Chapter 9 aftermath
Selena runs through the woods, panting as she pushes her legs faster. "Rowan is alone, and a vampire is heading straight for him," she thinks in a panic before the scent of blood overwhelms her senses. "No, no," her mind races, hoping he is fine as she's on the last leg of her sprint as she emerges from the woods. The trees die off, leaving a grisly sight before her. Rowan was still kneeling on the now-cold body of the vampire dagger, still plunged into its chest. Rowan was still gripping the knife, shaking violently with his knuckles white as blood covered his hands and arms and splattered his face and clothes.
"Rowan," Selena whispered, her form shifting from her panther form to that of her human body, walking closer to him, not minding her own nudity in the presence of the teen, before she's beside him, pulling him close and off the vampire's body into her embrace.
"Its ok, its ok," Selena murmured lowly to Rowan as she held him to her chest as tears started leaking from his eyes, overwhelmed by his fist kill. "Shhh," she coos softly, gently brushing his hair as he weeps into her bare chest. "Let it out; I'm here," she whispers softly to him, rocking back and forth slowly with him in her arms. "I...I killed her," Rowan chokes out between sobs, his voice muffled by her skin as he looks back at the corpse of the vampire. "It's ok, I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry," Selena whispers, still hugging him tightly. "I promise to never leave you alone again," Selena continued whispering as her instincts screamed at her for leaving him alone. "She was going to kill me," Rowan whispers, his voice quivering in fear. "I know you did good defending yourself," she comforted him, letting him sit up out of her embrace.
Rowan stared at the bloody body, taking a deep breath. He calmed himself, got out of Selena's arms, and looked at her. "Your naked," he says. Taking in her nude form, she looked at every curve and every inch of skin. The curves of her chest were shining with his tears in the moonlight. Her long, slender legs and thighs were muscular and toned. "Ya, I didn't have time to change from normal clothes to my special suit," she responds nonchalantly while rolling her eyes and crossing her arms to cover herself, not used to the attention on her exposed skin. "Special suit?" He asks while averting his eyes from her with a blush. "It's a suit made of my own hair; it will stay on me when I shift instead of ripping like normal clothes." She explains while walking over to her car and opening the door to reach into the back seat for some clean clothes to put on as Rowan turns around.
"Sorry about your car door," Rowan mumbles, looking at the bent door frame that had been knocked off by the vampire. "I'm more worried about you," Selena replies, looking at his blood-soaked clothing and the wound on his neck. "The car I can get fixed," she said as she walked over to Rowan and poked the wound on his neck to inspect it. "Just a small puncture wound, not fatal, and it will heal fine," she muttered. "So will I turn into a vampire now that I've been bit?" Rowan asked with a nervous chuckle as he scratched his head. "Of course not; there's a whole ritual needed," Selena said. "The bite will heal soon," she said, finishing getting dressed.
"Ok, you can turn back around now," Selena said, and he did, looking at her with relief on his face as he sat down in the car. "You know you're the only man to see me naked twice without getting punched," she teased him with a smirk. "And I liked it both times," he joked back before adding, "What happened to the scouts?" as Selena sat down in the car, "Shit, I knew I was forgetting something," and pulled out her phone and called a number. "Hi, I need a cleanup crew and medic." She explained where they were before hanging up.
"What about the vampire bodies?" Rowan asked, looking around. "That's not our job; that's why we called a cleanup crew. Also, the scout team should be fine with the medics coming. " Selena said, starting up the car and pulling out of the woods with a squeal of the tires, leaving the scene behind them. Rowan leaned his head against the cold window as they drove, exhausted from the fight. His eyes fluttered shut, falling asleep to the gentle hum of the engine as they drove.
A few hours later, they pull up to Selena's apartment and park in the underground parking lot. "Time to wake up, sleepyhead," Selena said, poking Rowan's side as he startled awake. "Hmm, oh, we are back." Rowan asked sleepily. "Yep, let's go get cleaned up, fed, and back to sleep," she explained before getting out of the car. "Let's go," Selena said, leading them to the elevator. Pressing the button for her floor, the two of them ride in silence. Arriving on the floor, they head to the apartment, with Selena unlocking the door, and they head in.
Rowan immediately went to the shower, turning it on and stripping out of his bloody clothes while waiting for the water to heat up. "Ah, that's good," he moaned out as the hot water washed the blood off his body and soothed his aching muscles. "Here's some clothes." Selena's voice sounded from outside the curtain. "I will order pizza again." I don't feel like cooking after today," Selena explained, laying the clothes down on the sink and leaving. "Ok," Rowan replied, turning off the shower and drying off. He pulled the clean clothes on, heading back to the living room. Selena was lounging on the couch in shorts and a t-shirt. "Pizza should be here soon, then you can get some rest." Selena told him. "Alright, "he said, taking a seat next to her on the couch.
"Here they are," a voice sounded out from the edge of the forest as a woman with brown hair tied back in a braid appeared out of thin air. "My word," she said as she saw the massacre laid out in front of her. "Four dead vampires and two injured elves," she muttered as she walked closer to the elves. "It's ok, I'm a witch with the council. I'm here to heal you two," she said, leaning down and looking over them. "My sister first," Own groaned out. "She got hit badly by surprise." "Okay," the witch said, moving her hands over Daphne's chest to check on the injury. "You took quite a beating, little one, but I will get you right as rain," the witch said with a smile, and she placed her hands on Daphne's chest.
Daphne lets out a painful moan as her chest starts to close up, the wood pieces snapping and falling out of the flesh and bones realigning themselves as the skin and muscle knit together. Sweat beads are placed on the witch's head as her breathing becomes labored, and then, with a final push, the injuries are healed. The witch turned towards Owen, who was leaning against a tree. "You next," she said, placing her hand on his arm and repeating the process on his broken arm. She then looked over both of them as she felt them exhausted. "Okay, now you two have to take these," she said, digging through her purse, pulling out a couple small vials filled with liquid, and handing them over to the pair.
"Drink these; one of each when you sleep and wake up tomorrow, and you will be just jiffy," she said with a smile as they nodded and took the potions. "Well, I'm done with you, but the investigators need to have a word with you. They already heard from the hunter who came to the scene, but they need more information about what happened before she arrived," she informed them as she took a few steps away and disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Great," Owen said, rubbing his face before going to meet with the investigators.