by Sky Winters
He had a responsibility to Melanie to get revenge; this was clear in his mind. But he also had a responsibility to his pack, to keep them strong and safe. He knew he wasn’t the Alpha- not yet, anyway- and thus wasn’t the one to make the call when it came to relationships between the packs. But with war brewing the way it had been, all because of Giovanni’s drug-dealing and power-grabbing, he knew that he was dealing with a situation that could affect the future of not just the bears, but all three tribes in the city. As he drove into the East Village, his familiar neighborhood, Boris found himself wondering what might happen if he were to help Mona take her place as Alpha of the wolves. He wondered if war could be averted while his plan was achieved at the same time.
Boris pulled his bike in front of his apartment, killed the engine, and walked up to the front door of his townhome. But as he reached to open it, he saw that it was slightly ajar. His adrenaline began to flare, and he stepped into his home with careful, silent steps, his senses keen for any possibility of danger.
But as he stepped into the darkness of his living room, he saw the silhouette of a figure sitting in his armchair, flanked by two men at his side. His heart skipped a beat, and he prepared himself to shift.
“It’s me, Boris,” said the voice, deep, commanding, and familiar. “Calm yourself.”
Boris hit the light, the open expanse of the living room illuminating. It was just as he thought: the man in the chair was Dima, the Alpha of the bears, and at his flanks were Gregory and Peter, the men he considered to be his right and left hands.
Dima looked upon Boris with his heavy, piercing green eyes which sat surrounded by the soft wrinkles of middle-age. His wide, full lips drooped at the corners as they normally did, which gave Dima’s face a default expression of disappointment. His hair was long, silver, and thick, tied back behind his head in a short ponytail. As always, he was dressed in an expensive double-breasted suit of pinstripes and a gleaming, golden pocket watch, the chain of which hung in a low sag.
“Have a sit, young Boris,” Dima said, gesturing to the seat across from him with his open palm.
Boris complied. He felt ill at ease, unsure of why the Alpha was meeting him in such a fashion.
“To what do I owe this honor?” asked Boris, his tone respectful.
“Please,” said Dima. “The questions will be all mine during this little meeting.”
Then, clasping his hands together and leaning forward, he looked at Boris with an expression of scheming.
“Let’s discuss your date.”
Mona had a lightness to her step that she couldn’t remember ever feeling as she approached her home. She wasn’t looking forward to the mess in the living room, but she knew that she could at least enjoy the feeling of joy that filled her heart after her date with Boris.
She approached the front door, looking into the window, seeing the mess of the evening’s events, her heart sinking. It was a disaster in there, as usual. But as she looked closer, she saw that the mess didn’t simply seem to be the usual chaos of broken beer bottles and passed-out junkies- though there was plenty of that- it seemed to look more disordered inside, as though the living room had been a scene of violence. Mona felt her blood run cold as she positioned herself below the fire escape.
She knew something wasn’t right; she could feel it in her bones. Focusing on the ladder of the fire escape several feet above her, Mona jumped, wrapping her hands around the thin, cold iron of the lower rung, and pulled herself up. She made her way up the few flights of stairs to her bedroom window where Boris met her, soft clangs of her feet upon the fire escape sounding with each step.
And as she approached her window, the suspicion that something wasn’t right was confirmed by the sight of Giovanni sitting on her bed, staring out of the window with an expression of tight anger.
She wanted to run, to flee, to avoid the punishment that she knew awaited her. But before she could react beyond seeing that he was there, Giovanni rushed towards the window, pulled it open, and grabbed Mona by her thin wrist.
“Get in here, now,” he said, his voice full of barely constrained rage, pulling her into her room.
“Let me go!” said Mona, struggling against his grasp.
“You little bitch,” he said, his breath hot on her face. “I tell you to stay in your goddamn room, and what do you do? You sneak off with that fucking bear!”
He threw her onto the bed, her red hair falling onto her face.
“No loyalty to the clan! No respect for what I say!” he said, slamming his fist against the wall, small cracks shooting out from where he struck it.
Gripped with fear, Mona said nothing.
“I’m not just your fuckin’ brother, you know- I’m the Alpha of this clan! And when you repeatedly throw what I tell you to do right back in my face, well, what am I supposed to do about that, huh?”
“Yeah, you’re the Alpha, the leader,” said Mona, strength returning to her voice. “And you’re gonna lead us right into extinction! Making the clan sell drugs, pallin’ up with these fucking lowlifes. What would Mom and Dad say about this shit?”
His face turned a deep shade of red. Giovanni flew towards Mona with incredible speed, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her from the bed.
“Don’t you ever talk about them like that!” he yelled.
Giovanni’s hand dug into Mona’s neck, and for a moment she felt helpless as she struggled to breathe. But remembering the power she was able to tap into earlier in the night, she grabbed onto Giovanni’s thick wrist, freed herself from his grasp, and ran towards the window.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doin’?” yelled Giovanni. “Where the fuck do you think you’re goin’?”
“Away from you, you psycho! You might ruin this clan with your drug-dealing bullshit, but you’re not bringing me down with you!” she said, before ducking back out onto the fire escape.
“Get back here right now!” he said, rushing towards her.
But before Giovanni could reach her, Mona sprinted up the fire escape onto the roof. Looking down, she saw that Giovanni's head was sticking out of the window, his face still twisted with anger.
“Get back here right now!” he said, climbing out of the window.
But Mona didn’t respond. Instead, she looked across at the building on the other side of the street. She knew that Giovanni would soon come to get her, but if she was able to make a quick escape, it was possible that she could lose him.
“Get back here right fuckin’ now!” said Giovanni, his voice closer.
With a deep breath, Mona stepped back from the ledge, giving herself ample running distance. Hearing Giovanni’s boots clanging on the fire escape as he made his way up, Mona attempted to focus her thoughts, letting the power she now knew she had run through her, strengthening her. Then, with one final breath, she broke into a hard sprint towards the edge of the building.
“Don’t you dare!” said Giovanni, now almost onto the roof.
But it was too late. Mona focused her power, instilling her legs with wolf strength. Then, she leaped. She looked down as she jumped, seeing Giovanni watch her as she flew through the air with incredible speed and strength. The street below passed under her, and the ledge of the other roof grew closer by the second.
After several seconds in the air, Mona reached the other side, grabbing onto the rough concrete of the ledge as she landed. With a grunt, she pulled herself up and onto the roof. Once settled, she looked over to the other roof, where Giovanni stood, his chest puffed out, that same expression of anger on his face that Mona could make out even from across the street.
“Get your fuckin’ ass back here!” Giovanni shouted, his voice carrying across the street, attracting the attention of the few pedestrians below.
But Mona said nothing, instead turning her back to him and breaking out into a run. She ran faster than she thought possible, moving from rooftop to rooftop, nothing but escape from Giovanni on her mind. She left Nolita, moving deeper into Ma
nhattan, leaping from building to building, drawing upon a reserve of strength that she never knew she had. But she knew now.
After a time, she stopped and looked behind her for any sign of Giovanni. But there wasn’t one. She knew that there was no way he could’ve caught up with how fast she was moving. But now that she was safe, the matter of where to go, exactly, settled into her mind. But nowhere came to mind. She had been reliant on her clan for her whole life, and what she had done now was the first decision she had made without considering the clan as a whole. As the Alpha, the rest of the pack would be obliged to do whatever he said, and hiding the sister of the Alpha would be unthinkable.
She was alone. He had no phone, no money, nothing but the clothes on her back.
The only person she could think to turn to was Boris, the man she had just met. But she had no other options. The sun was beginning to rise and she knew that Giovanni would be dispatching members of the pack to find her. She needed to get hidden, and fast.
Mona knew that the bears lived in the East Village, which wasn’t too far from where she was- only a couple of neighborhoods over. With no plan in mind other than to find Boris, she began her trek, continuing over the roofs of the tightly-packed buildings of Lower Manhattan. After a time, she reached the East Village, and finding a fire escape that led to the street level, she climbed down and reached the street, the early morning crowds making the narrow streets already dense.
She wandered from street to street, not sure how she was planning on finding Boris. But after a time, a familiar voice called out to her from the crowd.
“Hey, wolf girl.”
Mona turned, and to her shock, it was Boris. He stood on the sidewalk, his clothes fresh, his skin clear and clean, as though he had taken a restful night’s sleep. Without thinking, Mona rushed into his arms, and he responded by wrapping them around her in a consoling fashion.
“What’s the matter?” he asked in a comforting voice, feeling Mona gently sob into his shirt.
“It’s Giovanni,” she said.
“Say no more,” said Boris, taking Mona by the hand and leading her through the tightly packed knots of pedestrians.
They walked quickly for a time, eventually reaching an expensive-looking townhome.
“Right here,” said Boris.
He opened the door and led her in. She was amazed at the home, which was tastefully appointed and perfectly clean, both a stark contrast to her own home which was becoming nothing more like a squalid drug den by the day. Two men were seated in the living room, both muscular and handsome, with the same Slavic features as Boris, though not quite as striking as him. Both men stood up as Boris and Mona entered.
“Ah, this is the wolf girl?” said the first man.
“About as pretty as we were led to believe,” said the other, a playful smirk on his face.
“Wait a minute,” said Mona, now recognizing the men. “You’re both with Boris in Blood and Claw, right? We met at the show.”
“That would be us,” said the first man.
“That’s Ivan and that’s Aran,” said Boris, pointing to the long-haired man and the short-haired one.
“But how to you know about me?”
“I told them about our, ah, date,” said Boris, speaking quickly.
“Only good things,” said Ivan.
“Ah, I hope so.”
But something about their quick responses struck Mona as strange. It was as though their answers were careful, rehearsed, even.
“You all live here?” asked Mona.
“No, no, girlie,” said Ivan. “Well, we practice here, so in a sense we do.”
“We’re just here to make sure that you get settled in,” said Aran
“But wait,” said Mona, raising a finger. “How did you know that I was going to be here?”
Mona could’ve sworn that Boris shot Aran a glare, but she couldn’t be sure.
“I, ah, had a fear that your brother might find out about your evening with me. And I wanted to be prepared in the event that you had nowhere to go.”
“Oh,” said Mona. “Thanks, then. But aren’t you worried about him finding out that you have me here? That might mean war.”
Boris nodded.
“It’s possible, but war is already more or less a certainty. We are so close to fighting with the wolves that getting the conflict out in the open almost seems preferable to the tension that exists now.”
“But what about the tigers?” asked Mona. “Don’t they have any stake in this?”
“Who the hell knows what they want?” asked Aran. “They’re all the way up in Harlem. They can afford to avoid anything that happens below Central Park.”
“That’s what they think,” said Boris. “But if your brother and the wolves can beat us in open conflict, it’s only a matter of time before they turn their attention to the rest of the island.”
“Right,” said Ivan. “And all the voodoo charms and potions and whatever else they have up there won’t save them from a pack of wolves with half the drug money in the city.”
“Pretty sure they don’t do voodoo in Africa,” said Aran.
“Whatever,” said Ivan. “It’s all the same witchcraft bullshit to me.”
“I’d be careful talking about that witchcraft nonsense,” said Boris. “There’s a reason why the Senegalese have been able to keep everything north of Central Park under their thumb for the last century and a half.”
“Maybe,” said Ivan. “Those freaks just creep me out, is all.”
Boris turned his attention back to Mona.
“You’re more than welcome to stay here, of course,” he said. “Until this whole thing blows over.”
Mona felt relieved, but unsure of what to do. She wanted to stay there, but she didn’t want to simply be a bystander if the two sides did come to blows. As she considered this, Boris approached her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes.
“Don’t think you need to make any decisions now. You’ve been through a lot. Go upstairs, get some rest, and we can talk about this later.”
“OK, I will,” said Mona.
She was too tired to continue talking, and happy that Boris sent her off to sleep. She went upstairs and found an open door that led into a spare bedroom. Mona walked up to the bed and collapsed instantly, falling into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 12
Mona looked out over the span of Manhattan from where she stood at the top of the World Trade Tower. The view was incredible; the length of the island was stretched out before her, the grids of the buildings were seemingly without end. Not a sound could be heard other than the soft blowing of the wind, cool on her skin. She looked down from the top of the spire and noted that there wasn’t a single person to be seen on the streets below- not a car, not a bike, not a plane in the sky. It was as though the city had been abandoned.
“No one’s there,” said a voice behind her.
She turned, surprised, and saw that it was Boris. He was dressed in casual clothes: a pair of torn black jeans, a white V-neck shirt that fit tight on his pecs, and a pair of heavy black boots.
“Where is everyone?” asked Mona, turning back towards the abandoned city.
Boris walked until he was standing next to her, then shrugged.
“Who can say? They were all here, then they were gone.”
There was a moment of silence, no sound but the low howl of the wind.
“They were waiting for you,” said Boris.
Mona felt shocked, almost offended.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean just that. They were waiting for you, but now they’re gone.”
A strange feeling gripped Mona- it was the feeling that Boris wasn’t letting on all that he knew.
“Tell me what you know!” said Mona, turning to Boris.
“I’ve told you all I can,” said Boris, a sly smile on his handsome face. “Well, not quite everything.”
Then his gaze drifted down to Mona’s belly.
>
Mona reached for him with eager hands, but as soon as her fingers touched him, he disappeared in a swirling vapor.
“He’s not what you think,” said another voice from behind her. It was Giovanni.
Mona turned once again, and looked upon her brother who stood on the top of the tower with her, the glittering, sapphire curves of the Hudson River behind him.
Mona opened her mouth, but no words came; it was as though she had been struck mute by the mere presence of her brother.
“You may think you know who he is, but he’ll never be me. He’ll never be kin.”
Giovanni then opened his arms to Mona and as she began walking towards him, she was unable to control her body. Closing his eyes, a smile formed on his lips as Mona walked towards him. And when she stepped close enough to him to be within arm’s reach, he embraced her, turning her body towards the city as he did.
“It’s empty because you haven’t told it not to be. We haven’t told it not to be.”
She felt safe at first in his arms, in the protective embrace of her brother. But as she stood with her body pressed to his, a sinister feeling began to overwhelm her. And when she looked up, she saw that the sky above had turned to deep, boiling red, and her brother’s face was twisted into the horrible visage of a demon. She wanted to scream, but no sound emerged from her throat.
When she awoke, she was covered in a cold, startling sweat. A quick scream escaped her lips before she slapped her hands over her mouth, muffling her cry. But a pair of footsteps rushing up from the first floor made it clear to her that she had been heard. The footsteps drew closer to the shut bedroom door then stopped. Then the door opened, revealing Boris, his body cast in shadow.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing,” said Mona, not sure how much she should speak of the dream. “I mean, it’s just…”
Boris walked over to her as her voice trailed off, taking a seat next to her on the bed.
“Bad dream,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Not surprising- you’re going through a lot.”
“I know. I know that running from Giovanni was the right call, but I can’t help but feel like I’m abandoning my family.”
