Our Story Part Three The Hunters

Chapter Fourteen

“Guys we’re not looking at this the right way,” the guy with the gun said looking at Rowan speculatively. “There’s two of them.” He leveled the gun at her. “Get over there, next to her.” Rowan calmly walked next to the other girl. The girl also had blonde hair, only a shade or two darker than Rowan’s. It was pulled back in a severe bun. She was wearing a pair of lightweight glasses over pretty blue eyes.

Those eyes were narrowed in anger at Rowan as she approached. /Way to go, leech./

/Everything is under control,/ Rowan responded calmly.

/Rowan?/ She relaxed a little at the comforting sound of Garret’s voice.

/I’m fine,/ Rowan told him. /Just a little scrap with some stupid humans./

/Ah, do you need me?/

/I can handle it./

She could feel his smirk. /Can I watch?/

/If you’d like./

/I told you, angel, watching you is my favorite pastime./ Rowan rolled her eyes lightly. She knew most of his reasoning was fear for her, not that he would ever let her know it. Garret knew how important her independence was and he was really working on not being an overbearing caveman. She spotted him sitting on the edge of the building, waiting.

/Okay,/ the girl said. /If we have to work together, so be it./

/Gee, don’t sound so enthusiastic,/ she drawled. Rowan lunged at the man closest to her, the one who was holding the gun and kicked the weapon out of his hands. She caught it. “Ha,” she smiled.

“Bitch,” the man growled holding his hand.

“You,” she said pointing the gun at the other man. “Drop the knife.” Instead he quickly grabbed the other girl and pulled her in front of him as a human shield.

“Drop the gun.”

Rachel snorted. “What makes you think I care about what happens to her?” She cocked the gun.

“You’ll never allow her to get shot.”

“Won’t I?” She shot the ground, only a couple inches away from the girl’s feet. The girl screamed, only out of surprise, though. “Drop the knife, now.”

“Screw you.”

“Don’t you wish?” /I’m not going to hurt you,/ Rowan assured the girl. /Stop yelling at me./ All the noise from her mind stopped instantly.

/Angel?/

/I need you./ She hated to admit that she needed him (his ego didn’t need any boosting), but Garret was probably the girl’s only hope. The guy with the knife immediately fainted.

“What the-?” the other wondered. Garret dropped down next to Rowan. Rowan smirked. Garret sure knew how to make an entrance.

“Good evening,” he smirked. One of the men let out a girly scream. “Please stop that.” The man immediately quieted and the others went still, which told Rowan that Garret had them in thrall. “You are going to walk away and forget that this ever happened. Anytime you ever get the urge to do anything like this again you’ll get a terrible pain in your groins. The pain you will feel will be so immense that you will wish them to be cut off. Have a nice night gentlemen.”

“I have to admit, you are wonderful,” Rowan said with a reluctant smile at her boyfriend.

He grinned down at her. “I know.” The men wondered off still in a daze.

“Damn you!” the woman yelled.

Garret blinked. “... You’re welcome...?”

“How dare you!”

“What did I do?” Garret asked.

“You... you saved my life!” She was furious.

“This is bad?”

“You both saved me- God damn it!”

“I’m confused,” Rowan said.

“Ditto,” Garret nodded.

The girl rubbed her forehead. “I’m now honor bound to stay with you, both of you, until I can return the favor.”

Rowan and Garret exchanged glances. “Ah, well, um... don’t worry about it,” Rowan said awkwardly.

“You don’t understand,” she sighed. “I have to do this.”

“You’re a hunter, aren’t you?” Garret asked surprised.

“Yes.”

“What group?”

Her eyes narrowed on him. “Guess... Garret.”

His eyes widened. “Shit!”

Rowan looked between the two in confusion. “Um, would one of you care to explain?”

“I am a Predator,” the girl said. “Garret is... acquainted with my group.”

“I’ll explain later,” he promised.

“Okay,” Rowan said with forced brightness. “Well, I’m Rowan.”

“Kalena,” the girl nodded.

“Before we come to any agreement, hunter, swear to me that we have amnesty from you as do our comrades,” Garret said.

“You two I’ll agree to,” Kalena said. “If the others do no harm I’ll do no harm. I expect the same, leech.” Rowan frowned. ‘Do no harm,’ that was a Wiccan phrase.

“I won’t harm you,” Garret promised. “And as long as they don’t harm me or mine they’re safe as well.” The two shook hands solemnly.

“Okay, both of you, chill,” Rowan said rolling her eyes. “Honestly, you look like someone killed your puppy.”

“You don’t understand,” both protested.

“Really?” she asked coolly. Rowan turned to look at Kalena. “You’re all bent out of shape about having to help two terrible evil creatures like us. And you, Mr. Tough Vampire,” she poked him in the chest for emphasis, “never want any help from anyone. Me, Tarzan, me, strongest man alive-”

“Angel-” Garret growled.

“This annoying testosterone high you get on it’s just... annoying. And God forbid I ever try to handle something on my own. No, I might break a nail or something!” she poked him in the chest again.

“Rae-”

“Don’t you even start with me, mister.” She threw her hands up in exasperation when all he did was pout cutely. “You make me completely insane, you do know that, right?”

“Well, that feeling is mutual,” he said calmly with a soft, gentle smile. Rowan glared up at him wishing that she could stay mad at him.

“I’m going to the library,” she said still glaring at Garret who smiled back at her.

“I’ll go with you,” Kalena offered. Garret’s expression darkened slightly.

“Wait-” he started. Rowan turned to him calmly. He sighed knowing better than to ask her to stay, or even away from the hunter. “Just watch yourself, angel.”

“I always do,” Rowan said and walked away with Kalena. They went into the library and Rowan grabbed a bunch of books and sat at a computer in the lab.

“What are you studying?” Kalena asked.

Rowan snorted. “The mating habit of the vampire bat.”

Kalena laughed but tried to cover it with a cough. “That’s... interesting.”

“Yeah,” she drawled.

“How did you become what you are?”

“I was born like this.”

“What? But... how?”

Rowan looked at Kalena confused. “Well, when a mommy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very much-”

“How were you born?”

“The same way any child is born.”

“But... they said that you were created. Turned into what you are by another of your kind.”

Rowan sniffled theatrically. “Yes, he stole into my bedroom and changed me as we consummated our eternal love.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been reading too many books. We can turn others like that but most of us are born like this.”

“I’m confused.”

“I can tell. Listen, I hate to break this to you but we aren’t unholy monsters. I’m perfectly normal.” Rowan laughed a little. “Well, okay... that’s a stretch, but we aren’t evil... okay, some of us aren’t.”

“But one of you killed my family.”

“And one of you killed my grandparents. I don’t go around killing all humans, do I?”

Kalena blinked, this was so new. She had been raised to believe that vampires were evil. Rowan didn’t seem that way, though. This had to be a trick. Well, she had to stick around them until she repaid them, maybe that would help her figure this vampire in front of her out. “It’s not the same.”

“Oh? Why not?” Kalena was silent for a few seconds.

“I get your point.”

“So, where’d you learn to fight like that?”

“On the street,” Kalena said her voice a bit on the bitter side. “I was a quick study.” Rowan had a million more questions, but none of them were appropriate to ask someone that you had just met.

“I’d better get to work.” Kalena checked her e-mail as Rowan started her research. Working turned out to be next to impossible however since Garret kept sending her images of everything he wished that they were doing right at that moment, and boy, did he have a good imagination.

“You seem nice,” Kalena said. “Especially for a lee- um, vampire. Why are you with Garret?”

Rowan snorted. “Some days I wonder that, too.” She sighed. “Well, despite his annoying over protectiveness, he’s a great guy.”

“He’s a killer.”

“The Garret you knew and the Garret I know are completely different.”

“Are you willing to bet your life on that?”

Rowan thought about what he had said when they were dancing. 'Someday, you’re going to realize what a wonderful woman you are, I just hope that you’ll still want to be with me when that happens.'

“Yes. He saved your life, Kalena,” she reminded.

“At the expense of how many others?”

A subject change was sorely needed. Garret’s past was something that Rowan didn’t want to think about. “Would you like to go to our college?”

Kalena blinked, clearly not expecting that offer. “I can’t. I grew up on the streets remember? I have no money.”

Rowan merely laughed. “Who needs money?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can get you in, trust me.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because, I should.”

“But-”

“Anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?”

“Yes… I’ll think about it.”