CHAPTER TWELVE

I jump out of bed and throw the door open. My legs lead me toward Shep's room. I bang on the door. After no response, I lift my leg and swiftly kick open the door. I look around with no sign of him; constant jolts hit me in waves of shock, and I head downstairs with him nowhere in sight. I run as quickly as I can, and the jolts ease as I near the front door.

I stop at the bottom floor and see a few women and children hanging around. Anna approaches me as she catches sight of my confused expression. "Some crazed wolves decided to come onto our land. So Shep had to go outside. He and the others are facing off against the werewolves. He asked me to tell you sorry," she explains as she pulls me over to the window to show me.

Nine people stand in a line, two women and seven men. The men include Shep, his brothers, and Dad. The Werewolves are across from them on the edge of the woods. Shep was right when he explained the difference between them, the werewolves. They look like crazed humans. They each carry weapons of all sorts, covered in blood. The pain in my wrist flares and I now know how dogs with shock collars feel.

It's a standoff, Lycans against werewolves, that's clear. The werewolves halt as if trying to judge whether it would be worth it to engage in a fight with the Lycans. Yet, Shep and his clan show no fear as they face their enemy. None have weapons, but they seem so sure, so strong. For a moment, I feel...proud, they are standing up to their enemies, and that's all I ever wish to do with my life. To be strong enough to do the same one day.

The werewolves growl in human form, foam coming out of their mouths like a pack of rabid dogs. They look like they want to fight but turn back towards the woods.

"Mama, look, that one got away," a little boy points outside towards a stray werewolf that veered from its group already up the steps of the house. "Ladies, take your children upstairs," Anna yells. Everyone makes a mad dash for the stairs, everyone, that is, except Anna and I. Her hands shake as she grabs a fork from the table and holds it up like a knife.

"Why don't you let me handle this?" I urge as I move to the front door and step outside. The line of Lycans has just noticed the werewolf breaking the borders and moving, but they will be too late. The werewolf climbs two steps at a time when his eyes meet mine. I notice the red specks in them, like bits of sawdust. He asks no questions, gives no explanations, and just charges at me.

I realize two important things at that moment; the first, werewolves are very stupid. Second, I may enjoy being a member of this town, that is, if things stay this interesting. I kick his legs out from under him, and he falls hard. With a moment of surprise, I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze as I try to get him to lose consciousness.

He throws his body back, forcing me to lose hold of him. My reflexes prepare me for the hits he tries to land on my body. I decide to end this. I slam a kick toward his shin. I hear the snap of his leg. He lets out an agonizing scream. I use that moment of distraction to grab his head and slam it to the ground. Once. Twice. Three times.

Blood splashes back at me as the sound of crunching fills my ears. His body stills. Blowing the hair out of my face, I turn back to the Lycans to see them staring at me with wide eyes, "Oh, did you want this guy alive?" I question. They all look at me in awe, "Well I guess Infiniteye taught me something right," I wink at Shep.

"I think I'm in love," Ray mutters loud enough for everyone to hear. "4,783," I repeat.

He smirks, "Alright, playing hard to get." I glance down at myself and realize some of the blood from the werewolf has gotten onto my shirt, "Oh, come on," I comment, annoyed.

Shep climbs the stairs, "What were you thinking? You're still young and nowhere near equipped to kill people, let alone werewolves?" He says as he looks down at the dead werewolf. It just occurs to me that this was it, my first kill. I always thought it would be a vampire, but maybe, this is okay. To kill something equally or even worse than a vampire.

I place my hands on my hips, "For your information, I'm twenty, and you know I'm more than equipt. I've been trained my entire life to kill people like you. Also, next time, you could just shout across the hall that you're planning to go downstairs. It's much more convenient and will save me from having large amounts of electricity jolt me," I say with an annoyed look.

He takes a step closer, "Oh, is that what I should do next time werewolves decide to descend on the house? Let you know ahead of time. By the way, vampires and werewolves are completely different species. They should never be mixed into the same category. Furthermore, you promised not to do any hunting here."

"Well, I wouldn't have if your Mother hadn't decided that she would be wonder woman," I yell, annoyed at him. He looks surprised and then does something terrifying. He moves a stray piece of hair away from my face and behind my ear without even being able to tell what he was doing, "Well, thank you then."

We share a look, "Is everyone alright?" Anna asks, opening the front door, still with the fork gripped tightly in her hand. "Everything is fine, honey," Madgi climbs the stairs three at a time, coming to stand beside Anna. He gently pries the fork from her hand and kisses her cheek, "That's good, really good," she murmurs, leaning into him, hardly noticing the loss of her sacred weapon.

"You must be Gemma?" A guy my age steps up the stairs. I nod, "That's me." "I'm Lex, these idiots brother," he gestures toward the three brothers I have met. Ray jumps up the steps putting his arm around Lex, "Gemma, this is our sweet baby brother," he corrects. "Please don't use the nickname, baby. Just because I was born in this century doesn't warrant me with that title," Lex urges as he shakes Ray's hands off.

"No, but you are the prettiest of us all," Charlie joins in the joking. "Welcome to hell," Lex mutters as he moves past me into the house. "Come on, let's get cleaned up and join the others for dinner," Shep urges. He catches me off guard, lifting me, throwing me over his shoulder. I scoff, slapping his back as he charges up the stairs.

He throws open his bedroom door and closes it fast, setting me on the bed. I bounce slightly and he moves over the bed to hover over me. He leans in and my heart races. It beats out of control as his face gets closer and closer to mine. My eyes feel like they're going to bulge out of my head at any second. His lips freeze a hairs breath from mine. "What are you?" I ask.

He pulls back. "You have a slight cut on your forehead. I'm starting to wonder if I should get you a helmet." My hand instinctively moves to my forehead to inspect. I let out a hiss as I find the tiny cut. He gently blows on it to ease the sting, "It's just a small cut and should heal within a few days." His gaze shifts to my wrist as he gently lifts it to get a better look. The skin is red, "I'm sorry I won't let it happen again."

"It's okay, I understand why you had to leave." He moves his head to my neck and takes in my scent. "What do you think you're doing?" I ask in awe. This guy has some nerve. He moves his head away from my neck, "You thought I was going to kiss you. Didn't you?" I look away, "Of course not, that is out of the question."

He looks at me, a look I've never seen before. "What?" He cuts off my words as he dips his head down and places his lips against mine. Completely catching me off guard, he's gentle yet, firm. I find my eyes shuttering closed as my hands move up to his head, my fingers running through his hair. He pulls away, and I find myself not wanting him to. He grins, "Dinner's soon, as much as I would like to stay up here with you. People might get a bit suspicious, and I am a gentleman."

I let go of him, and try to catch my raging breath, "Don't do that again." I say, pointing at him firmly. "You didn't have any complaints when it was happening." No, I didn't. "Yeah, well, I do now, and that can't happen again, got it," I say, planting my hands on my hips.

He holds open his door for me, "Sure, Darlin, it won't ever happen again." I make my way across the hall and turn back to him, "Never again." He holds up his hands, "I'm a gentleman, remember."

It doesn't take me long to clean up. I descend the stairs to find the dining room; laughter lights it up. Shep comes in behind me, smirking. Ahh, if only he could be hideous. Everyone stops eating to look at me, "Gemma won't you take the seat beside me?" Anna requests. I nod and move to sit beside her. Shep takes the seat across from mine in between Ray and Charlie.

"Where's Baby gone?" Shep asks, looking around for Lex. "Where do you think?" Anna asks, giving him a knowing look. "Reese," everyone at the table mutters together. I look around, confused. "Reese is a friend of Lex's; well, don't let either of them hear you say that, but we all know they're secretly in love. They're both just too stubborn to admit it," Anna explains. More questions come to my mind, but Anna interrupts my thoughts before I can voice any.

"Gemma, Madgi has something he'd like to say to you," she says, drawing my attention to the man beside her. He clears his throat with a discomforting look, "Thank you, honey. I just wanted to say that it was a brave thing you did today fighting that werewolf even though you owe us nothing and so...thank you." So you're thanking me for killing; maybe this place is more like Infiniteye than I thought?

I nod, "You're welcome. But, just out of curiosity, how often do these werewolves come a-knocking?" Madgi places a protective hand on Anna as if sensing the conversation worries her. "Just once every few months, they live deep within the woods. Once they get a whiff of us here, it's all bets off. Most times, they back off, but sometimes like today, a few stragglers might attack," he answers.

Shep sees my confusion, "Because no Lycan would assist the witch in turning her lover, she imprinted a natural dislike and hatred for Lycans into her lover, which has carried on to all werewolves."

"Aren't you supposed to have an infinity tattoo?" a little boy sitting a few seats away asks suddenly. "Jed, you hush," a woman that looks similar enough to be his mother chastises him. I smile nicely at Jed, "Only full-fledged hunters who have gone through the rites have them."

"What's that?" He asks, looking interested. "It's when students of Infiniteye graduate and are inducted into The Eye by our Council and they swear a blood oath of allegiance. It's basically when a Hunter swears that they will protect innocents until the day they die. Then we have an infinity symbol branded into our skin, so we'll always remember," I explain.

"Remember what?" He questions curiously. "That we'll always, no matter what, protect innocents over anything else. A vow that only ends when we die," I add, looking seriously at Jed. This is something that no hunter takes lightly. Everyone sits quietly as they all look at me. No one utters a single word, just stare at me. For once, I think they may understand, understand us hunters.

"Would you have done it?" Shep breaks the silence as I look at him. Before I learned all that I have, I remember when I still had a set purpose for just a second. "Done what?" I feign ignorance.

He looks at me like he can see right through me, "Would you have stood in line, waiting for some old men in robes to brand you? Would you follow their ideals with blind allegiance and kill people like us, even if they gave no sign of aggression?"

I wish I could say that my answer would have been no, that there was no way I would just kill vampires, kill people, but that is what I've been trained to do. What my bones, skin, and every fiber of my being are supposed to do. It was my future, and I would have been brilliant at it, but now I don't know what I'll do.

My eyes meet his, "I wouldn't have waited in line. I would have been first; no need to wait when you're first in your class."