In The End

by Artificial Destiny

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Thirteen

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Before she could process what he'd said, she heard him mutter under his breath, "No, not Jaime."

Eyra watched his arm flex as he ran a hand down his jaw line, rubbing contemplatively at the blonde stubble there. "Definitely not Jaime."

Confused and somewhat reluctant to meet his gaze, Eyra looked around the small, white bedroom instead. The room appeared to look like any other, but the more she studied it, the more convinced she was that something about it was seriously off. She couldn't grasp the difference, but somehow it bugged her, like it was glaringly obvious- only, she just couldn't see it.

He threw the bloody bandages into a small container that made a strange whirring sound before slowly making his way back to the bedroom. He put one hand in his jeans pocket and took his time, as if he were debating whether or not to continue.

Eyra watched his every move, noting with some respect that even having sustained such heavy injuries, he still moved with the smooth grace of a predator.

Her gaze drifted down his chest, tracing his body and hovering over his wounds, assessing the damage that she knew she'd somehow caused. They were healing fast- too fast.

"Like what you see?" He drawled as came to a stop beside her.

How'd he get here so fast? She wondered briefly, her eyes lingering on his skin.

"How'd you do that?"

He smirked, "you were too busy checking me out to notice."

"No," she started, "I meant your wounds. How are you healing so quickly?"

"Oh." He pointed to his chest, "Minor flesh wounds." His eyes were filled with confusion for a second when he added, "nothing modern medicine can't fix up."

Modern medicine? Eyra could still feel the dull ache on her shoulder from the other night. She thought about all the injuries she'd gotten over the years. She never put on any medication mainly because she hadn't known any existed.

"I've never seen anything like it." She said finally, trying unsuccessfully to keep the wonder from her voice.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"Really."

He turned his back on her to gaze out the window into the night. It would have been a stupid move if Eyra hadn't been both trapped and made quite harmless on the bed. His wide, unguarded back taunted her and she jerked at her restraints, annoyed.

She didn't blame him though, if it had been her, she would have done the same. She blamed herself for being so careless.

Look where that got me- stuck with a psychopath kidnapperapist.

She sighed out loud.

Nevertheless uncomfortable laying on the bed with him so close, she twisting herself so she fell and crouched on the floor instead. At her sudden movement, he turned back and cocked his head slightly, a small grin playing with his features.

He shook his head slightly and jumped lightly onto the bed. He rolled to a stop on his stomach and lowered his head to his folded arms so that he was eye level with her.

His tone was playful but he kept his gaze steady and his words serious, "Eyra, I might have to agree with you on the crazy part but I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't keep you here against your will."

She raised her brows and glanced at her handcuffs. Really now.

He didn't miss a beat.

"That's for my protection." He said wryly, "I want us to have an understanding without, "he eased himself up onto his elbows and began ticking numbers off his fingers, "you running away, you passing out, or me getting hurt somehow."

At her blank stare, he continued. "Before we go on though, I'd like to clear up a misunderstanding. I did not know the children were in your care. Had I known that… well, I guess I'm still obligated to alert the Society, but I might've let you know beforehand."

He shrugged, "They're in good hands."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Whatever you handed them to did not have good hands." She snapped at him, daring him to contradict her.

He frowned, not completely understanding her, but assured her, "Chris has their best interests in mind."

"But-"

He interrupted, placing one large hand lightly on her wrist.

"There's someone I need to find."

"There are two someones I need to find." She retorted, trying to ignore the distracting warmth that seeped into her pale cold skin.

"No, you don't understand," he started, stress gripping his deep voice, "There are people searching for her- who've been searching for decades."

Seeing her apathetic gaze, he continued, "She's a kind of legend among our people. But most people want her dead. And even the ones that don't pretend that they do so they won't be targeted as anti-revolutionaries."

At his words, Eyra shivered subconsciously, not knowing why they affected her so much. She didn't like the way his gaze was pointed, and almost accusatory- as if he expected her to understand something crucial.

She shifted her gaze down, looking anywhere but his capturing gaze, trying to escape the warmth that radiated off his body and the self evident power that rolled off him and lapped around her consciousness, testing her.

"Why do I care about your people?" She demanded, regretting the callous words even as they spilled out of her mouth.

But at the same time, she really didn't want to know how she was tangled in this girl's mess. All she wanted was to find out where Angela and David were taken, and get the hell out of here.

"They're your people too."

Her eyes snapped back to his and for a moment, he saw the innocent vulnerability in them before she closed him off again.

He softened his features and when he spoke his voice was gentle, as if he were speaking to a child- or a cornered animal.

"For some reason I cannot comprehend, you've been closed off from our world." He paused as he brushed his thumb over her pulse absentmindedly.

"It almost seems like you've been away for decades."

Eyra tensed. This was not going where she'd expected.

"Despite what you may think," she started slowly, choosing her words with care, but he brushed a finger gently over her lips, cutting her off.

"I don't think," he said, eyes boring deeply into hers, "I know."

He eased back a bit, pulling away from her, and Eyra let out a shaky breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

Still wary he'd try to convince her otherwise, she was surprised when he changed the subject. "I guess you don't know what the Society is either."

Eyra shook her head cautiously.

He breathed out, "I'm not sure how to start- it's so complicated." He smiled down at her.

"As you may or may not have noticed, our kind is possessed by dual souls."

Eyra nodded, encouraging him. This topic was safer. Definitely better than persuading him she wasn't who he was searching for.

"That's what bit me, in case you aren't aware- your wolf, I mean." He said with a small chuckle. "Quite the feisty one huh."

Eyra was taken aback, she had so many questions, "My what? I did that?"

"Oh yeah," he drawled out slowly. "Usually we have a sort of agreement with our other halves. You..." he trailed off.

"Let's just say that you don't exactly have two souls inside you anymore.

She pursed her lips. "Is that a bad?"

"I'm not sure." He replied, picking at the bed sheet. "To be honest, I don't really know what's going on with you."

He exhaled, "I wish I knew."

Me too. She thought.

He laughed to himself, "But we do know your wolf is still there right? She bit me."

"I didn't mean it," she said defensively, "It just happened."

He clucked her chin playfully. "But then again, you probably did mean it."

Eyra snapped at his fingers, but her teeth clicked on empty air.

She frowned,

"Tell me more," she demanded, moving closer to him.

But he didn't respond. He tensed and shut his eyes briefly.

When they opened again, the playful light had disappeared.

"There are many things you still don't remember," he said quietly. "But we'll have to continue this another time."

His gentle caress on her wrist stopped and he answered her questioning eyes.

"Looks like we've got company." He stated gruffly and rolled off the bed and over Eyra, shielding her body as the window behind them suddenly burst into flying shards of glass and a figure broke through.

For a split second, Eyra couldn't see or move under his large body. But suddenly, he was off her, and she felt him take the handcuffs off her as well.

"Eyra, stay behind me." Ryan ordered her in a low voice. "And if anything happens, run."

She glanced at the intruder sharply, assessing the situation and gasped.

Alex had broken in, but as she expected, his inexperience had left him slightly dazed at the impact. Ryan towered protectively over her, a terrifying growl tearing from his chest. His mane had grown, as had several glistening claws. His face was in a startling transition between man and lion. And as he pulled back his lips and snarled, his canines glinted threateningly in the dark. Any gentleness he had shown her earlier had disappeared, replaced by the feral demon that stood over her.

Alex wasn't much better. Though he was smaller, his eyes had blackened and his aura was equally as threatening as he pulled on the desperation that fueled him.

Even more frightening than the two figures were their surroundings. They seemed oblivious to it, but Eyra watched with a horrified fascination as the air itself seemed to be alive and battling against something. It darkened and seemed to swirl and surge like a whirlpool against an invisible barrier at the exact point where the window had broken.

As Eyra watched, the wind twisted and drew itself into turgid forms. But no matter what, it could not enter the room. Slowly, discouraged, the winds ebbed and began to melt back into the night.

Eyra shook herself and quickly pulled herself up and jumped between the two men, moving in a flurry of defensive strikes. She grabbed a bleeding fist, found it to belong to Alex, twisted it behind his back, ignored his indignant protests and pulled him away from Ryan.

"Stop." She said in her soft, cold voice.

Ryan stepped closer with an outstretched arm, trying to draw her back behind him.

She shied from his grasp.

"Stop it." She said again, "He means you no harm." She released Alex and looked from one to the other, her blood red eyes glittered frighteningly in the dark.

The wind whipped around them from the open window, and in the moonlight, Eyra finally realized what had been bothering her about the room. The walls were perfect and white, made from a material she had never seen and had never expected to see in what appeared to be a crumbling apartment complex. She scanned the room. Everything in it suddenly seemed so strange and so advanced.

It's almost as if he's… she shook the thought from her head.

Impossible.

Alex tugged at her sleeve. They'd both calmed down visibly, but they still stood closely, threateningly.

"Come on Eyra," he growled out. "He's not the one we're after."

She glanced up at him noting his split lip and bruised cheek. "You've got a lead?" she asked.

He spoke to her but kept his eyes glued on Ryan. Eyra felt his fingers tremble at her side- whether from fear or anger she didn't know.

Ryan had promised he wouldn't hurt her. But he hadn't guaranteed much else.

She had to get Alex out of here before he got seriously injured.

So she put him firmly behind her and backed out from the strange room.

As she stepped through the barrier of the window and reentered the old familiarity of the city, she felt a forceful pulling sensation as the city reclaimed her. A wind knocked into her, sucking the breath out of her and she staggered, leaning against the broken glass.

She glanced back over her shoulder, only to find that the strangely sophisticated room had suddenly changed. It looked different from outside- normal again.

Feeling uneasy, she called out again, hoping to disillusion him, "I'm not her, Ryan. I haven't been lost for decades. I'm only seventeen."

Turning her gaze onto Ryan, she saw his sad green golden eyes on her and heard his quiet reply,

"That's what you think."

pls review? its the only way i know you guys are still reading.

humor me :)