.
"Who's this?" Her voice struck something familiar in me, but I dismissed it.
"Thank fuck," I sighed, hearing her breath suck in at my words. "Are you with Ulrik?"
She hesitated. "Who is this?" Her voice was so familiar, it bothered me.
"Someone who knows Ulrik is screening my fucking calls!" I shouted at her, feeling slightly bad for my outburst but I pushed on, hearing her fear. "Are you with Ulrik?"
"Y-yes. He's busy." She stammered, sounding small.
I sighed.
"Of course he is, look," I focused on the background of my computer, a photo of Molly when she was a puppy and used that to ease my anger.
"I'm another Slayer, I went over your report and I think your information is wrong." I tried to sound as calm as possible.
It seemed to work, April let out a settled breath, like a kid who knew their scolding was over.
"Really?" She sounded relieved.
"Yes, the victim photos clearly show they were skinned, then eaten." I mentioned, pulling up the photos to recheck myself.
Sixteen dead travellers, men, woman and two children.
All skinned, then eaten, their bones and flesh discarded across the forest.
"I did try mention that." April said weakly, almost to herself.
"He dismissed it?" I smiled, almost hearing Ulrik's argument against it.
"Yes," April perked up, surprised I'd asked. "He said the area and way it attacked, were just that of a 'Squatch. But I tried to tell him...." She trailed off, though her voice excited, I could tell Ulrik had punished her for her opinion.
His punishments weren't ever a simple scolding.
He only punished those he didn't like.
"What'd you think?" I was curious now, if Ulrik disliked April the way he did me, it was possible she was onto something.
"Well, umm.." She hesitated, I could hear her shuffling.
I pulled up her file on the Council database, my mind suddenly realising why her voice was familiar.
"You're the girl I asked about nose snow!" I exclaimed, recalling her sweet tone and great knowledge of medical care the night I'd met Grayson.
"Nose snow......Penny?" April's voice squeaked with realisation.
"Yeah! Hi!" I giggled into the phone. "I go by Sparks."
"Oh, sorry," I could hear the wince in her voice, worried she was in trouble.
"No, it's fine. You didn't know. What do I call you?"
"Oh, I don't have a code name yet, Ulrik doesn't think I've proven myself." I let her ramble a little about her mistreatment in the last twelve months since she had become a Hunter under Ulrik.
She had been a Slayer for six years, working previously as a doctor at the Callaway hospital, before she moved to be the team medic.
"Well, what makes you think it's not a 'squatch?" I finally asked when she'd fallen silent.
"Well, the bones." She said simply. I smiled.
"The teeth marks, right?"
I heard her light up.
"Yes! They're too small and...."
"Deliberate?" I offered when she faltered.
"Exactly! Deliberate! I think it's a..." She stopped for a moment, her hesitation from being berated clear. "Promise not to laugh?"
"Pinkie swear." I smiled.
She gave a soft chuckle.
"Okay, I think it's a group of pixies." She finally said, like she was letting out a secret she'd held in for year. "They're teeth are far too small to break through the layers of human skin, but they can easily bite through a preexisting cut and seperate the skin from there, leaving the muscle, meat and bones exposed for them while essentially degloving their victim."
I was impressed.
"I believe you're right." I said to her, I could feel her excitement through the phone as she squealed in surprise and happiness.
"Ulrik thinks I'm crazy! I don't know how to convince him!"
"That's okay, Ulrik hates me and won't listen to a thing I say, so I might be able to help here."
April sighed. "He hates me, too."
I giggled. "Actually, I think he just wants you to prove him wrong."
"What?" April gaped.
"Just, trust me." I started to send her some old Slayer files of pixie encounters, mostly from the Amazon, including some my team had found while we had been hunting.
I hoped there was enough for April to use to convince Ulrik, we ended our call with her promising to update me when she was done.
I threw my phone onto the couch and went to check in with the other.
Finding them all out but seeing Grayson's phone still on the coffee table, I made two coffees and went to the command room, finding Grayson at the security feed console.
He was in sweats and a white singlet, his muscular arms and back hunched over a laptop beside him.
His blonde hair was messy, like he'd pulled his fingers through it all night.
His dark brows and honey eyes were pinched while he typed away.
He groaned when I snuck up behind him and kissed his neck, putting his coffee on the desk in front of him then using my free hand to run across his solid chest and stomach, stopping at the band of his sweatpants.
He turned his head and captured my lips, grabbing my arm and pulling my hand away.
I could feel the smile against my lips, as he led me into his lap and wrap me securely against his chest.
"You're always so fiesty in the morning," he murmured against my neck as he kissed me, nibbling slightly to make me squeak and then squeezing my body temptingly.
I pressed my cheek against his nose, smiling.
"Spend a whole night dreaming of an angel, tell me that wouldn't, excite you?" I teased, shifting in his lap in a way that made him groan.
He bite into my shoulder, grabbing my neck and pulling me back against him.
His hand slipped between my legs, grabbing me and slowly began to run his palm across the sensitive area.
"You walk in here, with panties and my shirt." He growled in my ear, pointedly flicking the side of my underwear and making me gasp as it snapped back.
His other ran reached under the oversized white button up, gripping my breasts in one hand and pinching my nipple.
My breath turned ragged immediately under his touch, my underwear already soaked.
He chuckled darkly as he continued to play with my body, keeping me pinned against his chest, gasping and moaning quietly in his ear.
"Be a good girl," he whispered. "I have work to do." His hold on me told me enough, I shivered against him and tried to stand.
In a breathe I was bent over the console, my underwear torn from me and Grayson plowed himself deep in me.
I barely managed a moan, before he gripped my waist and started to thrust deeply and wildly into me.
I cried and moaned in pleasure, Grayson filling every desire and soothing every ache with lustful, owning thrusts.
"I said, be a good girl. Not leave." He growled at me, shoving deep into me and punishing me with hard slaps to my ass as he pinned me against the desk.
I squirmed against him, screams escaping me.
He moved with my squirming hips, using my attempt to flee to punish me with wonderful sensations.
"Gray," I gasped, on the verge of my orgasm.
"Not yet," he teased, pulling out enough to end the sensation.
I whimpered, trying to move back and find the spot.
Grayson chuckled, his voice thick as he ran his hand through my hair, pressing me more into the desk as he gripped it.
"Such a greedy, greedy girl." He purred, his other hand running down my spine, making me arch my back and bare my ass more for him as he slipped out of me.
I moaned at the sensation.
He played with me more, edging me closer and closer every time and then denying me at the last second.
I grew tired and frustrated, knowing he was playing with me.
It only furthered his enjoyment and teasing.
"Tell me," he purred, running his length against my soaked core.
"What?" I moaned out. At this moment I'd tell him anything he wanted to hear, my mind was so fogged and frustrated with wanting release.
He was in my ear, suddenly driving deep inside of me.
I cried out with pleasure, almost not hearing his demand.
"Tell me, you're not a beast."
I almost fought him, my mind flashing to Seeth's words.
But I knew what Grayson was doing.
He was regrounding me. Reminding me, that deep down, I still loved, unlike demons and I wasn't who Seeth made me.
I moaned as Grayson shifted his hips against me, punishing me with a slap.
"Say it, Penelope!" He demanded, swatting me again when I hesitated.
"I'm not a monster!" I cried finally, the words untangling my heart from the grip that had encased it since last night.
"I'm not a monster." I whispered when Grayson gave in, he pushed me over the edge of my release and filled me, pushing me over another.
I collapsed into his arms when he pulled me off the desk, falling into the chair and holding me.
"Good girl," he whispered, kissing my cheek.
He left me long enough to make us new coffees and find me pants, balling me up in his lap and holding me there while he finished working.
I at some point managed to busy myself with my phone, getting an update on where the team was.
Gorman and Buck were in Callaway, trying to get a job with Rikkard, to get more information.
Holliday was with them incase Rikkard didn't hire them, then they were kidnapping him and would mind wipe him when they'd go what they needed.
Vaz was at a local internet cafe in town, doing something she probably wasn't given permission to, as she was toeing around the subject when I'd asked.
I told her to be careful, receiving a common response.
"Yeah, okay, mum." Before she hung up.
Grayson had finished his review of Holliday and Gorman's report from last night, rechecking his findings from the surveillance and adding the last files to the email.
He sent it off through the encrypted server, Juliette the only recipient.
My brows furrowed.
"You're not updating Councillor Benedict?" I questioned, Grayson was standing in front of his computer, checking the security feed from upstairs.
"Um, no. Juliette is handling all Edward's emails at the moment." He said simply then turned to me, pointing at one of the screens.
It was a feed of the foyer in the house, the closet door was open and the small window inside held up by a stick.
Grayson and I moved quickly.
We armed ourselves with the two Glock pistols that were stashed in the command room, headed for the elevator and made our way out of the basement and into the kitchen.
Grayson nodded at me as I checked the laundry room, seeing the backdoor still bolted I nodded back and followed him to the dining room.
He went left into the sun room, while I aimed down the foyer and hugged the dining room wall, peaking the corner to see a person at the top of the stairs.
Their back was to me and they were in all black.
Small and quiet.
I caught Grayson's eye as he rounded into the sitting room, seeing the person on the stairs he pulled back.
The door between the lounge and sitting room opened, I fired once in reflex, hitting above the intruder to get their attention off Grayson.
Angry eyes met mine and the person on the stairs screamed.
The man in the doorway was gone, Grayson spear tackling him into the lounge.
I threw myself around the corner, aiming my gun at the woman who ran down the stairs.
"Don't move!" I shouted.
They froze, their red hair dropped, covering their face and she fell to her knees.
Her hands were high in the air like she was being arrested.
"Ben?" She yelled out, looking up long enough I dropped my gun and grabbed her.
She fought against my hug, attempting to shove me off but I was much stronger than her.
She hit me, crying.
"I'm just trying to find someone! I didn't think anyone moved in yet!" She wailed against my shoulder.
My heart tore.
I pulled back, holding her shoulders and letting her finally see me.
She searched my face, I felt a stab of selfloathing when it took her a full minute before her hand reached up, grazing over my scar and eye.
"You look so badass." She whispered.
I broke into laughter, pulling her against me again, relieved when she finally hugged me back.
"You look good, too, Cindy." I smiled when we pulled apart.
I helped her stand and found Grayson and Ben in the front room, one of the sofas was broken, making me sigh but I was glad to see Grayson smiling as they talked.
He accepted an excited hug from Cindy, before she sat beside Ben on one of the two remaining couches.
I sat on the coffee table.
"What're you doing here?" Grayson asked, looking at Cindy.
"Blame me." Ben admitted, looking ashamed. "I didn't tell her much."
"Correction." Cindy interrupted, making Ben flinch. "You told me, nothing! Not a thing!" She gave him a hard look before she turned to me, smiling and happy.
"I went looking after your letters stopped. When I saw this place went up for sale, I knew the person buying it was a Slayer."
"I told her it wasn't." Ben tried to defend.
"Liar!" She snapped, hitting his arm. "So I waited til I thought Ben was busy, again, liar, to see for myself and get answers." Cindy crossed her arms, clearly proud of her plan, even though it failed.
"You were going to break into a Slayers house and interrogate them?" I asked, blinking at her.
She pulled out a can of pepper spray.
"I came prepared." She nodded, stuffing it back into her puffy jacket.
I laughed at her, shaking my head.
"And when did you know Ben was following?" I quizzed, looking between them.
There was two cars on the street camera feed, telling me they'd come apart.
Cindy, followed by Ben tailing her.
"Like, five minutes after I left?" She guessed, looking at him for the answer.
He shrugged.
"Didn't think to stop, huh?" I crossed my arms at her, my brow raising.
I smiled when she rolled her eyes at me.
"I knew it'd be better to just let him tail me, if I got in a jam, least muscles was behind me." She slapped his peck, smiling proudly.
I rolled my eyes this time.
"One Slayer and a Cindy, anyone else wouldn't have stood a chance." Grayson mused, I gave him a sharp look.
"Don't encourage." I turned to Cindy, grabbing her hands and sighing. "You shouldn't have come here."
I hated the hurt look in her eyes.
"But, you....." She looked away from me. "I came here looking for you!"
"I know Cin, I would have wrote to you again-" she snatched her hands out of mine, rising to her feet and pining me with a hard stare.
"When? In a year, when you remembered about me? I bet you stopped writing because you forgot." She accused, stabbing daggers into my heart.
I shook my head.
"No, Cin. I never forgot you. But I made everyone believe I had." I whispered, she sucked in a hurt breath. I avoided her stare and continued, "Seeth kept tabs on my letters, it became too dangerous. If he thought I didn't care, I knew he'd leave you alone."
"How do you know that? Who is Seth?" She demanded, her voice unsteady.
I met her eyes, tears filling them and I had to stop myself for grabbing her and hugging her.
"Seeth," I corrected. "Is my creator." She fell silent, letting me continue. "We've come home twice before." I admitted to her angry eyes. "Both times, Seeth had hired Dark Ones to either kill or kidnap you, trying to lure me out." I let my words sink in, Cindy's eyes widening in horror.
"After the last time, I stopped writing. Sending a purposeful letter to the Council about getting someone else to watch you, because...." I had to take a moment, knowing what I was going to say would still hurt, no matter how untrue they it was. "You were too much of a nuisance, for me."
I watched her hurt and pain play out in her eyes, then the understanding break through.
"That's why those guys stopped following me." She whispered, looking at Ben who nodded at her. "You knew?"
I stood up, shielding Ben from Cindy's anger.
"Be mad at me. I told him not to say anything."
She stared at me, a hundred emotions playing out on her sweet face.
It shattered my heart.
"Yes, he knew. I had to have someone I trusted watch over you, Ben was the only person. I kept him updated through private channels."
"Why?" Cindy was crying again, betrayal clear on her face.
"So, if anything happened, Ben would be able to tell you. If he needed to." I added when she went to argue.
"So....if you died?" She didn't look at me when she asked.
"Ben would have known. We set up a protocol if that ever happened, the house, money, everything reverted back to you."
"I didn't care about that!" She screamed, wildly staring at me with fury. "I wanted to know you were alive! That you were coming home! Like you promised!" She fell to ground, sobbing into her hands.
I approached her carefully after waving the boys out of the room, they left quietly.
I sat down, circling Cindy with my legs and pulling her against me.
We use to hug like this when she was little and scared.
"I was never going to break my promise." I said, resting my cheek on the top of her head.
"Then why didn't you tell me you were here? What happened to you, Pen?" She whispered, broken.
"It's dangerous, Cindy. My father...... Seeth isn't what we thought he was." I started. "I'm not what we thought I was."
She pulled away to look at me confused.
I pulled her back to the hug, swaying then with her.
"I have alot to tell you, but you have to promise, you won't be scared of me afterwards." We pinkie swore and I cuddled her, telling her everything from the moment I left her.