Hey, there!
Thank you so much for you're encouraging feedback, it really motivates me! I'm sorry this took so long; Chapter 08 is almost done, so hopefully I can have it out to you guys soon. I hope my alternating use of Charamaine and May isn't confusing to you; I'm trying to incorporate a way to make sure it's all the same for the following chapters. There's sex in this chapter (Yay! Ka-blamo! No angry mobs!), but it's my first attempt so be nice! :) Kudos to my awesome editor, angelicsounds, and to Rachel & Mads for their wicked cool support!
I bid thee a good read
~M
Chapter Seven: Tainted Black
He wasn't an empath, but Grant could definitely feel the emotions coming from her: confusion, stress, worry, happiness...She was also distraught. He was tempted to go back to her instead of pacing around the edge of the forest, but he decided her privacy was well deserved.
Anxious from being away from her for too long, Grant shifted to his wolf form and bolted through the trees, running for miles around their camp. The wind brushed his fur back, vines and branches stroked him as he flew by at an alarming pace. He let his frustrations out in a howl. He wanted to make everything better for her, but he knew that there was nothing he could do now. His eyes swirled rich amber and he watched the earth and leaves give away under his paws, leaving tracks around his community.
He made another round and found Orion waiting for him. The tall, blonde man looked eager, so Grant ran towards him.
"So guess what?" Orion asked, smiling.
What?
Grant thought to him.
"I figured it out!" he said, jubilantly.
Figured what out?
"Why her wings are black instead of white." His tone added on the
duh
.
Grant waited for him to continue, so when he didn't, Grant nudged him with his head.
"Could you maybe switch back? I really want to see your expression for this one," Orion joked.
Grant growled,
No. Too wound up. Just tell me... is it
that
bad?
"Fine," he sighed. "The reason is—drum roll please—she has been touched by...dun, dun, dun..."
Really, Orion.
Grant thought at him, sarcastic and annoyed.
"Ugh, alright!" he exclaimed, disgruntled by the lack of enthusiasm from the large wolf. "She was touched by the, uhh... the King of Darkness," he finished.
Grant looked to Orion with obvious confusion in his eyes.
"You mean... the Devil?" Grant asked after he changed back. Orion handed him a pair of jeans and Grant put them on, still confused.
"Not... really," Orion responded, suddenly not as eager as he was before.
"So then what—er, who is it?"
"Well...the Devil is sort of the King of Darkness's right-hand-man... I—ah, it would easier if I only had to say this once... do you mind?" Orion asked, nodding to medical cabin where Charamaine and Emmett were.
"Oh," Grant said, unsure, "she's with Emmett now..."
"Maybe Emmett knows something too?" Orion asked, hopefully.
Grant sighed, "Alright. Just wait a minute until I call for you. 'Kay?"
Without waiting for an answer, Grant bounded up the stairs to the cabin.
¬¬¬___
May rested her fragile hand on his chest, feeling for the life-giving beats that were nowhere to be found. Unbelieving, she leaned over his scarred body and placed her ear above the place where his heart was supposed to be.
"What..." She had no idea what to say.
May felt Emmett run his fingers through her silky hair while he responded. "I don't know. It was like that when I woke up... that's why I figured..." he shrugged.
"B-but," she stuttered, "how could you be...
alive
?"
He said nothing and brought her face up to his. Emmett's face was clear except for two scars: one, still red, along his hair line, and a shocking white streak that ran from the corner of his colorful right eye to the edge of his mouth. She ran her hand over it and was surprised to find that it was same, smooth texture as the rest of his skin.
It must be old,
she thought. It wasn't raised or anything... just a white line across his face. She looked up to the one by his hair, then back down. Confused, she reached up to touch the red scar.
¬¬¬___
I don't think that one's a scar... at least, it doesn't feel like one,
Emmett thought to himself as he watched May run her hand over the white streak repeatedly. When her hand moved to the one at his hairline, he almost cringed away from her, anticipating the pain... that never followed?
Emmett felt a new, throbbing sensation where the slash was. Not realizing his eyes were closed until then, he opened them and saw that May's irises had turned almost white.
"May?" he called, using all of his strength to put his hands on her shoulders. "May? Are you okay?"
Her head snapped down at an odd angle and he became increasingly worried. The throbbing feeling escalated. Then it stopped and he was left with a soothing, lighter feeling. He shook his head, more confused than ever, and shook May's shoulders.
He wasn't ready for the instantaneousness of his movements. The moment he thought about shaking her shoulders, he was doing it... too hard.
Shit,
he swore to himself,
I didn't want to hurt her...What the fuck is going on?
She groaned and her neck snapped back up. He could see her eyes turning back to normal through the veil of her pale hair. "May?" he asked timidly. "May, you alright?"
She stiffly nodded her head. "Yeah... I'm fine... What was that?"
She flipped her hair back and felt an odd sensation coming from her forehead. She put her hand on her forehead and came away with blood coating the fingers that had touched her skin. She squealed and flew off the bed, hovering above the ground next to Emmett.
Where's that mirror?
she asked herself frantically.
May flew over a bewildered Emmett and reached for the mirror. She looked into it and was surprised to see a red scar, similar to Emmett's, fading as the seconds ticked by.
"Uhhmm... I think I..." she started, placing the mirror back on the edge of bed, still unnerved. "I think—I absorbed it..."
She huffed and reached for her forehead again, only to find it marble smooth, as it had been before she touched him. Just then, Grant knocked on the door.
"Yes?" she answered in a strangled voice.
"Charamaine, are you alright?" He sounded worried.
"Fine, fine. Come in." She walked to the door as he pushed it open. The relief was evident in his features when he saw that she wasn't harmed.
"What's wrong?" he asked, hovering. He stepped up to her and checked her over.
"N-nothing..."
"Oh... well then Orion was wondering if he could come up to talk to you?"
"Sure," she said, setting her feet back on the ground.
"Story time!" Orion boomed as he walked into the small room, which seemed to become even smaller with his and Grant's large bodies filling up the space. He came in with a chair and flipped it around so he could lean on the back of it while entertaining. He let his sharp emerald gaze settle on Grant, who sat on the floor and rested against the bedside table, May, and finally, Emmett.
"
Whoa
," he said, surprised. "Ha ha, you look... sort of... like...me." His head tilted at the end of his revelation.
"Aw," May giggled, "you look like a lost puppy."
Grant chuckled at the uncanny resemblance. Orion and Emmett were still confused, staring at each other like they were staring in a mirror.
"Hmm," Emmett sighed.
"Right, more on that later," Orion joked, shaking his head. "So I've come with news on the phenomenon that is your wings, May. You don't mind if I call you May, do you?" he asked, smiling at her.
"Not at all. In fact, the only person who doesn't call me that is Grant," she replied, smiling at him and then looking at Grant, who growled.
"So, May," Orion continued, "your wings
should
be white. But you've been touched by the King of Darkness, making them black."
"Like... the Devil?" Emmett asked.
