The Veiled Monarch

by Shae Bryant

  For some reason, Jacob was focusing on Erin. If he questioned her, he would find a way to take her in. I wouldn't be able to get Erin out of Iron Oath custody without a lot of paperwork and legal battles. By that time, it could be too late. Jacob was not going to take her first.

  I grumbled, "Alright. Fine. Who is going to see Mrs. Neason?"

  Before Jacob could answer, Catherine spoke up, "Why don't you do it, Raina? They know you."

  I grabbed my keys and rushed out the door before Jacob could protest. I'd go to Hialeah to see Erin and warn her. First, I had to tell Isaac. He could at least start the ball rolling to get Erin somewhere safe. After I was done there, I'd go south to see Vince. He needed to know Jacob was trying to grab someone.

  The last thing I wanted to do was leave Jacob with Catherine, but I had to talk to my own first! I knew what the Iron Oath could do. I had seen them make people disappear after taking an interest in them. I had also seen them kill innocent people. It always looked like some sort of tragic accident. A car accident, a bike accident or some horrible workplace issue that could never be fully explained.

  My mind kept going back to Catherine as I drove towards the highway. There were so many things he could say and do to her that would turn her against all of us. Catherine was Human, but she was with us. She cared about everyone regardless of their mortality or ability. Me leaving her with the Iron Oath could change that.

  I softly banged my forehead on the steering wheel and turned around to go back to the department. I couldn't leave Catherine with Jacob, but I had to have Isaac and Vince on alert. I grabbed my phone and risked a ticket by texting while driving. Both Vince and Isaac got the same message from me.

  "I O moving. Taking interest in locals. Talk soon." That should be enough.

  When I walked back in the office, Catherine was sitting alone. She was staring at her monitor with her brow puckered in worry. When I drummed my fingers on the door, Catherine gave me an apologetic frown. What did Jacob do to her? I had been gone fifteen minutes.

  "Raina..." she began, "I need to talk to you about Erin Neason. Before you say anything, I want to show you some files and NHR records."

  I sat down next to her, "Alright. Show me."

  She started to pull up Erin's records, "There are some things that really bother me. See?"

  I looked over the information. On the surface, they did look bad. Erin and her husband Brian lived in New York City before they moved here. During the time they lived there, there were a number of illegal Werewolf turnings. Once the two moved to Florida, the illegal turnings went down. Not only that, but Erin and Brian were both suspected in a number of crimes that had been investigated by the Iron Oath. One of the suspected crimes brought in the Iron Oath's attack dog.

  Theodric Faulkner — known as Faulkner to every Non Human in the world. He was a ruthless member of the Iron Oath who was likely responsible for a trail of bodies. Faulkner's job was to give 'warnings' to Non Humans and Humans alike. Most people who heard his smooth Irish dialect ended up in a body bag within days. Reading his name sent a shiver through my spine. What horrors did Erin and Brian deal with in New York with Faulkner on their heels?

  That was when I noticed some issues. These weren't official NHR records. They didn't completely match what we saw on a regular basis from the Non Human Registry database. The formatting, how things were written and the order of the questions made no sense to me.

  I frowned, "You're right. This looks bad. Catherine, where did you get these?"

  "Jacob." She looked at the monitor with a frown. "He wanted me to show you."

  Of course, he did. These weren't from the NHR. They were from the Iron Oath, and likely doctored to look exactly the way the Iron Oath wanted them to look. Iron Oath records look similar to the NHR for this very reason. People confuse them all the time. If we wanted to know the truth about Erin and Brian Neason, we needed to ask them ourselves.

  Catherine was offended, "Don't look at me like that! Jacob wanted you to see this from me, because you don't trust or like him. He's not trying to do anything bad. We're both trying to get you on board in this investigation, so we can all three work together."

  I was already working on my own laptop, pulling up the actual NHR records for the Neasons and for New York, "Catherine...there's a problem."

  "What is it?"

  I turned my screen to show her the NHR records along with statistics for illegal turnings in New York. Overall, it was below average. Just like anywhere else, illegal turnings were higher in the Spring and Summer and less in the Fall and Winter. Erin and Brian moved to Florida in November. That's why the rate went down. The last year the Neasons lived in New York recorded five illegal turnings. That was below the average number for the State.

  No one Werewolf could be responsible for every illegal turning in a single area. Let alone a State. There has never been the case of a serial 'turner' that went around turning people into a Vampire or a Werewolf. Most illegal turnings were crimes of passion, pure stupidity, or simply people trying to circumvent the courts. The Neason's were guilty of getting into fights, but they weren't guilty of anything else.

  Catherine stared at the monitor. "Holy shit! What...? Jacob gave me these when he..."

  I interrupted her, "Where did he get the records?"

  "Him. I guess they're from the Iron Oath?" She shook her head, "I thought that the Iron Oath mirrored the NHR."

  "And he forgot to tell you that their information looks similar to the NHR database. All of it looks horrible if it's doctored up." I cursed under my breath, "I can't believe he did this."

  Catherine looked at her monitor, "Wait. Here are Erin's divorce records along with her arrests. We should at least look at them."

  "They're bikers, Catherine. And Werewolves. Of course, she's been arrested for fighting. I think every one of them has." I chuckled. "And one divorce doesn't make me think badly about someone. Isaac got divorced twice — to the same woman. I don't think someone is a suspect for a divorce."

  "I don't either." She agreed, "But we should look at them just to make sure everything really does point to someone else. Jacob said that her ex-husband claimed infidelity, which made her look more suspicious in this case."

  Catherine was right. This mysterious 'Mila' woman fits the profile of a woman who moved around a little. Even though an infidelity claim didn't put Erin under direct suspicion, every piece Jacob tried to feed us made Erin look worse and worse. We needed to check everything and make certain that Erin was in the clear.

  "Did he win the claim? Did she counter sue?" I asked.

  She stared at her screen, "She claimed domestic abuse and won. Erin Neason was granted full custody of their two year old daughter, Chloe. Her ex-husband was given a restraining order and lost all rights as a Father."

  "So she didn't cheat?"

  "Not according to the courts. He didn't get a thing out of the divorce but a restraining order and child support."

  I rolled my eyes, "Well, that's that."

  Catherine leaned back in her chair, "I don't understand. Why would Jacob do this to me?"

  "I don't know what he's playing at." I answered her. "I really don't."

  That was not a lie to protect Catherine. Why would Jacob feed her this bad information, knowing she'd find out eventually? He also knew I'd warn Isaac and Vince. Something was going on and I really didn't like it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Case 2. Closed.

  Over the course of the next few days, Catherine and I worked alone on the lone wolf case. Jacob Stuart never returned to the department. When we looked into his hotel, we were told he had checked out. They had no other information to give us. Neither of us were certain he went back to Orlando.

  Catherine was worried about the entire situation. She felt like part of this was her fault. Perhaps she gave him too much information, or she was too trusting. She did give him too much information, but that's what the Iron Oath did. They manipulated people into doing what they w
anted. Or, they confused them to the point of making a mistake.

  Catherine was determined to make things right. The best way for her to do that was to walk into Isaac's dealership and tell him what had happened. Catherine opened the doors, and lost her nerve when she saw Isaac's smiling face.

  "Hey Cat!" He greeted her, "Is everything OK?"

  Catherine's eyes darted around the dealership,"No. I need to talk to you. In private."

  Isaac passed up his typical flirty response and ushered her into his office,"What's up?"

  "Jacob Stuart — the Iron Oath investigator..." Catherine lost her nerve again. She took a moment to gather up her courage and continued,"He showed me some records that made it look like one of yours might be suspicious. It was pretty damning at first glance. If it wasn't for Raina going a bit deeper, we'd be questioning her right now. The thing is, I think he knows we'd have found out she's innocent."

  She waited for Isaac to come at her in anger. Instead, his eyebrows raised, and he leaned back into his chair. Isaac ran a hand through his hair with a loud huff, "Who? Who was he going after?"

  "Erin Neason. She's a friend of yours."

  "Shit." Isaac grabbed his phone, "She and Brian are good friends. She's never done anything."

  "Except being arrested for assault."

  Isaac laughed, "Oh yeah. They like to scrap a bit. Brian's pretty protective over Erin and Chloe."

  He didn't volunteer the whole story that brought those two together. Catherine would learn if she stuck around. Erin was in a violent marriage that she felt she couldn't get away from. Her husband threatened the life of their baby if she ever tried to leave him. The other Werewolves in their community tried to help Erin, but no one would physically stand up to her husband. Until Brian. He beat the guy within an inch of his life, sending him to the hospital and willingly taking the arrest that came with it.

  After the divorce, Brian only offered to help Erin with her young daughter. He and Erin got close and married before Chloe turned six. Brian legally adopted Chloe that year. As far as anyone is concerned, he is her Dad, and he's the only husband Erin ever acknowledges having.

  "Can you think of any reason why the Iron Oath wants to be close to Erin Neason? Or ruffle her feathers?" Catherine inquired.

  "No." Isaac shook his head. He was lying, but Catherine didn't need to know that.

  Brian and Erin both had run-ins with the Iron Oath. It was what led them away from New York and to Florida in the first place. Their community in New York decided to fight against the Iron Oath and their lobbying of some Non Human regulations. They were exercising their rights as voters and citizens by staging peaceful protests and attending hearings where they made public statements. Within weeks, strange crimes started to happen that were being pinned on the Non Humans in New York. The Iron Oath came in to investigate the crimes.

  Suddenly, people started having accidents and disappearing. Bodies of Non Humans began to turn up. All of them were ruled an 'accident'. Then, he came in. The Iron Oath's chief intimidator. Warnings started coming to members of the community, including Brian and Erin. They couldn't risk the life of their young daughter; so they moved.

  Catherine might have known a little about New York's history. But, not all of it. Isaac wanted to keep it that way. There was no reason to expose her to this side of things. She didn't deserve it.

  Catherine sighed, "Jacob was intent on questioning her. This isn't sitting right with me. He is up to something."

  "Does Jacob know you're here now?" Isaac asked.

  Catherine shook her head,"No. He's been gone for days."

  "This is why we don't like them, Cat." Isaac rubbed his temples,"This is what they do. They aren't for Non Humans. They're against us."

  "I have so many questions now." Catherine leaned on the desk,"But they aren't about Erin anymore."

  "I can't answer those questions. For your sake. I can say 'thank you', because you did all of us a huge favor. We can make sure Erin is safe and warn everybody." Isaac smiled at her, standing up to lead her out of the office.

  "I hope I helped."

  "You did." Isaac reached out and placed a hand on Catherine's arm, "Hey Cat? Why don't you stick around and come ride with some of us? We're going to have dinner together. I think some of your questions can be answered."

  Catherine eagerly agreed to a ride. Isaac had an ulterior motive for the invite. He knew this was a group ride with a number of other Werewolves in the community. Their chat during dinner would move towards the Iron Oath and Catherine's news. That's when she would find out so much more about them. Her mind was blown with stories of the Iron Oath and what they had done to the Non Human communities around the Country. Much of it came from people who witnessed what had happened.

  It wasn't only Werewolves who had to deal with the Iron Oath. All of us did. Druids sometimes got it easier than all others. Mostly because we could blend in with Humans. It's not something we like to admit, but when the Iron Oath comes in, many of us claim we are Human. They believe us until they find our NHR.

  Vampires tend to get the worst of it. Many of them have seen and felt some horrific things when it comes to the Iron Oath. Vince Moretti was no exception. We all know he ran them out of Virginia. What we don't know is how he did it or what caused the incident.

  With the Iron Oath in town, Vince was on high alert. His home already had more security than anyone needed, but he requested even more. Cameras were affixed to every possible spot on the outside and an armed guard patrolled the grounds morning and night. He was determined to find this lone wolf before the Iron Oath did. Poor Sophie had been patrolling bus and train stations night in and night out.

  The chances of finding this Werewolf on a full moon were next to none. Not to mention she had likely skipped town by now. It had been almost a month. Leo was released from the hospital, and there had been no sign of any wayward Werewolf in weeks.

  On the next full moon, Sophie was checking a train station. She paused in the middle of the crowd and listened. Every conversation around her were dull discussions about the day at work. Others listened to music or stayed silent. There was nothing suspicious about this crowd.

  Sophie pushed herself away from the wall she leaned on, shaking her head. This search for a single Werewolf was boring. As she was preparing to leave, a young woman ran into her. Sophie grabbed the girl before she fell down, trying to be friendly and offer an apology. In response, the girl wrenched herself away from Sophie.

  "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Sophie asked/

  "Yeah. I'm...fine." The girl mumbled an apology and started to move away quickly.

  Something about the girl's reaction caused Sophie to keep an eye on her. The girl had her arms hugged around her torso and tried to keep herself from shaking. She could have been a drug user, or she could be dealing with something much worse.

  The girl stepped away from the crowd and slipped into a back alley. Sophie followed her from a distance, watching her turn the corner and slide down against the wall, pulling her knees to her chest. She was whimpering softly, rocking back and forth.

  "Are you sure you're alright?" Sophie carefully approached the girl.

  "Leave me alone!" She pressed herself against the wall, curling up into a ball to get away from Sophie.

  There it was. The permeating smell of soil after a rain, and a cool breeze at nighttime. It was the unmistakable scent every Werewolf carried with them. When they began to shift, the smell grew stronger. This girl was practically oozing the scent and her eyes were beginning to change from brown to a light gold.

  "You're shifting!" Sophie shouted.

  The girl placed her purse in front of her, creating a barrier between her and Sophie, "I'm fine!"

  "You need to go to the Sanctuary. Now!" Sophie tried to offer the girl a hand.

  "I said leave me alone!" The girl stood up, trying to push past Sophie. But, she found herself unable to move.

  Sophie held her fast and forced the girl to turn around
. Yes, this was the right look. Blonde hair. Dark eyes, and a tattoo that peeked out from her waistband. Sophie shook her head, pulling the girl along with her.

  "I can't believe I'm about to help you." She pushed the girl in front of her.

  "Hey! Stop!" The girl attempted to pull away from Sophie, "What are you doing?!"

  "Getting us a ride."

  "I'm not going with you."

  Sophie turned around suddenly, hissing at the girl, "Yes you are!"

  "A Vampire!?" Her eyes widened, "No! I do not consent to feeding! You can't! You can..."

  The girl doubled over in pain, holding onto her stomach. The shift was starting to take hold as the moon began to rise. There was maybe a half an hour left before she was fully shifted.

  "I'm not going to feed on a Werewolf. I'm going to help you. If you shift, I will kill you." Sophie forced the girl to go to the waiting car.

  "Just let me go to a bar. Drinking helps me keep it down long enough."

  Sophie threw her into the back of the car, "Act like you are sick. I do not want to kill you and the driver."

  The girl doubled over in pain when she got into the car, refusing to look at the concerned driver. Sophie apologized, explaining her friend had drank far too much. He took them to a set of warehouses a few miles away and let them out. Of course, Sophie gave him a very generous tip to make sure he'd tell no one where he went or with whom.

  The warehouses were quiet and dark with very few lights illuminating the area. Sophie pushed the girl towards one of the large metal doors and held her against it. She punched a key code on the electronic lock and waited for the door to slide open.

  "Get in." She ordered the girl.

  "What? No!" She tried to run, but Sophie grabbed her.

  "I'm keeping you safe tonight, you idiot!" Sophie threw her inside the storage unit and shut the door. Less than two minutes later, the loud growl of a Werewolf echoed off of the walls. Sophie dialed a number on her phone,"Vince? I have someone that you need to see. Bring silver bullets just in case."