Silver Eyes Ch. 12

'Stop it, you big tosser!' Olivia giggled as she batted Angus' hand and ran to the other side of the kitchen table. It was a glorious day. The weather crisp and lovely, the sun shining, albeit in a futile attempt as it made no impact in the cold, December weather; even the birds were chirping -- a great feat as no stupid pigeons were batting about the trees.

But what made it most glorious of all was that Olivia had Angus to herself for the whole day. Annette was sleeping over at Sebastian's again or was at work, she had no idea, but Olivia had skived off work to be with Angus for the whole day. At her flat. On a weekday. Something she never thought she would do as she was too strait-laced for such. She sighed happily to herself. Angus was everything she had dreamt of and more. He was attractive, had his own job, nice, caring, patient...all the good words there were in the dictionary pointed in his direction. Even Annette had started liking him. Or pretending to in an Oscar winning way.

She was distracted from her thoughts as Angus lunged at her playfully and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him so suddenly that she fell into his arms. She laughed as she struggled weakly. 'Let go! I'm not going to eat whatever concoction you...concocted.'

Angus mock growled at her, 'Oh yes you are. You wanted me to cook and now I have. So open up wide and feel this slimy, green soup thing slide down your throat.'

Olivia shrieked loudly and tried to keep her mouth shut as Angus brought a large ladle of something that could not be described as soup in a million years towards her lips.

'Mmmmpphhh,' She wrinkled her nose at the smell while keeping her mouth tightly shut at the alien like thing advancing towards her.

Suddenly the bell rang and Angus turned round, his arms loosening its hold on Olivia.

Olivia grinned triumphantly as she broke away from him and danced towards the door. 'Saved by the bell, haha. And I know Annette's not gonna let you get away with force-feeding me that vile crap you call cooking.'

Angus shrugged at her good-naturedly, 'We'll see about that, then.' He leaned against the side of the table and stared at Olivia as she walked towards the door with something akin to tenderness. He had to tell her why he had befriended her. Today. He could not cope with the guilt anymore. Sebastian was as close to his lady as he would ever be and did not need him anymore. Even if he did, then he, Angus would deal with the consequences of his actions later. Right now he owed much more to Olivia. He could only hope that she would forgive him.

Angus was so deep in his thoughts that he almost ignored the red alert of danger that burst into his brain as Olivia placed a hand on the door knob. He had no idea what was on the other side of the door, but it was not Annette.

He opened his mouth to yell out a warning but he was too late. Olivia had opened the door and he watched as her smile faltered at whoever or whatever was on the other side.

'May I help you?' She asked politely.

A deep voice replied in a cold tone, 'Is Miss Annette Fleming here?'

'No.' Olivia replied confused, 'Why? Is there a problem?'

'Yes. We need to speak to her now. Could you tell me where she is?'

'I don't know. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you.' Olivia retorted sharply. She did not like the look of these men. There were three of them, all cold looking and wearing sun glasses in the cold weather. Her heart pitter-pattered loudly in her chest.

She suddenly felt Angus behind her and unconsciously slumped in relief. She had no idea she had been poised in such a tense manner.

Angus said flatly, 'You've heard the lady. The woman you're looking for isn't here. If there's nothing else we can help you with, then we suggest you leave.'

He made to shut the door, but was stopped by one of them who now had an evil smirk on his face.

'Well that wouldn't do now, would it? And this must be a great thing as, from what I heard, Miss Annette is a, shall we say, spectacular being. Why, three of us here wouldn't be able to hold her down, would we?'

All the three men laughed at this. Olivia looked frightened. Hold her down? What the hell where they talking about? What did they want with Annette? And how the hell did they know she was different?

'Look, I don't like the tone of your voice and I would very much like if you would remove yourself from my property. This is turning into trespass and if you don't leave, I will call the police.' She said as firmly as she could, although she could not help the little tremor that was visible in her voice.

'Oh no, my dear. Sorry that won't be possible. Since we can't find Miss Annette, then you will have to do. I take it you must be a friend of hers or at least an acquaintance, and I'm sure this will be much easier than getting Miss Annette. She would be easier to...agree with when she knows we have you with us.' This was said with a full out grin.

Olivia felt Angus stiffen behind her. Then his voice came out in a very soft drawl, 'Oh I don't think that's gonna be possible, my dear men. No one is leaving this house but you three. Alone.'

'Is that a fact?' One of them replied then before Olivia could blink, the man's hand shut out in a punch towards Angus' face. She let out a sharp scream and whirled round to see the man's hand in Angus' grip. Her eyes widened at the look on Angus' face. His eyes were blazing with fury.

'You shouldn't have done that.' He whispered. Then he dragged the man into the house so quick it was like a blur and he twisted his wrist causing a sharp crack to sound loudly. The man yelled in a girly voice and looked at his now released hand. It was bent in an unnatural way.

The other two men looked in horror at Angus and one of them gasped in shock, 'Oh my God, he's not human. He's not human!'

Olivia turned in fear to them and back to Angus. What the fuck was going on?

'What the fuck? What's he saying?'

Angus tried to push her behind him with barely controlled gentleness. 'Stay out of this, Olivia.' And with that he turned back to the men who were standing stock still in fear.

One of them lashed out blindly, trying to hit Angus, but his fist caught Olivia as she was about to run into the house and call the police. Olivia's head snapped back with the force of the punch. She dimly heard Angus let out a piercing howl as she struggled to retain consciousness. She blinked rapidly filling eyes at the scene by her door and let out a terrified gasp at what she was seeing. Angus had dragged all three of the men into her flat and slammed the door shut. He then turned towards them, but this time his eyes were different. The whites of his eyes were turning to a deep brown and his lower jaw looked funny, as if it was stretched.

'He's a fucking werewolf!' One of them shrieked then tried to squeeze past Angus to the door.

Olivia thought to herself absently, as if she was not seeing the spectacle before her eyes, was the guy nuts? He could see Angus turning into something not human and he was still trying to push past him. Talk about being incredibly thick.

Angus snarled at him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The man whimpered and a dark stain spread down his jeans. Angus held him to his face and growled in a muffled voice, as if his mouth were full of teeth, 'You should have left while you had the chance.' With that statement, he opened his mouth wide and the man moaned at the rows of large sharp teeth, all looking like individual scissors blades in Angus' mouth.

Olivia let out a large horrified scream at what she saw. Oh my God! Angus was truly a werewolf.

Angus turned sharply at the sound. He looked at Olivia for a second with inhuman eyes as if he could he not recognise her, then something cleared in his eyes and he dropped the man immediately as if he were an unwanted bag of stale, musty clothes.

'Get out of here. And stay the hell away from Annette and Olivia. Infact stay away from this part of the city.'

The men nodded vigorously as they stumbled over themselves in their haste to get out of the flat. Angus turned to look at Olivia and saw the fear on her face. He put a hand to his face and groaned inwardly. His blasted temper had gotten away with him as it always did. He felt his jaw in the early stages of merging with his nose and turning into a muzzle. He felt his sharp large teeth crowding his mouth. He could smell the fear and...oh no, was it revulsion, emanating from Olivia in waves. But he couldn't have helped himself. Olivia had been hit and he had felt as if his world was going to end. His future mate had been hit!

He opened his mouth to apologise to Olivia and she put up a hand to stop him. 'Don't. I know you want to apologise but don't. You were trying to protect me and I thank you for that. Just tell me one thing. Did you know about Annette's...otherness?'

Angus stared at her looking for a way out of the line of questioning. He was shocked at what she asked. He thought she was going to talk about him being a werewolf, but she had brushed over it like it was an everyday thing. 'Erm...yeah I did.' He wasn't going to lie anymore.

'You did. I see, and how did you know this?' She asked blankly.

'I always knew about Annette. I just didn't know how to tell you.' He hung his head. His features had turned back human, but he still had a sad look on his face.

And you knew about her how?' Olivia's voice was slowly turning frantic. Please God, let him not say he got close to me to get to Annette. Don't make him say he used me to get to Annette. That he never fancied me, he just wanted Annette.

'Sebastian told me to get close to...' He started and Olivia let out a wail so sad it sounded inhuman.

'You used me. Oh my God, you used me. You fucking arsehole! You fucking werewolf pig, get the fuck out of my house.' She screamed like a banshee.

Angus shook his head frantically at her, 'No! No, no Livvy. You don't understand. I love you. I swear, I love you. I never meant for this to happen. I never thought I would fall in love with you, but I did. I'm sorry I didn't...'

'So all this was a game to you, hunh? You and that fucking psycho, Sebastian. 'Oh we're bored, Angus darling, we higher beings that are vampires and werewolves. Let's go play with those weak humans.' And fucking Sebastian didn't think one of those humans wasn't actually humanly, hunh? That she would be different? And so he wanted you to get close to me to understand why his plaything wasn't just that -- a weak human?'

'You're getting it all wrong.' Angus started, but Olivia kept on screaming obscenities at him. He suddenly walked up to her and grabbed her arms, giving her a little shake which cut off her screaming abruptly.

'Now listen to me, Olivia. What I did was wrong. Horribly wrong, and I accept that. But don't insult Sebastian because you're mad at me and you hate him and you've finally found a way to justify your hatred. Don't. He asked me to get close to you because he wanted to find out why Annette said her life was complicated. Then he felt guilty and told me to stop, but I didn't. Because I didn't want to stop talking to you. Being with you. Then I got in too deep. I started feeling stuff for you. Stuff I've never felt for anybody else in my whole life. And I couldn't tell you. I guess I was in too deep and I got scared. I love you Olivia. And I am so, so sorry.' He was staring deep in her eyes as he said this.

Olivia felt a tear slowly drop from her left eye down her cheek, 'You love me, but you couldn't tell me about Annette. About being a werewolf. What's love without trust? Because that's all I see. You claim you love me, but you couldn't tell me who or what you really are. Did you think I couldn't take you being a werewolf? You knew about Annette, knew I knew what she was. And that Sebastian was a vampire. So you don't have any excuse about that. I wouldn't have been freaked out.'

'I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you without you finding out about why I was really here. In the beginning of course.' He hastily added.

Olivia smiled bitterly, 'It doesn't matter now, does it? You lose. In every way. I don't know why Annette's the way she is and neither does she. Even if I knew, I would never have told you in a million years. You see, unlike you I don't betray the people I love. Ever. Now please, I beg you, leave me alone and don't come back.'

Angus stared at her for a long second then let out his breath in a drawn out sigh. Who would have thought the day would end up like this? He thought of how ironic it all was. He had been debating with himself about how he was going to tell her the truth and that had been sorted for him. And there was no point telling her he had wanted to speak the truth, she would never believe him. It would seem too convenient. Guess it was just a little too late.

He walked to the sofa and grabbed his coat then walked slowly to the door. When he got there, he turned to look at Olivia one last time and said gently, 'Don't ever doubt that I love you. Because I do. Wholeheartedly. And I know you love Annette. And I know that's part of why you're upset and I can understand that. She's like your sister. She is your sister. That's kind of how I feel about Sebastian. Which is why I want you to answer this question for me. If you had been in my shoes, if Annette had asked you to spy on Sebastian through me, wouldn't you have done it without any hesitation? Wouldn't you? And if you had fallen in love with me, what then?'

Olivia just stared back at him, crying silently. Oh Angus, she thought inwardly. She would have done whatever Annette asked and would definitely have been devastated if Angus did not forgive her. Her lawyer mind knew that. But her heart was involved in this. And right now it was too broken, too destroyed to be logical. She couldn't trust him. Not now. She stared at him without saying anything.

Angus' shoulders slumped and he looked to the floor. 'I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me, Olivia. I'll be waiting, whenever you're ready. Be well.' With that, he walked out of the flat, shutting the door gently.

Come back! Her mind shrieked, but her lips remained tightly sealed as tears coursed down her cheeks. Come back!

Olivia slumped to the floor as she let out huge, heart-wrenching sobs.

***

'Doop-da-di-do da, doop-da-di-ay, my oh my, what a wonderful day.' Annette warbled in a tuneless voice as she opened the door to her flat. It had truly been a wonderful day. She had spent it walking about with Sebastian, in the freaking sun, mind you! They had had an early lunch in a posh restaurant in Knightsbridge and had gone ice-skating in a town on the outskirts of London. They had been like any other normal couple. No spending the whole day in bed or in the mansion because Sebastian was a vampire, no treading about in dim rooms so that the sunlight could not get in. It had been beyond glorious.

She twirled as she dropped her keys on the dining table still humming to herself. She had been in such a good mood at work that David had teased her, 'Keep taking whatever it is you're on, Netta. Loving the new mood, better yet, bring some in here. We need everyone this high.' She giggled to herself as she remembered David saying this with a pointed glance at perpetually sulky Melissa.

She walked into Olivia's room and pounced on the huddled lump in the middle of the bed. 'Wake up grumpy! I know you have work tomorrow...oops, today, but have I got news for you.'

She did not wait for a reply but snuggled in next to her, chatting away excitedly, 'I have had the most interesting day...well, including last night...anyway, I surprised Seb at his place last night, in your borrowed top by the way, and had the most amazing fight with his silly, wimpy vampires. They thought they could best me in a fight. Me? Ha! I whooped their puny sun-deprived arses. Ooh, and as a reward, well after a mini row, we had the best sex ever. We broke a massive dining table and some chairs, wooo...fan me somebody!'

Annette sat up suddenly dragging the blanket off an immobile Olivia, 'Then we found out something stupendous. Sebastian can stay out all day in the sun if he drinks my blood. Yeah, I know, he drank my blood. No yelling please, it ended nicely...even though I fainted...terrible, no? Anyway, we spent the whole day out in the sun...well as sunny as this shitty weather could allow and it was fucking fantastic.

'And the best part is...I'll leave that for last. By the way, I saw your stupid boyfriend in your room last night and we had a bit of an argument. Don't know what he told you, but I had to confess I didn't like him one bit. And before you bite my head off, I warned him never to upset you or I'd rip his scalp off his skull...which he should thank me for as that silly hair makes him look, well, silly.'

She stopped to stare at Olivia who was still silent. 'Okay, say something, homo. Stop being a drip. Be happy about my day; yell at me for the blood bank move, or for the Angus-bashing. What's wrong with you?'

Annette looked on as Olivia said nothing. She was clearly awake as her eyes were shining in the dim light but all she did was stare at the other side of the room.

Annette suddenly got scared and concerned. There was definitely something wrong with Olivia. She got up to turn on the light then she looked back at Olivia.

'Okay, what's wrong Livvy? Did something happen at work today? Did you get in some kind of trouble? What is it?'

Olivia looked at her blankly then smiled bitterly as she whispered, her voice croaky from lack of use and hoarse from crying for so long, 'Guess you'll be scalping Angus sooner than you thought.'

Annette bit back a gasp at that. What had that fucker done to her best friend?

She hurried back to the bed and sat down next to Olivia, 'What happened?' She asked with controlled anger.

'Seems darling Angus wasn't what he said he was. He's a werewolf, do you know that? A fucking werewolf. Wow didn't know the American werewolf in London wasn't just a myth.' Olivia barked out a sharp laugh at that.

Annette remained silent waiting for Olivia to let it all out. A werewolf? Why were they suddenly inundated with supernatural stuff these days?

'And the best part is, or worse, depending on how you look at it, was that I found out while he was protecting me from some meatheads who punched me.'

'WHAT?' Annette practically roared.

'Oh, that's not all. They didn't just punch me, well one of them. They were looking for you.'

Annette stared at her with wide eyes.

'Looking for me?' She whispered stunned. 'But why? Why on earth would they...'

'Because they knew about you. Knew, or rather know you're different. They said it.'

'Fucking hell. How the fuck? Maybe they were sent by the vampires. Not all of them were happy about Sebastian calling me their queen.'

Olivia looked confused, 'Queen?'

Annette smiled weakly. She felt horrible for saying this last bit as it meant her relationship was getting stronger as Olivia's was destroyed, 'Err...Sebastian kinna asked me to marry him. Today. Well, last night to be precise, in front of everyone. Wanna be my bridesmaid? She ended weakly.

Olivia did not say a word as her eyes filled rapidly.

Annette quickly gathered her in her arms, 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to sound insensitive. I was just joking. Not about the proposal, or you being my bridesmaid, but I promise, I'm not getting married till I tear Angus from limb to limb, and till you get better and don't tell me not to be silly and go ahead, because I won't. I can't be happy when my best friend isn't. It all just seems hollow.'

Olivia cried out at this, 'Oh Netta. I'm not just crying because I broke up with Angus. I'm crying because of what he told me about you. About why he came into my life, our lives in the first place.'