The SoulKeeper

Chapter 11

Parting With Principles

It was their fourteenth day in the cave when the hunters attacked. Luckily, thanks to Melinda and her ability, they were ready. Cory and Melinda, as the weakest fighters, stood at the back of the cave, with Melinda shielding him with her body. Belle and Sin stood at the front, cracking thier knuckles and using Belle’s ability to scope for the hunters’ thoughts. Their hands connected every once and a while, a reassuring squeeze often accompanying it.

The boulder the vampires had moved in front of the cave exploded just as the muscles in Belle’s legs tensed and Sin leaned down to kiss her lips. ‘Be safe, kincsem.’

‘Don’t expect me to save you.’ She smiled and squeezed his hand just as the hunters advanced.

The smile that moved across her face was something those that saw it would fear for the rest of their lives. It was predatory gleam in her eye, a murderous sparkle, that would haunt many dreams. The smart hunters ran in the opposite direction. The dumb ones paused.

The two vampires were on them before they could resume moving. They tried as hard as they could to simply incapacitate rather than kill, but two or three time death was unavoidable.

Once the hunters and recovered, they surged forward, a tide of black. The two vampires in front fought back to back, protecting each other from the stake-happy inexperienced.

Though the initial wave were untrained, the two vamps expended a great deal of energy fighting such a large hoard. Sending people flying took quite an effort. Belle was tiring fast, with Circenn soon behind her.

‘We’re not going to survive if Laila and Marcus come.’ Belle told him. ‘Should I get Melinda?’

‘No. Leave her with Cory until the last moment. They’ll need each other for comfort.’ He paused to punch a man in the stomach and kick him into a small wall of hunters. ‘Besides, I smell werebeasts.’

He was right. The smell of werewolves and werefoxes filled the air in the cave, but it was weak, implying they were still far away. However, far didn’t man much of anything to werewolves who ran 200 miles an hour.

Belle tensed again before kicking a foot into the neck of another hunter. ‘We need to protect him. Now!’

‘Why?’ Sin asked just as a giant wolf soared over their heads toward the back of the cave in a giant leap.

“Damn it! Cory’s a Leader!” Belle yelled as she bolted back at vampire speed.

“Damn!” Sin punched the wall, sending a cascade of rocks over the mouth of the cave before running after her. Shocked yells and pained moans followed him.

Melinda had her hands clamped around the wolf’s muzzle, keeping it propped open with her head halfway inside. The scene was almost humorous, a glimpse at a lion tamer’s act, but Belle found no humor. Three long, bloody scratches ran from the top of her right shoulder to the left hip, maring her white skin and blue tank top.

Cory was in the corner with the blood cooler, grabbing out bags. He stepped forward and the werewolf’s nose twitched.

“Cory! No!” Belle yelled and threw herself on top of him. The werewolf’s eyes dilated and he broke free of Melinda’s grip, slashing down with his razor-sharp claws. Four gashed ripped down Belle’s back, exposing her spine and peeling her skin like tissue paper. Belle cried out and buried her face in Cory’s chest. The werewolf struck again, and Belle screamed. The werewolf rose to strike again, and a low growl that wasn’t that of the wolf resonated in the cave. Belle braced herself for the pain that was sure to come, but it never landed. Instead, it was the wolf who yelped. Something hit the rock beside her head and she looked up, crying as fire ripped down her back. The bloody paw of the werewolf lay within her eyesight. There was another yelp, and the wolf was gone, bounding toward the front of the cave. A moment later, and there was another crash of stone, followed by a third.

Belle felt herself being lifted up, so that she straddled Sin’s chest, with her undamaged legs wrapped around his hips. She felt all the blood she had recently consumed trickle down her back to pool at her feet.

She cried openly now, pain clouding her mind. “Shhh... I know it hurts, baby. I know. But it will be better soon, I promise. Just hang in there, my heart.” Sin cooed in her ear with a voice that revealed his immense desire to take her pain upon himself so that she didn’t have to suffer. He melded their minds to relieve her of some of the fire.

He held a blood bag to her mouth and, with the knowledge of relief, she plunged her fangs in as far as they would go. She drank deeply and held tightly to his hand with hers, laying her head on his chest. His scent was a great comfort to her through her pain.

“Thank you.” Melinda said, kissing her cheek lightly.

“You saved me.” Cory said disbelievingly. “Why?”

“It’s amazing. The things you’ll do for someone who believes in you.” Belle answered lightly.

Sin’s hands tightened around hers. She felt the muscles and the skin repair itself on her back. Little by little, the pain receded and she began to feel more normal after her fourth bag.

Once she had been laid upon the sleeping bag on her stomach, she looked to see Sin cleaning up the blood from the cave floor.

‘Please come lay with me. I”ll clean that in the morning.’ She pleaded.

‘Whatever you want.’ he put down the mop and moved to lay beside her. ‘You scared me today, kincsem. We thought we might lose you’

She snorted. ‘I’m a vampire, remember?’

‘Your spine was almost completely separated from your body. If that paw had struck again, it may have been your head that was gone.’

‘But it didn’t. You protected me.’

‘I’ll always protect you.’ He kissed her forehead lightly. ‘I’ll warn you now. I’m falling in love with you.’ He was lying, and he knew it. There was not falling about it. Belle was silent for a moment.

‘You know what? I think I am too.’

‘Falling in love with yourself?’ He joked though his heart soared with hope.

She laughed. ‘If that’s what you want to think.’

He kissed her lightly, then it became more heated. Their lips moved in unison, brushing intimately and passionately. He traced the seam of her lips lightly with his tongue and nipped her bottom lip. She moaned and accepted the fiery brand of his tongue into her mouth. They fought for dominance as Sin’s hands wrapped around her already healed waist and pulled her into him. One leg immediately wrapped around his hips, cradling him as close as she could with their clothing still on. They explored each other, learning more about the other’s tastes, textures, and what they liked.

“God, Sin. Eat her face.” Cory said with a cough, ruining the moment.

Sin growled before pecking her on the lips once again. “Now, what was so important that you had to interrupt?”

“You had your spine ripped out for me.” He said with awe.

“Well, I knew that I’d heal from it. You wouldn’t.” She said.

“Yeah, but you weren’t thinking about that when you threw yourself on top of me. That wolf lunged for me. You saved my life. Thank you.” He sat on the ground and grabbed her hand.

“You’re welcome, but there’s no need for thanks.”

“Yes, there is, but there’s nothing I can say to prove my gratitude to you. My only questing is why did the wolf lunge for me? Melinda was the greatest threat, and it didn’t even notice me until I moved toward her..”

“Exactly. You moved upwind. The wolf had scented you on Melinda at first, but then you moved into its range of smell. You’re a Leader, Cory.”

“What’s that? What does that mean for me?” His voice held a hint of despair.

“It means you will be hunted until you’re one of them. A Leader is a human who is meant to become the leader, the Alpha, of your very own pack. But you must be a wereperson to become Alpha. Anyone who turns you will have a high place in the werewolf hierarchy.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad.” He said.

“It wouldn’t be if you didn’t have to die for being Alpha.” Sin said dryly.

“Why?” Cory asked, perplexed.

“A Leader is someone either born or, more recently, made. Before, hormones in the breath and sweat attracted followers. These hormones were excreted by one who was born to be a Leader. But now, a Leader is made if a human is bitten by a wereperson but is not infected with lycanthropy. Since that damned Petrellli invented the sure for it, every Gruesome, Mean, and Hairy have crawled out of the woodwork to claim their places at head of the herd.”

“So, I’m destined to be a werewolf?” He asked.

“Not necessarily. We’ll protect you for as long as you want us to. Besides,the proper term is wereperson, unless you’re talking specifically to a lycanthrope of the lupine variety.” Melinda answered absently. “But we won’t blame you if you don’t want us around.”

‘We’ll protect you from the shadows if you don’t.’ Melinda thought, then realized what was happening when Belle turned to her with sad eyes. ‘It’ll break my heart, but I’ll still love him, and make sure he doesn’t have any decisions forced upon him.’

She needn’t have worried, however, because he came over and puller her off the rock she had been sitting on and into his lap, turning her face to his and holding her close. “I will always want you around. Always!” He emphasized the last word with love in his tone. “I’ve decided, Melinda. I want to be with you. To hold you, to love you, to be with you for eternity. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, Melinda. Make me one of you.”

She launched herself forward, knocking him onto his back, rubbing her nose on his in an eskimo kiss. “The moment–no, second–that this craziness is over, we have a date to make you immortal. I love you.” She hugged him close.

“I love you too.” He buried his face in her hair.

Sin’s chin rested in Belle’s hair before he looked down. A single tear trekked down her cheek as he raised a finger to catch it.

‘Let it go, baby. Let it go.’ He massaged her shoulders. ‘Go ahead. I know it hurts, but you have to let your past go. You can cry if you want to.’ He told her as he saw her fight back tears. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

She turned in his arms and buried her face in his chest. He grinned. Even through her pain, she refused to let anyone see her cry. That was his lass.

Once her tears had stopped and she had ceased shaking, he looked down at her and smiled. ‘Are you okay now?’

Melinda and Cory were already asleep on the floor, she noticed as she looked around her. ‘I’ve never done that. I’ve never truly grieved.’

‘I figured. You’re way to stubborn to let anyone hurt you enough to make you cry.’ He smiled and tucked a lock of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.

‘Oh, I’m stubborn?’ She arched an eyebrow.

‘Yes, you’re stubborn. But it’s one of your best qualities.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘I hate seeing you cry. Especially over another man.’

‘Are you jealous?’ She asked with a smirk.

‘Me? Jealous? Most definitely.’ He said bluntly.

‘Aw, don’t worry. One’s dead, one’s a ShadowWalker, and one’s in a nursing home.’

‘Yeah, but each one’s been somewhere I haven’t.’

Her eyes widened. ‘I didn’t sleep with all of them!’

He laughed out loud, long and hard, earning strange looks from Cory and Melinda. ‘I meant your heart, my love. Now who’s the pervert?’ ‘Though I wouldn’t mind being there too.’ A part of his mind she knew she wasn’t supposed to hear whispered.

‘Still you.’ She said with a smirk. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I have to sleep. Spinal injuries and all that.’

‘Hmm...Do I mind? Let’s see. Hold a beautiful girl in my arms as she sleeps?’ He pretended to think. ‘Umm...No. I don’t seem to mind at all.’

‘All right then. Goodnight.’ She kissed him lightly on the lips.

‘Good night, my heart. See you in the morning.’

‘Sweet dreams.’ She fell asleep with the warmth of his body and his love surrounding her.

“Did we have a good nap?” Came a voice from above them. Belle looked up with a drowsiness that disappeared as soon as she saw who was standing over her. Melinda and Cory were bound and gagged in a corner, struggling against bonds that didn’t seem to give. There were stakes pointed at her and Circenn’s hearts and daggers to their throats.

“Move and I’ll kill you both.” The cold voice of Marcus ordered the two.

Belle and Sin looked at each other and stood.