Once Upon a Midnight: Wanted

Chapter Six

"Look at what we have here."

"What is it?"

Aeryn heard the voices before the blaring pain in her back of her head hit her. She kept her eyes closed, stifling the whimper that came with the pain. Two voices spoke above her, and they sounded really close. Maybe if she pretended to be dead...

"It is a human, doofus." A third voice said, clearly annoyed. It belonged to a female, and she sounded bored.

"A human?!" The second voice exclaimed. This one was a male."Those are real?"

"Of course they are." The first voice, another female, sighed. This voice sounded more mature, and a lot more annoyed compared to the soft, almost melodic voice of the other girl. "Idiot."

"Can we eat it?" The second voice asked.

"What? No!" A fourth voice spoke. He sounded closer than the other three. He had an accent she'd never heard before. His voice was deeper, not whiny like the first boy that spoke.

"Awwh c'mon Casper, why not?" The second voice whined.

"You do not just eat anything that you stumble upon, Geoffrey. What if she is diseased?" The accented voice scolded.

Geoffrey made a grunting noise, and it sounded as if he kicked the ground. "I have never had human blood before." He said, the pout clear in his voice. "I bet it is delicious."

"Is eating all you think about?" The softer female voice asked.

"No, Isabella! I think about other things too! I'm just really hungry right now. I haven't fed in days!"

"Who's fault is that, dimwit?"

While the two argued, Aeryn could hear a soft shuffling of feet, and then, "Is it dead?" The voice that did not belong to Isabella asked.

Aeryn tried to keep her body as still as possible as she felt a hand on her cheek.

"It is a she, Kristianna, and no she is not dead. She is quite warm." It was the boy with the accent. Casper. His fingertips brushed down her jaw to her throat, pressing lightly against her pulse, which quickened under his touch. She heard his slight chuckle. "She is very much alive."

"What are you going to do with her?"

"I will take her back to Claudia. Maybe she will know what to do. I will catch guys later." A pause and then, "Tell Geoffrey and Isabella over there I will go hunting with them some other time."

---

She held her breath, hoping he hadn't changed his mind and decided to eat her after all.

"You can open your eyes. They are gone now."

Aeryn blinked, her eyes opening to golden ones, similar to hers but more vibrant peering down at her. She sucked in a breath, trying not to scream when he grinned, revealing his fangs.

"P-please don't eat me." She managed to stammer.

"Eat you? If I wanted to eat you I would have done so by now." He held out his hand, waiting for her to grab it before he pulled her to her feet. She almost immediately pulled her hand away, not expecting his to be so cold. Casper chuckled, placing his hands on his hips, grin still in place.

Aeryn backed up a few steps, her eyes wide at she looked at the Rakhtar in front of her. He was taller than her, so much so that she had to crane her head to look at him. His skin was brown, like hers but just a few shades darker. When she finally tore her eyes from his, she could see that his hair was white, and just barely brushed his shoulders. She imagined it were soft to the touch.