Lon Chaney Has Nothing On You

Chapter 12

For a moment, all Eleanor could do was stare at her. Jordan came rushing up, ushering Natalie inside and onto the couch. That jarred Eleanor into action, so she sprinted to her mother's bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit. She and Mr. Sands carefully began to patch her up, but no one could say anything, save for asking if she was alright.

"What happened?" Eleanor asked, pressing a bandage to the bite marks on her neck. She already knew, however, before Natalie could respond. Mr. Sands helped clean up the mess, pulling Jordan aside for a hushed conversation.

"I don't know," she whispered miserably. "I was at this party at Carlie Synder's house. Some guy tried talking to me, and when I told him no, he dragged me to this room and bit my neck! It was insane. I shoved him away and ran like hell."

"What kind of guy?" Eleanor asked, sharing a panicked look with the boys.

"I don't know!" Natalie said, dropping her face into her hands. Surprisingly, Rich came over to comfort her. He patted her back gently, assuring her quietly that she was safe. He asked the question again.

"European maybe? Dressed in black?"

"He was drunk," Natalie volunteered. "And he pulled me like I didn't weigh anything."

Hunter ran a nervous hand through his hair, breathing a little raggedly. He paced about the living room, looping around the table where Rob sat, pinning Carlie Synder's address on the map. Rob hissed at him to sit down.

"Okay guys, here's what's going to happen," Mr. Sands said, emerging from the side room with Jordan, who looked particularly sour. "Jordan and I are going to take Natalie home and call her parents. This was probably an animal attack—"

"No! It was a guy and I'm pretty sure you guys know what's going on," Natalie said resolutely. Jordan's expression perked up. "I want answers."

"See dad! You're underestimating them!" Jordan told him. Mr. Sands frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"When did I become den mother for the supernatural scouts," he muttered to himself. "No Jordan, I'm not going to put another child in danger tonight."

"All due respect Mr. Sands, I have a right to know what's going on," Natalie said. "I'm the one who got attacked." At that, Mr. Sands threw up his hands, collapsing in the armchair. Jordan perched on the arm of it, patting her father's head.

"We can't underestimate them," she reminded him. "She could help, and we'll keep each other safe."

"Okay!" Mr. Sands exclaimed. He muttered softly to himself before straightening back up. "Hunter, Jordan, I trust you guys. Your call."

Hunter stared at Natalie for a minute, and she held his stare without flinching. A slow smile broke out across his face. Eleanor took a seat on Natalie's other side, slipping her hand into hers, squeezing once.

"Okay," Hunter said. "I'm going to lay it out straight, and we'll just see how well you can handle this."

"Fine," Natalie said. "Tell me."

"You got attacked by a vampire," he started, an eager gleam in his eyes. "One of many around here. They're all being sired by this head vamp, Paulina. I'm a werewolf. It's my job to take care of the pest problem."

There was a moment where no one said anything, and in the silence, Mr. Sands hopped up, hurrying over to the kitchen. He rooted around the cabinets and Eleanor let him. Jordan stuck her thumbnail in her mouth, gnawing on it.

"Well," Natalie said finally, blinking rapidly. "That's a little twilight, no?"

"I promise you, there's nothing romantic about vampires," Jordan told her. "I'm Hunter's sister, Jordan."