Feral Ch. 07

Ethan gripped the door frame, feeling the wood give slightly under her fingers. The power swirling around the room was tangible, making his head throb fiercely in such close proximity. Focusing on the man leaning over Eva, he recognized him immediately. In a move that the eye could hardly follow, Ethan was across the room and slamming the warlock into the wall. Sean.

Ethan had the material of the warlock's t-shirt bunched in his hands. "What the fuck are you doing here?" he slammed the warlock into the wall once more for good measure. He felt Sean's hands wrap around his wrists and the skin there began to sizzle, the sickening smell of burning flesh beginning to fill the room.

Ethan gritted his teeth against the searing pain, instead rearing back and slamming Sean more forcefully into the wall. Spider web like cracks radiated out from behind Sean's body.

"Ethan," Aaron's hand was on his shoulder, "Let him go."

Ethan's lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing exceptionally pointed canines but he released the warlock, hurling him to the ground.

"I asked him here," Aaron told him steadily. "I thought he could help the Clinton girl."

Ethan momentarily shifted his gaze from the warlock to Eva. Nick was at her side the moment Aaron had released him. She stirred and he cradled her head between his hands.

Eva blinked up at the man hovering over her, completely filling her field of vision.

"Nick?" she rasped, her throat feeling raw and on fire. Swallowing was impossible. "What happened? Where's Tianna? Is she okay?"

Nick frowned, brushing a gentle hand over her hair. "Tianna's fine. You're a different story though. You got in over your head again with your witchy business."

Eva gave an unladylike snort. "So what else is new? How long have I been out this time?"

Nick shook his head at her casual demeanor. "Just a couple of hours."

Eva started. "That's all?" She smiled weakly. "Sweet."

"Don't get too cocky. You had help." Sean was at Nick's shoulder, eyeing her with interest. Nick stiffened at the warlock's closeness.

Eva reacted differently, turning toward him almost like a sunflower tracing the sun's progress across the sky. "Sean?" she murmured. The warlock grinned.

"You know each other?"  Nick questioned, a definite edge to his voice as he stood.

"Yeah," Eva rasped, staring at the warlock. "Through Tianna." Her brow furrowed. "What are you doing here? And why can a feel you?" She looked more perplexed than alarmed. "I've never felt you before. "

Sean took Nick's previously vacated spot next to her "I've gotten pretty good at hiding myself when necessary. I know who your mother is, Eva. I wasn't sure if I should be revealing myself to you." His gaze roved over her features. His face was soft with concern "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," she grumbled. It was difficult to stay still when all her body seemed to want was to curl towards his presence. She could feel herself drawing strength from his nearness.

The corner of his mouth tugged upwards at her struggle and confusion. He slipped his hand beneath her neck, cradling the base of her skull in his hand. "How does that feel?" His thumb made soothing circles over the flesh just behind her ear as the pain ebbed from her limbs and the intense throbbing in her skull dulled.

Eva moaned, her eyes fluttering closed. "That feels good," she murmured, hardly noticing Nick's growl.

After a few minutes, Sean reluctantly withdrew his touch. He was essentially allowing her draw from his power to revive herself. He didn't like the idea of leaving himself vulnerable when surrounded by hyper-aggressive werewolves. Her full pink lips formed a slight pout at the absence of his touch.

He lightly touched her cheek. "I'll see you soon, kid, okay?"

Eva nodded, too grateful to even protest his irritating term of endearment.

Aaron led Sean from the room. Ethan and Trent followed closely behind but Nick lingered. He regarded her silently, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Eva curled onto her side facing him, wincing at the residual tenderness of her body. She smiled wanly at him, "So what's up with you, wolfman?"

Nick stepped closer to the bed but did not make any move to touch. "You need to stop this, Eva."

Her dark brows lifted. "What's it to you?" She mirrored his frown, "It's not like I intended to drain myself that way. Shit happens."

Nick wanted to grab her and shake some sense to her. Instead he balled his hands into fists against the notion. "You almost killed yourself," he ground out.

"Like I said," Eva glared at him, wrapping her arms around her middle. "Not on purpose and none of your business."

Nick's jaw clenched so hard he heard a crack. She was right, of course. It was none of his business how far she decided to push herself. He wasn't truly sure why he should care. He barely knew her and his strong and sudden attraction to her likely had as much to do with her magical allure as it did with her pretty face and those perfect breasts of hers. Witches were nothing but trouble and she had the charming personality to match, all stubborn arrogance and not a lick of sense.

Eva watched the dark haired werewolf's scowl deepen. When he spoke his voice was chilly. "You know, you're right, Eva. I don't know what I was thinking. My mind must have been clouded," his gaze swept over her, "by all this. Do what you want."

He turned then and left her, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Eva pulled her knees into her chest with a shuddering breath. She didn't need some overprotective werewolf hovering around her and getting in her way. She didn't need him trying to control her.

She turned her face into the pillow and sighed. Wrong move. Nick's scent inundated her senses; the smell of musk, spicy sweet aftershave and something else, wild and seductive.

She inhaled deeply, her eyes drifting closed. No, she didn't need anyone telling her what to do. There was no reason, however, why they couldn't get along in a more intimate fashion.

She remembered the way his body felt pressed against hers in the clearing as he cradled her in his arms, pressed his heated lips against her flesh and thrust his fingers into her.

No, there was no reason at all why they shouldn't be able to get along. She burrowed into the covers, wrapping his scent around her as she surrendered to sleep.

***
"What am I going to do with you, hm?"

Tianna blinked at the sight of Aaron Thorne sitting in an armchair at her bedside, the first sight to greet her as she awoke. His deep baritone startled her into lucidity rapidly.

Groaning, she pushed herself into sitting position and regarded him blandly despite the way his voice—an alpha's voice—made her heart skitter in her chest. Fear. Biologically she was hardwired to fear and obey him.  She shoved the feeling down until it was nothing but a small coil of unease lingering in her chest.  

When she spoke, her voice hardly wavered. "That's kind of a loaded question."

Aaron's brows furrowed and he ran a hand through his dark locks, momentarily clenching his fingers in frustration. A muscle ticked furiously in his jaw. His voice was hard, angry.  "A mutt hasn't set foot on our lands for decades. Not until the moment you show up."

"More like abducted, less like showing up." Tianna supplied but snapped her mouth shut at the dark look he shot her.

He continued on, his voice silky with menace. "You bring a witch—the daughter of an incredibly powerful dark witch with a penchant for mutilating our kind—into my home."

Tianna opened her mouth instinctively to defend her friend but Aaron held up a hand, effectively silencing her.

"Someone obviously seems focused on getting to you and yet you seem intent to disobey me at every turn while undermining my every attempt to protect you." His dark gaze narrowed on her, his face grim. "So now I repeat, what am I going to do with you?"

Tianna's mouth twisted, her eyes troubled as she mulled over his words. "Couldn't it just be some coincidence?" She was grasping, she knew. "I could have some human whack job stalking me, and the wolf in the woods seemed rather surprised to see me. I don't think he expected to run into me at all."

Aaron leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs and clasping his hands between his knees . "It is possible that the incident in the woods is a coincidence. He may have come upon you by accident, but that doesn't change the fact that there was a mutt in these woods who was very likely a scout."

Tianna started at this. A scout sent to test Greystone's defenses. A scout who didn't seem to care that the pack would track his scent and know he'd been there. It was a death wish if she'd ever seen one. A mutt who didn't fear the pack was unheard of. It was a bold and reckless move by someone who either felt they had nothing to lose...that, or something had seriously bolstered the mutt's confidence.

Aaron could practically see the wheels turning in that pretty little head of hers. "So you see my dilemma," he drawled. "If we face a threat from outside of Greystone, I don't want to be distracted by an interior disturbance as well." His eyes were trained on her when she met his steady gaze.

"I understand," she said softly, sounding somewhat defeated. "I won't give you any more trouble."

Aaron leaned back in the armchair, looking a bit mollified. "And the Clinton witch?"

Tianna stiffened slightly. "You won't have to worry about her. I promise."

Aaron smiled tightly as he stood. "Good. I'm glad to hear it." His gaze roved over her speculatively.  "Get some rest."

An order. Tianna nodded with all the humility she could summon, gripping the bed sheets in her hands as he left the room.
***
Ethan knocked once before entering Nick's bedroom. "Nick, we need to talk."

He realized belatedly that the small lump in the bed was not Niklaus.

Eva pushed aside the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She spared him a glance before turning her gaze to take in her surroundings. The room was decorated in muted greys and black with ombre wood. "So this is Nick's room?" she said lightly. She returned her gaze to Ethan. "I guess he slept elsewhere last night?"

Ethan eyed her warily. "Obviously."

Eva slid to her feet, allowing her eyes to rove over his rigid form. Ethan stood stock still though his brows drew together as she stepped close. Taking his hand, she lifted his wrist up for inspection.

She grimaced at the red blistered flesh circling his wrists. "Ouch," she murmured, tsking in sympathy before she brightened. "I have something for that!"

Ethan withdrew his hand, still frowning at her. "I heal quickly. I'll be fine."

Eva shook her head. "It's a magical wound. It will take forever to heal and leave scarring if you don't treat it correctly. I can fix it."

Ethan lifted a flaxen brow. "What and have you black out again? No thanks."

Eva shook off his comment and skirted around him. "Seriously, I can help. I'll be right back."

Ethan rolled his eyes as he crossed the room and seated himself on the edge of Nick's bed. Eva returned momentarily, her oversized purse in hand. She scooted onto the bed next to him, one leg tucked under her and began rooting around in her bag.

"What are you doing?" Ethan watched her.

She handed him a roll of gauze and tossed him an indignant look. "Stop looking so suspicious. I'm not going to hurt you."

Ethan smirked a this.

"Ah hah!" She said triumphantly as she drew a small brown glass vial from her bag.

"And that is, what exactly?"

Eva took his hand once again and laid it upon her knee. "Tea Tree oil."

Ethan looked dubious. "Tea Tree oil is going to heal magical burns?"

Eva glanced up into his face as she uncorked the vial and poured the liquid into her palm. "No, not just by itself. But with a little help from me, you should be good as new."

Ethan sighed. "Haven't you had enough magic for a couple days?" Ethan withdrew his hand only to have her catch it in her own bandaged grasp and place his palm back on her knee.

"This is nothing," Eva assured him. "Kid stuff."

Cupping her palm with the oil she dipped two fingers of her bandaged hand into the liquid and gently began to spread the liquid over the burnt flesh.

Ethan held back an audible sigh at the cool soothing sensation of her fingers and the oils. He watched her silently as she worked, coating his flesh and murmuring under her breath. She worked intently, tracing circular patterns over the raw flesh as he watched the vivid redness diminish slightly before his eyes. When she finished she wrapped his wrist in the gauze and reached for him other hand.

"Where did you learn this?"

Eva smiled wanly, not taking her eyes off her handiwork. "I've been fooling around with magic untaught and unsupervised long enough to learn to heal my own wounds." Her smile grew. "You're the first person I've tried it on other than myself though."

Ethan's frown returned and he snorted. "Thanks for making me your own personal guinea pig." Her fingers were making delicate mesmerizing circles over his skin once more.

Eva chuckled softly. "So Sean did this?"

"You were awake for that, huh?"

Eva shook her head. "No. But a magical wound leaves a kind of signature before it has healed. I don't know if it's the same with all witches or maybe just because I'm a bit of an empath, but I can sense the residual energy of the being that inflicted the wound. Every witch is different in the kind of vibe they give off.

"Interesting," Ethan grumbled absently watching her ministrations. "How's the hand?"

Eva wriggled the fingers of her bandaged hand briefly. "Good I think," she said cheerily. "I peeked at it earlier. The stitches are pretty neat. Who did them?"

"Nick," he offered, watching her face carefully. She kept her face devoid of anything beyond mild amusement.

"He did a good job. I assume he learned it from patching you guys up on a regular basis?"

Ethan shrugged. "Well, there's that but Nick is a doctor, used to be a surgeon."

Eva's fingers paused their movement and her delicate brows arched. She glanced at him as if to gauge the truthfulness in his expression.

She went back to work, tracing her fingers over his wrist. "Does he still practice?"

Ethan shook his head. "No, he's more research now."

"What does he study?"

Ethan chuckled. "Genetic mutations."
 
A wide grin curved upon her lips at that. "Of course."

Eva wrapped the gauze around his wrist. "All done," she smiled triumphantly at him.

Ethan quirked a brow, examining her handiwork. "Thanks."

They sat examining one another for a moment.

"You're not going to give him too much grief are you?" Ethan asked pointedly.

Eva shrugged, one corner of her lips tugging up in conspiratorial smile. "Not too much. Just the right amount."

***

Eva found Tianna in the feminine monstrosity of a room unpacking a suitcase and placing her clothes in the large painted armoire that dominated one corner of the room.

"Eva," Tianna breathed, setting aside a stack of clothes and crossing the room in two long strides. She pulled her friend into a fierce embrace.

"Oof!" Eva wheezed, and wriggled free. "Watch the super strength, girl."

Tianna crossed her arms over her chest. "Eva, this has got to stop."

"Jeez," Eva flopped on the bed and propped herself up on her elbows. "You sound like Nick."

Eva gave her a stern look as she went back to her unpacking. "Well, Nick has some sense. You should listen to him. God knows you've never listened to me."

Eva traced her fingertips over the floral embroidery on the comforter. Her voice was soft. "I panicked." She glanced up at her friend. "I didn't know what else to do."

Tianna's face softened. "You need to be more careful.  And I don't want you risking your life for me, Eva."

Eva met her gaze steadily. "Tell me you wouldn't do the same for me."

Tianna's shoulders slumped, her expression earnest. "Look, Eva. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you, especially if I felt like it was my fault. So please, just don't do anything rash."

Eva pursed her lips and let out a stream of air. "Fine," she grumbled.

"Good," Tianna sighed and went back to unpacking. "I promised Aaron we wouldn't give him anymore trouble." She paused suddenly, her back to Eva and glanced at her friend over her shoulder.

"So...uh...what was with the orgasm in the woods, hm?"

Eva sat up, crossing her legs and running her fingers through her hair. "You felt that, huh?"

Tianna let out a low laugh. "I sure did. Nick was it? What's up with you two?"

"Nothing." Eva frowned suddenly and picked at a thread on the bedspread. "Not yet anyway. I think he's angry with me."

"Well it didn't feel like 'nothing.' " Tianna ventured. "Maybe we should figure out a way to dim the link a little bit? Now that we're in such close proximity?"

Eva looked at her. "Why? You planning on getting some from Ethan?"

"Please." Tianna rolled her eyes.  "Ethan has Neanderthal written all over him. I'm not getting mixed up in that."

"Ditto," Eva quipped. "But that doesn't mean you can't have some fun with him."

"Fun?" Tianna scoffed and shook her head. "I don't think he even knows the meaning of the word."

"I bet." Eva grinned and hopped off the bed. "I need a shower."

"Aaron's set you up in a room just down the hall."

Eva paused. "Let's pretend I didn't hear that."

Tianna gave her  a suspicious once over. "What are you up to, Eva?"

Eva shrugged, affecting her most innocent expression. "Nothing at all." She gave Tianna a mock salute. "See you later, chica."

Tianna looked dubious as Eva gave a nonchalant wave and practically skipped from the room.

Perhaps staying out of trouble was going to be more difficult than she imagined.

***
Nick was exhausted as he trudged up the stairs. He'd spend the night unable to sleep, slumped in a wrought iron chair on the patio, his eyes trained on the woods as he listened for the telltale snap of twigs underfoot.

There was no doubt in his mind that the mutt had come for Tianna, and he was certain that he would be back. Just as he was certain that Eva would do anything to save her best friend, likely getting herself killed or worse in the process.

"None of my goddamned business," he grumbled to himself as he pushed the door open to his bedroom. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the bed. He unbuttoned his jeans only to halt suddenly, hands poised to push the denim from his hips.

He could make out the sound of running water on the other side of the bathroom door. The floor of his room was littered with tiny Eva-sized clothing: chocolate brown riding boots, a v-neck t-shirt, dark denim jeans and lacy hot pink thong. God help him.

He crossed the room and silently pushed open the door, steam wafting over him. On the other side of the fogged glass of the shower door, he could make out Eva's form; the narrowness of her waist, the generous swell of her breasts, and the enticing curve of her ass.

She hummed an upbeat slightly off key tune, completely oblivious to his presence.

Nikolas stared, taking in the way her body moved and her back arched provocatively as she dropped her head back and smoothed her hair back from her face under the stream of water.

He felt his hands curl into fists against the almost crippling urge to wrench open the shower door to get to her. He cock swelled and strained against his jeans,

He didn't know how long he stood there watching her, but he felt as though his feet were rooted to the floor as the door slid open just a crack and one brown arm reached from within, hand reaching for a fluffy white towel hanging from the rack.