A/N:
Date 6-4-17

Hey everyone! First of all, I believe the song above "Nightmare" by Natewantstobattle goes well with the overall theme of these latest chapters.

Thanks to VictoriaEubanks for introducing that song to me a week ago :)

Second, I hope you're enjoying the story, because it's almost over! I'm not sure exactly how long the ending will be, but it could be over by chapter 30. Emphasis on could, because it may be different :P

Third, I have some good news! There will be a third book in this series, which means the series will be a trilogy. Sadly, I'm pretty sure that will be the last book. I'll tell you the name and show the cover of the third book once this story is over.

Word Count: 2917

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Chapter 25: Monsters and Motivational Speaking

Lucas stares down at the stake in his heart, his eyes wide and his mouth slack. In the back of Lucas' throat, there's a metallic taste that gets stronger every second.

Lucas lets out a weak cough, which results in blood filling Lucas' mouth. "Now let's see if you die." The boss says gravely, yanking the stake out of Lucas' chest.

Lucas is astonished when, not even a minute later, he feels the healing process kick in as he spits blood onto the ground.

It takes a few minutes, but the bleeding stops and the hole in Lucas' heart closes over, starting to beat again as it falls in line with the status quo of body functions.

The boss stares in astonishment at how fast Lucas healed while Lucas' eyes suddenly flash golden.

"What was that?" The boss asks, snapping his gaze to Lucas' face. Lucas holds his breath, wondering what the hunter thinks that weird light was.

The boss rushes over to the door, opening it and peering through the doorway. The boss shuts the door again, then turns to glare at Lucas.

"You tell me what that light was and how you healed so quickly!" The boss spits fire, pausing for a moment to give Lucas time to answer. But Lucas stays silent.

"Now!" The boss demands. "Or I'll stake you again." The boss threatens.

Lucas feels his upper lip rise to show his bared teeth and a snarl leaves his mouth, completely sick of these hunter games.

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one who's the expert on this stuff!" Lucas replies defensively.

"You're right." The boss says, surprising Lucas. "Which is funny because I still think you're a vampire. Maybe a different kind, an unknown kind." Lucas growls under his breath, unable to believe the nerve of this guy.

Lucas has proved more than once that he's not a vampire. He was just staked and didn't die! Isn't that enough proof?

"A vampire can't survive being staked. It's my super healing." Lucas states, leaving off the "obviously" that he wants to add.

"I don't believe that's all. We'll just have to keep you here until I converse with my associates." The boss says quietly, almost to himself, as he shakes his head thoughtfully.

Lucas frowns, unable to comprehend how this hunter switched moods so quickly, suddenly calm and thoughtful. He must be insane.

The boss lurches forward out of nowhere and grabs Lucas' chin, forcing Lucas to look right into his eyes. "Show me your eyes!" He commands.

"What?" Lucas asks, pulling out of his grip, accidentally using a bit of his werewolf strength.

"Your eyes!" The boss says, pointing angrily at Lucas' eyes, that are brown as they should be. "Is that where the light came from?"

"What light?" Lucas asks, feigning confusion.

"I will find out." The hunter promises as he backs away slowly. "And you'll be sorry you kept it from me." He exits the room, immediately heading upstairs to the meeting room.

The boss enters the room and flips on the dim light, turning to the right where the door to his office is.

"Mr. Haze! Do you need anything?" The hunter's assistant asks, jumping up from his chair.

"Actually Malcolm, I do. Get on the computer and we'll start a search." Mr. Haze, the boss, demands.

"About what, sir?" Malcolm asks as he logs onto the computer and brings up the search engine.

"Supernatural creatures with yellow eyes and healing abilities." Mr. Haze replies, thinking back to Lucas.

"The kid we brought in who was supposed to be the Kitsune is definitely not who we thought." Mr. Haze says with a scowl. "But he's something alright."

~*~

"Can I tell Mason what we're doing?" Lena asks her dad who's in the driver's seat next to her.

"Yes, but he can't come. He'll have to sit and wait at his house until we come back." Mr. Sterling replies, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'll tell him, but I think he's still out looking for Lucas. He's been at it for hours, just like I wanted to be." Lena says sadly.

Lena pulls out her cell phone and texts Mason, telling him that she's going to get Lucas and will explain later.

"So how long does it take to get there?" Lena questions anxiously, wishing they were there already.

"It's a four hour drive. We're going to Topeka, Kansas." Mr. Sterling responds.

Lena glances at the clock, seeing it's 9:48am. "That means we won't get there until almost 2pm!" Lena exclaims, horrified at this revelation. Lucas is stuck wherever he is for another four hours.

"That's true, but I'm sure he'll still be alive. I know these hunters, they will figure out that Lucas isn't who they thought and they won't kill him." Mr. Sterling replies.

Lena hears his answer, but her mind has turned in a different direction. "Why didn't you tell me about my real mom?"

Mr. Sterling sighs. "It's complicated, but I never wanted to hurt you or Ivie. I kept a lot from you two, but I can't talk about it right now."

Lena frowns in disapproval, but she decides to keep quiet this time. Her dad is helping find Lucas after all, so Lena can give him a break for now.

~*~

Selynn has finally had enough. She's had to pretend to take her stupid anger management pills for days. Why is it so important for her to take those pills?

A few puzzle pieces clicked in Selynn's head after having another vision a few minutes ago.

Selynn is now standing in the bathroom, after spacing out in class for around ten minutes because of the vision.

Ever since Selynn stopped taking her medicine, the visions have been more frequent. So is it the pills that stop the visions?

Selynn isn't sure she wants to have these images flying through her head out of nowhere. Selynn realized today that she gets a slight warning, but it's not enough time for her to do much of anything.

Selynn gets this sudden pressure in her eyes, then the vision hits.

Vanessa enters the bathroom, interrupting Selynn's thoughts. "Why did you rush out of class like that? What was the emergency?" Vanessa asks with concern for her twin.

After Selynn came back to reality, she raised her hand and asked to go to the bathroom, saying it was an emergency. But Vanessa knows Selynn better than to believe that.

"I had another vision." Selynn tells Vanessa, the images rushing at her once again.

Selynn puts a hand on the sink to steady herself. Selynn's eyes open and close quickly, almost fluttering, as she sees the vision in her mind again. But this time it's not overwhelming, and Selynn is still aware of her surroundings.

"Lucas is in a dark room, strapped down to a chair. Some guy comes in and is yelling in his face, waving around something..." Selynn focuses harder on the scene in her mind, trying to get a handle on it to see better.

Selynn's heart races as she remembers the next part of the vision. "He stabs Lucas with whatever it is. Again, and again..." Selynn stops talking as she forces the images away.

"I can't remember it. It's too much." Selynn leans on the counter, feeling sick to her stomach at that much blood, but also feeling hungry. It's almost lunch and Selynn didn't eat breakfast.

Vanessa grabs Selynn's arm to hold her up and to get her attention. "Selynn, you need to tell me the rest of that vision. It could be very important."

"But you don't understand how awful it is to watch Lucas... I can feel some of his pain." Selynn complains, feeling bad for not helping more, but also worried about what it will do to her. What if the visions get worse and start physically hurting her, more than just a stomachache?

"Selynn, you are strong. Stronger than anyone I know. You can finish telling me this vision." Vanessa pep talks, sure that Selynn can get through this.

Vanessa may not understand exactly what Selynn is going through, but she can be the motivational speaker and give her sister confidence.

Selynn nods her head reluctantly, wishing that Vanessa had the visions instead. Vanessa has always been so strong.

Selynn hears the bell ring, signalling the end of fourth hour and the beginning of lunch.

"Maybe we should talk about this later. Don't you want to talk to John before he goes to class?" Selynn asks, knowing Vanessa doesn't get to see him often.

John has second lunch, so he will be in homeroom while Vanessa and Selynn are at first lunch.

"And what happened to him teaching us magic?" Selynn asks as she remembers that John was supposed to be coming over after school sometimes to help with magic practice.

"I decided to wait until all of this hunter stuff is out of the way. And I can talk to him later. Stop changing the subject! We're talking about this vision now. Don't you want to help save Lucas?" Vanessa questions, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at Selynn to pressure Selynn into this.

"Yeah, yeah." Selynn says with an eye roll, becoming serious quickly after that to focus on the vision. Selynn had pushed it away, but now she's letting it back in.

"The guy stabs Lucas a few times, then he steps back with a shocked expression..." Selynn tells Vanessa. "Lucas slumps in his chair, his eyes roll back into his head." Selynn says worriedly.

"I don't know if he's healing... What if they're using wolfsbane? They could've figured out he's a werewolf, or he could've told them..." Selynn looks over to Vanessa with concern.

"That's it, Vanessa. That's all I saw." Selynn says sadly, realizing that Lucas will probably die soon, and they have no way of knowing when.

"Think harder, Selynn. Try finding a location." Vanessa urges her sister.

Selynn thinks back, searching the vision in her mind, cringing at the ending. "I didn't see anything new. But I keep thinking a word. I'm not sure if it's part of the vision. I didn't hear it before."

"What is it?" Vanessa asks, hoping for a clue.

"Topeka. Is that Spanish or something?" Selynn wonders aloud.

"I'll look it up." Vanessa volunteers immediately, pulling out her phone and looking up the word.

"It's not Spanish! It's a capital! The capital of Kansas, to be exact." Vanessa exclaims, showing Selynn the results on her phone.

"I'm calling Lena." Selynn announces, dialling Ivie's sister to tell her the news.

"Hello? What's up, Selynn?" Lena asks as she answers the phone.

"Lucas is in Topeka, Kansas! I had a vision." Selynn tells Lena.

Lena glances over at her dad, wondering if he heard what Selynn said. He didn't seem to.

"I'm going to stop at this gas station real quick to get gas." Mr. Sterling tells Lena as he pulls up next to a gas pump.

Mr. Sterling jumps out of the car to get gas, and while he's doing that, Mr. Sterling calls Mr. Delaney.

"Hello?" Mr. Delaney answers.

"Selynn just had a vision. I heard her tell Lena over the phone." Mr. Sterling tells Mr. Delaney. "Aren't you giving her the pills we made to prevent that?" He questions in an urgent whisper.

Mr. Delaney pulls the phone away from his mouth and whispers angry obscenities before responding. "Yes, we have been for awhile. She must've stopped taking them."

"What are you going to do?" Mr. Sterling asks. "This must've been going on for more than a few days because Lena knows about this."

"I'll have to speak with my wife. We'll figure something out. But I just can't believe Selynn! She doesn't know what she's getting herself into! This is such a nightmare." Mr. Delaney worries.

"I better go. Thanks for telling me." Mr. Delaney says as a goodbye.

Meanwhile in the car, Lena was on the phone with Selynn. "Thanks for the info, Selynn. But I'm already on my way there. My dad knows where Lucas is being kept and is helping me rescue him."

"Okay. I'm glad you're going to get him." Selynn replies.

"Did you learn anything else in the vision?" Lena asks Selynn.

Selynn remembers Lucas being stabbed, then his eyes rolling back in his head, the whites only showing. "Nope. Nothing else." Selynn lies, not wanting to worry Lena anymore.

~*~

After Selynn says goodbye to Lena, she explains everything to Vanessa. Selynn still isn't feeling any better. Her eyes are hurting and her head is starting to hurt.

"Selynn... Why are your eyes bloodshot?" Vanessa suddenly questions, seeing something wrong with Selynn's eyes.

Selynn spins around to look in the mirror, leaning closer to see that where her eyes should be white, they have small red veins showing. Selynn blinks rapidly, but it doesn't go away, and her headache only gets worse.

"I'm gonna go home. I don't feel very good." Selynn tells Vanessa, gathering up her school bag to leave. "Will you be okay walking home if I take the car?" Selynn asks Vanessa.

"Yes. You go home and rest." Vanessa says, feeling guilty for pushing Selynn into remembering the vision. That, and the vision itself, clearly took a toll on Selynn.

Selynn goes to the nurse's office to get permission to go home. And because Selynn has her driver's license, she's allowed to go home sick without a call to her parents.

~*~

Selynn hears upset voices when she arrives home. Fortunately for her, Selynn used the front door instead of the garage, so no one knows she's home.

Selynn's parents aren't supposed to be home because it's a weekday, they should be at work. So it's a coincidence that she happened to be home without them knowing, while they're at home.

Which ultimately means that Selynn can eavesdrop on them.

Selynn follows the yelling until she stands outside her parent's bedroom.

"I told you! But you said I was being too hard on her!" There's a sob between Mrs. Delaney's words. "Now look what's happening to our baby girl!" She exclaims angrily.

Selynn figures that they're talking about her, so she keeps listening.

"I know, but I thought she was still taking her pills. She made it seem-" Mr. Delaney tries to say, but is interrupted by his wife.

"Yeah, well she's a tricky teenager! She probably thinks it's cool to have visions!" Mrs. Delaney cries, extremely worried about her daughter.

Mr. Delaney doesn't say anything as he thinks of what the best response would be. Mrs. Delaney snaps during the momentary silence. "Do you even care? Selynn could hurt herself, or someone else! You have no way of knowing what she's going through!"

Selynn sucks in a shocked breath, unable to breathe out as her thoughts race. Why would she hurt anyone? Selynn doesn't have anger issues.

"Actually, I do! As I've told you before, I went through the same thing with my brother when he was her age!" Mr. Delaney snaps back at his wife, hurt that she would say something like that to him, knowing what he's been through.

Mrs. Delaney suddenly feels awful, realizing what she said. "I'm sorry hun, I just want what's best for Selynn."

Selynn shoves the door open, startling her parents as she bursts into the room.

"What's best for me? I think right now, that would be the truth." Selynn says, glaring at her parents and fisting her hands on hips, weirdly calm sounding.

"Selynn!" Mrs. Delaney gasps. "How long have you been home?"

Selynn's head pounds harder as her eyes burn, tearing up in anger. That will probably be a migraine later. But Selynn ignores the pain to focus on her mom.

"Maybe you should answer my questions first. Who am I going to hurt?" Selynn demands to know, watching tears flow down her mom's cheeks, silently for once instead of the usual bawling.

Mrs. Delaney glances at her husband uncertainly. "Eleanor, I think we should tell her." Mr. Delaney tells his wife, melancholy etched into his voice.

"Go ahead." Mrs. Delaney says, nodding her head as she grabs a tissue and blows her nose loudly.

Selynn looks to her father expectantly. Mr. Delaney sighs, wishing that his wife didn't always make him do the hard things.

Mr. Delaney opens his mouth to start from the beginning, but Mrs. Delaney interrupts. "Selynn, before he explains, I want you to know that this doesn't make you a monster. I still love you for you."

Selynn feels her heart slow down and her thoughts grow sluggish as well. Monster? Why would Selynn think that she's a monster?