SWNOVELS Chapter B I T T E N T W I C E
"Bella, are you okay? What happened? Who hurt you?" Nox shot out the questions as he quickly closed in on her and pulled her into his arms. A nanosecond passed before he stiffened.
"Someone was here." It wasn't an inquiry. His nose picked up a scent, and Guadalupe was scared that he would find out about Hades. Not that she had anything to hide from their encounter apart from him sinking his teeth into her flesh, but she had an inkling of a feeling that their interaction wouldn't go too well.
Guadalupe may not know much about the supernatural world, but the little that she learnt from reading and watching movies to be able to question Jamie was that vampires and werewolves were enemies.
She didn't know why, and it never occurred to her to ask Jamie.
Nox sniffed her, and around her, and spent the next ten minutes wandering around, trying to track a scent that the other werewolves couldn't pick up.
"It's faint but it's there." Nox growled in frustration, pacing in front of Guadalupe, who hadn't moved from her spot. "Well maybe someone was here, but they left hours ago. Don't stress out about it." Violetta said, staring at her brother with mild concern.
Nox snarled, then stormed off, leaving Guadalupe with Keon, Jamie and Violetta. She exhaled shakily, and gave them a watery smile when they turned their attention to her.
"Let's get you home." Keon said, taking her hand while Jamie took her bags. Violetta held her other hand, and they made their way to Jamie's truck.
She spared a glance at Keon and found that he was already looking at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Ada; I really am. It's just-" "It's okay." Guadalupe cut him off.
She stared straight ahead, where Nox was fuming and Jamie trailed quietly behind him. "Everyone has their reasons for what they do. I just missed you, idiot." She shoved her shoulder into his side, and he chuckled quietly.
"I missed you too, short stuff." Guadalupe groaned. "I hate that name." She whined, and Keon laughed.
Nox sat up front with Jamie, who clenched and un-clenched his hands around the steering wheel. Violetta sat next to the other door, her head in her open palm; Keon was squished in the middle, gently playing with Guadalupe's hair.
The silence was uncomfortable and near unbearable.
After five more minutes of discomfort, Jamie groaned loudly. "I can't fucking take this!" He braked, then rummaged for something in the glove compartment, letting out a little sound of triumph once he found what he was searching for.
Not a minute later, music streamed through the speakers, and Guadalupe paled as she heard the singer's voice. As the tempo increased, Keon bumped shoulders with her to the beat of the song.
If it was possible, Guadalupe would have shrunk into herself even more.
The song played, with Keon and Jamie singing along and melting the uncomfortable atmosphere. After its three-minute run, the next song started up and Guadalupe's two friends cheered quietly. Jamie increased the volume.
When they met in high school, Guadalupe was hiding in the music room, strumming the chords to a Gorillaz song on one of the acoustic guitars.
The door to the room had busted open, and a group of people strolled into the room. She would come to know them as Jamie, Lance, Keon, Mateo, Tara, and Denise.
Guadalupe had quickly put the guitar down, and was going to excuse herself when Keon spoke. "Was that Gorillaz you were playing?" Guadalupe nodded.
"Empire Ants." Jamie confirmed, and Guadalupe nodded again. "A woman of culture." Keon had said, beaming at her, and Guadalupe laughed in surprise.
"Hey, you wanna hang out with us?" Tara had asked, and Guadalupe looked at her in confusion. "These two clearly like you already." She said, sticking her thumb out at Jamie and Keon, who both shrugged.
She could feel their intense stares as they waited for her to answer; particularly from the tall, dark-haired Latino boy with his hands shoved into his jeans pockets. Her eyes ran over the group, moving off Mateo quickly and onto Tara, then Denise, and back to Tara.
"Yeah, sure." Guadalupe nodded, and the next day when she entered the school, she found out that their hang-out wasn't a one-time thing when Tara walked to her side and linked arms.
The last year she remembered spending with everyone, she thought that she would make everyone a gift of the things she had noticed they liked.
While she wasn't extremely talented, she did enjoy singing, and covered songs from artists and bands she knew that they each loved; and a small album of pictures that they had taken together.
And while Jamie, Keon, Lance and Tara expressed their love for the gifts on their birthdays, Mateo and Denise shrugged in indifference and quickly discarded her presents. Guadalupe tried not to think too much of it.
That same year, both Jamie and Keon began distancing themselves, until they were completely gone, and she was left with two people who despised her, and two who didn't.
"And if the whole world is crashing down on you; fall through space out of mind with me." Guadalupe heard herself sing through the speakers, and she bit her lip to hide her smile as her two friends sang along with her recorded voice.
"Where the emptiness we leave behind on warm air rising, blows all the shadows far away." She found herself humming and tapping her foot, slowly breaking into a grin and Keon bumped their shoulders more.
Guadalupe looked to the front, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Nox would glance at her; even for a second. He didn't; but she noticed his fingers tapping on the window.
She started swaying with Keon, who laced their fingers together and he squeezed them gently. Guadalupe squeezed back, and lay her cheek on his shoulder for a moment.
"Little memories, marching on; your little feet working the machine. Will it spin? Will it soar? My little dream, working the machine." Guadalupe found herself giggling as Jamie sung horribly, and Keon moved a little too vigorously.
For the rest of the song, the occupants of the truck jammed out, and when it came to an end, Jamie hit rewind and let it play again.
Jamie's eyes met hers in the rear view mirror, and they smiled at each other, platonic love and appreciation in their gazes. For the rest of the drive, Guadalupe hummed to her own voice along with her friends, and two other people who she hoped would become a part of her life too.
Jamie parked in front of the pack house, which was quiet but illuminated. Silently, they disembarked, and Jamie picked up her bags again, wordlessly walking towards the massive house. Keon pulled her into a tight embrace, patting her hair.
"Whenever you're ready Ada. I'm here for you." Guadalupe swallowed, almost forgetting that she had hand-prints around her neck and all of her belongings stuffed into a suitcase and a duffel bag. "Thanks Keon." Guadalupe whispered, giving her friend a final squeeze before he disappeared into the darkness.
"Hey, Gamma Roccio!" Violetta called out, and Guadalupe turned her attention away from a no longer visible Keon. Jamie had paused at the threshold of the open door, light spilling out and illuminating him in a way she had never really noticed before.
He looked almost... ethereal. Guadalupe still found herself adjusting to the fact that now, two of her best friends were not human; that they could easily shed their skin and don one of a predator of the night. That Jamie was insanely strong; enough to hold a position of power within a pack of people just like him and Keon.
"Who was that singing? I want to look for their YouTube or something." Violetta said, and Jamie smiled. "Oh, she doesn't have a YouTube, despite me telling her to get one too many times. But if you ask nicely and give her a peace offering, she'll sing for you."
Guadalupe playfully glared at him, her cheeks flushed. "W-what?" Violetta stammered, her head cocked in confusion. "Guadalupe particularly likes sci-fi and fantasy novels, plushies, and candy. You could also give her a pat on the head and squish her cheeks, but that would just make her mad." Jamie continued, flashing Guadalupe a smug grin.
"Yo, fuck you Roccio." Guadalupe called out, flipping Jamie off. "Love you too Florentino." He said, then stepped over the threshold and disappeared into the house.
"That was you?" Violetta asked, looking a little star-struck. Guadalupe nodded, her cheeks flushing. "Wow, your voice is so lovely Guadalupe!" Violetta squealed, cupping her own cheeks.
"Thanks." Guadalupe replied shyly, shuffling her feet in the dew-wet grass. "Do you have the digital version of it?" she asked, pointing to Jamie's truck, and Guadalupe nodded.
"Yeah. I could send it to you if you want." Violetta nodded. "Oh, yes please." Guadalupe smiled and nodded once. "Okay."
Violetta made her way inside after yawning and agreeing to visit her tomorrow to get the songs transferred to her laptop; leaving her alone with Nox, who stood silently at the foot of the stairs leading to the house.
Before, Guadalupe would have a hard time making and keeping eye contact, even with Jamie and Charlie. But with Nox, it was as easy as breathing. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before he decided to speak.
"Your voice is really beautiful, bella." His own voice was like a low rumble of thunder. "Thank you." Guadalupe said, forcing a smile that made Nox frown. They fell silent again, and Guadalupe watched him have an internal battle. His eyes flickered from silver to gold, like a mischievous child was toying with a light switch.
"... Nox?" Guadalupe called out warily, and golden eyes fastened on her. Before she could blink, he was in front of her, a hairsbreadth away.
"Mate." His chest rumbled like thunder, his voice deeper and richer than Nox's. Guadalupe remembered Jamie telling her that wolf counterparts had names like their human half.
James and Kingston were quite the pair, and bickered constantly; at least, that's what Jamie told her. Then one day Kingston took control of his body without shedding skin, and told her that he loved her dearly. She remembered how her heart melted, and how she teased Jamie relentlessly for days about it. Then he left, and they lost contact.
In this moment, Guadalupe found herself breathless. "O-oh. Hello. I-I don't think Nox ever told me your name." She whispered, sucking in what little oxygen she could get into her lungs.
"Zev." He said curtly, moving in even closer. "O-oh okay. H-hi Zev." His chest rumbled again, and his hands were on her waist and the nape of her neck.
"We made mate upset." He said, almost sounding upset himself. "What makes you say that, Zev?" Guadalupe dared herself to look him in the eye, the same way she does with Nox.
"Your smile is sad. Your eyes are sad." He was almost whimpering, and Guadalupe's heart broke. "What? No. Zev, sweetie. That's not your fault. I-" Guadalupe sighed, "it's been a rough 30 hours."
"We didn't make you sad?" He asked, sounding child-like even with his deep voice. "No, Zev. You didn't make me sad. I'm just... exhausted. With everything."
They both sighed, and Zev pressed his lips to her hair. "Can we go inside now?" Guadalupe asked, and Zev straightened. "No."
Confusion took hold of her. "Why not?"
"We are jealous. And possessive." Guadalupe's confusion grew. "Jealous of what? Of who? Possessive of me?"
Zev answered none of her questions. "Someone was near you. We could feel it. And Davids, and Roccio. They are fond of you. We don't like it."
Her eyebrows were scrunched up. "Keon and Jamie? They're my friends. We've known each other for about five years now. There's nothing to be jealous of, Zev."
Zev huffed, sending her stray curls dancing. His hands, still at her waist and neck, tightened. "You are ours. No one else's." Guadalupe looked into his eyes, golden and hard.
"Yes," Guadalupe nodded, hoping that the hard set to his eyes would soften; it worried her seeing it. Only, his eyes grew harder.
"We were coming for you; we were already there. We heard them yelling when he hurt you." His grip tightened. "We were going to kill them. I was going to kill them all for hurting you." Zev sighed deeply, pressing his forehead to hers.
"But Asknes stopped me. Stupid fucking Counsel." He growled, drawing her flush against him, rubbing his cheek against her hair.
"If you were so close then you could have made Jamie call me. I could have come out." Guadalupe said, curling her hands into his shirt. She felt his chest rumble beneath her.
"I should have. Instead, we stayed outside left before dawn."
Guadalupe sighed, rubbing her nose against his shirt as his head dipped to the crook of her neck. "I'm here now, and that's all that matters."
"Yes." Zev growled, and Guadalupe stiffened when she felt sharp teeth scrape against her flesh. "And we're not letting you go."
Teeth pierced skin, and Guadalupe screamed.
It felt like lava was being poured into her veins, and spotlights were being shone directly into her eyes.
The seconds passed agonizingly slow, but soon, lava turned into smooth silk and velvet, and spotlights turned into supernovas, and Guadalupe was certain that the loud, wanton moan was hers.
His teeth soon left her neck, and his tongue was warm and wet as it covered the wound. "Mine." Zev growled, and darkness hit her like a freight train .
~ Rejected once by love, rejected twice by family. Found and accepted once by a lover, found and accepted twice by another. Now, she is twice bitten, and twice desired.~