An Uneasy Accord

Chapter 30 - Past and Present Collide

I am soooo sorry I didn't update sooner!!!!  

Neither one had a peaceful night's sleep within the last few nights as the visions taunted both werewolf and hunter. But those fiery visions of the night also allowed them to comprehend how much the other had endured, garnering a better understanding for each other. It had been strange for her to open up about that part of her life; to relive the night she so desperately fought to forget with booze while walking on the razor's edge. Even the shrink couldn't crack the layer of stone she had meticulously melded around her heart and soul. Yet the hunter had been compelled to share these very emotions with of all beings a werewolf.

"I never thought I could talk about it without losing control," Brooklyn quietly admitted.

"If you had I would understand."

"I never found the hunters who did it….."

"They're still out there?"

"Hopefully each one suffered some sort of slow painful death by now but I couldn't be that lucky."

She sunk lower in the seat as the Camaro roared down the winding road. The clouds clung onto the mountains that rose off into the East. It matched Brooklyn's mood as they rode in silence. Derek had decided today to take his hunter to see him. Maybe today was the day he would break out of the prison that he had been locked away in for so long.

The Alpha had struck again, killing a motorist who had been changing a flat along a desolate stretch of county road. The official report was of course an animal attack but Derek and Brooklyn knew better. No mountain lion they knew of had claws large enough to nearly sever a man's head from his shoulders. Besides, a mountain lion would've dragged the body away, concealing it under brush or bury it with leaves and sticks for later consumption.

But that wasn't all.

The same spiral had been discovered on Derek's windshield; painted in blood. Several thin streaks had started to trickle down the smooth glass but a quick run through the car wash had erased any sign of the crime.

"We're almost there," he quietly announced. Brooklyn nodded and continued staring out the window. Her mind had been swimming all morning from the moment she woke up to now. Derek had attempted to distract her troubled mind with a long steamy shower, hoping his strong attentive touch would relax his hunter. It had worked for a while before he sensed her anxiety returning.

The Camaro rolled into the parking lot of the nursing home. Brooklyn stared at the entrance which was a constant flow of staff patients and visitors in out of the double sliding doors. The last time she had been in such a place was when Markus and Brady had staged their intervention for her. Derek noted the tautness in her jaw line as she stared hard at the simply tan building with brown flat roof.

"Are you okay?" He leaned over across the seat.

"Yeah," she blinked and nodded. "Just remembering that's all. But I'm fine now."

She smiled weakly at him as he reached out and took her hand in his. "Let's do this."

They walked hand in hand past the neat rows of doors that were sterile in design while dodging staff and patients as they reached room 65. Derek ushered Brooklyn in then followed close behind. The shades were drawn, blocking out the warmth and brightness of the sun. In the corner a lone figure sat in a wheelchair slumped over to one side. Brooklyn could make out the outline of a blanket draped across the chair as they slowly approached.

"Is this…."

"Yes," Derek spun the chair around for the hunter to see the other surviving member of the Hale Family. She heard the sharp gasp and realized it was coming from her as the extent of Peter Hale's injuries came into light. The right side of his face had been horribly burned leaving a small stub where his should've been. But it was the eyes that were the most chilling. Two hollow orbs that stared blankly into nothing, as if all life had been ripped apart leaving the skeletons behind.