Predator l 25

April froze in her seat. She was unable to move. She couldn't breath. As much as her lungs were aching for oxygen, she was unable to do so as the fear was choking her. She was already familiar with this feeling. Her mind was back at her first night in Rosewood. This situation wasn't all too different.

April hated being afraid, but she couldn't stop the tremor of dread sliding through her.

The sight in front of her was terrifying. Lycans were, compared to the turned ones during a full moon, nothing but harmless puppies.

The beast stood on it's legs, it's arms barely hanging above the muddy ground. Claws and canines longer than the fingers on her hand were covered in blood. April was sure she would faint any moment. The creature's yellow glowing eyes were solely focused on April's trembling frame, with a gaze she recognized as hunger.

A long reddish tongue darted out behind the rows of terrifying canines, catching the droplets of it's victims blood. Had the Lycan been in human form, she was sure she would have been greeted with a sadistic smile playing over blood tainted lips.

April changed her mind. This wasn't like the first time she'd seen a Lycan, or when she was attacked by one- this was much, much worse.

Another turned Lycan emerged from behind the trees. Her eyes frantically darted between the two Lycans, not quite believing her eyes.

"I will distract them. You will drive away," Nikolaj spoke roughly.

It sounded like a simple but yet clever idea, if April could only move her body or process the meaning of his words in her mind. Her brain was numb. Nikolaj's words met nothing but deaf eyes.

"April," he called her, trying to gain her attention. She realized that this was the first time he addressed her by her name. On any other night, during another occasion, she would have shuddered in delight hearing him uttering her name in a voice wrapped in thick Russian accent.

But this wasn't a different night, or a different place, as much as she wished to be away from this madness. They were in Rosewood, during a full moon with two deadly and obviously hungry Lycans in front of them. Possibly even seconds away from being shred into thousand pieces by those razor-sharp claws and teeth.

April craned her neck to the right, only realizing now that he had spoken her name. Nikolaj, however, wasn't even looking at her. His gaze was focused on the two Lycans on the street.

His breathing was harsh and April almost thought he would snap every second if someone or something would make a wrong move. The way he had his teeth gritted looked deadly and even painful. She had never seen him this angry. She never had seen anyone this angry and most of all had she never seen him showing his emotions so obvious like right now.

"Look at me!" He ordered in a harsh tone. April was slightly startled by his harsh voice and flinched. His usual green eyes changed into a glowing yellow color, his pupils turning into inhuman looking slits. "You will leave, do you understand?"

Not trusting the words coming out of her mouth, she gave him a simple nod. Nikolaj pushed the door of the car open and jumped out. Within seconds, he turned into his Lycan form. His clothes were shredded and the remains of his jeans and shirt fell to the muddy ground.

Nikolaj's bear sized Lycan form looked terrifying and if she hadn't had a great amount of trust in him, he would have been enough to scare the shiît out of her. April forgot how huge he actually was, but even now he could stand no chance against the two turned Lycans.

They were larger than him and he was outnumbered. But he didn't seem to care as he lunged forward to sink his teeth into the flesh of the Lycan.

April felt helpless. Since the day she'd been in this town, she felt helpless and weak. Nikolaj told her to leave, but she couldn't. She would never forgive herself if something would happen to him. The thought alone was more frightening than the thought of something happening to her.

She pulled the glove compartment open, faintly remembering that she'd seen a gun in there the first time she had used Eric's car. Relief washed through her when the gun was still there between sheets of papers and other stuff.

April was hesitant when she reached out for the weapon, but knowing that she didn't have time she decided to grab the gun quickly.

The gun felt cold against her skin and was heavier than expected. Not even once had she touched, or even seen, a gun in her life and now she was just seconds away from aiming it at the Lycans head to shoot its brains out.

April kicked the door open to get out of the car. Nikolaj barely managed to keep the two Lycans away from her. In the midst of the fight they even forgot her presence.

Nikolaj had sunk his teeth into the neck of one of them. The Lycan trashed and growled, trying to make Nikolaj lose his hold in its neck. It didn't work, he had his teeth still deep into its flesh, but he was too busy to notice the other Lycan behind him. When he did, it was already to late.

The Lycan bit into Nikolaj's leg. He growled and trembled in pain, releasing the Lycan from the grip between his teeth. Nikolaj tried to free his leg, but it was useless.

April raised the gun, aiming it at the Lycan that bit into Nikolaj's leg. Her heart was beating against her chest so painfully, she felt dizzy and uneasy.

She pulled the trigger and jerked back. The sound made them becoming aware of April's presence again. Nikolaj watched her with dangerous eyes, no doubt thinking that she had finally lost her mind.

The bullet missed the Lycan. She didn't even shoot the bullet anywhere near her aim. April shot again, once, twice, thrice- until she lost to count. The gunshots were numbing her ears and she wasn't so sure anymore if she was still shooting or not.

With the last shoot she shot the Lycan into its leg. It stumbled over his own feet, crushing down with a loud thumb. Within seconds it was on its feet again, but Nikolaj was quicker. Once he was finished with the other Lycan, he lunged at the other and caused a bloody mess.

Blood splattered everywhere, it was a horrifying sight. April felt like fainting, she barely could stay on her own feet. She let the gun falling out of her grip, like it was poison and burning her skin. Dizziness overwhelmed her and she would have almost slumped down if Nikolaj hadn't caught her.

April didn't even notice that he had already shifted back to his human form, nor did she realize that it was raining. They were drenched with rain.

"Can you walk?" He murmured into her ear.

When she didn't answer, he wrapped her arm around his shoulder and walked her to the car, situation her on the passenger seat. April tried not to look at him, aware of the fact that he was naked from head to toe.

Nikolaj went to the trunk and pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts. When he took the seat next to her, he was already dressed. He threw the gun back into the glove compartment.

"Are you okay?"

"No," she croaked. There was no point to lie, he would notice it. How could she be fine after witnessing something like that?

She could still feel the gun pressed in her hand and the pressure that came along with every shoot she fired. The gunshots were still echoing in her ears like a painful reminder of what happened just a minute ago. Even her arms were aching.

April didn't know where Nikolaj was driving them and she didn't bother to ask him. Only after a couple of minutes, when she recognized the road and the creepy area, that she knew where he was driving them: To his cottage. Her thoughts were confirmed once Nikolaj pulled over to the cottage.

They walked in silence to his place. The familiar wooden smell hit her nose. She could also smell the faint smell of the blood that covered Nikolaj's chest and she wasn't sure if it was his blood or not.

April was thankful when Nikolaj lit the fireplace. She was shivering since it was cold inside the cottage and her clothes were still drenched. Feeling tired and drained of energy, she sat down on the couch to rest.

She lifted her eyes when she felt a towel being placed on her head. Nikolaj was drying her hair and watching her with worried eyes.

"You should change your clothes," he spoke and handed her a oversized shirt and shorts. He pointed towards a wooden door, which probably was the bathroom.

April changed into the clothes he gave her. The shirt smelled just like him and a bit of wood. Exciting the bathroom, she saw Nikolaj sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. He must have pushed it to the other side of the cottage when she was changing her clothes in the bathroom.

She sat next to him, warming herself up. Nikolaj placed a blanket over her shoulders and handed her a mug filled with tea, softly smiling down at her.

"Thanks," she whispered and returned the smile before taking small sips from her tea. Sitting next to him felt so normal. It was as if everything did never happen. She wondered why she was so calm about it.

"Were the bullets filled with some kind of poison, like wolfsbane?" She asked. It was one of the few things she knew about the whole werewolf mythology.

Nikolaj chuckled. It was the first time she heard him laughing. Though it was quite a faint laugh, she enjoyed the sound of it. "No. Wolfsbane does not harm us."

"Oh." Then she was simply lucky that she wasn't alive and unharmed. The bullet wouldn't have killed it. It only distracted it, giving Nikolaj the time to kìll both of them.

A distant howl erupted and April flinched together, looking up at Nikolaj with questioning eyes and a worried expression.

"Don't worry, it's just Shawn."

He tried to soothe her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The gesture surprised her, but she slowly leaned herself on him, amazed by the fact that he was so warm despite the low temperatures and wearing a thin shirt.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"No." Her stomach couldn't handle food right now. Eating was the last thing on her mind and she couldn't even gulp down the tea Nikolaj made her. She was worried and confused about so many things, one of them being her brother. She couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Do you think my brother is fine?"

He nodded. Nikolaj didn't look surprised by her question. "He is. Your brother handles it well."

"I don't understand why he even chose to live like that," she muttered in response, not aware that she had spoken her thoughts out loud.

"Life is of great value. He had to choose between death. Being turned was the better option."

"That's stupid," she muttered angrily. "It doesn't even make sense to me. Eric told me that the Lycan turned him because it would be foolish to let a human live and trust him with this kind of secret. What makes him more trustable when being a turned Lycan? I don't get it."

"He told you the truth," Nikolaj confirmed. "As a Lycan, he can't betray him without revealing himself. A full-blood Lycan doesn't turn humans who are not trustable, foolish or greedy for power. Your brother was neither of those. He was turned not because he was begging, but because he was willing."

His explanation still confused the hell out of her. Maybe, she was just not ready to accept that her brother is no longer human.

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Just a bit longer than the last chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!