by Erin R Flynn
I heard the door slide open, and then Hagan came into view. “What happened?”
“When she bound us, it was like bursts of power, I felt it. It felt like planks in the bridge to join us.”
“Yes, that makes sense, but what went wrong?” Alena demanded, kneeling before me and studying closely.
“Vampires have gifts, right? Vlad can compel answers from people. It’s normally how he gets dirt on others and uses that later in his little secrets vault. Tristan has crazy speed, like insane speed for any paranormal and can block people from reading him.” He waved to me, worry on his face. “This is mine.”
“You paralyze people?”
“Yes. I can. I don’t unless I’m attacked, but whatever. When she thrust her power into me to bind us, mine came out. I had no control. She stripped me of it. I didn’t think of it until she collapsed—after.”
“So she can hear us, she’s just temporarily paralyzed?” Alena checked.
Noah’s face was crushed as he glanced between us. “Do you know it’s temporary? I mean, if the bond is permanent, then wouldn’t my powers on her be?”
“How does your gift normally work?” Simone asked, and I wanted to groan. Great, the gang was all there for me to lie there just after sex. Someone covered me with a blanket or jacket, and I wanted to kiss them.
“Normally I have to focus and hold them. It’s never been power and I stop and they’re still like this.”
Ahh, that makes sense why he’s so freaked. Okay, can anyone break this hold? My siren kinda shook her head in my mental image of her, but my wolf paced as if thinking. Then I felt her energy as I did when we shifted.
Except this time it hurt. I mean really hurt. It was as if she was throwing herself against an imaginary wall that wouldn’t let us change. Finally, after the tenth or so gut-wrenching and incredibly painful attempt, I groaned, and everyone in the room could hear it. “Fuck that hurts.”
“My gift isn’t painful,” Noah argued.
“But breaking it is,” I bitched, hissing as I moved my head around to see everyone in the room. “My wolf decided to break the hold instead of seeing if it would wear off.” I tried to lift my arm, but everything still hurt. “No, not okay yet. Shit, Noah.”
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry, Sera.”
“Did it really work and we’re bound?” I wondered, meeting his eyes. He wasn’t sure, either, given the mess up with his powers. I changed my tone so it was clearly an order. “Noah, pick me up.” Almost instantly, I was in his arms. “I think it worked, and I think we need to know what powers the other vampires have.”
“Oh shit,” Hagan growled.
“Yeah, fun, right? Hope no one electrocutes people or anything.”
“And you should check if it’s only Sera that your power was different on. You could have gotten a boost and now you’re at a new level or something,” Simone suggested.
“Not it,” I joked, but was serious really.
“No, I know a few vampires I wanted to give parting gifts to anyways when I move out of my studio.”
“Always good to leave with a bang,” I drawled. “I need something to drink and to get cleaned up. And you guys need to get back to the boys because they will totally figure out this room is here if we’re all hanging out in it like this.”
They all agreed, and Noah hurried to sneak me up into the master bathroom that was completed already. I took a quick shower in my tricked out bathroom, looking longingly at the tub. Soaking would have been so nice right then, but there wasn’t time since we had to get to the joint shifter gathering soon.
Always something. Racing from one thing to the next was pretty much the story of my damn life.
4
The five ancient vampires were more than willing to share some energy with me, especially since they were dying to know how things with Noah went, wanting the same bond with me. I wasn’t sure they were going to like the answers, but either way, Noah had blood for them so they could feed while I got to where I needed to be.
“You guys nervous?” I asked the boys, glancing in the review mirror at them. No one said anything, so I threw them a bone. “Yeah, me too. Last full moon I killed the old Alpha and had a meltdown. I didn’t come out of wolf form for a few days, so I didn’t go to the last full moon run. This is the first time I’m officially meeting the whole pack. And they’re my pack. Wanna trade and I’ll be the bunnies?”
“Hell no,” Alvin chuckled, and just like that, they felt better. So good to know that my crazy drama could be helpful like that.
We got to the pack lands a bit before seven at night, hoping the majority of people could be off work or at least make it before nightfall when most of us would want to run… And do animal things. Alena and Zeno seemed excited to see our pack lands, and I realized they probably hadn’t been for a run the whole time they’d been with us.
Bad hostess. No cookie for me.
“Okay, so how do you want to start this thing?” I asked Hagan then glanced to Reagan. They’d set this thing up, so I didn’t really even know the plan.
“Are you kidding us?” Hagan hissed, giving me his cute frown. “Sera, you’re Alpha. It’s your show. Go greet everyone.”
“Hey, you set this up. Why do I have to give a speech?”
“You’re Alpha,” the twins said together.
“You need to warn me of this shit,” I huffed as I stormed off to find a better place to catch everyone’s attention.
“How did we know you could be dense?” Reagan muttered under his breath. I caught Alena cuffing him upside the head, and I smiled at her.
“Picnic bench,” she offered, pointing to my right.
Hey, that would work. I hopped up there and glanced out at everyone, a bit taken aback now that I could see them all instead of hiding off to the side.
“Hey, hi everyone,” I started, clearing my throat and waiting for them to all quiet down. I glanced over to Hagan and Reagan. “Get your asses over here at least. If I have to make a speech, you’re up here with me to explain what I’m sure I won’t know.”
“Jesus Christ, woman,” Hagan grumbled, and we got several laughs from the crowd, some nervous chuckles too like they were worried we didn’t know what we were doing.
Well, we didn’t, so their worries were valid.
“Okay, so hi, I’m Seraphine Thomas, Alpha of the Chicago wolves,” I tried again, adjusting my neck nervously. “Wow, this is like a first day of school moment and I will be naked later, so great.” I took a slow, deep breath and stared out at everyone. “I honestly can’t believe how many of us there are. And thank you to those of you who drove all the way here. I think we have some as far as Kankakee and Galesburg, so welcome to Chicago.”
I waited as people applauded for some reason. Maybe that was their way of not yelling “hi, Sera” back.
“And to all my wolves, sorry I didn’t do this with you last full moon, but hi, this is what I look like.”
“Yeah, she was busy arresting and turning over her own to the council last full moon,” someone chastised from the back, but even outdoors with this many people, we could all hear him. And it made my nerves melt away. Annoyance tended to do that.
“Yes, I was. Didn’t know doing the right thing and obeying the law was a strike against me. Hey, show of hands who prefers Engle back and in charge?” I glanced around and chuckled. “No one? Really? Shocking. I don’t want him back, either, even if the job of Alpha is a bit much to handle. So, any more bitching or complaints before we welcome you onto our lands, which was never done when Engle was in charge?”
“Is this like a satellite pack of Greece now, or are they going to expand here beyond wolves?” that same voice called out.
“Dude, you’re a dick,” I growled. “No, I was in the hospital last week, so my parents came out to see me. Is that cool with you?”
“They’re not your real parents.”
“You know what, that’s not for you to decide. I don’t have birth parents, so i
f I want to be adopted by the bloodline that made me, that’s personal. Want me to pick apart your life, or are you going to keep hiding somewhere in the back, chicken shit?”
“Tone it down, Sera,” Hagan begged.
I took a few deep breaths and looked out at everyone. “Look, this isn’t easy for me, okay? I don’t like speeches, I’m not good at being the center of attention, either. Hell, I didn’t even want to be Alpha, but I did to help the wolves around here. I gave them all the chance to accuse those who committed crimes against them I didn’t witness and make the system work for them the way it’s supposed to. I know every person who filed a report, and they’re pretty damn happy with me, so if you’ve got something else, come forward or get the fuck off our lands because this was an invitation for friends.”
The crowd moved a bit, and a man made his way forward. I caught a good look at him when he was about fifteen feet out. “A lot of us are here, brought our people even, to see what this new Alpha is made of and if the first female to ever take Alpha of wolves in America can hold the pack before war might come to Chicago for it. If you can’t take some heckling and hard questions, then your strength isn’t much.”
“Do you take disrespect in your town from your guests? If you answer that with a yes, we both know you’re lying. You want to see what I’m made of, fine, but who the fuck are you to test me? Poke at me and see if I bite your hand off?”
“Do it,” Simone called out.
“Fine, we were going to play the pecking order for greeting game later, but let’s start, shall we?” I taunted as I kept his gaze. Then I let my power out. I let it all out… Minus whatever switch that made people shift and/or try to fuck me. Or fuck me after shifting, which was totally disturbing.
But I wasn’t done yet, simply unwrapped the present. I turned it up to full throttle and sighed at how good it felt, kind of like stretching after sleep or sitting too long.
“That’s as much as I can show you without causing problems and people randomly shifting,” I explained as I pulled it back in. “And why do I take advice and counsel from the Greek wolves? They’re the strongest pack of us, and their Alpha is my mom. So really? That’s something to poke at?” I glanced over at Alena and shrugged. “You want to show them? I’ve actually never felt yours fully.”
“It’s quite a show,” Zeno chuckled.
Alena smiled a wide, wolfish grin, and I felt a strong ripple of power. I thought she might have to let it out and turn it up like I did, but she was so, so much more powerful. It came out in waves, each one stronger than the last as if peeling layers of onion to get to the center only to find it was more powerful than anyone could have expected. I was breathless and energized by the time she hit the high and started to reel it back in.
Then in a flash I could barely keep up with, she was where the guy had been, and he was flying through the gap of people who had moved to let him come forward. “Do not ever speak to my daughter like that again. She may be patient enough, but I am not. You do not disrespect an Alpha on her lands no matter what questions you may have of the change in leadership.”
“Yes, Alpha,” he agreed, spitting blood on the ground as he slowly and shakily stood. “I apologize, Alpha Thomas. There are a lot of us scared that the new wolf Alpha won’t be better than the last.”
“I get that, but then why bitch that I put bad wolves away?” I let out a heavy sigh and pushed my hair off my shoulder. “Okay, let’s start this again and just everyone behave like a guest because it took a lot for me to talk people into extending an invite to our lands. Don’t make us regret it.”
There were a lot of nods, mostly everyone seeming excited, and while that guy said it might have been fear, I had a feeling he was a bully or sexist who’d made something up so Alena didn’t turn him into dead.
“I don’t know how to get back on track,” I admitted to Hagan.
“ID bracelets and open days here,” he reminded me quietly.
“Oh, right.” I raised the level of my voice and looked out. “We would like to do this once a month on the first day of the lunar cycle and have fun. The full moon, we prefer a smaller group and us wolves, but we also were thinking of having a day or two of the week where guests could use our lands. I know the cats have their indoor habitat play land, but sometimes you just need to stretch your legs.”
“The panthers of the Northside would welcome such a gracious gesture from our friends the wolves,” Simone said formally, dipping her head. Several other leaders called up something along the same lines.
“Okay, good. We don’t have many rules. Don’t drive trucks on the grass, don’t eat all our food, wipe your feet when you come over, that sort of thing. But yeah, it would be nice if we all acted like a community more, and this is our way of trying to do that. We—and by that I actually mean me—want us to get along better with the police and law enforcement. I get why you guys have been scared of them, but things won’t get better unless someone takes the first step.”
“What do you have in mind?” Noe, leader of the Chicago hawks, asked.
“I’d like any children or teenagers who haven’t shifted yet or are within their first year to wear an ID bracelet with their Alpha’s information on it in case there’s a problem.”
“Some of us aren’t out as what we are, and we would reveal ourselves if our kids wore those,” someone yelled after raising their hand so I could see them.
“Okay, what about a necklace or something tucked away? I know some of you want to stay below the radar, but there have been police hurt by a kid shifting the first time when they thought it was a seizure. Someone freaked, and people have died. Something completely preventable and people, kids, have died. I’m trying to implement a way for police to know who might be shifting or can’t control their shift so they have to keep the violence down.
“On a wrist would be easy because it’s something they could hold out a car window if it’s a traffic stop. Keychain might not always be on them. Necklace could work if everyone agrees. I’m going to take the time to talk to sheriffs and CPD and whoever I have to so this can happen and the cops are all on the same page. Eventually, I’d also like some to come here and talk to all of you on how not to act in a way that seems aggressive when you’re in animal form.”
“You mean like lay down and tuck our tails between our legs?” someone joked.
“If it means not getting shot, you’re damn right that’s what I mean. We have claws and teeth or talons or whatever that makes us scary as shit to humans. I’ve explained this a few times individually before, but the moment claws come out, it’s the same as a human pulling a knife. You are in possession of deadly weapons, and the police can’t tell if you changed because it’s too close to the full moon or you’re acting aggressively. With how fast we are, they should err on the side of caution so they don’t get hurt.”
“All of you not born were infected one way or another, but mostly by accidents,” Harris called out, appearing out of nowhere. “I was a cop who got scratched on a traffic stop by a young kid changing early. There are over fifty cases like that across the country in the past three years alone. There has to be a better way. Alpha Thomas is trying to figure out how. So if not ID bracelets, please come up with something and pass it along to your leaders so we can all agree and implement it.”
“Thanks, Mike.” I gave him a wink and looked out at the crowd. “So that’s what we’re thinking so far, and if people also want to talk about what days would be best, like if predators had Mondays and prey had Thursdays, or certain groups ask for a day if they’re driving all this way, well, again, we’re open to suggestions, and these two will be handling that.” I patted each of the Cooney twins on the shoulder.
“The boys,” Reagan reminded me.
“Oh, right. Okay, so most of you heard or saw on the news that we have rabbits in Chicago. They’re here today surrounded by the wall of towering Greek wolf eye candy to mask their scent until we could all talk. For those of you who haven’t
smelled prey shifters, they smell yummy. I speak from experience, as they were my first prey animal interaction.” Lots of people laughed at that. “Yeah, it was freaky. But I am their guardian, and their adoption should be finalized any day now.
“Now that makes them children of the Alpha, and they’re also endangered shifters, and they’re under the protection of the pack and a bunch of packs here. I’m letting you meet them now so there are no excuses later or no one doesn’t know the outcome if they hurt any one of my boys. Let me be crystal clear on that because if anyone touches them, I will fucking end you. Anyone tells where they live, posts on web chats, dark web, or anything else that we’ve got rabbits and where they will be blah, blah, I will end you.”
“Jesus, you’re scary,” someone muttered, and I smiled.
“Only when it comes to protecting the people I love and taking down criminals. Otherwise, I’m pretty mellow actually. So, everyone clear how scary I’ll be if they hurt my bunnies or lead to them being hurt?” There were lots of nods, which was kind of funny to see given there were like a thousand people gathered.
“Alphas and leaders, if you could break off the people who’ve never smelled prey before so we can bring them out without any incident,” Hagan called out.
“Oh, and wolves, no hunting deer today, just running. We don’t want any issues there, either.” I glanced at Reagan and frowned. “Can we tell the difference? I mean, would I know if I was chasing a real deer or shifter?”
“I think there’s a lot of us who’d like to be caught by you, Alpha Thomas,” someone called out, and it took a moment for his meaning to sink in.
And I flushed all the way up to my ears when it did given how publicly he said that and I wasn’t in siren mode but wolf, and well, I was a dork. “Right, thanks?”
Alena burst out laughing, and it echoed all around us it boomed so loud. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, my daughter. It’s just your reaction is too precious. I cannot remember ever blushing from a sexual advance.”