by Petra Landon
Raoul’s response was to curse softly under his breath.
“It was never my intention to frighten the witchling into walking away from the Pack” he stated firmly. “She deserves the Pack’s protection. And she certainly seems to need it.”
Chapter 11
Tasia finds herself in scalding hot water
The small procession advanced silently down the unlit hall. The building that housed the local Wizard Registry lay hushed and empty in the dark of the night. A large gray wolf and a smaller muddy brown lynx led the procession. Raoul Merceau, flanked by Luis Beltran and Owen O’Brien, stalked silently in the wake of the two animals. Four Shifters brought up the tail, their senses alert as they strode confidently behind their Alpha. The Shifters thrummed with barely restrained anticipation. Hawk followed his nose unerringly up the stairs and down the passageway until the trail led to a door. His Shifter senses had successfully isolated Tasia’s scent from the moment he’d set foot into the darkened building. It puzzled Hawk that whoever had her hadn’t bothered to cover his tracks. He paused before the locked door. Tasia lay beyond the door – the wolf could smell her clearly. He cocked his head at the door and waited patiently.
“Go” Raoul gave the command.
The big gray wolf with the human eyes padded back a few paces before flinging himself at the door with great force. The door crashed open in a shower of broken wood, the wolf leaping gracefully over the wreckage to land nimbly on his feet. The lynx followed Hawk into the room, leaping agilely over the debris to flank Hawk. A single light illuminated the room, placed over a table with four chairs that guarded access to another door beyond it. Three men sat playing cards at the table. At the sound of the splintering door, their heads snapped up to watch the two animals pad up to the center of the room.
“What the hell!” muttered one of the men. His companions stared in consternation as three men picked their way unhurriedly through the broken remnants of the door to join the two animals.
“Who the hell are you?” a second man inquired aggressively as his shock slowly wore off.
The Alpha glanced at Luis Beltran who flanked him to his right.
“Where’s the Guardian?” Luis asked without beating around the bush.
“Who wants to know?” one of the men squared up belligerently.
“The Alpha Protector of the Northern California Pack” Luis responded succinctly in his mellifluous accent.
“Alpha … Pack …You’re Shifters!” the man spluttered in confusion, casting another glance at the two animals staring up at him from a few paces away. “What the hell do you want with us?”
This time, it was the wolf who made the move while Luis remained silent. Hawk ignored the three men to pad softly to the door behind them while the lynx bared his teeth aggressively at them. The men hesitated, thrown off kilter by the bizarre situation. The door behind them swung open suddenly as a stout man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair stepped through it, only to come to an abrupt halt as he took in the scene before him.
“What the hell’s going on here?” he inquired authoritatively.
“They’re Shifters” one of his men muttered, his incredulity at the situation clear.
The man’s eyes flickered once in response. He glanced at the wolf who watched him steadily with his unusual eyes before moving on to the knot of Shifters who stared back with aloof disinterest.
Raoul stepped forward as the wolf turned his back on the stout man to come to a watchful stance beside his Alpha.
“I’m Raoul Merceau” he stated quietly.
The middle-aged wizard stared at him, speculation rife on his face. It was clear that he recognized the name.
“The Alpha Protector” he acknowledged. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here for one of mine.”
“One of yours?” the wizard exclaimed in bemusement.
“Pack” Raoul explained succinctly.
“You’re mistaken. I know nothing about the whereabouts of any Shape-shifter.”
“She’s not a Shifter.”
“She?” the wizard repeated slowly.
“She’s a wizard and you’re holding her behind that door” Raoul stated matter-of-factly, his voice devoid of inflexion.
The wizard stared back at the Alpha, his astonishment obvious.
“You allow a wizard in your Pack?”
The Alpha merely gazed back, vouchsafing no other response. There was a brief silence while the two men stared each other down while the rest watched them intently.
“We can do this the civilized way” Raoul suggested softly.
“Or?”
“Nothing we Shifters love more than a good brawl” the Alpha remarked, his tone determinedly neutral.
“I believe that” the wizard responded. “But are you Shifters willing to fight me over a wizard?”
“Try me” Raoul’s voice was every even.
The wizard studied the Alpha, his eyes sizing him up.
“Perhaps you’re laboring under a misunderstanding, Alpha” the wizard said, placing emphasis on the Shifter’s title. “The girl is being held under orders from the GCW.”
Raoul stared down at the shorter wizard, his gaze enigmatic.
“I don’t think so” he was very self-assured.
The wizard, clearly taken aback by the Alpha’s response, opened his mouth to interject but Raoul beat him to it.
“The Guardian Council knows nothing about this” he drawled confidently. “I believe that you’re on a private mission here, Guardian” he bit out the last word like an epithet.
He strode closer to the wizard to lean aggressively towards him, a look in the gold eyes that sent a chill down the Guardian’s spine.
“I don’t give a flying f--k about whatever you’re up to here. You know why? Because I make it a point to never give a damn about wizard politics. But I give you my word, Spell Caster, that you’re going to regret this night’s work unless you hand over the girl.”
Silence descended on the room as the wizards and Shifters watched the showdown, riveted by the back and forth.
“I cannot” the Guardian responded firmly. “I’m under orders from the Guardian Council to deliver her to them. Are you sure that you wish to go to war with the Guardian Council over a wizard?”
“You want to play poker with me, Guardian” Raoul challenged the wizard. “Then you’d better be sure of the hand you hold. Or I’ll wipe the floor with you and you won’t even know what hit you” he added, his voice whisper-soft with an underlying warning.
“Are you sure that you want to take on the Guardian Council, Alpha? Any fire you light here will spread quickly beyond your influence – much beyond it. It’ll bring the relationship between wizards and Shifters to the brink of no return” the Guardian retorted, the counter warning offered up swiftly.
“Alright, if that’s how you want to play it” the Alpha’s voice was very even. He took a deliberate stride back to meet the Guardian’s gaze squarely. “You expect me to believe that the Guardian Council hired a Shifter mercenary to carry out their dirty work for them?” he inquired, his voice very soft.
One of the wizards by the table gasped softly, his surprise obvious to the watching Shifters. For the first time since he’d faced down the Alpha, the Guardian appeared genuinely nonplussed.
“It’s time to show your hand, Spell Caster” Raoul taunted softly. “Unless you’d like to fold, of course! A very wise decision although a little late in the game, I think.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about” the wizard had managed to pull himself together. “Forget the Guardian Council. How do you think the wizards in this city will react when they find out that the Pack dared to walk into their Registry to threaten one of their own?”
“You’re threatening me with the local wizards” the Alpha commented, his eyebrows arched in mock surprise. “Call your wizard cavalry if you want, Spell Caster! My Shifters surround this building with orders to let no one in until
I walk out with Tasia Armstrong. As to what the wizards will say – I’m curious to see their reactions myself when I tell them that ‘one of their own’ hired a rogue Shifter to terrorize their less Magicked females.”
The Guardian’s jaw hung open in shock for a moment before he made an effort to recover himself. The three henchmen by the table muttered amongst themselves.
“Nonsense” the Guardian retorted valiantly. “I doubt that the wizards will take the word of a Shifter, well known for his views on Spell Casters as you put it so eloquently, over that of a Guardian.”
“They’ll believe me, Guardian, never you fear” the Alpha was immensely confident. “You see I have an ace in the hole. The Shifter you hired and his surviving cohort are currently in my custody at the Lair. They’ve been busy singing their heads off for me.”
The Guardian whom nothing had seemed to faze so far was finally left speechless by this turn of events.
“I did warn you not to play poker with me unless you were sure of your hand” Raoul reminded him softly, a trace of amusement in his voice.
“Surviving” the wizard repeated, shocked by the Alpha’s words. How the hell had those Shifters ended up spilling their guts to the Alpha, he wondered? Hadn’t he paid them enough to lie low? And Raoul Merceau, of all people! The man had a reputation for a very low threshold when it came to any interference in his Shifter fiefdom. The Guardian and his wizard comrades had good reason to come hunting on Merceau’s turf. That was the only reason he’d taken a chance. Of all the rotten luck in the world, the Guardian fumed silently.
“Oh yeah. I guess the Shifter you hired neglected to inform you of the trail of mayhem he and his buddies have left in their wake in the past few weeks.”
“Mayhem” the Guardian repeated slowly, as if in a dream. Lord, this was turning out to be a nightmare! The confidante who’d recommended Mick McIntyre for this job was in for an ass kicking when the Guardian saw him next.
“He and his two buddies ambushed one of my Shifters. In the ensuing fight, my guy took out one of them. The mercenaries panicked. They hired a wizard off your list, who also happens to moonlight as an Mfector, to cleanse the warehouse of the fight. Then, they made an attempt on her life to destroy their only link to the warehouse. By now on the run from the Pack, they hired the local leeches to kill the Mfector. When that failed, they had no choice but to go into hiding from the Pack. When you started breathing down their necks for results, they took the easy way out by giving you the same Mfector.”
The Guardian stared at the Alpha in dawning realization that he couldn’t hide from his relentless opponent.
“Yes” the Alpha reiterated gently. “They played you! They need to get rid of the L2 wizard they hired to cleanse the warehouse, so they gave her up to you.”
For a moment, Raoul studied the Guardian who was clearly having a hard time coming to terms with the revelation.
“I don’t know who you were attempting to locate here but the wizard you hold is merely an unlucky Mfector. Who just happens to be Pack, unfortunately for you” he added softly.
“There’s something else you should know, Guardian” Raoul continued. “The mercenaries you hired tried to start a war between the Pack and the leeches. Your very act of bringing them here to mug wizards also put the relationship between the Pack and wizards in jeopardy. I hold you responsible for both these incidents. And I intend to collect on it.”
The wizard laughed aloud with genuine amusement, his shock seemingly abated by the Alpha’s quiet warning.
“I’m a Guardian, beyond the reach of any Shifter no matter how powerful he is on his Pack’s turf” he retorted. “You’re just an Alpha Protector lording it over the Shifters in your Pack. Don’t let it go to your head, Shifter!”
“Oh I will collect, Guardian. I give you fair warning. From now on, no matter what you do or where you are, you’d better look over your shoulder because I’ll be there, watching and waiting for you to slip up. Just one tiny mistake is all I’ll ever need.”
Raoul leaned in closer, his voice a whisper of menace.
“You f--ked with the wrong Shifter, Spell Caster!”
The Alpha raised his voice to normal pitch as he stepped back.
“Luis, I want you and Hawk to go get the witchling. And then let’s get the hell out of here.”
Luis Beltran, flanked by the enormous gray wolf, moved towards the door. The Guardian made no move to stop them but one of the three men by the table moved restlessly.
“I wouldn’t” the Alpha warned mildly. “Not unless you’re up for a fight.”
The Guardian glanced at his men. “Let them take her. She’s of no use to me anymore.”
Raoul’s eyes narrowed at the comment. He watched Luis yank open the door to allow Hawk in his wolf form through to the next room. His keen hearing detected a low sharp growl from the room before Luis kicked the door open to walk out with a bundle in his arms. The wolf bounded out behind him to head straight for Raoul. The bluish green human eyes gazed up at him, the animal’s concern and anger obvious to the Alpha. Raoul strode urgently to Luis to glance down at the girl in his arms. She lay comatose, her breathing shallow.
“Her pulse is very weak” Luis said quietly to him. “But there are no signs of any injury on her.”
Raoul looked her over carefully. Luis was right, he realized. There was no obvious sign of any injury and yet he could sense that she was injured – very badly injured. An acute sense of urgency pervaded him. Had she been dying slowly in the room beyond while the Guardian and he had been busy playing their little game of one-upmanship out here! Could that perhaps have been the Guardian’s intention all along – distract the Shifter while the girl they fought over slowly breathed out her last unattended. A fury like he had felt only a few times in his life lit a fire within him to engulf him quickly. If Raoul had been capable of any rational thought then, he’d have realized that part of what fueled his anger was his own guilt. He had always suspected that there was more to the mercenaries than what met the eye. His gut had told him that Tasia was not out of danger yet - not until he could get to the bottom of the strange case of the rogue Shifters. Yet he had allowed the witchling to move out of the Lair and place herself in harm’s way. Egged her on to walk away from the Pack, if Duncan was to be believed. Had he truly allowed his prejudices to rule his head, Raoul wondered? He’d spent years turning his back on his Spell Caster heritage to throw himself into building a spectacular reputation as a formidable Shifter. Had he merely been deluding himself all this while that he’d successfully overcome the past!
“Get her back to the Lair as quickly as you can. Ask Duncan to have Doc standing by to take a look at her. And Luis, take a few of your Shifters with you” he added a quiet warning that the Were-Alpha had no difficulty in parsing. Luis was to be prepared in case of an unexpected attempt to recover Tasia.
“Got it, Alpha” Luis acknowledged before striding out with the unconscious girl in his arms.
Raoul turned to the Guardian who’d been watching the byplay intently. He hoped like hell that his colossal blunder with the witchling would not prove fatal for her. The Guardian was going to be very sorry for this night’s work, he vowed silently. But first, he needed to get his emotions under control. Duncan’s warning from before sang in his mind. No Spell Caster was to be given an opening to exploit Raoul Merceau’s Achilles Heel. He made an effort to temper the fury coursing through him.
“You’ve made a huge mistake here, Guardian” he bit out, his voice vibrating with an underlying fury despite his best efforts. “What I said before about not giving a flying f--k at what you’re up to here! Well, now I do. You’re going to tell me what you did to the girl and why you did it.”
The Guardian stared back at him for a moment.
“You just told me that she’s an L2 who ran afoul of the mercenary I hired. Nothing special at all. So why do you care?”
In response, the wolf growled in a low vibrating rumble as he aggressively squa
red up to the wizard. Raoul placed a hand on the wolf’s head in a signal for restraint. The wolf subsided although his human eyes still spit fury at the Guardian.
“Why do I care?” Raoul gave a bitter laugh, his lack of amusement obvious. “She’s Pack and I’m her Alpha. That should tell you all but I doubt you’ll ever understand, Spell Caster” the Alpha said bitingly. “You’re a Guardian; you should know better. The Guardians exist to protect low level wizards – to ensure that ones with less magic like her don’t get trampled on by the powerful ones. But you seem to not give a damn about who gets crushed under the weight of your own ambitions.”
“This is the difference between you Spell Casters and the Shifters you lot look down upon as lesser Chosen. We beasts protect our Pack no matter what the cost – we don’t hire mercenaries to terrorize them or bring one to death’s door because she’s no one special. You’re mistaken, Guardian! That girl is very special. Do you know why?” he spat out furiously. “She has a Pack that will not abandon her, no matter what.”
Raoul pulled out his cell to search through his contact list briefly before selecting one. As the phone dialed, he glanced at the silent wizard who watched him warily.
“This Shifter’s going to teach you a lesson today that you’ll remember for a very long time” he promised softly, all the fury leached from his voice.
“David” he spoke into the phone. “This is Raoul Merceau. I apologize for calling so late. Could you bring a few of your people and meet me at the Registry ASAP.”
“Yes, the local Wizard Registry. My Shifters surround the building and will not allow anyone in. So let me know when you’re here.”
The wolf by his feet growled a warning low in his throat as his fur stood on end. Raoul glanced at the Guardian who had his eyes closed while his lips moved in a silent chant. The Alpha put his hand on the ruff of the wolf’s neck to calm him down. So, the Guardian had finally realized the precarious position he found himself in. Better late than never! Raoul’s original intention had been to retrieve the witchling and walk out of here. He could always take care of the Guardian later for it would need some careful political positioning to make life hard for a Guardian. And if there was one thing Raoul hated, it was playing political games with the wizards! But the fury that had engulfed him at the sight of the witchling’s lifeless body had changed all of that.
