Chapter Eight

The woods were quiet, my ears twitching at any sudden noise. I'd been meditating in my cabin for the last two days, training my senses until I could hear people talking from up to a kilometre away and identifying smells that carried on the wind. I trained my body, using the woods around me as a personal gym.

I was always calling to Faye with my mind, hoping to catch her with her barriers down and being able to hear me. Her voice played through my mind, the night when she'd called my name always on my mind. I prayed that she'd heard my reply.

My eyes opened when I heard someone approaching. A female, about 5'7", 55kg, and closing in quickly. I stood up and crouched, preparing myself to face the intruder. The door swung open and a girl with hair the colour of the sun, stood grinning before me.

"Kennedy?" I asked. "Is that really you?"

"The one and only."

Kennedy was closer to me than anyone else I knew. She knew everything about me, so I knew I wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. I hadn't seen her in years though, her life now revolving around her and her soul mate. The night I'd seen Faye for the first time was the night where I'd called Kennedy seeking advice. Since then she'd been kept up to date about Faye. Until now that is.

"What are you doing here?"

"Your mum called. None of us have heard from you in almost a week, what's wrong with you baby cousin?"

"Nothing." I muttered. I sat back on the floor and Kennedy walked in, sitting down in front of me.

"I don't believe you. I can sense the pain you're in, Cain." She put a hand over mine and squeezed gently. I breathed in deeply, holding my breath before slowly exhaling.

She knew the answer.

"Where are you going?" I called when she suddenly stood up and head towards the door.

"We are going to pay Faye a visit. Now come on!"

I scrambled to get up, running out into the dark forest. I couldn't help but laugh when she popped up behind me, making me jump. She giggled, disappearing into the trees again.

"Kennedy!" I shouted, laughing and running after her, using my newly heightened senses to track her. I pounced and tackled her to the ground, the leaves around us exploding into the air as we crashed down into them.

"Nice going!" She cheered, patting me on the back as we tried to catch our breaths. "But let's not get distracted."

The longing to see Faye was the only reason I trudged behind Kennedy, my heart rate increasing the closer we got and the stronger my connection with her became.

We sat at a table in a dark corner, my eyes never leaving Faye as she sat at the bar. We went over the plan in our heads, watching as Mason appeared beside her with two drinks in his hands.

"Kennedy-"

"I smell it." She was half way across the room before she even finished, sitting beside Faye and knocking the poisoned drink out of Mason's hand and onto the floor. Poison hadn't been in our plan.

"Oh I am so sorry, let me buy you another one!" I heard Kennedy say in her most innocent voice. I sent a quick text to Lucas, giving him the heads up to execute his part of the plan.

"Don't worry about it." Mason replied, walking away again, eyeing Kennedy suspiciously.

"Hey, sorry about that. Are you sure I can't buy you a drink?" Kennedy asked Faye, smiling politely.

"Oh it's fine. My friend's getting another so-" She was distracted by her phone vibrating.

She read the text from Lucas and looked around for Mason who was now coming back.

"Mason I am so sorry, but I gotta go." She said as he approached them.

"What? Why?" He sounded frustrated, looking at Kennedy as though she was the cause.

"My dad's out of town and apparently the alarms are going off at his shop, he asked me to go have a look and talk to the security guy that's coming out." She hopped off the bar stool, looking at Kennedy and then at Mason. "I'll message you?" She said, smiling apologetically.

"I'll come with you. It could be dangerous." He said quickly.

She agreed, taking his outstretched hand.

Mason turned and stared at Kennedy as he walked past. "Don't think I don't know what you are, mutt." He growled under his breath. "Don't try to get in my way again." He was very sure of himself for a beta wolf.

I clenched my hands into fists, annoyed at myself for letting my emotions get in the way and not sensing what he was from the start.

Kennedy made her way back to me and sat down, saluting me with one of Mason's drinks and tossing it down in one shot.

"We still have to figure out what he wants." I said, pulling the other shot that Kennedy was reaching for, away.

"Well I wouldn't doubt that he's one of Abel's pack. He looks scrawny, but I think he's one that Abel trusts the most. What they want with Faye though, I wouldn't have a clue." She pulled the shot out of my hand and I watched as it disappear down her throat, her face contorting over the strong taste.

"What if he tries something again?"

"I'm sure he will. He'll be on his guard tonight, so I think she's safe, but we'll have to watch over her until he's been dealt with."

"Thank you for being here, Kennedy. I don't know what I would have done."

She squeezed my hand reassuringly. "You love her. It messes with your brain, but I'll get you through it."

I sat at the grand piano in our music room, the only light coming from the candles that flickered in the darkness. The notes echoed around the room as I pressed them one by one, listening for any sign of Kennedy's return between each of them.

I heard the glass doors open and the room grew cold almost instantly.

"Encore!" Kennedy clapped as she walked inside.

I looked at her, eagerly awaiting her news. She sat beside me at the piano and played a few keys herself.

"Teach me how to play some day." She said quietly, listening to each note travel around the room.

"Kennedy!" I pleaded.

"Okay okay." She laughed and looked at me. "She's fine. She's in bed, on the phone to some girl with a really annoying voice."

I sighed in relief. "And Mason?"

She shrugged. "I lost track of him in the woods. They're clever, but not clever enough." She grinned as she pulled a phone out of her pocket. "It's got no contacts on it, but only one number has ever been called."

Abel. My heart raced as I scrolled through the calls list, the number burning into my brain. I suddenly hit call, putting the phone to my ear.

"What are you doing?" Kennedy hissed, trying to pull the phone away from me.

The tone dialled a few times before it stopped and a voice spoke.

"Hello Cain. It seems you have something of my friend's, he'd very much like it back." Abel's voice was honeyed yet untrustworthy as he spoke.

"What do you want from Faye?" I growled, my hand gripping the phone so tightly the plastic sounded like it would crack.

"Why, she's the missing link of course."

"The missing link to what?!" I shouted, standing up, scaring Kennedy.

"To our bloodline." The call ended and I threw the phone through the doors and out into the woods.

I paced the room, my mind working over time, trying to figure out how Faye could possibly be connected to us.

"Calm down, Cain." Kennedy pulled my arm, stopping me. "We at least know Mason is with Abel, and they both want their hands on Faye. We have to figure out their next move and stop them."

She was right. I was letting my emotions get ahead of me again and I had to concentrate.

We said goodnight to each other and I fell into my bed, exhausted from the past few days spent in the woods with little sleep. I pictured Faye in my mind and called to her.

Cain?

I heard Faye's voice so quietly I thought it to be my imagination, but the feeling it sent through my body made me know it was really her.

The frost was thick on the windows and a fog had rolled in. Kennedy was in the den with Abi, laughing and snorting at something on the TV. I was getting impatient, every second that ticked by was leading to Mason's next plan on capturing Faye.

I sighed in frustration, the chair I had been sitting on scraping across the floor as I stood up and walked over to Kennedy.

"We can't just sit here!" I protested, throwing my hands into the air and pacing in front of them.

"Yeah, we can." Abi chimed in. "And it's what we're gonna do."

"No one asked you, Abigail." I frowned at her and then at Kennedy.

"She's a shit friend. Running away because, what? Why did she suddenly decide to cut us out? I say we let Mason have her."

"Abigail." I warned, my voice guttural as I spoke. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

She stood up and stormed out of the room, her footsteps pounding up the stairs.

"You didn't have to be so harsh." Kennedy said as I sat down beside her. "She treasured Faye as a friend."

I sighed. It was true, Faye had been Abi's first real friend and it pained me to see her cut Abi out of her life so easily. More than it hurt me that she had replaced me so easily. I rubbed my face and groaned.

"I love her. I don't know why...it just hurts somuch. I can't give up on her."

"I know." Kennedy replied, her voice the faintest whisper. "Getting to Mark wasn't as easy as I had made it seem, either. He had had a girlfriend." She chuckled. "I basically stole him from her."

I looked at her in shock. She was a flirty girl, but never someone I imagined as a boyfriend stealer.

"Oh don't look at me like that. He hadn't been happy, I'd watched them arguing for months before I stepped in." She smiled, embarrassed. "My point is, you're soul mates. She'll come around eventually."

I heard the front door slam and winced.

"Why aren't you at school?" Kennedy looked at me curiously. "You didn't tell them you were dead, did you?"

"Mum called them when I uh, disappeared. Said I'd be away until the holidays were over."

"Why didn't you say so? Let's go have some fun!"

She jumped up and yanked at my arm, urging me to get up.

"Kennedy..." We didn't have time to be distracted and I was far from in the mood to have 'fun'.

"I'll cut you a deal. We get out of this house and have fun, and I'll let you spy on Faye later."

I sighed and gave up, letting her pull me off the couch.

Kennedy smashed the buttons on the arcade game, cursing at and kicking the machine. I nervously looked around, thankful that there was no one around. "This is your idea of fun?" I questioned under my breath. "We're going to get kicked out."

"What time is it?" She asked, not taking her eyes away from the screen.

I checked my watch and looked at it dumbfounded.

"Kennedy it's 5pm, we've been here for almost five hours."

"Good. You've been having fun, right?" She looked at me quickly and grinned, turning back to the screen and biting her lip in frustration.

Finally she threw her hands up, cheering in victory. "Let's go get a drink!" She shouted.

"Are you serious?" I called after her as she walked out of the Arcade.

She walked down the street to the pub where we'd last seen Faye with Mason, swinging the door open and walking into the noise of conversation and the live band that was playing.

She was already sitting at the bar when I walked in, ordering something from the smitten bartender. He ignored me when I sat down, his eyes looking Kennedy up and down constantly as he made her drink.

"Here you go, gorgeous." He said, pushing the money on the bench back to Kennedy. "It's on the house."

I cleared my throat and he looked at me icily. "What can I get for you?"

"Same thing as my girlfriend." I smirked back at him and pushed enough money at him to cover both our drinks.

"You're no fun!" Kennedy whispered, pouting at me.

I rolled my eyes and picked up the drink in front of me, downing it in one go. My throat felt like it was on fire and I coughed harshly. "What the hell was that?"

"Just a little something I made up myself." She grinned, finishing off her own drink.

I sighed and called the bartender over again, ignoring the sarcastic tone in his voice as he spoke. If I was going to have to wait to see Faye tonight, I had to keep up with Kennedy. She cheered and pat me on the back when he poured four shots in front of us.

I was grateful for my alcohol tolerance, though the buzz it had given me had made me feel good.

An hour later and I was growing impatient again. Kennedy was dancing in front of the stage, the band members all training their eyes on her.

"Maybe you should take your 'girlfriend' home." Mr Sarcastic muttered, watching her while wiping the same glass he had been for the past ten minutes. I glared at him, but he was right. I pushed my way through the crowd of people, grabbing onto Kennedy's arm and pulling her out of the bar. The cool air outside was refreshing and I sucked it in through my nostrils. Kennedy giggled beside me and I couldn't help but laugh too. My smile faltered when I though of Faye though and I shut my eyes.

Let's go see Faye. Kennedy's soft voice in my mind was soothing and I have her a nod.

Faye was at home, but not alone. We crouched in some bushes, listening to Faye and Mason laughing over something.

Eventually they moved rooms, walking slowly towards the front door, Mason whispering sweet things in Faye's ear. The front door opened and the two stepped out, Faye looking at her feet.

"So I'll pick you up at 10?" Mason asked, brushing something off her cheek.

"Mmhm." Faye blushed, leaning into his hand.

Mason grinned and leant down, his lips pressing into Faye's, making her heart race. "I'll see you then."

"Bye." She breathed, watching him walk down the steps and down the driveway. She only went back inside when he had disappeared into the darkness, her heart still beating fast.

"God I hate that guy." Kennedy whispered beside me.

I'd been ready to kill him the moment he'd stepped foot outside of her house. The anger towards him and Faye's infatuation with him, boiled inside me.