~BOOK 4/PART ONE~ Paranormal: The Battle's Only Just Begun (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

Chapter 10

"...he chose some stupid demon over us. If he wanted to overthrow the wolves, burn New Orleans to the ground, or even wipe out the human population, all he had to do was ask and I would have done it. But instead he caved into something that didn't care about him like I did, like we did!"

That was only the surface of the hurt Pete was feeling. There was more - more pain, and definitely more to this conversation than Jack had seen or thought there was.

"I lost him..." Pete whined, feeling for the first time in years tears streaming down his face, "I lost my best friend and there was nothing I could do to save him."

Jack heaved a heavy sigh while turning towards the now tearing vampire. "Pete, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was," He snapped, "I could have done more; I could have helped him get rid of it."

"Pete, you're only one person. That demon was too powerful and very good at manipulating the appearance of its host," Jack disclosed, "You helped Patrick as much as you could. He knows that you tried, and if anything, he feels like he failed you."

"That's the thing." He looked to the lycan in confidence. "He never fails anyone, that's not what Patrick does." Over the years, Patrick took care of Pete like a brother, like he was family, and maybe better. "My family died way before I met Patrick. I was alone, and I was newly turned," The vampire confessed while roughly wiping the tears falling, "He had more experience in the vampire department than I did, even though he was younger. Yet he still managed to take care of me. Years and years we stuck by each other's sides, doing anything and everything. He and I have done so many things together that I can't even remember them all. But no matter how much I fuck things over, or how many times my dumb actions force us into hiding, he stayed. He was there for me, and then suddenly, a few months ago, he wasn't."

"Pete, we all get weak. But have you ever thought that maybe he couldn't ask you to fulfill his dark desires, because he couldn't ask you to do something so selfish?" Jack inquired, "Patrick did have his part in this, and he did trust the demon, but you're just as much at fault for this as he is. Let's not forget about the time you failed him." Pete gave the wolf a confused expression. "He needed you and you turned him away."

"Well yeah, I can't trust him, Jack." The vampire shook his head. "He threw away my trust when he gave into that demon."

"Then give him a chance to earn it back," Jack suggested, "He gave you a million second chances, even when you didn't deserve it. So give him the second chance to be the best friend I know he'll always be for you."

Pete bit his lip and thought about the wolf's words while looking at the sun setting in the distance. "You don't know him, though, Jack. You don't know him like I do."

"I may not know him like you do, but I know that he wasn't himself this past year. You can't blame him for things that were out of his control."

"Out of his control?" Pete repeated, shaking his head, "No, Patrick chose for this to happen. He didn't have to let that demon take over." The wolf gave the vampire a bored look. "But he did, and then when he came back, it was like he expected us to act as if he didn't do what he did, to forget about the damage he's done. But I can't just do that, you know? I'd be so much happier if I could, but I remember everything. Every. Goddamn. Thing. It's torture!"

"What about the torture he went through?" Jack questioned.

"The torture he went through? The only torture he's gone through is having to deal with Rachael when she was pregnant. And even then he didn't have to deal with it on his own. We had to deal with it too."

The wolf sighed, getting aggravated with the other person in the vehicle but trying to maintain his calm. "What about how he had to be trapped in his own body and forced around like a rag doll?"

"Just like everyone in New Orleans under your sister's pack's rule?"

"You're missing the point, Peter."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" He groaned, falling forward and hitting his head against the steering wheel, sounding the horn, "I haven't gone by that in years! And we weren't even in this country when I went by that!"

"You just really like to avoid any and every problem, don't you?" Jack noticed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You do it, Rachael does it, Patrick does it...it's like...all of you do everything in your power to avoid any situation that you don't want to deal with. What's up with that?"

"We're not avoiding anything," Pete argued.

"Oh please, you and Patrick practically ran away from each other in Nevada. This is why you have so many issues! You never talk about what's bothering you; you keep it in until one of you explodes," The wolf yelled, "No wonder why Patrick went behind your backs, or why New Orleans is so backwards."

"That city is so backwards because of your sister," The vampire muttered.

"And that's another thing," The lycan twin exclaimed, "You keep blaming my sister for everything wrong with this town. You can't blame her for every little thing that happens in your life."

"You don't understand what it's been like dealing with Kenya and the pack, Jack. The only way to live happily here in New Orleans is if you're a werewolf. Otherwise, you're screwed."

"Pete, I'm just as much as an outcast as you are when it comes to my sister's pack." Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, you may be the enemy, but at least you have a place, somewhere you belong." The lycan couldn't believe that he was telling Pete this, but maybe the truth may get him to realize that he had it all.

"Somewhere I belong?" The vampire repeated, "I don't belong in New Orleans. I never have and I never will. For years and years, I talked about throwing the whole goddamn place over, and eventually, I got Patrick, the guys, and even Rachael in on the idea. They just didn't talk about it like I did. But when it actually happened, when we actually had a chance of making things right there...the way it happened scared the shit out of me. I saw a side of Patrick that I never wanted to see. Yeah, sure, it wasn't truly him, but he was there. I saw him. And...And it made me question everything I was about. That...That's why I called you and asked you to come out here with me. Because I needed to find myself again. I needed to know that I was still me, the guy who wants justice - not just for vampires - but for everyone. I can't tell you how many times I've had people call me a bad person, but I'm not a bad person. I just...come about things a certain way."

"You're being ridiculous, Peter! You're literally forgetting about everything you have! You have a best friend, and a group of friends who care about you. You have a very nice home, in a very nice place. But you're so consumed in your ego that you forget what you have. Why? Why are you so blind to the privileges you've been blessed with?"

The vampire felt a pit forming in his stomach by listening to the wolf's sad plea.

"If I had half of what you have I would never give it up or throw it away. If I were you, I would go back and apologize to Patrick. For fuck's sake, man, he's your best friend. He cares about you, and I know you care about him too. So stop being such an asshole and let's back to New Orleans. We're needed there. You're needed there."

Pete heaved a sigh and flicked on the turn-signal, making a U-turn and heading for Route 66.