Night After Day

Chapter 34: Mutual Agreement.

"You're an idiot."

I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar room. An unfamiliar bed. I freaked, rocketing up and causing my vision to spin alarmingly. A hand came down on my shoulder, pushing me back down into the covers and I realised who it was.

Jason.

I tried to remember what had happened and the last thing I could recall was stumbling out of the room away from the dead vampire. "How did I get here?" My breathing was irregular and my heart was beating rapidly.

"I found you bleeding to death in a corridor on the north wing."

"Why-" I tried to sit up again but my body felt weak all over.

"Hayden," he sat down on the bed. His bed I realized. He met my eyes. "There was a dead vampire in that room."

I stared through him, casting my mind back to what had happened. The mirror. The figure. I looked down at my hands to find them bandaged and heavy. I reached up, flinched as my hands protested and felt my forehead. Something was there. Stitches? I swallowed down the sick that rose in my throat.

"I had to stop your bleeding." He seemed a little on edge and I frowned.

"Why didn't you take me back to my room?" I tried to keep the suspicion out of my voice.

"Because," he sounded impatient, like he was talking to a child. "I couldn't exactly walk around with a bleeding human through a house full of vampires, could I?"

"But why didn't I heal? Werewolves heal, right?"

"They can, but only if the wound has stopped bleeding or a bone has been set. Also, ever since Angeline gave you more of that poison, that ability has been blocked. As has your ability to shift, and basically every other aspect that makes you supernatural."

I closed my eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning. When I felt better I opened them again and met his eyes. "If you're half a vampire, how were you able to get me back here without losing control?"

"Because I'm a hybrid. My werewolf side means that blood doesn't effect me like it does with other vampires."

I tentatively pulled off the covers but he began forward.

I snapped at him. "Dont baby me. I need to get up."

He glared at me. "What exactly are you wanting to achieve?"

"Nothing." I touched the floor with my toes and the cold shocked me. "I just can't stay there for any longer."

"Hayden.... Did you kill that vampire?" He seemed reluctant to ask.

I paused. "It was an accident."

"You accidently killed a vampire?"

"Yes."

He stared at me and I didn't like the way that his eyes flashed. I stood, shaking badly but for the first time I managed to stand. And stay standing. I stretched and felt him come up behind me, I turned.

"Hayden. Can you do something for me?"

I hesitated. No was the immediate response but I stopped. "What do you want?"

He sat back on the bed and gave me a long look before continuing. "Angeline killed your friend."

I froze, my fist clenching and blood appeared on the bandage.

"She killed your friend." Jason seemed like he had to restate it, like he thought that I had forgotten. I could never forget. "I have a plan. One that can get revenge for him... And my family."

I remembered Angeline talking about how his family had been killed.

"Jason..." He looked up. "What exactly.... Happened to your family?"

Jason's jaw tightened as if he was reliving a rather painful memory. "I tried to save one of my friends. She was a werewolf. I was a pureblood back then. The son of the king. No one thought that anyone would have the... strength to kill a pureblood. But when I returned after watching my friend die. They were gone. Our house overturned and our empire changed forever."

I had listened silently and I couldn't help but feel remorse for the former heir. But something didn't connect up. "How was it the Patenuades fault?"

His eyes became very dark and given recent circumstances I found myself taking a step back.

"Because I know that it was Cole. It was him who captured my friend. I don't know how he did it but I know he had help." His fist tightened.

"So what do you want from me?"

"I need you to distract the newly crowned for a period of time."

Newly crowned. Angeline and Cole? "Why?"

"Because I know what I have to do now. I've been planning this for quite a while."

"What are you going to do?" I asked warily. The way his eyes focused on me did nothing to rid me of the feeling that I didn't really want to know.

"I can't tell you."

"Then find someone else. Either you tell me what your planning, or I'm just going to continue with what I was doing."

"Hayden." He sounded desperate. "You have to understand why I can't tell you. If you were caught then I couldn't have you telling them. I admire your strength but you wouldn't be able to withstand what they would put you through."

I understood where he was coming from but still I wasn't convinced.

"Fine..." he turned, breaking the eye contact and throwing himself down on the window seat, staring out at the forest.

I rotated my neck and winced, feeling my cheek where a few shards of glass must have rained on me when the mirror shattered. I could have died. I didn't want to be here anymore. I never wanted to in the first place. Why wasn't I taking this opportunity? I opened my mouth but Jason broke the silence before I could.

"If you do this for me then I will take you to Riley."

"Riley?" I said blankly, "why exactly do I need to see Riley? As soon as I'm out of this nightmare I'm going to see my family. Riley can wait."

"Riley really can't wait. You need to see her. She can explain all of this to you."

"Why her?" I didn't know why I was being to defensive. Maybe it was because after all these years it was Angeline, and Riley who hid who they really were from me?

"Because.... She is your Alpha."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Yeah."

I blinked a few times. "You are kidding me. You are FUCKING kidding me."

He sighed and stood, coming over but I waved him off. "No. no way. Why??"

"I'll let her explain that to you. Do we have a deal?"

"No we do certainly not have a deal!" I cradled my hands as I paced around. Alpha?

"WHY ME?!" I yelled, looking around for something to throw. "It was hard enough dealing with vampires!"

I stopped and took a breath. Then around one.

"I will help you. But when I leave I'm going to see my family."

He seemed to ignore my conditions and walked past me, checking the door. "So we have a deal?"

"What do I have to do? How do I distract them?"

"I'm still working on that-"

Suddenly the door was thrown open and Angeline was standing there.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE."