James finished dressing, running a hand through his still-wet hair as he waited for Lily to finish her shower. The sun had just risen above the horizon, promising a beautiful morning, but he wasn’t in the mood for scenic views. Too much had happened last night. Too much had gone wrong. Tristen had been hurt and nearly taken, Bonnie was fighting for her life. The only victory they did have was they’d brought in Jessie, but maybe that had been the plan in the first place.
“Let’s go,” Lily said as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom. The expression on her face was grim and serious.
He stood up, grabbing his coat. “Where to first?”
James had expected her to want to go see Tristen first, but he could see the guilt she tried so hard to hide. She was, of course, blaming herself for the girl’s injuries. So it came to no surprise when she said, “Let’s go touch base with Nick.”
“Sounds good,” James replied, knowing it was better to let Lily deal with her guilt on her own terms than try to comfort her. He followed her out, zipping up his coat to shield from the cold.
They were about half way when Lily suddenly stopped. “You know what? Change of plan. I’m going to talk to Rebel,” she said, walking off in a new direction.
“Rebel?” James repeated, not sure why she suddenly wanted to talk to him.
“Yeah, you know, Zander,” she replied as they walked.
“I know who you’re talking about. I’m just curious as to why you suddenly want to talk to him,” James replied, a little worried about what she might do or how her guilt may manifest in all of this.
“Relax James,” she said glancing over to him. “I remember my promise. I won’t kill him.”
He made a snort, knowing that a lot of damage could be done to a person without killing them. Zander must have known it too, because as he saw them coming, he froze with a look of mild panic on his face. He had a backpack on one shoulder and a duffle on the other. The kid was running. James wasn’t sure exactly what Zander was trying to escape, Lily, Tristen, vamps, or maybe even himself.
Lily slapped her hand on the shoulder holding the duffle bag so hard, Zander nearly dropped it. “Rebel, now where do you think you’re going?” She said, forcing him to stand next to her.
“What do you care,” he snapped. “And get your fucking hand off me.”
James growled at him with a narrowed gaze, but Lily simply grinned. “Now, now do you kiss your mother with that mouth? I just came to talk.”
“Talk,” Zander said, looking suspicious. “About what?”
“Well first, welcome to the Freak Club,” she said, still giving him that slightly psychotic grin of hers.
“The Freak club?” He repeated again, look as confused as James felt, who had no idea what she was talking about.
“Yep. We’re Xavier’s freaks. His ever growing group of experiments,” Lily replied.
“And don’t try to deny that you’re the big bad wolf.”
“I wasn’t,” he argued, giving her a sour look. “I just… I didn’t think you’d be…” he said then drifted off with a shrug.
“Is that why you’re running?” James asked.
“Figured I was going to get kicked out anyway,” he said, shrugging again.
“Because Xavier played you like he played the rest of us?” Lily said with a skeptical tone.
“And running never helps,” James jumped in. “I’ve been there. It’s better to be around people you can trust.”
“Yeah, cause God knows those kinds of people are hard to find,” Lily jumped in then cleared her throat. “I, uh, also want to thank you. You know… for saving Tristen. If you weren’t there…,” she said, looking very guilty and a little uncomfortable.
To his surprise, James noticed that Zander looked just as uncomfortable. “It really wasn’t me. It was my wolf,” he said, kicking some snow.
She made a rude snort before giving him a shake. “Whatever, Rebel. She’s your mate, and you’d drop everything to help her. It’s freaking genetic, whether we like it or not,” Lily said bitterly then smiled at James. “No offense.” She turned back to Zander then gave him that psychotic smile. “Now, I’m complimenting you, punk. Shut up and take it like a man!”
The smile suddenly disappeared, and she fisted his shirt to pull him just mere inches from her face. “But if you hurt Tristen in any way and at any time I will hunt you down, slowly rip you apart, and make you watch as I feed your guts to the dogs. Comprende, Rebel?”