Old Habits

Tish: silent home

Tish

The next ten hours were spent in tense silence. Jackson would try to say something, but either Stefa would respond in a hollow voice or Mike would tell him to shut up. Conor tried not to fall asleep, but he was still recovering from his run-in with Stefa's blood. He woke up as we turned onto the highway by our house. It was early morning, but the sun was hidden behind a layer of fog and clouds. I had tried to sleep, but was too wired, too nervous.

Mike stopped along the highway, pulling off on the shoulder before we got to the house.

"Just in case, I'd rather not announce ourselves," he said. "We can walk from here, yes?"

We all nodded. Conor grabbed another bag from the box of lunches, unwrapping it as we climbed out of the car. It was a chilly morning; no snow but plenty of wind. This didn't seem to deter Conor, who ate another several sandwiches as we walked along the highway. No one passed us; it was a little eerie that the country was so quiet.

It didn't take us long to walk the last mile to the house, and I was relieved to see the buildings intact and the cars in the driveway. I hoped that we were overreacting. Conor took my hand as we scanned the area, smelling for anything out of place. Nothing seemed abnormal; not much had moved since we had left.

I knocked on the door, felt a little silly and then opened it. The vampires followed behind us. As the door shut, I could immediately tell that something was different. There was no one here.

A chill went down my spine and I hurried to Susie's room as Conor headed down the stairs. The bed was made and empty; Susie Lynn nowhere to be seen. I came back out; Stefa was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. Conor came back up the stairs, his features grim.

"They're not here," he said. "We can check the shop?"

"Why would they not be in their beds? Everyone should be asleep?"

"Come on."

An accidental order, but I followed Conor without complaint. I knew he was worried, and at some point we would have to look for clues as to where they could have gone. Or, my worried brain supplied, where they had been taken. I wanted to believe our pack would have been clever enough to hide some sort of message for us.

The shop was also empty. Doors were open to the various bedrooms. I couldn't tell if anything had been taken. Conor checked every room anyway and then crossed the shop back to me, pulling me into his arms.

"They are fine," he said, as if needing to reassure himself as well. "They are safe. We just have to find them."

"Where would they have hidden a message?" I asked. "We have too many acres to check."

He frowned thoughtfully and walked into the game room, reaching into the filing cabinet. He pulled out a piece of paper with a relieved smile.

"Mel?" I questioned. "How did you know it'd be there?"

"This is where Stefa hid a message to me months ago," he explained. "I don't know; it was the first thing that came to mind."

He unfolded the piece of paper carefully. I held my breath as we scanned the note.

Back in your old pack's territory. Lacy is safe.

"Why so cryptic?" I complained. "Why is Lacy so important?"

"They know who we're with," Conor pointed out. "Something happened, I think. But I suspect that they are at the cabins. Shall we go?"

"We better wait," I sighed. "Until tonight. Otherwise we'll get caught out in the sun; there's not enough cover for the vampires we're with. We should check the fridge; maybe there will be some extra blood."

Conor went back into the game room, pulling out a bag of blood that said Mel on it. I was sure that no one would want to drink our werewolf blood, but at least there were options for the vampires.

We trudged back up the path, pausing when we saw Mike fly out the door. He didn't say anything, just sprinted down the path. I turned, running alongside him since that seemed to be the right call.

"What?" Conor asked, but Mike cut him off.

"Where can we hide that we have the least amount of smell?" he asked.

"Barn?" I suggested.

Conor took the lead, and we raced into the barn, pulling the door shut behind us and climbing up into the hayloft.

"What is happening?" Conor whispered, his voice so quiet I wasn't sure he had spoken.

"Someone pulled up in a blacked out car," Mike said. "Jackson said he'd handle it. But we had to pretend this pack was gone; you two are certainly still here."

"What about Stefa?" Conor questioned. "Shouldn't you have brought her?"

"She wouldn't come with me," Mike sighed.

We nestled into the hay and waited. For whatever reason, being around the familiar smells even in a moment of danger made me sleepy and I rested against Conor, sure I would fall asleep up here.

"What's that smell?" Mike questioned.

"Oh, damn it. Conor, the blood."

Conor showed the blood pack to Mike who looked around to see any options for disposing of it, and then reluctantly held out his hand.

"I can't believe I'm drinking cold blood at my age," he complained, but delicately snipped the edge of the bag and drained the contents. He blinked. "That wasn't as terrible as I would have thought. That was Mel?"

"Yes," Conor replied.

We all scooted back into the dust and hay, the spiders having to find other places to be. Mike closed his eyes, listening intently. I closed my eyes as well, resuming my spot next to Conor. He was back to his too warm self and when he wrapped me in his arms, I felt asleep in minutes.