Predator | 19

April fluttered her eyes open when she heard a soft knock against her door. She stirred softly as she pushed herself up to lean on her elbows. Her body felt sore form the awkward position she felt asleep.

April couldn't remember when she drifted off nor what time it was and for how long she was asleep.

The door opened as Eric slowly stepped inside, letting soft and dim light falling into her room, momentarily blinding her.

"Sorry," Eric muttered when he noticed her sleepy face. His voice was soft and barely audible. "I didn't know you were sleeping."

"Don't worry. It's okay," April responded, rubbing her tired eyes as a tired yawn fell from her parted lips. Until know, she didn't realize that she didn't even change her clothes before she decided to lay on her bed. No wonder her body was hurting when she fell asleep with the uncomfortable clothes. "I need to eat something anyway." Just as she uttered those words, her stomach rumbled silently. Eric chuckled softly.

Her last meal was with Shawn and that was already hours ago. Eric nodded in response before leaving to the kitchen, gently closing the door to April's bedroom. After refreshing herself in the bathroom, she followed after him into the kitchen.

Once she situated herself on the chair, Eric shoved her a sandwich over the table.

"And?" Eric asked to break the silence. "How was the fight?" He questioned her, sounding very curious. He carefully watched her expression.

April swallowed the sandwich down. She was unsure how to respond. "It was quite... different from what I had expected," she struggled to say. Different was the best way she managed describe the fight.

"How so?" He quirked his eyebrows in a questioning way.

"I thought they would be tearing each others limbs apart," April said bluntly. This was the worst ending that played in her mind.

He looked oddly at her and laughed. "You always expect the worst."

She shook her head and continued to eat. Suddenly, she remembered her conversation with Shawn during the car drive. Sitting together with her brother felt different now that she knew what he truly was.

"I'm just relieved no one's got hurt too badly," she spoke with relief. Nikolaj's wounds were pretty bad, but at least she knew that none of the wounds could put him in serious danger. The same goes for Lorena. She seemed to be fit enough to boldly joke about her brother.

"Yeah, they never fight to the point where someone could die from the wounds. No one would watch or even participate if this was the case," Eric explained.

"Shawn told me the same." She nodded and took a bite from her sandwich. Eric was almost done with his and she feared he would leave once he finished the rest. This was the best opportunity to confront him about being a bitten one.

She just wasn't sure how to begin. It was not light topic to easy speak about, especially since Eric didn't know that she knew. She wondered when he was going to tell her.

Knowing him, it would't have been a surprise if he decided to keep it from her as long as possible. April poured herself a glass of water to get rid of the dryness of her throat, before deciding to speak.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her tone was as light as a whisper, but she was sure that he heard her loud and clear.

Eric furrowed his eyebrows together. April wasn't sure if he truly didn't know what she was talking about or if this was just a good act.

She sighed heavily. "Shawn told me," she admitted. "About you being a ... a bitten one," she said hoarsely. It was strange how unfamiliar her own voice sounded.

April watched his expression, but his face remained blank. A strained silence passed between them and she wondered if it was a mistake to ask him. Maybe, it was a very touchy and sore topic for him. Something, he didn't want to talk or even think about.

His blank expression finally cracked. Eric's face was now replaced by a tired look. He rubbed his face with both of his hands, eyes avoiding meeting hers for long seconds.

It looked as if he was struggling to find the right words. April didn't care what he was going to tell her, as long as it wouldn't be stupid excuses or even more stupid lies. What she wanted was the blunt and honest truth.

"It's not that easy, April," he finally said as he lifted he eyes and dared to look at her again. It was startling her how much sorrow his eyes held.

"When did it happen?" She asked him gently. "When were you bitten? Was it two years ago when you left us?" There were so many questions she wanted to ask.

Eric bobbed his head into a nod. "You are right. It was around the time when I left. A couple of months before, to be exact." He rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

"I was bitten in our town." He chuckled silently, but it was without any trace of humor. "You know, it rarely happens that a Lycan chooses a city life instead of living in a rural area. For a Lycan, a city life is pretty much comparable to living in a dog's crate. You have no place to shift. You are caged," was his explanation.

April tried to process the information. "So you mean a Lycan was living in our town?" It sounded unbelievable. It was a frightening thought to know that a Lycan lived in her city.

"Yes. He still does live there. God only knows how he manages to endure living there. The constant noises are unbearable, trust me. It's a wonder that he hasn't gone mad, yet," he wondered aloud and grinned slightly, as if he just cracked a funny joke.

"And who is he exactly?"

"Charles Archer. He donates great money to a few orphanages every now and then, but other than that his name is pretty unknown. To the humans, at least. To us, he is one of the few remaining full-breed Lycan's."

April first thought that it could be Viktor who had turned him. Knowing it was some other weird guy made her feel relieved.

"But I don't understand why he turned you. Did you ask him to do it?" The thought of her brother wanting something like this didn't sit well with her.

To her relief, he shortly shook his head. "No, I didn't want it. It was forced and didn't have a choice in this."

She didn't understand. "Why would he do that? It makes no sense to me," she interrupted before he could went on. There had to be a plausible explanation.

"That's were I was heading to, April. He was in an argument with a Lycan. I don't know who that other man was, but he lost his shït and tried to attack him. Do you realize how ridiculous this sound? An average Lycan trying to attack a full-breed. That fool was digging his own grave." Eric laughed silently when he remembered that night.

"Eric.. just tell me what happened," she gently demanded. He was tiptoeing around the answer.

He sighed heavily, the distress clear in his eyes. "I was there and watched it. You could say I was in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Charles of course sensed my presence the whole time but he was busy dealing with that man but once he was done with him, he found me hiding. I knew that he wanted kill me after I watched that scene, so I begged. I begged him to spare me and he did. So instead of killing me, he decided to turn me. He said that one dead body was already enough. It was that or letting him kill me, but death what not an option for me," he told her honestly. "I guess his reason to turn me was because a bitten Lycan is more trustworthy than a simple human," Eric reasoned.

For long moments, April sat silently across of him and stared blankly at her brother. The things she find out in Rosewood only got better and better. "You are so stupid!" April exclaimed angrily. A surprised expression flashed over Eric's features at April's sudden mood change. "Why didn't you just run away like every other normal human with a fine working brain? You could be a normal human right now!" She hysterically spoke.

"Sorry to tell you this, but after watching this freak scene I was in a state of shock," Eric defended himself. "And where was I supposed to run? I would have had no chance to run away. He knew my scent and he would have found me. A Lycan never lets the prey slip away."

"This is awful. Just awful," she muttered. Not only that her brother was not human anymore, but he also was going through all of this alone.

"It sounds worse than it is. I adapted pretty well to the new life." He grinned and looked proud.

"And you had the perfect excuse to leave town. Does mom and dad know?" April doubted that they knew. If she didn't know it then they sure as hell wouldn't either. But still, she couldn't help but ask.

Eric almost laughed. "Are you crazy? They are the last people I would tell. I told it to no one. You're the only human who does know it, now."

The only human, she thought about his choice of words. Her brother was no longer human. He was a bitten Lycan.

"Talking about our parents, I never really asked you how things were after I left." He leaned his chin on the palm of his hand as he slowly changed the subject.

After Eric left for Rosewood, he never asked her about their parents or anything that has to do with them. He just wanted to forget and start fresh in Rosewood.

And after learning what had happened to him two years ago she could understand that he didn't want to bother himself with their parents, since he already had enough problems already.

"Nothing changed, actually. They are still the same, though mom tries to spend more time with me and less time at work. I know that she's at least trying to keep us together as a family even though she has no clue how to do that," April told him.

"And dad?" Despite his attempt to cover his curiosity, April noticed it. Though Eric would never in thousand years admit it, he still was curious about them and she could understand that.

April drew in a shallow breath. "Well, dad is also pretty much the same person he was before you left. He and mom somehow accepted that I'm studying instead of planning to take over the family business, but on some days they still try to persuade me. And then there was the story with mom pushing me to marry Johnny. Well, you already know the whole story. They still can be very annoying," she explained. "Do you miss them?" April then asked.

Eric scoffed and looked away. His silence was enough of an answer for her, he did miss them.

"It's okay that you miss them. They are our parents after all," April said softly. He was still avoiding her gaze. Eric was hurt. She reached for his hand and squeezed it softly.

_________

Is this story too fast paced? I somehow have the feeling that I revealed too much in the last few chapters. This chapter may be a bit boring, but the next one will be about April and Nikolaj :))

And I have a new story called 'The Forgotten Wolves' check it out and tell me what you think! I need constructive criticism for my new story.

Thanks for reading!