“I know what you did.” Came from the computer speakers. A young girl’s voice “I know what you are. You can’t hide from me, Tyler Quinn. I will haunt you until you admit what you did to me.”
“No,” he responded to the phantom voice.
“Killer!” it retorted
“I didn’t kill you.” His heart was beating so fast that it felt as though his chest was about to explode.
“You can’t be certain about that can you?” An eerie cackling laughter filled the room and at the same time a green mist materialized. He recognized the smell instantly: mint, lemon balm, and tea. It was his nemesis and his poison: catnip. While it was used to calm down felines, in Canis lupus it was as potent as cocaine. One mouthful and he was high as a kite. He choked on the fumes as they invaded his lungs. He didn’t want to smell it. He didn’t want to go down that path again.
“You killed me,” the voice repeated.
“I didn’t. I don’t remember,” he pleaded. His voice was strained from the smoke that caught in it. Too many memories were flooding back constricting his guilt-ridden body.
“I was only fifteen. So young. My life hadn’t yet started and you took it away from me. Your claws digging into my tender flesh and ripping it from the bones. You put your teeth around my tiny neck and bit down. My life ended that moment. My crimson blood flowing endlessly to satisfy your lust for death.”
“It wasn’t me. I know it. I wouldn’t do that. You were already dead when I found you.” His arguments, against the reminder of his past, were futile. He had no idea what had happened that night. He’d been eating catnip since lunchtime and couldn’t even remember his name. It was what he, and a few of his friends from his birth pack, did. Wolves weren’t really into fighting, like the cats were, and that meant that they spent a lot of their time lazing around doing nothing. The only time the males of the packs had much to do was when they were hunting.
“You don’t know that it wasn’t you. I had the marks of a wolf on me, and you were the only one in the area.” The voice continued with it’s taunting. He placed his hands over his ears to drown out the sound of the innocent little girl, whom he’d found dead. His palms were sweaty. His heart beat rapidly. It was like he was there again. The moment that he’d woken from his drug induced haze and found the girl next to him had been the worst of his life. He’d left the pack that day and travelled for a year until he’d met Kas and accepted his invite to join Glacial Blood. Kas knew of his past but nobody else in the pack did. He was struggling so badly with withdrawal, when Kas met him, that his agony had just tumbled out on their first meeting. Kas was that sort of person. You just trusted him with your life and all your hidden history. Kas had investigated the girl’s death and it had been confirmed, according to local reports, as a wild animal death. He hadn’t touched catnip since that day. He’d expected Kas to look down in disgust at him for what he had done, but instead he helped him and gave him a place to live. He gave him a new life and introduced him to the world of computers, that had now become his addiction. Cooking became an offshoot of that when he started finding recipes on the internet. He cooked them for the rest of the pack and discovered they enjoyed them.
The noise from the girl grew louder, anguished moans that she would have made when she died. The overpowering scent of the catnip intensified, and his suppressed urge for the drug grew. He could feel it in his lungs. It was back. His need to disappear into the mind-numbing flight of addiction. He licked his lips, tasting the smoke that surrounded him. God, it was delicious. He got to his feet and waved his hands through the air. Auras followed his fingers around, and swirling patterns spewed out of his head.
“See, an addiction.” The girl’s voice called out again, but he no longer paid attention to the horror that it contained.
“You can’t hurt me anymore,” he responded.
“You are the one who hurt me,” she echoed back.
“Er Tyler, what are you doing?” Teagan’s gentle voice snapped him out of the suffocating memories. He took a look around the room, but there was no ghostly girl and no green intoxicating smoke. What the hell was going on? Had it all been a dream? Teagan hobbled into the room on a pair of crutches. “You got some weird new software that you are using virtually. I’d love a go if you have.” She laughed teasingly and plonked herself ungracefully down into a chair.
“Erm. No. I was just doing some yoga,” he lied. He was still totally confused as to whether what he’d just experienced was real.
“Yoga. You’re one mysterious wolf, Mr. Quinn.” She turned her head towards the computer screen. He snapped his eyes up towards there too and searched for the name of the girl that he’d killed. No, he hadn’t killed her. He rubbed his head as a migraine developed. “Who’s that?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He went back to his computer and moved the mouse. He blinked a few times. There on the screen was a name, not the girl’s but a different one.
“Samuel West.”
CHAPTER THREE
“I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality, Samuel.” Nuka placed his brandy glass down on the table. It was a little too hot at Samuel’s Florida home to be drinking such a fiery liquid. A nice cool glass of crisp white wine would serve him better at the moment, but he wasn’t one to knock back hospitality when offered.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be more help in returning you to your own home. I’m afraid this time I was out-voted.” The elegantly dressed older gentleman in front of him was a human, but a particularly smart and cunning one. He was wearing a cream colored, tailored linen suit to ward against the heat of the midday sun. Nuka’s own clothes were little more than a t-shirt and shorts, definitely not his usual, fashionable attire, but it was about fifty degrees hotter than he was used to. Samuel West was a business associate and also the only human member of the paranormal Council. He’d been elected three years ago after discovering their existence. He hadn’t been appalled or terrified, as was Nuka’s experience of most humans upon discovery, but had been intrigued and wanted to learn more of the power they wielded. This had aligned him closely to Nuka because the polar bear saw the motivation for success that the councilman had.
“I’m afraid that there is little that anyone can do when my brother has half the Council wrapped around his little finger. Ethern Lennox is the worst. Kas believes Ethern’s a god because he has the power to be anything. His superior attitude will be his downfall though. It makes him weak.” He allowed a supercilious grin to spread across his face at the thought of standing over a defeated Ethern. The multi-shifter had played his cards too early in this fight, and it would be the biggest mistake that he had ever made. He would ensure that.
“I’ll be glad of the day I can get that meddlesome freak removed from the Council. He’s the bane of my existence. I’ve spent my life trying to integrate shifters more easily into the world of humans, and he blocks me at every turn. No one person should possess the power that he does. It’s dangerous. He should be bound to just one animal.” Samuel rolled his eyes in temper. “And now they go and create this girl who does the same. They are playing with nature, and it’ll back fire on them. They’re not Gods, no matter how much they care to think they are.”
“I’m glad you see it that way. It must be hard for you being the only human on the Council?” Nuka was genuinely interested in the man before him. He liked to know what made people tick and what brought them into his world. It gave him more power over them. He settled back in his oversized swing chair and relaxed. A pair of Ray Bans over his eyes to protect the sensitive orbs from the brightly shining sun.
“It isn’t easy. I’m the first human to serve on the Council. Many think that I shouldn’t be there, and that I’m purely there to give guidance on a world that none of you know anything about. You may think that you do but you don’t know what’s in our human hearts. To know that there are beings out there who are more powerful than us would cause chaos, if discovered. There’s no sugar coating it as the Co
uncil does. All the contingency plans that are put in place will fail. Will the druids be able to fully erase everyone’s memories? No.” He thumped his hand against the table that contained the bottle of brandy. It wobbled, and Nuka held his breath. The decanter stayed upright. “If you’re discovered the humans will go crazy. They’ll capture and kill you like the wild animals that they already hunt. A shifter’s head hung on their wall will be a prized possession. Others will want to experiment to find out why your genetics are different. You’ll be trapped. The lands you own will be destroyed: torn apart as they search for you. Shifters will become no better than prey. How many of your kind are there?” Samuel questioned.
“Close to two million now, give or take,” he replied.
“There are eight billion humans on this planet. We’ll destroy you. There’ll be no shifters left. What humans’ fear they destroy. It’s the way they are. Prejudiced against anything different. Kill first. Ask questions later. And Ethern Lennox thinks that we’ll be able to sit down at a table together, with a few beers, and discuss how we can live together,” he scoffed. “Ethern Lennox will have a bullet through his brain the first time he speaks to a human.” Nuka couldn’t help but agree with Samuel. He’d studied enough humans. He liked to torture them for sport. Capture one and reveal his ability to shift into a polar bear. He always watched the expressions on their faces. They’d be terrified. The stench of feces would appear, and they’d try to kill him the first chance that they got. It never worked though. Ciaran would reveal his powers, and the desolate human would die a painful death. Just once he wanted someone to prove him wrong. To stand up and say, ‘Wow, that is neat. You’re so cool. I wish I could do that. Have a good life. Have to be going and get on with mine.’ It never happened though. Death always came for the intolerant.
“Why are you so magnanimous around us?” Samuel didn’t try to kill them. He was the only one. He allowed them to shift and watched them with awe.
“Because I have a bigger brain than most of the world’s population put together. I see your strengths.”
“And know how you can use them,” Nuka interrupted. The conversation was turning dark and more to the point now.
“You know me well Nuka. I want what you do. I want status. In the human world I was nothing but what my class made me. A farmer toiling twelve hours a day for a meagre living. People see me as a hillbilly because of what I do. I want them to bow at my feet, and beg for forgiveness for all the wrongs they have bestowed upon me.” Samuel’s brow furrowed. The memories leaving a fine film of sweat over the weathered skin. Nuka wasn’t sure how old the man was, but he surmised he must be in his late fifties to early sixties. He walked like a man who had worked hard for most of his life. Since joining the Council he’d been able to retire from his life on the farm. He now lived in a sunnier climate working hard on shifter business.
“And the partnership that we’ve formed will allow us to achieve that. We’ll change the face of the world for humans and shifters alike, forever. The war in the Middle East will end when we send the animals in to take out the deviants there. Everybody’ll see the power we wield and bow to us.” Nuka extended his hand towards Samuel. “A proper shake for the future.”
Samuel held back. “You know my terms Nuka. If you double cross me, I will crush you.” This time the old man extended his hand and shook.
“I’m providing the body, Samuel. Our plan won’t work without the DNA that I can give you. It will not happen without my druid’s magic. You’d remain a human forever.”
“Sir.” Jackson interrupted their conversation. Nuka glared at him. Things had just been getting interesting. “Sorry to barge in. Ciaran is back. You said that you wanted to know the moment he returned.”
“Thank you.” Nuka let go of Samuel’s hand. He’d been using his superior strength to grip it hard. “I’ll come.” Nuka pushed out of the swinging chair and downed the remaining brandy in his glass. “What happens next benefits us both, Samuel. We’ll rise victorious if we work together. I’ll not double cross you. But mark my words, if you try to do that to me I will destroy you. Even if you have made deals with people more powerful than either of us can imagine.” He bowed his head in farewell and followed Jackson through the large mansion. It was Council owned property and as such was available to them via Ciaran’s position within the magic department.
Kas may have taken his lands away from him but no charges would ever be laid against him for stealing Emma. He’d made sure of that. Her idiotic brother had paid for all of that business. He lamented the fact that he’d not been able to make the pretty lioness his concubine wife. He’d have enjoyed holding her down and fucking her every night. The children they’d have produced would have been special. She was spoiled goods now though. Her womb filled with the spawn of that Moroccan king, the laziest lion on the planet. She would regret that decision when he came for the rest of the Glacial Blood pack and destroyed them. It would happen. There was no question about that.
Jackson pushed open the door to Ciaran’s rooms. He’d transferred all his potions and herbs to the new accommodation, and the smell instantly hit Nuka again. Jackson let him enter the room and then closed the door again from the outside.
“How’d it go?” he asked. Ciaran was flat out on his bed. Lynx, one of their pack whores, was already grinding against him. Lily, Nuka’s favorite, was sitting silently in a chair. When she saw him, she jumped off the chair and came over. He tucked her protectively under his arm. She was his favorite girl. There was something about her, he hadn’t identified what, but it made him want to protect her.
“Better than I could have hoped for.” Ciaran raised his head while Lynx undid the druid’s trousers and pulled his dick out. Nuka turned away. He sat down on a chair and pulled Lily onto his lap. She started kissing him around his neck then travelled down his body to give him the same treatment.
“Did he suspect?” he asked.
“What? That we know exactly what he is? Not at all.
Your information on that was pretty sound. Where’d you get it?” Ciaran put his head back down and was just enjoying the sensations his body was feeling.
“That’s for me alone to know.” He smirked thinking back on the tasty meal that had greeted him while he obtained the information.
“Maybe I could get more from the source to help us further infiltrate.” Ciaran gripped hold of Lynx’s head and shoved it down hard onto his cock. Nuka knew this as he heard the whore choke.
“Don’t forget your place, Ciaran. I’ll tell you what you need to know.” Nuka trusted no one. Not even his right-hand man. “All I need is for that foolish wolf to believe you are the girl he killed.” Ever since he’d discovered why Tyler Quinn had left his previous pack, he’d been waiting to put this plan into place. Tyler was valuable to Kas’ pack for his ability with computers. He was an exceptional fighter as well but chose to stay back until it was necessary to fight.
The room misted up, a green fog filled it. The smell was instantly recognizable to him, as it was to Lynx. She jumped to her feet forgetting about Ciaran’s cock.
“Catnip,” she singsonged. Lily looked at her strangely.
“What’s catnip?” she asked.
“A beautiful herb that’ll make us powerful and Lynx mellow,” Ciaran laughed. Lily accepted his answer and went back to sucking his cock. Ciaran had a look of frustration on his face, but he flicked his other hand and a ghostly apparition of a girl, no older than fifteen, appeared. She had been mauled by a wild animal.
“You killed me,” she mouthed. “You killed me.”
“Well done. We move the plan to the next level tomorrow. Before the end of the week Tyler Quinn will be lost to the Glacial Blood pack.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“I can’t believe how quickly you’ve healed. I’d still be laid up in bed for another couple of days.” Tyler held his hand out to help Teagan jump down from a stool she’d been sitting on, while eating her breakfast. Most people would slide careful
ly down, but no, not Teagan, she virtually pole-vaulted down.
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