Reunion

by Sean Stone

  “But the dramas are over now. We can be happy. Nobody is after us. We’ve got all the time we need to get you used to being a werewolf and get on with our lives. No more wars. I promise. If anybody comes looking for trouble I’ll turn away.”

  “You say that and I know you mean it but these things are out of your control. Trouble will find you because you’re the alpha,” she said. “Being in charge attracts trouble.”

  “Are you asking me to step down? You’re the one who told me to become alpha in the first place,” he said. He sat down beside her.

  “I know but I didn’t realise what that meant. Please, Eric, I just want to leave.”

  “No. I’ve sacrificed too much for this. If I give it up now then it was all for nothing. People died, Nat,” he said.

  “You mean you killed them.”

  Her words hit him harder than any fist. He stood up. “We’re not leaving,” he said and stormed out.

  Eric went to his grandad’s office and shut the door. He hadn’t been in this room since Waylon had died. It hadn’t felt right coming in. Waylon had spent most of his life behind his desk. It seemed odd to imagine an alpha leading from behind a wooden desk. Eric wasn’t a desk kind of guy. Still, he sat down in his grandad’s chair and looked around.

  “I never appreciated how hard your job was,” he said to the room. “I always thought you were a coward for making a truce. I understand now you were just trying to protect the pack. Being alpha means making difficult decisions and you’re always going to make enemies no matter what you choose. I chose to protect my girlfriend and nearly ended up at war with the coven. That was the wrong choice for an alpha. An alpha should think of the pack first. How did you do this job for so long?”

  The door to the office opened and for a second Eric thought his grandad had come to answer him. Instead he saw Dana covered in mud and soaking wet. She had something over her shoulder. A great filthy thing. She threw it down on the floor and Eric looked down at the rotten face of Serena Royce. His own mother. He couldn’t take his eyes from hers. Not that they looked like hers anymore. They were so faded and coated with gunk.

  “I found your mother,” Dana said. Eric looked up but said nothing. “She was at the bottom of the lake. So were all of her things. But I’m sure you said she’d left town.”

  “What were you doing at the lake?” Eric asked. He stood up but did not move any closer to Dana or his mother’s corpse.

  “Your uncle made me think things over properly. I realised he made sense. Why else would you have had him executed? It was such an abnormal order to give. No trial. Nothing.”

  “My uncle was a fool,” Eric retorted.

  “Don’t try and talk your way out of this. Just tell me the truth. What happened to Connor?” she demanded. So this was it. He’d been caught. He always knew it would happen eventually, he just never thought it would come this soon.

  He could lie but he decided against it. There was no point now. “I killed him,” he confessed.

  Dana nodded. “To become alpha.”

  “I didn’t want to. She made me do it.” Eric pointed at the corpse without looking at it as he made his way towards Dana. It felt good to confess.

  “You’re going to hide behind your mummy?” she asked derisively.

  “It’s true. I was starting to like Connor. He was treating me with respect for the first time in my life. I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t want to be alpha. I was glad that he’d taken it off me. But she made me.”

  “You were glad he stole your birth right and beat you in front of everyone?” she said dubiously.

  “Well, I didn’t like being humiliated. But once I got over that…”

  “How did it happen then? How did you kill Connor?”

  “We led him to the caves. Told him that Nick was up to something there. When we got him there I killed him.” Eric was right in front of Dana. He placed his hands on her shoulders. A gentle reminder of who was stronger out of the two of them and that she was alone. If she got the message she didn’t show it.

  “How?” she asked.

  “I choked him with a silver chain and then threw him in the water.” He tightened started to move his hands, slowly, up to her throat. She didn’t move.

  “I’m going to tell the whole pack what you did. You killed your alpha, your mother and your uncle. You’ll die for this,” she vowed.

  “No I won’t. You won’t tell a soul,” he whispered softly to her.

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re not leaving this room.” His hands found her throat.

  “Back up, Eric,” Gus said as he walked into the room. Eric took hasty step away from Dana, and looked at the door in bewilderment.

  “Gus. Look what she’s done. She brought my mother’s corpse to try and—”

  “Don’t bother, Eric. I heard everything,” Gus said. He stepped in front of Dana, shielding her from Eric.

  Eric snorted. “So, this is how it ends. Are the two of you going to kill me? Or will I stand trial?”

  “No,” Gus said. “We are not murderers. Nor do we trust a trial. You’ll wriggle out of it somehow.”

  “I’m alpha I can do what I want,” Eric said pathetically.

  “Shut up,” Gus sorted. “You were good to me. Kind. We were friends I suppose. For that I’ll let you go.”

  “Gus,” Dana said.

  “Blood will not bring Connor back. This ends now. No more pack blood needs to be spilt. Eric, you will get your girlfriend and you will leave Cedarstone today. Do not ever come back. If you do I’ll kill you myself,” Gus said in a gentle but threatening voice.

  Eric looked at the two of them. Banishment was a far better punishment than he deserved. And it was his only choice. He couldn’t overpower them both. It was leave or die. After all, this was what Natalie had wanted. Maybe they could be happy like they was before. Before all the fighting. All the drama. Natalie was right. Cedarstone was full of drama.

  Eric nodded. “I’ll go.” He stepped around Gus and Dana and headed for the door. He stopped just before leaving and turned back. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry for what I did,” he said truthfully. “Not a day goes by that it doesn’t haunt me.” Dana said nothing and he left the room in silence.

  Less than hour later he and Natalie were on the road. They didn’t pack much. They didn’t need much. Eric had all the wealth of the Royce family and almost everything they’d left behind could be replaced. There were some sentimental things but most of them were in the back of Eric’s Range Rover. The two of them were on the road out of town. The only sadness he felt was that he hadn’t lived up to his grandad’s expectations. He’d been a poor alpha. A terrible one. He’d ended his family’s leadership of the Cedarstone pack. If he met Waylon Royce in the afterlife he would have a whole heap of explaining to do. Then again, when he got to the afterlife Waylon Royce was the least of his concerns. He had a lot more to answer for than destroying their family’s legacy.

  He put all that from his mind and looked over at Natalie. For the first time in weeks she was smiling. That alone made everything worth it. “Where would you like to go?” he asked.

  “Anywhere but here,” she replied and they both smiled. Then the Range Rover sped past the sign telling them they were leaving Cedarstone. Never to return.

  20

  “It’s not looking good,” Dr Winfred said as he entered his office where Clara was waiting. Clara had rushed Sidney upstairs to the Winters Research medical wing. She’d visited him once herself after she and Bianca and been attacked by a vampire. She’d later learned that Jamal had only sent her to the medical wing so he could murder William Marshall, her former boss. Since then things had spiralled more and more out of control and now everything rested on a knife edge.

  “Will he survive?” Clara asked. The fate of the town was literally depending on the life of Sidney White.

  Winfred shrugged sympathetically. “I can’t say. He’s wounded badly, internally and externally.
The wounds are magical which means the vampire blood I have to hand won’t help him.” Vampire blood could heal most things but not heal magical injuries.

  “Nor my magic,” said Clara. She’d tried to heal him herself but magical injuries could only be healed by stronger magic and she was not stronger than whoever had attacked Sidney.

  “He’s stable for now but he could take a turn at any moment. I’m afraid all we can do is wait.”

  “Can I see him?” she asked.

  “If you really want to. He isn’t conscious so it won’t do you any good,” he replied.

  Clara nodded and turned away. There were better things to do with her time. Like finding a way to take down the Thirteen. Again. Elias had said he would still help her but she’d believe that when it happened. If Jamal had taught one thing it was to be more careful with who she trusted.

  She met Kegan in the corridor outside and they began walking together. Clara and Kegan were the only surviving members of SIT. Well, Sidney was too… for now.

  “Clara, I…” He shook his head not knowing what to say.

  “Thank God I dismissed you early,” Clara said. She wasn’t joking. She couldn’t imagine being totally alone right now. Kegan was only a recruit but having him with her made her feel a lot better. She’d considered asking Bianca to get involved again but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The last thing Bianca wanted was to get involved in all this again.

  “So what now?” he asked.

  “Now I give you a choice. You can either cut your losses and go. Leave town, take a holiday. I wouldn’t blame you. Or you can stay and help me try and get a handle on this,” she said. She wished she could run away but she was in too deep now. She’d gotten too involved with everything to just walk away. Nick needed to be stopped and this time for good. He hadn’t killed her yet but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to. After all, he had in her dreams.

  “I want to leave. But for some stupid reason I’m going to help. Just please, tell me you’ve got something,” Kegan said. Clara smiled knowingly at him.

  “I know how to kill Nick. I even know where the weapon is,” she said.

  “How and where?”

  “A special dagger which he keeps on him at all times.”

  “That doesn’t sound that great,” he quipped.

  “Miss Winters?” a short man said as he approached her. Clara tensed herself in case he was some sort of assassin but he stopped in front of her and held out a note. “A note came for you downstairs.” He must be the concierge. She made a mental note to better acquaint herself with the staff.

  “From who?” she asked. She made no move to take the envelope from the man.

  “I don’t know. It’s odd. One minute my desk was clear and the next this was there.” He pushed the envelope towards her and she took it. He smiled awkwardly and then shuffled away.

  “What is it?” Kegan asked.

  “I don’t know yet.” She tore the envelope open and pulled out the note inside.

  Ritual taking place soon. Lay low. When you get my word come crash the party.

  Elias

  She smiled and tucked the note into her pocket. “I’ve got someone inside the Thirteen. Right, let’s get to work.”

  Even with Elias’ help she still wanted all the support she could get. She’d managed to bring the town together once before and now she needed to do it again. She sent Kegan to the pack to get Eric to lend a hand and she went to get help from the coven and the clan.

  A couple of hours later they met up empty handed. She couldn’t get anybody from the coven to even meet with her. Marlon and Toni couldn’t be found and Nick had taken out all the other higher ranking sorcerers. Richie apparently had his hands full with Victor and had no time to spare for Clara. Whilst Nick’s return did seem to vex him he still refused to help. Eric had fled town and the pack currently had no alpha. Without an alpha, there was no-one to order the werewolves to help. So basically, they were on their own.

  They went back to the wreck of their headquarters. Dr Winfred had sent people down to remove the human remains and they’d all been taken upstairs to the morgue. There was no need to keep the place a a secret any longer. The magical protection had been destroyed as had all of the cages. The weapons were either gone or destroyed. SIT HQ was just a bunch of useless, messy rooms now. There wasn’t even a team to fill them.

  “There’s nothing here either,” Kegan said as he came out of Phil’s office. The door closed behind him and Clara saw the “Director of SIT” sign. She supposed that she was the director now.

  “Director of nothing,” she mumbled to herself.

  “What?” Kegan asked.

  “Nothing. We should get out here. There’s no use in this place any—” Kegan held up his hand to silence her. She rose her eyebrows in surprise at his bluntness but then realised he had heard something. She listened too and eventually heard footsteps approaching. Somebody was walking down the secret tunnel. Or the not so secret tunnel it seemed. Was anything a secret anymore? Both Clara and Kegan readied themselves for a fight; Clara with magic and Kegan with muscles. The door swung open and Dean Tenson stepped into the room. He froze when he saw them and raised his hands in submission. Then his jaw fell open as he took in his surroundings.

  “What the…” he started.

  “I’m surprised to see you here again so soon,” said Clara. She knew that neither he nor his father had taken part in the massacre because she’d seen them teleport away but she still held them a little responsible.

  “I… what happened?” he asked.

  “The Thirteen. Your dad’s a member, remember?” she said sourly.

  “He didn’t do this. He was with me at home,” Dean said.

  “He’s still one of them. Everyone except us two is dead.”

  “Well I didn’t do it, did I?” Dean said aggressively. Quick to anger, just like his dad.

  “Calm yourself, mate,” Kegan warned, stepping forward.

  “Shut up. I put your sort down for a living,” Dean said, turning on Kegan.

  “Take your shot.” Kegan spread his arms wide.

  “That’s enough. Why are you here?” Clara asked Dean. The last thing needed was more blood spilled.

  “I’m worried about my dad. I think he’s in over his head,” Dean said. That was the understatement of the year.

  “And you want our help?” said Clara.

  “Yes. That is what you do isn’t it?”

  “We help the innocent,” said Kegan.

  “SIT consists of vampires, witches and werewolves. You mean to tell me they’re all innocent? Get off your high horse. I need your help and by the looks of things you could definitely do with mine.”

  Clara narrowed her eyes. He was right. They could use the expertise of a hunter. “Alright,” she said. “Prove your use. Nick is going to perform a ritual soon.”

  “The resurrection thing?” Dean said.

  “You know about it?”

  “My dad told me.”

  “Of course, he did. Anyway, we need to stop him or the streets will be filled with the dead.”

  “I thought he was just bringing back his girlfriend?” Dean said.

  “Apparently until he’s completely restored her all the dead will be able to come back. Only the ones he actually resurrects will stay once he puts the barrier back up.”

  “This sounds so scientific,” Dean said.

  “It’s not science it’s magic,” Kegan said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Dean from the moment he’d walked in. It was quite clear there were no warm feelings there.

  “I know how to kill Nick but I need to get near him. There’s a guy on the inside who’ll help me but we need to get close enough on our own. We have no weapons. Nothing. What can you provide?”

  Dean grinned. “I can provide a proverbial goldmine,” he said smugly.

  “Go on.”

  Wiccan Wares. Clara felt foolish for not having thought of Alistair’s shop herself. Of course, until
Dean had arrived she’d thought the shop was magically protected. Apparently Dean had found a way through. He’d used an enchanted blade. One that he no longer had because Clara had confiscated it and now the Thirteen had taken it.

  “That was your fault for breaking into SIT headquarters,” she said as she climbed through the window into the shop.

  “I didn’t break in. I walked in. It’s isn’t my fault your security was so lacking,” Dean said.

  “Oh, shush.”

  “Where are we supposed to start in this jumble sale?” Kegan said, clearly annoyed with the state of the place. He had a point. The entire shop looked like a massive car boot sale.

  “End to end search I suppose,” Clara said and they got to work. Now that she had working magic it was quite easy to tell which objects were supernatural and which were just junk. The real items gave her an oddly tingly sensation. The problem was that even when she did find a genuine item she had no way of telling what it did.

  “You don’t need a weapon, though,” Dean said after she moaned about not knowing what anything did. He was rifling through one of the glass cabinets.

  “Don’t I?” she asked, looking over at him. She picked up what looked like an old sock monkey and then threw it over her shoulder.

  “You’re a sorcerer for God’s sake. And if your name is anything to go by then you’re a pretty powerful one,” he said. “Your family is famous for producing the very best.”

  “Not powerful enough to beat Nick on my own,” she said.

  “And you think any of this junk is? This Nick guy has killed creatures I’ve never even heard of. I doubt you’re going to find some mystical weapon lying around in this place. You only need to fight your way close enough remember? The weapon you need is on him. It’s a matter of confidence if you ask me.”

  “I didn’t ask you,” she said and resumed searching.

  “I found something,” Kegan said a few minutes later. Clara and Dean went to where he was standing behind the counter and saw the trap door that he’d discovered.