Pack Bonds, page 9
part #4 of Amarok Series
“All you’ve heard is stories. I have met blood wolves, fought them. They are different from other changers, not just in body but in mind. They have different traditions and different ideologies. She was the only one in the room who didn’t seem shocked by my family’s principles of war. Dare I say, I think I saw respect in her eyes.
“Rosa, I like you. I think the two of us work well together. Which is why I’m saying this. Dean Rock will control the Freewood changers, sooner rather than later I predict. If you want to stay in this city and continue your work, you will find a way to accept that or you will be destroyed.”
“…This is ridiculous.” Rosa’s words expressed disbelief, but her tight features said a part of her understood the truth of the situation.
Pruella shrugged. “Blame the gods for making your people the way they are but this is your reality. However, this does not mean she’s going to be a competent leader. As you said, she’s an adolescent. She has no experience, no resources, and no connections.”
“Then why should we let her be in charge of anything? Maybe we drive her from the city and be done with it.”
“Careful, Rosa. Asking me to take out a rival alpha. You sound like Franklin.”
Rosa growled. In the front seat, Addison discretely pulled out a silver blade, holding it in a tight grip as she kept her gaze facing forward. Pruella was entirely unfazed. “There’s no need to get riled up. With everything else, this can be a problem, or it can be an opportunity. You asked me why you should join her? Because while she may not have resources, she has power. Power that will draw people to her. You can use that. How the Salvatore family comes out of this is up to you.”
Pruella reached across her and opened the door. “I’m afraid there will be some time before we can meet like this again. My guest will arrive soon, and preparations must be made.”
“Sure, I’ll see you.” Rosa climbed out, slamming the door behind her. She sighed as the car pulled away. “An opportunity, huh?”
-
Katherine had followed Morgan’s directions. Since his visit, she and Cayden had stayed locked in the house. She hadn’t contacted anyone, not even a repairman to fix the broken lock on her front door. The two siblings lived in a constant state of tension as they waited for the next absurd development in their lives. Katherine kept her gun on her at all times and barely slept, startling awake at the slightest sound.
When the pleasant knocking on the door echoed through the house, she waved for Cayden to stay in the kitchen as she moved out into the front hall. She raised her gun to the door. “Who is it?”
“Just me, partner.” Morgan opened the door, grimacing as he closed it behind him. “I’ll get that fixed for you soon. But for now—” He raised a large plastic bag full of cardboard containers. “I brought dinner for everyone.”
Katherine holstered her weapon. “I don’t want food.”
“You want answers, I know. But I’m starved. This is a long story and I’d rather not tell it on an empty stomach.” He moved past her into the kitchen. Cayden stepped into the kitchen, drawn by the conversation. Spotting the bag, he squeezed past them to set out plates.
“Hey kid.”
“Hey, Morgan. What’d you bring?”
“I grabbed some stuff from the dinner buffet. Take your pick.” He pulled out the containers and opened them up. “Don’t worry. I’ll finish off anything you two leave. Changers have big appetites.”
Katherine took a seat at the table and fought the urge to run upstairs and grab her notebook from the pocket of her jacket. She felt like she should be taking notes, but she didn’t want to make Morgan uncomfortable. The situation was so unusual, she didn’t know what rules applied.
Morgan passed her a plate and silverware. “I hope you don’t mind if I talk and eat at the same time. Things are happening. I might have to run off so I’m going to bulldoze through this.”
He shoveled down several bites of food and swallowed heavily. “From the beginning. There are three races that you’d think of as supernatural. The changers, what I am, the vampires who are exactly what they sound like, and the fae, which your brother is. As a whole, we don’t like each other. Bad blood going back a long way but Freewood is an exception. The bloodsuckers here are trying to form good relations with the other races, appealing to the younger generation to walk towards a new future. The project is called Two Points.”
“Two Points?” she asked, pausing with a fork halfway to her mouth. “That’s the school where that girl Dean is enrolled. And where that teacher who writes Blood Revenge works.”
“Yeah. The place is owned and ran by a powerful vampire.”
“But aren’t there human students?”
“There are and that’s the point. I hate to admit it but there’s a lot of distaste for humans among the three races. The school is supposed to get the younger generations used to interacting with them so they can meld into society better.”
Katherine shook her head. “Unbelievable.”
“It’s not so remarkable. Same as anywhere else. Someone tries to make a difference but it’s an uphill battle against traditions. There’s a lot of tension but the changers are feeling their way through. We were, but now things have gotten tense.” He paused to take more bites, emptying two of the containers. Cayden watched with amazement as the detective packed away the food, looking between Morgan’s chomping jaws and his half-finished plate.
“The problems started when Dean Rock came into the city. She didn’t do anything, but her presence shook some people up. And by people, I mean the Council. The color gang case was the Council trying to kill her.”
“I don’t believe it.” Katherine dropped her fork. “Why would they want to kill her?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But they tried damn hard and drew a lot of attention to themselves. Once they failed, they must have panicked. They sent someone to fix the situation, but their handyman only made things worse. It resulted in the death of the leader of the changers.”
“That friend you were talking about. The one who died…”
Morgan paused in his eating, nodding solemnly. “Yeah.”
“I know I said I’m sorry but—”
“Don’t worry about it. Franklin put himself in a situation that resulted in his death. I feel guilty not being able to save him but from what I was told, the situation was unavoidable. I’m just glad that casualties were minimized, and we drove out the Council.”
“So…the Council are bad guys?”
Morgan looked over at a dejected Cayden. “Whether they are good or bad I don’t know. We’re in conflict with them, yes, and they’ve done some terrible things, but changers aren’t exactly saints. Besides, not all halflings are aligned with them. For example, Tobias Harmony, the author of the comic book? He’s a halfling. And I’m pretty sure he’s from the same House as you.”
Cayden looked up, his eyes wide with excitement. “He’s like me? Are you sure?”
“I am. Things are a little hectic, but I’ll try and get in touch with him, set up a meeting.”
“I—thanks, Morgan. I really…thanks.”
“Morgan, back to the gunfights in the street,” Katherine interrupted. “What’s happening now? Does it have something to do with the loud idiots on the street causing trouble?”
“You know about them?”
“It’s the only thing on the news. They’re causing a real problem. I thought we didn’t have gangs here and two of them show up. But wait, they aren’t gangs, are they?”
“They are, in a sense. The ones who were shooting up the city were the hunters, humans who, well, hunt the three races. Specifically, the ones who are a threat to humanity.”
“What, like Van Helsing?”
Morgan snorted. “If only. The hunters haven’t been a threat for years, though they’re more of a threat now than they’ve ever been. Guns changed everything, but we can use them too.”
“Is that who’s on the streets now?”
“No, those are rogues. Changers without a pack. Renegades and whatnot. They’re a lot more problematic than the hunters, especially because they insist on making this a public spectacle. The entire city’s population, the supernatural half, is working to handle them. Which is what I need to get back to.”
Morgan finished off the last bites of food left in the containers and stood up. Katherine followed him as he moved to the door. “Wait, that’s it? You’re leaving? What about us?”
“You’re fine. I’m putting out feelers, but it doesn’t seem as if the Council had a hit out on you. Seems the captain was acting on his own, probably to impress the higher-ups. Feel free to go back to work. Gods know we can use you. Just don’t talk to anyone about what happened. If you need anything, call!”
“Lake, hold—”
The door slammed on her sentence. Katherine stood dumbfounded in her hallway, digesting the new overload of information. She felt like she had been told a lot but absolutely nothing at the same time. Morgan hadn’t revealed any really important details, like the name of the vampire who was using the city as some sort of diplomatic testing ground, the intentions of these groups, or more importantly, how they planned the stop the most recent problems.
Most intriguing of all were these hunters. They proved that humans were not only involved but could stand up to these…creatures. It took conscious effort for her not to think the word monsters and too much for her to use the word people.
If she removed the fact that they were partners and treated Morgan as if he were simply an informant, she wouldn’t settle for the half-ass explanation. She’d dump the CI and go searching for answers on her own. Since when did she drop cases? When did she let other people decide things for her?
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
She turned to see Cayden watching her with narrowed eyes. “We agreed I wouldn’t talk you out of serving and protecting but this is different. We should listen to Morgan.”
“You heard him. He’s a changer. He’s involved in this.”
“Just because he’s involved doesn’t mean he isn’t looking out for our best interest.”
“I think you’re forgetting something. He admitted to killing Louis Rodriguez. He knows who is responsible for all that is happening around here, but did you hear him say anything about bringing those people to justice? I’m a cop! I don’t care if the Tooth Fairy is out there with a machine gun, I’m not going to plug my ears and let people kill each other.”
Cayden peered at her. Now that she knew what he was and understood that he was reading her emotions with some kind of magical ability, Katherine couldn’t help the shiver of unease that went down her spine. She knew he noticed when he looked to the ground. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“But you’re not thrilled finding out I’m less than human.”
“Or maybe more.”
He smiled. “Or maybe more. Well, I know I can’t stop you. Just be careful.”
“Always.”
Chapter 7
Growls prompted Alpine to look up from his poker game. Putting down his cards, he walked from the room, stepping over lounging wolves who’d raised their heads. In the hall, others spilled from their rooms in reaction to the alarm. He could hear doors slamming open up to the twelfth floor.
The abandoned apartment building was the first thing he found both big and remote enough to house his soldiers. After mages, the rare halfling hunters, tried to assassinate him, he knew it had to be the work of Franklin. Given rapid disappearances of those who spoke against him, Alpine guessed he wasn’t the first.
He’d marched the survivors of his pack across the country in search of others and he found them; changers displaced after their alphas were taken out by sudden attacks. Always small, traditional packs who’d never listen to that traitor’s drivel. Too small to oppose him. They flocked to him and their numbers drew rogues. Alpine welcomed them all, knowing he would need all the strength he could muster.
They’d come into Freewood over two hundred strong. Alpine kept the majority of his forces hidden. The kind of coward Franklin showed himself to be, he’d run like a rabbit if he gained any clue what kind of force waited on his doorstep. By that same token, he realized they couldn’t stay hidden for long, but this was far quicker than he could have predicted.
“Stay put until I say otherwise,” he said, knowing they all heard him. Then he stepped back into the room and leaped out the broken window.
His fall cracked the asphalt but Alpine brushed off the impact. A group of rogues in their wolf forms stood in a semi-circle, guarding the building against a group of shadowy figures. To his surprise, it was neither the Freewood pack nor the fae they conspired with.
“You have a lot of guts showing yourselves before me, leeches.”
One of them stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest as he bowed deeply at the waist. He was thin and paler than the half-moon in the sky, but changers were adept at reading postures and there was no mistake that this man was in charge. “You must be the leader. I would appreciate it if you would spare a moment before trying to kill me.”
Alpine let out a sharp, barking noise and the wolves around him quieted. “You have three seconds.”
“I represent someone who wants to support you.”
The answer brought a smirk to Alpine’s mouth. He’d answered in three seconds. “And why would vampires want to help me?”
“Our reasons are our own. You don’t need to know them to accept our support. We can offer you much. Weapons. Money. Information. You are currently looking for the location of Franklin, yes?”
Alpine stiffened. “What’s your name, bloodsucker?”
“You may call me Van.”
“Van.” Alpine’s lip curled up in distaste. The man wouldn’t even state his full name and he expected an alliance? “My name is Alpine Locklear. I tell you this so you may at least know the name of the man who kills you. A courtesy you probably don’t deserve.”
Van shook his head. “You would execute allies who come bearing gifts?”
“Vampires are not allies.” Alpine advanced on him. “I don’t know what transpires in this city, but I have only known you parasites to be manipulative bastards. I may be here for the Freewood wolves but make no mistake, I will evict all of you from this city and cleanse the honor of the changers.”
Alpine’s hands morphed into claws as he sprang forward, the wolves jumping into action a second later. The vampires all reached inside their jackets and threw handfuls of pellets to the ground. A cloud of smoke blossomed under their feet as the pellets hit the asphalt.
The changers reared away from the cloud of gray smoke that rose from the ground. Alpine curled into himself, covering his face as his eyes watered and his nose burned. Out the corner of his eye, he saw shadows passing by as the vampires made their escape.
The wolves around him started to give chase but his growl brought them to a halt. “No.” He shook out the stiffness in his hands as they reversed back to normal. “We won’t catch them.”
There was a thump as Beckett jumped from the building. “Alpha, I—” His nose twitched as he breathed in the lingering remnants of fast dispersing smoke, a hand darting up to cover it. “Wolfsbane and pepper spray.”
“An annoying trick,” Alpine growled. “It’s going to take days for this smell to get out of my nose.”
“We have people walking the streets. I can have them find the fleeing vampires.”
“No. We’re only making such a commotion because we want to lure Franklin out. Fighting in the streets with vampires will expose us.”
“Fine. What exactly will the human cops do? We’re changers. We can take out this whole city if—”
His words were cut off as Alpine wrapped his hand over Beckett’s throat, squeezing it. “I allowed you rogues to come along because Franklin isn’t an enemy we can fight divided.” The rogue tried to fight him and Alpine squeezed harder. He relaxed his grip after the man stopped fighting, throwing Beckett away. “Don’t make me regret that decision.”
“Are we going to lounge here and wait for them to come kill us then?” Beckett grumbled while rubbing his throat.
“I didn’t say we were going to sit here. It’s time to make some more noise. Just be aware of the line in the sand.”
-
Several blocks away, in the middle of a dark alley, Van pulled out a phone, pressing the first speed dial. It was answered on the first ring. “Lord Thane. Yes, I made contact with the rogue leader. He has refused our aide. Their reaction was exactly as you predicted. He has a substantial force at his command but is blinded by his rage.
