[ 13 ] 2013 

-

"You said we needed a member of the original family. I brought you two, the only two remaining ones."

-

Paúl let Michael into the house, a boy and a girl waited outside for him. They had been told that Michael's friends were hunters and weren't sure what to expect from them. "You'll be alright." Michael assured the two of them and waved them into the house. The boy walked into the house first, with his sister walking in behind him. Both of them looked uncomfortable. They were in a country they didn't know, with people they didn't know. And what was worse for the new visitors was that they noticed the hostile way which Paúl looked at them.

He was a tall boy with a lean, yet slightly muscular build. He was dressed in a leather jacket and dark jeans, on his face was no hint of a smile. And he looked foreign, from a latinamerican country. The two who followed behind Michael found the young man to be intimidating without him even having to say anything to them.

The nineteen year old hunter shut the door behind the three when they passed the threshold and walked ahead of them to lead them into the livingroom that was directly to their left. Dempsey shot up from her seat on the couch when she saw a familiar girl with dark brown hair. "That's her." She said under her breath, but it was just loud enough for her collegue to hear.

"Who?" Paúl moved to stand by Dempsey's side. His dark brown eyes watched the strangers in the lovingroom. He was not very happy that Michael was bringing strangers along, but knowing his friend, they knew there was a purpose for him to bring them there.

Dempsey pointed a finger at her accusingly at the young girl as she explained what she meant. "When I was hunting shifters in England, this was the girl I was assigned to kill. She's fucking elusive. And then Michael was assigned to her when I got sent here. Why is she here?" She tried to take a step forward, towards her, but Paúl stopped her by sticking his arm out in front of the American brunette.

"You said we needed a member of the original family." Michael informed her. "I brought you two, the only two remaining ones." Gesturing to one then the other, he said, "This is Hazel and Jack Quimby, direct descendents of the first Canadian family of shifters. They have agreed to help us. But you have to swear you won't hurt them."

"How dare you make compromises like this when Harley's life is in danger?" Ashton accused in a voice full of outrage and anger etched across his face.

"I agree with the ghost boy." Dempsey nodded, her dark eyes narrowed into a glare at the boy who was her collegue. "You're in no position to make deals for your new friends." Her voice came out with much venom as she mentioned the two Canadian shifters who were members of the original family. "If anything, you'll be the one to lose. She's your sister. To Paul and I she's just the girl we were assigned to watch. She's practically nothing to us." She told Michael, standing her ground. Dempsey felt it wasn't their right to come into her home and tell her what to do.

But Michael had a response for her. "Actually, you're pretty much forced to agree to their terms. Either that or Harley will die and then the boss will come after you. Your call." He smirked at them in a nonchalant way.

Harley, who was sat on the single couch to the right, spoke up, "So...you would let me die for someone you just met?" Her voice was full of disbelief and hurt.

"Wow," Jack commented. "That girl looks a lot like my sister, only that one is blonde."

"Harley, I would do anything to save your life." Michael swore.

Ashton eyed the white haired hunter, his lips came together to form a white line. "Don't sound so disposed, yoot." (*note: i did a bit of research now that i have the free time. and yoot means 'youngster' or 'little boy' in fifties slang. just wanted that to be clear.)

"I'm just trying to get us all to agree on something." Said the boy with white hair, shrugging his shoulders.

"We agree to spare them," Paúl promised, after having considered their options. He realized Michael was right. It was either accepting their terms or Harley would die, then her father would take it out on them. If that happened, he would leave his younger brother completely alone. That was the last thing he wanted. "only if they will save arlequin."

"Paul." Dempsey hissed under her breath.

"If you're still not convinced, let me tell you why they need to live." Michael offered an explanation that he had been saving as his last hope in case his friends refused to spare the Canadian siblings. "Jack and Hazel are the last two members of the original family. If both of them die, which is what the boss wants, we will all become plain human beings. Is that what you want? The plain and boring life of a human nobody?"

Dempsey gasped at his words. "So he just wants this all to end by killing the root of the problem..." She said, putting all the pieces together.

Michael nodded, adding, "I, for one, don't want to lose my powers."

"How many days does she have left?" Jack asked, his brown eyes focusing on the blonde haired girl sat on the couch. The ghost boy stood by her side, ready to protect her and help her in any way possible. Jack still didn't know what the relationship between them was, but he thought helping her would ultimately ruin whatever they had.

Neither Paúl nor Dempsey knew exactly what he was talking about. Calum had explained to them how it worked, the process of bringing her back, but they felt their work was done when they captured Kylie and held her down while Calum and Ashton did the rest. The raven haired boy was the one with the books and the knowledge. Hunters were more of the type who took action.

Since Calum was unavailable to provide any information, Ashton stepped up to explain. "Calum said she'd have seven days from the moment she came back into her own body. Its been five days since then." He turned to grab Harley's arm gently and rolled up the sleeves of a pajama Dempsey had let her borrow. His eyebrows knitted in concern as he gestured to something on her wrist. "Each time a new day passes she gets another one inch scar on her arm, some sort of tally mark." They were scars which seemed like they were fully healed. There was no blood on her pajama, which led them to think they had just appeared without so much as a reason or explanation.

"Hm." Harley looked at the marks curiously. Her slender fingers ran over the cool scars like they were something fascinating to her. "I didn't even notice those were there."

"Yeah," Jack nodded, examining Harley's wrist. "These are reminders of the time you have left to save her. They'll remain on her skin for the rest of her life." For the second time in those few minutes, Ashton frowned.

"So help her right now." Ashton urged.

"We're members of the original family," Hazel pointed out with her arms crossed over her chest. "Not magicians. It won't just happen in a matter of seconds." She shot a glare at Ashton, as well as Dempsey and Paúl. The two intimidating hunters were the least happy to have them there, and Hazel knew it.

Michael looked from his friends to the Canadian original family members and said in amusement to them, "Mind your thoughts when you're around Hazel. She can hear everything you're thinking."

"And the boy?" Dempsey wondered. "What can he do?"

"Jack has a very special gift. I'd say one of the most special that I've seen." Hazel said in regards to her older brother. "He can heal his wounds in a matter of seconds, as well as the wounds of anyone who is hurt. And not just wounds. He can heal things like the flu and deadly diseases." When she informed them of his gift, everyone in the room looked at the boy from the original family in awe.

"Before we get started with this, I need you to know everything so that there is no room for confusion here." Jack explained, exhaling nervously while he sought the best way to word things. "I can save your life. All I'd have to do is make a cut on my hand and one on yours. Then you'd just have to hold my hand to allow our blood to mix. With that, you will be able to stay in your body."

"That sounds fairly easy." Harley shrugged. And clapping her hands together, she decided, "Let's do this."

Jack raised a hand to caution her, "There's more. Once our blood mixes, you will be linked to me. You will believe you're in love with me and you'll want to remain by my side always. Its kind of like an illusion, when you think something is there, but it really isn't. You'll have this dependency and illusion of love with me, but it'll be all a delusion of the mind. The bond will only break if one of us dies."

"Simple." Dempsey said, her hand going to reach for her Diamond Rose, "We'll kill the boy after Harley is safe."

Hazel stepped in front of the dark haired boy, which was several inches taller than her. "Fuck you. The deal is off. If you dare hurt my brother, then I'll kill you." She warned. Grabbing onto her brother's arm, she told him, "Come on Jack. We can't help them if they'll just turn around and backstab us." The boy nodded silently and followed her to the front door.

"I hope you're happy, Johannsson." Michael glared at the sixteen year old who was his collegue. "You're signing Harley's death sentence." And though he was trying very hard to keep his cool, he felt a fear in the bottom of his heart, a fear of losing the person he most loved, even if she was his sister. 

As Hazel's hand reached out to grab the doorknob, Dempsey called, biting down hard on her lip, "Wait!"

"Yes?" Hazel turned to look at Dempsey.

"Help her." Demsey said quietly, her voice almost begging.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hazel pretended she couldn't hear her.

The American hunter rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Help her." She said, this time a bit louder.

At that, Hazel smiled. "I'm sure we can work something out. Right Jack?"

"Sure." Jack turned, a confident smirk on his face. "I just need the permission of Michael's sister. She's the one who gets to decide."

"Death..." Harley mused, "Or a life in a delusional state of love with some guy I just met?"

Hazel shrugged. "That's one way of wording it."

"Ashton?" Harley's blue eyes looked up into his hazel ones.

She found an emotional pain in them, a pain he would not put into words because having her around, loving another was somehow less painful than not having her at all. He took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. "Its your choice, ultimately, but...I want you to live." He told her. "You're still so young. I want you to live as long as you can, unlike the way I was never given the chance."

Taking a deep breath, Harley began, "Okay. I have decided that..."

-

boom!

another cliffhanger because i updated two days after sunday's update. and i thought you all deserved an update. so now we see michael appearing once more.

will he stay, or will he go?

who knows.

i haven't really decided yet. i mean, i like him in sydney. but my plans for him and hazel take place in other parts of the world. maybe i'll do a little bit of both. some travelling and then have them return to sydney again. its all uncertain as of now.

and then there's the deal with harley and jack.

do not fret, my darlings. i have not set jack up as a potential love interest for harley. meaning that yes, she will think she is in love with him. but no, he will not fall in love with her. unlike michael, he sees the fact that harley and hazel look a lot a like as more of a turn off. this is just for the sake of drama.

and then there's claire. she's got more appearances and a plot twist announcement that will change things for our characters. so stay tuned for all of that.

and thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and hugs after i felt bad that club america won the final. i kid you not, it was an emotional day for me. its not every day that my team's biggest rival takes the record from them. so as of now, club america is the most successful team in mexico, while my team has been relegated to the second most successful team. sad. i cried.

anyway, thank you for reading. a quick question of the day: i know i asked in man in the mirror, but since i have new readers, i want to know ^.^ where are you from? i am american and proud. but i am also mexican through my parents. and i love both countries. mhm. i'd like to hear from you.

i love you. enjoy the chapter!

-clary xx