Tip of the Tongue [BoyxBoy - Complete - CMS Bk. 1]

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ren stood, not knowing what to do with his hands, in front of the makeshift gravesite with Mantel beside him. They stared down at the dirt mound. Ren's bottom lip trembled at the thought of what Mantel suggested.

His resolve faltered when Mantel bent down. "I'm not digging with my bare hands."

Mantel looked up. "Did you think I was?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "As if I was going to touch her body. There's no telling what bugs have got her now."

When Mantel stood back up, he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Follow me. I know where to get the stuff."

He stalked off in the opposite direction the Hunters had gone. Ren was a little shocked that he was so composed. He had to race to catch up to him.

"What? Did you have this planned?" Mantel stepped over a log with grace Ren wished he had.

He stepped over the same long with as much grace as a new fawn. The tip of his shoe caught the bark and almost threw him face first into the dirt.

Mantel looked back just to snicker at him.

Asshole.

"Not exactly," he said while staring straight ahead.

Ren put his hands out to steady himself as they went over a few rocky feet of terrain. Mantel was a lot better at this than he was. His feet were fighting against him and it was harder to see anything when the trees were blocking most of the moonlight. He'd been raised in these woods, but he hadn't ever ventured this far out before. Things were getting harder to distinguish. The underbrush had been left to its own. It looked as if no one ever came out here.

It might be true since no one from town had the mind to come out to the forest where he and his mom lived. There was no point for them to. Everything they could possibly need was in town.

The walk gave him the time to think about Mantel. He was a curious person. He was unlike others, more than just being a vampire in general. He was spoiled, richer than most by the look of his clothes, and spoke his mind. There were a lot of kids in school that did the same, but Ren thought the reason why it bugged him so much was not because he wasn't human but because he wasn't vampire enough.

It was a war he couldn't win with people. Mantel made it seem like he was a bug. And he didn't understand why that made him feel like he had to prove something to him.

They finally came to a path naturally paved into the ground. The trees seemed to avoid it, bending in the opposite direction, and the plants didn't dare grow along it. Mantel took the lead, marching onward as if he were the general of an armed force.

Ren let out a snort.

He guessed Mantel inherited the walk along with his absurdly handsome looks and unfriendly manner.

The walk was silent except for their shoes on the ground. Ren's hushed breaths were louder than anything else. Mantel didn't say anything. Ren would have found comfort in it if he wasn't unsure about this whole ordeal.

Mantel stopped. He turned to Ren.

"Wait here."

He didn't give Ren the chance to argue. He sprinted away, leaving Ren behind at the edge of the trail. The forest engulfed him and he vanished from sight.

A gust of cold wind blew over Ren. The moonlight casted shadows of the trees along his body. He shivered.

It hit him then that he was in this deeper than he first thought. There was no way he could go back to a "normal" life. Mantel was just one piece of the puzzle. The Hunters were up to something and Ren was involved in this even if he didn't want to believe it.