by Sarah Noffke
Sorting through the change Anne kept in the empty jars on the shelves, David counted out a few dollars in quarters and dimes. It wasn’t much, but it would pay for an afternoon matinee. He sighed deeply, thinking of the smell of the popcorn and the feel of the dim theater. It was an experience that fueled his blood. So many affectionate memories of movie-going were etched into his mind. All he needed to feel better was to merely watch a movie.
Mika is such a fucking asshole, Morgan thought as he pulled his sweater tighter around him. Why in the hell was it so cold in Dallas? Wasn’t the south supposed to be mild? And why the hell did the elements affect an invisible man? He laughed to himself, pushing his long brown hair out of his face as a cold wind pierced him. It reminded him of the wind that Zephyr had shot at him. What a cool skill to be able to control the wind. Morgan had to give Mika credit. He might be a jerk, but he was a brilliant one who created badass superhero types. It was like he was creating a cast for comic books.
Still, Mika had ignored Drake’s advice that it was too soon for Morgan to be in the field. Even with all the technology at Olento Research, healing took time. The large werewolf bite on his left shoulder was still healing, making his range of movement restricted. Werewolf bite actually didn’t quite cover it, since Zephyr had taken a chunk of his shoulder. That dirty, fucking beast. Morgan wasn’t allowed to hurt the werewolves, but if he saw Zephyr again then he’d make a mistake.
He slid his hand to the revolver hidden at his back. Yes, he had the tranquilizer gun in the holster at his hip, but he’d hidden the other weapon. Mika thought he could force Morgan on a mission, but the invisible man wasn’t taking another risk with these damn werewolves.
Pulling his hood over his head, Morgan rounded the corner, pausing when the movie theater came into view. According to the future-seer’s report, David would be approaching the movie theater from this direction in five minutes. Morgan cast his gaze down the street to where a white van was parked. Haiku and his men couldn’t see Morgan since he was invisible, but hopefully they’d be quicker to apprehend David once the invisible man knocked him out.
From the roof of a building Zephyr looked out at the street below, Connor and Rio flanking him. He blinked his eyes and then activated his X-ray vision, focusing it on the white van down the street.
“There’s five men in the van. They have tranquilizer guns, by the look of it,” Zephyr said in a low voice to the others.
“Well, that’s how we know they’re with Olento Research. How do those demons know about this?” Rio said, rubbing his fist into his palm. It was his nervous tick, Zephyr acknowledged. He was starting to learn all of the ticks of his men. That’s one way a captain can read them and decide how they’re feeling.
“Maybe the same way we do, by seeing the future. Or maybe they’ve been watching David for a while, deciding when to abduct him,” Zephyr said. He knew the last thing he should do was underestimate Mika Lenna.
“You think you can handle the van of men on your own?” Zephyr said to Rio and then eyed his watch. “David will arrive in four minutes.”
“Shoot, I can handle them on my own and then some,” Rio said.
“I thought so,” Zephyr said, and turned to Connor. “You and I will approach David. His file says he is introverted and prefers being alone. Therefore, enticing him with the pack won’t work. I think we need to convince him he’s in danger.”
“Well, judging by the unmarked white van full of police wannabes, you won’t have to try hard to convince him. I’ll try throwing one across the street to really cement the message,” Rio said.
“Try and keep it clean actually. No one dies. Just knock them out,” Zephyr said.
“You got it, boss,” Rio said, kneeling down and throwing his legs over the side of the building. From there, he climbed down using various ledges. Scaling buildings even when not changed was a gift of the werewolf.
Three minutes and it would be show time. Morgan slid his phone back into pocket after checking the time. Mika should have sent Kris on a mission this easy. All he had to do was taze David or shoot him with a tranquilizer and then the security team would pull up and drag him into the van. It couldn’t be easier. And David was considered one of the more docile werewolves. However, Mika wouldn’t assign Kris to the mission even though she had nothing to do except stomp around and seethe. She’d been in a horrible mood since returning from the Lucidite Institute, but wouldn’t tell Morgan the reason. Morgan knew why Mika wouldn’t assign Kris to this case. For the simple fact that she was a woman.
Two minutes before David was supposed to come around the corner, Rio stepped out in full view of the men in the van. He was two feet from the bumper, a smile on his face lighting up his deep dimple on his cheek.
“Looks like you two need a lift,” Rio said, squatting down, his hands gripping the metal bumper. The guards inside scrambled for the door, but just then Rio lifted the van up. With a grunt he pushed the ten-ton vehicle off his chest, knocking it on its back end, where the doors were. Screams and the sounds of tumbling bodies echoed from inside the van.
Laughing, Rio walked around the vehicle. There were two front doors where the men could potentially exit once they’d recovered from the tumble. Rio pulled back his fist and launched it at the crease of the door, tangling the metal into itself. Well, now they weren’t getting out of that door. It wouldn’t open with that kind of damage. Rio ambled around to the other side.
“Once you knuckleheads get through the window then I’ll be ready to go toe to toe,” he said. However, after that display of power, it was likely the men inside the van weren’t eager to escape and meet Rio’s fist.
Morgan pushed off the brick wall where he was leaning. In one minute David Sanders would be strolling around the corner. At his back he heard a loud crash that made him jump. He turned, expecting to see a collision. Imagine his surprise when he saw Haiku’s van toppled over, resting on its back end. Rio Hernandez laughed as he strolled around the vehicle, sizing up the damage he’d just done. Damn, that guy was strong. But he could still be taken out. Morgan pointed his tranquilizer gun in Rio’s direction just as a blast of snow blew in his face.
“Fuck,” Connor said, exhaling, his breath misting in the cold air. “Rio just has to show off.”
“Yeah, I really thought he’d fight the guards. This was a bit flashier of an approach. We’re definitely going to attract some attention,” Zephyr said.
“The Lucidites will find a way to cover it up,” Connor said, turning his attention in the direction of where David was supposed to materialize in just a moment. Connor and Zephyr walked around a corner where a brick wall took up most of the city block. David would be coming around the opposite corner any second. A flurry of snow swirled around the bend, making Connor’s eyes burn. The flakes blasted him in the face but just then he caught the form of a man several feet away. The snow covered the man for a moment, making his presence known.
“Oh no, not that guy,” Zephyr said, holding up his hand.
“The invisible man?” Connor said, sliding down into a fighting stance.
“Good to see you again, Zephyr. I’ve been meaning to return the favor for what you did to my shoulder,” a disembodied voice said, followed by a click. Connor knew that click. He’d been around guns, had had them held up to his head.
“No!” he yelled, knocking into Zephyr, pushing him away as he held up his hand. A heat scorched in his palm just before a bolt of fire soared out of his skin. It shot forward, connecting with the invisible figure, lighting him up at once. The fire continued to pour from Connor’s hand as a man strode around the corner, his eyes going wide at the sight before him.
David Sanders shot backward as the man in front of him rose up in flames. The fire ran over his clothes and covered his head. Connor had no idea what was happening to him, but the fire felt never ending as it flowed effortlessly from him. Fueling his fear. Feeding his need to protect. Powering his desire to be great.
“That’s e
nough,” Zephyr boomed into Connor’s ear.
Instantly, as though controlled by his words, Connor dropped his hand and the fire halted.
The man who had been invisible continued to burn and the few people on the street, including David and Rio, just watched. Then David lifted his hand and over the burning man ice flakes fell, slowly dampening the fire. Still the burning man crumpled to the pavement, his body black and bloody from the fire. Connor had done that. Driven by his instinct, a white and blue fire had poured from him. Fire so hot and heavy it could cover a person instantly. He backed up, overwhelmingly horrified by what he’d done. But he’d saved Zephyr from being shot, and that’s what mattered most.
“Come on. We’re getting out of here,” Zephyr said, sprinting forward. The alpha wolf pulled on David’s arm as he ran. “You’re coming with us. You’re in danger and we’re here to help you.”
Not needing any further convincing, David turned and ran with the others. Rio joined them when they passed and the pack sprinted through the streets, not stopping until they found safety.
Chapter Fifteen
“Appetite, a universal wolf.”
- William Shakespeare
Mika pressed his hand to his forehead, pressing away the headache scorching in his cranium. Dead. Morgan was dead. Olento Research had invested over a million dollars to make him invisible.
Muffled cries echoed from the other side of the lab where Kris stood. No one had offered her a hug or any comfort when Haiku reported what had happened in Dallas. This was part of the job and she and her brother knew that danger was a potential. Kris had insisted on following Mika around when he sent Morgan off to retrieve David Sanders. Later she said she had a bad feeling. “A really bad, bad feeling,” she’d repeated over and over again. It was probably due to their connection as twins.
When Haiku’s team returned she burst into tears after just reading the expression in the director of security’s eyes. And of course, Morgan wasn’t with the team. David Sanders hadn’t been retrieved. Kris had run over and gripped Haiku’s shirt, pulling her nose even with his.
“What happened?” she said.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pushing her off him.
Kris had then stormed off and was still crying at the back of the lab.
“You’re telling me that Connor Luce has the ability to create fire?” Mika said. Zephyr had the skill to control the wind. Now Connor had fire. It made sense too, based on his background. The pack was proving to inherit abilities connected to their lives. That had been Mika’s hunch all along.
“Yes,” Haiku said, wiping the blood off his forehead where there was a large laceration. “And from our vantage point we think that David was creating ice and snow. He tried to put Morgan out when he was burning to death.”
A loud wail sounded from Kris. Apparently, she’d overheard the report. She really should leave the lab to grieve, Mika thought with a scowl.
“That would explain the snowstorms in Dallas,” Mika said, sliding his fingers over his goatee. “So Rio trapped you in the van. Five grown men and you couldn’t get of the van fast enough to intervene?”
“I was crawling out of the window when the pack ran off, sir. I tried to escape as fast as I could,” Haiku said.
Mika only shook his head. He was almost defeated by this scenario. The werewolves and the Lucidites continued to beat him. He needed Zephyr. If he could just get the alpha wolf then all of this would turn in his favor. But to capture him, he’d need someone stronger and more dynamic than an invisible man. Mika had two ideas. One would take a while to implement. The other he could start on right now. He turned to Drake, who increasingly felt like he was Mika’s shadow.
“Get started on Project Neandertalin right away. I want a subject to undergo the procedure today,” he said to the scientist.
“I’ll have a homeless person brought in immediately,” Drake said, his voice neutral, his eyes on Kris hunched over in the corner, still crying.
Chapter Sixteen
“We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.”
- Thomas Jefferson
Why does the werewolf only come out every seven days? Hunter wondered. He wished he could always be the werewolf. He loved the wolf. He loved being connected to it. The hunger fueled the fire in him. The one that made him need to maim and kill.
Daisy loved to garden. Hunter grunted at the gross irony of it. He watched as she bent over in her front yard to retrieve a crate of purple flowers. From the car parked across the street, he shouldn’t be able to see the details of her yard and the calm expression on her face so clearly. However, the wolf always loaned him its superior vision, smell, and hearing. He stroked his hand over the wheel of the stolen Audi SUV when she stood, her halter top making her torso visible. He’d have to discard the vehicle tonight. It was never safe to hold onto a stolen car for long. Maybe he’d race the SUV down the 101 freeway before abandoning it. Maybe he’d even slam it into some stuff.
Hunter’s ears picked up on a high-pitched hum. Daisy was singing as she shoveled dirt from the earth. She had always hummed while she worked. It was an infuriating sound that he used to be forced to listen to all through the workday.
When Daisy beat him out of the promotion at the bank, they’d said it was because she was a better fit as assistant manager. Hunter knew the truth. It was because people liked her kiss-ass nature and fake smile. They probably even liked her awful humming. He wasn’t perky and that’s why he, as a teller, had been passed over for a promotion yet again. But it didn’t matter, because working at the bank had given him enough information to figure out how to rob the place. It would have worked too, but fucking Daisy got suspicious when Hunter went back in after hours, saying he’d left his keys. She was the one who caught him. The one who hit the button. She was the reason he’d gone to prison. And she was going to die for it. Very soon.
Chapter Seventeen
“The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty.”
- Abraham Lincoln
“You overturned a fucking van in broad daylight in Dallas!” Adelaide said, launching her hand in the air. Rio had dream traveled back to the Institute and generated his body on the GAD-C so he could give the Lucidites a full report. Thankfully, Zephyr and Connor would be back soon because someone needed to stop Adelaide from murdering Rio.
“I actually thought it was the least violent approach. I could have pummeled all of those men in the streets. Don’t the Lucidites promote a less violent strategy?” Rio said, over the snickering at the back of the room. The FBI whore was in her usual position, sitting on the top of the conference room table and in her usual getup, a jumper that was both too short and too tight. Adelaide darted her eyes over to Rox, who apparently thought Rio’s public display was hilarious and not a huge cluster fuck that the Lucidites would have to cover up.
“You know, Lucien has a few jumpers he’s outgrown if you want them,” Adelaide said to the Rox. Who, besides babies and toddlers, wore onesies?
“How would you know what your son has outgrown? Delinquent moms usually don’t know much about their offspring,” Rox said, sticking out her tongue at Adelaide like a fucking child.
Instead of replying, Adelaide picked up the silver ballpoint pen beside her book and began spinning it in her fingers and thumb. Over and over she let the pen glide across her hand in a rhythmic fashion until the pen was a blur. Forty-five seconds later she heard a thump and looked up to find Rio’s head on the conference table. Rox’s eyes were glassed over and she looked seconds away from passing out as well.
“All right, Little Red. That’s not nice,” Kaleb said, striding into the room.
Her concentration broken, she stopped rotating the pen, giving him a heavy sigh. “Thanks a lot, Runt. I almost had her toppled ove
r,” Adelaide said.
Rox shook her head, a confounded expression on her face.
“You know, you can’t just make people pass out when they piss you off,” Kaleb said, yanking the pen out of her hand, their fingers touching as he did.
“That’s exactly what my bloody powers afford me. And I’m the only naughty Lucidite and therefore have to keep the balance,” Adelaide said, examining the thoughts that passed over to her when Kaleb touched her hand.
He tucked the pen behind his ear. “So I was thinking—”
“We all know you don’t think,” Adelaide said, cutting Kaleb off. “And this isn’t the perfect place to blow off therapy. Get your ass there and deal with your trauma or I’m pulling you off all cases.”
“I wasn’t…” Kaleb said, his mouth falling open and his words stopping short. “How do you know all that?”
“When is everyone going to realize that I know every-fucking-thing?” Adelaide said, noticing Rio stir. Rox shook her head, her short blonde hair swinging in her face. She focused her attention back on Kaleb. “Look, witnessing your father’s death is a horrible thing and you need to process it. Don’t run from the pain or it’s going to corrupt you.” Those words, that advice, burned Adelaide’s mouth as she said them. She needed to take her own advice, but when was there time to process? She’d worked nonstop since Ren’s death.
“Yeah,” Kaleb said, dropping his eyes to the ground. “I guess you’re right.”
“What happened?” Rio said, pushing his head up.
“I have no idea,” Adelaide said just as the other mutts entered the conference space, Zephyr fist bumping Kaleb on his way out.
A guy, who looked so far pushed into himself, strode just behind Connor. His green eyes carried an uncomfortable fear in them that almost seemed contagious.
