Howling Fury (Book 1) (Being Edited)

Chapter 16

Mark's POV

I instantly feel her pain. Dropping the paper I was slowly reading through, I race out the door and straight to her room, crashing through the door without thinking. She is curled up in a tight ball on the floor, staring blindly into space. She doesn't even react when I crash through the door, and that’s not like her. She would either shift and attack me or, most likely, tell me to get the hell out. She seemed to enjoy telling me what to do, and I let her.

I slowly move towards her, careful not to startle her. "Ester? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" She doesn't answer me. She doesn't even acknowledge my presence, choosing instead to just stare into nothingness. I move slightly closer and notice her uncontrollable shivering. "Ester?" I ask again.

Her body seems to relax slightly, but the shivering still dominates her body. She can't stop it. I bend over, gathering her shivering form into my arms. Her hair is still slightly damp, but the rest of her seems relatively warm. So why is she shivering?

I don't ask. I just sit on her bed, her lying in my arms and me gently stroking her hair. I begin to gently rock backwards and forwards, humming a mindless tune my mother used to sing to me. "Tell me what's wrong," I ask after a few minutes.

Slowly, she unfolds from the tight ball and wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face into my collar bone. "That scent. It had been bothering me since the clearing." She pauses, taking a deep breath as if preparing herself for what she was about to say. "I only remembered a moment ago. It's him Mark. It's Valentine," she whispers.

I feel a huge tide of anger surge within me. Valentine. The one who killed her parents and caused her so much pain. As if he hadn't hurt her enough, now he is back. When I find him, I will rip his damn intestine out and force him to eat them after I...

"Mark?" Her body had stopped shaking and she now sits up on my lap, her huge blue eyes searching my face. I could see all of the emotions swirling around inside her eyes. Pain, fear and anger. I gently pat her head, trying to make her feel better. "I know. Don't worry. We will find him and we will make him pay for the pain he has caused you," I growl. If it killed me, I would destroy him.

She nods at me, looking over at the small alarm clock with the flashing red numbers. "Oh. It's 8.55. I suppose we must get ready for school," she groans in sarcasm. I move to get her off me but her grip only tightens around my neck. "No. You can't make me," she giggles.  I grin at her and carry her into the hall. She only growls at me when I put her down, and I chuckle. I could tell her emotions where still raging around inside her, but she did a good job of pushing them down.

"The vampires will be here in the afternoon, so I will call you when they arrive so you can give all the information regarding the ghouls to them." I see her roll her eyes. She believes it is pointless in the vampires knowing everything, but they are the leaders of the council and it is there job to monitor the supernatural community and ensure everyone is in their place. Most people believe that vampires are closely related to bats, but this fact is false. It's just another misconception humans have. Vampires are actually related to snakes, with their venom and agility, and they even have the ability to dislocate their jaws. Most vampires are not the blood thirsty creatures either. They survive on feeding off of prostitutes or blood banks. The only thing is, they are very territorial, but more about that later.

I only shake my head at her ignorance to the vampire’s importance. She growls at me, jabbing my side. I growl playfully in return but she runs away from me. I am just about to follow when the shrill, ear shattering bell thunders throughout the school. Damn. Guess I'll have to get her back later for that one. I will see her when the vampires arrive, but I only hope she holds her tongue and doesn't disrespect them. It isn't her fault. She is just as territorial as the vampires, in fact even more so. She doesn't like the idea of others poaching on her land.