by Casey Morgan
Chapter Ten
Tamir
I got back to my room after Kenzie got mad at me for not ‘sticking up to Anson.’ Maybe I was a little too defensive. She was trying to push me to help the pack, which is what is needed, but Kenzie doesn’t know Anson like I do. I guess I could have been a little more tactful when I explained that to her. I know I can come off as dismissive. Usually, I don’t care because I’m not here to coddle people, but things were changing with Kenzie, which means being more considerate of her feelings.
I shift in my bed, wondering if I can get a better position. I’ve been tossing and turning ever since I laid down to try and get some rest. I felt bad the second I started walking up the stairs after Kenzie stormed off, but I didn’t think it was going to upset me so much that I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep.
I can still smell her sweet scent from when our bodies joined back in the forest. Kenzie has taken over my brain in such a short amount of time. Nobody has ever been able to infiltrate my mind or my entire psyche the way she has. I mean, look at me! I’m lying here, worrying about how much I upset her.
I sit up in my bed. I’m not about to get any sleep unless I resolve this. I’m going to go over to Kenzie’s room. It’s time for me to apologize. Maybe this time around, the two of us can have a more civilized conversation. And maybe I can be less of an ass.
I get out of my bed and take off my PJs, putting on my joggers and a t-shirt. Kenzie’s room is on the other side of the house, so I make my way across the living room. I pass by various pack members, some still recovering from last night’s festivities. Some of them must have really partied quite hard for them to still be affected. I mean, shifters are supposed to recover faster than humans. I can only guess at the amount of alcohol these guys drank.
I shake my head, ignoring them and their woes. I get to Kenzie’s room and am about to just walk in when I think better of it. She might not be so welcoming to me after our argument. I have to remember I’m trying this whole being considerate thing.
So, I decide to knock instead.
“Kenzie? Kenzie? Can we talk? I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said earlier. I admit I was out of line, and I shouldn’t have been so nasty with some of the stuff I said.” I wait to hear what she has to say but get nothing. “I just wanted to see if we could try talking again.”
She still doesn’t answer. Is she going to ignore me? I know she’s mad, but I thought we were above these childish antics.
“Kenzie!” I say again.
Nothing.
I’m done waiting. I open her door, ready to have the medic come at me, but there’s no one there.
That’s odd.
“Kenzie?”
I look around her room, but it’s not very big. If I can’t see her, that means she’s not here. Maybe she’s in the bathroom. I take a seat on her bed, waiting to see if she’ll return. After a few minutes, she still isn’t here. I don’t think it would take her this long to come back.
Maybe she didn’t go back to her room. I’m not sure what she would be doing after such a long night. Maybe someone has seen her around.
I leave her room and go to ask whoever I can if they’ve seen her. I go around the compound. Anyone I see, I ask them if she’s happened to pass by or if they know where she’s gone, but everyone gives me the same answer. The last time any of the pack saw her was last night at the party, which isn’t helpful. I need to know where she went today. Like right now.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to do something stupid. She’s always jumping in headfirst to things, not thinking about the consequences.
“Fuck!” Where could she be? I’m actually starting to panic. I have no way to know where she’s gone or if she’s okay.
I need to leave the compound and find her. If anything bad were to happen, I’d never forgive myself. I’m not sure where to start, but that doesn’t matter. I’ve just got to do something. I’ve been sitting on my ass for three weeks already. I can’t keep letting things happen without doing something substantial about it.
I start to leave, but before I can get anywhere near the edge of our compound, I see rival wolves from the Mathis pack approaching. Shit! Someone sets off the alarm, and soon, all the fighters of our pack come out in droves, attacking the approaching horde.
I start to back away. There’s nothing I can do here, right? I can’t even shift. I’ll just get in the way. Plus, I need to find Kenzie. That’s the most helpful thing I can do. Maybe we’ll be able to end this whole thing once and for all.
I try and find another way to leave but end up running into Anson.
He stands tall over me, his broad, muscular body blocking my way. “Tamir! Where are you going?” he shouts, waving me closer.
I shrug. “I didn’t want to get in the way. I thought I could be helpful elsewhere.”
Anson has to understand that I can’t shift. There’s nothing I can do that would be of any use. Plus, I need to find Kenzie. She could be out there all alone.
“Tamir! You must go out there and fight!” He grabs onto my shoulders, shaking me. There is fire in his amber eyes, the kind I see whenever we must fight to protect our land. But it’s not just that. There is also something more sinister. It’s the thing that I’ve been worried about, there is something wrong with him.
But I can’t fight the alpha now. Right now, we are being attacked, and that is what I need to focus on. It’s what my alpha has demanded.
“What do you want me to do?”
Anson sweeps one hand through his wild black hair and points with the other. “Go out there and help your brothers keep those Mathis dogs from taking over our land,” he orders, sounding like a fool-hardy general sending troupes into battle.
I nod, turning back around towards the chaos. I’ve fought before. There was the battle from a few weeks ago and before on the occasional recon mission that Anson would send me on, but this is the first time that I am genuinely afraid for my life. This is the first time I am going into battle without the added benefit of my shifter powers. I’m weak, and I am vulnerable.
Plus, Kenzie is still missing. I know that the whole time I am fighting, I will be thinking about her, worried for her safety. But I cannot go against my alpha.
While I listen to Anson bark out attack instructions, I notice that Flint isn’t anywhere to be found. That sets my brain on my fire even more. The fact that both Flint and Kenzie are missing sets up a whole new set of ideas concerning what is going on. When we finish up here, I’m going to make sure to find out exactly what has happened to Kenzie.
And it might be time to confront Anson about all of this without backing down.
Chapter Eleven
Kenzie
Mini and I follow Flint into the silver mine. My heart is pounding, thinking about what might happen in the next thirty minutes. There are just so many scary things, and my brain is reeling with all the possibilities. This feels like the time we're going to find out exactly what's been going these past few weeks.
I just can't let Mini know how anxious I am. It's clear I'm the rock in this situation.
Flint keeps going deeper and deeper in the mine. The fog hasn't let up at all. In fact, the deeper we go with him, the thicker the fog gets. I definitely feel weak, weaker than I did the last time I was here. Must be the prolonged exposure. I soldier on, though. I know exactly how important it is that I keep going.
“This is really freaky,” Mini murmurs.
“It is, but we can do it. We have to,” I whisper back.
I'm starting to get a little freaked, though. Flint doesn't let up. How far down is he going to go?
After a few more minutes, he finally stops. Mini and I hide behind a rock to keep from getting spotted.
“Can you see him on the camera?” I whisper to her. She nods. There's no way we're missing this.
There's a weird bowl on a rock ledge where it seems like the fog is coming from. The bowls appears to be made out of silver. Is that what
's he doing? Turning the silver into some sort of fog that’s meant to mess with our heads? Is whoever is doing this magic for him about to appear? So far, it's only been Flint. I can't imagine how he'd be doing this.
He looks at the bowl for a couple of minutes before stepping back. His body starts to morph like he's shifting. This grabs my attention because Flint has never shifted before. Admittedly, I'm curious about what his wolf form looks like. That could also give us some insight into any pack he may have been a member of. Nowadays, you're more likely to find all types of wolves in a pack, but it's still pretty common for breeds to group together.
Mini and I watch, but to my surprise and ultimate horror, Flint doesn't turn into a wolf. His body is all mangled and a midnight black color. His eyes are fire red, the burn in them is as severe as the fires of hell.
“Oh my God, is he a—”
“A demon,” I finish for Mini.
Her hands waver, and I can see she is about to not only stop filming but potentially start screaming. We can't have that happen. If Flint catches us spying on him here, who knows what he'll do to us.
Gently I put a hand on her arm. “Mini, you have to stay calm. As long as he doesn't find us, we'll be fine. Just keep filming, so we can show this to everyone, okay. Can you do that for me?” She nods reluctantly but keeps the camera up, trained on Flint.
He's doing something to the bowl. I can't quite make out what he's saying, I don't think it's English, but it does sound like it could be a spell. His hands gesture around the fog coming from the bowl, pushing it upward. It thickens like he's just renewed the magic inside of it. That must be what's making us all more sensitive to silver. I don't know what the spell is exactly, but it must have gotten rid of the silver immunity that everyone on the Stayman land had acquired.
When Anson sees this tape, he's going to have to kick Flint out. Hopefully, the demon doesn't have the power to attack us directly. I feel like if he did, he wouldn't be going to all these lengths. He may be a demon, but he can't take on an entire pack of shifters. That's why he's working with the Mathis pack.
“Do you think you got enough footage?” I whisper to Mini.
“Yeah, I got him turning into the demon thing and doing stuff with the bowl. It should be more than enough.”
“Okay, then. We should get out of here. Like now.”
I don't know how much longer I can take being in this fog. It's almost like all of my strength is gone. I'm operating on my like second to last thread.
“Yeah, let's go.” Mini nods enthusiastically. She brings the camera down and closes it. When the viewing region snaps shut, the camera makes a little sound as it shuts down. “Shit,” Mini whispers. “I forgot to turn that function off.”
My heart goes into my throat. I don't think it was loud enough for Flint to hear, but I'm not about to risk it. I'm not looking back. I'm getting the two of us out of here.
“It's time to go. We can't wait.” I grab Mini by the elbow and pull her. We both turn around to see Flint right behind us, still in his full demon form.
“Well, well. It looks like I caught myself two little spies,” he laughs. Flint’s voice is deeper, and his words echo throughout the mine.
Instinctually, I go for his throat, but all of a sudden, I can't move.
“What's going on?” I'm panicking because I can't move a single muscle in my body. I try and try, but I'm also so weak.
“Kenzie!” Mini starts towards me, but then, all of a sudden, she drops to the floor. “Kenzie! I can't move. What's going on?”
“Calm down, Mini,” Flint oozes. “You're always so dramatic. I just put a little binding spell on you, both of you, in fact, so you guys can't run away. It seems as if you two are a curious pair. I want you to stay and see what I'm up to. It's been a little lonely coming here all by myself. It'll be nice to have some company. It’s terribly boring keeping all this strength and cleverness a secret. Finally, someone else can know how much work I’m doing behind the scenes.” He bellows out another laugh.
Mini and I are squirming on the floor, but neither one of us can actually move. We’re stuck.
“Would you two stop moving about!” his voice reverberates throughout the entire cave. Now, I am frozen by both Flint’s spell and by fear. “You won’t be able to escape, so just accept your fate. You decided to take the risk, now here is your reward.” He shifts back to human form and comes towards the two of us with some rope.
He ties up Mini first, making sure to bind her ankles as well as her wrists. It’s my turn right after. Flint makes the knots tight and hard, the rope digging into my body. I want to fight back, but even if the demon hadn’t put this weird spell on me, I’m too weak. I’ve already been in this cave far too long, and the fog is getting to me. The beat of my heart is resounding in my ears.
“This should keep the two of you from getting into any more trouble.”
Flint pushes Mini and me against a rock. It gives us a nice view of whatever is going on. I can see all the weird smoke coming out of that silver bowl.
He takes a couple steps away from us and then spots Mini’s camera on the ground. I was hoping he wouldn’t even notice it, but we just aren’t that lucky.
“I’ll take this as well. It’s not like the two of you will need it, considering what’s going to happen.” He gives the two of us an ominous smile.
Oh, fuck! We are so screwed!
Chapter Twelve
Tamir
That fight with the Mathis pack was the most harrowing one I’ve even been in. The fact the I couldn’t shift made everything that much more dangerous for me. I still don’t know why Anson insisted I be on the front lines. I know I’m his second in command, but the order made no sense. Yes, I managed to survive and actually fight off a few wolves myself, but it was unnecessary and cumbersome.
My pack starts to shift around me, coming back to human form, stretching out their limbs. Typically, the mood after winning a battle is a lot more celebratory, but everyone knows that we just put a bandage on this wound. The Mathis pack will be back again, and who knows how soon.
I pat a few of the guys on the back, letting them know they’ve done a good job. They smile back at me, but it’s a restrained one. Maybe after a little bit of time to destress, they’ll be able to appreciate what we’ve just done here.
Personally, I am still feeling wired from all of that fighting. I’m running off of enough adrenaline that I no longer have any qualms about confronting Anson.
I look around and find the alpha standing by the side of the house. He sees me approaching, a smile coming across his face.
“Tamir! It looks like we were able to hold off those dirty Mathises or a bit longer.”
“Yeah, but it’s not over. That much, I know.”
“You’re always so gloomy, Tamir.” He laughs and slaps me on the back. “Enjoy this victory. I am sure there will be more to come.” Anson pats me on the back again and makes to leave. This would usually be where I drop all attempts to convince him, but today, I am standing firm.
“I’m not just being gloomy, Anson. Things aren’t going well here. Trusting Flint was a mistake. A mistake we need to fix as soon as possible.”
Anson looks annoyed. The same way he does every time I bring up anything negative about Flint. “We’ve gone over this time and time again. I don’t know why you have to keep bringing it up.”
“Because it’s true! He’s been working with the Mathis pack the whole time. He’s the reason why all of this is happening, and we just let him waltz right in without any questions.”
I’m not at the point where I feel the need to personally blame Anson for everything, but I can feel myself getting close.
“How do you know all of this, huh? Is it coming out of your ass like everything else?”
“No, Pax told me. He’s been following Flint for weeks. He’s seen him making plans with Beau, their alpha. If we don’t get rid of him, it’ll be the downfall of the Staymans.”
Anson wav
es his hand at me dismissively before walking around me as if he doesn’t even care. Why won’t he listen to me? He has always been a man, fairly singular in his views, but this is something else. It’s like he can’t get out of his head.
Almost like he is under some kind of spell.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to convince him. If Anson doesn’t change his mind, he will be dooming all of us, and I simply cannot have that. I’ve never even considered doing what I’m about to do, but I am desperate. I can’t see any other way. Not one that doesn’t involve the pack hurting even more.
“Anson!” I yell.
He’s walked some ways away from me, but he stops in his tracks to turn around.
“I challenge you!”
If I leave him in charge, everyone will be at the mercy of Flint, and I cannot have that. There’s a huge chance that I won’t win this fight, but I’ve got to try.
“You what?” Anson looks at me in disbelief.
“I challenge you for your position as alpha.”
The second my intent is made clear so that no one can misunderstand me, everything goes still. All the pack members who heard have turned their attention to Anson and me.
This is the dumbest thing I have ever done. I’m injured, injured in a way that makes it a hundred times harder for me to fight, but I can’t stand by while Anson acts this crazy. I don’t want what Kenzie said to be right about me being so passive when it comes to the pack. And I don’t just need to prove it to her. I need to prove it to myself.
“Are you sure you want to do that, Tamir?” Anson begins to menacingly walk towards me. There is a fire in his eyes. One I’ve seen many times during battle. But, for the first time ever, it is directed at me.
“Yes,” I reply with conviction.
Anson is furious. I want to shrink away, but he also trained me to be strong.
“This isn’t you talking, Tamir. You must have silver poisoning from your wound. You would never go against me like this otherwise.”
