by John Conroe
“What did the nurse look like?” Nika asked.
“Umm. Pretty. Youngish. Black hair and black eyes.”
“Anything else?” Nika asked.
“After the doctor left, the nurse put stuff away, then she sat down and wiped my face and took off my paper bib thing and stuff like that.”
“Any more, Toni? Did the nurse touch your necklace?”
“I don’t remember. Oh, wait. I did have to tuck my necklace back into my shirt on the ride home. I didn’t remember taking it out. I probably would have thought more about that, but I fell asleep during the ride,” she said, looking guilty.
“Nika?” Tanya asked.
“She actually has pretty clear memories of some of it, despite the sedative they gave her. However, the nurse is fuzzy. Everyone else is pretty clear, but the nurse is kind of blurry in her memories,” Nika said.
It usually bothered Toni to think that Nika could read her mind, but now, with all of them focused on her and her necklace being a problem, well, she was actually glad the pretty vampire could back her up.
Nika smiled at her and patted her arm. “There was definitely something really flirty about the dentist and the nurse. I got the impression that she was managing him.”
“Managing? What does that mean?” Declan asked.
“Using his attraction to her to manipulate him,” Stacia said.
“Oh. Got it,” he said. “Is that thing all gone? Any other demon crap, ‘cause I could take a look at the necklace if it’s clean.”
Chris looked closely at the gem, then pulled it close to his nose and sniffed it. He held it out toward Declan. Stacia leaned forward without touching it and sniffed it, then nodded.
Declan took the necklace and closed both eyes. After a second, he opened them. “Seems fine now. Everything normal,” he said.
“So it was some kind of demon trap and our best suspect is this nurse,” Tanya said.
“I’ll go back up to Burlington with Toni and check out this dentist. I’m gonna guess the nurse is long gone,” Nika said.
“We’re going back too. I’ll go with you, Nika,” Stacia said.
“I can go too,” Declan said.
“Nope, no tasty witches near the bad demon nurse,” Stacia said. “You’ve got enough stuff to do with classes to take and classes to teach.”
“But I could be bait,” he said.
“You don’t bait predators with prime cuts of filet mignon,” Stacia said, hands on hips.
“So you’re saying I’m a prime cut of beef?” he asked, leering a bit.
“Gross,” Toni said, giving him a glare.
“I’m with you Toni, bleah!” Lydia said. “Let’s change the topic instantly and hear more about the wonder twins and their super powers.”
“I found Toni and the babies eight feet up in a tree. They were not visible to normal vision. Thermal yes, but totally invisible in normal light. Sidney called out to Toni, she answered, I spoke to her and the twins turned to me and just like that, they were visible. Toni thinks it was Wulfy who did that. After they turned invisible, Cora started to float and Toni held her tight and they all floated up into the tree. Toni grabbed a branch with her legs and they stayed there,” Tanya recited.
“Have they done anything since?” Chris asked.
“Nope, just nuzzled in tight. Both immediately fell asleep in my arms in the limo, like they were exhausted. And they were really hungry when we got up here,” Tanya said.
“Stressful situations is often how vampires’ special powers and skills first manifest,” Dr. Singh said. “I would say that a gun battle would meet that criteria.”
“I have isolated a brief clip captured by my drones during the battle. It is short, as my attention was of necessity on the attackers and the battle,” Omega said suddenly. “I did note that my drone could still see them with thermal imaging.”
The big wall monitor lit up and a video shot taken from up in the sky showed the top of Toni’s head, both babies in her arms. Then one of them just disappeared, followed a second later by Toni’s arm, and then all of Toni and the other twin. The space they had all occupied was just empty. Then the drone’s vision mode changed and turned to all grays. Toni and the twins were visible again as white outlines against the dull gray background.
“Fascinating,” Dr. Singh said.
“I’ve never heard of those gifts before,” Tanya said.
“Nether have I,” the doctor said.
Two weeks later, Toni was in Social Studies, taking a quiz, when the teacher looked up from his tablet with a sharp gasp. Then he stood up and turned on the wall monitor, turned the in-school system to cable and found a news channel.
“ –Breaking news. South Korean officials announced today that a localized earthquake has been detected, originating underneath Pyongyang, North Korea. Scientists estimate a magnitude five-point-three quake. There is no word from Pyongyang, but satellite imagery indicates significant damage to government buildings. No word on casualties. Stay tuned.”
“And we likely won’t ever get any word from the Hermit kingdom either,” her teacher, Mr. Edwards, said, clicking off the television.
“You think it was a US attack?” Tommy King asked, his voice excited.
“No Tommy, it was clearly an earthquake. Nobody has the ability to trigger earthquakes deep inside a dangerous totalitarian country like that,” Mr. Edwards assured him.
Toni put her head down and wrote another answer on her paper, a small, tight smile on her face.
Maybe no country could do that, but Team Demidova could.
Pack is All
To Change. To become something else, something with animal instincts, animal urges. Stronger, faster, equipped with teeth, claws, and almost invincible invulnerability. What would keep you sane? Maybe others… depending on you, as you would depend on them. How would you handle becoming a Were? This story takes place just before Sitting Pretty.
The full moon shone brightly on the little Jersey neighborhood, lighting the darkness to a level just short of dawn or dusk. She moved through the trees and shrubs, padding on four massive paws, scenting the night.
A sharp odor raised her hackles, the source a pair of yellow-green eyes under an azalea bush. Neighbors’ cat… yum.
The sound of a house door opening, then an outer screen door screeching wide. A two-legged silhouette shuffled into view, white smelly blob hanging from one hand. Neighbor… hmmm. She settled down low, ignoring the cat, her large yellow eyes fixed on the man.
He opened a plastic bin and shoved the odor rich sack into it. She crept closer on padded feet the size of salad plates. The idiot turned his back to her and looked up at the ripe moon hanging low overhead.
The screen door opened again. “Tom, are you loitering out there? You forgot the recyclables,” an unpleasant voice said. Don’t screech at him like that. Her eyes narrowed at the arm holding the screen door open.
“Shit woman, give me a break. I’m coming back for it already,” the man said. “Bitch,” he muttered under his breath. Now her anger switched to him. She’s your wife, you dick.
He walked over and accepted a second bag which went into a different bin, then went into the house, his wife talking to him about other errands to complete the next day.
She took another longing look at the cat, a tabby, that chose that moment to hiss at her. Then she trotted silently behind the house, jumping lightly over the yard fence into the next lot, crossed that one, jumped the next fence, and curled around the outside of the next house.
The houses occupied a cul-de-sac, six of them in all, and within minutes she had circled the whole bunch, coming back to the one in the middle, the one she’d started with. A door opened in this one too, but when the slow-moving male came out and fumbled with the door of the detached garage, she just settled down and watched him without discernible expression.
He got the door open and turned on a light, revealing a space for two carefully parked cars, a space that was filled w
ith machinery and smelled of fresh cut wood. He left the door open as he rummaged about. She closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of lumber and sawdust, her angry heart calming as the scents triggered memories of happier times. After a bit, he stepped back out, turning off the light and shutting the door, then jiggling the handle to make sure it was locked. He too paused to look up at the full moon. Then he brought his eyes back down and looked around at the shadows and silver-bathed lawn. “Holly? You out here?” he asked.
She lifted effortlessly from her crouch and stalked him, moving to within ten feet without him hearing. Something must have warned him, some old instinct, some feeling his ancestors had used to stay alive. He tensed up, then turned slowly, eyes widening as he took in the sight of the massive predator that crouched a single, short leap away. He took a breath… and relaxed.
“There you are. Your friends will be here soon. It’s almost time. Mom has a piece of that German chocolate cake you like so much ready for you. You know, to help with the calories and all,” he said, smiling uncertainly.
She rose to all fours, trotting over, her head level with his diaphragm. He started a bit, but amazingly, he didn’t smell at all of fear. Concern—yes. Worry—yes. But no fear. Moving slowly, she gave him a little head butt, a soft one that wouldn’t knock him down.
“Oh Holly, your wolf is as beautiful as you are,” he said. He still didn’t understand that she was her wolf and her wolf was her, but the sentiment was pure and sincere and her beast was pleased at his words. He was family—Pack.
A car entered the street, heading straight for their cul-de-sac.
“That’s likely them, isn’t it?” he asked. “You missed your chance at the cake.” She listened, looked, and smelled, then turned and trotted behind the house. Fifty-one seconds later she came back out, pulling absently at the yoga pants that resisted her efforts to adjust them quickly. At least they fit, and fit well. Her new body was lean and muscled, and she received more appraising glances than she used to.
Her father was talking to Stacia Reynolds and her boyfriend. Holly moved silently up behind the tall young man, breathing in his alluring scent. Witch. Power. It called to some part of her in a way that even a male Alpha wolf didn’t.
Stacia turned and pinned her with sharp eyes before she got within a couple of yards of the male witch. Holly instantly dropped her eyes, conceding Stacia’s dominance. Declan turned to see where his girlfriend was looking. “Hey Holly,” he said casually. Holly nodded, eyes flicking up to his briefly before dropping back to shoe level.
Holly knew he was this night being called before the Alphas of the New York Pack, yet his heartbeat was normal and he smelled relaxed and calm. And enticing. Like she wanted to Change and rub her head and jaw all over him. She squashed those ideas, part of her feeling guilt at the thought, part unrepentant, part fearful.
“Okay Mr. Harris, we should probably get going,” Stacia said. “We don’t want to be late.”
“Are you going to be alright?” her father asked Declan, frowning as he did when he was worried.
“Me? Oh sure. Probably get a slap on the wrist or two,” Declan said, smiling ruefully.
“Really? From Alpha werewolves?” her father asked, clearly not buying it.
The young witch shrugged, unconcerned.
Mr. Harris turned to Stacia, brows raised.
“They’re probably madder than he thinks,” she said, frowning.
“I’d be quaking in my boots if it were me,” Mr. Harris said.
“Well, we’ve had an interesting year,” Declan said. “Alphas aren’t the scariest thing we’ve faced, by far.”
Her father looked incredulous. “Dad, they fought the demon wolf that bit me, remember?” Holly said in a quiet voice.
Her father reddened at her reminder, but Declan just smiled. “Yeah, he was a handful.”
Stacia rolled her eyes at his nonchalance. “Let’s get going, you two.”
Holly always went with Stacia to Pack functions, as she was her mentor and guide. Just as well, as Holly wasn’t overly impressed with most of the other wolves. She was brand new yet already she Changed faster than any wolf except Stacia and the mated pair of Alphas. Brock had declared her off-limits to challenges for now, but she’d watched Stacia pound a whole stream of lesser wolves into the ground and was kind of itching for her first Pack challenge. But apparently Declan had found out about the fights and stepped in, stopping the run of idiots and stepping all over the Alphas’ toes in the process. Now he had to answer for it. Holly was more than a little excited to watch tonight’s confrontation.
She climbed into the back of the Prius, choosing to sit directly behind Declan. Stacia slid in behind the wheel, giving Holly a measuring stare that made her feel guilty. Stacia had been nothing but nice to Holly, guiding her every step of the way through the massive changes of her new life. It pained her that she repaid this with a barely repressed fascination with Stacia’s mate. Yet it was impossible to deny the draw he held for her, the magnetic pull she felt deep inside her. It wasn’t even sexual, but more like she wanted to wrap herself in his power, which she felt anytime she was near him.
The drive was southward, down the Jersey coast, to the Pine Barrens. Stacia followed a twisting road deep into the Preserve, never hesitating, never at a loss for where to turn. But Holly noted her mentor’s hands were clutching the wheel extra tightly.
“You’re taking this seriously, right?” Stacia asked, glancing at Declan then back at the road ahead.
“Yes,” he said, opening a little plastic case from his pocket and pressing something into each eye.
“Any idea of what you will say?” his blonde girlfriend pressed.
“It will depend on what they say. Have to go with the flow.” Now he was putting a drop of fluid from a tiny bottle into each of his eyes, blinking away the excess.
“You know why they’re having it way out here, right?” Stacia asked.
“Get me away from cities, towns, and other power sources,” he said.
“And that doesn’t concern you?” Stacia asked.
“If I learned anything lately, it’s that Boy Scouts have it dead on… always be prepared.”
“But you won’t kill anyone, right?”
“I have no intentions of killing Pack members and starting a war,” he said, looking out his window.
“But if they go hard, you have to protect yourself,” Stacia said.
“I will protect me, I will protect you, I will protect Holly,” he said.
Holly had been getting excited by the thought of him facing down the wolves, of violence, but now he was including her, and that was an entirely different feeling.
Stacia slowed as they rounded a bend, a long line of cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks parked on the edge of the road. At the front of the cars, a big, bearded guy stood casually in the middle of the road, hand up.
“Get out here. We’ll park it,” he said, dark eyes serious and unfriendly. Two other equally serious men approached the passenger side as they all got out. One of these pointed to a deer path leading off the road and into the pines. His expression was as foreboding as the first guy’s.
Stacia led the way, moving easily on the narrow trail, then Declan, then Holly. Watching her teacher move was always instructive for Holly, and now she worked hard to match Stacia’s grace.
They traveled in silence on the deer path for several hundred yards before the narrow pines opened up into a natural clearing that was maybe a little smaller than a football field. Werewolves, in both human and wolf forms, lined the edges of the clearing. Bundles of large, industrial-sized chemical light sticks lit the area with a cool, green light. With the full moon, it was more than enough light for Holly’s sensitive eyes, but she wondered how it looked to Declan.
For his part, the tall witch had followed his wolfgirl closely on the trail, maybe not with her grace, but with efficient movements that were sure and reasonably quiet for a human. Now he stood tall, ignoring the hostile ga
zes of the predators lined up around them. She knew he was a strong witch, mostly because that’s what everyone said and also because he’d gone toe to toe with the demon wolf that had bit her. But his relative calm in the face of thirty werewolves, some already in four-footed forms, was hard to fathom. Holly, herself, was feeling the pressure, and she was one of them.
Ahead, two tall figures stood, bathed in a pool of green light cast by four large bundles of chem sticks, waiting for them in silence. Stacia came to a stop before them, giving them a tight little bow, which Holly copied. Declan nodded, hands in his pockets.
