Hidden Love

Seventeen

Nalla woke feeling warm. She felt Hunter against her back and she smiled. She laid there stroking his arm as he still slept. She would need to get up and shower soon. She was going to be working at Safe Place in Mary's place today. She needed to get ready. She carefully got out of bed and dressed in her clothes from the day before. She carefully left the room and headed toward her own. She got into the shower and made quick work of cleaning her body. It wasn't until she stood in front of her mirror that she saw the mark. The mark that he gave her while feeding. He had marked her. Not only spread his scent all over her but also marked her with his fangs. The thought normally would have scared her but she liked the idea. She liked the idea of his mark being where everyone can see it. She liked that he had felt the urge to. She dressed and met her mother down by the door. Her mother looked surprised.
"In guessing you had fun last night." She said calmly.
"It's not exactly what I had planned but I will take it. Dad helped a little." She responded to her mother.
" Oh really?" She arched a brow, " Just how did he do that?"
Nalla chuckled, " He urged me to talk to him about my decision. He urged me to tell him my reasoning. He helped me understand why Hunter was so hurt."
"You mean you didn't tell Hunter before Jane medicated you?"
"No I didn't. We hadn't spent time with each other. He was always with the babies and I didn't want to intrude on his work with them. I went to speak with him and then it led to 'fun' as you called it."
She watched her mother shake her head as they dematerialized out of the mansion and into Safe Place. When they arrived they saw a disaster. The doors were gone. The floor was covered in soot and ash. None of the residents were walking around. The walls were covered in holes and it looked like he'll had broken loose.

"Welcome to the family, my boy." He heard his father say as he began to wake up.
"Um... Thanks." He said groggy.
"Get up. We need your help at a site."
"What kind of help?"
"Medical. Mary set up a place for abuse survivors of our race to go and get out. Nalla and Bella went today and it looked like someone's abusor found them. The place is a mess and there are some women and children with injuries. Jane is there but needs another set of hands as Havers is with the babies."
He was out of bed and dressed before his father finished. He hadn't liked that Nalla was involved. His heart hurt that she would leave and not wake him to say goodbye or good morning. He followed his father through ttlhe mansion and he poofed to where Nallas blood called him. Upon arrival he smelled baby power. Too much of it. It coated the place and he wanted to find the source. He felt himself moving and couldn't stop. He ended up outside and in the wood behind someone smelling like baby powder.
Enemy. Kill the enemy.
He shook his head and found a knife sticking out of the man's jacket. He took it and knocked the man to the ground. They began to fight and Hunter let his instincts take over. He felt a stinging in his arm. He stabbed the knife into the and heart and twisted. He leaned over and inhaled as a black cloud of some sort escaped the man's body. His body suddenly became racked with pain and he couldn't move. He heard rustling coming from behind him before he passed out.

Marissa watched as Butch paced the floor of the medical unit. When she had heard about what had happened to Hunter she became worried. Nalla was sitting quietly beside her mother staring at the floor. She wanted to take this pain from her but knew she couldn't. She stood when Vishous entered the hall and went into the room. Her husband stopped moving and stared after the brother.
"He's fine, Butch. He will be fine." She said moving to his side to wrap her arms around him.
"You didn't watch him get shot. You didn't watch him get surrounded by those damn things. You didn't watch him consume any of those bastards. He has my gift. How I don't know, but he has the gift."
A flash of light and the Scribe Virgin appeared. Everyone bowed to her.