“Then if you and Thane knew about me. Why didn’t you come looking for me?” I ask and my voice breaks. Damn. Might be able to fool him but can’t fool myself. The heart knows what it feels and that is all there is to it.
“I could ask the same.” Phelan fires back at me weakly. It’s not the same argument when the circumstances around us, are completely different.
“I didn’t know anything about where I came from. No idea I had brothers. Nothing. What’s your excuse exactly? Other than you two never had any intention of looking for me. Twenty nine years later and it takes some sicko’s idea of a joke to throw us all together in a hunt to make us know about each other.”
“Get rid of him and we can talk.” Phelan says back at me as his eyes divert to Markus.
“He is my brother, his name is Markus and he’s not going anywhere I don’t want him to go. So If I want him by my side twenty four seven, then you better get used to this,” I said waving a hand between me and Markus “Brother-Sister combo.”
Phelan shrugs his shoulders loosely suddenly looking very relaxed. And I realise something about being a twin. Sameness.
I am going to be dealing with someone else who was essentially, everything I was. Including stubborn beyond words.
Time to figure out how I’d want people to tackle talking to me if our situation were reversed, which essentially, wasn’t it kind of because of the sameness issues, of both having missing sibling, family etc.
I put a hand to my head. I could feel a headache coming on, the saying you were your own worst enemy was kind of ringing true here, because mine had manifested before me as my other half, my twin.
16
The day is a write off. Nobody really knows what to do because of how things had developed.
The boys, all of them, didn’t want to hurt me or press me to move on faster than should be acceptable. Given the situation I find myself in.
Reunited with my birth brothers who I’m not even sure want to be connected to me. We haven’t exactly bonded in all together Disney happiness kind of way. And because of that, the focus on the fall out of the hunt, was somewhat secondary to the emotional welfare of me it seems.
I am pretty sure Paris has something to do with that. He can be a sneaky bastard when it comes to issuing orders that he expects to be carried out explicitly or gods help the werewolf that disobeys them. They will be punished by the alpha.
But we pack up our stuff and move on. Paris has suggested we travel to Quebec, where he has family.
Markus, Addison, Paris and I chat quickly without the Cavello brothers around. We’re un-sure whether we should just head back to New York and deal with all of this from there, or if we should attempt to end it all whilst we’re all still in Canada and can probably do more if we’re closer to where we think our enemies are.
It’s me that suggest the best and worst idea for us to undertake. “What if we bait my captors? Instead of flying back to New York, we drive back, all of us, Make it look like that’s what we’re doing. They’ll have plenty of time to find us, come after the Cavello’s and me. Then we end this, once they do.”
“How do you know they will take the bait?” Addison asks me.
“Why would you go to all that trouble to dump us in a National Park, hunt us and allow us to live and escape? Three werewolves versus how many hunters with every possible resource at their disposal? Whoever put this together, wanted the three of us there together, for a particular reason. And I’m guessing here, but I’d say that this type of personality isn’t the type to just let us, walk away from their grand plan, whatever it is.”
“Alright, say you’re right,” Addison says and I can guess what is coming, this is what Addison does, plays devil’s advocate. Because it suits him. “Then why are the bad guys letting us rest up here, we’re clear of their immediate surrounds sure, but we’re not so far we can’t be tracked easily. I mean, there are like four scenarios I could think of if I was in there place, ready to chase you three down after you’re escape.”
“Maybe they’re looking in the wrong direction.” Markus pipes up. Addison smirks back at him. “I mean, if I thought my prey had escaped, I wouldn’t be looking behind me, I’d be looking in front of me, towards Calgary, or the nearest township for immediate refuge. I wouldn’t have pegged them to run for a day and a half in a non-logical direction.” He smiles over me.
“Just saying that makes my legs sore, again.” I mutter softly.
“Hey I’m not saying Quebec isn’t the way to go I’m just looking at the bigger picture here.” The boys all look at each other.
It’s Markus who addresses me. “What do you want to do Bg? This is up to. You say you want to go home, I’ll take you home, end of story.”
I glance at each of them. “I really need to brush up on my French. I hear they have good language schools in Quebec.” We all laugh and it feels good, again.
Paris kisses the top of my head. “I know werewolves in Quebec who can help us. We’ll head there before heading back across the border to home. It’ll take at least two days to get to Quebec. We might be on their territory but we’ll still have resources over here too, that they don’t know about.”
“I like it.” Addison says back at us just as the brothers emerge from Thane’s room and walk over to us.
“So,” Thane says by way of polite interruption.
“We were just thinking, it’s pretty stupid to stay in one place too long, given we’re really not far enough away from Baniff.” Markus answers him. “Paris has people in Quebec who can put us up. We’re thinking we head that way for our next break, before heading home. What do you think?” Markus sells it well. Because he’s just not the type of guy you’d suspect lies or can manipulate people.
“Sounds good. We’re in.” Thane says back at him.
“Alright, pack up and meet at the car in thirty minutes.” Addison says looking around the group at everyone. We all head back to our rooms to pack and just like that, our plan is made and our trap is set.
Thirty minutes later, we’re all on our way. Addison has hired a jeep and I curl up beside Paris in the back seat as Addison and Markus sit in the front and Thane and Phelan sit in front of us, behind the drivers.
I listen to the steady heart beat from the broad chest my head is resting against. Its regular rhythm is assuring to me. I am back where I belong with the werewolves I belong with. Those other two are just damn hitchhikers in my life as far I’m concerned.
I want to touch you. More than this. Paris says to me telepathically as he looks out the car window at the scenery passing us by in an otherwise, very quiet car.
No one is talking, everyone is either looking out a window or slouched in their seat. Except for Addison the driver. Slip two fingers in and till you start squirming in your seat. Or until you try to brush my hand away. But I don’t think you’re in any state to be quiet if I do that.
Damn it man. Stop making me hot. I fan my face and duck my head, trying to hide a smile as he looks back at me. Three brothers. I say back at him silently as we talk mind to mind.
That could get awkward, especially when Addison then develops a boner and drives us off the road because of it. Paris laughs in his mind at me and I feel light and happy again.
Oh and about the brother’s thing, you might not want to do much around me when Phelan is in close proximity. Paris turns his head to look at me, frowning. It appears when we’re both, highly emotional we can feel each other’s moods, easily. I was less than a feet away from him this morning and I got drowned in his.
Paris leans over and kisses my forehead. I’m sorry you are exposed to that. It can’t be easy to adjust to.
Weird is the word. Although by the same token, I’ve always had this ability to feel your moods through the air too. Well, you’re anger. I’ve always picked up on that easily it’s like fire ants crawling over my skin when it seeps out of you.
Paris holds my look. I had no idea.
I shrug my shoulders
and look up to see Addison glancing back in the review mirror at us. Everything alright back there? He asks me telepathically.
I’d already established a link with him. In fact I’d established telepathic foot paths with all the werewolves in the car, except Markus. How’d I leave my dear brother off the list?
How do I explain my new abilities too him when I haven’t even spoken to him about them yet and I’ve known about them for a few months now. In fact, again, every werewolf in the jeep except Markus knows about my abilities.
Its fine, we’re just talking Addison. I state back at him so Paris knows who I’m talking to.
We’ve conducted three way conversations before. Very briefly because I was the conduit because both Manhattan Maen werewolves didn’t share my telepathic ability. But if I opened up enough I could create a hub for the three of us to talk together at once. But it was draining being the one running the whole show and talking.
About me I hope, and how you missed your chance to have your very wicked ways with me. He smiles as he sends that last message to me.
I burst out laughing and put a hand to my mouth and look away, waving Paris’s questioning look off. I look up and see Addison’s side profile of him smiling. As he looks back in the rear vision mirror at me, his eyes harden.
“What is it?” Markus asks him looking over at him.
“I’ve never been trailed in a car before. But pretty sure we’re being followed.” No one turns around and looks. Paris’s fingers stroke the top of my hand lightly, a reassurance, a comfort to me, least I be anxious.
Phelan gets even more comfortable in his seat, slouching down in it “How can you be sure?” He asks.
“Because we picked them up when we went through, North Battleford.”
“Why don’t we do a pit stop?” Thane speaks up for the first time since being in the car. “See if they stop with us, get a good look at them then.”
“Alright with you Bg?” Addison asks as he keeps looking at the road in front of him. Markus proceeds to nap against the front passenger side window.
“Yeah, toilet stop seems like a wise idea.”
“Next stop, Saskashoon.” Addison replies list fully.
“Bring it.” Paris growls in response.
17
Saskashoon is going to be one of two things to us. An actual toilet break, pit stop. Or a chance to get on the front foot with our enemies. We drive into town and decide that we should also get some lunch while we’re there, since the rest of the day’s drive is designed to be long before we hit our next rest point.
Before we park the car and get out, we decide on our course of action to draw attention in the most subtle of ways.
“You three should hang out together.” Addison says as he looks for a parking spot, “Thane, Phelan and Bg, you’re the werewolves that these hunters want, keeps it attractive if you’re all together.”
“Don’t be stupid, wouldn’t be their natural behaviour, with the rest of us around now would it.” Markus answers Addison. “If they were still just in hiding together from Baniff, sure, it’d make sense, but the hunters probably know that they don’t know one another. So it’d be like screaming it’s a trap to have the three of them remain together.”
“He’s right.” Phelan pips up. “If we’re not supposed to know who Bg is to us, we wouldn’t hang out with her, beyond helping her get out of the hunt.” Addison finds parking on a street and angles the car in slowly.
“Each wolf for their own.” Thane mutters softly and looks over at me. “Kind of thought you’d be familiar with that concept.” Where is his hostility coming from? Why is it directed at me? What the hell is up his ass? Addison stops the car in its parking spots and kills the engine. The silence that fills the car is palpable. I know Paris is not saying anything back to Thane because he knows I can handle this, otherwise he’d have slammed Thane all over this vehicle for such disrespectful speech.
“Learn a lesson in the forest did we?” I fire back at him and hold his stare.
All the males in the vehicle look at Thane now. His brother knows what I’m getting at. Back in the forest when we didn’t really know each other, I made an impression on the Cavello brothers, a seriously angry one. Served them right.
I haven’t gotten around to the greater details of the forest hunt with Paris, Markus or Addison yet, but there’s plenty of time for that later. Still it doesn’t stop Paris for moving forward in his seat right up behind Thane’s back. He leans over the seat towards Thane.
“If I find out you did anything untoward her, you’re dead. End of story, I don’t care who you are.”
“Should we appear less concerned we’re being hunted and break up our activity? Thane and I in one direction, you and Bg in another and Markus and Addison in a third direction to circle around on whoever looks like they’re being targeted?” Phelan asks while Paris is still close.
“That would probably look to make more sense, to an outsider viewing our behavioural patterns.” Markus answered Phelan. Paris slides back into the seat beside me looking at Phelan and nods his head.
“Here’s a crazy thought.” Addison said turning around in his seat to face us. “What if they’re not that smart? They’re not looking for observation of what we know or are doing. What if they’re just low rung goons whose job it is to just simply, recapture you three. End of story.”
“Then it wouldn’t matter what we did, once out of the car. They’d come for us no matter where we were, or who we were with. If an opportunity presented itself, they’d take it.” Phelan answers Addison.
“Exactly. So who want’s lunch?”
“The twins should go together.” Thane speaks up looking from Phelan to me. “If our capturers know about you two, then you’d be the most valuable part of this equation wouldn’t you? I mean, how many twins do you know that are werewolves and our kind?” My heart raced and it reminded me of what little information I’d found out from a friend of Paris’s on my heritage. Dr Marissa Marisini had found out what type of werewolf I was, since I wasn’t New York born.
“You mean, dire wolves?”
Markus’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as did Addison’s. “Did you just say dire wolf?” He asked “I thought they were wolves of legend, not reality.”
A funny thing happens. Thane, Phelan and I all shrugged our shoulders loosely at the same time. “Okay, stop that.” Markus said looking at each of us. “This is too freaking weird as it is.”
Markus gives me a look that tells me, we need to talk later, when there is time for talking, brother to sister.
“The problem is, we don’t want to look too defensive and ready, because we want to draw whoever is after us, in, close. So we want to make it look like there’s a fair fight to be had if it could be considered fair, not to keep them at a distance, following us.” I said back at Markus. Addison and I look over at Paris.
“No fucking way. I am not leaving Bg’s side.” Paris growls back at us and looks at me and I see the fierce protective need in his eyes.
“Great!” Addison replies sarcastically. “Do us a favour, dial it down a level.” Paris and Addison face off and then Paris seemingly relaxes rather dramatically before all of us.
It’s like watching the air being let out of a balloon quickly. He suddenly seems less powerfully big, but nothing physically about him as changed. It’s just muscular control, and tension release.
“Perfect, keep that up, the I’m with her but I’m tired from too much shagging look you’ve got going on.”
I want to laugh, but I close my mouth and smile instead. Only Addison could ever get away with talking that way to Paris, in front of other werewolves.
“Alright, Paris and the twins it is then, the rest of us average Joes will go look useless like we’ve decided to be tourists or something.” Addison opens his driver side door.
“I hear there’s a motorway here.” Thane says casually opening his door and getting out of the vehicle. “Maybe we could catch some speedway
racing.”
“I’m up for that.” Markus says his feet hitting the ground.
“What do you want on your sandwich?” I threw back over my shoulder as I stretch my arms above my head, looking back at Markus.
“Tuna.”
And just like that, our game plan is in effect.
18
Paris slings an arm around my shoulders and we walk off, talking with Phelan as we argue over where we should get everyone’s lunch from. We make sure we are animated and loud enough to be seen as ignorant, and tourist like in our behaviour. We do not want to be mistaken for locals. We want to stand out, get attention, and be seen.
We talk loudly Phlean and I whilst Paris remains quiet as we randomly walk down a block and turn a corner. No we don’t know where we are going. But we’re not really meant to. Our whole game play works on us baiting our tail to follow us lost souls. So first, we must get lost, again.
We keep the conversation going, so it might seem like we’re distracted by it and not paying attention to our surroundings. But the reality is, Paris is cataloguing our walk silently. So we will know how to get back to the others. We start walking down an alley way we come across, making out it, it’s probably a good short cut.
As soon as we walk a few feet down the alley, Paris with a glance behind me, slips loose from me and into the hidden doorway of the back of a restaurant that hides him from the alley.
Phelan and I stand in the alleyway, quiet and facing the way we’ve come. Sure enough, two figures round the corner a few minutes after us and continue walking down to us. They don’t look like locals, they act like they’re very sure of themselves and what they’re going to do to us.
“Are you guys lost too? This is a big city. We can’t seem to find where we’re going. Got separated from our friends.” I state at the two men who walk straight up to us and stop before us.
“No, we found what we were looking for.” The dirty haired blonde one replies back at me with an evil smirk.
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