That was easily one of the strangest things I'd ever experienced, and I've had my fair share of strange! It didn't seem like a real wolf, it seemed too understanding and tame. Its eyes almost had a conscious quality to them that you don't find in something wild.
I was brought out of my thoughts by a familiar voice ahead of me.
"Hey Olivia!" Ari shouts from a distance, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Hey!" I shout back with a wave. "And you can call me Liv."
"Waiting on someone?" Aiden teases from behind Ari as they get closer.
"No, just having a weird encounter." I reply with a slight chuckle.
"What kind of encounter?"
"I was just taking the trash out, and this-" I trail off as I see Lex off a ways talking to some mystery woman. She's tall, nearly his height, with ebony skin and a frizzy ponytail. Layered necklaces and rings on almost every finger, feather earrings and chains connecting them to earrings higher up. She's beautiful. I feel a sharp pang of jealousy that makes my stomach flip unpleasantly. I quickly peel my eyes away, trying to mask the discomfort I'm feeling. Out of the corner of my eye I see Aiden giving me a knowing smile, assuring me that my attempt to recover my relaxed demeanor has failed.
"It's nothing, I'll tell you later." I finally finish, casting my eyes down a bit. "So, what are you guys doing here?"
"We actually came to talk to you. We think we found something." Ari beams.
"What? What did you find?"
"Our brother Richard, he thinks he knows someone who can lead us to the Gypsies!"
I stare at him dumbfounded.
"The Gypsies?" I have no idea what they have to with this, or who they are for that matter.
"Right, I keep forgetting you're a muggle. They're like us, only more exclusive and private. They're like stuck up hippies, if we're being honest." Aiden gently swats Ari on the arm.
"The point is, the only known Memory Keeper on this continent is one of them, and Richard may have a way to find them. He's going to take us to them the day after tomorrow" Aiden finishes.
"That's awesome!" I grin. Not only excited at the prospect of finding this Memory Keeper, but also at the idea of meeting Richard, at seeing if I really do know him.
"Did you tell her?" Lex asks as he approaches me, the mystery girl having left.
"Yeah, she's on board." Ari replies.
"Fantastic!" Lex smiles proudly at me. I give a small smile back and avert my eyes. If I feel this jealous over seeing him with someone else, I need to put a halt to my feelings right now before I risk getting more attached.
"Well, I'm freezing, so I'm going inside to warm up." Ari states and heads indoors, Lex on his heels.
I feel a gentle hand on my arm stopping me from following.
"Are you alright dear?" Aiden asks, looking at me with a warm brotherly look I can envision him using on his brothers quite often.
"I'm fine, why?" I try my best to be convincing, and fail.
"Because, I'm very good at noticing when someone doesn't like what they see." He raises his eyebrows suggestively.
"It's nothing." I state firmly, adding a slight smile at the end so he knows I'm not angry.
"If you say so." He smirks. "But a word to the wise, don't assume something about our dear Lex without talking to him first. It's not fair to you, and it certainly doesn't do his feelings justice."
He gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze and begins leading me inside. I know he's right, I should just ask Lex head on, get it all out there. But I can't. Maybe it's my ever wandering mind, or some fear of the potential rejection, but the thought of facing him like that has me wanting to run for the hills.
I let those thoughts and fears run rampant, so lost in thought I don't notice him approach me.
"Hey, are you alright?" Lex asks, worry etching his handsome face.
"Yeah, I'm great!" I say a little too brightly, practically screaming I'm lying.
"Are you sure? You can talk to me, I'm told I'm a great confidante." He states proudly, making me smile in spite of myself.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He smiles at me, staring into my eyes and I match his gaze.
I feel that odd tingle again, making my brow twitch involuntarily. He quickly looks away uttering an apology I can barely hear.
"Why do you do that? Look away from me..." I ask quietly. A few seconds pass with no reaction, and I begin to think he didn't hear me. He turns towards me and runs a hand through his already messy hair.
"It's just... I don't-" He gets cut off by the sound of glass shattering. Not a cup or a plate, but a window. This is followed by another window shattering, followed by another, and another. What seems to have taken several minutes to transpire, has really only taken a few seconds, and the things breaking the glass I discover are bullets when one finds its home in my right calf.
I scream as the searing pain hits me, causing me to buckle at the sheer violence of it. Lex catches me, and before I know it he has me held firmly against his chest behind the bar. I can see Aiden here with us, but I see no sign of Ari or Kirstie.
The bullets are crashing through the building, tearing at the bones and joints, causing severe damage to everything. The ring from the bullets combined with the pain from my leg is making my head swim and my vision tilt.
I can feel a towel being pressed to my leg and another being tied around it to hold it in place.
"Are you alright?" Lex asks into my ear, his warm breath seeming to only agitate my nerves more. I manage a simple nod. Aiden is kneeling in front of me securing the cloth on my leg. With a final tug he pulls it tight and firm, causing me to grunt in discomfort.
"It's alright, I've got you, I'll keep you safe." Lex coos sweetly while gently stroking my hair.
"Ok, I know this bar is reinforced, but with this amount of gun fire it's bound to give out soon" Aiden says, huddling up next to us.
"Reinforced?" I ask, trying to keep my mind off the throbbing pain in my leg.
"We deal with some unsavory people, we thought it might be wise to make something in this building bullet proof, just in case." Lex answers. I thought it was strange that we seemed to be shielded. My youngest brother, Wesley, started at the Police Academy as soon as he was out of college. He taught all of us gun safety and control, he also showed us how powerful a bullet really is and how misleading movies are. By all accounts, the bullets should be ripping through this bar like everything else, but my guess is they've done something magical to it.
"How long do we have?" I ask through gritted teeth, the bullets ringing out strong.
"Maybe 5 minutes, give or take a little." Aiden replies. "We need to find a way out."
The bullets stop. My ears are thankful for the sudden peace, only to be brought back to reality at the sound of glass crunching beneath feet. The footsteps are slow, but coming closer. I can feel Lex tensing. He slowly releases me from his grip and leans my back against the bar. He removes a giant signet ring from his finger, one just like Felix's, and presses the symbol. It shifts and moves till he holds a small blade in his hand. Aiden gently reaches out and grabs his arm, halting him before he rushes to face our attackers. He turns to me and motions me to stay quiet, I happily oblige.
He quickly shifts into a cloud of smoke and disappears. Bullets begin sounding off again accompanied by the panicked shouts of the men making their way to us.
"Hey!" Ari whispers excitedly quickly sliding behind the bar with us, eliciting a small, shocked shriek from me. "It's alright, it's just me."
"Where have you been?!" Lex demands through gritted teeth.
"Kirstie and I were in the back room when the shots started. I left her there and came to find you when they stopped. Is it bad?" He asks, motioning to the blood soaked towel around my right calf.
"It hurts..." I answer, shifting my position to ease my discomfort a little.
"I can help with that!"
He begins to hover his hand in a circular motion above my leg as a faint green glow begins to emanate from his palm, shining down onto my leg. The pain, surprisingly, begins to numb. I sigh and relax against the bar, suddenly realizing how tightly my muscles were clinched due to the pain.
"Do we have anything we can use as a grenade?" Ari asks frantically searching for anything useful as the sounds of whatever Aiden is doing can still be heard behind us.
"No, all the bottles of liquor are shattered and broken." Lex replies, helping look for anything to assist in this situation.
"Wait... I might've found something." Lex says, opening the broken door of a mini fridge beneath the counter. He reaches in and shows us his find.
"Big Benny's Mega Burrito?" I slowly read the wrapper, feeling slight worry at what our most readily available weapon is.
"Burritos? Are you bloody kidding me?!" Ari asks incredulously.
"Come on! Have you ever been hit with a flaming burrito before?!"
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