by Cheree Alsop
“I’m something you’ve never seen,” Alex replied. He allowed the anger that had been building within him to surface. Blue colored the edges of his vision. His fingers lengthened, his muscles bulged, and his limbs elongated.
The crowd fell back from him in terror. Alex grabbed Dag by the front of the shirt. “Take me to the girl,” he said in a deep half growl, half yell that echoed through the building.
Dag’s face paled and he nodded quickly. “T-that way,” he stuttered.
Alex dragged him in the direction the man pointed. The crowd fell away on either side of them. The scent of their fear tainted the room. Alex followed Dag through a set of doors to a stairway. They walked quickly down. A chill permeated the unheated air. Alex fought back the strange impulse to shiver.
A voice spoke before they reached the bottom. “Go back up,” a man said in a bored voice as though he often told gang members they weren’t allowed to enter the basement room.
“He’s got a gun,” Dag said to Alex. “And trust me, he won’t hesitate to use it.”
Alex’s hand tightened and the man winced at the pressure of his claws. “Do I look afraid?” he asked in a growl.
The man sat in a chair next to the only door. As soon as Dag and Alex came into sight, he jumped up, his eyes wide. He lifted his gun.
“You can shoot me,” Alex told him. “But it will only make me mad. Drop your gun and I won’t snap both of your necks.”
The man’s gaze shifted from Alex to Dag. Dag nodded quickly.
The gun fell out of the man’s hand.
“Open the door,” Alex commanded.
The man fumbled in his pocket. He pulled out a key, then dropped it on the floor. He glanced back at Alex’s approach. His face paled and his hands shook. Alex heard the click of the lock springing free. He pulled the door open and shoved both men inside with him.
“Where are they?” he demanded.
“W-who?” the man with the key asked.
“He wants the girls,” Dag replied. “Give him the girls.”
Doors lined the hallway. Alex could hear whimpers from several of them.
“Give me everyone you have down here.”
“But Taden will kill me,” the man protested.
Alex grabbed him by the front of the shirt and lifted him high enough that his feet no longer touched the ground. “What do you think I’ll do if you refuse?”
The man nodded quickly. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Alex dropped him. He scrambled back to his feet and pulled out another set of keys. One by one, he unlocked the doors.
Alex stepped into the first room. A girl not much older than his seventeen years cowered in the corner. She hadn’t even looked up to see him, but she was crying. His chest tightened at the thought that whatever they did to the girls was enough to make her huddle in the corner of the sparse room. The scent of fear wafted heavily from her.
“I’m getting you out of here.”
The girl glanced up at the sound of Alex’s voice. Her eyes widened. She looked like she didn’t know whether to scream or run.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Alex promised. “I want to help you get home.”
Something in her eyes flickered at the word home. Alex crouched slowly, careful to keep his distance. “I know I look scary,” he said. He let out a breath, hoping somehow she would realize she could trust him. “I’m not like them,” he continued, gestured toward the building above. “My friend Sarah is here. I’ve come to rescue her and see all of you safely home.”
The girl blinked in the dim light. Alex could see bruises on her face. Her wrists looked raw as though she had recently been tied up. He couldn’t blame her for not trusting him after all she had been through. He didn’t know how he would get the girls home if he couldn’t even convince them to follow him out of the building. Morphing was one complication he hadn’t foreseen.
“I-I know Sarah.”
Alex turned back around, careful to keep his motions slow. “You do?”
She nodded, her eyes wide as they searched his face. Her gaze lingered on his eyes. After a moment, she rose from her corner and walked to him. She stopped several feet away. It wasn’t all-out trust, but it was better than having to carry them out one at a time.
“What’s your name?” Alex asked as gently as he could.
“Amber,” she replied, her voice timid.
“Amber, I’m Alex. Will you help me get the other girls out of here?”
Relief filled him when Amber nodded again. He stepped back so she could pass through the door.
Dag took a step forward as though to force Amber back into her room. When the girl shrank away from him, rage erupted in Alex’s chest. “You will never hurt these girls again,” he snarled. He swung a backhand and caught the side of Dag’s head so hard the gang member spun completely around before he collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Instead of fearing him more after his outburst, seeing her captor knocked out seemed to give Amber strength. She hurried into the next room. A moment later, another girl came out. She shrieked at the sight of Alex, but Amber caught her arm.
“It’s okay. He’s a friend,” she said. “He’s going to get us out of here.”
The girl eyed him uncertainly as he followed them to the next room. Soon, seven girls huddled together in front of Alex. A familiar scent touched his nose. He looked up to see Sarah standing by the last door. One of her eyes was bruised and her wrists were red. She looked as nervous as the other girls at the open door.
“Sarah?” Alex called.
She looked up and her eyes widened. Her gaze traveled from the silver seven on his shoulder to his eyes. “Alex? Is that you?” Her steps forward were hesitant.
Alex nodded, relieved that she recognized him. “Tanner sent me. He didn’t know what to do.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. She surprised him by wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. Her hands trembled. He wondered what she had been forced to endure. A small sob escaped her.
Sarah took a few shuddering breaths before she stepped back. “Let’s get out of here,” she said in a voice that was almost steady.
Amber crossed into the next room. She came out again quickly.
“Alex, you’re going to have to carry her. She’s been hurt pretty bad.”
Alex smelled blood as soon as he entered the room. The girl on the bed was naked and had what appeared to be shallow knife wounds along her arms, her abdomen, and down one cheek. Alex could barely contain his rage at the sight of her unbound gashes. He closed his eyes, willing his heartbeat to slow so that it wouldn’t start skipping.
When he opened his eyes again, Amber had wrapped a sheet around the girl’s body. He crouched and gathered her as gently as possible in his arms. She let out a little moan of pain, and rested her head against his neck with her eyes closed. A pool of dark blood covered the bed where she had been.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” Alex said.
“Let’s hurry,” Amber replied.
“I hear footsteps on the stairs,” Sarah called from the hallway.
Alex checked the last two rooms, but they were empty. He led the way back up the hallway and kicked himself mentally when he realized the gang member who had unlocked the doors was nowhere in sight. They entered the room leading to the basement and the thunder of footsteps increased. The door at the top of the stairs flew open.
“What’s going on down there?” a man who appeared to be in his forties demanded. His hand that touched the railing gripped tighter when he got a good look at Alex. “What are you?”
“That doesn’t matter,” Alex replied. “What matters is that I’m taking these girls out of here and you will never bring a girl to this place again.”
“Is that right?” the man asked.
Alex nodded. He could smell the terror of the girls behind him.
“That’s Taden,” Sarah whispered. “He’s in charge, and he’s...cruel.”
&n
bsp; All of Alex’s restraint fled at the catch in her voice. He knelt and lowered the injured girl gently to the ground.
“I’ve got her,” Amber reassured him quietly, cradling the girl’s head in her lap.
Alex climbed the stairs in two leaps. Before Taden or his men could so much as tighten their fingers on the triggers of their guns, Alex had Taden by the throat. He lifted the gang leader to the ceiling.
“You think it’s fun to take little girls from their homes?” Alex demanded. “What are they doing here?”
“Ini...initiation,” Taden replied, gasping against Alex’s tight hold.
“You have your gang members kidnap girls for initiation?”
When Taden nodded, Alex’s stomach tightened. He asked the question he didn’t want to. “Then what do you do with them?”
Taden’s face was red and he was struggling for air too much to reply. Alex speared the man closest to them with a glare. The look of anger on his face was enough to make the man answer, “Anything we want.”
Alex threw Taden into his men so hard those hit were pummeled across the room like rag dolls. He crossed to the gang leader and threw him again. He slammed into a wall and fell to the ground, leaving the imprint of his body in the sheetrock.
Alex bent down and grabbed the semi-conscious man by the chest. His clawed fingers dug into Taden’s skin, shocking him awake with pain. “If you ever bring another girl down here, I will tear out your heart and feed it to you. Do you understand?” Alex roared.
Taden nodded and Alex let him go. He fell back to the floor.
No one stood in Alex’s way when he and the girls left the building. Alex squinted in the bright morning sunlight. He hurried to the motorcycle and grabbed his helmet. Holding it to his head the best that he could with a girl in his arms, he said, “Trent?”
“Wha-Alex? Is that you?” Trent responded groggily.
“Yes, it’s me. I need you to get an ambulance to,” he glanced at a street sign, “Chester and Fifth in Greyton.”
“What did you do?” Trent asked, sounding suddenly wide awake.
“I found Sarah and other girls the gang kidnapped. One of them needs a hospital.” He looked over his shoulder. “And possibly a few of the gang members. Tell them to hurry.”
Alex waited impatiently until he heard the headset click and Trent said, “They’re refusing to go to the Saa. What’s the Saa, Alex?”
Alex searched for a lighter way to describe it and settled with, “A cesspool of humanity. Not the best place to vacation.” When Trent didn’t laugh, he let out a breath. “Tell them I’ll protect them from the gangs.”
“Wait, are you in rage mode?” Trent asked, his voice near panic.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “I can’t get it to go away, but maybe that’s a good thing.”
“If they don’t shoot you on sight,” his friend replied, his voice worried. “No one’s ever seen anything like you.”
“Then warn them what to expect,” Alex replied. “Just whatever you do, get them here. These girls need to go home.”
“Will do,” Trent replied.
The sound of sirens caught Alex’s ear a few minutes later.
“They’re on their way,” he said quietly to Sarah and the others.
“Thank goodness,” Amber breathed.
“Are you going to be okay?” Sarah asked with a hand on his arm.
Alex nodded despite the foreboding in his chest. For all he knew, they would shoot him on sight regardless of the injured girl in his arms.
Five police cars slowed to a stop near Alex’s motorcycle. The ambulance pulled up behind them.
The officers climbed out of their vehicles with their hands on their gun holsters, ready to shoot Alex if he made any threatening moves.
“He saved us,” Sarah said, crossing in front of Alex and shielding him from them. “He’s okay.”
“What about the girl?” an officer called.
“She’s hurt,” Alex replied. “She needs a hospital.”
The sound of his voice seemed to surprise them, as if they had expected a beast with only an animal’s mentality.
“Uh, bring her back this way,” an officer with graying brown hair said. He motioned Alex forward.
It took all of Alex’s courage to obey. The girls huddled around him as if afraid to leave his side as he crossed between the police cars to the waiting ambulance. He felt the stares of the police men and women follow him. Reaching the stretcher, Alex set the girl gently down. He stepped back and the medical team quickly took over.
“We need to get out of here,” an officer said.
“Don’t worry,” Alex replied. “They won’t be out, but they might need medical attention.”
“Let them rot,” Amber said; the girls around her nodded.
“Let’s get you home,” one of the officers directed.
Sarah still stood next to Alex. “I feel safer with you,” she said.
Alex shook his head. “You’ll be better off with them, trust me. Go home and call Tanner before he does something more stupid than looking for me. He’s out of his mind with worry.”
Sarah gave Alex one last hug. “Thank you so much for coming after me,” she said.
“I’m glad I could help,” he replied. He watched an officer lead her and another girl to the furthest car and help them inside.
Alex turned to find the police officer who had led the way to the ambulance studying him. The officer’s nametag read Officer Dune. He had a close-trimmed beard and weary brown eyes.
“I need you to come to the precinct for questioning,” the officer said.
Alex shook his head. “That’s impossible.”
Someone raised a phone. He ducked away before they could take a picture and crossed back between the police cars. Nobody stopped him as he made his way past the gang’s building and deeper into the Saa.
Chapter Three
Alex waited in the shadows until the ambulance and police cars left. When the coast was clear, he made his way back to his motorcycle. He grabbed his helmet and sat on the curb.
“Trent, you there?”
“Alex, thank goodness! I thought they would try to take you in or something,” Trent replied.
“I didn’t let them.”
“Did you, uh, hurt anyone?” Trent asked.
Alex fought down the offense he felt at the question; Trent was just worried. “A few of the gang members, but that’s all.”
“Good,” Trent replied with a breath of relief. “I thought things were going to get awkward.”
“They are,” Alex replied dryly.
Trent was silent for a moment, then said, “You’re still in rage mode, aren’t you?”
Alex nodded, then remembered the werewolf couldn’t see him. “I can’t get it to go away, and I don’t know what to do.”
He didn’t dare ride the motorcycle with his vision still touched in blue. He could barely control his thoughts with the anger that still flooded through him.
“Hold on a sec,” Trent replied.
A few moments later, Siale said, “Alex, are you alright?”
The sound of her voice calmed the frazzled edges of Alex’s nerves. He took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie,” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice. “You don’t have to pretend to be strong for me.”
“Isn’t that what boyfriends are supposed to do?” Alex asked, fighting back a smile of his own. The blue in his vision began to fade.
“Most boyfriends,” Siale replied. “But you promised you would be honest with me no matter what, and I know you’re not fine right now.”
Alex felt ashamed at her words. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t need to hear that,” she said, her words gentle. “I just want you to know that I care about you, the real you. You’re busy saving people and improving the lives of humans and werewolves, but underneath it all, you’re my Alex. You’re strong but gentle, quick to act but able to think situations through, an
d most of all, you care about those around you. That’s why you’re in Greyton right now. You can’t sit back when others could use your help. You’re selfless, Alex. That’s one of the things I love about you.”
Alex’s muscles relaxed. His limbs reduced to their normal length, he felt his fangs and face return to normal, and fingers without claws held the helmet. Scratches showed where his claws had scored the paint.
“Thank you, Siale,” he said quietly.
“Feeling better now?”
“Much,” he told her. “But you think way too much of me.”
She gave a light, musical laugh. “It was my turn to be honest.”
Alex shook his head, amazed at his good fortune to claim such an amazing girl’s heart. Commotion rose from the building behind him. He could see faces peering through the windows of the structure across the street. Footsteps sounded down the alleys.
“I think I’m beginning to draw attention. I’d better go.”
He shoved the helmet on his head and climbed onto the motorcycle. He drove through the Saa with the feeling of hundreds of eyes watching him go. The tension eased when he reached the business section. Cars filled the streets and pedestrians covered the sidewalks in droves. It was amazing how the dividing street of Angel Avenue had such a night and day difference. He took a calming breath.
Siale’s voice was quiet when she spoke, “Are you coming to Kalia’s funeral tomorrow morning?”
The relief Alex had felt leaving the Saa fled. Sorrow clung to his thoughts with merciless weight. “I can’t.” His voice broke on the words.
“You were her best friend here,” Siale said gently. “It would mean a lot to her.”
Alex’s gaze clouded to the point that he had to pull over. He slid his visor up and rubbed his eyes. “I’m the reason she’s dead.”
“You tried to save her. You did everything you could.”
“But it wasn’t enough.” Alex fought back the urge to cry. “I can kill a hundred Extremists, but I can’t save one girl? What’s wrong with me?” The tears he had tried to keep at bay broke free.
“You’re a seventeen year old werewolf,” she replied, her voice soft. “You shouldn’t have even been in that position. No one should have to watch their friend die.”