9. Tragic Commonality
Chapter 9
Tragic Commonality
“ Y ou never talk about yourself,” I pried abruptly as we took a beaten path through the forest, ready to stake out a potential location nearby. “I mean, not really. Why do you men folk never talk about yourselves. I feel like you know everything about me, and yet I know so little about you.”
I didn’t hide my agitation well, and it likely projected on my face as hormonal teenage rage while we walked side by side, always aware of our surroundings.
Sloan was dressed in smart fighting attire, and his usual weapons were everywhere I looked today. His slim waist was strapped with an assortment of blades alongside some inventions I recognized Phillip liked to carry on him.
Sungho and Kris were paired off and checking out another potential location. We’d narrowed it down to two, so the odds of us finding it today were high. But the angsty, self-deprecating teen in me was more interested in prying into things I had no business prying into.
You’d think after Phillip I’d learn my lesson, but here we were again, digging a hole I’d likely be buried in.
My every action probably screamed of abandonment issues. Not that it’d be totally off the mark to say so. I was fully aware of how desperate I’d become to connect with someone— anyone— who didn’t run away at the first sign of trouble.
I’d vowed to live, at least while I could. Presently, my choices were to try something new and chase after Kris, who was gorgeous. Honestly, it did appeal to me, since I’d in no small way wondered about my sexuality. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a good few days to seriously think about it. Or, I could give whatever weird thing happening between Sloan and I a shot.
After Phillip had made it clear he didn’t plan to be an option, not now, not ever, even when it came to being partners, I’d be stupid to think waiting until his missteps finally caught up with him would eventually lead to a happily ever after.
“I wasn’t aware you felt that way, but I can understand why, knowing Phillip,” Sloan responded, lips lifting sarcastically. “I never volunteered information because you seemed uncomfortable with the current state of our relationship.”
My gaze slid away, suddenly very aware of his. “All my relationships are starting backwards these days.”
“A tragic commonality with Hunters, I fear,” Sloan countered with a chuckle.
“Still, that wasn’t cool of me. You’re a nice dude, and I think with everything considered, you’re the most thoughtful guy of the bunch.”
The light-eyed Hunter’s laughter was rich and came from deep within his chest. It made my stomach flip-flop. “I’m going to choose to see that as a compliment.”
“Hey, it is!”
“And it’s nothing less than what you deserve, V. ”
“You damn suave bastard,” I grumbled to Sloan’s continued entertainment.
“I fear I’m becoming something of a masochist myself.”
“I’m afraid to ask why,” I remarked, smirking.
Sloan’s eyes glistened with meaning and he reached for my hand, brushing my knuckles gently. It hardly compared to the night I’d climbed right onto his lap and performed acts that would shame a lesser person, but the light touch made me just as giddy. In seconds, my heart was off to the races, and it was probably painfully obvious to the other Hunter I enjoyed the small act, whose hearing was just as good as mine.
“I find myself desperate to hear your chastisement while you call me a bastard. It’s a relief to see your guard come down around me.”
Heat reached my face, and I scrambled to say something. “Okay, yeah. You’re definitely a masochist. What kind of person wants to be verbally abused?” I was hyper-aware of how close Sloan was, and my eyes couldn’t seem to stray away from the hand that had only touched me moments ago.
“Be that as it may, it gives me great joy to know you feel comfortable enough to be a little sassy with me. I doubt I’ll do anything but smile all day.”
The way Sloan dropped lines like it was nothing really showcased the man’s easy charm. He never seemed bothered by what I did or said. He never blamed me for treating him like shit. I definitely owed him an apology as time dragged on and our relationship became complicated .
“Still, I’m sorry.”
“For?” Sloan seemed genuinely surprised I’d apologize.
I licked my lips and readjusted the crossbow I carried on my back. “For everything. For how I treated you the other day when you told me about Phil. It’s understandable you’d want to keep that from me. I shouldn’t have blamed you for not telling me sooner. I mean, you did tell me eventually. And you know, for being saddled with me and getting nothing but complaints. It can’t feel great to be put in danger for someone you don’t even know.” Sloan didn’t speak at all, so I busied myself with my belt to keep from being too fidgety. “Guess I’m still scared to get close to anyone, but I promise I’m working on it.”
And that was the truth.
I didn’t want to turn into a jaded old goat like Phillip who never let anyone in. That was the last thing Grams wanted for me. And even though I was still upset she kept things from me, I understood why she did it. It was all a lot, and Grams only ever wanted the best for me. She didn’t get a chance to live a normal life from what I knew, and maybe that was the reason she worked so hard to give me at least some semblance of one.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
The other Hunter’s light eyes beamed, then Sloan slowed to a stop and pivoted my direction. “You’ve had your entire life upended. All your loved ones are gone. Phillip, despite his reassurance he wouldn’t, left you with someone else. You’re being hunted down by every creature bent on teaching the Organization a lesson, and those who may even be working for it. Your blood is a mystery, and controlling your powers even more so. Lastly, all of this occurred within months of you turning eighteen. Yet, you stand here and apologize to me?” His smile was heartbreakingly gentle. “Fascinating.”
Well, when you put it like that…
I eyed the man thoughtfully. “I keep forgetting that you’re nothing like Phillip. He’d tell me to buck up—or something as equally patronizing. ”
Brushing back his dark hair with another bright smile, Sloan eyed the treetops. “Phillip has a lot of reasons to be cold to this world, but around you, I saw something in him that I haven’t seen the entire time I’ve known him.”
I swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable but desperate to know what the Brit would say next. “What did you see?”
As if catching himself, Sloan fixed his posture and offered me a less-than-inspired grin. “Life.”
“Life?”
Walking again, Sloan smoothed out his leather jacket and cleared his throat. “It’s hard to explain, but Phillip always seemed to have one foot in the grave. The only thing keeping him alive was his vengeance. But around you, it’s as if light has finally shined on a place that had been drenched in darkness for centuries. Like you brought him back to life.”
“That’s impossible,” I said, throat tight. “He left me the first chance he got, Sloan.”
Despite my argument, something in my chest panged. I had no business feeling hope, but I did. Deep down, Sloan’s words revived the optimism that maybe I could reach Phillip again.
Maybe we stood a chance.
But then Sloan sighed and confirmed my unspoken fear. “I’d wondered if maybe you could reach him, but even I’m not sure now that he’s chosen to leave. He seems more determined than ever to do everything alone.”
Fuck.
I’d nearly done it again. Hoped.
Shit .
Moistening my lips, I picked up the pace and settled my gaze on the path ahead. “So, what about you? Why don’t you have anyone in your life? I take it you and Kris aren’t a thing.”
My question seemed to catch the quietly brooding Brit by surprise because his eyes swiftly shot over to me. “You wish to know why I don’t have a loved one? And you’d be correct in assuming there’s nothing between Kris and I, though I admire her greatly.”
Figured he wasn’t the type to date one and kiss another. I mean, not without communicated consent if that was the type of relationship they had. Kris gave me no-one-man vibes, and I admired that about her. Truth be told, I worshipped her.
Must ask her to teach me her ways.
I nearly lost my courage for a second, face to face with Sloan’s solemn stare, but I refused to back down. Not when I could finally ask questions and maybe get answers. With Sloan, it felt achievable.
I kept my gaze locked with the Brit’s. “Is there a reason why you don’t have someone?”
For the first time, Sloan visibly hesitated, unable to answer. But when he lifted his gaze back to mine, he no longer looked unsure. No, if anything, he looked super determined.
“Like Phillip, I lost someone I loved.”
I waited with bated breath, not sure why my heart hurt when Sloan said he’d loved someone. Of course he had. He wasn’t as old as Phillip, but he’d lived far longer than any human had. It’d be ridiculous to think that an immensely charming, unbelievably kind, and incredibly clever Hunter like Sloan wouldn’t fall in love at some stage.
He wasn’t Phil .
In the gleam of sunlight, Sloan was striking. It didn’t help that the last two nights I’d been plagued by dreams of kissing and doing shameless, sinful things with him. Dreams of sinking my fingers into his lush dark hair and mapping the contours of his muscles as they flexed and relaxed. And…I was drooling.
Hormones. I’m going to blame hormones.
“Oh?”
Sloan seemed to choose his next words carefully. “My sister.”
Relief hit, but then I realized how horrible it was to react the way I did when someone told you they lost their sister. “What happened to her?”
Branches and dry leaves crunched underfoot as we trekked deeper into the forest. The sunlight was sporadic and our surroundings grew darker with every step, but my senses were tuned into the way Sloan’s heart seemed to quicken at the mere thought of his sister. Uncomfortable didn’t express how I felt in that moment.
Sloan paused in his forward hike and turned to me. His jaw worked before he finally spoke. “The same fate as your parents.”
The Organization executed her?
“For what reason?” I asked, breathless.
His lips were downturned before he took a step my direction and lowered his voice. “Unlike your parents, she knew what she was doing. She betrayed everything she believed in and joined forces with a Dark Fae.” Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply. “She fell in love with him.”
Well, shit.
It made sense that love would leave a bad taste in your mouth if your own sister went and turned against you for the sake of being in love .
The other Hunter’s soft smile returned. “Don’t worry, love. It was a long time ago.”
“Still…”
Sloan’s hand brushed against mine before he tangled our fingers together. With fluid grace, he kissed the top of my hand and his eyes seemed to beam vibrant shades of blue while caught in a stream of sunlight. “She made her choice, and I will make mine when the time comes,” he said, lips caressing my sensitive skin.
“When the time comes…?” I repeated, a little winded when I didn’t even need to breathe. “What—?”
Both of our heads turned, weapons already out and at the ready. In an instant, the air I hadn’t realized I sucked in came whooshing out. A familiar figure stood in nothing but daylight, and their appearance struck me to stone.
It can’t be...
“Grams?”
Sloan grabbed me as I took a step, his voice practically a growl. “No.”
“But—”
“V, you can’t trust him.” The lines in Grams’s face deepened with concern.
“Who, Sloan?” Struggling to understand what was happening, I tried to get out of Sloan’s hold to go to her. His hand tightened. “Sloan, let go. It’s my grams.”
“That’s not your grams.”
Sucking in a confused breath, I was suddenly on guard.
Something about the way Sloan reacted made me anxious. His eyes didn’t leave the woman who I only recognized as my grandmother. I hadn’t known the Brit long by normal human standards, but as someone who’d fought by his side, I knew what that look was. It was a look I’d seen only once before. With Eros. If whatever this was gave him that expression, then I could only surmise it was a creature neither of us wanted to go up against.
Removing a long dagger from my belt, I prepared myself internally. Whatever this fucker was, it’d regret taking Grams’s form. In seconds, Sloan and the shapeshifter were rushing each other. I barely even blinked before they collided in an explosion of sparks. Electricity in the air, I moved into action. Like I’d been trained to do, I quickly sped across the earth and attacked the thing from behind. It effortlessly defended itself against the two of us, as if we posed no real threat.
And it was likely because we didn’t.
Its speed easily matched ours. If anything, it was faster. My partner didn’t stop attacking or look my direction. It was evident in every move he made that he was aiming to kill it. Even though I was still unclear what it was, I figured decapitation in all cases was the way to go. The two of us worked around the Grams Imposter, always a second too late to cause injury.
And then it happened.
Fumes spread through the air, wafting into my nose as swiftly as it fled our enemy’s body. Sloan slowed, blinking rapidly, and my limbs grew heavier with every second that passed. The urge to fight seeped from my thoughts, and my eyes tracked back to Sloan. His face distorted, fighting what was happening, but it wouldn’t be enough.
The pheromones moved through our bodies too quickly, driving out all desire to fight. Thoughts were harder to catch. My head grew as empty as the cloudless sky above our heads .
When the silence in my head drove out all emotion, my weapons fell to the ground. Then my knees hit the floor. Looking across, Sloan mimicked the same position. Head lolling back, I was left empty, thoughtless, and completely compliant to our enemy.
“Fight it, V. Don’t give in,” Sloan bit out, his hand reaching for one of his discarded weapons.
The woman looming over the two of us grinned devilishly. “I thought it would be harder than this, but it seems like neither of you has lived up to your name. Pity,” she said, cackling. “Not that I’m all that disappointed.”
Anger boiled up from my chest and reached my throat. My feisty spirit returned in a rush, bringing with it every vulgar word in my vocabulary. Thoughts clamored one after another, bent on killing whatever this beast was. I gained control of my limp limbs and moved a hand closer to my weapon, using whatever strength I could. It took a lot to concentrate, but slowly, I was getting there.
“Fuck…you…” I finally managed through a lax jaw.
Pivoting my direction, my sweet Grams’s face distorted into an elated smile. She kicked away the weapon I reached for and snickered to herself while she did.
What a bitch.
Despite everything from head to toe being the very image of my grandmother, the smile she beamed at me was nothing like the woman who’d raised me. It swam in malicious, killer intentions, and it had no place on my Grams’s face.
“Imposter…” I hissed, willing my body to move so I could chase after my weapon.
Our enemy’s eyes sparked with interest. “Guess I spoke too soon. You really are quite the strong brat, aren’t you?”
A great cloud of pheromones flooded the air around me and the thoughts of anger and frustration quickly fled my head, swept away as if they were never truly there. And again, I was held hostage inside whatever this thing’s power was.