Pride to Pack

by Aimie Jennison

I am only alone for about half an hour before Wesley knocks on the door to tell me we should think about going to find the best places to hide in the alley behind Misty’s. He’s right of course. I tell him I’ll meet him there after teleporting to the apartment, so I can change into more suitable clothes.

  When I open my eyes and find myself in my bedroom at Misty’s. I can’t help but notice how strange it feels being here. I don’t belong here anymore. I go through the few clothes that I have, hunting for the black hoodie and matching pants that I know are there. I quickly pull them on with the black Nikes I have from my uniform at ‘The Chief’, glad I had thought to bring them, considering I never wear them. It looks like they’ll be my mission sneakers now.

  Walking through the house looking for Misty I come up empty. She must have gone to the bar early knowing that we will be heading that way early too.

  I take a slow stroll to the alley to meet Wesley and Billy. I take the fifteen minutes it takes to psych myself up. I’m nervous about giving orders to all these guys. They all seemed compliant on the phone but they could always change their minds when they are face to face. We all need to do everything we can to get Theo and the others back. I feel down our mate bond hoping for an insight into his well being. He's still there but I can't get much else from him. Maybe he’s blocking me from feeling him again.

  It doesn't take us long to scout out some good hiding places so we decide to head in and grab a drink while waiting for the other guys.

  We have chosen five of the of the most dominant pack members, thinking or more like hoping, that the controller will have more trouble taking over the more dominant members. The only problem with that way of thinking is he’s controlling Jared and he’s alpha material. Wesley is adamant Theo’s pack has some of the strongest wolves in Australia.

  They all turn up one after another, not one of them a second late. The first to walk in is Darren from Billy’s patrol the night before. We told everyone to wear black so it would be easier to hide in the shadows. He’s wearing a black skin tight tank top and black slacks with his steel toe cap boots. I still can’t believe how huge he is. He had to open both doors to get in the bar.

  Phil is next to come in, the other guy from Billy’s patrol. He’s wearing a black shirt, slacks and shoes, not his sandals and socks like he had on the other day. Although he looks like he’s dressed for a party rather than an ambush. When I asked Billy earlier why he picked him, his answer was that he’s reliable, fast and loyal. ‘He’s the one person I’d want at my back in a fight’ he told me. I’m still not sure what good he’ll be if all hell breaks loose, he doesn't look like the fighting type. I suppose if the plan works, we won’t need any of the guy’s. The only reason they are here is for plan b! I suppose if all hell breaks loose he’ll be able to run away, FAST!

  Greg is the next. He’s one of the older pack members. He looks like he's in his mid forties, although looks aren't much to go by with weres. We age slower than humans so we could be a lot older than we look. That being said, a human could look ten years older than he is and be bitten at forty. He'd still only look forty. Were DNA could cure a disease you carry but it won't make you look younger. He’s five-foot-six or thereabouts with dark greying hair and hazel eyes. His camouflage consists of black jeans and black t-shirt with white sneakers.

  Our fourth man to enter is Eddie - again in an all black ensemble. He’s only twenty two; I say only, but he’s only two years younger than me. I think I feel older then I am because I had to grow up quick without my parents. He’s got ginger hair and freckles with bright sky blue eyes. He’s a similar build to Theo, not big but not small. He’s cute too. I can see why Ruby has a crush on him.

  Our fifth and final man to turn up is called Dave. I recognise him as the cowboy guy at the meeting who spoke up about my plan. Only today he’s minus the cowboy gear. I don’t think I would have noticed it was him if he hadn’t given me a really mean look as he walked in, it’s funny how you can remember who doesn’t like you more then you can the friendly or silent ones. Without his cowboy hat, I can see this blonde pony tail and brown eyes. He is easily six-foot tall.

  They all greet us with a nod and wait for instructions, all except Eddie, who decides to barge past everyone, grab me by the waist and give me a wet open mouthed kiss on the cheek. I push at his chest to get him out of my personal space. “Hi beautiful, where do you want me?” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Yep, I was right he’s too much of a player for Ruby.

  “Stop flirting, Ed, or Theo will kill you.” Wes admonishes.

  “Theo isn’t here.” he says as he follows my step back.

  “He’ll hear about it, whether he is here or not. Now stop messing around, we need to focus on getting our pack members back,” I order, having had enough of him wasting time. I quickly follow up with everyone’s instructions on where they need to be and what they need to do.

  It doesn’t take us long to assemble into our designated positions, leaving us to wait for full dark to arrive along with the vampires. I’m hiding in a shadow at the entrance of the alley. I can smell Dominick so he must be nearby.

  “Are you all here?” his voice says in my head, just before he walks around the corner.

  How the hell did he do that? I think to myself.

  He tells me, with two words. “The tie.”

  Brilliant, what other tricks does he have up his sleeve, thanks to that bloody tie?

  “I’m not too sure myself, yet, Bel,” he replies in a serious tone.

  I wasn’t talking to you. I think it managed to come over as a yell in my thoughts - I hope it did anyway.

  “Sorry.” I even hear the chuckle in his voice. It doesn’t take Dominick long to reach Wesley.

  I have a great view of them. I picked this position for that reason, plus the fact that the werewolves will have to pass me before they reach Dominick. That’s when I need to turn my attention on our surroundings for the controller. I have a pretty good view of most of the buildings thanks to the alley being nice and wide.

  I hear a thud behind me so I turn quickly hoping we didn’t get all this wrong and I’m the one under ambush in the shadows were no one can see me. But I don’t find an ambush.

  I find Patsy stood facing me with a satisfied smile. “I scared you!”

  I look her up and down, stunned at the fact that she’s not wearing her usual attire. She’s got her hair tied back and she’s wearing sweatpants with a hoodie identical to mine.

  “Patsy I wasn’t expecting you.” There is no way I’ll tell a vampire that they scared me, true or false. “Dominick said he didn’t want any of you here being put in danger.”

  “I’m not good with rules and orders. Especially in this case. I can’t sit back and wait around while he’s in danger. I’m not letting him be killed.” I can feel her anger creep over my skin.

  “I won’t let him get killed either Patsy. Dominick knows that. I’ll put my own life in danger before allowing his death.”

  “Yes, Dominick trusts you. But I don’t. You have druid in you and they are not all to be trusted.”

  Alyssa, Paddy and Jared come into view, thankfully they are all still in human form. I suppose that’s a good thing.

  I wonder how that thing works between me and Dominick. Maybe I can warn him. I was only thinking before. “Domini—”

  His voice in my head cuts me off before I can say anymore. “I heard, thanks.”

  I turn my thoughts to looking for the controller by focusing on the roofs of the surrounding buildings. I can’t see anyone on any of them. Actually, why did I assume he’d be on one of the roofs? He could be in the buildings looking out of a window. If he’s in the dark we have no hope of seeing him.

  Shit!

  Panic flows through my body. If that’s the case all hell’s going to break loose and we won’t all make it out alive, especially if he manages to take over the others I brought when they come out of the shadows!

  “Rosabel. Feel for his emotions, veng
eance or anger.” Dominick’s voice brings me out of the panic.

  Yes, okay calm down Bel. Use your senses!

  I reach out to see what emotions I can pick out. Everyone’s emotions have an individual feel to them. People I’ve met once or twice like the guys, I can start to recognise their individual feel. So I can ignore those emotions coming from our guys like, Wesley’s sadness and concern, most probably over the sight of Alyssa. I can feel strong anger bordering on rage, but that’s coming from Patsy next to me. I’m not going to be able to feel anyone else’s anger while she’s so close to me.

  “Patsy you need to either get rid of the anger or move away from me. I need to sense his anger. Yours is blocking me from it.” I practically yell at her. If I was thinking straight I would have maybe asked her a little calmer.

  Understanding what I meant and not taking offence to my tone, she does as I ask. Her anger eases almost immediately and is replaced with pure happiness.

  I wonder what she was thinking to get that happy so quick, from such a dark angry place.

  Aha, now we are getting somewhere! I can feel some anger and a lot of resentment coming from the building I’m standing next to. He must be directly above me. That’s probably why I couldn’t see him. I’m surprised Dave couldn’t, he would have a good view from his hiding place.

  Found him, Dominick. I think to alert him as I run around the corner to the fire escape we checked out earlier. We had made sure we knew each fire escape and where it led, since we had no idea which building he’d choose. Luckily it’s only a four story building.

  I can feel Dominick and Wesley getting tense. The controlled weres must be ready to engage.

  “Hurry, we won’t be able to hold them off long without someone getting hurt.” Dominick confirms my thoughts. A bit of pressure is always helpful to give you the power to get up four flights of stairs in seconds.

  I pull myself onto the roof and can’t believe what’s in front of my eyes. I take a deep breath to catch his scent because I just can’t trust what I’m seeing.

  “Emmanuel, Why?” is all I can managed to say.

  I must have startled him - he hasn’t got senses like me. He spins around and looks at me with a shocked look upon his face.

  I’m hoping that means the action down below has stopped.

  “They need showing that they’re not better than us just because they are stronger and faster.” He starts.

  “Who?”

  He nods his head in the direction of the alleyway. “The werewolves and vampires. I took Stephen and Mary at first, thinking kidnapping the vampires would make a war break out between them, but for some reason Dominick never thought Theodore was behind it. Instead he asked for his help. I couldn’t control them, and I couldn’t let them go because then Dominick would kill me. I had to kill them!”

  Stephen and Mary. No one ever told me their names. Knowing them now makes them real people. Emmanuel killed them?

  “Not long after that, I found out I could control domestic cats and dogs, just a freak accident. I found Paddy drunk one night leaving Misty’s and just thought ‘what if?’. It worked, so I used him to attack Dominick. That way he’d have to blame Theodore. Paddy is his one of Theo’s wolves, after all. The opportunity came to take the Alyssa, so I did. The more werewolves I could use the more damage I could do.”

  “Jared? Why did you take him? He isn’t Theodore’s pack.” It just doesn’t make sense.

  “After he caused you to change in front of the bar I had to punish him. He seems like a person who likes to be in control and if he isn’t, well that sounds like good punishment to me.” He has a smirk on his face, which I’m not too keen on. The Emmanuel I’m looking at now isn't the Emmanuel I dated.

  “Theo, was that planned?”

  “No. That night I thought God must be looking down on me because I was so lucky! If I could control the alpha, I might be able to control the whole pack. It will save me taking them one by one. But it didn’t work Theodore is just too strong. He wouldn’t succumb to my control.” He pauses for a second staring off into the distance. I can feel his rage strengthening. “With the alpha missing, the pack should have fallen apart, but Wesley took control making sure that didn’t happen.” The way he said Wesley’s name was a concern. I think if he could cast a hex, poor Wesley would be in trouble, right about now.

  “It wasn’t Wesley that led the pack, it was me! As Theo’s mate that job fell on me. I’m highest in the pack, after Theo of course,” I admit, hoping to disperse some of that rage he’s aiming at Wes.

  I hear a noise behind me and watch as Emmanuel’s eyes dart around behind me. I don’t need to look; my nose is telling me that it’s Dominick and Billy.

  Dominick chooses that moment to enter my head again. “Rosabel, it’s only Billy and I. You need to persuade him to release his control.”

  “Emmanuel, you can’t control them forever. Please let them go and tell us where Theo is so he can go home,” I ask him in my most persuasive voice, while slowly and continuously walking towards him. I try to come across as friendly as I can in this situation. I’m not worried about him hurting me because I know Billy is behind me, and he’s quick. If Emmanuel tried anything Billy would be there before Emmanuel could cause me any severe damage. Billy won’t let anything happen to me. That fact I’m certain of.

  He looks at me sadly and shakes his head. “I can’t. If I tell you where I’m keeping Theodore, he’ll kill me. The only way I can stay alive is to keep him.”

  “You can’t do that!” Billy and I both shout in unison.

  “He’s right! If he lets Theodore go, he’ll be against a death sentence. He’s attacked pack. Theodore has to retaliate it’s law,” Dominick says out loud directed at me. “But Emmanuel you seem to have forgotten that you killed Stephen and Mary, who were my people. Therefore I can retaliate.” I hear the smile in his voice.

  Emmanuel steps back away from us all. “You can’t. You’ll never find Theodore if you kill me.”

  “That is none of my concern.”

  “WHAT?” I spin around and look at Dominick and find Billy staring at him just as perplexed as I am.

  Dominick doesn’t say anything out loud, he just stares at me with pleading eyes while addressing me in my head “Rosabel, he’ll have kept them in the same building if not in the same room. He’ll have had to have been close to them all. They’ll be able to tell us where that is when he releases them.”

  “So you’re playing bad cop?” I think back at him, wondering whether I should believe him. He is a vampire after all. Why would he care if we get Theo back or not?

  “Trust me, Rosabel.” he says in my head.

  Billy is looking back and forth between the two of us; something on my face must be showing that we are having a conversation somehow. Dominick’s face has shown no emotion the whole time, actually come to think of it; he very rarely shows emotion on his face at all.

  I turn my attention back to Emmanuel to find Wesley standing next to him. He must have come up another fire escape somewhere behind Emmanuel “Bel, you or Dominick need to kill him so we can get the others back. I would love to do it but unfortunately it falls on you.” He really did sound like he was disappointed that he couldn’t do it.

  I step up to Emmanuel, close enough so that I could kiss him, although what I am about to do is far worse than that. He has tears streaming down his cheeks. I suppose imminent death could bring the strongest of men to tears.

  “I’m sorry Bel; I wish it could have worked between us. You’re the one for me.”

  I can’t kill him! I think to myself as I look at the Emmanuel I dated.

  “You have no choice. You’re doing this for Theo!” Dominick says out loud, I don’t know if he is warning the others about what I was thinking or if he has forgotten to say it silently.

  You might be used to killing people but I’m not a murderer!

  “Any of us would make it a long and painful death. That is our nature. You cared for hi
m; you can make it easier for him. You can make it quick.” I’ve been staring into Emmanuel’s eyes through this whole conversation and now I realise I have matching tears running down my face.

  How do I kill him quick without a gun? That would the quickest way, I think to myself. I feel Dominick is about to answer me, so I jump in before he does. Yes I know what I have to do. You don’t need to answer that.

  I lean to whisper in Emmanuel’s ear. “I’m sorry” I say on a sob.

  “Thank you, Rosabel,” are his last words.

  I place my hands around his neck and with a quick sharp twist, he drops slightly. I expect him to hit the floor with a thud because as soon as I heard the crack I had to let go. I look around to find Wesley had caught him and is lowering him gently to the floor. I drop to my knees and place my head in my hands.

  Someone lifts me up and walks me back towards the fire escape I came up, the voice that speaks belongs to Billy, “Let’s get you out of here.” He leads me down the steps but my legs are too shaky and I keep stumbling.

  There is no way I’m going to make it down four flights, without falling!

  Dominick appears next to me. There is only room for one on this fire escape so he must be levitating or something. He turns his back towards me, “Climb on,” he commands. I don’t argue. He wouldn’t offer if he couldn’t do it, plus I have just murdered someone I was dating only a few days ago; if I fell to my death I probably deserve it.

  I put my arms around his neck to hang on, trying not to picture Emmanuel’s neck and how easy it was to snap. Dominick is a vampire, so at least I can’t snap his by accident. It will take a lot more than Emmanuel’s did, plus I don’t know if that would actually kill Dominick?

  The shock starts to wear off as I find myself sat in the back of an open van that wasn’t here when I went up on the roof where I, oh god; did I really just do what I think I did?

  I need to think about something else.

  The others are huddled together about five metres away. It’s good to see Paddy and Jared back to themselves. I feel a lot of tension coming from them. I strain focus my hearing to hear what they are talking about.

  It’s Billy that is talking. He’s rubbing his stubble on his head with his hand in a motion from back to front. It looks like an anxious habit he must have. “So you don’t remember anything? None of you?”

  I shoot off the car and barge through the group in a split second. I don’t care who I’m shoving or what they are. If a human was watching, I don’t even think they would pick my movement up as a blur. I would just vanish from the van and suddenly be with the group. The guys here might catch a blur with their supernatural eyesight but I’m not sure and I don’t really care.

  “Did I just hear that right? They don’t know where they were kept?” I’m glaring at Dominick and ready to stake him right now. Even if that makes it my second murder within minutes of my first. I guess once a murderer always a murderer, a second won’t really make much difference. He just made me kill the only person that knew where Theo is.

  “I’m so sorry Rosabel. I had no idea they were hypnotised. I thought they would remember everything.” He is sorry. I can feel his regret. I can even see it on his face and in his eyes. I know I shouldn’t look a vampire in the eyes because they can make you do things just by meeting their eyes, but I trust he won’t try anything. I’m not sure why but I do. Even after seeing the regret in his eyes I can’t calm down.

  “You’re sorry? I just killed the only person who knew where he was. On your word, that they’d be able to tell us. How the hell are we going to find Theo, now?”

  I can feel aggression run through the pack members in the alley at what I’ve just said.

  “Angel, you need to calm down. We’ve all been worked up tonight. Your tension could make us all change and that won’t be useful to the boss, will it?”

  I look at Paddy and Eddie; both their eyes are no longer human. I don’t need to look at any of the others to realise what Billy had said was right.

  “Okay, sorry.” I say through gritted teeth as I take a deep breath and reach out to find someone happy. I find Wesley and Alyssa who must be in Misty’s and pull their happiness into me. With that happiness clearing my head I get an idea. “Dominick, Theo mentioned a census for all the supes in town. Does it contain home addresses and other property addresses?” I can feel the hope run through everyone - that my idea might actually lead somewhere.

  “Yes. But there are a lot of us in town. It could take days to find Emmanuel’s entry. I‘ll get Patsy on it straight away, but if you get one of your men on it too they can start at opposite ends. If someone knows his last name that will help.” Patsy leaves immediately after he says her name.

  I look at Billy, having no idea who would know where the census information is kept. “I’m on it. Darren you take everyone to Theo’s shed and give Doc Patel a call; best to get everyone checked over. Don’t forget Selena. Don’t let her see any of you. Dave, can you go let Wesley know what’s happening and ask about for anyone in the bar who might know Emmanuel’s address?”

  “No, I’ll do that. Dave you go with Darren. Emmanuel was Misty’s friend, I feel like I should break the news to her. I’ll find out what she knows at the same time. Dominick, do you mind helping by asking about in the bar too?”

  “It’s the least I can do,” Dominick says as his guilt flows off him. I feel even guiltier now that I have just realised I killed one of Misty’s friends.

  “Rosabel, do you want me to stay and help you too?” Eddie asks. His eyes back to his human sky blue. Thank God!

  “That will be great. Thanks, Eddie.”

  He beams at me in delight.

  Everyone heads off in different directions. Billy is going for his bike. Darren, Dave, Phil, Paddy and Jared all get in the van I found myself sat in not long ago, leaving Dominick, Eddie and myself in the alley.

  I look up at the roof. Is he still up there? Oh my god! What did I do?

  “Rosabel, he gave you no option. Greg has taken him to the morgue. He’ll make sure everything is dealt with. Let’s get inside and focus on finding Theo,” Dominick says, making his way to the back door that Misty must have left propped open for us.

  28. FACING DOWN THE WOLF

  Rosabel