The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 49

CAULDER

I met Blade in the designated meetup spot outside of pack territory. Even though I couldn't see him, he was already there when I arrived. I could feel his presence and smell his scent, and then there was a slight shift in the air when he moved towards me. Anyone not looking for it wouldn't have noticed the difference. Vampires must have been known for their stealth. "Are you ready?" Blade asked, stopping a few feet in front of me.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go to the pack house." Harper and I had discussed it, and with my mother being aware of a stranger's presence in the pack, the chances of Blade being caught significantly increased. I was sure she had put the warriors on high alert for a strange presence. We still made the preparations because I had a feeling Blade would insist on doing it anyway. Blade's body tensed as he looked at me. "You're going back on your word?"

"No," I quickly said. "But people saw you during the attack. People don't know who you are yet, but they have their suspicions. Everyone is on high alert, and it's going to be more dangerous to take you to the pack house."

"I don't care." Blade looked me straight in the eyes. "I want to see Remy."

I tossed a bag at Blade, and he easily caught it. "I had a feeling you would say that. Put those on."

He opened the bag and started pulling out articles of clothing. "What is this?"

"My dirty laundry. We need to mask your scent as much as possible. If anyone picks up a strange scent, it's over. My cologne is also in there. Put it on." I turned away as Blade began following my directions.

"I didn't realize werewolves could smell so bad," Blade said, picking at my shirt. He kept pulling at his new clothes and frowned.

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. "Do you really want to be insulting me right now?"

Blade stopped picking at the clothes. "I'm not insulting you. I'm just stating a fact."

"It's not like vampires smell much better. Come on. We can't waste any more time."

As I started to walk away, Blade said, "Wait. How are we going to do this without anyone seeing me?"

"Harper is standing guard for us. She's going to link me when the coast is clear, and then I'm going to get you into the room. We need to make it quick, so your scent doesn't linger in the room. Then I'll get you out the same way," I explained. "Harper? That's yours and Remy's friend, right? The one who pulled me away during that creature's attack?" Blade asked.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. And she can be trusted."

Before Blade could ask anymore questions, I guided him back onto our territory. The patrol had doubled since the attack, which made our timing essential for getting through. Luckily, speed wasn't an issue for Blade, and he followed me closely. When we neared the pack house, we waited on the other side of the street in the bushes for the okay. Neither of us spoke, knowing we couldn't draw any unnecessary attention to us.

"We're here," I linked Harper.

It took her a moment to respond, and I kept my breath as silent as possible, worried someone would hear us in the bushes. "There's nobody here. Hurry," Harper said.

I gave Blade the okay symbol and then led him across the street. When we were directly outside of the building, I grabbed Blade's arm and took a deep breath. I focused my energy and shifted us directly into the room with Remy. The moment we appeared in the new room, Blade quickly stumbled back, his eyes going wide.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded, looking around.

Remy must not have told him that we could use magic, which was a little surprising. I would have expected her to tell this guy everything. "I shifted you into this room," I said simply, keeping my voice down.

Blade looked around, and he looked a little queasy. Those who weren't used to shifting often got a little nauseous. "I thought shifting for werewolves meant changing forms. Since when can they teleport?" "Werewolves can't teleport," I confirmed. "Sorcerers can though."

This only seemed to confuse Blade even more. "I've seen you transform into a wolf. I know you're a werewolf."

Mixed bloods weren't very common from what I was told. Before my mother, no one in our pack or the packs around us had even heard of werewolves and sorcerers mingling before, let alone having a baby together. It was common knowledge in our pack, especially with Remy and myself, but it still wasn't common. Outside of our family, I didn't know anyone who had mixed blood.

It must have been just as uncommon for vampires as well.

"You're right, but the short explanation is I have the DNA of both a sorcerer and a werewolf. I could go into more detail, but we don't have a lot of time before I have to get you out of here. I suggest you spend that time with Remy."

Blade's demeanor shifted, and he gave me a slight nod. He moved over to Remy's side, and Harper approached me at the same time. She had been standing by the doorway, waiting for us. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into me while we watched Blade approach Remy.

His movements were slower than I had anticipated, as if it was harder to see her in this condition than he had expected. He sat in the chair next to the bed and grabbed Remy's hand. With his other hand, he brushed some of the hair out of her face. "I'm sorry I didn't stay with you. I shouldn't have left your side," he said. I wondered if he would ever forgive himself for leaving.

Harper looked up at me, and her eyes were bright. This was the first time she had seen Blade without chaos surrounding her.

"I need you to wake up, okay?" Blade continued. "I haven't known you for long, but I'm not ready to lose you yet. There is still too much I don't know about you, and I want to know everything. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you better, so wake up soon."

He watched her face, waiting for a response, but the response wasn't coming. I felt on edge, hoping Blade would somehow reach her. I expected Remy to open her eyes and smile when she saw his face, but the longer I watched her, the more still she seemed. Harper squeezed my arm and rested her head against me. I could feel her energy buzzing, and I knew she was hoping Remy would wake up at any moment, just like the rest of us.

The only sound in the room was the beeping of the heart monitor, and there was something about it that made the room feel grim. Remy was going to be okay. Her body was healing. She should wake up soon. She had to wake up soon. "We're running out of time," Harper whispered. She was right, but I wanted to give Blade a few more moments.

We waited there for another moment in near silence, before Blade finally stood up. He leaned over and kissed Remy on the forehead. "I'm falling for you, so come back to me, okay?" He kissed her again, letting his lips linger on her forehead for a moment longer this time.

If Blade was putting on some big act to fool us, then he was without a doubt the best actor ever, because I was completely convinced. He was falling for Remy hard. I didn't know how the vampire mate system worked, or if they even had one. Either way, it was clear that Remy and Blade were destined for each other.

Wait...

My heart started pounding against my chest. I opened my mouth to speak, but then I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, heading right towards us. Harper and Blade both looked to me for our next steps. I had time to rush over to Blade and shift him out of the room, but his scent would still linger in the room, even if he was using my scent to mask his own. If I was here, it would hopefully calm any suspicion, since Blade couldn't get caught.

"Caulder," Harper pleaded in my head. We were out of time. I had wasted too much time with indecision.

Someone reached for the door handle, and my head snapped towards the door. It opened before I could react, and Mason poked his head through the door. I looked back to where Blade had been, panicking, but he wasn't there. I wanted to look around the room, but I didn't want to bring any suspicion to him. I just had to hope Blade was hiding in a good spot.

"Oh, Remy, Caulder. I didn't know you were in here," Mason said, entering the room completely. He shut the door behind him, and his body tensed. He took a deep breath and started to look around.

Harper threw her arms around Mason. "Dad." She squeezed him tightly, which seemed to pull his attention away from whatever he had noticed.