CHAPTER 6 || Rogue

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"You don't have to come with me," I told Luke as we walked through the downtown traffic. I had to speak considerably loudly since rush hour created a constant buzz of noise: tires were screeching, angry drivers were honking, and pedestrians were filling the air with their endless chatter. Luke didn't seem very affected by the noise, though – he'd already explained to me that his vampire abilities made it easier to filter out the noise and focus solely on my voice.

"I need to get something from the mall," he replied, staring straight ahead. Throughout the walk he had avoided my eyes like it was taboo. I didn't dwell on that too much – I could tell that Luke's short lack of control had really troubled him. "Besides, those guys might be coming after you again. It's safer if I stay with you."

As soon as he said those words, I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth in aggravation. I had a powerful dislike towards being a damsel in distress. I've always like the idea of crushing stereotypes – all the reason why I'd mastered the art of karate at the ripe age of ten. I'd also taken up a membership at a nearby gym for a few months before realizing that working out wasn't for me (my arms were too flimsy to lift weights, and I ran out of breath as soon as I stepped onto a treadmill). All I've ever wanted was to be able to actually defend myself – instead of succumbing to the stereotype that claimed that women needed 'protection' from males – and to see the look on my attacker's face when he realized that I had the upper hand in a fight.

However, it seemed that crushing stereotypes wasn't for me, either, because I turned out to be just another girl with a scrawny build, bony limbs and an awkward smile.

Sure, I could somewhat defend myself, but to really excel at martial arts, you need strength, and that I didn't have.

Oh the sorrow.

I had to admit that Luke was right. If it weren't for him, I'd be in serious trouble, and this particular kind of trouble involved vampires, blood sucking, and [possible] imminent death. Besides, it wouldn't be too bad to have him join Beatrix and me.

We crossed the street, the shopping centre coming into view amidst the surrounding skyscrapers which loomed over the network of intertwining roads and cast dramatic shadows over the everyday citizens making their way to and from the workplace. The mall was of small size, with a single floor and a cramped parking lot.

Luke led me towards the entrance of the mall, acting more and more like a bodyguard – his hand rested on the small of my back as he steered me towards the building. The heated air of the centre was quickly warming me up (it had gotten chilly outside, the winds growing stronger and the sunlight gradually receding).

"There she is," I exclaimed once I spotted a familiar dark-haired girl leaning against the wall, cellphone in hand. "Beatrix!" I called out.

Her kohl-rimmed eyes widened when she saw us. "Where have you been? I sent you, like, hundreds of messages!" She placed her hands on her hips as she chided me.

I checked my phone to find that she was correct – she had sent me plenty of texts, but she was exaggerating by saying 'hundreds'. There were precisely twenty-seven unread messages from Beatrix. "I'm sorry, some crazy stuff happened on my way here."

I told her about the vampire attack and how Luke came to my rescue, but left out the part where he lost control. Beatrix scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Nice timing, Carlyle. What were you even doing there?"

"I was at Ardor," he answered, referring to the famous bar and nightclub located about a block away from where I'd been attacked. "I heard commotion, so I left and followed the noise."

I imagined it would be difficult to have super-hearing, especially since assaults aren't all that rare in the Blackwater District. It would suck to always be hearing these kinds of things.

"You? At a club?" Beatrix snorted. "I never would have pictured you there."

Luke shrugged. "Yeah well, I've changed."

As we started walking towards one of the stores, Beatrix suddenly straightened and wrapped her hand around my wrist. "I've got to go to the washroom. Elora, you need to go too, right?" She sent me a meaningful look.

"Uh–y-yeah, I totally need to go," I stammered as Beatrix dragged me away, despite the fact that my bladder was completely empty.

She pulled me into an empty stall and started talking in a low voice. "Elora, did something happen when Luke rescued you?" When I shook my head in denial, she pointed to the bruises on my neck in the shape of fingers, indicating strangulation. "Then what does that mean?"

"The vampires did that," I defended. "When they assaulted me."

She seemed skeptical. "El, I'm not an idiot. I've known Luke since forever, and I know that he's been struggling with keeping his vampire powers under control. It's been getting worse, and now just the sight of human blood can drive him crazy. When he gets into his fighting mode, it's hard for him to get out of it. I've witnessed this firsthand, and all I can tell you is that Luke may never intentionally harm you, but there's no telling what he can do when he loses sight of right and wrong."

"I–" I swallowed nervously. "I don't think he would hurt me. He snapped out of it before he could do any damage to me. I trust him, Beatrix."

Beatrix levelled her dark gaze with mine, her eyebrow piercing glinting against the harsh lighting of the public restroom. "I know you do," she replied slowly, her eyes flitting around the stall, as though she thought someone was going to jump at us. She seemed almost paranoid. "But I'm not sure if he trusts himself."

Before I could ask any more questions, she yanked me out of the stall and started talking excitedly, as if the previous conversation had never happened. "And he told me that he doesn't kiss redheads! Isn't that crazy?" Her abrupt exclamation received quite a number of curious stares. "What a moron... I'd already told him so many times that my hair is dyed!"

I nodded along to her words, pretending like everything was cool and I knew what she was talking about. We exited the washroom and headed back to where Luke was waiting impatiently for us. A sultry brunette was clinging onto his arm, desperately trying to get his attention while the vampire ignored everything that came out of her red-painted lips, seeming irritated beyond words.

As we approached him, Luke loudly proclaimed, "Would you look at that! My girlfriend is back. Sorry, but I need to go, Kristy." He then proceeded to sling his arm around my shoulders and pull me closer.

The poor girl was shocked, her mouth agape with incredulity. "G-girlfriend?"

I almost cringed – the secondhand embarrassment was real.

"Yep. Let's go to that store over there," he declared, seeming beyond relieved as he steered us towards a nearby Forever 21. "Catch you later, Kristy!"

"It's Katie!" The girl yelled back before clenching her fists and storming away.

After this, Luke spent the rest of our shopping session on his phone. He only purchased a few essential things: food (mainly Nutella and some crackers), a lightbulb with an instructions manual, and a brand name T-shirt. He also bought himself one of those professional cameras with the adjustable lens and expansions. When I asked him about it, he told me that he was interested in photography.

Beatrix, on the other hand, was crumbling under the weight of her gigantic shopping bags. She was carrying at least six bags filled to the rim with the newest edition of black jeans, gothic chokers, heavy metal band shirts, leather jackets and killer high heels. She'd also purchased dozens of new perfumes, and a limited edition contour kit from a makeup store.

As for me... well, since I wasn't really rich, I could only afford certain things, such as a pair of red Converse (they were 50% off, how could I not get them?), a band shirt (My Chemical Romance for the win), and a bottle of cheap perfume. I was careful not to spend too much of the money I'd earned from working at a retail store back in my hometown. I was planning on getting a new part-time job here in the Blackwater District, but I hadn't had the time to search for one – so, all of my pocket money was hard-earned, precious money.

No, my father and I were not particularly wealthy. If you're wondering how I had gotten accepted into Darcey Blackwater High – an expensive, highly rated school – it's because of two things: a scholarship and my ancestry. The school administration just couldn't wait to have a demigod in their classes, so they didn't think twice about accepting me.

Yay?

After a few more rounds of window-shopping, we settled down at a table in the food court. Luke said that he wasn't hungry, so he waited at the table while we bought our food. Beatrix had told me that the Japanese here was great, so I returned to our table with a plate full of fast food sushi.

"So, Luke," I started casually. "You in the mood to talk?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

I snickered, but held back an offensive remark. "Anyway, what's up with Beatrix and you?"

"We've met a few times, and we're not exactly fond of each other."

"I can see that," I said, laughing.

I was getting anxious to know what had happened after he'd attacked those vampires. He told me that he'd 'lost control', but what did that mean, exactly? Beatrix had warned me that this was not the first time it'd happened, and that I needed to be careful around him. After the fight, Luke had started acting distant and cold, as if his little 'episode' had brought back some unpleasant memories. Thankfully he seemed to have lightened up now, but curiosity was getting the best of me. I was eager to learn more about his and Beatrix's past – however, I could tell it was a touchy subject, and decided instead to keep quiet and converse about small, meaningless things.

Beatrix's spicy perfume enveloped our table as she plopped down into the seat beside me. A huge smile was on her face as she dug into her meal. "Okay, I know I said that sushi is the best," she told me as she eyed my Japanese meal, "but seriously El, you have got to try this fried chicken.

She passed me a chicken wing and in return I placed an avocado sushi in her plate. "Mm," I said after tasting the chicken. "This is good stuff."

Once we'd finished eating, Beatrix proceeded to tell me everything about the complex history between her and Luke, since the latter wasn't feeling too talkative at the moment. She told me about the first time they'd run into each other: Luke had recently ditched his clan – and gone rogue – and was unknowingly roaming the territories of the Bluefire pack, Beatrix's werewolf pack.

"I was thirteen," said Luke. "I didn't know shit about 'territory'."

"He was such a brat," continued Beatrix. "He actually tried to fight my pack. I'm telling you, something was really wrong inside this kid's head back then."

"I was lost, alright? I didn't know what to do."

"Challenging a pack of werewolves definitely wasn't the sensible choice."

"Shut up," he muttered, but I could see his cheeks growing pink.

"Anyway, my parents wouldn't let me participate in the battle, so after Luke got beaten up and thrown to the dungeons, he had the nerve to make fun of me."

I gasped dramatically. "You were a mean kid, Luke."

Apparently, there were many more run-ins between the werewolf and the vampire. Luke and Beatrix kept bumping into each other at the worst of times, like during an intense battle between two powerful packs, or a serious hunt for food. After Luke made peace with Beatrix's pack, he was allowed to stay in the surrounding areas of their territory. He made the best out of this arrangement by pranking the poor girl whenever he found the opportunity.

"You were so crude," said Beatrix. "This one time, you planted a dead body in my favourite tree," she continued. I'd heard about this 'favourite tree' before – she used to love climbing it as a child because of its big, winding branches. It was her special spot to relax or to think. "Of all trees, you just had to pick that one."

"At least I didn't kill the body," argued Luke. "Besides, you were so annoying. You acted like a fucking princess!"

It seemed like Luke and Beatrix used to have a friendly kind of hate. You know, the type of hate you'd see in common teen fiction books – the one which includes prank wars, diss competitions and playful punches here and there. However, when I asked them about this, Beatrix's mournful face hinted that something much darker happened between the two of them.

"At first, it was friendly," she said softly. "Granted, he was a total jackass, but I could handle him. As we grew older, though, this guy over here became cold and bitter. His pranks started getting cruel." Luke glanced away, something almost regretful flashing behind his electric eyes.

"I didn't mean to do it," said Luke, and his voice was surprisingly soft.

"He's dead, Luke. It doesn't matter if you meant to do it or not."

By now, my eyes were wide as they kept stealing short glimpses of Beatrix's sad but steely gaze, to Luke's guilt-ridden, ashen face. "It was an accident," the words slipped from his mouth. I could swear my heart was splitting into smithereens as I witnessed this nostalgic exchange between the werewolf and the vampire. What hurt the most was hearing Luke's voice crack at the end of his sentence. I used to think he was a scary person, but now he only seemed... sad.

I was burning with curiosity. I wanted nothing more than to know what had happened between them, what was this 'accident' they spoke of, yet I refrained from asking. Extreme curiosity and nosiness have always been one of my fatal flaws, but they came along with a single quality: patience. I was willing to give them the space they both needed, even if it meant that I might never know what they were talking about. And to me, the possibility of never finding out was something that I dreaded.

I could tell this was a touchy subject. From what I'd heard so far, it involved the death of someone whom Beatrix cared for – and for some reason, it was Luke's fault.

"The past is in the past, right?" I said, trying my hardest to sound cheerful. I was aware of how cheesy and utterly cringe-worthy the phrase sounded, but it was the best I could do at the moment.

Beatrix's eyes met mine, and her face lit up with a smile, albeit a fake one. "Right," she said lightheartedly, a familiar grin gracing her features. It was unnerving to realize that the smile I'd grown accustomed to during my first day at Blackwater may have been an artificial one for the entirety of the time I'd known her. It did, however, make me feel a new sense of respect towards my friend – if she could change personalities so easily, and mask away her sadness like it was nothing, it was proof that Beatrix was strong in more ways than one.

I cleared my throat and smiled. "Since you guys have told me all these hilarious tales, I believe it's my turn to share something," I announced.

"Go on, then," said Luke, and for once he seemed almost interested in the conversation. "Tell us about your past."

"My past isn't that exciting," I warned them.

"You lived a human life before coming here," said Beatrix. "Tell us about it. It'll be nice to know a little more about the mundane culture." I laughed at her use of the expression 'mundane culture'. To them, humans were like extraterrestrial beings, whereas for me, it was just life.

"Well, I live – I mean, I lived in a small area seemingly in the middle of nowhere," I started. "My dad has this tiny house buried deep inside the Forest of Kyzo—"

"The Forest of Kyzo?" Exclaimed Beatrix in awe. "Luke, isn't that right next to the Crying Caves?"

"The Crying Caves?" I repeated, frowning at the foreign name. "Never heard of it."

"It's a group of caves said to be haunted by the spirits of sirens," explained Luke. "Have you ever heard any strange singing or whispering at home?"

His words brought back a flurry of memories from the past. Moments flashed before my eyes, displaying the quiet nights I've slept in which the haunting songs of sirens would lull me to sleep as all creatures of the night were silenced by their ghostly cries. My dad would tell me it was mermaids, and while I didn't really believe him, I knew without a doubt that the singing was something otherworldly.

Every night, the sweetest lullaby would echo throughout the woods. In the beginning, the slightly creepy melody would prevent me from getting any shuteye, but I soon got used to it and started appreciating the music.

"Yes," I said at last. "I didn't know about the supernatural world, but it wasn't hard for me to believe in magic. I knew for certain that strange things existed near my home."

"Of course strange things exist there, El," said Beatrix. "The Forest of Kyzo is infested with supernatural creatures, dominated mostly by fairies, dryads and spirits, including the occasional pixy or shapeshifter."

"A long time ago, the Crying Caves were home to some of the deadliest sirens in the world," she continued. "Their song would lure sailors to their demise, until the Council of Above intervened. The sirens were slain by the angels, but their souls remained anchored to their eternal home."

"Your father chose a good place to settle," added Luke, regarding me with the slightest smile pulling at his lips. "The Forest of Kyzo contains only harmless creatures, and since the deaths of the sirens, their song's power has faded."

"It's a protected territory," explained Beatrix. "Werewolves, vampires, demons, and other species are banned from ever stepping foot in those woods."

"Wow." I was in awe at all this information they'd been feeding me. "I never knew it was so... magical."

"Anyway, do continue telling us the thrilling tales of your past." Beatrix flashed a grin. "Sorry to have interrupted you – you may resume."

I smiled. "I have two pets. My dog's name is Peter and my cat is called Parker."

"Spider-Man!" Exclaimed Luke all of a sudden. I watched his reaction in amusement, adoring the way his cheeks were tinted pink with embarrassment. He noticed my stare and calmed down, the excitement seeping away. "I-uh, I love the movies," he mumbled, looking down. I couldn't help but smile at this.

"Which version?" I asked.

"All of them."

I grinned. "Well, now we have something in common. Spider-Man kicks ass," I said happily. Luke had a timid smile on his face, and although he didn't say anything more, I couldn't stop myself from thinking... well, from thinking that he looked cute.

"What kind of dog?" Asked Beatrix. When I told her that he was a German Shepherd, we engaged in a short discussion about dog breeds before moving on to Parker, my cat. "I personally love all kinds of cats," she told us cheerfully. "They're all such cuties, even those weird hairless ones!"

"Even the hairless ones," I agreed.

"Cats are evil."

Silence reigned over our table as Beatrix and I turned our heads towards Luke in synchronisation, mouths agape in astonishment.

"I am offended on behalf of my cat," I suddenly declared, a hand placed over my heart in mock offense.

"I am offended on behalf of Elora's cat." Beatrix copied my motion.

Luke rolled his eyes. "You guys are taking this way too seriously."

"I can't believe you don't like cats!" I shook my head in disbelief. To my side, Beatrix muttered something about idiots and hairballs under her breath, a disappointed look in her churning chocolate eyes.

Luke tried to seem annoyed, but he couldn't prevent the smile itching at his lips. Eventually he gave in, and a bright smile spread across his face, nearly knocking the breath out of me.

"A-anyway," I started, shaking away the whirlwind of feelings blossoming in my gut. "Now it's your turn, Luke. Tell us stories!"

He hesitated, and for a moment I feared he would reject the offer, as he would have done ordinarily. Instead, he surprised us all. "I had a sister," he began. "Her name was Camila. She was four years younger than me."

I noticed how he used the past tense.

"What was she like?" I asked softly.

"She was beautiful," he breathed, shutting his eyes like it was painful to talk about her. "Her hair was black, like mine, but her eyes were this stunning blend of dark blue and violet." He had clenched his fists, and his face had paled ever so slightly. "She was my half sister. Her father was a warlock who had been involved with my mother."

"Camila was precious to our clan," he told us. "She was family to all of us, and while she was the product of something shameful – affairs aren't taken lightly in our clan – everyone loved her. Her personality managed to make everyone disregard my mother's affair with her father."

"She had these extraordinary abilities that none of the other vampires had," he continued. "She was the complete opposite of me. She was calm and always had control over her powers, while I was out of control and always ended up hurting people."

He laughed bitterly. "I could never resent her, though. I tried to protect her but she was already independent even at a young age. She didn't need her older brother – she could take care of herself." The ghost of a smile appeared on Luke's lips.

"What were her abilities?" Beatrix asked.

"I can't explain it," answered Luke. "She had a wide range of powers. However, I can say for certain that she used them to help people. If I got in trouble – which, believe me, happened quite often – she'd cast a glamour spell over us both and we'd run away from punishment. If I ever got too agitated or angered, she had this amazing power to calm everyone down. Sometimes my father got angry at me and broke things, but Camila was always there to fix them."

"She sounds amazing," I said honestly.

"She was."

After this, Luke didn't want to talk anymore. It was clear that thinking about his sister brought back painful memories, and I didn't want him to suffer any longer, so I steered the conversation away into a subject much lighter and funnier than the previous one.

When we saw that it was getting late, we went our separate ways home. Beatrix had gotten here with her car – a sleek black BMW – and she offered to drive us back to school.

Luke was walking me to my dorm when I finally gathered the courage to ask him the question that had been furiously nagging at me for quite some time. "Luke, what happened to your sister?"

His light blue eyes darkened significantly. Grief momentarily flashed behind his eyes. "I left," he said. "I was thirteen when I abandoned my clan. Camila didn't want to come with me, so I left her behind."

We had now arrived at the room. Luke leaned against the doorpost as I fidgeted uncomfortably under his icy gaze. "Why... why did you leave?"

"I was unwanted."

"Have you ever thought about going back?" I asked. "Seeing your sister again?"

He shook his head. "I can't ever go back, not now. Besides," he continued. "My sister is dead to me."

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[A/N] To the people who've read this far: THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope you're enjoying the story so far :)

*silence*

...

RAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRR!!!

THIS SONG IS SO GOOD (Perfect Weapon  by Black Veil Brides) 😍 Are there any BVB Army readers here?

Ooookay, fangirling time is over. See you next chapter!

- Eva