Pack Master (Undeadly Secrets Book 4)

by Aaron L Speer

  Lauren stepped back, and Alex squeezed Michelle’s hand. Did she want to say anything? Michelle shook her head, afraid she was going to be sick. Alex walked forward, two roses in her grasp. She placed them and a hand on the top of the coffin. “I don’t know if I have the right words or any words to thank you for all you’ve done for me. You’re the reason I’m alive. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you or help you. I hope that…wherever you are, you found peace and I see you again.” She made to leave but stopped. She had pressed her fingers to her chest, looking downward. Thinking about something or was she remembering? Even something small. She looked uncertain. Pained even. Alex looked to Michelle, for only a second, before turning and placing a single kiss on the coffin lid. “You’ve inspired me. Rest in peace, Dante.”

  Alex retreated back to join Michelle, who immediately held her hand. She couldn’t tell what had just gone through Alex’s head, but it didn’t really matter. She could ask later.

  Clive had resumed his position ready to continue but stopped. Michelle turned to see a congregation walking forward from behind her. Besides Dougie, leading them carrying a flaming strip of wood, Michelle recognized a few. They were the members of Keep the Heart Beating, Dante’s foundation for the protection of humans. The group surrounded the coffin in a semi-circle and stopped in silent reverence. Dougie walked slowly over to Melina and handed her the torch. Melina walked slowly towards the casket, her demeanour stoic.

  She reached the coffin and placed a flat hand above the lid, pausing before lowering it. Maybe she couldn’t bring herself to touch it. As if once she did, it was confirmation this was all real.

  “If there is nothing else…” Clive began, looking from Melina to the torch.

  “Only one thing,” she replied heavily before turning to Michelle and Alex and offering her hand. Michelle saw her face streaked with tears. “Please…help me.”

  “Why…”

  “Because he loved you. Because I need you. Because I don’t want to do this alone…I can’t.”

  Michelle and Alex walked slowly forward, Michelle took Melina’s hand briefly before placing her own on the torch as did Alex. The three women he had loved over the two hundred years he had been on the Earth stood together. Melina needed their strength to do what must be done.

  They placed the tip of the torch on top of the coffin. The moment the flames cracked over the wood, all Michelle remembered was falling to the ground, caught by Alex. As the coffin caught fire, that was the moment it was real. Dante was gone. Melina was smart. She didn’t draw it out. No long-winded speech, but it was all too soon for Michelle.

  Melina tossed the torch far over the cliff face and into the ocean. Lauren wept, comforted by Clive. Michelle sobbed into her hands. Alex was holding back tears, rubbing her back. No words could make this alright. Michelle didn’t understand and never would. Not only had Michelle been robbed of a goodbye, Alex would never get to be with him after her memory came back. Melina had been freed but to the most devastating cost imaginable. Waste wasn’t even the word. Sleeping with him or not, together with him or not, the world was a much darker place now.

  “Guys…” came Clive’s voice softly.

  Michelle calmed her breathing down enough to nod her head.

  “Look, I’m really sorry to do this now, but I didn’t know of a better time,” he said softly. “Dante’s wishes. He left me as executor. When you’re ready, we need to talk. Just letting you know.”

  “What do you mean?” Alex asked.

  “You’ve both been left with things,” he replied.

  “Clive can you…just send them to my flat or something, please.” Michelle said.

  “He left you T, Michelle.” He turned to Alex. “You’ve got almost three million into any account you nominate.”

  “Three...what? What did he want me to do with that?”

  “It was entrusted to Michelle on your behalf in case your memory of him never came back. I guess he trusted Michelle to know what to do.” Clive said with a sad smile.

  “Other than that, there’s no instructions for it. It’s yours. Honestly, I’m not trying to overwhelm you guys. Just making you aware. Whenever you’re ready, ok?”

  He kissed both their cheeks and gave them small hugs before leaving them to their thoughts.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  A New Enemy

  Gavin clicked his computer on at precisely eleven pm as the text message instructed him to do. He entered his I.D. and information. Within a few seconds, the screen went blank. Then the Sovereign insignia appeared.

  “Report…” a voice came out of the computer speakers.

  “All evidence suggests the cloud has completely dispersed. The prophecy came true after all.”

  “It did, but not as you think. You failed.”

  “How so…? I did as you asked, sir. I blocked the Air Force’s attempt to chase the wolf and the vampire. They were in the air when the cloud was lifted.”

  Gavin’s phone beeped with a message.

  “Look at that…” the voice said. “Study it and tell me what you see.”

  Gavin clicked to find a picture bathed in infrared. He couldn’t make out the chaos in the picture of the cloud. It was just dark shadows and the like. He was about to ask if this was a trick question when he focused on something just to the right of centre. A wispy streak of white with a strange shape at the end of it. A flared shape. Stretched.

  “Wings…?” Gavin asked himself.

  “Not as unnerving as what they would be attached to.”

  “I’ve never seen a bird that size. What is it?”

  “The reason the cloud is gone. The vampire and the wolf had nothing to do with it.”

  “So the prophecy was wrong?”

  “No. The interpretation was. The sword hasn’t been touched. This…thing…is something else. It was only caught by chance. Via a low orbit satellite, reflecting the sun’s rays as it flew above the cloud. You are one of three people that have seen this photo.”

  “This...thing...can fly?

  “The power of a god, Gavin. Not only can it fly, but it can fly faster than sound and has the strength to lift an aircraft. Forget the wolf and the vampire. This is the one we have been waiting for. We must double our efforts.”

  “We have our men ready. Are we to prepare for study or elimination?”

  “Do you feel safe knowing something like this is now loose? Think of what it could do. The destruction it could cause. You disappoint me, Gavin.”

  “Sir, I refer only to the prophecy…it said-”

  “Nothing of the god’s mindset. What if this thing is worse than what it helped get rid of? Did you ever think of that? What if it wasn’t removing a danger? What if it was removing competition? I am not prepared to take that chance.”

  “Your orders, sir?”

  “This flying thing would do well not to reveal itself too soon but we can’t wait for it to decide. If needs be, we will coax it out. Test it.”

  “Absolutely, sir.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Well, if we aren’t sure what its motives are, we can easily find out. There are millions of people in this city. Any good fisherman uses bait.”

  A chuckle came from the speakers. “I knew I had the right man for the job.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Never Gonna Be Alone

  Alex answered the knock on the door and swallowed. There before her, with dark circles under his eyes and a thick pad across his throat, stood Solomon Crane. For the longest time neither said anything. Alex stood aside to let him in.

  He sat and gratefully accepted the tea she offered him. He slowly sipped it before he uttered his first words. “I apologize for the late hour, but I wanted to thank you,” he croaked. “For saving my life.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I’ve been recovering in a hospital, and as you can imagine, my superiors, my family, all want to know what happened. I’m the only survivor. But all I’v
e said was I don’t know, or they were a meth gang. I guess I now realize, in a way, what it has been like for you all these years having to hide the truth.” Solomon reached out a hand and Alex took it. He gave her a brief squeeze. “If I ever made you stress, I’m truly sorry.”

  “You were just doing your job.”

  “But not a very good one. I was so convinced you were some kind of underworld figure surrounded by sinister characters that forced you to do their bidding. But, it’s not as simple as that.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s not.”

  Solomon groaned as he reached for his pocket. “I wanted to show you this but I don’t know whether you heard. Your principal was murdered the day before the cloud broke apart.” He paused at her shocked sound but then continued. “I know because, while in hospital, a captain from another precinct talked over the case with me. He asked if there was anything to suggest you’d done it.”

  “Why would he need to ask you?”

  “Because the attack on Mascot destroyed our link to the Police Database. Then the weather corrupted a whole mess of data during a blackout. Case files, evidence, leads. Gone. They are keeping it quiet and are in the process of getting it sorted but it will take months. To get a head start, he worked his way back from the newest cases. He talked to me about the latest one out of Mascot that crossed his desk: your charge.”

  “Ok…about that. Officer Crane-”

  “Solomon. I think we can dispense with surnames. Don’t say anything more. I saw the look on your face in the interview room. You mentioned something about your memory. If something did happen, you wouldn’t have been in your right mind. You didn’t kill her. My eyes have been opened after so long. I struggled with my faith, yet I now find out vampires exist and they aren’t the only things are they?”

  Alex shook her head.

  “Have you seen others?”

  She nodded her head. “And many are cruel, evil things, but they aren’t all like you saw. There are a select few that fight against them. They just want to live and they have protected people in the past. Those are the ones I fight alongside.”

  “Fight…” he repeated, giving her a quick look before glancing at the floor. As if judging whether she meant actual fighting. Maybe sizing her up. But the next words from him reflected nothing but genuine respect. “You truly are remarkable. Thank you for trusting me with this. I swear to you I won’t cause you any trouble. Just know you are a free woman.”

  “What will you do now? Go back to the cops?”

  He smiled and gave a short, harsh cough. “You know, I have no idea. I was so ready to resign. I even wrote my letter. Now it wouldn’t have been registered. So what now. I still want to help people, but I know that if I go back I’ll have to pretend. I’ll have to turn a blind eye to a whole lot of shit. I don’t think I have it in me to do that. A part of me wants to close the door to my house and never allow my family to leave. Do you think that makes me a coward?”

  “No. I think it makes you reasonable.”

  “Don’t you ever want to just…I don’t know…drive away? Leave all this?”

  “Yes,” Alex said. “But there are people here that I love and others that I want to see again. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to them and I wasn’t there. People…” she paused, thinking about the boy she longed to see again, the man that risked everything for her and the armour nestled under her clothes. “That give up their lives for the freedom of others, they need me...and I need them.”

  Solomon nodded and rose gingerly. “I really want to know more, but I won’t take up anymore of your time.”

  “I’m glad you’re doing ok,” she said, walking him towards the door and holding it open for him.

  He stepped out and placed his hands in his pocket. “Look, if I do go back and if I come across something…well, undeadly. Can I count on you?”

  “How’s this? I swear to help you wherever I can as long as you know there are some things I can’t and won’t say. Those things are to protect other good people.”

  “I’ve never coloured outside the lines before,” Solomon thought out loud. “Maybe it’s time I did,” he finished with his hand outstretched, which Alex shook. It was a strong handshake. He was a good guy.

  *

  Solomon reached his car and got in. There was still so much he wanted to know, so much he feared he would find out. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the business card he was given in the hospital. Sovereign.

  Were they the answer? His gut instinct was to not trust any government organization. His own research had yielded nothing on them. Nada. They had said they were an offset of the Australian Government, but the Government had never heard of them. Supposedly.

  At first, he made to tear the card in two but something stopped him. He thought about it for a moment before stowing the card back in his pocket.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Flight Of Inspiration

  Alex walked onto her balcony. It was three in the morning and she checked to make sure no one was around or could see her. She had done this four times since the flashing memory of Dominus and every time had been a failure. The wings on the armour she wore refused to open, hanging like the hooped cape she originally thought they were.

  What once was so easy, in the cloud, now seemed a dream. There were no sirens here, only serene silence. There was no pressure. No panic.

  She thought back to the funeral. The feeling in her chest when near the coffin. She touched the V that day for that was where the feeling came from. It was there she felt the majesty of what Dante had done. Not just for her, as she now knew he was in love with her, but for all that were in danger from Julian. Whatever it took to ensure evil was defeated. Even ridding her of his memory to save her life. To ensure she kept fighting.

  She couldn’t love the memory of a man she couldn’t see in her mind, but she loved him, for believing in her that much. For inspiring her. For giving her hope.

  Alex stepped onto the edge of the balcony. “Whatever it takes,” she whispered to herself.

  She looked up and stretched out her hands, and within a second, she had left the balcony far behind, soaring upwards. Rising into the sky effortlessly, the wind and clouds whipping past her until she finally levelled out.

  Alex relaxed her arms, stretching them out before tucking them behind her, letting the current of the wind dictate her course. One could never know the blissful freedom this was until they experienced it. High above the clouds, where few would ever see the night sky like this in all its magnificent glory, the stars were her audience. She barely felt the wings working. Her path was straight and true with minimal up and down movement. In truth, she had no destination in mind. A journey but no direction. Where to from here? It was all up to her. The world at her feet, or underneath her, and she had no idea what to do. The gift she had received, no, the birthright she had claimed, was almost too much to accept. The cloud menace was gone, but still Alex did not feel complete. This was something many would want to help her with, some she would trust to do so, but none could.

  The path of a hero is a lonely one and though Alex did not think of herself as anything more than someone doing what they could in a harsh world, she believed that saying to be true. What did she want to do? To help people, sure, but was that enough? People were in need every waking minute. Her choices would decide the fate of so many. Was she ready for that? Could she carry that burden? To her right, Alex looked to find a glowing blue silhouette floating beside her in the shape of a Valkyrie. Flying just as she was. The silhouette was joined by another two, and to Alex’s left, another three. All were different sizes but all wore armour and were exactly the same colour. All silent but matching her speed effortlessly. Each in turn looked at her, and Alex felt a warm sensation of belonging. They were welcoming her. “Never forget, Alexandra...” came Masonian’s voice in her mind. “Magic does have its limits and its costs, but the people who pass on never truly leave us. No matter how long or
treacherous the journey. You may never see them, but you will carry them with you all the days of your life. You will never be alone.”

  *

  Alex walked into the studio to find it quite empty. Peaceful actually.

  “Hey!” Chris called. “Come on over.”

  She moved past the room divider and sat down. “Thanks so much for taking the appointment. I thought it would be busy?”

  Chris laughed. “Are you kidding? We’ve all been inside for how long? It’s sunny. Finally! I reckon it will be like this for a while but we’ll pick up. People are just happy for the first time in ages. Curfew has lifted, and they can drive again. They can travel. Tatts aren’t a big priority. Now…you said there’s been damage?”

  Alex sighed as she lifted her shirt.

  Chris winced, looking at her ribs as he put on rubber gloves. He reached out and adjusted her bra slightly higher to inspect what had happened. “Jesus…”

  “Yeah…” she whispered.

  “What happened?”

  Alex swallowed. “I’d rather not…” She didn’t want to mention it. She just wanted to put it past her. Then she figured, why deny it? Why try to hide it? It wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t ashamed. She was hurt, badly, but she was still breathing. “I was attacked.”

  Chris shook his head slowly as he gently pressed and stretched the skin of her ruined tattoo. “I’m sorry.” He gave the space under her ribs a delicate pat and her a reassuring smile. “We’ll fix this. Don’t you worry. And hey…it’s on the house.”

  “Oh no, that’s not necessary-”

  He held up a hand and gave her a wink. “I’m in a ridiculously good mood with all this sun. Don’t kill my buzz.”

  She smiled as she watched him finish off setting up his station.

  “Ok, it’s gonna be really tough to go over the name again and have it look the same, so we’ll have to get fancy,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “What did you want me to do?”