by CC Solomon
I frowned. I was frowning a lot today. “Well, that is a dumb way to pick a leader.”
“Power’s all that matters, Amina. That’s the only way you’ll get respect.”
I shook my head. “Erik, I thought you didn’t want leadership?”
He leaned forward on the couch and rested his elbows on his thighs “I was reluctant to at first, but I can’t shake this feeling that I’m needed. Then Mae met with me a few days ago, and she suggested I run for a leadership role. She said I had to be in the top five. She had some sort of vision.”
I cocked an eyebrow. Well, that was a bit of information Mae neglected to tell me. Then again, it wasn’t exactly information that was for me. “What was her vision?” I asked.
Erik slowly shook his head. “She wouldn’t get into it. She just was adamant that the pack needed me. I’m still learning about the pack. It’s not perfect, and I’ve heard some things about certain people, but I can’t really do anything if I’m not in a power role.” Erik glanced over to Lisa. “I can’t just continue to snatch people and run anymore. I need to do some good. And if the town oracle thinks I’m needed, I think I should listen.”
I couldn’t help myself and smiled slightly. Now I knew what drew me to Erik; his heart. Of course, he’d want to be a protector. It was in his nature. “Fine, fine. But, seriously, Carter, how can you follow someone that allows for this barbaric ritual?” I asked Carter.
Carter sighed. “There are a lot of innocent people in the group. Betas that need protecting,” Carter replied. “And I don’t want to leave.”
I wanted to ask why, but I knew the answer. Phillip’s morning messages let people know that this was the best place to be, and they didn’t want to be anywhere else. I ached to tell them the truth.
“I think I can do some good for the pack by being in leadership. I’m not afraid of Seth, and so far, he doesn’t hate me,” Erik explained. “But the only way I’ll get any clout is if I fight for a position and win.”
I nodded slowly. “Well, I don’t like it, but I understand. I can also talk to Phillip about what’s going on. So, what, you start from the bottom and fight your way up the line?”
“You can. Or you can challenge a certain spot.”
“So, what are you doing?”
“I’m challenging for the third spot.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, that’s aiming high.”
Erik nodded. “I’d go higher, but Carter is number two.”
I looked over at Carter and gave him a nod of respect. He returned my nod with a bashful grin.
“And there’s something else,” Erik stated, his face still all too serious.
Lisa let out a dramatic sigh and turned her head from me, arms crossed. Charles, seated next to her at the dining room table with Carter and Felix, touched her back.
My stomach tightened. Not good. “What is it?”
“It’s not like boxing where we fight until someone taps out or gets knocked out,” Erik started.
I nodded slowly. “Oookaay.”
He paused, and I looked around at everyone’s faces for a clue, but they all avoided my eyes. “I don’t like suspense.”
“It’s a fight to the death.”
My mind wasn’t quite registering what he told me. “No.”
Erik raised his eyebrows. “No?”
I shrugged. “No. You’re not going to do that.”
“Mina, I have to.”
“I feel like maybe you guys can just surprise attack this asshole and take him out.”
“If we did that, I wouldn’t get clout, which is what I need. The only way to get buy-in is to fight.”
“Or die, because that could happen.”
Erik looked up at me, his eyes filled with determination and strength. “I’m not going to die.”
I smiled. “Oh, so you talked to Mae, and she told you that you’d be okay.”
“That’s a good idea, why didn’t we do that?” Felix whispered.
“We can try, but her visions aren’t always on-demand,” Carter replied.
I nodded my head slowly. “So, I’m back to no again.”
Erik smirked at me. “I don’t need your permission, Mina.”
I huffed and put my hands on my hips. Why’d he have to be such a stubborn ass? Didn’t he know that we cared about him? That I cared about him? That I needed him alive? “Then why the hell are we gathered here? You could have sent us all an email. Subject line: I’m gonna die.”
He lost his smirk. “Thanks for the faith.”
“She’s just worried, like we all are,” Lisa sniffed, her back still to us.
“Why can’t you start with the easiest guy? How many spots are there?” I asked Erik.
“Five. But I don’t want to keep killing people. The guy in third is a pretty awful dude. He’s done things that he would have been arrested for in the Pre-world,” Erik explained. “Like rape and assault, from what’s been said.”
I put my head in my hands, still standing. This was a nightmare. Why couldn’t we have some peace for a little bit? Or at least until we found the others. “When is this happening?”
“Monday.”
I straightened up and looked at them, my mouth hanging open. “So soon?”
“That’s the way it works, Mina. You make a challenge, so you fight right then and there or within three days,” Erik explained.
Lisa sniffed again.
“And the loser is just dead, and everyone goes back to business.” I scrunched my face up. “What about helping us get our friends back like you said you would?”
“I’ll beat him.”
“Who is this guy that you think you can beat?”
Erik jutted his chin out and cocked an eyebrow at me. “That I know I can beat. His name is Donte. He’s part of the police force.”
“What was he before the change?”
Erik shook his head and shrugged.
“He was a pro football player. Quarterback,” Faith answered.
Erik gave her a glare, and Faith gave an apologetic shrug in return.
“I don’t know what a quarterback does, but I’m betting he’s someone who can knock people out. If you get knocked down, play dead,” I replied.
Erik’s eyebrows furrowed together. “It sounds like you don’t have any faith I can win this. I know I’m not a young guy, but I’m still fit. Being a were, we age slowly, so I’m still technically as fit as a late twenty-something. And I was part of special forces in New Zealand.”
I was not convinced. I just saw images of Erik dead on the ground in human form, his heart ripped out, and a large— “What kind of were is this guy?”
“A werepanther.”
—a large humanoid werepanther standing over his dead body with Erik’s heart in his hand. I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. “What time does this foolishness start on Monday?”
“10 p.m. sharp.”
“It’s a school night; this is happening that late? Don’t people have to work the next day?”
“Well, if I die, work won’t matter,” Erik replied with a tinge of a smile.
And with that, I stormed out of the apartment full of feelings, mostly anger. I was falling for a man who smiled in the face of death. This seemed like an exercise in pain.
I decided if no one else planned to reason with Erik, then the least I could do was see if Phillip could get this all to end. It was his town, after all. I took a shower and stormed to Phillip’s building.
After getting approval from security, I walked into Phillip’s office-apartment and saw him and Blake sitting on the couch, looking at some documents on top of the coffee table.
Upon seeing me, Phillip stood up and opened his arms. “Amina, so glad to see you today,” he said.
I hugged him, and that static connection between us was still there, only this time I was prepared for it. My mind stayed focused on my conversation with Mae and what I needed to talk to him about.
I turned to Blake, prepared to give her a
handshake, but she embraced me as well. She felt warm like many of the living vampires I’d known. Luckily for her, no one had tried to kill her. As soon as a vampire died a human death, they became the undead. Their powers didn’t necessarily change, except all thoughts of procreation were over, and the need to eat regular food went away. They were also more prone to becoming the blood-lust monsters.
“I’m sorry to come unannounced,” I began.
“No, mi corazon, I want to see more of you. You can drop by anytime,” Phillip said.
I looked over to Blake, who smiled up at me. I took a seat on a fabric chair facing the coffee table and the couch.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been as available as I’d like this week. Are we still on for Monday?” he asked.
That’s right, we’d made plans for dinner Monday. How quickly I’d forgotten. We’d met briefly Thursday, and he’d asked me to dinner for Monday. He had a busy schedule for a man in the apocalypse, but what did I know about running a town of over one thousand paranormal people? Heck, it looked like he was even working on a Saturday.
“Actually, I have to talk to you about that. I need to reschedule,” I stated.
Phillip frowned. “What’s going on?”
“The pack is going to have a battle for third seat on Monday. Erik is one of the fighters,” I explained.
Blake gave a face of disdain and sat back, crossing her legs. “What a waste of resources,” she replied.
If she hated the practice as much as I did, then maybe I’d have a better chance of getting support from Phillip to end this.
“Yes, I heard. I understand you wanting to support. We can reschedule for another day,” he replied, looking unaffected.
I squinted my eyes. “Sooo, the whole thing doesn’t bother you?”
Phillip raised his eyebrows. “Of course, it bothers me, but what can I do?”
“You run this town. You can stop them.”
Phillip sat back and balanced an elbow on the arm of the couch. “This tradition was allowed before I became leader. No one has complained to me about it. Namely, because they don’t have to do it. You can be a successful, happy person without being in the top five of Seth’s pack. And if a person doesn’t want to fight another for their spot, they can step down.”
Blake snorted, and I looked over to her. “They can step down but they lose all respect. They become betas, which are the weakest members of the pack. A ten-year-old with alpha power has more clout than a fifty-year-old beta,” she countered.
“They can become a pacifist, there’s no shame in that,” Phillip countered.
“Or they get shamed out and leave the pack all together. And unlike the rest of us, most weres need a pack,” Blake stated, looking over to me. “The term ‘lone wolf’ is not a compliment. They’re more inclined to go loupe that way, unless they leave town and find another pack.” She pointed to her head in a circular motion when she said the word “loupe.”
I knew exactly what she meant. A loupe, were was just as dangerous as a blood-lust vampire. Both had lost human thought and became their most primitive and violent selves.
“Be that as it may, a were knows the full ramifications of fighting for a top spot,” Phillip stated. “It’s not for everyone, but if people didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t. Then Seth would have to find some other way to get a top group.”
I slid to the end of my seat. “I get it. If people don’t fuss about it, we leave well enough alone, but as leaders, shouldn’t we do what we must to protect people? Even from themselves? Half the world population is gone, and we’re sitting here killing each other unnecessarily. That doesn’t make logical sense.”
Phillip’s eyes remained gentle. “What would you have me do, corazon? If I force them to stop something that they want, I could lose their support. Do you think it’s easy running a town of paranormals? We have witches, vampires, weres, elves, shapeshifters, incubi, succubi, sirens, gargoyles. And then those groups have their own breakouts like the weres who, incidentally, are the largest paranormal group in town. Being in power is a fragile thing here. There is always someone who thinks they can do better. Better than Blake, Seth, or me. We lose the delicate hold we have, and this could be a town of total chaos.”
I clasped my hands together and brought them up to my chest. “I hear you, Phillip, but the government towns are able to do it. Hagerstown has two thousand people, paranormal humans, and regular humans. From what I could tell, they weren’t engaging in crazy traditions to keep people happy.”
Phillip sighed. “With all due respect, Amina, you have no idea what the government towns are doing to keep control. You know what they showed you for the brief time that you were there. We know they don’t allow the paranormals to group, which stunts their power. As much as those towns want you to think they are just mini-cities, reminiscent of the Pre-world, they aren’t. They can’t be. They have to battle each other for power, battle smaller communities that don’t want to join them, battle their own citizens who may disagree with what they are doing. And when I say ‘battle,’ I mean kill. And the ones that oppose them or do wrong that they don’t kill, they enslave and call it ‘helping to rebuild.’ Here, we have found a way to keep the peace. As primitive as it may seem, it works.”
I sat back. “So, I guess this means you aren’t going to stop it.”
“No, I’m sorry, corazon. I know I’ve disappointed you.”
I didn’t speak and instead looked out of the sliding glass doors leading to the patio.
“Amina,” Blake began. “Sometimes we think we have more control than we actually do. Even your worst dictator can’t rule without having loyal followers, and you only get that by giving them or promising them something they want. They want violence. We give them that.”
I stood up and walked away. “That’s not what I want.”
Chapter 20
Every time I thought about Erik’s decision, I felt sick. If he lived through this, he would have killed someone unnecessarily. He would also be that much closer to the foolishness that Seth oversaw. What if he didn’t change anything but got further mixed up in it all? Carter hadn’t done anything, and as a second, I could only imagine that he probably took part in some of the horrors, at least to a degree, to keep Seth happy and off his case. I was sure that Seth didn’t tolerate any dissenting opinions.
And if Erik lost and died, I’d be destroyed. Charles morbidly stated that if Erik died, at least my decision making between him and Phillip would end up being made. I threw him out and sent him to Lisa with instructions to tell her exactly what he said to me.
My mind raced with horrible thoughts that wouldn’t let me sleep. By 11 p.m. that night, I was still lying in my bed, wide awake. I was reading a horror novel I picked up from the library, probably not the best reading choice, when I heard a knock at the door. I grumbled and got up. I was wearing cotton shorts and a T-shirt, so I figured I looked presentable enough to curse out whoever it was felt the need to knock on my door so late.
I looked through the peephole and found Erik standing there in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. His arms were crossed, and he looked annoyed. I backed away. I should let him think I was not home. I didn’t want to talk to him and argue.
“Let me in, Mina. I know you’re in there, I can hear you breathing,” he called.
I sucked my teeth and opened the door a crack. Damn that were hearing. “Can I help you, sir?” I asked, peeking out.
His stern-face softened into a laugh. “Don’t be like that, let me in.”
I squinted my eyes but stepped back and opened the door wider. For some reason, I didn’t think he would leave if I didn’t.
Erik walked in, and I closed the door behind him. I turned and he quickly pulled me to him in a tight embrace. I wanted to fight him, to distance myself from someone I might not see again so it would hurt less, but I couldn’t. I grabbed his shirt and buried my face into his chest, full of emotion, and willing myself not to show any. It would only make
things worse. He stepped back and held my face between his hands before kissing me. It was full of the unspoken emotion we both had. My breath caught, in spite of not wanting to feel anything.
Erik, let me go.
“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly.
“I wanted to get that out of the way before we said anything that we might regret,” he stated, leaning against the door, arms crossed again. “I don’t take what I’m going to be doing lightly, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think it was the right thing. I regret not stepping up in my old pack and just running off like some coward.”
“You weren’t a coward, Erik. You were outnumbered, and you had to save Lisa.”
He nodded. “Well, here there are a lot of people who need saving, and I can’t grab them all and run out. There’s good here, it’s just run by a few bad people.”
“Is Raya included in that? How does she feel about you doing this?” I asked. Yep, I was jealous. He worked beside Raya on a daily basis in the police force and she was a were, and beautiful.
“She’s number four, but loyal to Seth, but she can be reasoned with. And with Carter, and I in the top five, that’ll be three of us and if we speak to the fifth spot person, we might be able to get the numbers we need behind us.”
“Raya wants you to fight?”
He nodded. “She thinks I’m strong enough to win. Unlike you.”
I grimaced. “I just don’t want you to change after this. I want us to all be happy, at least for a while.” I realized as soon as I said it how childish I sounded. I looked down at my feet. Maybe I was naive like Erik first said, but really, I was just tired.
“Mina, how were you going to be a lawyer? I thought you ate conflict for breakfast?”
I huffed. “I only finished one year of law school.”
“I see. Well, as much as I’d like to lay low, I don’t think that’s why we’re here. Mae said as much. Maybe this is one of the things we’re here to do. Mina, I’d really like… I need your support.”
I looked up at him. His eyes had softened, and he had a slight smile on his lips. I dropped my shoulders. What did I expect? He was a former military leader, and he protected people for a living. You had to get those people to trust you. You had to look them in the eyes and make them believe that everything was okay and that they were important. Showing just the tinge of vulnerability helped to do that.