TAINTED RED

Part 10

Jewel's POV

The first thing I heard was the crackling of a fire. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around. I appeared to be in a small cabin. Straining my ears, I couldn't hear anything besides running water. I was confused at how I ended up here until the memory of lying in a damp cave to weak to move came back. My brother, who I thought had died when I was sixteen, saved me. How was that possible?

"Capo?" I call out softly, not sure if I really wanted it to be true that he was still alive or not. The warmth of the fire had seeped into my body and I no longer felt tired, but I knew that I was still too weak to get up and move around. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening and closing caught my attention and my eyes snapped to the small door in front of me.

The door slowly opened and a head peeked around. A gasp left my lips as I stared at my brother with wide eyes. He smiled at me and slowly entered the room. "How are you feeling cucciolo?" He asked, his voice still just as soft and kind as I had remembered.

"R-Riley, how did you survive?" I asked, but he just shrugged. "I'm not sure myself Jewel. I stumbled across a pack up in the North that took me in and I found my mate. She's the Beta, which is pretty cool." I chuckled softly. "What about you? What have you been doing since, you know?"

Letting out a sigh, I wished I didn't have to tell him. I wasn't sure of how he would react. But he was my brother after all, the only living family that I had left besides Fenris. Turning my eyes towards the fire so I wouldn't have to watch his face, I told him. "After I had healed enough, I began hunting the leeches that attacked our family. It took me several long years before I managed to hunt each and every one of them down and kill them. I killed the last of them about three years ago."

"So you're the Grimm Reaper I take it?" I couldn't get any grip on his emotions, so I just nodded my head. "I am, though I'm done with that part of myself now. I've found a mate, and we were going to build a life in my cottage in England when some very stupid hunters found me and wanted me to join them. When I declined, they drugged me and kidnapped me." Riley growled softly and I smiled.

"Who's your mate?"

"He's not the mate the Moon Goddess chose for me. That particular mate had our bond severed. The man that I marked is the mate that I chose. And I think you'd like him Riley. He's a good man."

"So he's a human then?" I chuckled and Riley looked at me. "No. No he's not human. He's a fairy."

"Well, I'd like to meet your mate sometime." Riley spoke as he turned and added more wood to the fire. "And you will capo. Once I've healed completely, I'll call him." Riley nodded and silence fell between us. He left and returned with a bowl of steaming beef stew. The smell made my mouth water. A full stomach and the warmth in the room soon made me sleepy. After giving my brother one last smile, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

Riley's POV

I stared at my younger sister, still shocked that she was here, alive. I had heard rumors of The Grimm Reaper just a year after the death of my family. Shaking my head, I smile. I couldn't see it. Sure, Jewel had a temper and was very protective of her family. But I just couldn't see her becoming one of the most feared people of our world. But I couldn't hate nor blame her for that.

My eyes landed on her neck and the strange gold mark that rested where her mate mark should be. I had never seen a fairy mark on a wolf, nor had I heard of them being mates. And to think that some idiot out rejected my sister. If I knew who that idiot was, I'd kill him. A whine from my sister caught my attention and I moved closer to her.

"You won't get away with this." She said, still asleep. I watched as her face wore a mask of pure hatred. "I'll kill you for this. You just wait and see. I'll kill you." The chill in her voice made me blink. I had never heard my little sister sound so callous. I knew that she was having a nightmare about the night our parents died. I still had them now and then.

The hunters that had taken her were already dead. My pack made sure of that. Not one of them survived. They deserved what they got for what they did to Jewel. Settling down beside the fire, I keep an eye on her as she continued sleeping. She may have been able to take care of herself, but she was weak right now. And I had years of catching up to do.