Shadow's Mark (Currently Being Edited)

Chapter 15: Supernaturals

I took a deep breath as I stared wildly back at Drew. "So, you guys really are telling the truth."

The whole weight of the situation was finally settling into my brain.

It all actually explained a lot of things I could not quite make sense of lately, like those monstrous hikers in the woods. Now I knew they must've been supernatural creatures of some sort.

And come to think of it, I do recall that Drew had been the one chanting last night in the woods as well, very much like a witch..or wiccan, or whatever.

Remembering the huge bear-like monster I had seen as well, I quickly shot my eyes towards Cole. "So, you're a wolf?"

He shook his head at me and made a face like I had just insulted him. "No. Not a wolf. I'm a werewolf. Know the difference."

I frowned and rolled my eyes. "Sorry.. a werewolf. So are your family werewolves as well?" I asked him, still not quite believing it.

Cole snorted in reply. "You mean Keith and Silya? Are you crazy? Of course they're not werewolves."

Keith and Silya Ashton were Cole's foster parents and had been since he was ten. He never got around to calling them 'mom' or 'dad', but he did care for them and considered them the closest thing to family he had, eventually taking their last name.

"And there are a ton of other werewolves in town," stated Cole, "like Joaquin and his brothers."

"What? The Gomez brothers are werewolves?" I shook my head in disbelief. "I don't believe it. Just when you think you know the people in this town."

Joaquin Gomez went to Shady High too, and was a Senior, just a year older than us. He was also one of Cole's closest friends.

Joaquin also happened to be my ex-boyfriend. We had been dating for a few weeks back when I was a freshman and he a sophomore, until he dumped me out of the blue. I never spoke to him again after that.

Joaquin's older brothers, Luca and Pablo, were the ringleaders of the notorious motorcycle gang, the Wolfpack, the very same gang both Cole and Joaquin were a part of.

Wait a minute.

Wolfpack?

Well, their name was beginning to make sense now.

This made me frown as it suddenly dawned on me that I used to date a werewolf.

Weird.

"Oh, don't be so glum, Jenkins," said Jack. "We didn't tell you this sooner because we were just trying to protect ourselves."

I turned to face him. "And what sort of supernatural creature are you, Jack?"

"I'm a...seer," he replied hesitantly, crossing his arms over his chest as if he was defending himself.

I furrowed my brows at him. "A seer? As in people who deciphered meanings of dreams and visions?'' I recalled it coming up on one of our class readings discussing ancient Egypt.

"Uhhh...hmm," he muttered as he searched for the words to say, "Well, it's kinda hard to explain. But, I guess that does describe us, the ancient Egyptian thingy."

My eyes narrowed a bit as I cocked a brow at him. "Us? Who else is like you?"

"No one in my family, if that's what you're asking," he replied. "I meant 'us' as in people like me, people who also have visions of the past or future. Though instead of being called psychics, we're called seers, I guess."

"You can see the future?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, he can," Cole said. "Raven Baxter over here's the one that had a vision of you being attacked by those freaks in the woods."

Drew nodded as she chimed, "Yep, if it weren't for Jack, we wouldn't have made it on time to save you and your boyfriend."

"Oh, my God! Wes!" I gasped as I quickly stood upright, a fearful expression clouding my face. "What happened to him?''

"Relax," said Drew calmly, "I healed up Wesley's neck the same way I healed your shoulders and jaw."

I shot my hands up towards my jawline and recalled when that hiker, Rita, had dislocated it with one sharp slap to the face. Then my hands trailed down towards my shoulders, to where the redhead had clawed my skin.

Shuddering at the intense pain I endured the previous night, I mentally thanked my friends for being there to save me and Wes.

"So where's Wes now?" I asked, my body releasing all tension.

"Cole brought him home safely last night," replied Drew as she grabbed everyone's now empty dishes and stacked them into the dishwasher.

I gulped and shook my head distraughtfully. "What did he say about the whole thing?" I started pacing back and forth as I felt my body tense up again. "Oh, gosh, he must be freaking out."

"Actually," chuckled Cole, "your boyfriend doesn't remember anything. Mr Tate compelled him to forget everything that happened last night."

I shot Cole a look of utter confusion.

But before I could get out a question, Jack quickly offered an explanation. "Yes, Mr Tate as in Autumn's dad. He's a vampire. And before you freak out, just know that he's sort of a dormant vampire. He feeds strictly on animal blood. Same goes for Autumn and the rest of her family. In fact, the other vampire families here have a strict, clean diet as well."

My mouth gaped open as my eyes widened, the same expression I had that one time we watched a childbirth video back in junior high. The look on my friends' faces told me they were expecting my reaction.

''No way. Autumn's a vampire?" I blurted out after a moment of still silence. "Like, was she always one?"

My disability to believe so easily was kicking back in.

"Yes, she has always been one," replied Jack. "Anyways," he continued, "some vampires like Mr Tate have special powers. His powers are mind compulsion..well, for humans only, since it doesn't work on supernaturals."

"Think of it as hypnosis," piped Drew when she noticed the lost expression on my face. "Mr Tate hypnotized Wes and made him forget last night's rather dangerous events. Probably for the best. You know, for his safety."

"So why didn't you get Mr Tate to hypnotize me?" I asked. "I mean, why go through all the trouble of trying to explain everything when you could've erased my memories?"

Jack exchanged looks with the others before looking back at me. He hesitated before saying, "Well, cuz we were hoping you could tell us what those vampires wanted with you at Redblood."

I widened my eyes, possibly for the one hundredth time today and gasped in disbelief. "No way, those missing hikers were vampires?"

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Hola, guys!..(or guy, assuming there's only one person reading this)

Sorry, the last chapters was mainly just to get out some explanations on who's what and all. Filler chapters, I guess.

I promise we'll be getting into some riveting action real soon!

I hope it was interesting for y'all & I hope you guys are enjoying the story!

Te amo mi amigos!

-E