Chapter 5 - Blood Bond

The moment Lyall said which island the Hybrid might have swam into, Remus felt a dark cloud loom over his head. Did he just send Eden to her death? It was unbearable to think so. Eden– soft and weak with only her resolve to impress him, now a meal to a monster they don’t even know how to fight.

Remus was up like lighting and ordering Lyall to prepare a chopper to fly him there right away. There wasn’t much time to wait for everyone to get here and then fly there together. Every minute they wait, is a minute out of Eden’s life. And Remus wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt of sending an innocent girl towards her death over something as trivial as a final test.

 Zeeb insisted on tagging along, but Remus deemed him too close to the case to trust his stability. He instructed him to round up Fridolf and Amarok instead to ready the Delta Guards for back-up.

Lyall wanted to come too, but Remus told him that if something terrible happens, Lyall shall take his place as the Alpha. They don’t know how strong the Hybrid is, they don’t know if Remus could actually end it. But they need the Second-in-Command to survive, just in case.

I got you into this mess Eden. I swear I’ll get you out, was the only thing in Remus' mind as he flew towards the wretched island.

. . . . .

After the dizzying ride in the ferry and scorching ride on an un-airconditioned bus, Eden finally arrives at the last stop. Unfortunately, according to the driver, the farthest they can go on the way to the Hotel Setedesange is the abandoned gasoline station which was still a good three kilometres away. Nobody really goes there anymore. It was haunted, he said. 

So the agony doesn’t end yet. Eden has to walk three more kilometres to finally get to that stupid hotel and speak with Saxe Albanus, who may or may not choose to actually face her. Great. Just great.

The bus left in a whirlwind of dust that blinded Eden for a few minutes. She was wearing a white long sleeve polo when she left home. But she’s pretty sure her polo has now turned into a light grey because of all the dirt she’d taken with her.

As the dust settles, she sees a shadow of a person leaning on a car over at the abandoned gas station. The person’s build looks somewhat familiar and she squinted to see better. She fans the dust particles out of her face– is she seeing right? Or is she hungry enough to imagine Remus waiting for her on the other side of the road, looking all cool in his Ray-ban and white t-shirt? He gave a simple wave and with a nod, beckoned her to come closer.

So Eden did, still amazed how her imagination can look so real. When Remus was no longer but a foot away from her, she poked his cheek.”

“What the fuck,” Remus exclaimed touching the place where Eden’s finger stabbed his face. “What the hell are you doing?”

Eden almost rolled over backwards out of shock. “Oh my bloody hell, you’re real!”

“Of course I am. What did you think?”

“I thought I was full-blown hallucinating. I’m dizzy and tired and hungry. I really thought my mind conjured you out of thin air so I can scream at you for making me go all this way.”

Remus laughed. Despite the fear weighing his chest, despite the crippling need to get her out of this place. He laughed, because Eden can actually be quite funny.

“So you wanted to scream at me huh?” Remus has decided to keep Eden out of the truth. She doesn’t have to know that a freaking Hybrid is threatening their very lives as they made small talk in this dilapidated gas station.

“Ugh, yes. Kind of. What are you doing here?”

“I realised I couldn’t trust you enough with this. So I’m coming with,”

This made Eden pout. She really wanted to prove herself. She was pretty confident she’d be able to pull it off. She has her charms. 

“Don’t be too sad. I’d still have you do the pitch with Saxe. I’ll pretend I’m your assistant.”

To this, Eden lightened up. And when Remus asked her to get in the car, she happily did so. It saved her from walking three kilometres, and God knows how much she hates walking.

Remus didn’t feel anything weird as they drove towards the hotel. There was also no scent of wolfsbane. Maybe, Lyall and Zeeb were just too paranoid. Maybe Helicent got the distance wrong. But he couldn't let himself relax. Every part of his senses was screaming that something felt wrong. And it is when they arrived at the hotel did he understand why his wolfblood was boiling.

The entire place was covered with red vines– from the ground to the stairsteps, running all over the walls, taking every space they could. And they weren’t red because of nature, they were red because of blood. And the scent made Remus nauseous, but it passed Eden’s human senses. The vines didn’t look bloody for her, just wet. It didn’t smell of blood, just damp and metallic.

“What the hell is this?” Eden observed. “This is beyond saving.”

Remus is in high-alert, he senses no Vampire yet, but a bloody vine could only mean one thing. The person who lives here has made a blood bond with the Undead.

A blood bond is an oath between a human and Vampire where the human is completely enthralled with the Vampire they would do anything for them– even if it means being the constant food source of the Cold One. In return, the Vampire gives them semi-immortality. They get to live as long as the Vampire desires them.

Could it be that Saxe made a blood bond with the Hybrid?

The two of them entered the hotel. Remus let Eden lead. Because behind her, Remus was on the initial part of his transformation. Eyes glowing, fangs on the verge of rising. He was attuned with the surroundings. Every squeak, every creak could mean danger. 

“And how could I help you both?”

The voice sounded from behind. Slow and slurry, like the person who spoke just got out of bed. Eden and Remus both whipped around. And Remus couldn't comprehend how he didn’t sense this person’s presence. He halted his transformation.

Remus studied the person, and he saw that he was wearing a necklace made out of wolfsbane. This could explain why Remus was unable to feel him. It was weakening his senses. 

The man looked every bit of a walking corpse. A walking skin and bones, paler than paper, with thinning hair, and a pair of jet black eyes that seemed to recede in the sockets.

It was Eden who spoke on behalf of them both, “We are looking for Saxe Albanus. We’re from Volkov Corpo–”

But Eden was unable to finish her sentence. For the moment she uttered the word Volkov, the man screeched– a high piercing sound that shattered the windows and lights, cracked the walls and broke the tiles that made up the stairs.

Remus jumped in front of Eden, shielding her from the sharp cuts that came from the power of the scream. It wasn’t the Vampire, Remus was sure. But it was definitely the human that made the blood bond. Eden was in a state of shock. Her eyes wide and searching for answers from Remus. He couldn’t give her anything, so instead he said, "I'm sorry" and pressed the pressure point between her ear and neck knocking her unconscious.

The man jumped this time and crawled to the walls vanishing on the second floor. Remus laid Eden gently on the floor and placed a cross made of Wolf fang on her neck– to keep her safe for a little while. 

“I’ll be quick,” he whispered in her ears even though he knew she couldn’t hear. In one big growl he changed. One moment a man, then another a fourteen feet Werewolf, with fur as dark as the night, eyes glowing golden, claws as hard as diamonds and fangs sharper than anything. He howled loud and long– it was a call and despite the distance he knew they heard.

Lyall howls back. They were ready for war.