I hear her words and I feel the nervous energy building. Pride has a price
6
The eclipse falls perfectly in a lunar week. Lunar week affects all werewolves, not just one pack or a particular individual or blood type, but all werewolves, all over, this is part of the reason we have established rules for lunar weeks only.
Part of managing to live as a werewolf in modern times, is to not revert to a mindless meat machine that rampages through the streets, attacking fair maidens and nasty men. Or you know, just anyone.
All five werewolf packs in New York adhere to a set of rules for lunar week in order to keep the peace.
Like not letting another pack enter their home territory. That is to say, as I’m a Breukelen wolf from Brooklyn, I can not go hang out in a night club with my friends and fellow werewolves in New Jersey, because it’s Nieuw Tëme territory.
I have to be in Brooklyn during the lunar week nights. But, because I am dating Paris and he is from the Manhattan Maen, there is an agreement in place. Basically, I can be with him in Manhattan on lunar nights or he can accompany me to Brooklyn on lunar nights. But that is the exception.
It does not grant me the freedom to bring my pack with me. That would be seen as an invasion. Which is essentially, what I am doing. Which is pretty much, an act of warfare. From one pack to another. Especially since we’re bringing one of his pack, Gabby, with us having tracked her down ourselves, which whilst unsaid, would be against the Manhattan Maen’s way to deal with this situation between Gabby and I.
For all Paris knows, he was doing all that he could by trying to come up with a suitable solution for all parties concerned by dealing with my sister, acting on behalf of the Breukelen on behalf of me.
We haven’t told him our plan. We haven’t let any Manhattan Maen wolves get an inkling of what we planned. This was all done in-house, via the Breukelen. I thought it up, voiced it, put it into action, with the approval of my pack Alpha and the help of my sister and pack.
My pack is aware of what could happen from this act of aggression. They are prepared to deal with the ramifications that will come back on all of them, not just me. It has my Alpha’s blessing and approval. That’s why I’m so unshakable on this. That’s why this has to be done, like this.
Whilst I am dating a Manhattan Maen wolf (for how much longer is anyone’s guess), I am still a Breukelen. Altijd. Gabby’s attack on me in front of her pack reinforced this to me. I’m not really welcome in Manhatten. I just walk amongst them, but apart from them.
So I want to see, really, want to see, how they’re going to react to seeing the situation reversed on one of their own. The one who started it.
Paris will be in Manhattan. He’s expecting me to join him. He’s expecting me, to come with my Alpha body guards accompanying me.
That is, one or two other Alpha werewolves who’ve been assigned to look out for me because of this whole Gabby thing. And normally, considering that was an agreed upon point between my pack and him, that would be seen as okay.
But it’s not going to go down like that.
This isn’t about being nice, or predictable or weak. This is a message that needs delivering, not just to Gabby, but to the whole Manhattan Maen pack. So that none of them think to take up the mantle for Gabby and continue what she started with me. This is about showing them I’m really as Alpha on the inside. It’s about being strong and standing tall. Not being a walk over.
Pride has a price. Gabby’s about to pay hers for mine.
7
I know exactly where to find Paris. He’ll be holding court at a particular werewolf owned and operated club. Those that have chosen to ride this eclipse out in human form, will be there with him.
So again, it comes down a little bit, to a numbers game. The Breukelen pack is the third largest in New York. The Manhattan Maen are far larger than them. But I doubt all of their pack will attempt to get through the eclipse, in the city or in human form.
Like I said before, an eclipse for a werewolf, is a truly strange thing to work your way through. It’s kind of like being a super hero and not being able to use your powers, mix that in with a crazy little thing called lunacy, and you begin to get the idea.
Not all the Breukelen will be riding out the eclipse in human form either. But I’m counting on that. In fact, my sister Bodil will be one of them that will be in werewolf form.
We discussed it. We debated whether she’d be more useful in human form, or as a wolf. We actually planned who out of the Breukelen, should be in wolf form for this, and who should remain in human form to back me. Both forms serve a purpose, and all those in on the plan, have been carefully selected by me and my sister, to ensure this happens just the way I want it to.
There is red war paint on my face the Breukelen’s tribal colour. It represents the blood that connects us to our name, blood of the slain, our ancestors legacy in us. We are Breukelen. Altijd.
There’s war paint on every single Breukelen who’s walking with me to the front of this club. Even the wolves are marked.
I guess that was why the bouncer, who knows me, panicked. He hasn’t seen me like this and he knows something is up, just by those striding up with me. That and I do have my war paint on, it looks like a half facemask that’s bleeding red down my face from my eyes. He pulls out his two-way radio, which Conall quickly snatches out of his hand.
“Don’t.” Conall says staring down the human bouncer who looks from him, to me. One whole side of his face is painted red. Conall throws the two way radio to Christa, my sister’s friend. “You’re up.” He says to her.
Christa grins and I notice for the first time that her lipstick matches her bright, fire engine red, short hair. She has red war paint, like an x across her face, red lips, and red hair. A bizarrely captivating and scary look at the same time.
The bouncer has wisely, remained silent through out our greeting. He looks Christa over. She’s short, but decadent. Decked out in a skin tight black top, and sprayed on lurex pants with black high heeled boots, she’s ready to kick his ass.
One of the reasons she gets along so well with my sister, they both love a good fight. The bouncer looks at me, his eyes pleading with me, not to do whatever I’m going to do.
Too late. There is no stopping now.
“If you do exactly what she says you’ll get through this unharmed. Don’t let her shortness fool you. She’s a werewolf, she can still fuck you up with her bare hands.” I say patting the bouncer’s shoulder and walking past him, the rest of my posse at my back. Christa is fierce. That ain’t no lie.
I like that I don’t have to lie to him. Just install a bit of sensible fear for compliance.
We pause before going inside, letting our eyes adjust to the darkened interior. I’ve already told my pack of humans and wolves, what the layout of the club is.
They know to surround and block the exits, to clear the dance floor for our little exhibition in Breukelen retribution.
Gabe Wakely, Conall’s older brother, and Boden my sister’s best friend, know to cut off Paris, Wiatt and Addison, who will be together from accessing the dance floor. Booker Parish, in lycan wolf form, knows to accompany them and back them up.
I take a deep breath and nod my head once. We flow into the greater part of the club like an unstoppable motion of efficiency. It actually takes longer than I’d thought for the Manhattan Maen to realize what was going on and to react. Which is fine by me.
I just want my piece of Gabby and they are going to let me.
The music dies down immediately when the Manhattan Maen realize they have a problem. I walk onto the far end of the now abandoned and surrounded dance floor. There is a wall of Breukelen wolves, in human form, standing around its edges, their backs turned inwards, so they can survey the Manhattan crowd.
Paris stands up, Addison and Wiatt, rise quickly too. Ready to fight. But they stand still, when they realize it’s me and mine.
“What the fuck?” An angry voice yells
.
I look over at the only wolf brave enough or stupid enough, to break rank before commanded by their Alpha pack leader. It’s Bohm who throws his hands into the chest of the Breukelen nearest him, surrounding the dance floor.
Nilche, another of my sister’s close friends, grabs Bohm’s outstretched arm and torques it violently upwards to the point of breaking causing Bohm to cry out in surprised pain and automatically submit to a kneeling position. The tall Amazonian like woman kicks Bohm, straight in the face, while holding him at bay. His head snaps back and blood gushes from his nose. She probably broke it.
“Sit.” Nilche commands of him.
Bohm is staring back up at the dark woman, what a startling sight she is- tall, with green eyes, dark skin and a red band of war paint across her eyes like a mask. Bohm, is messed up and in more pain than he’d normally be in.
He seems to have forgotten, during an eclipse, he can’t do much to fix that. Except endure it, get through it, no shape shifting. And whilst he’s still a werewolf that can probably fight quite well, believe me when I say he’s no match for Nilche. She’s quite harmful, really. That was the way my sister described her to me.
Bohm, still moaning, nods his head and Nilche kicks him in the chest, causing him to fly backwards, on his butt, away from her knocking into his other fellow wolves. Nilche falls back into position and looks as stead fast and focused as the rest of the Breukelen around the dance floor.
I look back down the length of the small dance floor, in Paris’s direction. Conall by my right hand side, Nick Olsen, an Alpha, by my left hand side. He’s carrying Gabby over his shoulder. Her wrists and ankles are bound. Her mouth gagged.
Paris is still standing, his eyes note who’s surrounding him and look back up to what lays beyond Boden, Booker and Gabe. Another wall of Breukelen. I know if I was him, I’d be wondering if I could jump them, at least one lot of those in his way. And I bet he is.
Waitt is looking shocked. Addison, angry and contained, Addison is too smart to break rank. He won’t break rank until Paris tells him he can.
And this is the other advantage I have over the Manhattan Maen that nobody thought about, until they crossed me. I’ve been dating their leader for a year now, dating, living and loving and frequenting their territory and partaking in their habits and rituals. I’ve spent more time in their territory than Brooklyn.
I know this pack. I know how they work and think. Never underestimate this Breukelen Beta wolf.
“This is how we do things, where I’m from.” I say, looking at Paris.
Nick throws Gabby onto the dance floor. It’s a long way down from his shoulder. Gabby’s back smacks into the floor loudly.
Her head hits it too and she groans and tries to breathe through her gag, when two giant werewolves pad out from behind me, Nick and Conall. The wolves are my oldest brother, an Alpha, Aksel and my sister, Bodil who move up to stand either side of Gabby’s downed form.
Still Paris remains silent, watching me. I can’t allow myself to wonder if he’s assessing the situation, or me. We’ve come too far now to back down. That would be the ultimate humiliation and show of weakness. I wouldn’t be letting myself down, I’d be letting down my pack.
Nick hangs back and Conall and I walk up to Gabby. I squat over her, so she can see me, my war-painted face and know exactly what kind of hell she is in for. My black leather gloved hand pulls the gag out of her mouth and throws it away. Gabby gasps and stares back at me angrily.
“I’m going to do more than forgive you Gabby.” I say as Conall un-holsters the bowie knife from his side hip covering and cuts her wrist ties off. He backs off.
My arms reach behind my back.
“I’m going to give you absolution.” I say, producing one of my sai and spinning it in my hands quickly, before her face. Her eyes widen then. I had them coated in silver, especially for this. “If you want it.”
I run my other gloved hand smoothly down the length of her bare arm, pressing down on her hand before stabbing her wrist with the sai suddenly.
Gabby’s face tilts up with and she cries out. She tries to pull her arm away, but I’ve pinned it with the sai, to the floor.
It’s broken through her skin, and bone and wedged into the dance floor underneath. And she’s hopeless to pull it out because as silver, and in human form, during an eclipse, she can’t do much except cry out.
I look up and over at Paris who is still blocked from this area. So far, unable to do more than watch. His eyes are wide in surprise now. Addison is tense. Wiatt is looking from his brother to me again.
Still in my crouch over her body, I transfer my weight to the left side and hold her arm, turned up and flat to the ground.
“Do you know how absolution works Gabby?” I ask tightening my grip on her wrist so it is palm up. She’s not looking at me, still trying to be defiant.
She’s whimpering, but sniffs and clamps her mouth down. She’s trying to be the Alpha. I reach behind my back with my gloved right hand and produce the second, silver coated sai. Her head is turned towards the already pinned wrist.
I spin the sai with a graceful movement, and slam the tip of the sai, through her elbow joint, with enough force to burry a good quarter of the sai, into the dance floor.
I’m working on adrenaline here. It’s amazing how the human body works when in extreme situations. How it comes together, if you know how to harness it.
“It works by forgiving you all your sins and transgressions.” I state as a muffled cry catches in her throat and tears spill down her eyes as the sai pierces her body. “For your guilt associated with your mortal sins.”
I stand back up again and over her, moving back to admire my handy work. “Sounds pretty doesn’t it? Means you don’t go to hell because of what you did to me. But I’m guessing, you’re a werewolf, and were raised in the culture, so you probably don’t really buy all that stuff about hell anyway.”
I wave a hand behind me and Conall moves up again, pulling out the bowie. I catch the slightest movement from my peripheral vision and look up, immediately at Paris.
I hear a low growl behind me. Nick, readying to leap across the floor and straight up into Paris’s face if need be. Both Bodil and Aksel’s wolves lower their heads and start crouching on their legs, readying for attack.
Paris stills and he watches me, closely. It might seem like I’m getting away with this, but the reality is, it’s probably not over yet. I’m bound to have made this whole situation ten times more explosive than it already was.
What’s the fall out going to be?
8
Conall cuts Gabby’s leg bindings and she has enough fight in her, and pride still, it seems, to kick out at him. But Conall is too fast and jumps back out of her reach.
“Tsk, tsk.” I state, putting my hand out behind me, as Conall hands me the bowie knife.
“Absolution only works if you’re truly, heartfully, contrite. You had the chance to unite as wolf with me, against that woman, that night. Or to act as a human would. And you choose human selfishness.” I state bringing the knife down with a swinging blow, into her calf muscle.
She cries out, unable to remain quiet any longer as the tears streak her face and her body twitches, trying to fight the pain and the pinning. I produce a silver griffin knife from my knife sheath on my hip and look at it, before looking back at Gabby’s bare, untouched, unbound, unpinned leg.
“Now this one, this is going to hurt a bit.” I state swinging it downwards into the arch of her foot. The Griffin knife is a special design of curves and arcs with sharp edges and a blade point. It cuts when it goes in, and it tears, when it comes out.
Revenge Page 4