First Bitten (The Alexandra Jones Series #1)

That was the second funeral I’ve ever been to. I don’t intend to go to another.

I’ve put my things into Nathan’s Range Rover and I am standing outside it waiting for him. He’s still with Jack and Cal at Sol’s grave, saying their final goodbyes. Craig and Erin are inside the house.

When I first arrived back, I went in to collect my things and to check on Scarlett. She was sleeping. After I had cleared my room out, I put her in my bed to sleep. She was exhausted and I guess for as long as she’s staying here, it should be her room. I no longer need it.

I hear the back door open and look up to see Craig coming over to me.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I twist my hands together in front of me.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“No.” I shake my head.

It’s only me and Nathan leaving. Everyone else is staying put. Craig told me. He thought I already knew. I pretended to, but I know he could see right through me. I’d just assumed we would all be leaving. It was dumb of me. They don’t need to leave. The Originals aren’t looking for them. They’re looking for me. The Originals know nothing of their involvement. Anyone who could have led them here is dead. But still, it’s not safe for them if I stay. If I leave, they’re all safe.

Nathan’s only coming with me because he feels I’m his responsibility. And I’m letting him because I’m weak. I’m well aware I’m no longer his preferred travelling partner. He just wants to get me as far away as possible from what’s left of his family. He’s right. He’s doing what I should have done a long time ago. And I assume once Nathan has me settled somewhere, he’ll come back home and get on with his life. But I can’t think about that, not yet.

I sense Nathan and look over to see him coming toward us with purpose in his stride.

“Time for me to go.” I offer a weak smile to Craig.

“Did you get your cooler bag with your blood in?” Craig asks.

“Oh, no, I forgot.”

“I’ll go get you it.” He smiles.

“Thanks,” I say after him.

Without a word or a glance, Nathan walks straight past me and goes into the house. Getting his things, I assume.

I hear the back door open and look up, expecting to see Craig, but instead seeing Erin.

She comes over to me, not meeting my eye. I’m not sure what to expect. We haven’t spoken once since she arrived. She knows everything that happened. Cal told her. I guess he had no choice.

Without a word, she wraps her arms around me, hugging me to her. I have to choke back a sob.

“I’ll miss you.” Her words are muffled by my hair. “And I’m so sorry about Cal, about everything he did, I wish … I … ” She stops, her voice breaking.

I lean away from her so I can see her face. Her eyes are so wide and sombre it’s a punch in the gut to see them. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Everything that happened, happened because of me, because of what I am.” My voice wavers, all my pain and regret bubbling up to the surface.

“That is not true and you know it.” Her brown eyes turn serious on me.

The back door bangs. Nathan and Craig are coming toward us.

“Take good care of Nate for me.” She kisses my cheek and lets me go, heading straight for Nathan.

He stops, putting his bags down at her approach. Craig picks them up and continues to the car, heading for the boot.

I look away and turn my hearing off as Erin hugs Nathan. They’ve probably got things to say that I don’t want to hear.

I go to the back of the car just as Craig is shutting the boot closed. I have a favour to ask him. “Craig, I need to ask something … ” He gives me a curious look. “Would you mind … helping Scarlett? I know I should be the one to help her but … ” I shake my head disconsolately., “I can’t stay. And I can’t take her with me, and she’s just a kid … ”

“I got it.” He cuts me off, giving me a small smile. “I’ll be staying here for a while anyway. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

I smile gratefully at him. “Thank you.”

He reaches in his back pocket, pulls out a business card and hands it to me. “If you or Nate get into any trouble, ring me straight away on that number.”

I take a quick glance at the card.

‘Craig Brigham, Criminal Lawyer, Bennetts, Hamble & Parsons. Criminal Defence Lawyers.’

He’s a lawyer? I look at him surprised. This huge guy who was in the army and happens to turn into a wolf a few nights a month is a lawyer? He really doesn’t look like a lawyer, not that I know many lawyers to know how one should look, but you know what I mean.

“Don’t look so surprised.” He chides, chucking.

“Sorry I just … ”

“Don’t worry, you’re not the first, won’t be the last.” He waves me away with a smile. “I qualified before I joined the forces. After I got injured in the blast, I came back home and wallowed in self pity for a while. It didn’t really fit so I decided to finally put my degree to good use.” He leans close and whispers conspiratorially, “I deal with … special clients.” He winks. “It was one of them who helped me find you.” His tone leaves me wondering whether I should be feeling gratitude or a little fear.

Nathan climbs into the car, slams the door shut and switches the engine on.

“My cue,” I say.

I make my way down the side of the car and climb into the passenger side. Craig shuts the door behind me. I wind the window down.

“Stay safe,” Craig says to Nate.

Nathan gives him a nod and slowly pulls the car forward. Craig steps back, moving out the way. Erin waves from where she stands. I force a smile and wave to her. Then I realise I haven’t said goodbye to Honor and Hope. I open my mouth to say as much to Nathan, desperately wanting to go back and see them one last time, but think better of it. So, instead, I just wind the window up and steal a quick glance at the house before it disappears out of my sight.

* * *

We’ve been driving for thirty minutes in absolute silence, not even the radio for company, and it’s taken me this long to finally pluck up the courage to speak.

“Where are we going?” I edge out tentatively, fiddling with the metal button on my denim jacket.

“Scotland.”

I let me eyes slide sideways to look at Nathan. He’s focussed on the road ahead, frown lines etched deep into his forehead. “Any particular reason … Scotland?”

He takes his eyes off the road for a moment to give me a hard stare. The disdain in them is like razor blades against my skin. He looks back out through the windscreen. I practically sigh with relief when he does. “You need to get as far away from here as possible. The Originals are in the UK and they are looking for you.” His voice is cold. A shiver of absolute terror runs down my spine. “And as you can’t currently leave the country, Scotland is as good an option as any. It’s big and we should be able to move around pretty much unnoticed.”

He reaches over to my side, opens up the glove box and pulls out a baseball cap. He drops it onto my lap. “Put this on,” he orders. “I need to make a stop in the next village.”

I pick the baseball cap up and run my finger over the motif. It’s the cap he was wearing the day he came to see me when I was cleaning out Honor’s stable with Sol, the day which started the change of everything between us.

Feeling a lump in my throat, I gather up my long blonde hair and twist it up to sit on the top of my head, and pull the cap on.

We enter the village a few minutes later. It’s quiet. There’s not a soul around.

Nathan parks the car up on the roadside by the local shop. “Keep your head down. I’ll only be a few minutes,” he says, switching off the engine and getting out of the car.

I slouch down in my seat, hiding my face under the peak of the cap. I watch him go into the shop. He comes out less than a minute later and walks a bit further down the street and goes into what looks to be a chemist. I wonder what he’s buying.

The sky suddenly rolls in dark, and from out of nowhere the heavens open. The rain beats down hard on the car. Moving forward, I peer out through the windscreen just in time to see a blue flash of lightening. Keeping my face close to the windscreen, I count out loud, my breath fogging up the glass, “One Mississippi … two Mississippi … three … ”

The thunder crack is so loud that I nearly jump out of my skin even though I am expecting it. Wrapping my thin jacket around me, I shrink back into my seat.

A minute later, through the haze of rain, I see Nathan jogging quickly down the street toward the car. He’s getting soaked. His leather jacket is doing little to keep him dry. And suddenly, from out of nowhere, I feel a longing for him inside so strong that it nearly chokes me.

He climbs into the car, bringing the damp in with him. His face is glistening from the rain. He runs a hand over his hair, freeing the settled raindrops, unknowingly showering me with a fine mist. I say nothing. He turns the engine on, cranking the air con up to hot, unzips his coat and pulls out from inside it a small plastic carrier bag. He hands it to me without a word.

Taking it curiously, I open it up and peer inside. There’s a pair of scissors and a dark brown hair dye.

I look from the bag to him, a sudden sense of dread filling me. “Hair dye?” I question in a tight voice.

He pulls off his wet coat and throws it onto the back seat. “You need to change your appearance. It’ll help us move around a lot easier if you’re not so easily recognisable to people. It’s not gonna help with the Originals knowing you exist, but if Joe Public recognise you from your picture in the paper, we’re basically fucked.” He shifts the car into gear and drives forward.

“And the scissors, what are they for?” It’s a stupid question, I know. But still, I have to ask.

“What do you think they’re for?” His tone is hard.

“You want to cut my hair?” I swallow.

“No, Alex, I want you to cut your hair.”

“But I don’t want to cut my hair.” I shy away, putting a protective hand to my head.

“I don’t give a fuck what you want!” he suddenly roars, slamming the breaks on. I jolt forward. The bag flies out of my hand. The seat belt tightens, digging me hard in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me.

Easing the seatbelt off, I put a shaky hand to my sore ribs, trying to catch my breath. From out of the corner of my eye I can see Nathan’s shoulders rising and falling with each angry breath he takes, his hands gripping the steering wheel.

A second later, without another word, he shifts the car into drive and pulls forward.

Tears have formed in my eyes. I blink them back and turn away, looking out of the window as Nathan drives us into the unknown.