“But it’s full moon tonight.” Addison stated. They always had a skeleton crew of human staff on a full moon night at the various werewolf clubs around town.
“Yes and we don’t want any witness, or outside interference from those not from our world. “ Paris said glancing across at Addison. “This is a pack situation, and we deal with it as pack. “ He looked back out at the road ahead of them. “And I’m giving you first shot at the one responsible for Cassidy’s kidnapping.”
“Good.” Addison said, his jaw setting hard.
The rest of the drive was in silence. Addison was happy to be filled in when necessary. He didn’t need reasons for what he’d done. Or wanted to do to whoever had set up the kidnapping of Cassidy. His werewolf mind did not work like that. It just wanted it’s fill of vengeance. The human side of him wanted to make it right with Cassidy and the only way he saw that happening was by eliminating the threat of the same thing happening to her again. By asserting his authority on those responsible.
At Crescent, no music played. Most of the werewolves in there, congregated around the club, talking amongst themselves, drinking and looking back at their uninvited guests in the middle of the night club’s dance floors. The five councillors stood, almost huddled together towards the centre of the floor, eyeing any werewolf near them, with suspicion.
A normal lunar week night would see the club pumping with music and moving with near naked bodies grinding against one another. Filling the club with an atmosphere of lust that seeped into each werewolf’s pores. Fuelled by the full moon’s rise as the night got later and later.
But inside was tension, lots of tension in the air, Addison noted. Paris had chosen to conduct pack business in it instead. In front of his pack. He, and Addison both had business with the Tri-State councillors and he was going to show them how they did business the Manhattan Maen way.
Paris and Addison walked in together and the wall of werewolves around the floor, parted as if on silent command and they walked towards the councillors together. Vaughn nodded his head at Paris.
“All accounted for.” Vaughn said at Paris. Paris smirked and it was full of menace at the councillors who remained silent and alert in the middle of the room. Unsure of what they were in for.
“What is the meaning of this act of…..aggression?” The New Jersey councillor spat out at Paris quickly. Paris raised an eyebrow.
“I’m surprised at you councillor. You seemed to have kind of stumbled over your words there. Are you sure, you don’t mean act of war?” Paris asked curiously. The New Jersey councillor stepped back towards the other councillors again.
“I am not so stupid as to state something that you could use against the Nieuw Tëme to justify whatever it is you think you’re doing here.” The New Jersey councilor replied angrily.
Paris smiled at him. “What I’m doing here councilor, is kidnapping you all. Much like one of you attempted to have done to my pack mate earlier today and successfully achieved with my second’s pack mate.”
That caught everyone’s attention. Addison felt the stares and gazes fall on him. He watched the councilors closely, as they looked over at him.
“What are you talking about? I had no such thing to do with any kidnapping!” The Manhattan Maen representative spoke up quickly. Paris glared at the annoying councilor.
“I know.” He stated dryly.
“Then why are you holding me here..”
“I brought you all here,” Paris stated inching closer to the councilors. “To make my point. To finish this, here and now.”
“What on earth are you talking about? What point?” The Queens councilor asked, frowning as she spoke.
“The point, being you cannot attack me, or mine, through my pack and expect to get away with your actions. You can not go away, unscathed because I am the leader of the Manhattan Maen and we take care of our own.” Paris intoned stepping back.
Addison’s eyes darted over to the only two councilors who hadn’t yet spoken up. The Brooklyn representative and the Bronx councilor. Paris nodded his head at Addison, who pulled his t-shirt up and over his head. Revealing his tattooed chest for all to see. He partially shape shifted his eyes to those of his wolf, and his teeth to those of his wolf fangs, his hands, shifting to large werewolf paws with talons.
“The tri-state council, has of late, been rather interested in my pack.” Paris started as Addison started to pace in front of the councilors. “At first, I thought to myself, that you all were merely trying to somehow make your worthless jobs and status, relevant by being seen to well, be spanking me for my leadership of this pack, for dating outside my own kind, and for the whole Breukelen incident recently, that you all seem very interested in, although it’s been dealt with.”
Addison’s eyes flicked across the expressions of each councilor. All but one was watching Paris. Addison’s interested piped as he turned on the councilor from the Bronx.
“Then today, four lycans boldly attempted to abduct and kidnap my pack mate as she left her pack’s territory for mine. And brazenly in daylight, two of them, kidnapped Addison’s pack mate from my territory. And at first,” Paris went on. “I couldn’t see past the rage of this act.”
The Breukelen councilor opened his mouth and Paris put up a hand to silence him. “I do believe councilor,” Paris said addressing the Breukelen representative. “That you wouldn’t be so stupid as to attempt this of your own pack leader’s family.” The Breuekelen councilor closed his mouth again and seemed to relax slightly.
“And then, as it occurred to me that this kidnapping only involved our pack mates. Our two very different pack mates, it occurred to me just how personal, this attack on me and mine, on Addison and his pack mate, was.” Paris paused eyeing each of them. Noting Addison’s tension and where he stood, staring down the Bronx councilor. Paris walked over to the Bronx representative.
“And then I realized, that at least one of the councilors, was arming home their point, or at least, trying to by attempting to make my leadership, seem like it was putting my pack at risk by dating outside of my pack. By making my pack mate, a Breukelen wolf, a target for outsiders to come at, to get to me.”
The Bronx councilor gulped down a vat of Sylvia in his throat. Addison listened to the pick up of his heart beat and began to growl.
“And to really make the council’s point of their, disapproval of my dating outside of pack, they also attacked the only other werewolf in my pack, dating outside of the Manhattan Maen, by going after his, human, pack mate.”
There was a murmur amongst the crowd then. And talk amongst the councilors as they turned to the Bronx Councilor.
“See being a pack leader, you expect to have people talking at you all the time, giving you their opinions, pushing their ideals on you. Trying to bend you to their will. It’s part of the job that you are the target and the prize all in one. But the thing about being a pack leader is, you don’t get their by chance and you don’t hold the position if you can’t see through the bullshit around you. You do that, buy using your resources, and relaying on your pack to have your back for the good of the entire pack. And despite your misgivings about the Manhattan Maen werewolf pack, we run a tight pack here. And all we had to do to find out who put the lycans up to the kidnapping, was let one of them go running, right back to you. That’s the thing with lycans, councilor, their not werewolf smart. Lycans, well, they just aren’t werewolves.” Paris growled as Addison lunged at the Bronx Councilor and grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the middle of the room.
“They tend to do things for all the wrong reasons. Like money, or a chance to lash out at us werewolves. But they don’t really have a sense of pack, loyalty like we do.” Paris finished. “Which is why we figured out your end game.”
“Is that true?” The New Jersey representative asked the Bronx Councilor.
“He’s mad. Mad about whatever happened to his girlfriend!”
“Yes, I am.” Paris said, his face going stony seriou
s. “But it’s nothing compared to what Addison has been holding in all day.”
The Bronx councilor’s eyes darted back over to Addison who was just waiting to be given a green light to go at him. He shrunk back slightly. “You have no proof of your crazy accusations.”
“The thing with the Bronx is we all underestimated you councilor. We all assumed the Bronx was unworthy, and we tend to overlook what goes on over there. But it turns out, after sending a scout around there, you’re building quite a neighborhood of lycans over there. One might assume to form a power base. Or a mixed pack.” Paris said nodding his head to Jules to the left of him who disappeared back through the werewolf crowd momentarily, before producing a male that had the entire gathered werewolf crowd growling at.
“No proof hey?” Paris said, pointing to the lycan they’d let go earlier. “This lycan told me quite a tale about what’s been happening over there in the Bronx. And about how, not to have the Bronx Brown Wolves overtaken or let’s see, enslaved I believe was the word he used, that you councilor, struck up a deal with the local lycans over there.”
All the tri-state council representatives watched the Bronx councilor’s response closely.
“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same if you were in my position. My council leadership was all I had to laud over the lycans, to ensure their compliancy. By giving them information that could be used to their advantage so they wouldn’t attempt to kill or take over the Brown wolves. They outnumber us, five to one you know. All because you people,” He said pointing at the other councilors and Paris.
“Don’t see the Bronx or the brown wolves as worthy. You don’t protect us. You won’t help us to keep the lycans at bay, or track down those creating lycans. As having anything of offer because we’re not a traditional pack like the rest of you. Because we don’t have your money or resources. They talk about my relevancy being on the council when none of you consider The Bronx a territory. You load the werewolf world against us! You’d forget about us in a heart beat.”
“Why the kidnapping?” Addison asked him. The Bronx councilor looked directly at Addison.
“To make a point. The Bronx wolves can be just as powerful as the rest of you. To make the Manhattan Maen seem unstable, by proving the council’s point in making you vulnerable by what I and others can see.”
Addison growled at him, his shoulders rising and tensing. “Addison,” Paris said from behind him. Addison turned his head to look back at Paris.
“You said…”
“Show him mercy.” Paris said back at Addison who turned around to the councilor and shape shifted his hands back to human hands. The councilor backed up into the other bodies around him, who shoved him back towards Addison’s anger.
Addison focused on the councilor. He made his werewolf self call out in silent daring, to the councilor’s werewolf self. He could see councilor’s panic and he knew it was the panic that made his werewolf open up and that was when Addison pulled at his werewolf self to show itself. It was how he forced the councilor to shape shift.
“I allow you to be in your tribal form, not out of respect. It’s so I can kill you, and not leave a trace of you behind. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
He watched as the male dropped down to the floor and his body jerked. Paris walked closer, as did Wiatt and Jules and they all focused on the councilor, speeding up the shape shift on him as he failed to fight it off.
“You’re going to die.” Addison finished seething at the councilor.
The councilor shifted to his werewolf form when Addison reached down and grabbed the councilor’s werewolf by the shoulders as he attempted to struggle free from the grip. His body kept shape shifting in Addison’s arms rounded up around his neck and growling, through werewolf teeth, he looked over at his pack leader.
“Good enough.” Paris muttered at him.
Addison twisted the werewolf head, hard and sharp. Causing it to crack with sickening loudness. The Bronx werewolf dropped instantly limp in Addison’s arms. Addison dropped the body to the floor and turned to the lycan that Jules held back. His arms pinned behind his back.
“You’re turn.”
The lycan’s shape shift was faster than the werewolf and Addison’s wolf paws reformed and Jules pulled the lycan’s head back by a scruff of fur, as Addison slashed his claws, deeply across the lycan’s throat, leaving the wolf to gurgle and bleed out, painfully before them all. Addison stood back watching the lycan struggle with his death.
Paris stepped in and reaching for the wolf, put his hand through the slashed flesh, grabbing whatever he could inside the animals neck. As the lycan stared, bug eyed back at Paris, gasping. Paris pulled his hand out, pulling out muscle and arteries. Causing blood to spray everywhere.
The remaining councilors looked on shocked. The Manhattan Maen werewolves moved restlessly, inching closer to the smell of the blood.
“Vaughn, escort the rest of the councilors out of here.” Paris instructed, before looking at the rest of the Manhattan Maen pack and the two animal bodies on the dance floor.
He turned back to his pack. “This was an attack against our pack.” Paris said loudly pointing to the bodies on the floor at his feet. The blood of their kills filtered through the room stronger than the essence of sex and he looked around as those standing around, licked their lips. Move restlessly from foot to foot.
“Shift and enjoy.” He stated as Addison and he stepped back, watching their pack, start shape shifting to their tribal form. “Spoils of war. Taste of vengeance.” Paris stated, getting down on his haunches and looking at Addison. Addison kicked off his shoes and joined his werewolf pack, as they indulged in the nature of their kind that would not be denied on a full moon night, when the werewolf within, had to come out.
24
It was the thought of their victory at Crescent that kept Addison at bay from visiting Cassidy for the week after the attack. The thought of the pack tearing into their enemies flesh. Enjoying the flow of blood. How did he explain that to a girlfriend who wasn’t a werewolf? How could he explain what blood was like to someone with his biology? What it meant to his werewolf, what it meant to him, to know their enemy, the pack, was dead and buried. Literally. He couldn’t. He was no better than a monster and someone as beautiful and free as Cassidy, shouldn’t be around a monster.
Whilst everyone else had gone in to see her, check on her and kept tabs on her when she’d been release from hospital after twenty four hours of observation and an all clear from the doctor, Addison had still continued to stay away. Much to the disgust of Jules, who regularly let him know how he felt about his behavior in letting down Cassidy in such a manner.
Jules had never been so pissed before at him in his life. He didn’t even ask after her. Because he couldn’t go down that path, he was either with Cassidy or he was without. As much as without pained him, he knew it was for the better. For her. And still he thought of her. Not just what he’d put her through, but what might have been with her, if he’d let it, as Jules kept telling him constantly.
It wasn’t until Jules reported Cassidy was moving on, literally, moving out of her old apartment that Addison fought his own self and head over to see her.
He walked up the steps to find boxes on them, packed and taped up, rooms written on the side of them. And a topless male, carrying another box, out the front of Cassidy’s apartment door. He recognized the male instantly and the sandy haired blonde recognized him too. Stopping to put down the box and cross his arms over his quite, impressive chest. He was around the same height as Addison and he looked at Addison angrily.
“Don’t even think about coming in here.” Sascha stated at Addison unwelcoming. “She doesn’t need you.”
Addison nodded his head, his hands in his jeans pocket. “I know that. But I need to see her all the same.”
“You’re not welcome here!” Sascha all but yelled at Addison, continuing to block the doorway. “Cassidy does not want to see you.”
�
��I understand that Sascha, but I need to speak to her, to at least, apologize to her.” Addison continued, waking up a few steps closer to him. “Please. Just let me apologize to her, and I’ll be gone.”
Sascha eyed him suspiciously. “Five minutes and I’ll haul you out myself.” He said moving aside and picking his box back up again. Addison thanked the angry male and walked past him into the house. “She’s in her bedroom.” Sascha threw back over his shoulder at Addison. Addison headed straight to the back of the apartment and stilled in the doorway of Cassidy’s bedroom.
She was busily picking up items and throwing them without much care into an open box on her bed. Her hair was down and swinging with each movement of her arms. And she kept brushing it aside out of her face continuously. She wore jeans and a t-shirt that gaped too much when she leant forward, he realized, looking at her as she leant down to the box and caught sight of him from the corner of her eye and froze before straightening up to face him.
Addison’s eyes assessed her face, her neck, and Cassidy’s hand went to her throat instantly, self-consciously. She looked back at him, hurt then annoyed. She dropped her hand. Addison couldn’t see any marks around her neck. No scars remained of what had happened to her.
“What do you want?”
Addison walked further into the room, slowly. “I heard you were moving out.”
Cassidy sighed and ignored the box she was packing and turned to face Addison, crossing her arms over her chest. Her t-shirt, slipped, hanging down off her shoulder again.
“Yeah, I gave my notice at Provocation.”
“So you’re leaving then? Not just moving out.” Addison asked softly.
“Kind of, Paris offered me a more secure apartment in one of his apartment blocks. Showed me it, it’s got good security and he knows everyone in the apartment block cause they’re all his tenants. Plus he’s willing to let me pay same I’m paying here, which is generous considering how good the apartment is.”
Wild Life Page 15