Dark Hunger

"I do believe you, Cole," said Elize, stroking his hair with the affection of a mother and trying her best not to cry at his helpless situation. If Cole was feeling like this, she couldn't imagine what Auril was going through. 

Cole stared at Elize. "Then you must be aware of the presence of that man here," he remarked. Elize looked at Caleb for support. "What's his name?" 

Caleb knew that there was no point in telling lies to Cole because he would eventually discover the truth. He nodded at Elize and said, "His name is Auril, and he has come to us to deal with something." Not a lie. 

"What thing?" asked Cole, not convinced. 

"I was planning on offering a business to him in our company," Daryn added. Not a lie. He did offer. 

"But the guy is from the Lore," Cole almost snapped. "You rarely have business with the people from the Lore! I saw him disappear. From the little time I saw him, the man was hardly here, then when did you have business talks with him? You've been with Elize all this time!" 

Daryn raised his eyebrow at Cole's accusation. "I don't know why he disappeared," he replied. Not a lie again. "Maybe, he will come… later to meet me?"

"Oh!" Cole's hope rose. "When will he come? Is he coming today or would he come tomorrow? Can we wait here till I can meet him again?" He sounded restless and hopeful. 

"I am not sure if we can stay, Cole," Daryn replied in all honesty. "I have to be with Dawn." 

"Then can I stay back with Caleb and Elize?" 

Daryn took a deep breath. Kids! He shook his head. "No, you can't stay because there is a threat looming over them too. I cannot leave you knowing that you will be unsafe." 

Cole's mouth drooped. He stabbed his fingers in his hair and then gazed at Elize hopelessly as if telling her to do something about his situation. But Elize continued to stroke his back lovingly, sympathetically. "Why don't you run to have food?" Elize suggested. "You must be ravenous after your rugby session." 

Cole lowered his head. He was extremely hungry, but now he wondered if he even had an appetite. "I am good," he replied in a monotonous tone and then rose up to his feet. Seeing that there was absolutely nothing he could do about the situation, he squared his shoulders, lifted his chin up and then walked out of the tent. On the way he picked up his ball. 

"That boy is too observant and pretty smart!" said Caleb. 

After all the tension that had strained his muscles, Daryn loosed a breath. "He is Dawn's brother. What do you expect?" 

Elize chuckled. "The siblings have gone through a lot and I am happy that they are both with you." 

Daryn flashed a smile. He was surely going to tell this to his wife. Suddenly he remembered about her brother. "I am sorry how Owen and Nessa treated you." 

Elize waved her hand in the hair. "I don't care," she smirked. "If they had been nice to me, things would have been different." 

"Yeah," Daryn remarked. Her brother was foolish to have demanded so much money as ransom for holding the truth. Now the way Neal handled them, no one would believe them about Elize. In their community, they had spread the news that Elize had turned into a vampire and at the police station they had complained that she was delusional because she thought that she had turned into a vampire and that they would take her to a mental asylum. The police officer whom Neal had met with made sure that whatever happened at the police station was nicely advertised. And the latest report was that both Owen and Nessa were not being taken seriously in their society. "By the way, I wanted to tell you that Owen has lost his job. It was unfortunate, but things went south for them!" 

Elize clenched her teeth and took in a deep breath. "It doesn't affect me," she replied a moment later. On the inside, she was still holding that thin thread of hope. Maybe Owen would apologize to her… Maybe he will realize his mistakes… 

All at once they heard loud cheering noises. Amused as to what was happening, Daryn got up to see. When he lifted the tent, he saw that Cole was teaching the soldiers how to play handball and the men had gone berserk. He smiled. Cole's presence was infectious and he was happy that his mood lifted. He came back to sit. "Where is Auril?" 

"I can smell him, so he must be close by. Why don't you meet him before leaving? Tell him about the business proposal. That man is a genius in healing. We can use his knowledge in our pharma business. Though I wonder if he would accept your proposal." 

"Not a bad idea!" Daryn replied. "So, what else is there? Why have you called me? 

Caleb noticed how Elize went into a brooding state. He said, "I feel that there is unrest going on in Ixoviya. I am not sure why, but Urhan's sister was involved in Elize's abduction." 

Daryn froze. He had recruited Urhan because that man seemed to be the most learned and well in control. His skin pebbled with goosebumps. He had thrown a wolf in sheep's skin at his brother. Fury burned through his chest and blood. "Where is she now?" he asked, his eyes flickering a black. 

"She is with the demons," Caleb said. "It is a long story!" 

"Tell me. I am listening." Daryn crossed his arms across his chest. 

Caleb narrated the whole incident from the start to the finish. "Laurel was heavily involved in it and it was Urhan who brought her to me. There is this thing that eats my mind—who was ticking our presence to the demons in the human realm? It was as if they knew about us beforehand. A few nights back when I was teaching Elize to spar, Laurel volunteered to spar with her. Despite my warning, she had provoked Lizzy to the level that Lizzy had to use her untamed magic." Caleb went on telling how the branches caught fire and it acted like a giant torch in the darkness of the forest and attracted demons. "What worries me is that the demons must be somewhere around, otherwise how was it possible that they came so soon and attacked us?" 

Daryn's face became pale. "Why didn't you call me?" he said, obviously too angered. 

"I don't want to put you in any trouble. Dawn is pregnant!" 

"But you were in big trouble," Daryn almost scolded him. "You should have called me! And why are they after you?" 

"Relax Daryn!" Caleb growled. His brother was too overprotective. "I took care of it, and now we are here." 

"Yes, he took care of it after being struck with three poisoned arrows on his back!" Elize stated angrily. "Had it not been for Auril, he would have been poisoned and…" her voice trailed and she caught the burning sensation in her throat. 

"What the fuck?" Daryn growled, his fangs lengthening. 

"Keep it down wolf!" Caleb chided him. "I have work for you!"