by Jeff D Ellis
Mark dropped Chloe off back at the house and walked over to his parents’ house.
The door opened as he was about to knock on it.
“I have been expecting you. Come in.”
Alistair led Mark back to his study.
“Have a seat; I expect Chloe decided to trust you with what Greta told her today.”
“Yes, she did.”
“Then you know I can’t trust anybody in the Pack but you. We need to find members we know we can trust. I also need to keep things on a need-to-know basis with you.”
“Why? If I am the only one you can trust, why not trust me?”
“I can’t risk you accidently giving away anything. I will read you in when it’s time for you to know different aspects of the plan.”
Mark laughed. “You haven’t decided on the plan yet, have you?”
“That is no way to talk to your Alpha.” Alistair laughed. “You are right. We don’t have the plan worked out yet.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Secure Greta’s businesses as you were doing. Pay more attention to who you staff into the positions, and make sure everything is done the way you want it to be.”
“What about Sam? It seems like he is messing with me.”
“Tell him that I said on this project, his only role is to give you what you ask for and to support your decisions. If he has a problem with that, to come see me.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Alastair smiled. “I like it when you call me that. I know Sam will most likely replace me as Alpha when the time comes, but this is your chance to show him and the Pack you are the person to move up into his position when he does. Or if something happens to Sam, you should be next in line for Alpha.”
“Would the Pack accept an Alpha with a coyote mate?”
“If you are the proven leader they need, they will not fight you on that. In any case, I hope the situation does not come up for many years, and by that time Chloe will be fully accepted as one of our own.”
Mark felt his father’s love and protection wash over him like sunshine.
***
Chloe sat in the kitchen thinking things over. The new information from Greta changed things, elevated the pressure of doing things. If the Clan fell to outside forces, she wouldn’t be the reason. She also worried about what would happen if Mark’s dad got replaced as Alpha. Having an Alpha who was anti-Vampire and anti-Coyote would make it a priority to toss her out of the Pack, and there might not be anything Mark could do to stop it. She would have to do whatever she could to protect herself. To start, she could look over Mark’s project plan. Mark had sent her a copy of the plan when he passed it off to Sam. Chloe didn’t know much about security work, but the plan seemed to cover everything. Her main role was to make sure Mark got the support from the Vampire community and took their sensibilities into account. It didn’t help much.
Chloe was startled by a loud crash that came from the living room. She ran in and was shocked to find the front window laying shattered on the floor. At the wall opposite the window was a brick with paper tied around it. She picked it up and looked at it. She went from scared to pissed off in the seconds it took to read the attached note.
Mark came running through the door. “What happened? I felt a jolt of fear and then anger.”
Chloe pointed to the brick and the window.
He looked over at the window, realizing it was broken.
“Let me see the brick. I can’t believe someone threw a brick through our window!”
The note read, “Coyote lover! Coyotes are pets, not mates!”
He looked and noticed a mark on the wall where the brick had bounced off the wall.
“This had to be someone in the Pack. No Human could have thrown a brick that hard. This really pisses me off!”
“Do the Wolves really hate Coyotes that much?”
“I don’t hate Coyotes, but some older members of the Pack see them as competition for the same resources as the animals in the wild do. Others hate or fear anything that is different, but those people would mistrust anybody outside of the Pack.”
“It’s okay, Mark. A brick can’t hurt us.”
Mark took a deep breath. “You’re right. I think this was just to get under our skin. I expect it was from someone backing the Russians. No one else would go against a son of the Alpha.”
Mark sniffed the brick and the note. “They made sure to avoid getting their scent on this. I have no clue who did it.”
Chloe thought about it, but could not get over feelings of being rejected by the people that should be her family.
“I expect you are right. They are trying to throw us off our game.”
Mark grabbed a broom and dustpan and cleaned up the broken glass. When he had finished, he made a call to get the glass replaced.
Chloe frowned. “We really didn’t need this right now. We should be focused on the nightclub tonight, not broken glass.”
“I will get my parents to watch over the house while we are at the nightclub. The window should be fixed by the time we are back. Let me go take a look at my project plans and then we can head out to the nightclub before they open.”
***
At the nightclub, they parked in one of the VIP spots again.
Chloe left Mark at the security room while she went to check out the main floor. She thought it would be good to get a feel of the current staff and how they felt about the changes.
The bartender who had been fired had already been replaced and the new one would not be much help. She would start with the bouncer.
“Wayne, right? I’m Chloe.”
“Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?”
“Please call me Chloe. What are Sunday nights like?”
“I expect it’s going to be a slow night.”
“What are your busy nights?”
“Normally Friday or Saturday nights, unless there is a hot band playing. We do get a lot of them.”
“Do you get lines out the door on those nights?”
“We do have to keep things to fire codes so I get stuck outside and miss out on listening to the band.”
“What about VIPs? Anyone get special treatment?”
“Normally they come in the back door. I don’t keep a list or anything. On nights like that, the manager lets me know when I can let people in.”
“Are there many fights you have to break up?”
“Not really. When the manager thinks someone is heating up or getting a bit too drunk, someone will go by and feed a little off them to chill them out. I can’t remember any fights in the ten years I have worked here.”
“There is a storm coming. Keep your eyes open and be on your guard. When trouble happens, it can happen quick.”
“Yes, Chloe.”
“What’s next for you after things have shifted to the new people?”
“Most of us are moving downstairs to help out.”
“Serving guests?”
“Oh no! As security. It’s going to be easier work and less hours. It’s also a good chance to impress Greta.”
“You have been helpful! Thanks, Wayne.”
She went back to see how Mark was doing, and found him alone in the security office looking stressed out digging behind a desk.
Chloe smiled. “Hard at work I see.”
Mark banged his head on the underside of the desk. “Ouch! The guy doing the install was gone when I got here. He left a note that the work was done except for the hidden cameras. Sam said he would have those on hand tomorrow.”
“So, what are you doing down there?”
“Trying to see why the computer system is not seeing the status of the doors. The software had not been installed so I installed the standard suite of programs, but they are not seeing anything. I don’t think the controller board was installed here.”
“Maybe it was only set up for remote monitoring?”
“I was just about to call our monitoring people.”
&nb
sp; Mark made the call and hung up. “Okay, they say they can see status from there. The guy must not have set up the local access. He also didn’t set up the ability to manage the access cards here. That is something we will need to do here. I want to keep most of the Clan access local.”
“I agree. That’s the way Greta would want it. She wouldn’t want to share her VIP customer list.”
“I will see about getting things fixed tomorrow when they set up the cameras.”
Chloe told Mark about her conversation with the bouncer.
“Great! I was worried that the people being replaced might screw with us for losing their jobs. In a way, they are being promoted. It was good you warned them to keep their guard up. I expect they have gotten complacent.”
They decided to hang out and have a few drinks and watch the patrons of the nightclub. Everything seemed to be going fine and all of the security staff showed up for work. They stayed for a little while and then headed home for the night.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Trip to Grandma's house
CHLOE DECIDED TO meet up with her grandmother while Mark worked on details of his project plans.
Chloe finally found the correct country road and found her grandparents’ house hidden in the woods near North Bend. It was the type of place that even if you knew what you were looking for, you would miss it. She got out of her car and instantly knew this was the right place. It smelled of coyote. Nothing a Human would ever notice, but her nose had become hypersensitive and attuned to smells.
Maggie answered the door and gave Chloe a big hug. “Welcome to our home.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how happy I am to have found you and Ted.”
Maggie led her into a cozy living room. It was actually decorated similar to Mark’s parents’ house, but it looked to be much older and well-used. She was surprised to find that Maggie already had company. A man and a woman who appeared to be in their mid-twenties were sitting on the couch. The woman was around five-foot-five with long black hair, an athletic build, and tribal tattoos on her arms. She was wearing jeans and a plain blue T-shirt. She had amazing amber-colored eyes. The man sitting next to her looked to be about five-foot-nine or so with short brown hair and the same amber eyes. He had on jeans and a polo shirt. She noticed badges clipped to their belts.
“I am sorry to interrupt. Is everything okay?”
“Chloe, I would like to introduce you to Abby and David Seymour. Abby is Grandfather’s apprentice and will be Shaman when he retires. They stopped by to make sure we were doing well and see if we needed anything.”
David put out his hand. “Please to meet you, Chloe.”
Chloe shook both of their hands. “If this is a bad time, I can come back later.”
Maggie smiled. “Not at all, dear. Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
Chloe sat down in the chair opposite of the couch. “Thanks, but I’m fine right now.”
Abby looked Chloe in the eyes. “Maggie was just telling us all about you. Welcome to the tribe. I don’t envy your situation, but everything is going to work out fine.”
“I’m not sure how you can know that.”
David smiled. “Trust me, Chloe. Shamans, like Abby, know more than we would like at times. I also know some of what you are going through. My parents died when I was young and I was brought up not knowing I was a Shapeshifter or part of the tribe. My world got turned upside down. Abby and I were video game developers, and now we are part of the U.S. Marshals. At least you knew about being Veiled.”
Chloe gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Oh! You are that David and Abby. I’ve heard about you both. Onyx told me the story about you coming into The Second Circle as a coyote trying to look like a police dog.”
David laughed. “It’s true. We were working on a case with the Seattle Police and stumbled into the entrance from the Seattle underground. It was also my first experience with Greta or any Vampires.”
Chloe laughed. “What a way to find out!”
Abby put her hand on David’s knee. “We better get going. Chloe, if you ever need anything from us, please let me know. Here is my card. It would be nice to spend time with you and Mark over dinner sometime.”
Chloe gave a shy nod and put Abby’s card in her pocket. “I will have to check with Mark, but it sounds like fun.”
Maggie stood. “Let me show you both out.” She came back and sat on the couch. “They are good people and it might be nice to have some friends around your age.”
“David is like us?”
“He comes from Jaguar Shapeshifters, but David can take many forms, including Coyote.”
“If he can do that, can I also be a Wolf?”
“No, honey. He was touched by the gods. Even his father could only be a Jaguar.”
Chloe looked down. “It would have made things easier for me and Mark if I could be a Wolf.”
“You should be proud of your family. You should not feel ashamed of what you are.”
“I am sorry, Maggie! I didn’t mean it that way. I want to learn all about our family. Mark and I are both happy that I am like you.”
“Mark seems to be very open minded, for a Wolf.”
“He is, and I think you would like him if you had the chance to spend more time together.”
“Remember for a Wolf, it’s always Pack first.”
“Mark said it was family, then Pack.”
“For me, family means everything, and you will always have a place here with us.”
“What about Mark?”
“He can come visit with you and maybe someday we will learn to accept him, but he will never be family.”
“What if we have kids? Will they be accepted?”
“You should consider not having any. It will be hard for them not being fully part of our family or his.”
“Why can’t they be part of both?”
“It’s the way of the world, dear.”
“I don’t understand. Why am I accepted then, having a Vampire father?”
“You are all we have left of our Sarah, and we love you. Besides, mixed marriages never work.”
Chloe tilted her head. “How do you know that? Have there ever been marriages before between Coyotes and Wolves?”
“Ah no, but look at your parents! If she had married inside the tribe, maybe your mother would still be alive.”
“But then I would never have been born. I’m sorry if I am a disappointment.”
“Oh no, child! I never meant it that way. Please forgive the ramblings of an old woman.”
“All is forgiven, Maggie. I do hope that with time, you will come to accept Mark.”
Chloe stood. “I am sorry to cut things short, but I need to get back.”
Maggie stood and gave Chloe a hug. “Thank you for coming by, dear. I hope you will come back again soon.”
Chloe got in her car and hit the start button, but didn’t leave. She finally met her grandparents and found that they would never be accepting of her life with Mark. It was very telling when Maggie told her it might be best to never have kids. How could they not accept their great grandkids? Would Mark’s family be any more accepting of their children? What chance did she have? When things got hard, would Mark overcome a lifetime of family prejudice for her? Chloe was starting to wonder if she had any family left. Her Vampire family only cared about what she could do for them. Her new Coyote family might never accept Mark, and the Wolf Pack may never accept her. It frightened her, but all she could do was stick to the path in front of her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Launch
“SAM, WHAT IS going on? Why was the nightclub security system set up to only connect to our remote monitoring? That was not what Greta wanted.”
“It must have been an honest mistake. Most of our clients want it that way to save money, so the installer I sent out must have done it by default.”
“It needs to be fixed today when the final cameras are installed. I need to make
sure the other Vampire locations are set up as independent silos.”
“Understood. You should make sure you are on site to remind the guys of what you want, otherwise they will do what they normally do.”
“Sam, I want to approve every person staffed at one of Greta’s companies.”
“But I can do that. No need to trouble yourself. I can give you the best of the guys on the bench.”
“Father wants me to do it myself. I expect he wants me to show some leadership to the Pack.”
“Whatever the Alpha wants. Remember, someday he is going to retire and I will be Alpha.”
Mark nodded. “Until that day comes, I have to do what he says.”
“If anything goes wrong, and it normally does on a big project like this, you are going to take the blame.”
“I can only do my best.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Thunderstruck
MARK WAS LOOKING over the computer that controlled the nightclub security systems, and everything checked out. Each of the locations had fully transitioned to his people after the overlapping training and transition.
Something felt off today; he was normally not so paranoid, but trusting your instincts was important in his line of work.
“Everything seems fine here, Chloe. I am sorry for dragging you out over nothing.”
“It’s fine, Mark. It’s about time to check in with everybody anyway.”
Mark and Chloe were walking to the club manager’s office when Mark dropped to his knees.
“Mark, are you okay? What happened?”
Mark took a deep breath. “He is dead.”
“Your father? Is that what I felt?”
“Someone killed him.”
“How can I help?”