by Noah Harris
“I was like that for years before Kell showed up. I don’t see how my magic has anything to do with him,” Johnny protested.
“And he was the one who forced the Coven to accept you once again, while still being technically a member of the Pack,” Ash said softly.
“And in that one moment, forced the gap between Pack and Coven to shrink. Perhaps not as greatly as you might have hoped, but enough,” Earl said.
By forging a connection between the warring factions, Kell had inadvertently created the target the Cult had on his head. With Johnny tolerated by both factions, even for a little while, it showed that it was possible to be both witch and werewolf to anyone who’d find out. When Kell had gone on to reawaken the wolf inside of Ash, he’d further complicated things.
“And now he’s having children who will be born of both the Wards, and the Children,” Johnny whispered.
“The Cult wants to see the Children under their control, and the humans returned to grass huts. Everything the three of you have done lately is a direct threat to their goals, and to their power. Already there are groups within the Children who are questioning the need for a Choosing, or why the war between Pack and Coven is even necessary. When those questions became public discussion, the Cult began moving in earnest,” Earl said.
Ash shook his head. “But we’ve not noticed anything out of the ordinary.”
“The Cult is looking for both of you, and for Kell. I don’t know how they know, but they know that the two of you have left Kell. I’m not sure if they know where you were, as according to Maya, there were no survivors from the Vigil ambush to tell the tale. However, there are other ways for the Cult to gain their information without relying on spying on the Vigil,” Earl said.
“They’re the ones who’ve been causing all these problems,” Johnny repeated dully.
Everything he and Ash had been forced to face had been at the hands of those who refused to change how things were. Tradition and law were used to enforce solidarity and obedience to the status quo, while people like Johnny, who fought against the system, were outright killed or treated like lepers. Generations of werewolves and witches had been dancing to the tune of those lurking in the shadows, unaware that their misery was being orchestrated, was actually wanted.
Ash was watching him, and Johnny could see he believed it as well. Johnny remembered the warning that something darker had infiltrated the Coven, but had passed it off. Hadn’t he too noticed that the Coven was darker, more fierce than it ever had been before when he and Kell had first been pursued? Hadn’t it seemed odd that as quickly as the Coven had been forced to help them, they turned their backs in no time at all?
He’d never trusted the Coven, always believing that the false face they were putting on for Kell’s benefit would one day slip. However, even he had been surprised at how quickly it’d come, and how awkwardly it had come about. He’d blamed the Vigil’s attack on the cottage for the sudden revelation of the Children’s betrayal of the trio, but now he wondered. If the Cult really was working through, or with the Vigil, it would have been all too easy for someone to betray the cottage’s location to the Vigil. With the three separated from the Children, any help they may have privately received would have been cut off while the Vigil chased after them.
“Holy shit, they knew we were planning to find Maya. They knew the Coven had assigned Ash to be our bodyguard, and had information to find the other Wards, or someone more knowledgeable than the Children,” Johnny said.
Ash’s mouth parted. “They knew, and they tried to wipe us out before we could get to somewhere safe, somewhere out of their sphere of control.”
Earl drained the last of his glass before continuing. “And now they’re out there, devoting every resource they have to finding Kell. If those children of yours are born, they’re going to represent everything the Cult despises and fears.”
Johnny caught a flash of imagery from Ash’s mind and winced. His friend was remembering the vision he’d had. The lethal attack on Kell and their unborn children was a raw memory for Ash, and it turned Johnny’s stomach to even think about it. Kell was safe for the moment, but if the Cult had their way, they would bring the collective power of the Cult, and perhaps the Vigil as well, in order to win. He didn’t think even the Wards could withstand such a concentrated assault, just as the Children had been forced to relent under the combined power of a united humanity.
He wanted to doubt it, to call Earl a liar and just another part of the Children designed to keep them off-balance. But to do that would be to call Maya into question, who he devotedly believed wanted to help them in their quest. He firmly believed that she was more informed and shrewder than all of them combined, and he couldn’t imagine she would be easily fooled. If she trusted Earl and his intel, then Johnny had no choice but to do the same.
Ash nodded slowly. “They need to be stopped.”
“If they’re not, they’ll eventually get their hands on Kell…and the children,” Earl warned.
Fury burst out in a cataclysmic explosion through Johnny’s mind. “Like hell!”
The thought of Kell and their innocent, unborn children in the hands of the monsters who had ruined so many lives was too much for Johnny. The glass clenched in his hand shattered into hundreds of crystalline shards with a violent crash. His inner wolf howled and snarled, and he could feel the power of the beast beginning to shape his body. He wanted blood on his tongue, the feel of Cult and Vigil flesh between his teeth, just so he could hear their agonized, fearful cries as he tore the life from them.
Ash
He hardly knew what was happening until Johnny hunched, nearly falling off the couch. Ash had been stunned by the sudden outburst, but even more by the surge of emotion which came from his friend. Pain and fury rocked Ash back as he fought to differentiate between his emotions and those of Johnny.
When a strangled growl made its way out from between Johnny’s clenched teeth, Ash snapped back to reality. Without thinking, he tossed his now empty glass onto the nearby couch and took hold of Johnny. The blue of Johnny’s eyes was nearly completely eclipsed by the swelling pupils, and Ash could see the human canine teeth being replaced by the shredding fangs of the wolf.
“Johnny!” Ash called, forcing his friend to look at him.
Johnny’s body shook, quivering as the wolf inside him fought to leap out and take control. Ash had never seen Johnny lose control, not even when Johnny was young and the Change first came upon him. The man’s ability to control his emotions was admirable for anyone, let alone a werewolf. For all the talk of being creatures of passion, Johnny had stood as a beacon to the rigorous self-control the Pack might one day achieve if they wished.
Desperate, Ash held Johnny’s face. “Look at me Johnny, look at me. Nothing is going to happen to Kell or the twins. We’re not going to let them harm them, we’ll kill every last one of them before we let that happen. I promise you.”
Johnny’s eyes were wide with fear and anger, but they were locked onto Ash’s face intently. Ash still didn’t know what to think about everything Earl had told them, particularly about the addition of the Cult into the mess. But if the Cult was a threat to those he cared about, Ash didn’t care how deeply entrenched they were, or how well they were hidden, he would root them out and destroy them.
“I need you for this Johnny, I can’t do it alone. Don’t lose it now, please,” Ash whispered.
Little by little, he watched the animal drain from Johnny’s taut features. His teeth receded to their human form, and the pupils shrunk to reveal clear blue. The fear and anger were still there, but Ash was relieved to find the emotions were human and not a cornered animal. He hoped his own face showed the same, his chest burning with the thought that there was a group of people out there dedicated to ripping apart everything he held dear. Ash was just as furious as Johnny, but he’d be damned before he let them fall apart.
Earl was watching them with what Ash thought was interest. The cocky shaman had sob
ered up the more he talked about the Cult, and Ash was glad the man’s attention had swerved away from him. He hadn’t missed the lecherous glances thrown his way by Earl, but he’d chosen to not acknowledge them. Ash had everything he could ever want, he didn’t want to give Earl the idea he wanted someone else.
Johnny closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m okay.”
Ash stroked his face gently. “We’ll get through this, and we’ll make sure every last one of them regrets even having thought about coming after us.”
Johnny chuckled dully. “Yeah, so, where do we start Earl?”
Ash could both see and feel Johnny working to put himself back together and regain control. It was fascinating to see the emotional doors shutting, and the energy which had poured from Johnny become a trickle. It was systematic, and faster than Ash would have expected. Johnny was hard to ruffle, but apparently he could recover quickly when he had to. Ash would talk to his friend later, when there wasn’t an audience, just to make sure everything was truly okay.
“I’m still waiting on information to find out the best place to hunt them down. My bet would be to start with the Vigil, but I don’t want you charging off after them. I would prefer to send you where you’d be useful, and the Cult do everything in their power to make sure they’re not easily found,” Earl said casually.
Johnny’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “So, we sit around and wait? We’ve been doing that for nine months.”
“Then what’s another few days?” Earl asked.
“We came down off the mountain because we were made to believe the proper time had come! We were sent here because we thought you might have useful information for us. So far, all you’ve done is give us more to worry about and nothing to do with it,” Johnny accused, his voice beginning to rise.
Okay, so Johnny wasn’t as in control of himself as Ash had originally thought. Nervously, he drew Johnny up to a sitting position and tried to get him to stand up. The last thing he wanted was for Johnny to snap and attack Earl. From the beginning, it seemed Johnny had been bothered by the shaman and his new foul mood didn’t seem to be improving his opinion.
“I can’t rush results, that’s how mistakes are made,” Earl said easily, but Ash thought he saw something hard flash in his eyes.
“Let’s go out to the party,” Ash said carefully.
Johnny tried to pull from his grip. “I don’t want to go out there, I want to do something.”
Ash smiled. “And we can Johnny, after we know enough to move forward. You know as well as I do that rushing into something blind is a good way to mess up or get yourself killed. I want to take them down too, but I want to do it right.”
Johnny continued to glower at Earl, but Ash could see his words were beginning to have their intended effect. His struggle against Ash’s hold began to ease, and his eyes darted toward Ash. Finally, Johnny took a step in Ash’s direction, further from Earl.
Earl smiled, looking down at his glass. “You have my word that I will get the information you need. All I ask is that you wait, and don’t get yourselves caught with your pants down.”
“We’ll do just that,” Ash promised.
Johnny pulled his gaze from Earl to follow Ash to the door. “What do we do until then?”
Ash chuckled, taking Johnny’s hand. “We’re supposed to be a couple, right? Well, let’s go dance like a couple on the dance floor.”
Johnny raised his brow. “You can dance?”
“And why wouldn’t I?” Ash asked.
Johnny snorted. “I remember you trying to dance at the Coven festivals. It wasn’t pretty.”
“I was a gangly teenager who wasn’t used to his body! That and let’s be honest, they’re not really dancing out there, just pretending to have sex with their clothes on,” Ash said.
Earl laughed. “There’s some actual sex with clothing on out there too, not just the pretend kind.”
Johnny rolled his eyes. “Okay fine, if I don’t have to stand around in this room, then we can go out and dance.”
Ash thought the real reason was so Johnny didn’t have to be around Earl for much longer. He wasn’t sure what it was about Earl that continued to rub Johnny the wrong way. Even if he thought it might be a little rude to leave their guest, he thought it was a far better idea to make sure Johnny didn’t get more aggressive.
Ash pressed the button to open the doors, filling the room immediately with a blast of music. He snorted as he watched tendrils of fog drift into the room. “I guess they amped up the party a little bit.”
“Don’t forget your masks,” Earl called over the music.
Ash stopped to grab them, before returning to Johnny and leading him out onto the dance floor. Earl continued to watch them, casually swirling the last bits of his drink as they left his sight. Ash let out a breath of relief once they were clear, both free from the oddly penetrating gaze of the shaman, while also knowing that Johnny would calm down once they were free and clear.
“Do you really want to dance, or did you just say that to get me to leave the room?” Johnny called.
Ash grinned, remembering how much Johnny had enjoyed dancing when they were younger. Johnny had been one of those rare people who, while they’d grown tall, had grown slowly. He’d never lost the internal rhythm that caused a person to keep in sync with the flow of their body. There was no clumsiness in Johnny, and as Ash recalled, the man hadn’t even gone through a phase where his voice had cracked. Ash had been a bumbling, awkward mess in his teenage years and had always envied Johnny his grace and charm.
“If you can stand to have someone who apparently can’t dance for shit with you, I want to,” Ash yelled.
Johnny laughed, placing one hand around Ash’s waist and dragging him away from the wall and onto the dancefloor. Ash followed suit, letting Johnny draw him in close as they reached the middle of the floor. Bodies of other partygoers pushed in around them, crowding them. Ash glanced around nervously, not liking being hemmed in on all sides and wondering if it was safe. It would be all too easy for an assassin to sneak through the crowd and get one of them from behind.
Johnny laid a hand on Ash’s face, drawing his attention back to him. The line of worry which had drawn itself across Johnny’s forehead was mostly gone, only a shadow of it remaining. Instead, Johnny’s bright eyes caught the lights, glowing in the black lights strewn all over the ceiling above them. Best of all, was the look of amusement and interest in Johnny’s eyes as he began to move with the music.
True to expectation, Johnny’s movements were lithe and smooth. The gangly teenager with a surprising grace had become a man of toned muscle and surprising dexterity. On the mountain, the two of them had entertained themselves at times by sparring in a cleared area. Kell had watched from the sidelines, taking turns egging them both on. Johnny fought much like he danced, like poetry in motion.
Ash had teased that he could dance, but he felt bumbling and awkward as Johnny coaxed him into finally moving. While Ash’s mind had finally caught up to the size of his body, he didn’t have the dexterity his best friend had. Ash’s style was to use his strength and magic to great effect, but in his mind that didn’t translate to a good dance partner.
Johnny moved his hands to Ash’s hip and held him there. Ash felt his fingers tighten, and the presence of the crowd was wiped from his mind. He watched, entranced, as Johnny swayed with the motion. His movements were slow and sinuous as he waited for Ash to join him in the rhythm. As Ash responded to Johnny’s touch, allowing himself to try to follow the rhythm, Johnny moved faster, pulling himself even closer.
Ash had seen Johnny’s body in many ways, in different states of dress. Yet, even Johnny naked, cock buried deep inside Kell, was somehow not nearly as erotic as a fully dressed Johnny slowly grinding against him. Ash watched, reverent, as Johnny pressed his hips forward while leaning his upper body back. His arm muscles shifted, and his body rolled with the rhythm, his half-lidded eyes never leaving Ash’s face. There was promise in John
ny’s expression, and his hands crept up Ash’s shirt.
Warmth flooded Ash’s body, followed closely by lust and desire. He’d touched Johnny, had held his cock, and even had him in his mouth. The two had kissed on several occasions, all under the watchful and attentive eye of Kell. Yet none of that felt as erotic as the brush and then grip of Johnny’s fingers on Ash’s hips. There was nothing dominant about the hold, it was assertive and lusty, but Ash felt as if he was being drawn in, not yanked.
Johnny leaned in to speak in Ash’s ear. “We’re putting on a show.”
Dazed, Ash looked around and saw that his friend was telling the truth. Several people were watching the two of them grind and work their bodies together. Despite how clumsy and inept he felt on his feet while watching Johnny, part of Ash preened at the attention.
Ash chuckled nervously. “I bet they wish they were us.”
“Oh, I know they wish they were us,” Johnny said.
Even though Johnny had to virtually shout to be heard, Ash could hear the silky smoothness of his voice, and he shivered. Johnny’s chest now pressed close, and he draped his arms around Ash’s neck and shoulders. Together, they moved as one, pushed against one another and grinding hard.
It was fiercely erotic and overwhelmingly confusing. Neither of them had ever shared anything near what Ash felt as they danced. Their bond of friendship and the shared sex had always remained isolated from one another. The dance however, dug deep into Ash and dragged out sensations he’d only felt for Kell lately, and had thought Johnny only felt for the omega as well.
The reason so many in the Pack looked down upon alpha on alpha relationships was that it really did go against the nature of the beast. There was no instinctual draw between two alphas, but there was a sense of dissatisfaction that some claimed never went away. The werewolf consensus was that an alpha would never be whole without an omega, and that the reverse was true. Physical relationships, much like the one he and Johnny already shared, were permissible and expected, but the rush of emotion flooding Ash’s mind felt wholly different.