by Chris Savage
“Shane, what about the missing boy?”
“He’s been found.”
Heavier silence fell upon the room again. William shot Shane another sharp look and finally spoke after a while of tensed silence.
“Are you certain, Shane? You know what this means for the entire pack.” The look in William’s eyes was hopeful and fearful at the same time. His voice was low and he sounded psychologically broken. For the first time since Shane’s arrival that evening, he sat down and looked upwards at nothing but the ceiling. These were times that tested his ability as a leader, particularly a leader of one of the biggest packs in the entire county.
Shane looked down on the muscular alpha where he sat and spoke again.
“William,” he said softly.
What now? was the look on the face of the alpha.
“Damion found him too.”
“No!” William roared in anger. His eyes became bloodshot red and his face hardened at the thought of having to face Damion on two different fronts. “How do you know this, Shane?”
“After I heard about Damion’s declaration of war, I placed Mark on his trail. One of his employees delivered a gift to the missing wolf last night.”
William turned towards Mark, who quietly watched from a corner of the room.
“Mark, you’re sure it’s the missing wolf you sighted?” he asked with a calmer voice this time.
“Definitely, William,” replied the pale blond man, who was Mark, Shane’s life mate and another important member of the Naltice Pack.
“Did the boy spot you?”
“He felt my presence. He’s pretty sensitive and intuitive, especially for someone who knows nothing about his true nature. We should keep him, William.”
“Mark, we have other pressing issues to attend to. We’re at war,” Shane replied.
“I don’t think so, Shane. We’re going for the wolf immediately. You said it yourself, Damion has him already. We move at the next full moon. It’s easier to establish a connection with him and make him see reason,” William stated authoritatively.
“Tomorrow night is the full moon, William. This is not a plan. You should see reason here. The pressing issue here is Damion and how to defeat him!”
Shane was started to lose it already. He felt particularly disappointed in his mate, Mark, for going along with such a plan.
“How to defeat Damion is clipping his wings. We need to get the boy before he does.”
“He has the boy already, William!”
“Then we get him from him! That is final, Shane. I’ve spoken!” William shouted, his face slightly morphing to his wolf form, with his emerald eyes becoming more pronounced amidst his already hairy face.
“Don’t be stupid, Bill. You don’t want to do this,” Shane warned William, with his claws and fangs already instinctively sharpened. He was used to teaching the young alpha life and leadership lessons, as he felt he was doing at that very moment.
“Don’t call me Bill, Shane, I’m not your son!” William was ready for anything. He needed to establish his mark as the alpha in such a tense moment. He knew that Shane would always have his back, but this felt like the wrong way to show such allegiance.
“No, William, you’re not! And I’m not your father, either. Damion’s pack killed your father! Ring any bells? Exactly! Get your priorities straight, boy!” Shane barely completed his statement before he was thrown right into the wall of the cabin by William, shattering the wooden planks with the impact. Shane got up and gave William a warning look, indicating that he should not make another attack, but the alpha charged towards him in his half-transformed wolf form. He gave him another warning by shouting his name.
“William!” His warning yell was interrupted by another blow to the jaw. Before Shane could retaliate, William sent him flying out of the cabin with another hit. He immediately leaped outside and landed right beside the older wolf. Every pack member except Mark joined them outside and gathered around.
“Stand down, Shane!” he roared. With a slight cut on his lower lip, Shane stood up and faced the tall, muscular alpha.
“I’ve been standing down since you first hit me, William, or else it would have been a fair fight. We’ll have it your way,” said Shane, as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left stomach and fell down. He was immediately helped up by William, who directed two omegas to carry in the injured man, who initially refused being lifted.
“You need time to heal, Shane,” William said in a pacifying manner.
“Not much time apparently,” Shane jokingly replied. “You didn’t totally destroy my insides, eh.”
“He’s a new intern at Damion’s hospital,” said Mark, stepping towards Shane and holding his hand tightly, directing his words towards William.
“How do we get him then? We may need to strike tonight when the moon isn’t full yet. Most wolves are not at full strength. I’m sure you and Shane can handle most members of the Hagen Pack even if you’re not at full strength, if you get any resistance. Let’s wait till Shane completes his healing tonight.”
William was not ready to let the missing wolf out of his grasp, not when he was so close he could almost smell him. He stepped outside the cabin and towards the lake, where he stopped and stared, thinking about how Damion would most likely have started scheming to advance the state of war he had just declared. William had vowed to avenge his father after the great wars, and had lived a reasonably controlled life since then. But Damion’s intention to wipe all remaining packs was the most destructive plan he could have against his kind, which would bring about his end, William thought.
Shane interrupted William’s thinking by stepping out, fully healed and ready for the mission, alongside Mark. William faced the entire pack and gave a mini-speech.
“Sorry I’m making you do this, Shane, I know you advised otherwise. The missing wolf is more than just a wolf. He has extraordinary abilities which will be greatly enhanced to our advantage, in our war against Damion and the Hagen Pack, when it finally comes.
“There will be no time to rest. Once we have the missing wolf, we immediately begin our war preparations. We have more than enough in Shane and Mark and we’re confident in ourselves collectively. We’re united against intruders no matter what and we protect our own.
“Naltice Pack has existed for generations. And it will take the entire world to make us extinct, not just a medical degree. And for this reason we should all this: whatever his plans are, whatever they are, we owe it to our survival to defeat them!”
Chapter 3
The first day of internship at the Hagen Medical Center was not as twisted as it appeared to be in the morning. The unnecessary exaggerated courtesy from all the staff remained throughout the day, though, as well as Damion’s constant checking in the laboratory to see how he was faring.
Dr. Jeffery Hagen, as he was known across the state, was reputed for creating the most equipped private medical center in the entire state, as it contained not only a standar hospital which catered to almost all areas of medicine and surgery, but also a world class pharmaceutical company specialized in the production and distribution of a wide variety of disease curing and therapeutic drugs. Casper was absolutely sure that such an establishment was exactly what he needed, as he had everything he felt was necessary to move his life forward.
The Laboratory Supervisor, Dr. Sheridan Stone, treated him like a superior, which was quite unsettling for Casper. He knew that it was all Damion’s doing, but he would prefer if the ass kissing stopped. He wanted to be the intern that he was, learning from the very best, and applying the skills into his daily professional life as much as he could. He was lost as to why Dr. Hagen himself kept treating him like royalty. He assumed it was because the doctor was interested in him, but something told him that it went beyond that. However, he decided not to spend his first day on the job trying to figure out issues that had absolutely nothing to do with the job, even if these issues kept staring at him directly in the face with a l
ot of questions arising. He stepped out of the laboratory at lunchtime and climbed down the stairs, out of the administrative building towards the cafeteria.
“Mr. Jackson, how’s it going?” Mr. Stone’s voice greeted Casper at the cafeteria entrance.
“Very good sir. Been a good day so far, didn’t see you come in. Thanks for the lessons so far. I’m happy to keep learning here.”
“Of course, of course. Anything you need. I hope you’re getting along with the lab assistants well? If there’s any issue please feel free to let me know immediately. We can easily have an alternative arrangement for you. Dr. Hagen has placed very strict orders for your proper treatment while you’re here. And we’re happy to comply.”
Casper became frustrated. Not here again, not at the cafeteria! I’m trying to eat here! Enough talk about Dr. Hagen’s day care policies! He wondered if the entire establishment was a dictatorship or a professional environment. Most of the staff he had met that day kept on speaking as though they lived and worked at Dr. Hagen’s beck and call. If that was the way things were run, Casper thought, he was not going to remain in that kind of environment for a long time, as he hated to be seen as anyone’s subordinate, nor have anyone impose his will on him. He wanted to grow at his own pace, and learn on his own terms, without making life difficult for anyone.
“How’s the star of the day feeling!” His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp tug on his shoulder from behind him. It was Damion. Or Dr. Hagen—he really was tired of choosing every single time.
“Oh hello, Dr. Hagen.”
“It’s Damion, Casper. Damion.”
Right, whatever you say.
“I heard you were down here. How’s lunch going?” Damion pulled a chair and watched the young man eat as they talked, his eyes perfectly fixed on the movements of his jaw as he chewed. As the conversation progressed, Casper noticed every movement of Damion’s eyes, from his biceps, when he lifted his arm to take a spoonful of food, to his long blond hair as he moved, making it shake. He also noticed the entire cafeteria was better behaved from the moment Damion walked in and sat by him, and that most of the table and chairs close to where they sat became empty. He had questions. But the doctor’s questions were already overwhelming on their own.
“I hope it was not too traumatic for you,” said Damion, as he talked to Casper about the death of his uncle, which was, for the most part, mysterious.
“Well, for a while it was, but I found a way to cope with it, I guess. He was everything to me. I think I was surprised by how I eventually found the strength. But I did.”
“You… did not pursue it further, after the Sheriff’s Department gave up?” He seemed interested more in Casper’s efforts after the murder rather than his uncle as a person.
“No sir, I just let it go, eventually. I think letting it go assisted in helping me get the required strength to grow through and out of it.”
“No, Casper. I think you would have gone through it and remained strong either way. You are strong in ways you may not even know. We all are. If only we allow ourselves to be as strong as our true nature allowed us to, Casper. If only.” Damion was starting to sound a bit philosophical, with the underlying sexual advances remaining What exactly did the good doctor want from Casper? There were hundreds of brilliant interns and young professionals in Hagen Medical. He was sure his medical or scientific skills were nothing compared to a lot of them. Yet the chief of the entire establishment, whom he had never met, had a special interest in his professional growth, personal well-being, and now, his past! He, on the other hand, felt a very strong and strange sense of familiarity to the man, as well as a deep sense of caution anytime he was around him. Something was definitely not right. Casper was particularly cautious about his curiosity, scared to find something he would regret, or that would harm him beyond repair. Things were just beginning to go well for him.
“Looks like we’ve overstayed lunchtime, Casper,” said Damion, giving Casper a light pat on his hand as he stood up. The cafeteria was virtually empty at this point. Casper felt a sense of guilt at this point, as the other interns were definitely back at work, save for himself, who apparently had the liberty to break any rules due to an unrequested form of nepotism proffered by the boss himself. Dr. Stone was definitely not going to say anything about his lateness—he was rather going to show him to his work station like the usher he had been since earlier that morning.
Casper’s first day at work was relatively fulfilling—at least the work aspect of it was. He did not let the favoritism of the big boss affect his efficiency and learning. Besides the surprising level of reverence accorded to him by the staff, or the rather strange level of interest shown by Dr. Hagen, he had the first day he’d expected to have at work.
But Dr. Hagen was waiting for him outside the laboratory building, asking him out to drinks to unwind after the day’s stress. Casper actually hoped at lunchtime that he would not have to see Damion until the next day, as he felt he had enough to occupy himself with for one day, apart from work. But he let the doctor have his way this time.
“Definitely. Across the street outside the compound is just fine, Dr. Hagen.”
“Damion.”
“Right, Damion.”
The drinking exercise was filled with more questions by Damion, this time not about Casper’s past, but about his personality and what made him tick.
“What do you mean you never feel cold? Do you know how medically incorrect that statement is for a human?” Damion asked, sounding intrigued by Casper’s revealing of his inability to feel cold.
“I do know that sir, but it just happens that way, you know,” Casper replied, smiling. “Besides, I don’t exactly see you wearing your jacket on such a chilly evening either, so I could say the same for you from what I see,” he added.
“Yes, yes, you could. But we’re not talking about me here, remember. We’re talking about you and your fireplace anatomy!” he said with a laugh. Casper gave a shy chuckle as well. He realized the doctor was not bad company on the surface, except that he did not understand the interest in him.
Casper realized that the doctor already had a little too much to drink, and thus decided to keep his car keys and call him a taxi. The night was windy in Lone Wolf, which Casper noticed immediately when he stepped outside, helping the drunk Damion walk on his feet.
“Where to?” asked the cab driver as Casper dumped the drunk man in the back seat.
“The Hagen House, South Kiowa.” Everyone knew the massive mansion at the outskirts of Lone Wolf belonging to the famous Dr. Jeffery Hagen, with few ever being inside or knowing how many people lived in it. The taxi driver himself was shocked after he heard the name.
“Wait, isn’t that… is that…? Is that Jeffery Hagen drunk in my back seat? Holy days, I’m charging you double!” The star struck driver had no intention of hiding his excitement.
“It’s alright, just get him home,” said Casper as he settled the bill.
The wind increased by the minute and it threatened to rain that night, and as Casper walked down the road, he was suddenly hit by an uneasy feeling once again as his heart began to race and his skin cracked. He became alert, as though he sensed danger coming. He panicked at the sudden changes he felt within his own body. He ran off the sidewalk into an empty alley where he suddenly felt his knees tremble. Something was happening to him, something that had never happened before. It felt like death, but at the same time he felt an inner confidence he had never felt before. The alertness overcame him again as he looked at one end of the alley and saw two humanoid wolf-like creatures walking towards him insanely fast. Instinctively, his chest cavity developed three fold, ripping his fitted black shirt immediately. His fingernails turned into sharpened claws and his phalanges strengthened and elongated. His thighs expanded and all his toenails morphed into claws. The two wolf-like men approaching halted as they watched him transform. He screamed and screamed through the process, with his screams developing into growls gradually.
In no time, he was a two-legged wolf charging towards the two creatures at one end of the alley. He could see twenty times more than he usually could now, and he could hear voices miles away and smell the tiniest things from unimaginable distances. His instincts instructed him to attack, which he did as he noticed the calm in their stance as well as their heartbeats.
“Mark!” he heard one of them shout. “Hold steady! We don’t know—”
Casper cut him short by aiming for his face with a swift strike he never imagined himself throwing. He missed however, as the wolf easily dodged it. The other wolf grabbed Casper and growled at his partner, “Now!”
Before any action could be taken, however, Casper instinctively kicked him away with both feet and slammed his captor against the wall, giving him time to escape from the other end of the alley.
As he ran with unimaginable speed, Casper felt the urge to continue to shift into a complete wolf form, but fought the urge with every bit of strength he had. It was dark, and he was running as fast as a wild cheetah, so no one could notice him in a half-wolf form. He panicked as he ran. He had no idea what had just happened to him. He was a wolf! He started the day as a laboratory intern and there he was, a wolf running for his freedom.
With a million thoughts entangled in his head and his heightened emotions, Casper disappeared into the woods, and let out a very loud wolf cry of pain.
Chapter 4
Casper did the only thing that came to his mind. He ran. He ran with every ounce of amplified strength in him. He ran without giving thought to anything behind or ahead of him. He was scared, desperate, and a million other things as he ran like a mad dog, which he already was, through the woods. Without looking back he could already feel the other wolves closing in on him. Without hearing their footsteps he could determine how far, and how close they were. He could feel the vibrations of their steps and the directions which they were taking. He could smell their sweat and when he focused, he could hear their heartbeats. They were a number of them closing in on him, and he could tell—largely because he had no idea what he was doing—that they knew what exactly they were doing. They were just like him, but they were nothing like novices.