Carlos and Zephyrine

[[deleted user]]

Evangeline wanted to melt into Alex and never leave his side, and felt cold wrap around her body as soon as he pulled away, though she did tilt her chin to accept the kiss. She closed the window behind Alex and took a deep breath before leaving the office, keeping an eye on where she knew Alex would be step-by-step, though she didn't know how or why. When she got downstairs, she pulled Loyka aside and said, "We need to talk." Before she turned to the room and said, "We're closing, everyone needs to go now." Though there were grumbles, people started clearing out. The entire room grew rigid when Alex entered, though, and didn't move enough to where Evangeline barked, "Out!" and even Loyka jumped. Finally everyone left and Evangeline sat her sister down at the bar.

[Carlos]

Alex waited until everybody was out though he watched them with distrust and once everyone was out he closed the doors shut and locked them both so that no one could just come inside as well as flip the sign to the side that read "Closed" before turning around and walked over to the back, closing and locking those doors as well before returning inside and went bar to where Evangeline and Loyka were at. Once he got to them he didn't sit down but remained standing up behind Evangeline though his eyes darted once in a while to every window and door as if he was waiting for something to come crashing and walking through them despite them being locked though he knew that locked doors and shut windows couldn't keep out a werewolf for even a few seconds as he had already experienced it but he knew that if anyone was coming he would hear them or catch their scent.

[[deleted user]]

The younger sister could tell that Loyka was confused and annoyed, but at least the older girl jutted her chi in acknowledgement and hello to Alex before she gave Evangeline an irritated, 'well, get on with it!' look. Evangeline sighed and said, "I decided, because of everything going on, and with the information Laelee and Peljo gave Alex, that you're leaving town. Like, now." She had already given her sister at least the more important information of what had been advised that morning. Not much -okay, nothing- about imprinting.

"What? Why?" Loyka looked from Evangeline to Alex before her expression changed from confused to pissed. "Did you two-"

"No!" Evangeline interrupted her, not wanting to hear it. "Well... We..." She sighed and her lip, resisting to look up at Alex. "We imprinted." Loyka muttered something about them screwing everyone in the town over, but Evangeline spoke above her. "It's not controllable, you know that."

Loyka sighed and nodded. "Well, where do you think I'm going?" And Evangeline explained to the two where she thought it would be best for Loyka to hide out at, adding a the end that Alex wouls be taking her.

"Well, I'm not leaving you here," Loyka informed, crossing her arms. "Actually, you are. I'm staying," Evangeline said, also crossing her arms, though it was natural and not mimicking.

[Carlos]

Alex's face grew red for the third time that day in embarrassment and he looked away as he listened to the two talk. Despite it being only a few seconds Alex's patience was gone as he didn't want to spend the whole day there arguing and an growl came from him as he said "We don't got time for this." then he walked from behind Evangeline to Loyka so he was standing in front of her a few inches away thinking "I'm sorry about this Evangeline. Forgive me." and he placed his hand under Loyka's chin so that she couldn't look away from him and he looked her in the eyes as he said "You will listen to Evangeline. You will go along with the plan and you will let me take you away and you will stay where I take you until we come back for you." though as he talked his voice took an hard double edged yet very powerful tone as he used his alpha voice on Loyka so she would have no choice but to listen and obey what Alex said. He didn't want to take her will away and force her to obey him but he didn't want to waste any more time then they already had in those minutes.

[[deleted user]]

Alex's voice was so forceful and powerful that even Evangeline tilted her head and bared her neck in submission, although she had no reason to. Loyka's eyes widened and she nodded her head just a little, her arms falling out of their defensive hold. "Alright," and that was all the push Evangeline needed to shoot up from her seat and duck into a door behind the bar, emerging seconds later with a backpack full of clothing and supplies for her sister. They kept these bags in times of need for when they helped others get out of the pack, and she pulled her sister to stand before giving her the bag. She wished she could have a moment to acknoledge maybe not seeing her sister again, but a muscle feathered in her jaw at the realization that she had to find Nick and keep him at bay. She wrapped her arms around her taller sister and pressed her lips to her cheek before looking at Alex, thinking to him and not Loyka, Do not apologize for actin in what you were born to be. Do not apologize for saving my sister's life. She let go of Loyka and pressed her hand to Alex's arm, reaching up to peck his lips before saying aloud, "Thank you." Evangeline did not wait for an answer before she turned and left the bar, keeping the burning in her eyes that threatened for her to cry again in check.

[Carlos]

Alex watched Evangeline leave the bar and despite wanting to go after her he knew he couldn't and to try to avoid the urge to go after her Alex said "Come on." before gently grabbing Loyka's arm, leading her to outside then he went up to an sports car that was parked nearby and he said "This will do nicely." before he broke into the car and sat in it, uncovering an panel and he messed with the wires for a few seconds before he managed to hotwire it. Once he heard the sound of the cars engine roaring to life he got back out and led Loyka to the passenger side, helping her in and shutting the door behind her before going back over to the drivers side and got in then he took the brake off and stepped on the gas pedal, the car shooting out of the parking lot and speed down the road as he thought "Be safe Evangeline.

[[deleted user]]

Lotka recovered over the shock of Alex breaking into the car quickly, and once she buckled and settled into the passenger's seat, she turned to him, a dead serious look on her face as she promised, "If you hurt my sister, I will kill you." It hardly mattered that Nick had already hurt her baby sister, she couldn't do anything about that with a man who had so much pull in the town. Alex, however, didn't. And if he dared imprint on the only family she had left, Loyka certainly felt comfortable keeping a close eye on him.

Evangeline realized that Nick was somewhere that she couldn't sense or smell, and decided to bring him to her. She headed to her house and unlocked the front door, leaving it open a crack before heading to the kitchen. Her head still ached, though whether from stress or what -perhaps the inevitable end stages of imprinting?- she didn't know. She rifled through her medicine cabinet as she tried to think of a way to get Nick's attention when an exploding pain coursed through her head and she began to see images that she hadn't ever seen before. A pale girl with dark hair; a big guy with dreadlocks; a smashed-in football helmet with someone's head still inside. She saw her own memories too, and noted that they started from right before she met Alex, from yesterday morning when Nick choked her, and went backwards, even as far back as to when she was a toddler, with another child.

[Carlos]

Alex didn't at all seemed impressed with the threat as he continued driving, the trees and building going behind them in a blur as he drove faster and he said "I wouldn't hurt my own mate. Not like Nick." and he continued driving when Alex gasped as his head seemed to explode in pain and the car swerved a bit, almost crashing into the side rails before Alex managed to get back on the road but his teeth which had become pointed a bit were bared together as the pain continued and images started appearing in his mind that he was sure weren't his so he guessed they were Evangeline's but some of them were mixed with his own even though some he didn't remember. Him when he was a toddler though it was when he lived in town and was standing with another toddler, an girl, who he assumed was Evangeline, him and his parents with the pack along with his grandfather and grandmother as well as his godparents then they sped up to when Alex was at the bar and he first met Evangeline as well as the fight with the other male werewolf.

[[deleted user]]

"Good-" Loyka replied, shouting in shock when Alex swerved. "Are you alright?" She demanded, but he didn't seem to hear.

Evangeline gritted her teeth at the pain and images. She didn't want Alex seeing them, but knowing she saw his -including the mutilated bodies of his parents, which scared her- told her that he had to have been remembering as well. The last image that she saw in knowledge of hers was what she really didn't want him to see, never mind her sleeping with Nick or otherwise, it was that of blood on Evangeline's hands and claws and a small boy lying dead before her.

She gasped and began wheezing, trying to breathe properly at the memory. Evangeline yelled and fell into a sitting position on the floor, crying and repeating 'no' over and over again, though she still had to sit through more images.

[[deleted user]]

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[Carlos]

Alex didn't answer in return but instead just pushed down more on the gas pedal, going way past the speed limit as he continued to keep on driving, his teeth slowly turning to normal though his head was still in pain. A few seconds later Alex saw that they were close to their destination, just a couple of feet away, and he slammed his foot down on the brake making the tires squeal loudly against the road before the car came to an stop, a bit of smoke rising from the ground on either side of the car from the force of the stop. He left the car on and remained sitting down in the car with his hands on the wheel as he looked at Loyke and in the same hard double edged yet very powerful tone like before he said "Just a couple of minutes from here there's an house that my parents owned. Its big but hidden in the forest as well as far enough from the town so you'll be safe from Nick. Just follow the scent, go inside the house but whatever you do don't leave and head back to town until me and Evangeline come back for you."

[[deleted user]]

Loyka slowly got over the shock of Alex's brazenness, wrapping her fingers around the strap of the backpack and unbuckling. "Thank you, Alex. Be careful," she whispered, not waiting for a reply before she pulled herself out of the sports car, shouldering the backpack and stepping away. She only gave one glance at him through the window before taking off with her supernatural speed through the woods.

Back in their town, inside Evangeline's house, the young woman gripped the counter but did not pull herself to stand, her skin still damp from her panic attack. It took her a good while to calm down, and she hadn't even stood before she heard her front door creak open, footsteps to follow. "Serves you for betraying me," grumbled the voice that made her jump, reflexively leaping to stand and act as normal as she could, although it was obviously too late. Nick grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the kitchen and down the hallway, all the way out and to his car. "Come on," he ordered when she protested, pushing her up into the passenger side of his truck. She watched as he walked over and climbed into the driver's seat. "What did he do, hit you?" Nick was obviously mocking, and Evangeline did not deign to respond, her nails digging into her jeans as she looked solemnly out of the window. The man grunted and fired up his truck, pulling out of her driveway to take them wherever he planned.

[Carlos]

Alex didn't bother watching Loyka walk away as he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal so that the pedal went all the way down and with the sound of screeching tires as they spun in the dirt the car shot back down the road leaving an small spray of dirt, rocks and dust in its wake as both car and driver headed back to town. Alex arrived back in town a couple of minutes later due to the speed that he drove at, faster then when he was driving with Loyka without stopping and surprisingly without any accidents and he thought "I'm back Evangeline. Where are you?"

[[deleted user]]

The sigh from Evangeline's lips when he heard Alex seemed to annoy Nick, and she was about to reply, thinking, I'm with-, but was cut off by Nick's rough voice. "What's up with you?" he demanded, his hand grabbing her chin to force her gaze on him. Something in her expression made his face turn from annoyed to grim, and he said, "I have someone waiting at our house to go over some plans with us." Evangeline hated that -their house, but she swallowed and nodded, turning away again as soon as he let go of her face. I'm with Nick, she told Alex.


((Sorry it's short.))

[[deleted user]]

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[Carlos]

Alex's foot slammed down onto power of the brake and with the sound of squealing tires the car came to an quick stop while leaving black tire marks into the street from the sudden break. His hand grip on the steering wheel tightened until his fingers started to turn white as his body began shaking violently from anger which in turn made the car shake as well, an low growl ripping through him and his eyes beginning to change as his body threatened to phase though he began taking slow but steady breathes until he stopped shaking violently, his heartbeat becoming steady and his eyes changed back as he managed to stop himself from phasing though his grip on the wheel remained tight. He took his foot off the brake and turned the car around before driving forward as, with his thoughts angry, he thought to Evangeline "I'm coming after you guys." Even though Alex hadn't seen which way the two had went he was pretty much relying only on Evangeline's scent to follow them.

[[deleted user]]

Evangeline pursed her lips and shot a quick glance at Nick to make sure he wasn't watching before replying to Alex. Please just leave it- it isn't time to end this right now, she thought, meaning that it wouldn't be worth it to try and get rid of Nick when they had so little resources. I will meet you back at my house tonight- he just has... Evangeline paused when Nick stopped his truck in the driveway of their obscenely large house, narrowing her eyes at the car parked next to them. "Who exactly is waiting for us?" she demanded, furrowing her brow in annoyance at Nick. He seemed equally annoyed with her attitude and shook his head, hopping out of the truck to come and meet her on the other side, pulling her out without even waiting for her to get out on her own. She quickly finished her thought to Alex, Just wait for me to tell you I need you, as she thought that was probably the safest bet.

[Carlos]

Another growl came from Alex as he stopped the car again and he just sat there for a couple of seconds gripping the steering wheel then after a bit with his anger barely contained he thought "Fine. I'll stay out of it for now but if your not at your house by tonight I'm coming to get you no matter what. I don't care who or what I have to hurt to get to you." In both of his sentences there was an angry edge to his words that seemed unlike him but in truth both him and his wolf were worried about their mate's safety. He remained sitting there then when he was calm again he thought "Please promise me that you'll be at your house Evangeline. I don't want to hurt anyone else but if it means that you'll be safe and with me then I will do whatever I have to do if it means you coming back to me. though despite trying to remain calm there was sadness and fear in his words from him worrying about her safety and in fear of losing her to Nick.

[[deleted user]]

Evangeline listened intently to Alex, so much so that she tripped walking up the steps to Nick's giant house. He muttered something belittling to her and pulled her to stand, slamming open the front door. Evangeline didn't promise to Alex, all she replied was, I love you. She took her coat off and hung it in the hallway, Nick dragging her to the dining room where an old lady sat on the floor on a pillow, the table and chair gone, in its' place a few pillows circled around a blanket. She looked up at Evangeline with a strange, old knowledge in her eyes, pointing to one seat for the girl and another pillow for Nick. As the young woman sat, she realized what this was, and internally groaned. The preparation meeting for a marriage ritual- which meant Nick was pushing thing along faster than she had thought. The woman stared Evangeline down in an uncomfortable silence before picking up a small clay cup and filling it with something hot from an old pot in the middle of the blanket. She handed one to Evangeline and another to Nick, she said when Nick was about to sip, "Hold your face over the steam, then cup your hand over the rim," in a raspy voice.

[Carlos]

Alex remained sitting in the car with the engine still running, his grip on the steering wheel still tight as he glared at the road laid out infront of him. He hated the fact the he was suppose to wait until later that night to see Evangeline again but he knew she was right in what she told him. He remained glaring at the road when he felt something stir within his mind and a couple of minutes later an deep voice said What are you doing? We should be out there going to Evangeline instead of just sitting here holding our breaths. The voice belonged to Alex's wolf and it surprised him a bit as his wolf had talked to him only twice before. Alex moved a bit in his seat as he thought "Evangeline told us to wait for her until nighttime." which earned him an snort in amusment as his wolf replied "Even if she is our mate since when have either of us ever listened to what people have told us to do? Are you willing to lose her like how you lost your only two friends and both of your parents?" Alex growled deeply as the memory of losing both his foster parents and real parents came back to him but despite his anger there were stronger emotions of sadness, pain and grief that brought tears to his eyes. With sadness in his voice his wolf said "You may have lost your friends and parents but we can make your lonelyness dissapear if our mate is with us." and Alex wiped his face with the back of his hand then he thought "Your right. Even if she is our mate we should still do what we feel is right and bring her back." which earned him a feeling of satisfaction from his wolf as Alex sped of towards Evangeline.

[[deleted user]]

Evangeline paused, wondering if this would seal some sort of pact between her and Nick. In that case, she didn't want to- it would be as bad as marrying him. But apparently Nick was waiting for her to take the instructions, and nudged her not so gently when she didn't. She swallowed and leaned her face over the cup for a moment before sealing the top with her hand. Within the moment Nick did so as well, she felt something showing up on the side of her face, and with the touch of her free hand she felt four raised marks that stung. From a mirror the woman held up, it looked like a claw mark slashed her left cheek from the hollow of her eye down to her neck. She froze, looking over to Nick, but he remained unmarked, despite the ugly aging that showed on his face. He looked sick and evil, and a glance at her own reflection showed that, while accompanied by the marking on her face and some other scars, she remained as pretty as she already was. She froze again, feeling a strange thread pulling in her chest, and she knew it had something to do with Alex, which made her feel nervous. Was he disobeying her request?

Over the next few minutes a few other rituals took place before the old woman disappeared when Evangeline had glanced away, and Nick had already stood. She touched her face and the mark had gone, and Nick looked normal. She sighed and stood as well, turning to leave. "Where are you going?" Nick asked, stepping close to her.

[[deleted user]]

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[Carlos]

As Alexander drove off down the road he quickly realized that he had no idea whatsoever where he was going at all but he had an nagging feeling at the back of his head that he had a feeling he should follow and follow it he did. He didn't know how but after a couple of minutes driving he came to an stop a couple of feet from the house where he had a feeling that Evangeline was at as well as Nick. The thought of Nick being there made his grip on the wheel tighten until he could feel it almost past its breaking point so he let go and took the next couple of seconds taking deep breaths in order to calm himself down. It worked for a bit though just as quickly as he would feel calm his anger would come back just as fast and realizing that it would be pointless to try to calm down he got out of the car, not even bothering to close to door behind him as he began making his way to the house while preparing to change in a moments notice though it was obvious that he was threateningly close to loosing control from the way his eyes changed from their regular color to the color of his wolf eyes.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline felt a sick feeling in her stomach pool, but on the outside she looked calm and collected, easily lying to the man who thought he had control over her. "Back to the pub," she answered, reaching into the hallway to grab her jacket. In a flash, Nick had her arm in his hand, his features becoming more animalistic than human that moment.

"You smell like him," he muttered, his voice dangerously quiet. She swallowed, the corner of her lip twitching in the only betrayal of her hiding her fear. "Want to tell me why?" She knew she couldn't lie again- her fear was already evident to both of their inhuman senses. "I'll give you one chance to make me believe that you're not still betraying our pact."

When she didn't answer, his dark eyes changed so much that they almost looked black, and she could see her reflection in them. "You're not leaving this house until the wedding without my escort," he growled, cornering her thin form with his beastly one. "If I see him again, I will kill him." He paused, her chest rising and falling in her panic at his words. He wasn't messing around. "And Loyka. I'm not afraid to hurt you, either. You know that." He had obviously seen the thick claw-like scars on her face during the first tea-steam ritual thing. They both knew it was a prediction of what any sort of marriage between the two would be like: him, ugly and old; her, trapped and marred.

She was so focused on his threats that she barely noticed a new presence that was obviously Alex's draw nearer to the house. She let out a shaking breath, and Nick dropped her arm while his nails shifted into claws, scraping her arm. "What is it?" he growled, his face inching closer to hers and studying her features to discern her expression before a wicked grin broke out on his face. "We'll have some fun, then," he whispered into her ear, his tongue scraping across her smooth cheek to make her smell more like him. He pulled away, dashing down the hallway in a flash to greet the furious visitor, Evangeline following in pursuit.

[Carlos]

As Alexander drew closer the scents coming from the house grew stronger with one of them recognizing to belong to Evangeline which confirmed his question if she was there or not. He came to an stop about a foot or so in front of the house with his hands curling and uncurling in attempts to control himself as well as the change though his eyes remained how they were. He had to wait only for a couple of minutes before the front door open and Nick walked out of the house with Evangeline following in pursuit. At first glance, physically, Evangeline didn't appear harmed or injured for which made Alexander feel glad but upon further inspection he saw that she appeared panicked and scared at the same time as well as the strong scent of Nick covering him. An growl came from him though he managed to resist the urge to change as he looked back to Nick and said "Let Evangeline go. She's not yours to have." Surprisingly, as he talked, he managed to keep his voice calm though there was an slight tremor of anger in his voice that betrayed how he was really feeling. That and the fact he was right on the boarder line or rather edge of losing control of himself.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Nick cackled an evil laugh, Evangeline wincing at the sound. She didn't understand how Alex could have come back so fast- why he would have betrayed her wish for him to wait at her house for her. She stared at him, wondering if Nick would keep his own threat to kill Alex, Loyka, possibly even Evangeline.

"This-" Her thoughts were dragged back to the present when Nick placed at hand on her shoulder, stiffening his grip when she made a move to shrug him off. "Belongs to me more than you or herself. We have a treaty." His fangs were elongated with his wicked smile; she wanted nothing more than to knock them out, but she knew she would only break her hand and get a finger bit off or worse. He quit grinning at the girl and switched to scowling at Alex. "You have one chance to leave town, or I'll save you for last. You'll have to watch." Evangeline swallowed harshly, her breathing quickening at what he had said, obviously changing what he had told her.

[Carlos]

Alexander's hands clenched slightly at Nick's laugh, the laugh sounding sickening to his ears though the sigh of Evangeline wince made him restrain himself. Even though she didn't appear to be injured he didn't want to risk it so for the sake of her he forced himself to remain calm. Surprisingly he remained quiet throughout Nick's speech though he did grit his teeth together when Evangeline tried to get Nicks hand off her shoulder but it remained where it was at. At Nick finished talking the place was filled with silence as Alexander didn't talk but after a couple of seconds with his eyes on the ground he said "I don't care about some stupid treaty. She isn't some object that you get to keep just because her parents gave her away so that they can leave. She has a choice whether she wants to stay with you or go on her own." After a couple of seconds he looked back up as, with his voice full of anger, he said "So no I'm not leaving just because you say so. Not while Evangeline stuck here with you and especially when my family's pack is being lead by some person who doesn't even deserve to lead them much less call themselves an alpha." In all he was basically challenging Nick for Evangeline's freedom and even the right to lead the pack which, technically, rightfully belonged to Alexander while he was still alive.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

"If I weren't an alpha, how come I'm leading this entire town? It's filled with fullbloods and infected- you wouldn't stand a chance even if you beat me. No one cares if you have the birthright," Nick sneered, Evangeline hissing when his claws dug into her shoulder. Alex being near by made her feel stronger, more independent in a codependent way- but she was more scared of Nick and his threats than confidence in her strength. "Evangeline can't leave. We're getting married. She could have left anytime before now, you're just being toxic and controlling." Evangeline scowled, her eyes turning from Alex to Nick, knowing full well she couldn't have left because of Loyka.

[Carlos]

Surprisingly Alexandrrs temper didn't flare nor did he change at Nicks words despite the fact that they were basically insulting someone. What did make his temper flare when he heard the sound of Evangeline and he looked to see Nicks hands, which had changed into claws, we're now digging into Evangeline's shoulder and he even thought he saw some blood begin to appear though instead of doing anything he remained where he stood at in fear that if he did make a move it would end up with Nick hurting Evangeline any further so he remained where he stood. His eyes flickered from Evangeline back to Nick at hearing his words though he didn't deny that there was some truth to Nicks words which momentarily sparked some guilt through him and, unknowingly, through his link with Evangeline but just as quickly as it had appeared it vanished. He was being controlling about Evangeline though unlike Nick he wasn't doing it out of lust. He was acting like how a mate should and out of protectiveness over Evangeline, wanting her to be safe. This time he knowingly sent those feelings to Evangeline so that she would know how he felt. "If your confident that you could kill me then why haven't you done it by now? You could have killed me many times since I've been in town yet you haven't."

[EmmaLee Babcock]

"Good leverage to hang over Evangeline's head until our wedding. We just sealed the future, didn't you see it?" If they were mates, Nick was obviously mocking them. He opened him mouth again, claws digging deeper into her shoulder when Evangeline burst, completely shifting not into her wolf but werewolf form. Her long black claws dug into Nick's neck and the back of his head.

"You will let us go," she growled, her voice changed from the shift. Her black and gray eyes glistened, the thought of Alex or Loyka being harmed finally putting over the edge. She was done being Nick's toy- especially when she didn't feel hardly any value to her own life without Alex being around. "And we will not be exiled." In turn, deep red blood flowed from his neck while he grinned at her, his second hand resting on her stomach with claws poised.

"This will be finished soon, Evangeline. One of us will be dead," he growled backing her up until she stood closer to Alex and shoving her away and into the second male, obviously not afraid of her ripping his throat out. "You two don't stand a chance," he spat, turning into the house and slamming the heavy door behind him.

[Carlos]

If Alexander had fur it would be standing on edge by now at hearing Nicks words. "Your disgusting." Alexander growled softly though the next thing he knew Evangeline had changed and the two seemed to be at a standoff so he didn't move. He waited whee he was as the two walked over to where he was at and when Evangeline shoved into him he immediately caught her by wrapping his arms around her waist. He turned around and began walking back to the car with Evangeline in his arms, without a second glance back at Nick though at hearing his words Alexander growled softly though made no attempt to go back and instead just focused on getting Evangeline to the car as he murmured "You okay?"

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline held onto her shoulder, nodding her head when Alex was in the car. "I'm fine." She was annoyed that he hadn't listened to her, but grateful at the same time. If he hadn't come and started something, she might not have been able to leave that house until the wedding. She swallowed, pulling down one of the visor mirrors and inspecting the marks on her shoulder after sliding the neck of her sweater off her shoulder. She didn't look at Alex while they were driving, not mentioning or even wanting to mention the bond that had happened while they were separated until they were back at her house. Thinking of the place, she finally spoke but kept her eyes out the window. "We can't stay in town," she said, trying to think of a place they could go. "My parents had a house on the outskirts. It might be there but Nick told me he burnt it down."

[Carlos]

Alexander helped Evangeline into the passenger side of the car before he closed the door behind her and got into the drivers side, starting the car and driving off away from the house. As he drove he glanced up at the mirror to see the neck of Evangeline's sweater pulled off her shoulder to reveal claw marks along her skin where Nick has got her. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he swallowed back a growl that threatened to come out and instead just concentrated on driving. He could feel the marks in his own shoulder and not for the first time he wish the bond didn't involve each other sharing the same wound though this was mostly because of his decreased healing. He nodded his head slightly and murmured "Okay. We'll go see about it." as he began driving off, following his instincts on where to go.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline felt Alex's eyes turned to her and instantly felt back about the bond causing him to be harmed and not heal as normal. She wished the spell hadn't been placed on her by Nick, and even wondered if since he had given her up she could get rid of it. She watched the trees and houses pass by, knowing Alex was going the right way. When they headed down a road that led to the old farmhouse, she tilted her head at it when it was in sight. "There." Something made her wish Nick had kept the promise, the house was filled with too many memories. But it was a safe place for the two of them now.

[Carlos]

For the rest of the drive Alexander had remained silent as he thought that Evangeline would want it like that after what happened. That as well as the fact that he was still trying to make sense of Evangeline's memories going through his mind as most of them were staticky and grouped together like a television acting up so it made it confusing for him as well as a bit painful trying to process it all. In the end he decided to shut his mind off from Evangeline so that the flood of memories would stop but left enough of the link opened that he could sense her feelings. After a few minutes he heard Evangeline and in response he continued driving until he came to a stop about a couple of feet in front of the old, shutting off the car and getting out to help Evangeline.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline decided to wait for Alex to help her out once she realized that was what he was doing; she didn't want him to think she was ignoring him altogether. She led the steps up the house, a sick feeling in her stomach from the memories as they approached. To be expected, the door was locked, so she turned one of her fingernails into a long claw and picked at it until it clicked open. She closed the door behind him and led him to the dining room, sitting him down at one of the chairs by the massive table (which had once been used for town meetings by the elders). "I'll be back. We need to clean your shoulder up," she murmured, leaving the room and coming back with a first aid kit a minute later and sitting down, gesturing for him to take his shirt off. She felt like he was mad at her for some reason, but at the same time neither of them were truly speaking. She felt like part of their bond was being suppressed in the moment.

[Carlos]

Alexander helped Evangeline out of the car and closed the door behind her before he began walking alongside her towards the front door of the house. As they walked he figured that it would be best for the moment to remain quiet to allow both of them any privacy they had to themselves. It only took a few seconds until he came to a stop at the door and another couple of seconds for Evangeline to pick the lock before they walked inside with him closing the door behind them. As soon as he walked in he was met with the smell of the dust filled house which made him scrunch his nose a bit though he did his best to ignore it as he followed Evangeline to the dining room, taking a seat on the chair as he waited for Evangeline to come back. Again it only took a minute before she came back with something that looked like a first aid kit and without arguing he did as he was told as he took off his shirt exposing the toned, muscular and lean body build hidden underneath the shirt. To be honest he was never one to be bothered or even embarrassed about taking off his shirt or any clothes in particular in front of others.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline pulled her legs up into her seat, unzipping the first aid bag once Alex had taken his shirt off. Red warmed her cheek but she ignored it, too focused on cleaning his shoulder to. She pulled out some alcohol wipes and gently cleaned up the blood, looking at the small holes which had been caused from their link -of that they hadn't even bother to talk about yet. She swallowed and cleaned up the dried blood them put small bandages on, glad it wasn't too bad. "They'll heal up soon," she murmured, more hoping than positive it wouldn't take long. She leaned back into her seat, inspecting Alex's expression and quiet for a moment before she asked, "You know what that was?" When she already did. She would rather explain something painful than for him to just assume it was her on her own.

[Carlos]

An slight feeling of amusement flared inside Alexander's mind at the sight of Evangeline blushing but he did his best to ignore it as he winced slightly at the stinging feeling of the alcohol wipes as Evangeline cleaning his shoulder, an slight stinging feeling going through his body but other then that he didn't move. He remained sitting there still as he waited for her to finish cleaning him and when she finished he nodded his head slightly as he rolled his shoulder just to make sure that nothing else was wrong with it. Once he assumed nothing else was wrong he leaned back in his chair though he made no attempt to put his shirt back on as he just sat there and listened to Evangeline's before he said "You mean the wound or about what happened earlier?" as he lightly tapped the side of his temple indicating the exchange of memories for the latter of his question

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline bit her lip in annoyance, knowing they both knew she was talking of the latter. "The link. The memories," she confirmed, pulling her sleeves over her clenched fists. "Like what happened to you on a football field recently." She looked away, knowing there was literally no going back once that had happened. Barely that morning she had been desperately fighting any kind of connection between them- now their souls were bound together. "Or whatever you saw of me." She wasn't sure if the memory she had seen had only been her fear of him seeing it or her seeing it as he saw it. "More will come gradually," she whispered, more to herself than he. Part of her wondered if he seemed closed off because of that or because of their argument at the bar a couple hours before.

[Carlos]

"Oh." Alexander said when Evangeline said she meant the link but when she mentioned the football field his face became hard at the memory. Even though it had been a while since he had even thought back to his old life he didn't exactly enjoy thinking about it as it still hurt him a bit to think about it, especially when it came to remembering Jordan and Moira so he did his best not to think about them. Even so an small flare of sadness shot through him and his hands shook a bit at the memory of his old friends though he managed to get control of himself as he listened to her before saying a bit coldly "Look, I don't want to remember right now so let's save the conversation for another time." After a couple of minutes he realized that he might have said it a bit meaner then he meant to and his face softened as he moved forward so that he was sitting right in front of her, taking her hands in his gently as he said "I'm not angry at you or anything like that. It's just that it still hurts a bit remembering my life before I changed and along with the fact that your memories were rushing into my head it was a bit overwhelming." He gently squeezed her hands and gave her an small smile before continuing. "For the moment I'm just keeping some of my mind closed from you so that I'm don't get to confused trying to sort your memories from my own and my memories aren't confusing you."

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline closed her eyes and nodded, opening them again to look directly into Alex's dark eyes. She gave a small smile. "It's okay. We just need to stay connected enough to be safe. Maybe we can just talk it all over once... once everything is settled." Her voice dropped to a whisper at the last sentence, and she looked out one of the Windows again as it began to snow. "We'll get through this," she whispered, turning back to Alex and pulling one of her hands out of his and cupped his face gently. "I don't want any secrets between us."

[Carlos]

Alexander felt an jolt of happiness when Evangeline smiled at him and for some reason he felt his face heat up as he blushed a bit though just as quickly it had appeared his blush faded. He felt a bit happy when she agreed to talk about the memories later and just sat there enjoying the feeling of holding her hands in his own. After a couple of seconds he felt her hand cup his cheek and a small smile appeared on his lips as he leaned his cheek gently into her hand and said "After this I promise I'll tell you anything you want." He closed his eyes slightly for a few seconds before he opened his eyes to look at Evangeline as he said "You want to go lay down for a bit before we do anything else?" As he talked he realized that he might have sounded like he was suggesting they do something else though he did his best to ignore it.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline drooped her head and took a deep breath, listening to her body and recognizing most of what she felt as pure exhaustion, having barely slept the previous night. How was it possible they had only met the night before? As adults, anyway. "Yeah, we need sleep. I don't think Nick will bother us tonight," she agreed, finally looking back up at Alex and gently moving her hand from his face to shoulder. She knew he hadn't meant it to sound as much of an innuendo, so she gave him the break, standing and grabbing trash from the alcohol wipes and such, leaving the first aid kit behind. When she came back to him a minute later, she swallowed. "I'd rather not be apart tonight. There's a guest room we can share, if you're comfortable with it." Something about being in her old room or her parents room made her feel sick.

[Carlos]

Alexander felt a bit relieved when she didn't seem to notice what he had almost sounded like and he remained sitting down when she stood up as he watched her clean up the mess before she left the room. While she was gone he got up and did his best to clean up any remaining mess though he didn't have to do it for long as Evangeline came back a minute later. He looked at her and noticed she looked a bit noticed though before he could ask she had started talking in which he became quiet. After she finished he thought over her question before shrugging his shoulders as he said "Sure." and walked back over to the chair he had been sitting in before, grabbing it and sliding it back on gently.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

"My parents have clothes in the closet upstairs, and there are showers on both levels if you'd like," Evangeline mentioned, knowing both of their shirts were either cut up or bloody or both. She turned while he put his chair back and she headed upstairs, grabbing leggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt from her mother's closet and heading to one of the free rooms to change, her ears tuned to the other noises in the house and glad to notice that the only other sounds were coming from Alex.

[Carlos]

Alexander nodded his head slightly in response to Evangeline and said "Okay." He waited for her to walk upstairs first so that she could get some privacy before walking upstairs as well. He made it to the top of the stairs and looked around at the rooms so that he could tell which one Evangeline was in before he walked into the room he assumed was the guest room that Evangeline had talked about. He went to the closet and opened it as he looked through its contents before settling on a pair of shorts which looked like the only clothing in there that would fit him. He went into the bathroom though he closed the door behind him slightly before turning into the shower which he walked to and turned on the water, waiting for the water to turn warm before slipping out of his clothes and stepping inside while closing the curtain behind him.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Evangeline walked around her parent's old room, having previously not wanting to go near it but curiosity and dangerous sentimentality getting the better of her. Despite the stale smell of the lower levels, this room still smelled like the couple in her memory. Patchouli, basil, strawberries. She forced herself to hold her breath, grabbing a throw blanket off a chair and wrapping it around it in the cool attic air. She looked around, glancing at photos in frames. She stopped at an old book, her fingers brushing over the tunes on the front of it.

[Carlos]

It only took Alexander about a couple of minutes to get cleaned up before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, grabbing a towel nearby and using it to dry himself off. He hung it over the shower rail once he was completely dry except for his hair which remained wet though he managed to ignore it as he threw on the pair of shorts and walked back into the room, frowning faintly when he saw that Evangeline wasn't there. Instead of becoming worried he decided to wait and instead laid down on the bed, moving o to his back and with his arms folded across his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling.

[EmmaLee Babcock]

Even though the front was covered in runes, there were no words on the inside. It was full of pictures, some glued to the pages and some loose. Even as she was about to close the book, a feeling of anger taking over her, a picture dropped to the ground and she leaned down to pick it up, setting the book back on the cold windowsill. She smirked, instantly recognizing Alex and her in the picture, blurred by one chasing the other. She must have felt some sort of link to it to recognize them, but in any case she left the room, heading back to the guest room and standing at the end of the bed Alex laid on, holding the picture out to him as she climbed onto the mattress next to him.