Chapter Twenty-four

♦September's POV♦

"Want to take a walk to the beach to clear your head some?" Selena asks me, her head down engrossed in her phone.

I pause my ascent to my room, I had planned a shower and probably getting lost in thoughts rewinding everything that had happened today with Zach but my head does feel a little bit fuzzy.

"Fine, let me just make a quick call to Cameron real quick." I continue up to my room. "He left without telling anyone, Ice cream is on you!" I tag on, walking into my room.

I debate if I want to shower twice, but I feel so sticky and the fresh air down at the beach won't get to me - so shower it is!

I wonder how my call to Cameron is going to go like and my stomach churns, it's going to be a colorful mess if he likes me as well and call me selfish but I want to be able to keep them both.

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♦Selena's POV♦

I sit down with the ice cream tub in between my thighs on the ground when September comes we'll finish it up and take our walk - well hopefully - because the creamy condiment was quickly disappearing inside my mouth.

"I hope you brought another tub for me." My twin's voice floats over to me and I freeze with the spoon halfway to my mouth.

"You can have the rest." I push it towards her as she comes closer, my mouth full.

She flops to the ground beside me and pulls it closer. "I talked to Cameron." She says quietly.

"You did?" I look at her, she looks --- sad. "Did something happen?"

She shrugs around a spoon of ice cream, her wild hair in it's leather strap. "Not really, you know about Savannah right?"

"His younger sister? Why?" I bend my head down, drawing figures in the loose sand with my fingers while waves crashes against the shore aways from us.

"She's dead." September says shortly, dropping her spoon in the tub.

I look up sharply. "What?" I so hadn't expected that. "I thought she lived with his parents or something in another town." Cameron lived all alone.

She sighs like she's trying to relieve her sadness by breathing it out. "No. They lost their parents when they were very young, It had always been him and Savannah but she was killed when they were attacked by rogue, wild werewolves." She pushes the remaining melted ice cream away, appetite gone now. "He nearly went insane and still continues to blame himself for her death."

"There's no way he could have predicted that." She's cuddling herself like she's cold but it's really not so chilly out.

"True but feelings can't be explained by logic, he thinks of me as Savannah, therefore the overprotectiveness."

"Then you get to keep them both." I say succinctly.

She blinks then smiles. "Yes, I guess I do."

We sit in silence for a while, content to just watch the crescent moon slowly make it's way to the other side. The waves were much quieter right now, gently lapping at the ocean, calling to us.

There's a lot of things unsaid between my twin and I, I want to tell her things but I'm terrified it will just make everything worse - it's best I just leave it all alone an...

"What's that?" September asks suddenly, pointing at a distance in front of us.

"Huh?" I blink, breaking out of my musing to look at the direction she's pointing in. It's like a huge mass of darkness is rushing at us, we start to our feet. "Shit!" I swear, dragging her behind me. "It's those things that attacked us in the basement."

"Are you sure?" She asks worriedly behind me, trying to peek from the side.

"Go inside and get Cyril and the other idiot." I say tersely, watching the mass get close, forming distinct shapes.

I hear her roll her eyes. "It's Neruda and I'm not leaving you here alone."

I scoff. "Whatever and it's either you get Cyril and the douchebag or we're both done for." I'm inching backwards bit by bit as I say this, it's getting closer to the backyard that opens up into our private beach - there's no way I'm letting these formless freeloaders into my house.

"Are you sure?" She asks hesitantly, looking at the increasing puppets of darkness.

I can sense her terror and I exhale. "Of course, just dematerialize to Cyril's room, I bet he's with the moron anyway and back here, it'll just take a couple minutes." I try to sooth her even though I know I'm badly outnumbered, it'll take a miracle to hold out till she gets back with reenforcements but it's our only choice.

"Okay." She nods behind me, fading away.

It's like they had been waiting for her to leave, as soon as she's gone they come at me and I'm in the middle of a deadly fight where I come close to losing as soon as it begins.

Escaping the dark balls take all of my concentration and I barely have enough left to manipulate their emotions. It's not like there's much to work with anyway, nothing but regret, self hatred and traces of anger.

A dark ball grazes my bare arm and I grit my teeth, feeling thick blood run down my lacerated arm. I push a hand through the freezing darkness of one of them and it disappears but my arm is frozen now and turning blue.

One tackles me down and I struggle to get back to my feet before more comes and I'll be done for. I get on my feet and start to struggle with the one that tackled me, I have to risk pushing a limb through it because my mind's too jumbled to manipulate the faint wisps of emotions that trails around it's slimy aura.

I shove my injured arm, my abilities weren't the best to fight off barely there shadows, as much as I hated to admit it, Neruda was the best choice in defeating them.

One slams into me and I'm dazed, another one slams into me and I feel blood run down my nose, if September wants to make her entrance, now's the fucking time!

"Selena!" I hear my name as a whole load of fire blasts past me, I turn around to see a group of shadows gather together to simultaneously shoot dark balls at my exposed back while I was distracted go up in flames and I turn to look at September who screamed my name.

It all happens in slow motion, I turn to her to see fire dripping from her hands like some sick joke. There's a horrified look on her face that I'm sure matches the one I'm sporting.

Cyril and Neruda comes up behind her.

"You have powers?"