Pack Bonds, page 15
part #4 of Amarok Series
“Great,” she growled. Astounding. Just the day before, she was thinking about how she could do her part. A perfect opportunity for her to contribute arises and her allies sought to stifle her while their enemies moved against them.
The beast moved in her mind, coming to stand at her back and she had the strange sensation of the world fading out as her focus was directed inward.
I didn’t ask you how you felt about this, she thought to her other half.
ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE.
Of course, you would say that. You’re me.
AND WE ARE AN ALPHA. WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE YOU ARE SUBSERVIENT TO THAT FELINE?
Got to consider more than my feelings. If I do this, it has to be what is best for my people, not because I want to get into a pissing contest with this bastard who was brave enough to step into my territory.
THE ONLY THING TAKING OUT THIS ALPINE WILL HURT IS THEIR EGOS. CONFLICT CAN BE AVOIDED IF THEY SIMPLY SURRENDER.
I wouldn’t surrender. I don’t care if they came bringing immortality and lifelong prosperity, no way I surrender.
YOU COMPARE THEM TO US.
No, I compare myself to other dominants. Surrender won’t come easily. Why do you think changer tradition is for the challenger to kill the previous alpha? If I kill Alpine, I have to kill any dominants loyal to him that reject my rule. Then I have to kill Rosa and Dugen who are threatened by my rule. AND THEN, I have to kill anyone loyal to them. Not my mates, but the girls definitely won’t be happy about it.
UNLESS YOU DON’T KILL THEM.
You were saying something about that before, but that is unreliable. I don’t like the thought of going into battle with an unreliable tactic.
TOBIAS GAVE US THE ANSWER.
Tobias? You mean the light I saw? That’s how I win without killing him?
The beast retreated from her mind without answering. Dean huffed as the world came back. “Zeke?”
“Yes, alpha.”
“Have you ever heard of a changer using the abilities of the fae?”
A slight furrow in his brow spoke to his whirring mind. “No. Changers are noted for their low birth rates. I’d imagine that probability gets lower when they try breeding outside the species. I don’t know if it’s possible. I’ve certainly never heard of it.”
“Hmm.” She turned toward William. “What about you, doctor? Ever heard of it?”
William shook his head. “Impossible…probably.”
“And this business with the invading alpha. You know about it?” He nodded. “What do you think? Should I take him out?”
“Opinion doesn’t matter.”
“Not so. You’re a part of the Salvatore family. That means you’ve got a stake in what happens in this city. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t care what you thought.”
William pushed up his glasses. For the first time, some of the tension that always appeared when she came near left his face as he relaxed. “Safety important.”
“So, I should do whatever makes everyone safe.” He nodded and she clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re right, doctor. That’s what I’m going to do.” In the end, it didn’t matter what anyone said or thought. If she was the alpha she claimed to be, her job was to look out for those she was responsible for. No matter what.
Alpine put the entire city at risk. He needed to be taken care of but killing him might put the city in more danger. The only solution was to take care of him without killing him and she held the answer on how to do that. The time limit was one week. She needed a working mastery of this new ability before Dugen accepted Alpine’s challenge.
“Zeke, I want you to tell me everything you know about House Harmonic.”
Chapter 10
Her mindscape, as Tobias called it, had changed much in the three days they’d been having their study sessions. She’d chosen a memory of her home to replace the sterile white box where the beast resided, specifically the training field as it seemed most fitting. Her heart ached every time she saw the buildings in the distance. A part of her longed to walk toward them but she held herself back, knowing the structures would only be haunted by ghosts.
YOU ARE DISTRACTED.
Dean turned back to the beast. Sorry about that. I was, heh. You know what I was thinking.
She growled softly, kneading her large paws into the ground. WE MAY INDULGE IN NOSTALGIA LATER. NOW IS THE TIME TO WORK.
Slave driver. Dean got to her feet, stretching languidly. The rough fabric of her training uniform felt comfortably familiar and she made a note to find something similar to wear outside her memories. Let’s try this again.
She crouched in front of her animal counterpart. Their eyes met as she reached her hands into the beast’s mane. You have to relax. The connection last time was shaky.
YOU HAVE TO RELAX.
Dean snickered. Here we go. She took a deep breath and then she leaned forward, doing her best to suppress her nerves. As her chest laid across the beast’s head, she sunk into the thick fur, falling into a pool of darkness that pulsed at the edges with the echo of her heartbeat.
Dean opened her eyes, coming out of the mindscape but remaining in darkness. Her ears could pick up Tobias heartbeat, but she couldn’t see the man. Despite that, she knew exactly where he was. The blue ray of light showed her. It was stronger than it was the day before.
She reached up and touched it with a finger. Suddenly, she was aware of him; the teacher was in good health, radiating pride in her obvious improvement. Dean stood from her chair and walked across the room to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Good,” Tobias said. “Now, as we talked about. Everything that exists gives off vibration. You and me. Thoughts and emotion. Sound is the same if that makes it easier to visualize. Once you have it, let the string carry it.”
“I know,” she grumbled, focusing. The thought she chose was her dominant one for the last couple days; anticipation. There was something she needed to do.
But what did anticipation sound like? They didn’t have much cause for music on the mountain so she couldn’t use references like violins and drums like Tobias had. The only thing she had was…
Dean suddenly grinned as an idea came to her. She thought carefully on what she wanted to convey then put her finger on the connection again.
A bloodthirsty howl echoed through her mind and she felt it go through the connection. She felt the moment it hit Tobias, as his heart suddenly picked up and anger-tinged excitement flashed from his side of the connection before fading.
Tobias laughed. “Excellent work. That was brilliant.”
Dean reached behind her head and undid the cloth over her eyes. That’s enough.
Her other half stepped back with a purr. A wave of vertigo hit her, but it grew weaker the more she exercised her new ability and she was ready for it. She didn’t sway on her feet. “This will help me challenge other changers without killing them, right?”
“That connection should allow you to communicate with them on a deeper level. I’m not sure what exactly is required in what your other half speaks of, but she has been interpreting the pack bonds from birth. Let her guide you.”
“Hmm.” Whether she could use it for that purpose or not, Dean saw endless applications for the ability. She’d never have to guess where any member of her pack was, she’d know instantly when someone was injured, and, perhaps most interesting of all, she might be able to impart something more than emotion along the bond. “I suppose that’s all for today.”
“You’ve got three more days before Alpine issues his challenge.”
“I need to use that time to find him. Or maybe not. Viktoriya’s got a clever scheme going. She may locate him for me.”
“Your mate sounds quite competent. I’ve also been impressed by her participation in class.”
Dean purred. “I’m always impressed by her.”
“Does she know what you have planned?”
Dean’s smile wilted. “No. They were adamant about me not fighting Alpine. I’m not saying their worries aren’t valid. If I can use this ability, it would solve a lot of problems, but I don’t want to speak when it’s not a for sure thing. I’ll tell them when I have results, one way or the other.”
She frowned at his dubious expression. “What?”
“Is that wise?”
“What do you mean, is that wise?”
“You are in a relationship with them. I’m not sure if things are different amongst changers but I would think your loved ones would want to know if you’re putting yourself in danger.”
“I’m not putting myself in danger. If I fail to subdue him using the bonds, I can still win the old-fashioned way, which solves the problem. I’d tell them if it was dangerous. I’m not an idiot.”
Tobias smiled. “As you say, alpha.”
“…What do you know about it anyway?”
“I have my share of success with women.”
“Oh really?”
His smile turned sly. “I may be connected to you, but my parentage makes me generally empathetic to others. It can be quite a boon while…socializing.”
“I bet it is.” She slapped him on the shoulder good-naturedly while chuckling. “I’ll see you later, Tobias.”
“Then this wouldn’t be a good time to talk about the reports on your progress I’ve gotten from the other teachers?”
Dean froze. Part of her wanted to brush it off again. Tobias wouldn’t argue. In the end, she decided against it. She already understood being a leader wasn’t all about posturing and bashing heads. She didn’t want to be the kind of alpha who pushed everything of importance onto others while she reaped the so-called benefits.
Sighing deeply, she slipped into the nearest desk and waved at him to continue, growling at the large smile he wore as he grabbed a large stack of folders off his desk.
-
Katherine flashed her badge at the officer holding back the crowd as he came toward her. She moved carefully to avoid the glass of the convenience store’s busted windows, nodding to the officers close to the yellow caution tape before ducking underneath it.
Inside was a mess. Shelves had been knocked down, the products on them spilled across the floor. Dollar bills littered the area in front of the counter where the robber had dropped them in his haste to escape, stained with blood, and the air still smelled of gunpowder.
She turned to the side to make room for a forensic tech who walked past carrying the weapon, a double-barreled shotgun. If her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, it had been sawed off. “Christ,” she muttered.
A uniform stood in front of one of the aisles. He inclined his head as she approached. “Bad case of wrong place, wrong time.” Katherine moved past him to see a thirty-something man, lying in a pool of his blood, eyes still wide with shock. “Looks like robber comes in, threatens the owner. The owner pulls a gun and fires. Hits the innocent bystander.”
“And the robber.” The money was too far away for the blood to have come from the victim. “Was the owner injured?”
“Not a scratch on him.”
“Who takes a hit with a sawed-off and keeps on going?” The answer came to her the moment she asked the question. This had to be those rogues Morgan was talking about. Calls were coming in all across the city. This group, whoever they were, had escalated. “Fine time for you to be absent, partner.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself. Where’s the ME?”
“Out on another call. Could be a while before he gets here.”
“And the owner?”
“Hospital. Owner says the robber ducks the shot, comes up and throws a candy bar at the man’s head.” The uniform shook his head. “Throws it hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground but not before he gets another shot off, which presumably hits the robber who takes off running.”
“Alright. I want a canvas of nearby hospitals.” Though if this was what she thought, the robber wouldn’t need one. “Any witnesses?”
“Yeah, we’re holding them outside.”
“Okay.” She left the store, pulling out her memo pad and a pencil from the inside of her jacket. A commotion to the side immediately drew her attention. Two officers were wrestling a scruffy looking man away from the scene while he fought to reach the store. Katherine rushed over to them. “Whoa, fellas. Come on, let him go.”
She tapped them on the shoulders. The officers turned and at her nod, they let him go. The man shook himself off, straightening a filthy jacket. A tattered beanie was pulled down over mottled gray hair, thick facial hair covering a haggard, wrinkled face. He muttered to himself as he swung his head, looking up occasionally to glare at the officers.
Katherine resisted the urge to cover her nose. “What’s the story here?”
“Crazy guy runs at us screaming his head off,” one of the officers said. “We tried to push him back with the rest of the crowd and he got violent.”
“I’m not the violent one!” the man spat. “You blue gorillas are the violent ones, harassing a law-abiding citizen trying to help. I only want to help!”
“Help? Sir, do you know something about what happened here?”
“Like I was trying to them before they started shoving me, I saw everything. The man turned into a bear!”
Katherine’s stomach dropped but none of the men noticed. One of the officers raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Why don’t you do us all a favor and get out of here, huh?”
“I’m not crazy! I know what I saw!”
“Hey, guys.” She gained control of herself and grabbed ahold of the two officers before smiling at the man. “Could you wait here for one moment sir? Thank you.” Katherine pulled them away, hustling them over to the building and huddling them together. “The man’s nuts—"
“Clearly,” one of the officers grumbled.
“—but he says he’s a witness and that might not be a lie. Even if there’s nothing to his story, wrestling a man on the street in front of all these witnesses isn’t great for public relations. Take the statement as fast as possible. Maybe you get something, maybe you don’t, but you send the guy on his way with a smile. Customer service. Understand where I’m coming from?”
“Sure, detective.”
“Good.” She gave them a light shove to get them moving. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she turned back to the witness, pulling out a pen. “Thank you for your patience. Would you like to tell me what you saw?”
“I saw it all. The owner here is good. Gives me the stuff that’s about to expire, I hand it out on the street. I come by as usual but stop when I hear a gunshot. This guy jumps through the front window, big guy. His shirt’s covered in blood and his face…”
The witness raised his hands in front of his face, and they trembled as he mimed his words. “It was covered with fur. Thick, black fur. And his features were wrong. They were moving. I’m telling you it was a monster!”
“Okay, okay.” Katherine struggled to keep her features neutral as she wrote down the details. “Is there anything else you can tell me about him? Was he a white man? Dark?”
“A white man with long dark hair. He looked like a caveman.”
“A caveman?”
“You know.” The man scrunched his features, bringing down his brows. “Big-forehead, mean-looking. Caveman.”
She shook her head as she scribbled the word caveman with a big question mark next to it. “Thank you, sir. You’ve been a big help.”
Katherine turned to walk away but the man caught her arm, forcing her to turn back around. His eyes locked with hers as his face creased into a serious frown. “You believe me about the monster…don't you?”
She bit her lip, debating. Then she slowly nodded. “I believe you.”
He released her arm. “Then be careful, lady cop. This city has become a strange place.” With a suspicious look to each side, the man disappeared into the crowd.
Katherine let out a shuddering breath. “You’re telling me.” She looked at her notebook where she’d taken down his statement. Scowling fiercely, she ripped the page out and tossed it aside before shoving the notebook into her jacket.
She couldn’t say why she was bothering to cover it up. No one would believe anyone who said they saw a man turn into an animal, especially not an obvious vagrant. But she knew a man who could. And if the rest of the city discovered the same, the panic would be devastating. More than that, there was no telling how said shapeshifters would react when their secret got out.
