by Murray, Dean
Sam and Alison arrived as I was running through Mom's latest batch of pictures with her.
"Hi, guys, this is my mom. Mom, Alison and Sam."
Alison swept into the house and waved at my mom. "Hi, Mrs. Paige. We've heard a lot about you. How was Europe?"
"Exhausting. They kept me so busy with shoots it was all I could do to drag myself back to my hotel room each night. I didn't see much in the way of sights, but it was good experience."
I swung the door shut behind Sam and cleared my throat. "Do you guys mind waiting for just a minute? Mom and I were just about finished running through the stuff she shot yesterday. She hates it when I bail midway through, says it ruins her artistic vibe."
"Don't be silly, dear. I don't expect your friends to just sit around. We've already been through most of the decent stuff. Don't let me hold you up."
Sam smiled earnestly. "Actually, Mrs. Paige, we'd love to see some of your work. Were you shooting in Zions again?"
"I was. There's a spot just west of Angel's Landing that I've been trying to catch in the right light almost since we arrived."
We all crowded around Mom's laptop.
"What about this one, Adri?"
"I don't know, Mom. I think the birds actually ruin it. If you sell it as a smaller print they look like smudges and even with a larger print they're kind of asymmetrical, not in a good way."
Sam shook his head as we finished and Mom set her laptop down. "That's amazing. I mean it isn't very often you get to sit in on a piece of the creative process like that. You're really good, Mrs. Paige."
Mom blushed slightly. "Thanks. I'm still a long way from being where I need to be but I do appreciate the flattery. Careful, Alison. Sam seems like he could be quite the heart-throb."
Alison chuckled. "Oh, he's good, but not nearly as good as he thinks he is."
"I guess we can't all be Casanovas like Alec."
Sam said it with a smile, but there was an edge to his eyes. I was so busy wondering if he and Alison had been fighting lately that I was halfway to the door before I realized Mom's expression had become just the slightest bit fixed.
"You know Alec well, Sam?"
"Yeah. As well as anyone really knows him I guess. He's kind of a private kind of person."
I never would have believed that things could go bad this quick. Whatever had Sam bent out of shape would have to be addressed later. For now I just needed to get him out of the house before Mom completely freaked out.
As if reading my mind, Alison punched Sam lightly in the shoulder. "Alec's a good guy and you know it. Not many people would take in the Dominics and Jasmins of the world like he has."
Mom's expression didn't unfreeze much, but I figured nothing I could say would really fix things right now.
"Shall we head out, guys?"
There was exactly one fast-food place in Sanctuary, and it was surprisingly empty for a Saturday. I managed not to say anything until we made it to Big Al's.
"What is up with you today, Sam? You do remember that I'm dating Alec, right? After that comment, it's going to be that much harder to convince my mom that Alec's not some kind of monster."
"No pun intended, right?" Alison had the grace to look abashed, but Sam's words weren't the apology I was expecting.
"I'm serious. My mom was already freaked out. She's got this thing against rich guys."
"You're right. I shouldn't have said that. Things are just getting pretty bad with Alec gone. The dominants are all riding us pretty hard. Alison is little more than a slave, fetching and carrying for Isaac and Jess."
Alison put a hand on Sam's arm. "That's not entirely fair. We're shape shifters; that's how things work. Dominants boss the submissives around."
"Right, which is totally in keeping with Alec's squeaky-clean image. If anything it's worse that we're being treated like that here. I thought we'd finally be beyond this crap."
I grabbed a French fry while I stalled for time to think. "I thought things were a lot better since you guys came over from Brandon's pack."
Sam shrugged. "It's all relative. We get the crap kicked out of us no matter where we go; Alec was just more misleading about what we were getting into."
Alison looked for a second like she was going to interject something, but instead looked down and grabbed a fry of her own.
I shook my head. "That doesn't sound right, doesn't sound like what Alec is trying to do."
"Maybe you're right, maybe he isn't trying to do that to us, but that's what's happening. Even Jasmin has been riding us lately, and she has less reason than anyone. I know Jack is kind of a maniac, but none of us has done anything to her."
"I'll talk to the others. No promises, but we've been through a lot together so maybe it will help."
Sam smiled. "Thanks, Adriana. By the way, good luck helping Jasmin catch Ben. He seems like a pretty hard sell."
Chapter 11
Alec still wasn't back in town by the time Monday rolled around. I was starting to feel jittery and tired. Someone else might have taken that as evidence Alec really was right about the whole Ja'tell bond thing. I knew I was just missing him. A bad day with Alec beat a good day without him.
Lunch seemed tenser even than the week before. I thought about it for most of the next two classes, but couldn't decide if things were really worse, or if I was just reading into it more because of my lunch with Alison and Sam.
The one bright spot all day was the fact that Rachel and Jasmin were coming over for a strategy session after school. Capture Ben indeed. It wasn't the kind of thing I'd ever expected to get involved in, let alone look forward to, but I actually was looking forward to it.
Rachel waited around for me to finish up my session at the tutoring lab.
"I feel bad that you have to wait for me every day."
"Please. If I wasn't in the tutoring lab I'd just be home doing some other homework assignment. This way not only do I get the assignments done that I'd otherwise be tempted to procrastinate, but I also get to hang out with you."
"And drive your new car?"
"It's true. If I didn't have the excuse of needing to drop you off, then I'd probably have to carpool in with everyone else."
I shook my head as we turned down my lane. The Jeep, and therefore Mom, was gone but Jasmin was waiting for us. I unlocked the door and we all settled into the living room.
Jasmin absently handed me a small package. "Alec sends his regards."
"He's back?"
"No, he's unavailable still, but he was asking about the necklace he gave you last week. I told him you hadn't been wearing it. He thought maybe the chain that came with it was the problem."
I pulled the paper off the small box and found a small silver chain that was even more delicate than the one that'd come with the glass pendant.
I closed the box back up and sighed. "I wish he'd get back here. I miss him."
Jasmin pulled out a notebook and shrugged. "He'll get back when he gets back, but for what it's worth I wish he were back too. The terrible trio need their butts kicked again."
The comment was too reminiscent of what Sam had told me on Saturday. "I don't understand why you guys are so hard on them. I mean sure, Jack is a psychopath, but Alison and Sam don't deserve what's happening to them."
"Don't be so sure. Besides, it isn't a matter of deserving it or not. They are throwing off the power dynamic in the pack. They were small beans in Brandon's pack, but not all the way at the bottom of the totem pole like they are now. Until they accept that's their new place it's just going to cause problems."
"Why does it have to be like that though? Just because they are smaller and weaker doesn't necessarily mean that they deserve to run errands for James or serve as a punching bag when he has a bad day."
Jasmin frowned. "I don't make up the rules, Adri, that's just how it is. Trying to turn the pack into some kind of democratic knitting circle is just going to make things worse in the long run."
"Worse for everyone, or j
ust worse for the dominants?"
"For everyone. Shape shifters aren't civilized. Not really. In our world you have to be able to back things up with violence and muscle. The pack could come under attack at any time. If the best fighters aren't running the show then what incentive do they have to defend the weaker pack members when everyone's lives are on the line?"
I looked to Rachel for help but she refused to meet my eyes. "You stood up for me despite the fact that I'm not any kind of asset to the pack."
For a second it seemed Jasmin wasn't going to respond. "No, Adri. I didn't stand up for you at all. I backed down because Rachel stood up for you. More importantly, I backed down because Alec was willing to die for you and I knew we couldn't survive without him."
"So it wasn't selflessness at all, it was just more dominance in action?"
"I'm afraid so. You're my friend now, but back then it was simply the natural result of the strongest member of the pack sticking up for you."
"Right. I'll keep that in mind."
Rachel came over and hugged me, but Jasmin wasn't done. "Adriana, I know Alec has been shielding you from most aspects of pack life, but you need to understand what he's done. He's essentially put every member of the pack on notice that he'll kill to protect you. It's the same thing he's done with Rachel, the same thing he's done with his mother, and to a lesser extent the same thing he's done with Donovan. The rest of the pack generally all likes those people so it's mostly unnecessary, but it's a factor in why their lives don't suck when James has a bad day."
Rachel had grown silent. She knew what was coming, maybe not in so many words, but it was something she'd probably absorbed with her baby formula.
"Alec having done that makes him vulnerable. It means that those of you he's protecting can be used to drag him into a fight at an inopportune time. Mostly it's not an issue because Isaac backs him up, but you have to be careful not to undercut his authority."
"I haven't done anything."
Jasmin cut me off. "Maybe you don't mean to, but you're doing it. Sam, Jack, Alison, they're all bad news right now. It won't always be that way, but until they settle into their place in the pack that's how it is. Disagreeing with how they are being treated sets you at odds with what Alec wants and weakens him and the pack as a whole."
I felt my face go hard. It was like being told Santa Claus ate a few children each year along with the milk and cookies.
"I don't believe that's right."
Jasmin's eyes bled to the same pale blue Alec's took on before a transformation. "You can choose to ignore the truth but that won't make it go away."
I didn't need Rachel's tightening grip on my arm to tell me I'd pushed Jasmin further than intended. The slight tremor to her clenched fists would've been clue enough.
"I'm sorry, Jasmin. I wasn't trying to call you a liar, I just want… need to believe that there's more goodness in the world than that."
A couple of deep breaths banished the tremble, but it was still the hot eyes of a predator that looked up at me.
"Again, it makes no difference to me, but it will impact Alec. You need to be careful or you'll put him in a position where he's faced with dying to defend you or repudiating you and letting Jack do whatever he wants to you."
Chapter 12
Alec - Graves Manor, Sanctuary
Jasmin and Donovan found me strapped into the Machine. I hadn't had much time lately to work out and it was making me jittery. Eventually we were going to see some kind of serious opposition and that tiniest extra edge of speed and strength might make the difference. The rest of the pack was convinced my power would save us from anything, but nothing was unbeatable and if Puppeteer got involved we were going to need every advantage to have even a prayer of surviving.
"Master Alec. Is it completely wise for you to be exerting yourself so? There were an alarming number of bullets that Dominic and I spent the better part of last night fishing out of you."
"I'm fine, Donovan. For the most part they're healing up nicely; the bandages just make it look worse than it is."
We both knew he didn't believe me, which was fine as long as he didn't continue to push the issue. I'd never been in much danger. Once I changed to my hybrid form bullets weren't all that great of a threat. Hybrid bodies were just too big, the organs buried under too much muscle for there to be much likelihood of a bullet making it through to something vital.
Of course a headshot could still bring us down, but most people went for center of mass, so their training actually worked in my favor.
Jasmin finally decided to break the silence. "So, are you going to tell me the big secret? As a rule I don't really like lying to my friends."
"Adri liked the chain?"
"Yes. Where have you been all week? Donovan obviously knows, let me in on the story already."
"You know we've been sweeping up all of Brandon's old holdings? Well, Sam's been holding out on us. They had a hugely profitable operation down in Charleston."
Jasmin's eyes got really big. "You do remember that the Coun'hij has declared the east off limits?"
"Under other circumstances I would have honored the restriction, but the 'operation' was a veritable criminal empire. Drugs, extortion, underage prostitution, you name it. It needed stopped."
"So you went and stopped it. Then you and Donovan split up the loot, or not. Why am I here?"
"Sam claims he didn't know the full extent of what Sergen was up to, but I don't believe him."
Jasmin was pacing now. She'd always done her best thinking on her feet.
"So kill him, or at least boot him. We don't want that kind of trash around."
Donovan shook his head. "If you go after him Alison and Jack will jump in. That is the tightest group of submissives I've ever seen. You can't kill one without at the very least injuring the others very severely."
I'd already played that scenario out in my head. Killing Sam was easy. He wasn't even half the fighter Jack was. Dom could probably do it if she were so inclined.
"The problem is that we need some submissives around here. I can do without Sam, but I need the other two as a buffer to keep the rest of us from always being two seconds from throwing down."
Jasmin shook her head. "You need Alison, but you don't need Jack. Jack's more trouble than he's worth."
I looked to Donovan, waiting for his opinion. "I'm not entirely convinced myself of Jack's instability. I've wondered from time to time how much of his aggression is organic and how much of it is Sam prompting him from behind the scenes."
"Okay, you boys may have a point; Sam does do all the thinking for that little trio. Still, it sounds like it's time to take some kind of harsher action where Sam is concerned. He practically has Adri eating out of his hand these days."
I shook my head. "No, we can't do anything overt. For now I just wanted the two of you to know what's going on. I can't tell Isaac or James, they're too close to the issue, and I need some time to come up with a solution that won't turn Adri against me."
"You really think she'd leave you over that piece of crap?" Jasmin shushed Donovan before he could reprimand her for her language.
"I wish I could say no, but the longer I watch Sam in action the more convinced I am that he's smarter than any of the rest of us give him credit for. It looks like he's playing a losing hand, which should be evident to him. The fact he's still playing the game despite that makes me nervous."
Jasmin shrugged. "Okay, I'll leave the intrigue to you two. I've actually got me a date tonight."
"Anyone I know?"
"Please, like I'd tell you."
I waited until Jasmin was safely gone before standing and turning back to Donovan. "You're no doubt curious where the million dollars went."
"The money is yours, Master Alec. It isn't my place to question what you do with your inheritance."
"I'm not going to have that discussion again. Regardless of who the money really belongs to, you're the one who's doing most of the heavy lifting where our
finances are involved. You were depending on that money to meet obligations and execute our plans."
"Things will indeed be difficult for a time given the depleted state of our reserves."
"The meeting place I tracked Sergen down to was a brothel. There were nearly thirty girls there, half of them underage. The madam seemed like a half decent person though. He used her daughter to control her. Once he was gone and I'd killed most of his organization, she didn't have any reason to continue to sell the girls."
"The money would be incentive enough for some, Master, Alec."
"She's not that good of a liar. I set up a trust that will make monthly payments to support the girls. They'll be getting regular psychiatric visits too. The two guys you went ahead and had Alexi send arrived just in time to help gather up a chunk of Sergen's assets. It's in a warehouse near Pier 15. Half of it is drugs that will just have to be destroyed, but we can probably recover most of our money out of the cars and the yacht."
Donovan nodded. He might not have felt leaving the girls in Jenny's care was the best option but he knew I trusted him to make it work. He'd set up the appropriate safeguards to help ensure the girls had a chance at a normal life going forward.
"Very good, Master Alec. I'll talk to our factor in Atlanta. He can make arrangements to liquidate the assets."
Chapter 13
"I'm glad you're still coming, Adri."
"You mean despite Jasmin having nearly ripped my head off when I disagreed with her?"
I deserved Rachel's crestfallen look. I really was trying not to overreact to my fight with Jasmin, but it was hard. Funny how the threat of imminent violence could turn the normal spats into something you couldn't just blow off an hour later.
"She's just concerned. She's much closer to the infighting that Alec protects you and me from."
I thought about challenging Rachel's belief in Jasmin's rationality, but it wouldn't change her mind and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. She was too kind-hearted to deserve that kind of venom.