Draven wasn't sure how he ended up at a table covered in food with two people he was raised to hate. He watched wordlessly as the large man piled food on a plate before setting it in front of the smaller one who just sat there smiling.
Nathan turned to look at Draven who still hadn't moved. "Please, help yourself Draven."
In a daze, Draven reached for the closest thing, scrambled eggs, and added it to his plate. Quietly, he grabbed a little of everything. Draven was shocked by how good it all was. Eating quickly, it took no time for the table to be cleared.
Finally looking up at his hosts, Draven was surprised when he noticed that Nathan's eyes had changed from their usual pale mauve into a warm hazel, while Griffin's emerald green seemed to almost glow.
"So," Axel's more gravelly tone came through, "why are you here? Exactly."
Draven took a deep calming breath. Sitting straighter, he started, "I was originally sent by my father, Draken Mortenson with a mission to kill you. Before departing the temple, the Goddess blessed me with her mark. When she did she spoke to me."
"What'd she say?" Griffin interrupted.
Draven smiled. "Two words. Protect him. When I asked if she meant the werewolf, she didn't say anything but a feeling of warmth washed over," Draven exclaimed, a small smile on his lips.
"If the Goddess hadn't said anything to do, were you going to try to kill my partner?" Axel asked.
"Goddess, no!" Draven exclaimed. "I was using this as an opportunity to get away from my father and help you get rid of him. I always thought that what he was doing was wrong, but there wasn't anything I could do to stop him." Suddenly, Axel's words actually registered. "Wait. Partner?" Looking over at Axel, Draven once again noticed the hazel eyes looking back at him. "You're not Nathan, are you?"
Axel gave him a smile, showing too many teeth to look friendly. "Correct. I'm Axel, Nathan's wolf. And if you do anything to hurt him, I won't hesitate to end you."
Draven gulped. "Noted."
Griffin decided to take over the conversation before it entirely derailed. "So you wanted to find us to do what? Ask us to kill Draken?"
Draven squirmed in his seat. "Maybe a little. If you wanted nothing to do with it, I had every intention of doing it myself. I thought that you might want the chance to get revenge yourself."
"An eye for an eye," Griffin mused.
"Makes the whole world blind," Nathan suddenly murmured,
Griffin and Draven both turned their attention towards him. "Huh?"
Nathan looked up from the table. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. If I do exact some kind of revenge on Draken, who's to say some other vampire won't come after me again because of it."
Nathan wasn't worried about himself, but he was worried about Griffin. What would happen to Griffin if he died?
Draven stared at the small, wise-sounding wolf in front of him. He sat back, crossing his arms as he considered his answer. "Well, I can't guarantee that it wouldn't happen, but I can guarantee that if you allowed it, I would always be there to protect you."