A/N:
Released on February 14, 2019

Yay a chapter a day late! I had a migraine yesterday and couldn't finish editing this extremely long chapter.

And like before, I can't split it bc it's too close to the end of the book. I have a set amount of chapters that I want this book to have, which is 45, like the first book.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! We've got another new perspective coming up :)

Word Count: 3476

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Chapter 43: Potentially a Hunter

The bus ride home was strange, to say the least. Sitting beside my older brother as if we'd never been prone to fighting and arguing made things a bit awkward.

Plus, I was so used to traveling with Zane that it felt weird to be with anyone else. And the fact that the past few weeks of traveling had never included public transportation made me uncomfortable.

We'd been on the run, literally fleeing on foot, for weeks if you didn't count the few breaks we had. Being out in the open like I was with Jake, surrounded by plenty of people who could be enemies in disguise caused a slight paranoia to show its ugly face, but I managed to beat it down and focused on making things less awkward.

I had a feeling that even if I hadn't pushed my family away for so many years, Jake and I still wouldn't have been very close.

The relationship we had was one you might expect with him being the oldest child, always looking down on me because he was older.

It didn't matter that our age was only separated by a year, he'd always acted like he was wiser and knew more than I did. Which was a bit ironic, considering all of the secrets I'd hid about the supernaturals that actually lived in our world.

I finally decided it was time to ask about the vampire hunters that Jake mentioned, seeing as he'd made it sound like they were local which could mean trouble for Zane and I.

I just hoped that the hunters from Topeka, Kansas, didn't communicate with the ones from Missouri on a regular basis. If they did, the hunters nearby would already be on the lookout for me and my friends.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I'd like the know more about the hunters you mentioned." I told Jake, clearing my head of worries so that my attention would be on the story. Assuming he was going to tell me.

Jake glanced out the window next to him, watching as we sped along the road on a crowded bus. At first I thought he wasn't going to tell me, but he started to speak after a minute, still not looking at me as he explained the situation.

"It all started when two people approached me almost two weeks ago..."

~*~

Jake's POV

Walking home from school seemed like the best option. After what had happened during the detention trip, I never wanted to step onto a school bus again. The memories it brought back, even to see a school bus, were too haunting to dwell on.

And even though I wasn't that close with Alicia, I was overwhelmed with guilt. How could I leave her to deal with a psycho by herself? Sure, she'd told me to get Lucy to safety, but I left her all alone to fight some guy that appeared to stronger than a human had the right or ability to be.

The guilt sprouted from her disappearance. Lucy said that our sister got away and was staying at a friend's house, but I just couldn't believe that. My gut told me otherwise, and I'd never not listened to it before.

Which was why, when a gut-wrenching feeling of being watched tore through me, I listened.

A quick glance out of the corner of my eye told me that I might've been right. Two adults had just crossed the street and were walking along behind me.

I knew that they might've been going about their business, not even knowing who I was or trying to follow me, but I wasn't about to dismiss what my instincts were telling me.

I walked at my normal pace, hands in the pockets of my worn out dark blue jacket as if I didn't have a care in the world. Changing my original route home, I stepped down a street I knew of but didn't use often.

Once around the corner, I waited there to confront the man and woman behind me, who had gone the same way I had.

The matching expressions of impassiveness on their faces when I stepped out of hiding was not what I expected, but I kept myself cool and collected.

"Why are you following me?" I questioned, defiance gleaming in my eyes as my face remained emotionless, removing my hands from my pockets in a clear sign that I was ready to use them.

The guy held up his hands leniently as he spoke. "Relax, we just wanted to ask you a few questions about the bus crash that occurred last week."

"I've already talked to the police and I've turned down all of the other press." I responded, sounding calmer than I felt. "I don't want to talk about it. You people need to leave me alone before I press charges."

"We're not reporters." The woman responded, having the same tough look about her that the man did. "We're looking into your sister's disappearance. We might be able to help find her."

I knew from the very start that something was off about them, but they'd reeled me in enough that I didn't demand they leave again.

"I'm listening." I prompted, relaxing my stance a bit to let them know that I would hear them out instead of taking action.

"You must've seen the man on the bus the day of the incident. Could you describe him for us? Any odd things that make him stand out would help." The woman asked, pulling a small notebook from her bag.

A dark look passed over my face, the hatred I felt toward that day springing up. My fists clenched at my sides as I shook my head. "Oh, he was no ordinary man. And I think you two know what I'm talking about."

The people before me glanced at each other as if having a silent conversation. "What do you mean?" The woman finally said to break the silence.

"You said you're not reporters, but you didn't claim to be personal investigators." I pointed out, having made all of the observations I'd needed to come up with a reasonable conclusion. "You said you want to help my sister, but you're asking about the man first, which must mean you're after him, not the missing girl."

I glanced at their ensemble as if to prove my point. "And don't get me started on the matching black standardized outfits under your coats. You're from an organization that hunts people like the man I saw."

I'd managed to surprise the strangers, much like I surprised everyone else when I occasionally used my observational skills to solve a problem.

Being a mostly quiet kid made people think I was shy, but that was never who I was. I'd always been content with sitting to the side and watching everyone else, getting a sense of who they were and what humanity was all about.

"You're quick witted, aren't you boy?" The man commented with a raised eyebrow.

"I am if I want to be." I replied vaguely, still unsure of the motive behind whatever group they were apart of.

I needed to be sure that they wanted to help Alicia as well, not just catch the perpetrator.

"I want to help catch that monster. Tell me what to do." I told them assertively.

They shared another glance before the man replied. "What is it you think we're hunting? Do you understand the danger of what you might be facing, if you were to join us in this hunt?"

I stared down at my shoes uncertainly, thinking of what I'd learned on the bus ride that day and hesitating to speak my suspicions. But I had to know for sure. And who better to confide in then some strangers who appeared out of nowhere, looking to be monster hunters? "I overheard the man on the bus, when he thought everyone was unconscious. He spoke to himself, talking about how he'd make us his lunch."

My gaze moved steadily from the ground to the people in front of me, faking confidence that I needed in order to show that I had what it takes. "I witnessed how strong and fast he was. My guess would be that he was a vampire."

They nodded gravely, confirming my suspicions. Then the man gave directions. "If you'd like to help, you need to search through your sister's things to see if she's affiliated with vampires in any way. There's always evidence somewhere. There's no way she stood up and fought if she didn't know what she was facing. I trust that you won't be stupid enough to tell anyone but what we're up to."

I went home to search through Alicia's things with the instructions to meet them in the same spot the next day at noon to show what I'd found.

And they were right. I'd found so much evidence that I was blown away by how much my little sister had kept from me. She'd hidden it very well in a few different places, some of it in her closet at the bottom of a box full of childhood memories.

The rest was buried in a box in our storage area in the attic, so hidden that I had to dig through the storage for hours.

I found loads of research on vampires, from books to online pages printed out, to a notebook full of notes on what was true about vampires and what was not.

The list went on and on. So I filled my backpack with as much as I could and brought it to the hunters the next day.

We walked to a nearby coffee shop filled with customers to talk. I discreetly showed them what I'd found as we sat in a corner booth, after we ordered and received our coffee.

It was one of those days that the bitter taste of coffee was something I craved. Especially since I had a feeling that the conversation may go downhill quickly, revealing secrets about Alicia that I'd never even suspected.

"What's your sister's name again?" The woman asked as they barely skimmed over a few things before putting it all away, having seen enough.

"Alicia." I told them, wondering why they'd asked that. I thought they already knew, since they'd been able to track me down.

"Her full name?" The woman questioned patiently.

"Alicia Marie Chase." I responded, curious as to why they didn't already have the information. Just as I'd suspected, they were more focused on the monster than finding my sister.

They exchanged one of their frequent stares at each other, communicating in the strange way they had. "That can't be a coincidence."

"What does that mean?" I asked defensively, leaning forward with my voice lowered.

They glanced at each other again before the woman sighed, reluctantly explaining. "I'm sorry, but... your sister's dead. We've heard that name among the vampires quite a few times. They've been hunting her for around five years, I believe. She must've been a great hunter to be so known."

"Dead?" I repeated, my bravado fading as her words dazed me.

"I'm so sorry." She offered her condolences again.

"I'm just... extremely shocked. We weren't that close but she was still my younger sister. She was always running off... and that must've been why." I mumbled to myself, horrified that I didn't realize what an important job Alicia was doing.

"So she was a vampire hunter too? Always running off to save people?" I inquired, still trying to wrap my head around it as I sat back in my cushioned seat.

"It seems so." The man nodded in agreement.

"That must've been because of what happened when she was eleven. Her and my youngest sister were attacked. They didn't say that it was vampires." I confided, relaying the information aloud to rationalize it in my mind.

"They probably told your parents, who wouldn't believe them. Would you blame them for not running their mouths about monsters attacking them?" The woman commented, not bothering to lower her voice as the bustle of the coffee shop was loud enough to drown us out.

"No, I guess not. I just can't believe she was carrying such a large burden for those years, and I gave her a hard time over it." I lamented, my gaze wandering out the window as I took an experimental sip of my coffee.

The warmth spread through me, helping me cope with what I'd learned.

"Well, this seems to me like the perfect chance to avenge her. We fight so this doesn't happen to other families." The man spoke up. "It's a shame that we couldn't save Alicia, but we must keep fighting. And you seem like an excellent candidate for our training programs."

~*~

"So you were off looking for me while I was looking for you?" I recited the information back to Jake to make sure that I had it right.

He turned his head to look at me for the first time since he began the story, a half smile on his face as he thought over what I'd said. "Yeah, I guess you're right. How about that for irony?"

We both laughed quietly, always ones to not draw attention to ourselves unless it was required.

It wasn't too long after that when we arrived at our home in the town of Stonemere, Missouri.

I rarely thought of Stonemere, being nothing out of the ordinary from any of the surrounding towns. We had nice enough schools and shops. Houses were decent too. That was Stonemere for you, decent enough that you didn't find much to complain about. And there definitely wasn't much to marvel about either.

The look on my mother's face when she opened the door made the trip to find my brother that much more worth it. She gasped aloud, a hand shooting out so fast that it bordered on inhuman speed as she reached out for her oldest child.

She stayed like that for a moment, her grip on him clearly tight by her white knuckles as she assured herself that Jake was really there. Then she pulled him forward to crush him in a hug, eyes squeezed shut, tears of relief streaming down her face while she held onto her son for dear life.

My mother's brown eyes opened to land on me. "Alicia," She breathed out softly, "You brought him home."

Her tone was full of disbelief as she finally loosened her grip on Jake. "Get inside, you two. We have a lot to talk about." She ordered sternly, pulling her son inside.

Once we were through the entryway and the door was locked behind us, I set my backpack down next to the coat rack.

A noise upstairs alerted me of someone coming through a window, a sound that I knew was only picked up on by me.

"Zane?" I sent the thought to my boyfriend to assure myself that it was him.

"I'm here. I'll be hiding in your room until you have the chance to join me." He thought to me, both of us being careful of our thoughts going directly to each other.

I wouldn't want Lucy receiving any of the thoughts we were broadcasting.

"Mom?" My sister's voice drifted uncertainly from the other room.

Just a few steps brought us to the dining room where my little sister stood beside the table, homework and school books resting in her spot.

I had followed my mom and brother through the house, so I wasn't the first one that Lucile saw, and I was unfortunately not the one who caught her attention.

"Jake!" She squealed in wonder, running forward and throwing her arms around him. It stung a bit, despite her actions being justified due to our brother getting home after being declared missing, but I pushed that aside.

What really hurt was what happened next.

Even after separating from the bear hug she'd given Jake, she barely glanced at me before ignoring my presence.

"I'm so glad you're home!" Lucy exclaimed, facing our brother completely to further discount me.

Forcing myself to look at anything else to avoid the harsh way I was being treated caused me to see the storm that was brewing. My mom's lips were set into a firm frown, a sign that one of her famous speeches was coming on. "Speaking of, I've got quite a few things to say to you about that."

Jake turned reluctantly to our mother as she continued on scolding him. "I can't believe you'd run off like that! You've always been a good kid, Jake. What in the world was going through your head that made you think that running away was okay? I demand that you give me some truthfully answers, or I swear to God I'll-"

"Marise," My father's tough voice cut her off instantly. "Why don't we settle down. Let's all sit at the table and talk this over in a civilized manner, please."

My eyes widened of their own accord. He was never the one to stop an argument, especially if it involved me. But I should've known that he'd stick up for Jake. And I had to admit, my mom's tempers could be quite destructive because of how rare it occurred.

Everyone took their respective seats at the dining room table, Lucy making a pile of her school supplies and pushing them to the side.

Our dad gave a slight nod of his head, indicating to his son that it was time to explain his actions.

Jake swallowed hard, clearly nervous as he glanced around the table. His gaze landed on me, where we shared a look that spoke more than words could've. I'd been in the hot seat more times than I could count, and Jake had been there basically every time.

Our parents made a point of having a family sit down whenever one of us did something wrong. My brother had never done something this bad to scale, but he knew that if I could get through it, he could too.

"First I- I want to apologize. I feel awful about what's gone on, what I've put you guys through. I'm really sorry." Jake said with conviction, looking at his parents remorsefully.

"I knew I should've opened up and talked to you guys about what went down during detention... with the bus crash and everything. But I was overwhelmed and so confused that the only thing I knew to do was run." He confessed, eyes downcast and looking ashamed of himself.

His words were so earnest that I found myself almost believing them. Although I'd heard the real story about him going off with hunters, I was unsure if what he was saying wasn't also true to some extent.

"My intention wasn't to run away from home, but to get away for a few days. A few friends mentioned going on a camping trip, so I joined them." Jake told the outright lie convincingly. "I knew you guys wouldn't approve so I thought I'd call when I got there, but there was no service. And I didn't mean to stay gone for so long. I just needed more time to process everything."

My dad's forehead had the familiar creases it got when he scowled. From the amount of time his face spent like that, I was surprised it wasn't a permanent look. "And which friends would those be?"

Jake should his head, giving our dad a pleading look. "Dad, please don't drag them into this. I lied and told them I left a note for you guys. Their parents gave them permission. I don't want them getting in trouble for unknowingly helping me."

"Fine." Our father grumbled unhappily. "We'll leave them out of this. But you are in big trouble, I'm sure you've guessed. We'll discuss your punishment after your mother and I tell the police to call off the search."

Jake flinched at the tone of voice directed at him and the affirmation of how much trouble he'd caused. It was worse than any one thing that I'd done in the past few years because the police had to be involved.

Our parents exited the room, leaving my siblings and I sitting in awkward silence, all of us lost in our own thoughts.

Seeing Lucy solidified the fact that I had to unload the truth as soon as we had a moment alone, which would be soon if things went accordingly.

My stomach jumped into my throat as I wondered how she'd react to knowing that I was a vampire, the thing she hated most in life.

None of it was going to be easy, but I was finally going to get it off my chest.