First Bitten: Chapter 18

There’s dirt in my mouth. I can taste blood. I lift my head up slightly and spit it out. My body feels like carnage. What the hell happened?

I jump to my feet, stumbling forward as the memories flood my mind. My eyes struggle to focus as I scan the area searching for Alex. But she’s long gone. She didn’t make it. They took her.

How long have I been out? I check my watch – 17:20. Jesus, I’ve been out for hours. She could be anywhere by now.

Think practical, Nate. If you were them, where would you take her? She’s worth a lot of money to them.

They’ll have a safe house.

But where?

They’re local but they won’t keep her too close by. They’ll know I’ll look for her and they won’t want me messing up their plans, but it will be somewhere close to an airport with the Originals travelling in by plane. Keep the bosses happy.

Surrounding airports – Leeds Bradford, Durham Tees and Humberside.

It depends where the Originals are flying in from? If I know where they’re coming in from, I can get the airport and narrow down my search to that area.

Okay, so he said they’d be here in fourteen hours, so depending on the travelling to airport time from their end, I could be looking at China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and just about any other country that sits in the southern fucking hemisphere!

No, Nate, it’s not. You can figure this out. Alex is relying on you to find her. You have to find her. You can’t lose her, not now.

Okay, deep breath and calm down. Just think…

Cal.

Then I’m on my bike, yanking my helmet on, ignoring the pain that sears through my face from the pressure of it, and I’m tearing up the dirt and grass, down the track back onto the road out of here in seconds, heading for the only person who can tell me exactly where Alex is.

How could Cal do this? No, don’t think, just drive. The sooner you see him, the sooner you’ll get the answers you need, and the closer you’ll be to getting Alex back, even if you have to beat it out of him.

I accelerate faster.

Cal should still be at the farm. He usually is at this time. I really don’t want to have to do this in front of Erin, but I will if I have to, and then I guess she’ll see what type of bastard she’s married to, if she doesn’t already know.

It feels like hours have passed before I finally hit my driveway. Swerving in, the back wheel spins out, nearly tipping me off, but I put my foot to the floor, gravel raking at my sole, and somehow I manage to keep on. Then I’m outside my house, skidding to a halt. I jump off my bike, letting it drop to the floor, not even bothering to turn the engine off.

Cal’s still here. I could smell his betrayal from the top of the drive.

I throw the front door open and tear into the living room. I see him sitting as calm as fuck in the arm chair, drinking a can of lager, watching TV. He looks up at my entrance. I see a flicker in his eyes and I know.

I tear my helmet off and throw it as hard as I can at him, aiming straight for his head. He puts his arm up to protect himself. The helmet hits his arm and bounces to the floor, lager splattering all over him.

“What the fuck?!” he yells, wiping the lager from his face. But I’m already advancing, covering the room in a few strides. I grab hold of his shirt and drag him up to his feet.

“Where is she?” I say, my tone dark.

“Nate, what’s wrong? What’s happened to your face?” my dad asks, worried, getting up from the couch.

I don’t answer him. I can’t answer him. My only focus right now is Cal.

“Where is she?” I repeat, my voice harder.

“How the hell would I know where Alex is? I thought she was with you.” I hear the small break in his voice. Most wouldn’t, but I do. I know my brother and he’s a shit liar, always has been. He attempts to push me away from him but I increase my hold. I have no intention of letting go, not until I have the answers I want.

“Don’t mess with me, Cal. Just tell me where the fuck they’ve taken her?” I push him back into the chair, leaning over him, my face close to his as my hand goes up and around his throat.

Sol bursts in from the kitchen. “What the hell’s going on?” His eyes are pinging between me and Cal, and dad. “Where’s Alex?”

“Ask our so called fucking brother where Alex is,” I hiss, not taking my eyes from Cal.

“What?” Sol sounds confused I glance in Sol’s direction. I feel an unexpected wave of guilt at what I’m about to tell him. I don’t know why but I feel like I’ve not only let Alex down but I’ve somehow let Sol down too. “Cal sold Alex to the Vârcolacs.”

“He sold Alex?” he says in a way that sounds like he sincerely hopes I’m joking. I wish I was.

I nod my head, briefly closing my eyes.

And I’ll never forget the look of horror I see in his eyes.

“Tell me exactly how much you got when you sold her out?” I say, low, narrowing my gaze back onto Cal.

“I didn’t … ”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” I roar. My tolerance has reached its limit. “They told me. The blonde one told me it was you right before him and his buddies kicked the shit out of me.” I shove him harder into the chair. “How could you do this to Alex? I told you no last night.” I move my face closer to his, my nose almost touching his. “Tell me just exactly how much is Alex’s life worth to you?”

I see it flicker over his face and it just confirms everything I already know.

“Does it matter?” he finally says in a hard voice.

I feel sick to the pit of my stomach. I knew it was true, of course I did, but deep down some part of me was praying it wasn’t.

I feel like I don’t even know him anymore. He’s a complete stranger to me now.

Rage burns through my veins, blurring my vision. “Of course it fucking matters!” I yell, pushing my hand hard into his throat as I propel myself away from him. He gags from the pressure. Coughing, he rubs at his throat. “I need to know exactly how much money it takes to buy you off so I can pay you and get my fucking answers.” I try to grab hold of him again but he slides off the side of the chair, scooting around the back of it, out of my reach.

“You sold Alex?” Dad says in disbelief from behind me.

Cal exhales a defeated sigh. “I needed the money,” he answers croakily, still rubbing his throat, looking past me at dad.

“But I thought you were clear.” Dad’s tone is imploring. “I paid off your debts. You promised you’d stopped gambling.”

“Yeah, well obviously I didn’t.” Cal stares hard at dad.

My head is swivelling between them both. I feel like an extra in my own fucking show. My eyes settle on my dad. “You knew?” My lips have gone numb.

Dad sits back down with a slump and emits a tired sound. He suddenly seems years older, like they’ve finally caught up with him.

He looks at up me with sad eyes. “I only knew about the gambling, not about Alex.” He shakes his head. “If I’d have known, well it would never have happened.” He pulls his lighter out of his shirt pocket and starts turning it over in his hands. “Erin came to me a few months ago in tears. Cal had gambled away everything they had and remortgaged the house without her knowing. They were broke and with the baby coming, well she was desperate. I gave him the money to pay his debts off … ” He looks directly at Cal. “You promised me you’d paid them.”

“I did.” His shoulders hunch over as he looks down at the carpet and says in a quiet, almost desperate-sounding voice, “I just made new ones.”

“Am I the only one who didn’t know about his gambling problem?” I bellow, clutching the back of neck with my hand.

“No,” Sol says in a disappointed voice from behind me. “I didn’t know either.”

“I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping you both out of it.” My dad looks between Sol and me. “Never in a million years did I think he would do something like this. Jesus Christ, Cal!” My dad shakes his head disconsolately. “How could you do this to Alex?”

“She’s a blood sucking Vârcolac for crying out loud!” Cal shouts, getting his gusto back. “Am I the only one that sees that? I really don’t see the problem here. She’s with her own kind.”

I spin around on the spot. “You’re a fucking idiot! Is that what you’ve made yourself believe, to make it acceptable for you to sell her to them?” I grip my head in frustration, pacing the floor. “She doesn’t know the likes of them. She can’t even hunt fucking animals, let alone … ” I shake my head, disconsolately. “She has no concept of the arena you’ve just dropped her in. She won’t survive.”

“They won’t kill her.” He sounds so fucking cocky right now, it’s taking everything in me to not pummel him to death.

“No, you’re right they won’t kill her.” Sol’s mouth crooks down at one side. “The Originals will just keep her prisoner and force her to have sex with them. They are going to rape her, repeatedly, over and over, so she can breed more of them, for the rest of her life. She’ll give them a nice little start to their collection of pure breeds while they conduct tests on her to figure out what makes her so special that she survived the change, so they can replicate her, getting themselves some more Alexes and building themselves the grand fucking army they’ve longed for, for the last four hundred years.”

And I see it. The flicker of emotion in Cal’s face. He hadn’t actually allowed himself to really consider what he was doing to Alex. He couldn’t see past the money and that makes me hate him even more.

Sol has just said everything I already knew they would do to Alex, but hearing it out loud like that is making my gut twist into knots. I need to get her out of there but I don’t know how. I’ve never felt so completely and utterly helpless as I do now, and I’ve faced some pretty fucked-up situations in my life.

I turn away from Cal. I can’t bear to look at him anymore.

“I always knew you were selfish,” I say in a low tone, staring out of the window as the remainder of the day sets to fade. “But this … ” I shake my head. “You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Cal.”

I turn back just in time to see the mask sweep down over his face and I know whatever remorse he was feeling is gone, and he’s back full of his usual shit and swagger. “I know what this is about,” he gives an ironic snort. “The fact you’ve been desperate to tap up Alex since the moment you laid your eyes on her, and you’re just jealous the Originals are gonna get to do what you’ve never had the balls to do.”

I’m moving before I even realise. J jump over the armchair and I’m on him. Whatever self-control I had left is gone. I know it’s my hand travelling toward his face. I know it’s my knuckles cracking as they crash into his cheekbone. I know I’m punching him repeatedly over and over, but I feel detached from my body, like it’s someone else hitting him and I’m just an observer sitting on the periphery, watching.

It’s dad that pulls me off him.

And as I’m been dragged backwards, I look down at Cal, seeing my handy work. His face is a mess. He’s covered in his own blood. It doesn’t make me feel any better. And he’s looking back at me with genuine shock in his eyes, like he can’t believe I really just beat the crap out of him. I’m only shocked that I lasted this long.

And this is the exact moment I know everything has changed between us forever. We’ll never recover from this.

I shake myself free from my dad’s hold and sit down on the floor, resting my back against the sofa. I put my head in my hands. Dad leaves the room, muttering he’s going to get the first aid kit.

Sol comes and sits down on the floor next to me. “It’ll be okay, Nate, we’ll find her.” He tries to sound sure but I hear the weakness in his voice.

I move my hands away from my face and stare over at Cal. I’m past fighting, now I’m ready to beg. “Please, Cal, just tell me where she is,” I implore him with quiet resignation.

Cal bends his leg up, resting his arm on it. “I don’t know where she is. I know you won’t believe me but it is the truth, and before you ask, I have no idea where Jake lives – he’s the blonde one you mentioned – but even if I did, I doubt he’d take her to his house. He’s a smart bloke. I know him from the poker games I go to.” He pauses, catching a run of blood from his nose before it trickles into his mouth, and wiping it away with his hand. I watch it run off his finger and drip down to the carpet. I look at my own hands and see Cal’s blood all over them. I don’t wipe them clean.

“Jake heads up the Vârcolac set in this area,” Cal continues. “Last night, when I got home, after we’d talked … well I was frustrated and I needed the money, desperately.” He looks down to the floor. “You wouldn’t even consider handing her over to them for a reward.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I ask, my voice rough. “I’d have given you the money, no questions asked. You know that.”

Cal snorts, satirical eyes on me. “What, and hear about my failure for the rest of my life from Nathan the fucking war hero? No thanks.”

“So you’d rather sell Alex for money,” I blast, “than swallow your pride and ask your brother for a loan?” I narrow my hatred at him. “You fucking disgust me.”

My words must have some kind of effect on him because he starts talking quickly. “You don’t understand, Nate. I owe a lot of money to people who won’t wait to be paid, and they won’t just come after me, they’ll come after Erin and the baby. I panicked and I rang Jake,” he shrugs in a helpless way, “but he wanted to see her for himself before he made a call to the Originals, and when I saw you both this morning, and you said you were taking Alex out, it seemed, well … ideal.”

I hammer my fists into the floor, growling out the rage I want to take out on Cal, silencing the room.

Dad comes back in and sits down beside Cal, opening up the first aid kit.

It’s a long moment before Cal speaks again. “After you and Alex left, I rang Jake and told him where you’d be. He said he’d transfer the money into my bank account once he had her. Then he hung up.” Dad starts to clean the blood from his face.

“Jake been in touch about your money?” I ask bitterly.

“No.”

“Looks like you’re not getting it then, doesn’t it?” I laugh hollowly. “I hope those people you owe the debt to cut you wide open.”

“Nathan!” Dad’s head snaps around. “He’s still your brother, no matter what.”

“No.” I look Cal in the eye, shaking my head. “Not anymore, he’s not. That ended the moment he made that phone call.”

Cal wipes his sleeve across his face, hiding whatever look was on there.

I lay my head back on the sofa and stare blankly up at the ceiling.

How am I going to find Alex now? Cal was the only hope I had. An intense feeling of failure grabs me, stinging straight to the bone. All that training I had in the army and here I sit as useless as fuck.

“You want me to take a look at your face?” Dad asks me from across the room.

“No,” I answer stonily, unmoving.

“What are we gonna do?” Sol asks in a small voice from beside me. He sounds like a little kid again.

I turn my head to the side, looking at him. “I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I don’t know where to even start looking.”

“What about where Cal plays poker?” Sol suggests, a pitch of hope creeping into his voice. “We could go there, ask around.”

Cal mutters a disapproving sound, getting to his feet. “Not a good idea,” he murmurs in a voice I don’t like, a voice that hints at knowing more than I do.

I let my coarse gaze roam over him. “You got any better ideas?” I snap.

He looks to his feet.

“I didn’t think so.”

Then an idea filters into my mind. A prickle of hope sparks in me. It’s a long shot but worth a try. I sit up straight and pull my phone from my pocket and press speed dial on the number of the only other person in the world I know who might be able to help me find her.

The familiar Mancunian accent bellows down the line at me, the background noisy. “Nate, my man! How the hell are you doing? It’s been, what, two months since we last spoke?”

“Three,” I say. I take a deep breath. “Sorry to interrupt but I need your help.”

“Wait a minute,” he says at my serious tone. I hear him moving, the noise disappearing, leaving only silence in the background. “Okay, go on.”

“My friend, she’s in trouble. She’s missing, and I only have a short window to find her before things get a whole lot worse.”

“How long?”

I glance down at my watch, thinking quickly. It’s quarter past six now, they took her at about, what, three, half-three. That bastard Jake said it’d be fourteen hours before the Originals arrived. If I have any hope of saving her then I need to do it before they get to her. I’ve got under eleven hours.

“Eleven hours at the most.”

“Guess I better get a move on then.”

“Craig, this is big what I’m asking you to get involved in. It’ll put you in a difficult position and … there might be no coming back from it.”

“You need my help?” His question is blunt.

“Yeah,” I sigh.

“Then I’ll be there in just a little over an hour.” And the line goes dead.