Preyed (Hunted: Book Two)

Chapter Fifteen

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing like a madman. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I hit the answer button.
"Hello?"
"We found him," Emmett says.
"You did?"
"Yeah. It took freaking forever because the guy is like a nomad or something, but we finally tracked him down. Well, actually he found us. He's here at the house and wants to talk to you before we go any further with anything," Emmett says.
"Alright, I"m on my way."
I shoot up out of bed and grab a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and a jacket, before grabbing a pair of shoes. I am stumbling down the stairs, trying to put my shoes on when I crash into Seth.
"Hey beautiful, what's the rush?"
"Emmett just called, he and Carlisle found the nomad. He's waiting at their house for me."
Seth quickly pulls the shirt that's in his hand over his hand and pulls his keys out of his pocket. He follows me downstairs and into the dining room where Paul is drinking a cup of coffee.
"Where are you two lovebirds going so early?" Paul asks.
"To Dr. Cullen's house. He wants to check on Mia's progress as a vampire."
Paul glances over his shoulder at the clock that blatantly reads 7 a.m. and laughs.
"I get it. You don't have to tell me that you two are going somewhere with a little more privacy," he says.
He wiggles his eyebrows at us and Seth shakes his head.
"It's not like that Paul," Seth says.
"Sure, it's not. It's 7 a.m. No one is up at 7 a.m. unless they have no choice."
"Seth, we don't have time for this," I say.
He nods as I lead the way out the door.
"Use protection you two. I'm too young to be an uncle," Paul calls out.
The scarlet color that rises on our cheeks is bright on our skin. We try to ignore his comment and the laughter that follows it.
It takes us less than twenty minutes to get to the reserve to the Cullen's house. When we get there we find Edward waiting for us on the front steps when we get there.
"Carlise is in the living room."
Edward leads us into the living room and I am almost blown away by the new guy. I thought I was used to seeing unrealistically beautiful people living with the Cullens, but this guy was some kind of Greek Adonis. His eyes are a bright gold color like the stone topaz only five times brighter. His long ombre colored hair falls to his shoulders and I can't help but follow the movement of his hand as he runs his hand through his hair to get it out of his face. His beard is well kept and a dark brown color. He's wearing dark wash jeans and a plain white tee shirt under a light jacket. On his feet are what looks like a serious pair of biker boots.
"You must be Mia," he says.
He smiles at me and it lights up his whole face. I can't help the blush that rises to my cheeks at his smile. He gives a light laugh that can only be described as musical and I quickly gather myself.
"Yes, and you are..."
"Kai Marcano."
He puts out his hand to shake and I grab it as Gabriel walks through the door. He freezes when he sees Kai before a smile breaks out on his face.
"Holy shi...Doc, when you said you knew somebody who could help I didn't know you meant this fanged son of a bitch."
Gabriel comes over and pulls Kai into a hug. Kai laughs before pulling away and looking Gabriel over.
"You've gotten old," he says.
"And you haven't," Gabriel laughs.
They hug each other again and Kai gestures to Carlisle.
"How are you involved with the good doctor?" he asks.
Gabriel nods in my direction.
"My daughter."
Kai's jaw hits the floor and he laughs before clapping Gabriel on the shoulder.
"It seems you and I have a lot to catch up on, my old friend."
Gabriel laughs, "you have no idea, Marcano."
"Marcano? That's Italian right?" I ask.
Kai turns back to me and smiles, "Si. Parli italiano?"
"Mio padre mi ha fatto imparare quando ero piu giovane," I say.
"Ahh, non sapevo che Gabriel e stato in grado di imparare un'altra lingua che non e i suoni che fa un cane," he laughs.
"Lui capisce abbastanza per essere in grado di calci in culo per averlo chiamato un cane," Gabriel says with a playful smile.
Kai laughs before clapping Gabriel on the shoulder again, "of course. How dare I insult the great Gabriel Wolfe. I shall run home and tremble in fear."
He winks at me and I laugh as he turns toward Seth.
"And who is this young wolf?"
Seth sticks out his hand for Kai to shake.
"Seth Clearwater."
Kai looks between Seth and me before looking over at Gabriel, who just nods his head.
"I assume you are treating young Mia with the respect and love she deserves?" Kai asks.
Seth nods, "always."
Kai nods, "good."
Carlisle clears his throat to steer the conversation back on topic.
"Thank you again for coming Kai," Carlisle says.
Kai waves away Carlisle's thanks, "anything for a friend. Now, shall we get started?"
"Sure," I say.
Kai gestures to an empty chair and I sit down. He sits down in the chair in front of me before addressing the others.
"I am going to request that Gabriel and Seth leave the room," he says.
"What? Why?" Seth asks.
"Because what I am about to do is going to be extremely painful for Mia and if you love her as much as I think you do then you will want to protect her."
"But..."
Gabriel puts a hand on Seth's shoulder, "he's right."
Gabriel nods at Kai, "we will be outside."
Gabriel leads Seth out the door followed by Emmett and Edward. Jasper takes the chair next to me and I look over at him.
"You're not going to leave too?"
He shakes his head, "Carlisle thinks I will be able to help keep you calm."
I nod before taking a deep breath as Kai focuses back on me.
"I will not lie to you, Mia. What I have to do will be extremely painful for you."
"I can handle it," I say.
Kai smiles softly, "I truly hope you can."
His gaze meets mine and his hand cups my face before he takes a deep breath before he whispers one single word.
"Aperto."
Pain sears my insides like a raging fire burning a forest. I'm in more pain than I ever imagined possible. It increases in waves and each peak robs me of my ability to speak, to make it stop. It dominates my every thought. All I can do is wait for it to end. A small whimper makes its way from my lips as the next wave crashes down over me, pulling me under. My thoughts are ransacked by a burning light and I cry out as it burns through me. Darkness battles the light in a swirling torrent of fire. It's like my blood is fire itself, intent on destroying me from the inside out. Suddenly, the pain stops. The fire stops raging and all I am left with is a dull throbbing. I can hear the voices around me filled with concern.
"Mia? Open your eyes."
I open my eyes to find myself looking at Kai, a small frown on his face.
"What happened?" I croak.
He shakes his head before handing me a glass of water, "drink."
I gratefully take the glass from him as he walks over to Carlisle and gestures outside to where Gabriel is waiting. The two of them go outside and I turn to look at Jasper, who has his head in his hands.
"Jasp, you okay?" I ask.
His shoulders move as if he has just taken a deep breath. He looks up at me, his eyes shiny with tears.
"How...how do you stand it?" he asks.
"Stand what?"
"The...the fear. The pain. Everything. I just..."
He is suddenly on his feet and he pulls me into a bone-crushing hug.
"I swear to you that you will never have to live in fear again. We're going to stop Asher."
"I know, Jasper."
We stay like that a few minutes before Seth walks in, one eyebrow raised. He looks over at Jasper.
"You okay, man?"
Jasper looks over at me and I nod, letting him know that I'm okay.
"I will be. I'm going to find Alice."
He heads upstairs and Seth pulls me into a hug, placing a kiss on my forehead.
"And what about you, gorgeous? You okay?"
"I think so. I'm not really sure what happened? What are they talking about out there?" I ask, gesturing outside.
Seth shrugs, "no idea. I went for a run while you were inside."
I raise an eyebrow at him and he shrugs again.
"Gabriel suggested it as a way to keep me busy. I told you what we have is a whole lot more than just two kids crazy in love. Just thinking of somebody hurting you makes me want to punch something."
"Kai was helping me."
"Not without hurting you."
I wrap both my arms around Seth and rest my head on his chest. It takes a minute, but the tension leaves Seth and he wraps his arms around me.
"I just don't like thinking about you in pain."
"I know, but if it helps get Asher out of my head then it's worth it."
Seth sighs, "I guess so."
Gabriel, Carlisle, and Kai all come back in after a few minutes and Kai returns to his seat.
"So, can you help me?"
Kai sighs before shaking his head, "I don't know."
I can't help the confusion that makes it way on my face and Kai holds up a hand to stop me from speaking.
"But I am willing to try. However, I feel I must warn you that the process will not be an easy one. It will be painful."
"I can handle it."
"I hope so, young Mia. For now, rest. We can continue tomorrow if you want."
"Why can't we continue now?" I ask.
"Because your mind has already been through enough. To continue now would possibly cause brain damage and even if you are willing to risk it, I am not. You are my friend's daughter and I promised him to try to do everything I can to help you, but I will not risk your life," Kai says.
I nod, "I understand."
"Good. I will see you soon. Stay safe."
He places a kiss on my cheek and he and Carlisle head to Carlisle's office. I look over at Gabriel, who is watching me.
"You do know that you are totally going to have to tell me the story about how you became friends with an Italian vampire, right?"
Gabriel laughs, "I'm surprised it took you this long to ask."
I shrug, "I wanted to give you time to make the story interesting."
He laughs again before shaking his head, "you kids up for a little breakfast? Your grandmother wants us to have a little breakfast get together. She also requested the presence of Seth."
Seth looks shocked, "me? Why me?"
"Probably because you're dating her granddaughter and she has yet to have the opportunity to formally question you and your intentions."
"But...but..."
I kiss Seth on the cheek, "you'll be fine. It's only Rose and you once said she liked you."
"That was before I started dating you. She could hate me now."
I laugh, "I doubt she hates you. Rose can't hate anybody, she's physically incapable of it."
Gabriel shrugs, "I guess we'll find out."
We all head out the door and I prepare myself for what might be the most awkward meal I've ever had.

Author's Note: Guys, you have no idea how excited about this chapter I was because you finally got to meet Kai! Kai is one of my favorite characters and he is actually based on a real person, that many of you should know due to his latest film recently coming out. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. I plan on doing another Q&A type thing soon, so if you have any questions let me know! Happy reading!-Jess