Loving the enemy

Chapter 6

We sit in silence.

The water by the lake shimmering in the faint light cast by the setting moon. My eyes drift over to the boy sitting beside me. Shane stares out at the water, his eyes evidently bubbling with thoughts. I know he can feel me watching him, but he doesn't move his gaze from the water.

"What are we going to do, Max?" he says, his question rippling through the silence. I tear my eyes from his face and look back to the lake.

"I don't know. I really don't know." I say. This is ridiculous. Was Shane delusional or was I actually his mate?

"Do you care about me?" he asks quietly. I let out a small sigh. I've been thinking about the answer to that question for a long time, so why am I not prepared to answer it?

"I wish I could know exactly how I feel, but I can't. I'm human, Shane. It's not like I stay in love with one person forever. Im not like you." He lowers his gaze to his feet.

"Do you care about anyone?"

"My brother." I say without hesitation.

"I know you care about me, Max. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here with me right now."

"Maybe that's true, but we can't be together. It's just not possible. I've killed your peers, your friends. How can you even look at me with any emotion but disgust?" I feel his hand slide over mine and he edges closer to me. The touch of his skin on mine sends electric shocks through my veins.

"I don't agree with what your doing, of course I don't." I move my eyes to meet his. "But I love you, Max. I'm in love with you. I loved you ever since I met you that night. I just have to hope you stop what your doing. For whatever reason you are killing my people for, I hope it's worth hurting me." He squeezes my hand and a tear slides from my eye.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." I wrap my arms around his neck and hold him close. He seems shocked at first but quickly hugs me back.

"I forgive you. It's okay. Don't cry."

"How can you possibly forgive me?" I sob "I've hurt you so badly. I've hurt so many people. I'm a terrible person."

"I love you. It's okay. I love you." he runs his hand soothingly through my hair and down my back. I hide my face in the crook of his neck, comforted by his touch.

I don't know how long he held me, but before I knew it my eyes were fluttering open.

Shit, I feel asleep!

Shane's arms are wrapped around me, holding me close to his chest. I untangle myself from his hold and start running back to the house.

I'm so stupid! God, please don't let anything have of happened to Able.

•••••••••

I storm in through the front door, of the house. My stomach sinks instantly. Our furniture is tipped, our drawers ransacked and our belongings thrown about the house.

"Able!" I scream, panic taking over my body. "Able! Where are you!"

"Max...." groans a voice from the next room. I run into the kitchen and yell out in agony when I see my little brother lying broken under the tipped pantry. Blood is pooled around him and his body from the neck down is crushed. His arms are lifted above his head, also poking out from beneath. I run over to him and fall to my knees beside him.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Able. I promise." he groans in agony, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. I grab the side of the pantry and try to pull it off of him. To my dismay it's too heavy. The more I try to lift it, the more I seem to be hurting him. I give up and take my brothers hand instead.

"Who did this to you?"

"Va..... vampires...." he groans. My breathing quickens in panic.

"I'm going to go get help, okay? I can't lift this by myself." I lean forward and kiss him on the forehead. "Hold on baby brother, I'll be right back. I love you." I reluctantly let go of his hand and leave his side, hurriedly scaling down the tree and sprinting towards where I hope Shane still is.

•••••••••

I grab Shane's hand as we sprint through the forest. My panic seems to be contagious to him, because he seems just as flustered as me. We reach the bottom of the tree, and I start to climb up. He follows close behind me without hesitation. Within seconds we are in the kitchen, Able groaning in pain at our feet.

"....Who...?" he asks painfully.

"Shhh, don't say anything. We are going to get you out from under this thing." Shane grabs a side of the pantry and heaves it up. Without my help he manages to lift it up by himself. I look at him in shock for a moment before, falling beside Able. His breathing is ragged and his eyes are bloodshot.

"Can you stand?" Shane asks Able, kneeling beside me. He shakes his head, groaning in pain. "Okay, this might hurt." my eyes widen

"What are you going to do to him?" Shane wraps his arm around Ables shoulder and lifts him to his feet. Able groans as Shane leads him into the living room. I run over and tilt the sofa back upright so Shane can set Able down on it.

"Im going to help you get your shirt off." Shane says. "I need to see if your ribs are broken." Able lifts his arms as the werewolf lifts the fabric above his head.

"Who.... are you?" My brother struggles to ask as Shane starts feeling his ribcage for broken bones.

"A friend of Max." he says without hesitation. "I need to talk to your sister for a moment." He walks over to me and takes my hand, leading me away into a corner of the room where he can't hear us.

"Will he be alright?" I ask terrified.

"He has shattered 5 ribs, done some internal damage by the looks of the blood coming from his mouth, and seems to have broken his left leg."

"How do you-?"

"My parents taught me how to help people." Shane pauses, his eyes searching mine "he won't survive unless we take him to a hospital." I let out a small sharp gasp.

"We can't. Doctors ask to many questions, they will find out about us. Find out about everything." I glance back over at Able for a moment. "Is there any other way?"

"I could go back to the pack, get some stuff then come here and help him. But I would have to stay close to him for about a week." I nod.

"Okay, stay. Just please, don't let him die. He is all I have." I don't notice the brief wave of hurt cross Shane's face. He nods.

"I'll be back soon. Just stay with him." Shane turns to leave but I grab his hand, he looks back at me.

"He can't know about us. About you."

"I understand."

"Thank you. For everything." He nods once before leaving the treehouse and vanishing into the woods.