“Calm down, Terry,” Izzy sent through our link. Her words enraged me triggering a catastrophic series of events.
First, I grabbed the zombie I downed by the head and ripped it off. I threw the head at the second creature and flung myself at it. The zombie struck with four arms bearing blades and tow submachine guns. I absorbed the bullets without a care and slapped the blades away with the back of my hands. The zombie hit me in the chest sending me flying back. I planted my feet sna skidded to a stop. I flung my arms out wide and roared. The sound was the deepest,most bestial sound I had ever made.
“Terry?” Scarlett sent with fear evident in her thoughts.
Crouching, I stepped sideways keeping my prey in sight. It wanted a fight. It wanted to be the top of the food chain. It wanted to best me. It had another thing coming. The zombie matched me side step for side step. Each move took us a little closer to one another.
The creature had a good feel for its reach which it showed by swinging it’s knives when I was in range. Ducking under the attack left it open. Grabbing the forearms of the lower arms I stopped them from moving. Then I squeezed and snapped the bones of the forearms and swung the hands up slicing off the middle arms. Dropping the arms I held I caught the falling arms before they hit the ground and spun. Centrifugal force sent he blades out wide slicing into the zombie’s torso over and over. I stopped facing the brute and crouched. Using the werekangaroo ability I leapt up dragging the blade through the zombie slicing off all of its arms and most of its shoulders. As I came down I slammed both arms blade first into the brute’s skull. What was left of it stopped moving, then fell over a second later.
A sound to my right caused me to dash over and hit the source with my shoulder knocking it to the ground.
“Terry!” Both of my Tua shouted.
Looking down, I saw the person I hit was Scarlett. She looked up at me with terror in her eyes. Izzy stepped between us holding her gun barrel pointed toward the floor.
“Step the fuck off, gringo,” Izzy said. “This is my fault. If you have to take it out on someone it will be me.”
Taking a step back, the rage dwindled. “What?” I asked confused by her words. “I wouldn’t…” But I had. Scarlett laid out on her back was proof. “I’m sorry,” I said as tears filled my eyes. “Scarlett…”
“It would seem that the boss battle is at hand,” Lassiter said. “I see you may not be in the right frame of mind, Terry. Am I reading this right?”
I faced the man trying to clear my head and get ready for another fight. It wasn’t working. I wanted to beg my Hydro-Mage to forgive me, not deal with this asshole.
“Tell you what, Terry. If you don’t get your shit together, I’ll kill your two bitches and reanimate them making them my little undead sex toys.”
The bastard hit the right trigger. I stepped forward with my vision narrowing down so all I saw was him. Red colored the little of the world I could see. A low growl built in my throat as i took another step.
The bastard had the nerve to smile as I stalked closer. He wa really asking for me to tear him to pieces. As i drew closer his clothes began to writh like he had a thousand snakes under his shirt trying to get out. His smile became a chuckle. None of it scared me or made me want to rethink my head long rush into combat.
Boom.
A red dot appeared in the middle of his forehead. I stopped. Lassiter blinked a couple times.
“Shit,” He said. Then the bastard fell froward, bounced off his desk, and finally hit the floor.
I looked back and saw Izzy holding her gun up with a wisp of smoke coming from the barrel. Then I walked around the desk and in time to see the movement under his clothing stop. As I watched all movement stopped. I knelt next to him ready to strike in case he was playing possum while I checked to see if e was dead.
“Is he done?” Izzy asked.
“Dead as a doornail,” I growled. Heat still flowed in my veins and I wanted to fight.
I stood and my Turtle walked up to me holding her gun muzzle down. She looked at me with a mix of emotions on her face. Then she set her gun on the desk and wrapped her arms around me. I went rigid expecting an attack, but none came.
“I’m so sorry, Terry. Your problems are all my fault. If I had been stronger you would be the man I know you are and not be turning into the monster I saw fighting just now. Can you forgive me?”
Her words coupled with the matching emotions i felt from her softened my posture. I wrapped my arms around my turtle and tears fell freely from both of us.
“Do something for me,” I said.
“What do you want me to do?” Izzy asked.
“If I lose control and might hurt you, or Scarlett, orn anyone that doesn’t deserve it, stop me. Please?”
A window appeared in my field of vision with a surprising message.
Chapter 21
"You better check on Scarlett," Izzy said.
"I bet I have a lot of apologizing to do."
I went to my Hydro mage and found her cowering in the corner. As I drew closer her eyes widened more and she moved back as if trying to push yourself through the wall. I held my hands out and made cooing sounds trying to relax her. While Scarlett didn't seem too impressed with my attempts to get her calm she did stop trying to push herself against the wall.
"I'm so sorry Scarlett. Please, please forgive me. I didn't mean to push you like that. I don't know what came over me and I'm not sure I know what's wrong, but I promise that I will never lay a hand on you again." My pleading didn't seem to work. The only thing that got Scarlett to stand and leave the corner with Izzy coming to her side and helping her to stand. My turtle led Scarlett out of the room and down the hall. Before leaving I went to Lassiter's desk and rifled through the files. Inside I found a lot paperwork for various clients and decided to take it all. With Lassiter dead I didn't know if his zombies would remain inert or come to life as some sort of a failsafe mechanism or dead man switch.
I found Izzy and Scarlett waiting for me in Izzy's car and I took my place in the backseat. Scarlett sat up front and refuse to turn back and look at me which I understood. Once again, I found myself wondering what was causing me to behave this way. Being so aggressive was not in my nature and not behavior I had ever exhibited before. So why now, what was causing me to be this way and how do I stop it. Willpower alone wasn’t doing the trick, so I had to figure something out before someone I cared about was hurt.
While we drove, I went through all the files I took from Lassiter's office. Several of them were invoices or requests for jobs from Arnold and his pack. What surprised me was that none of those pertaining to me in any way. The only jobs that were specifically tailored to affect me were the one to kidnap me and the one to destroy my home. Akash had hired Lassiter to kidnap me and according to the paperwork my father had hired Lassiter to destroy my home. I didn't know if my father was retaliating for me having stolen his Tua, or if he had another reason for what he did. One thing was certain I was going to find the answer.
As I looked through his paperwork, I also found something else very interesting. There were numerous jobs for various tasks everything from various tasks from providing security to acquiring a target and all of them were from a client simply known as mage. This brought up the question if mage was one person or many people. From the story Scarlett had told me I got the sense that there were many mages running around and that I had barely even scratched the surface. It seemed like every time I gained new information, I end up with more questions than answers. I hope that one day I would come to a satisfying conclusion with these mysteries and I could enjoy life with my pack. As things stood now, I doubted that would ever be possible, but I was going to work hard to make it happen. As we drove, and my thoughts wandered, I realized I had no idea where we were heading. "Hey Izzy, where we heading?"
"I figured since we killed the Lassiter and we knew who was behind the attack but not where to find him we would have to back home. If anyone knows where your fath
er is, it’s Roo and Riley."
"Maybe we should call," I said. "That would be a lot faster and prevent us from having to backtrack if we have to come back this way to find my father."
"I suppose that wouldn’t hurt, though I was looking forward to getting back." I could tell from the feelings coming from Izzy that she wanted to get back because she was done being around me.
I had a feeling that if we made it back to our new home I would be going alone on the next leg of my journey, or someone else would be coming with me. Considering the fact that I had made love with Izzy, I thought it was important to keep her around.
"Let's find a spot to grab some food and make the call." I said.
My turtle let out a long sigh before agreeing with me. Soon after we found ourselves sitting inside of a Denny's waiting for our food to be delivered. Scarlett still wouldn't look at me or speak to me as we sat there in awkward silence none of my Tua wanted to speak. It was an unsettling realization that I was slowly alienating my Tua. If this continued, I might find myself with no pack. I needed Scarlett to talk to me and I knew there was only one way I can get her undivided attention and she couldn't turn away.
What used to be darkness that filled my mind space was lights. Blue light with white and purple swirls surrounded me much as it had done when I invited Scarlett to join me. I didn't take long to marvel at the new change instead I pulled my Hydro mage into my mind space with me.
Scarlett shrieked and backed away from me. "What are you going to do to me?" "Scarlett, I'm not going to do anything to you."
I dropped to my knees in front of my Hydro mage and lowered my head. After the way I made her feel I couldn't look her in the eyes. With the pain and fear that I felt radiating from her I felt less deserving.
Through our link I could feel a kind of person Scarlett was. I knew that she was a good person with a big heart and that she would never harm a fly unless provoked first. I also got the sense that forgiveness was not easily earned from my Hydro mage. Even though that was the case, I had to try.
"Scarlet, I'm so sorry for what I did. I know that this is a big ask but can you find it in your heart to forgive me." I looked up to see anger in her face as she stared down at me. I thought I was better than fear, and I hoped I would find out I was right.
"Something is wrong with me, and I don't know what it is. I'm going to do whatever it takes to figure it out and fix it. I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon, but I promise that I'm going to do everything in my power to show you that I'm sincere and that I will never do anything like that again."
"what you did was bad, but I understand the situation," Scarlett said. "That being said, I am going to be a little more wary around. I can't help it. Not only did you hurt me physically, but you scared me and made me doubt joining your pack. I don't know what it'll take for this doubt to go away, but as long as it's here I don't know if I can fully be a part of your back."
"I understand that. Like I said I will do everything I can to change the way you feel right now."
"Izzy told me that you gave her the power to stop you if you lose control. As long as she's around I'll be here and do what it takes to help you find answers. But, if she goes I go."
"I understand. Thank you, Scarlett, thank you for giving me a chance. I promise I won’t let you down."
Izzy appeared next to Scarlet. "Our food is here."
"Thank you, Izzy," I said.
"so, are we finally going to let Terry off the hook and stick around for little while?" Izzy asked.
"I've decided that as long as you're here I’ll stick around," Scarlett said. "But I let Terry know that if it happens again, I'm gone. I've also told him that if you leave, I'm not sticking around. As long as he's like this, without checks and balances."
"yeah that makes sense. I considered going back to the house and letting someone else come out here to help Terry, but I decided against it. When I accepted our agreement, I took the responsibility for Terry's actions, and I'm taking that responsibility seriously." Then Izzy looked away from me "This is my father for all. If I would've accepted him as readily as his other Tua, none of this would be happening."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "How could any of this be your fault, Izzy. I'm the one raging out of control, not you. I'm the one putting you and Scarlet at risk, not you. These are my actions and no one else can be held responsible for them."
"Not true Terry. When you were out, the werelioness and I had a talk. She told me that if a Lycan accepts an invitation and becomes Tua but does not accept him into her heart there will be a conflict inside Tuatha which can lead to very dark places. She told me that the last Tuatha, before you and your father, had this happen and was ultimately responsible for the rise of the Nazis. So yes, this is my fault." Izzy looked up meeting my eyes and I saw the tears running down her face. "I know what the problem is, and I know what's supposed to fix it, but I don't know how. I've been alone for so long that I don't know how to be with anyone else. Being with you and your Tua has been a wonderful experience, but it also scares the shit out of me. I worry every day that you all are going to decide that I'm not worthy and throw me out on my ass."
I stepped up and took my turtle by the shoulders looking directly into her eyes. "That's not going to happen. Not as long as I'm alive, not as long as this is my pack. You are mine and I am yours, that's the long and short of it. If you need time, then I'll give you as much as you need. But know this, I will never turn my back on you. I know that having you in my pack means that I have someone special and worthwhile that's not only a part of my pack, but a part of my life. No force on this planet is strong enough to tear you away from me, not without the fight of its life. I know you don't want to hear this and that it scares you for some reason, but I love you Izzy. I love you with everything I am, and I will not let you go."
"Should I be here for this?" Scarlett asked.
Both Izzy and I looked over at the Hydro mage. "you're part of us now," I said. "Our problems are your problems our joys are your joys; our victories are your victories. You have every right to be here.”
"you have every right to be here to see how our Tuatha handles the situation," Izzy said. "If I'm going to be the pack member that all of you deserve, I need to learn to be open and honest with. That means I want you to hear so you know and understand what I'm feeling," Izzy said.
Scarlett smiled a sad little smile and placed her hand on Izzy's arm. "Thank you for sharing this. This goes a long way to showing me who Terry is and what he might be willing to do for us. I think I needed this."
Chapter 22
I held the phone against my ear while writing. I decided to make the call myself because I wanted my Tua to hear what was happening directly from me. Hopefully, Scarlett seeing me be direct and honest with my pack would help regain her trust, and that it might build a little more trust in Izzy. New "hello," came Andrea's voice from the other side of the phone. "Hey wolf lady it's me Terry. Are the rest of my Tua close?"
"Yeah, they're all not far from here I can have them by the phone in a couple minutes, is that what you want?"
"yes please, I have some things that I need to share, and I think it best if you're all together," I said.
Five minutes passed as I waited for Andrea to gather the rest of the pack. In that time, I put together what I would say. My palms grew sweaty as my nerves started get the best of me. My greatest fear was that my Tua would want nothing to do with me after hearing about the way I was acting.
"We’re all here," Andrea said.
"Hi, Terry," Riley's cheery voice came over the phone.
"Hey handsome," Miranda said.
"Hi, Terry," Tabitha said. "How are things going out there, did you do what needed to be done?"
"Hey guys, that's part of why I'm calling. I have some things I need tell you and I don't think you guys will like it. Hell, I don't think you guys will like me."
"I don't think that's going to be the case," Miranda said.
I t
ook a deep breath to steady myself before beginning. All my Tua remained quiet while I recounted the tale of our adventures up until that point. I told them of the issues that I was having with my anger and losing control and what Izzy said. My turtle chimed in from time to time clarifying details that I wasn't sure about either from having been unconscious or not in my right mind. After it was all done there was a long silence.
"It's a hell of a story," Andrea said.
"It'll be okay, Terry. We are going to find a way to get through this don't worry, we have your back." Tabitha said.
"Thank you, I really appreciate that. I don't know what I would do without all of you in my life. Now we have to figure out what our next step is going to be. That brings me to the next reason that I called. Riley and Roo, do you guys have any idea where my father might be.?"
There was silence on the line for a minute and then the mumbling as my Aussie Lycans whispered to each other. Somehow, they managed to make a whisper sound sexy in their native accent. "We’re not entirely sure, Terry, but if he still here he has to be in the Doubletree Hotel. He likes excess more than any man should and would not sully himself by staying in someplace cheap or inexpensive. I think that's going to be your best bet," Roo said.
"Thanks Roo, that's a big help. At the very least we have a starting point. Maybe if he's not there we can find some clues to where he is. Riley, thank you too for your help, I'm pretty sure that you had a hand in figuring out where he might be," I said.
"You're so welcome, Terry," Riley said in her cheery voice. Hearing the happy-go-lucky weredropbear brought a smile to my face.
"Andrea, have the wolves arrived with the mages?" Izzy asked.
"No, they have not, but I talked to Dris, and he says they'll be here probably within the hour," Andrea said. "Did you want me to send reinforcements back after they arrive?"
Turtleshift Page 13