VII- Rogues

Aspen staggered towards Xavier who's in his hybrid form, still holding Q's wolf form by its neck. Nang makawala si Q sa pagkakasakal nito ay nagpambuno ang dalawa. Q was a lot bigger than Xav, being a werewolf but Xavier was quicker.

She kept screaming at them but nobody seems to be listening. Iika ika niyang nilapitan at dinampot ang baril na nabitawan ni Q kanina at ibinaril iyon sa kisame. That seemed to have ceased them from squabbling.

"Are you two going to stop or should I just kill you both?" inis na tanong niya sa dalawa. "Shift back to your human forms before a shoot you both in the face."

Q was the first one to follow her. He was still vibrating from the shift when he walked towards her. "Aspen.."

"I wouldn't take another step towards her if I were you." narinig niya ang pagbabanta ni Xav dito. He began changing back. His scary features went back into its original handsome form. May bahid ng mga galos at dugo ang mukha nito ngunit hindi nagbago ang pagtingin niya rito. Her mate..

Both men stood there, half naked and glaring daggers at each other.

"Enough." tila napapagod na sambit niya. Noon lamang niya naalala ang sugat niya sa balikat. Nagdilim ang paningin niya at mabuti na lang ay maagap na nakakapit siya sa dingding bago siya bumagsak sa sahig.

"Damn it, you're bleeding!"

"Obviously." sarkastikong sambit ni Q nang makalapit ito sa kanya. Akma siya nitong aalalayan nang singhalan ito ni Xav.

"Don't fucking touch her!"

"If I don't touch her she'd bleed to death!"

"Can you fucking stop arguing because this bitch wound will not heal with all your bickering!" she snarled.

Lumapit si Xav sa kanya at mabilis na ininspeksyon ang balikat niya. "Were you bit?"

"What?" her mind was too numb from the blood loss.

"I'm asking if you got bitten by those rogues?"

"No. Uhm.. It's the nails that caught me, I guess?"

"Are you sure?"

"Damn it. I said I'm not! Can you just help me get to that fucking gurney coz I'm seriously losing a lot of blood right now."

"God, I missed you!" Inalalayan siya ni Xav para makaupo sa ibabaw ng gurney. Dali dali namang lumapit si Q sa kanya dala ang may tatlong piraso ng blood bags na agad namang pinilas ni Aspen upang makainom. There's no use on bothering not to drink human blood since Xav is already here.

Xavier waited until her wounds are healing up before letting go of her. He grabbed a cloth out of nowhere and started wiping blood off himself. He carefully inspected every inch of his body for scratches and bites. Pagkatapos ay saka lamang ito bumalik sa kanya.

"We need to fix the wall." narinig niyang sambit ni Q.

"No need. The sun's already up, the rogues aren't going to hunt soon. Besides, we need to leave." his fingers traced the scar from Aspen's shoulder. "They already caught your scent. Babalik at babalik sila dito."

That doesn't sound good. But Xav's right. Tiningala niya ito habang nagaalalang nakatingin ito sa kanya. He looked tired and worn out. Kung totoo nga ang panaginip niya tungkol dito ay tiyak na napasubo na ito sa laban bago pa man ito makarating doon.

She turned towards Q. "Do you have more blood?"

"You need more?" kwestyon nito matapos makitang naubos niya ang tatlong bag.

"Xav needs to feed, too."

"Don't mind me--" agad na putol ni Xav sa kanya.

Q shrugged. "He said don't mind him."

She glared at the werewolf. "Can you just fucking give me more blood and stop being an ass?"

Q was still grumbling under his breath when came back with another three bags. He threw it over the bed and Aspen took it after shaking her head from his attitude. Muli niyang pinilas ang bag gamit ang ngipin at nagsimulang higupin ang dugo mula roon. Q watched her amusingly.

"I thought he's going to feed, too?" nakangising tanong nito.

"Yes he is." she grabbed a surgical blade from the Mayo table and slashed her forearm. Iniumang niya iyon kay Xav. "Bon Appétit."

"I told you, there's no need--"

"You need to feed, Xav." iniumang niya rito ang braso. Xav reluctantly took her arm in both his hands, stared at it like it was some precious stone he needs to be gentle with or it will break.

He sighed. "It's been so long, love.."

When he put his mouth around the gash, Aspen gasped from the sweet sensation of his lips touching her skin. Narinig niyang napamura si Q. "I-I need human blood to survive and Xav needs my blood. He's not an ordinary vampire." she was lost in breath. She threw back her head and closed her eyes as the feeling overwhelmed her. Tumutulo sa gilid ng labi niya ang dugong sinipsip niya mula sa blood bag. God damn, she was aroused.

"Leave, Q." she told the werewolf, still not opening her eyes. "you don't need to see this."

"You're right."

It seemed like an eternity had past before Xavier ceased from feeding. He tenderly licked her wound to stop the bleeding and Aspen lied down on the gurney with exhaustion.

"Are you OK?" nagaalalang tanong ni Xav. "Did I take too much blood?"

Aspen was able to shake her head but stopped because it made her more dizzy. "I'm alright. It just that... It's been too long."

Naramdaman niya ang mainit init na kamay ni Xav sa noo niyang pawisan. "I'm sorry, love."

"You don't need to say sorry." pinilit niyang idilat ang mata. Her hand went to Xav's face to caress it. "How did you find me?"

His hand reached for hers. He closed his eyes while nuzzling her palm. Hinalikan niya iyon bago muling nagmulat at tumingin sa kanya. "It wasn't that difficult to find you, simula noong nabuksan muli ang channel sa pagitan natin. I would've let you come to me but something bad happened and I have to see you right off."

"Ikaw ba.." she trailed off. Hindi niya kayang akusahan si Xavier. She just needs to know if he was the one who massacred Amadeus' coven.

"Jesus Christ, Aspen, no!"  humigpit ang hawak nito sa palad niya. "I would never do such thing!"

"But your letter.."

He sighed. "I got there around, maybe, three hours before you did." he began. "We only talked. I was able to persuade him to tell me what he knows about Drakkar. He was a weird yet friendly vampire, Aspen. With the right words and every single thing he knows was out. I gave him that letter because I knew you were seeking him."

"I didn't know someone came to see him before you do. I don't have an idea at first who would do that and somehow tried to frame me or you for it." his jaw went tense and he looked troubled. "But I think I know now. These rogues.."

"Rogues?"

"That's what they call them from this community I met in Aslan." he said. Tumalikod muna ito at naghila ng isang upuan. Naupo si Xav doon at itinukod ang isang siko sa mayo table. Ang isang kamay niya ay mariing hinilod ang pisngi nitong may mga natuyong dugo.

"You can take a shower first and freshen up--"

"No. That could wait." mabilis na sagot nito. "I need to fill you in as soon as possible, dahil nakasalalay dito ang kaligtasan nating lahat."

"This is urgent, Aspen." napabuga ito ng hangin bago tuluyang magpatuloy. "There is a disease going around among vampires."

"Disease?"

"You can call it whatever you want but it is passed on from vampires to vampires and sometimes even to human beings." inilabas ni Xavier ang telepono nito at iniharap ang isang litrato kay Aspen. It was a blurred picture of a monster, same with the ones they've killed earlier. "This is circulating on the internet right now."

Aspen groaned at that. If it's out on the internet, it's not good for them. They are aiming to remain hidden and unknown to the mortals. No wonder the Royals are having their panties in a twist and Cadfael was most likely the one in charge of damage control. Iyon marahil ang dahilan kung bakit nagmamadali itong umalis sa mansion ni Amadeus.

"What caused this disease?"

"Drakkar."

"What?"

"I came to Aslan because Amadeus told me Drakkar is heading up there." he told her. "I don't know of his plans. Amadeus only told me that Drakkar came to visit him one day asking about the Royals. He's presumably going after them. At bago ka makarating sa kanila, you need to pass in Aslan. It's a small town. Maybe around a handful of hundreds in population."

"There was a coven up there. One a lot bigger than ours. Drakkar couldn't pass there without alerting the coven, of course. They met up with him and Drakkar came up with an arrangement. That there would be no bloodshed between them if they would just let Drakkar's group pass. The coven wanted peace among their community and doesn't want anything to do with the feud between Drakkar and the Royals so they made a truce."

She growled low in her throat. "What kind of idiots would make a truce with that sonuvabitch?!"

"Someone who wants to protect their kind, Aspen. They knew they are no match against, Drakkar."

"I'd rather shed blood than to cower like a bitch like what that coven did."

Xavier laughed humorlessly. "Then it's good that Rune's our leader and not you. Anyway, that asshole Drakkar being a hybrid and all, we can only survive on vampire's blood. The coven leader I met there told me Drakkar fed on one of his men before he left Aslan and after a few days," may ipinakita muli itong litrato sa kanya. Same appearance of those that attacked them. "the vampire became this."

"So, you mean Drakkar's vemon is spreading this?"

"And the rogues are spreading it fast among vampires and humans." Xav's face was a mask of frustration. "There are symptoms of those infected vampires, though. Like dark patches in skin and yellowish tinge on their saliva."

"I didn't notice that from Drakkar when we first fought with him."

"He might've developed the disease after that." he concluded. "That's why I should stop feeding directly from you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just in case you forgot, I'm a hybrid also, Aspen." he said grimly. "I may not contract the disease but I could develop it. Who knows about the connection of our being a hybrid to that fucking disease."

Bumangon si Aspen upang abuting muli ang kamay ni Xav. "We'll find a way around this, Xav. Don't worry. I won't let you get sick."

"It's not up to you."

He's right. Ano nga ba ang magagawa niya kung mangyaring madevelop nga ni Xavier ang sakit na iyon dahil sa pagiging vampire-hunter hybrid niya? Hinigpitan niya ang kapit sa kamay ng mate. Magkagayunpaman, she will do everything to save him. No matter what. And if ever he goes down. She's going down with him.

"Your wound is healed." puna ni Xav sa kanya.

Napatingin siya sa balikat niya saka kumunot ang noo. "How do you contract the disease, Xav?"

"It's through the infected's bite. Through blood and saliva. That's why I was asking you earlier if you were bit."

"What about nail scratch?"

Napatitig si Xavier sa kanya. "There are no reported cases of that as of now." tumayo ito upang haplusin ang balat niya kung saan naroon ang sugat kanina lang. "Besides, if you are infected, these wounds will never heal and you develop signs and symptoms right away."

"Are you sure?"

He gave her a reassuring smile, while cupping her face. "I won't let you get sick. I would hate to fuck a mate looking like a zombie."

She rolled her eyes at him and laughed. "You're such an ass."

Nagtatawanan pa silang dalawa nang biglang pumasok muli sa eksena si Q. Nagtatagis ang bagang nito nang humarap sa kanila. "You guys need to see this."