by Stacey Mewse
Alfred raised a quizzical eyebrow ‘What is it you have to tell me?’
‘Nothing too exciting father, just that I have given Hunter the news of what is to transpire in the next week, and that he is doing well other than being shaken and grieving.’
Alfred interjected quietly ‘as is to be expected my dear, it must have been a hideous shock for him, especially considering the man behind it all.’
Audra nodded ‘indeed, though I think perhaps his anger will be useful in the long run while dealing with Varulv.’
Alfred scowled ‘Audra you cannot simply use peoples emotions like that, even if it were convenient it would not be proper to say so.’
Audra hung her head, feigning shame ‘sorry father, I apologise… I meant nothing by it, I was simply trying to point out that his sorrow might not be an entirely negative thing.’ She took a deep, shuddering breath, as though very upset by her mistake, and then asked. ‘What are your orders for the endeavour Tobias and I are to undertake father? I would like to be clear on all the details before we leave.’
Alfred slipped a bookmark into the book he was reading and closed it before continuing. ‘It is very good practice to fine tune plans before execution of them Audra, and I am very proud of your commitment to this pack. First and foremost I would like to emphasize that I need you both to be very careful. If you are discovered by Varulv he may very well outright try to kill you, or take you hostage to draw in the rest of the pack. We cannot risk either of those scenarios, you must be very cautious not to be discovered.’
Audra nodded sagely as her father continued. ‘I think that the most important thing to do now is to be certain you have sufficient supplies in case Varulv sets of on the move and you have to follow across country. It is all very well stopping for food if you know his whereabouts, but if you do not then that time is much better spent working on discovering them… So please visit the kitchens and stock up before you leave. I would suggest taking one of the larger, off road cars as well my little pup.’
Audra nodded ‘yes father, but which way are we headed?’
Alfred raised an eyebrow ‘well I’d say your best course of action would be to head to the barn and to follow his scent from there. Make sure to report back regularly Audra, we need to be aware of his whereabouts here as well, I am concerned he will launch an attack on the pack house if we are not careful.’
‘Of course father’ Audra replied. ‘Where is Tobias?’
‘He is packing up his things to the best of my knowledge, but do not trouble yourself with him, he knows well enough what to do. Go and get your own things sorted and meet him at the car, those are the instructions he has been given to follow so I shall give you the same.’
Audra nodded ‘All right father, I shall take my leave and pack my things then.’
With that she turned and left the room without looking back or waiting for a response, and she heard him re-open his book as she went. She smiled to herself as she walked into her bedroom, more pleased than ever with the amount of trust that had been placed in her.
She crossed to her bed and perched herself on its edge, opening the bedside drawers and fishing out a comb, a small old-fashioned handheld mirror and a little bag filled with makeup and hair products. She closed the drawer and unzipped the small, floral print bag to inspect its contents. Satisfied by what she saw she wedged the comb and mirror on top of it all and re-zipped it with a little difficulty. Dropping the bag onto the bedspread she then quickly rifled through a wardrobe that stood at the end of the bed and pulled out a variety of clothes. She looked through her things for a moment, musing over what would be practical and comfortable. Eventually she decided to take a skirt suit for when she was due back at the police station, and a formal dress and two pairs of heels in case they had to do any surveillance in more upmarket settings. She then sifted out three pairs of wide legged black trousers, a couple of polo necks and a cardigan in case of cold weather; and a few sleeveless tops in various colours. Without much thought she also grabbed a thick formal coat and a set of comfortable flat black ankle boots and threw them all onto the bed behind her.
Pulling a faded old travel bag from the bottom of the wardrobe she carefully folded everything that would fit into it and draped her coat over the top. Her shoes had to be put into a second, smaller bag along with her toiletries, but there was plenty of room in the car so she reasoned that Tobias could not complain.
Closing the wardrobe she exited the room and shut the door behind her, making her way down to the kitchen awkwardly with two full hands and her bags hitting into her legs as she walked. She entered the kitchen with an exasperated sigh at the irritation of her bags bruising her legs and dropped them to the floor with a loud crash. This drew the attention of the three female who already inhabited the room. Georgia who was stood by the sink snapped her head around to glare at the cause of the noise, as did Anna who had been stuffing clothes into the industrial sized washing machine in the alcove by the larder. Courtney also looked up from her mobile phone. She was sat looking sullen at the kitchen table, still stiff and sore from her run in with the car in the village.
Audra looked from one to the other, brushing a stray hair behind her ear and wishing the kitchen had not been so heavily populated, especially by other women. She always found it more difficult to get on with females; they could see through her looks to the personality within with much less difficulty. And she found over time that she had driven them all away to the point that they were wary of her, and always slightly agitated by her presence. She looked first at Anna, the oldest in the room. She knew the older female was at least 250 and on top of that she had aged rather badly for a werewolf… She had a plethora of wrinkles across her face and especially around her thin lips and deep brown eyes. Her hair was rich brown beginning to grey, pulled back into a bun and only adding to the illusion that she was older than she was. Audra knew full well that Anna was not fond of her and she smiled tightly at her, not in the least surprised when the gesture was not returned. Anna went back to her washing with a contemptuous snort; as far as she was concerned the longer Audra was away the better!
Georgia did not turn away like her older pack mate; instead she turned from the sink and wiped her hands dry on her faded blue jeans, her dirty blonde hair falling forward onto her face as she did so. Tucking it behind her ears she studied her alpha’s daughter with her cold grey eyes and asked. ‘What are you looking for Audra?’
Audra feigned shock at the other woman’s unfriendly tone. ‘You needn’t sound so agitated with me Georgia, I’m simply trying to follow my father’s orders. I have been instructed to pack us up some supplies.’
Georgia pouted, not wanting to help but knowing it would not be received well by Alfred if he heard she had not done so. ‘Ok, well what were you thinking?’ She asked, trying to keep her tone cordial, wanting nothing more that to tell the stuck up bitch before her to get stuffed and actually do something herself for once.
Audra looked puzzled ‘well I don’t know… What would you suggest?’
Courtney snorted ‘we can’t do everything for you Audra!’ She quipped.
Audra scowled at the younger female, the little upstart was a constant irritation to her, she was at that awkward age where her hormones were all over the place and she was angry at the world. She had every right to be angry after being hit by a car, but Audra did not see it that way, she simply saw her as another annoyance. ‘Don’t get too big for your boots little one.’ She snarled. ‘Don’t forget your place here, just because you don’t particularly like me it doesn’t give you the right to talk above your station!’
Courtney curled her lip and went back to looking at her phone, not bothering to respond.
‘That’s better’ Audra smirked. Turning back to face Georgia she returned to her original question. ‘I thought perhaps you might have an idea of what would be suitable, you’re more suited to this kind of thing than I am… Kitchen work I mean.’
Georgia turned aw
ay, opening the cupboards above the sink to hide the curl of her lip, she might as well have given her a pat on the head and called her a good little housewife! She bashed about a few tins in the gloom of the cupboards innards, asking over her shoulder ‘what kind of thing do you need, are you intending on cooking or just eating things that are quick to prepare?’
Audra raised and eyebrow ‘cooking’ she laughed quietly to herself ‘I don’t think so. Its hardly my forte and I highly doubt Tobias is an accomplished cook?’
Georgia turned away and opened another cupboard ‘actually he helps prepare things with me occasionally. But if you’d prefer things which are easier I can put together a little care package for you easily.’ She grabbed a few tins and popped them on the side, pulling a can opener from a drawer and dropping it on top of them. ‘You’ve got some corned beef, tinned ham, tuna and mackerel there and a tin opener. I’ll pack a couple of condiments and a few loaves of bread too, and some cheese. I’ll add some tinned fruit too if you’d like?’
Audra nodded ‘yes please.’
Georgia picked a picnic box out from one of the already open cupboards and stuffed it full of tins and the bread she had picked out of the bread bin. She added a few sweet things as well, as she knew they would crave the extra sugar if they were forced to change. Closing the lid she handed the box to Audra and returned to her washing up, talking into the washing up rather than facing the other female. ‘If you can think of anything else I’ll add it for you. Good luck, and give my love to Tobias.’
Audra grimaced ‘I’ll tell him you’re thinking of him.’ She was uncomfortable with over familiarities ‘and thank you, I can’t think of anything else, I’m sure this will do.’ She took the box and then looked down at her other bags, the realisation suddenly dawning on her that she would have to make two trips to get it all out to the car, leaving her feeling suddenly agitated by their lack of offers to help. Looking across at Courtney she pulled rank and instructed her rather than asked for her help. ‘Take my other bags Courtney, I’ll have to come back for them otherwise and it’s imperative that we leave as soon as possible.’
Courtney looked up from her phone and pulled a face, she would have rather run back in front of another car than help Audra willingly, but like Georgia she realised she had little choice. She hauled herself off her chair with an abundance of dramatic pain faces and moans and groans; hobbling over to the older woman and scooping up her baggage without looking at or talking to her. Then without second bidding she began to limp out into the hallway, making her way to the door without looking to see if she was being followed. She dumped the bags on the stairs outside the front door and retreated back to the kitchen, keeping her head low as she barged past Audra in the hallway.
Audra bumped the younger woman with the picnic box and smirked to herself at the ‘oomph’ sound it bought from her, she could hear the limp of the girl intensify and it satisfied her enormously. The little upstart shouldn’t be so insolent! She noticed her bags on the front steps and snarled to herself, the little bitch hadn’t even bothered to take them to the car! She’d be one of the first to pay for all the rudeness and snide remarks when Audra found her way to power. She couldn’t wait. She walked past her bags and made her way to the cars, seeing that the boot of one was open and taking it that this was the vehicle they would be using.
Without checking to see if Tobias was in the car or not she swung the picnic box into the boot and went back for her luggage; wedging it in next to the food carrier and only then leaning forward to check if the car was occupied. The vehicle was empty and so she backed out of the boot and quickly scanned the area, there was no sign of the male beta. With an agitated huff she walked round to the passenger side of the car and climbed in, leaving the boot open in case he planned on adding any more bags. She felt slightly agitated that somehow he had managed to take longer to prepare than she had despite having had more time to do so. The older she got the more she felt she was surrounded by incompetence.
Looking behind her between the seats she saw no evidence of movement in the direction of the house and sighed to herself. They were supposed to be in a hurry… She had thought that as beta, Tobias would be taking into account the urgency of the situation. She popped open the glove box and rummaged through its contents, pleased to find a first aid kit and pleasantly surprised to find it fully stocked. She returned it to its place and closed the compartment just in time to be frightened out of her wits by Tobias’ sudden appearance by her window. She leapt out of her skin and scowled fiercely as he laughed at her.
‘Are you trying to kill me from fright?!’ She snapped through the window.
He could barely answer through his laughter, and was bent double and clutching his knees with his hands as he delivered his stilted response. ‘Oh… Oh my… Ha-ha! Oh – good god Audra! You knew I was on my way?!’
She rolled her eyes in response ‘I thought you would already have been out here to be honest with you.’
Tobias stood up straight and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, still chuckling to himself on and off. ‘Well surely it’s obvious that I was from the fact that the car was open?’
Audra looked peeved but didn’t reply.
Tobias raised an eyebrow at her all too familiar bad attitude and walked round the car, sliding into the drivers seat and smirking at her.
‘You did that deliberately didn’t you’ She sniped.
He nodded, his handsome face dominated by a smug smile. ‘Of course I did, you’re far too uptight for a lower ranking were Audra, you need to learn to loosen up!’
‘I hardly think that’s appropriate at the mom –’
He cut her off ‘you have to keep your sense of humour in dark times Audra, its what stops you from going insane. If you’re going to be in a mood I’d rather you kept your mouth shut until you’re feeling more sociable.’
Audra gave no sign of having heard him; she simply stared through the front window of the car and ignored him.
Tobias was unsurprised by her response and started up the engine without pressing her to answer. There were more important things to think about than her attitude problem. They set off out of the car park area at a slow crawl, heading for the scene of the murder.
Chapter 23
Eve had left the little cottage in the pack lands swiftly and hopped into her waiting car at the end of the muddied road. She had elected not to drive up the road and get wedged in the mud; she disliked cleaning the cars for a start and knew that it would be her job to do so if she created the mess. Also, she had worried that the car would become stuck and she would have to walk, which would not have been ideal.
Firing up the engine she checked her mirrors quickly before setting off, conscious of the fact that Varulv might well be lurking and following the scent of the man who had followed him to the scene of the crime. She had no doubt that the old shape shifter would have returned to the scene to re-live his enjoyment of the hideous crime he had committed; and knew that his ego would want to track down the innocent he had framed to revel in their anguish.
Seeing nothing and having smelled no evidence of another on her way to the vehicle, she set off with the roar of tyres trying to gain traction on the mud slick surface. She knew the way to Hunter’s home well and barely even needed to think about the way she was going. She had monitored him for years, watching him from afar… Even attempting to halt the progress of the male who had entered his home that night many years ago, only to chew on the electrics and fry himself. She remembers that smell drifting to her on the wind and grimaced, nothing smelt worse than burning fur. And she had heard the horrendous popping and tearing sounds as his charred body had shifted back into human form. The memory almost caused her to gag.
Pushing that thought to the back of her mind she slipped back into thinking of Hunter himself, and all the times she had seen him wander naked into his garden out of the woodlands. She remembered the first time she had seen him all those years ago, how she had been transfixed
by his raw masculinity. He had a decent covering of hair even in his human form, and was littered with scars. Two things that she found endearing in a male, perhaps down to the beta in her. She was always looking for a man who could take care of himself, a real man’s man. Any normal human would have felt shame about spying on another, especially in their most helpless state, naked and exhausted… But Eve enjoyed it more than perhaps she should have. The view had always been to her liking, and beside which she had been ordered to keep an eye on him during the change. Perhaps she would have felt guilty if it had been her choice… Perhaps not. Either way she was not intending on telling the unfortunate male in case it muddied his opinion of her. She liked him, and they needed him to be compliant. Even as she thought that she knew it seemed awful, but it was true, he needed to trust them or there was a chance he’d go rogue and end up getting himself killed. He knew he had been watched anyway, so there was no real need to delve any further into the particulars of it with him.
Switching on the radio she tweaked the station until she hit a channel with music she could bear and drove on in silence, trying to keep her mind clear. Soon enough she could see the track that led off the road to his home in the distance, and she smiled to herself. It was nice to have had no incidents for a while. She turned off and parked up outside his fence, knowing that the frequency of Varulv’s kills was ever increasing and it was nothing short of a miracle that nothing else had transpired… Particularly as he had been disturbed in his most recent endeavour. As she pulled up the handbrake the music was cut short by the station’s presenter cutting in with some breaking news. Grimacing she reached to switch off the ignition and cut off the undoubtedly unwelcome news when something stopped her. With her fingers lingering over the keys she listened, mesmerised.