Pack Mentality

by Idella Breen

  5

  A meaty fist slammed down on the cherry wood desk, splintering the wood. Kebethi sighed. That was his fifth broken desk this week. His behavior was becoming tiresome and sometimes she wondered why she was still working under him. Kebethi was a McCloud, born and raised. Both her parents had been werewolves unlike Art, who, although both his parents were werewolves, his mother had come from another clan while his father was born a McCloud. Kebethi was an alpha and had been out on a mission for the previous alphas when Art took control over the clan. Suffice to say, she was not happy with how things had turned out. Art’s face was bright red, veins humming visibly underneath his skin. “What do you mean you lost her!”

  “I’m sorry, Sir, but our men lost sight of her. Said she disappeared around a corner, as if into thin air! And we haven’t been able to find her since.”

  “Find her and bring her to me.”

  “Yes, sir!” The beta ran out of the room to do his bidding and Art growled, pulling a bottle of scotch from his hidden stash in the false bottom of the second drawer of his desk, or that’s where it should have been, he grumbled. Someone had been in his desk again. He would need to find a new hiding spot.

  “Art.”

  He continued to dig around in another drawer and said absently, “Kebethi, follow them and make this right. Find Silvia!”

  Kebethi frowned at his dismissal. She slammed her fist on his desk, holding back her satisfaction as it splintered. They would need a new one anyway, startling the man from his search for liquor. He looked up at her in surprise.

  “I may be one of the pack, but you will respect me, Art. I’m not one of your lackeys.”

  He frowned. “Kebethi, this is for the greater good of the clan. You know this, for sure? I need Silvia to do my unofficial work while I need you to prepare my men for the fight to come.”

  She snorted and stood back up. “Your men will be ready for you little battle—”

  She was interrupted when her phone buzzed. She slipped it from her pocket and Art leaned over to try and see who it was. She growled at him and he sat back down. Looking down, she frowned at the text before smirking. “I am needed elsewhere.”

  “Kebethi—”

  “Your men will be ready, Art. Focus on your strategy and finding the allies you need for the land battle you are so bent on winning.”

  He sighed as she left the room and bent down to look for his scotch again. He knew he kept it in here somewhere.

  “Aha!” He said as he poured a glass.

  “Art?” Came a deep baritone.

  “What?” He grunted without looking up. Pouring his drink he sneered when the other man didn’t respond and finally looked up with a glare only to falter and jump to his feet, sloshing his drink down his shirt and pants.

  “Sir.”

  The man in front of him was hardly a man at all. His shape was distorted and seemed to ripple like a mirage of swirls of dark colors and shapes. Art had only known him by one name and it was a name he had first laughed at, that is until he witnessed the true power of the being in front of him. As, at this moment, Art stood in the presence of Death, the being itself, and he had no shame in admitting that he quaked in his boots.

  “How are your plans going, Art.”

  “Well enough, Sir.”

  “Good. That’s well and good. Have you found the girls?”

  Art gulped. Honestly, it’s been a few months since Death had visited him last and he had been more focused on bringing back the glory of the McCloud Clan. Some part of him had believed the visit from this being to have been a drunken hallucination. “Go—good, sir.”

  “How so, Art?” The way he said his name sent a shiver of fear down the werewolf’s spine.

  “Could you give me another hint, Sir. I’m having trouble locating the exact girls you wish for. I have some perspective choices but I need to narrow them down.” That was a lie. He hadn’t even begun looking. The room suddenly dropped a few degrees.

  “Art,” he shivered. “I am not one to be lied to. You know this, correct?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “So when I ask for something, I expect for it to be done.”

  “Yes,—sir.”

  “Or else I will wipe you and your clan from the face of this earth. Do you understand? All that you have worked for will cease to exist. People will believe your pathetic clan to have been a myth, a fairy tale of weaklings and dogs beaten by their masters. Do you wish that upon your people.”

  Art could feel his breath leave his lungs and fail to return. He reached up to his throat and tried to gasp but felt no air.

  “Do you understand, Art?”

  He nodded, desperately, as his vision was filled with dark spots.

  “Good. I’m glad we understand each other. I’d hate for a misunderstanding to ruin our relationship.”

  Art gasped as air filled his lungs again and fell to his knees. He coughed and gasped and sputtered.

  “The girls will carry the mark of Death,

  One, a tear, the other of bone,

  And are bound to Chaos.

  The two will cancel each other out,

  And yet they will fulfill the other,

  And together they will hold the key to leap worlds.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Find them, Art. Or I will not be happy.”

  With that, the distorted space went back to normal but Art McCloud could still feel the cold and calculating eyes on him. He stood and cleaned up his desk. With a quick motion, he drained what was left in his glass then left his office. He had brought Silvia to his side for a reason. She was his assassin, his monster in the shadows, his agent in the crowds. She was to do as he wished and could not do himself. And right now, he needed her to find these two girls or all that he had worked for would have been for naught. And that, to a man as ambitious as he, was unacceptable.

  Gwen heard the sound of tires crunching gravel, and knew Cait and Elena had just pulled up, and would be at the door in a few minutes. After a moment, she heard them coming closer to the front door so she jumped up to answer it, but stopped when she heard the two of them pause. Muffled voices were heard, and she realized that they must be discussing something. Gwen sighed. Elena had been somewhat, thoughtful lately. Cait brought Elena to her for regular lessons to help the little werewolf better control her inner wolf which had manifested much earlier then Gwen would have thought possible. Elena was only five-years-old, and before her wolf appeared, she had been much more innocent. Now though, now Elena would sometimes stare off into space and look as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Sometimes, she would even say things. Things that would stop Gwen in her tracks, as they were the sort of things a battle-worn soldier would say and Gwen would wonder when the little girl became so wise. Then Elena would pick her nose, hold her finger out, and chase after Remus, and Gwen would wonder if she had imagined the whole thing.

  Gwen waited until she felt it was safe, and heard the soft voices of Cait and Elena quiet down as their conversation had finished, before she pushed the door open, nearly hitting Cait in the face. Bending down, Gwen scooped up the little giggling girl, kissing her loudly on the cheek. “Elena! You’ve grown so big since the last time I saw you! What are your momma’s feeding you?”

  The little girl squealed and laughed as Gwen swung her around in a circle. “I was here yesterday!”

  Gwen paused and met the girl’s eyes seriously. “Really?”

  “Yes! Really.”

  “Huh, feels like years!”

  Elena laughed as she was finally set back down on her feet. Gwen pats her on the head, nudging her into the house. “Go sniff out Remus. He’s hiding again, and I want to see if your nose is getting better.”

  “Okay!” Elena called out before jogging into the house.

  Cait laughed. “Is he really hiding?”

  Gwen looked back but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye that made Cait laugh louder. “Let’s just say that he’s used to hav
ing to run and hide from your daughter if he wants any peace and quiet. She’s getting really good at tracking people.”

  “Thanks, Gwen, for helping me with teaching her. I don’t have much to go by when it comes to teaching a baby werewolf as most of what I know was learned through experience.”

  Gwen waved it off. “Don’t sweat it. You’re family. It’s really no problem.”

  “Elena, I’m in the bathroom!” A gruff voice yelled out interrupting their conversation.

  “Was that Remus?” Cait asked.

  “Huh, she found him faster than last time. I better go and get her before Remus blows a gasket.”

  Cait chuckled. “Okay, I’ll be by to pick her up later.”

  “See ya, Cait.”

  Gwen closed the door and smirked as she followed her nose to find Elena. She found the little girl in the kitchen sitting next to Sam eating a sandwich. “I see you found Sam and I heard when you found Remus. You’re getting better at tracking.”

  “Mom’s been teaching me as well,” the little girl said with a mouth full of food.

  Gwen grimaced. “Finish chewing before you speak next time or I’ll personally take care of teaching you manners.”

  Elena nodded and swallowed before smiling. Gwen nodded, satisfied, then placed her hands on her hips. “Once you’re done with that we will be doing your weekly meditation. Don’t look at me like that. It’s good for you so you’re not getting out of it no matter how pitiful you look.”

  The little werewolf’s face dropped as she nodded and Gwen couldn’t help but chuckle. The kid was too cute for her own good. Too bad Gwen had been dealing with kids her whole life. Her smile fell a little bit when she pulled out her phone and saw that there were still no new messages or texts. For some reason, she had been debating whether she should text Silvia or just wait until they met up in a few hours.

  Her chest still had phantom aches from time to time but the numbness that she was so used to was ever present. Gwen wanted to be excited. She honestly, and truly did, but mostly she was just anxious. Gwen was social. She generally liked people on most days. This did not mean that Gwen was liked by other people. People told her that she was easy to get along with. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that Gwen was very easy to forget. She had very little presence when it came to attracting people. Sam wasn’t joking when he mentioned one of her last dates calling her frigid. Many of them would say that she just never seemed very interested in them and as a result, they lost their interest in her. Gwen was neither the life a the party nor was she the wallflower.

  Gwen was the nice, pretty, girl that you got the number of but then forgot her face the next day. Sam had suggested that she try out this dating thing, and although Gwen had never been with a woman, nor was she entirely sure she was interested in women, if nothing else, hopefully, she could make a new friend. Was that a thing? Dating someone, that then becomes your friend? It kind of sounded like the worst nightmare for the other person. Gwen really wasn’t the best when it came to these things but Silvia had made her feel, something, so that was enough for now. As no one had ever made her feel anything beyond curiosity. The sound of a throat clearing drew her attention to Sam who had a frown on his face.

  She smiled softly, “I’m fine.”

  He shrugged, then went back to eating his sandwich. She would have to be more careful or else Sam was going to confront her with the intention of getting the whole story and she wasn’t sure she was ready to give him the whole story just yet. Silvia was her secret, mostly because if it all went to shit, she wouldn’t have to worry about Sam or one of the other wolves hunting down a potential friend and threatening her life and limb. Sometimes the pack was an asset while other times they were a threat to her sanity.

  “In through your nose and out through your mouth,” Gwen said softly.

  Elena fidgeted in her seat on top of the cushion, but did as instructed, making Gwen smirk slightly. “What now, Aunty?”

  “Are you focusing?”

  “Yes!”

  “No, you’re not. You need to focus, Elena. Remember the visualization exercise we went through last time?”

  “The one that made me fall asleep?”

  Gwen frowned. “You fell asleep?”

  Elena giggled. “Maybe.”

  Gwen sighed. “Elena, you need to take these practice sessions seriously. When you’re fighting with Remus you pay attention, don’t you?”

  The five-year-old nodded. “But Remus will smack me on the head if I don’t focus.”

  “Should I take a page from his book?”

  “What book?”

  Gwen sighed. “It’s a figure of speech.”

  “Oh.”

  Gwen placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders and Elena immediately felt the excited energy that had been slowly building in her chest release slightly. Gwen frowned. “Elena?”

  “Yes?”

  “Have you always felt this excited?”

  She nodded her head. “I always feel like running.”

  “Running?”

  “Yeah. I just feel like I want to move, and jump, and play. Sometimes, it’s like I’m going to explode!”

  Gwen nodded, and released her hold, before sitting back on her cushion. It wasn’t unusual for a young werewolf to have a lot of energy. The primal side was naturally energetic and playful like a puppy but the level of energy residing within Elena’s body was above normal. Gwen felt as if her own body was humming with it while she was touching the girl. She would need to speak with Cait and Snow about this if it got any worse. For now, she needed to get the girl to focus and relax a little so she could walk her through her weekly meditations.

  “Do you feel any better?”

  Elena nodded. “I don’t feel like exploding anymore.”

  Gwen chuckled. “That’s reassuring. Now, come on, and let’s try meditating again.”

  Elena groaned. “But I want to play!”

  “Elena,” Gwen said sternly. “We talked about this.”

  “But aunty, this is so boring! I want to play with Remus.”

  “Elena.”

  The girl quieted down at the elder werewolf’s tone. “Do you know why we meditate like this?”

  “So I can control my wolf better.”

  “That too, but also so you don’t get overwhelmed by the wolf’s power.”

  “It’s power?”

  “The beast within you is powerful but young. It doesn’t respect you as an equal, and unless you are able to tame it, it will try to take over. Do you know what happens if it takes over?”

  The girl shook her head and Gwen nodded. “If it takes over, you might hurt someone you didn’t mean to.”

  “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “I know, baby. So, will you meditate with me now?”

  Elena nodded solemnly. Gwen sighed before reaching out and tilting the girl’s face up. “If you meditate for twenty minutes now, tomorrow when you come over, I’ll take you to the park. And today I’ll give you ice cream. How about that?”

  An earsplitting grin replaced the frown, and Elena wiggled her butt into the cushion, before closing her eyes. “I’m ready, Aunty!”

  Gwen laughed. “Good girl.”

  Elena lasted the full twenty minutes as promised, and the two of them were sitting at the bar in the kitchen eating ice cream when Sam walked in greeting them. “Finished already?”

  “Yep!” Elena yelled before shoving a giant spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

  Sam smirked. “Should you be giving her ice cream before taking her home?”

  Gwen shrugged while placing her bowl in the sink. Skipping slightly, as she was in an extremely good mood. Silvia had texted her a reminder about their meeting. It had been a simple text but it showed that she wasn’t the only one thinking about their informal get together. She was still nervous about the whole thing but ironically, the mediation with Elena had calmed her down somewhat. She pulled out a pair of scissors from the island and m
oved over to the little girl. Elena had managed to get her hair covered in ice cream mostly because her bangs were too long.

  “Do you mind if I trim up your bangs Elena?”

  She shrugged making Gwen grin. Moving to stand behind the little werewolf, who was making quick work of her dessert, Gwen ran her fingers slowly through the soft tendrils of obsidian locks. “Elena, your hair is so soft!”

  The little girl giggled. Gwen wrapped her fingers around a section of hair and twirled it around to hold it out of the way, as she separated Elena’s bangs to make them easier to trim. Just as she was about to use her scissors on a section, there was a loud grunt, before a solid body bumped into her.

  Gwen’s hand moved forward and her hand reflexively clenched. She spun around, “What the heck! Sam! Was that you?”

  The hulking man scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he pushed one of the younger werewolves off of him. “Sorry, this guy is a troublemaker. Get off me, you klutz!”

  He pushed the other werewolf, who had tried to tackle him, away and shoved him out of the kitchen. Gwen caught a glimpse of him and realized that it had been Chris that tackled Sam. Chris had been making trouble within the clan lately. Nothing serious, but it was beginning to get out of hand. He was an attention seeking nuisance and Gwen needed to talk to Remus about him. They would both probably need to sit down with him and see what the root of the problem was. Gwen had heard something about a girl so she suspected this was all linked to posturing within the pack but Remus would probably know more.

  Gwen sighed and turned back to the task at hand, and to check if she had hurt Elena, only to stop. Terror crawled up her spine and gripped her throat when she looked at Elena’s hair, then to the floor. On the floor, was a large clump of midnight tresses. Gwen gulped. “I can fix this,” she whispered.