Chapter Text
April
Ryvre's POV
All I could think about was how happy I was that it was a Friday. The clock on the wall was against me though as it seemed to slow down with every second that ticked by. I drummed my fingers on the desk impatiently. It was the last period of the day and I was ready to get the fuck out of here already. My best friend, Kelly Leonard smirked from the desk next to me. She was as bored as I was.
Our teacher, Mr. Davis wasn't even trying to keep us interested anymore. I glanced around the room and realized most of the class was asleep or getting there. I peeked up the clock, twenty minutes to go. With a sigh I started doodling on the paper in front of me. The boy who was seated in front of me started snoring. After a few minutes it started to bother me. I smirked at Kelly then poked the boy in the shoulder blade with my pen.
He yelped and jumped up. The sound he made caused everyone to laugh, including me. Mr. Davis scolded him about interrupting class. I rolled my eyes. Fucking prick. I looked back at the clock. Fourteen minutes to go. You've got to be fucking kidding me. I looked back at Kelly and sighed dramatically. She giggled, causing Mr. Davis to turn his attention to us.
"Ms. Leonard, is there anything you and Ms. Phoenix would like to share?"
I smiled. "Yes actually. I was wondering if it were possible to be so bored you'd rather put your face through a plexi-glass window than sit through this class for another ten minutes."
Ignoring the snickers around the room he glared at me. "Stay after class, Ms. Phoenix. We should talk about your attitude."
"I'm sorry, I can't. My little brother has karate class right after school and I have to take him," I lied easily.
"I think your brother will understand that your education is more important than his karate. With this being your senior year I would think you would be a little more serious about your future and getting into a good college."
"A few things wrong in your statement, sir. One, staying after so you can bitch at me about my attitude doesn't help my education. Two, my brother always comes first," I countered. "And three, I've already been accepted to my dream school." I smiled brightly.
He sighed, starting to get irritated. Before he could say anything, the bell rang. I grabbed my shit and ran out the door. Kelly met me at my locker.
"God Davis is such a dick," she complained.
"I know. Maybe all he needs is for his wife to pull on little Davis every once in a while. He's too fucking uptight." I made an obscene motion with my hand. Kelly elbowed me, laughing loud enough for a few kids to look at her. "Damn, Kelly. Your loud ass mouth."
"Shut up," she hissed, looking at the floor.
My little brother, Collin was waiting for me by the door. Kelly said her good byes and started toward her car. Collin followed me out to the little blue Honda my dad had just given to me. Collin climbed into the passenger seat next to me, barely fitting into my usually spacious car.
"Geez Collin, for a freshman you're fucking huge," I teased.
He rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Fuck off."
I smiled. "Love you too, little bro."
He stared out the window the whole way home. A few minutes later, we were pulling into our driveway. I loved our house. It was three stories high and located just along the Puget Sound. My family had lived in Seattle since I was five and Collin was three. From my bedroom window, I had an excellent view of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
Collin, my dad and myself were from La Push originally and my mom was born in Sweden. My parents were hippies back in the day and had met at some dive bar in New York in 1981. Dad had grown out of that phase when I was born. He had a degree in pathology and was a medical examiner at the morgue in Seattle. I've always loved hearing my dad talk about work. He doesn't tell me much about people's names but he likes telling me the interesting cases he gets. He thinks I should become a medical examiner also. My mom is still a total hippie and thinks I should surf. I love the woman, but damn she's odd sometimes. Dad thinks it's a result of too much weed in the 70s.
I also blame the pot for her naming me like she did. I mean, my full name is Ryvre Autumn Phoenix, while my brother got off easy with Collin Nicholas Phoenix. Blame the spelling on my mother, the eternal flower child.
Collin and I went into the house, him heading straight for the kitchen. “Save me a burrito,” I called to him, starting up the stairs. He answered but I didn’t really hear him. I went up to my room and tossed my bag in the corner. My laptop was on my beside table, waiting for me.
Ten minutes into The Office I heard my mom come in and tell Collin to get out of the kitchen. A little while later, she called us down for dinner. As mom was setting the food on the table and trying to keep Collin from getting it, dad came in.
"Hi, daddy!" I sang and jumped up to kiss his cheek.
"Hey there, little Ryvre." He said hugging me back. Daddy's girl, I have always been.
"How was work, honey?" Mom asked as we started to eat.
Dad sighed. "There was another murder last night." I turned to him. He now had my full attention. "I got the body this morning. Just like the others, it was completely drained. Absolutely no blood whatsoever." He shook his head in frustration.
"Maybe it's vampires," Collin laughed in between bites. Dad's head whipped toward him, then realized he was kidding he looked back down at his plate.
I didn't know what to say. These murders had been happening for over a week now and dad was obviously on edge about them. I studied his face, noticing his dark eyes set in concentration, his lips pressed into a hard line. This tight expression of worry and confusion was foreign on my father's face.
The murders that had my father and the Seattle police department so in an uproar were happening far too often for their liking. Bodies were turning up randomly with all their blood drained and seemingly no wounds. They were all of various genders, race and social class so there was no pattern for the police to follow.
Other people were going missing with little to no trace of where they'd gone. My father was paranoid about it, with good reason of course.
My mother, the optimist, chimed in. "You'll figure things out." She smiled at dad. He shrugged, giving her a pained smile, and started eating again.
I looked across the table at Collin. "Damn kid, you're acting like you haven't eaten in years." He growled at me. I dropped my fork in surprise. "Did you just growl at me? What are you a fucking dog now?"
"Shut up Ryvre!" he yelled, starting to shake.
"Collin, eat!" Dad ordered. “And Ryvre, watch your mouth.”
Collin listened and started eating, his shaking stopped. After dinner, I kissed mom and dad good night and went up to my room. There was a text from Kelly waiting for me. I smiled as I read her invitation. Quietly, I slipped into an outfit, grabbed my fake ID and climbed out the window.
Sam POV
"Sam, phone!" Emily called from the kitchen.
"Who is it?" I asked, standing up. It was nearly ten at night.
"Nick Phoenix," she said, her voice conveying the confusion she felt.
Racking my brain, I took the phone from her. "Hello?"
"Hi, Sam," the man on the other end said. "My name is Nick, Billy gave me your number. He said he was going to call you and let you know I would be in touch but I guess he didn't yet?"
"No, he didn't," I replied. "He's been a little busy lately. We recently had a death in the family." Harry Clearwater had died nearly a month ago but it was still so fresh in our minds. His children, Seth and Leah had both phased into wolves and joined our pack. Sue was beside herself with all of it. Billy had been doing his best to be there for her so it's no surprise a few things slipped his mind.
"That's alright," Nick said. "I can explain things just fine. I'm originally from La Push but we live in Seattle now. However, my son is showing signs that he may be getting ready to turn into a wolf."
"What kind of signs? And how old is he?"
"Fourteen," Nick replied, sounding a little sad. "His temper is getting worse. He is snapping at his sister all the time. Tonight at dinner he started to shake. He calmed down when I told him to but I can't help but worry that next time he won't be able to stop it."
And someone gets hurt, I thought, glancing at Emily in the living room. "We can make arrangements for you to move down here, if that's what you would like," I said. "There isn't much else I can do for you. The process has already begun so there's no way to stop it unless you move somewhere completely away from the vampires."
There was a long silence over the phone. "So the murders in the city are vampires? Billy didn't want to confirm it but I've seen the bodies. It's not hard to figure it out." He sighed.
"Have you seen anything that can help us stop them?" I asked. "Any bodies popping up in one particular place? Something that might be able to help us find their nest."
"Not that I can think of. I would invite you to come look for yourself but I know how dangerous that would be," he said.
"Just try to keep your son calm for now, that's really all the advice I can give you. I'll have Emily start looking for a place for you. If he phases it will be too dangerous for you to stay in the city. It may be too dangerous now," I said, thinking it over.
Nick sighed again, sounding like a man who was between a rock and a hard place. "Thanks, Sam. I'll call you if anything changes."
We hung up.
"Who was that?" Emily asked from the other room.
Now, I sighed. "Tomorrow's problem."