by Dean Murray
I needed to get back home and rest before I lost control. It was getting harder and harder to override the most basic instincts of my kind. Dominance, submission, fight, flight—it was all slowly slipping through my grasp.
"I understand your concern, Jas, but she risked more even than she knew standing up to Cassie. I'm offering her some kind of limited protection at least."
As soon as Jasmin nodded in acceptance I set off looking for Adriana. It wasn't difficult. I knew where her locker was; from there I just followed the freshest scent trail.
I actually almost collided with her as I came around the last corner before the tutor lab. The abrupt motion as I stopped pulled at my side, tearing the wound back open with a lance of pain.
She momentarily looked shocked to see me, and then her usual mask slipped back into place.
"Adri, I wanted to talk to you about what happened today."
There was the slightest blip in her pulse and respiration as I used the shortened form of her name. Interesting, it was the kind of response you expected when you caused someone pain.
Exhaustion momentarily sent me down a blind alley as I wondered why she'd reacted so oddly. Her words struck me with the suddenness of a crowbar.
"You mean when your sister nearly got beaten by that whore, and you not only didn't do anything, you stopped your friends from doing anything either."
I almost ripped her head off. Not figuratively either. Shape shifters weren't always completely safe to be around and apparently my control was even more frayed than I'd realized. She continued before I'd even managed to get myself fully back under control.
"The fact that I, a little waif from out of town, could defuse the situation and save Rachel no doubt sticks in your craw, which explains why you're lurking around out here waiting to talk to me. Because only then can you fabricate some reason for why everything had to go down the way it did, and thereby save face!"
It was unimaginable that this mere human had the guts to stand before me and verbally whip me while my power arced back and forth between us. I had to shut her up before she said something that pushed me over the edge.
"You don't understand."
"Of course. That's an easy comeback. I don't understand. You're right, I don't. I would've done almost anything to protect my sister, but you didn't even care that Rachel was going to get hurt."
I was trembling, which was a bad sign. Even worse, my voice had changed subtly as my throat lengthened and shifted inside of me. I acted without even thinking, lunging forward and grabbing her by the shoulders with more strength than was safe.
"I was going to offer you my protection against Cassie and Brandon, and you throw your supposed superiority in my face. Fine, but don't come crying back to me when the mask comes off."
I'd torn my side completely open now, I could feel a trickle of liquid making its way past the gauze. I spun around and left, only just able to rein myself in enough to avoid moving at unnatural speeds.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Rachel as I headed towards my Porsche. "We're leaving now. I'll pick you up outside the lab in thirty seconds."
Chapter 5
I made it home in record time, only to be 'sent' to my bed as soon as we arrived. Donovan was right about how badly I needed sleep, but it was all I could do to put a leash on my anger and retire to my room.
Just seconds after I collapsed into bed I was asleep and dreaming.
I found myself at the top of the mountain which marked one edge of the estate. My vision was keen enough to make out a multitude of tiny details on the valley floor. I was looking out over the far side, so I couldn't see the estate, but there was no shortage of local wildlife to watch. I already knew I could spend hours doing just that. Equally enjoyable, the cool, crisp air held a hundred thousand scents to savor. Even the air tasted different than the stuff further down the mountain. I'd idly wondered a hundred different times what the air would taste like at the top of the world's truly tall peaks.
The mountaintop had been one of my favorite places to go when I was younger, after my first transformation, but before the duties of the pack became too oppressive. I hadn't been up to the top for months.
Visiting it, even in a dream, felt like coming home. It was perfect in every detail except for Adri's presence no more than a foot in front of me. Her being here after my recent verbal humiliation at her hands was almost more than I could stomach.
Things weren't made any easier when she finally noticed me and responded with typical harshness.
"Why did you follow me here?"
It was just a dream. I found myself suddenly relaxing.
"Actually, I can't think of any place I'd rather not be. You seem to have a gift for making my sanctuaries inhospitable, and rendering my rest uneasy."
Even as my mouth warned her away, the rest of me was drinking her in. She hadn't become any less desirable. If anything the knowledge that she was willing to stand up for Rachel, even against me, put her in a class all by herself. I almost missed her next words.
"That should be remedied quite shortly. I rather expect that even my mother can't go on thinking she'll make a living for us down here after we've been evicted. I'm sure you'll be relieved to be able to go back to your stupid petty dominance games."
I was shocked awake as suddenly as I'd fallen asleep. It made no sense, but it matched completely with the feeling Brandon had been outmaneuvering me somehow.
I flipped my phone open. "Donovan, I think Brandon's moved against the Paige family. What other information have we turned up about them? Specifically about their home and the mortgage they took out to buy it."
"Actually, that's one of the items I'd planned on mentioning to you tonight. I've turned up a surprising dearth of hard information about either of them. Under other circumstances I might have dismissed it, but for someone who's moved into Sanctuary, it represents a possible concern."
"Because the only way for them not to have left more tracks than that is if someone has been hiding it."
"Correct, sir. Unfortunately it's going to require additional time and resources to determine who it was that turned them into ghosts, as it were."
"Keep on it, please, Donovan. I'd bet it was Brandon, but I can't understand why he'd do that. We need more information if we're to have any hope of not getting buried when the tsunami he's crafting finally breaks over us."
I pulled my phone out and dialed the local bank president as I headed towards Jasmin's room. I might not have any hard information, but eviction could only mean one thing.
"This is William Kard."
"Mr. Kard, I've recently begun to entertain nagging suspicions that I'm not being kept fully in the loop."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Alec."
"What's the status of the mortgage on the old Anderson home?"
"You can't seriously believe that I'm familiar with the circumstances surrounding a relatively minor loan among the several hundred in our portfolio? Even if I did happen to know its current standing I can't discuss that type of confidential information with you."
His voice was the perfect combination of indignity and sincerity, and I didn't trust it for a heartbeat.
"You're prevaricating, which generally means you're lying. We've had a fairly amicable relationship up till now, Mr. Kard, so I'm not going to press you to divulge anything you feel improper. Instead I'll make you a promise. For as long as you continue to co-operate with me, to act in our mutual best interest, our family will continue to use you as our primary banking resource."
"That's a very generous promise, Alec…"
I cut him off before he could finish. "If, however, you ever act in a way I believe not to be in my family's interest I'll immediately withdraw everything currently sitting on deposit with you and leave you better than six million short of your statutory depository requirements."
"There's no call to threaten me, Alec. You'll find I don't respond well to that type of talk."
"It's not a threat, Mr. Kard, it's a simple statement of fact. I'm aware that such an action would roll your bank up overnight, but quite frankly at that point it wouldn't be my problem. Please consider this your official notice that I'm very interested in Mrs. Paige remaining in our lovely town, as a resident of her current house. In light of that, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
"Brandon isn't going to like this, and I can't survive him taking all of his assets out any more than I could if you carry through with your threats."
"You'll be even worse off when I get done talking to the federal regulators."
"There may be a slight irregularity in the Paige mortgage, now that you remind me of just how important their interests are to you. Apparently she lied about her employment on the original loan application. Something about a contract with the Mayor to do a tourism brochure."
"I don't think you understand just how important this matter is, Mr. Kard. I want you to take it upon yourself to personally see to it the issue is resolved in their favor. This evening."
It almost sounded like he was having a stroke. It took him several tries to find his voice.
"That's absurd. I haven't done anything to merit this kind of treatment."
"Yes, you have. You're alleging loan fraud and I know very well nothing of the type has occurred. Your people would have confirmed all of those details before you ever wrote the original loan."
"I've got a signed confirmation stating that she was never promised the contract by the city. My people have seen it. If I fail to call the loan, I'll have some whistleblower calling the Feds."
"You'll have a confirmation from the Mayor's office first thing tomorrow morning. The next time I catch you purposefully losing the original paperwork on a loan, though, I will shut your bank down. Please fax over a copy of the confirmation your office received from the mayor."
I looked at my phone for several seconds before punching in Donovan's number.
"Yes, sir?"
"Who's the member of the mayor's staff most likely to have been working on the tourism brochure?"
"I believe Peters has been taking point on that particular project."
"Thanks, Donovan. Can you put me through to him?"
"Of course, sir."
Peters didn't sound particularly happy when he finally picked up on the sixth ring.
"Mr. Peters, this is Alec Graves. I have reason to believe that you've been pressured to lie about a contract you recently signed with Mrs. Paige."
"I need to talk to an attorney."
"No, you don't. I'm not interested in seeing you prosecuted. I do want to see the Paige family dealt with honestly though."
Peters didn't respond for several seconds. For a second I thought maybe his conscience was going to lose the battle.
"I'd like that too, but even if what you suspect were somehow true, there's nothing I can do about it. I need this job. If Wilkenson fires me, I'm done for."
"On the contrary. I'll hire you as a factor for some of my holdings in Nevada. You can spend three days down there and work from home the rest of the week. When the honorable mayor comes up for re-election next year, I'll back you with at least three hundred thousand dollars' worth of campaign backing. You'll win in an unprecedented landslide."
Peters' swallow was audible even over the phone. "Even with that, I'm not sure I can win. Wilkenson knows where all the bodies around here are buried. If I did win though, I'd be my own man, not some kind of puppet."
"You might be surprised at some of the bodies that come to light during the period leading up to the election. As long as there aren't any skeletons in your closet that I should know about, then all you have to do is fax over a copy of the Paige contract."
Ten minutes later Donovan sent me a text confirming that both faxes had arrived.
I dialed the mayor's number as I slowly paced back and forth across the room.
"Mayor, Wilkenson?"
"This is he. Who is this and how did you get this number?"
"It's Alec Graves, Mr. Mayor. I think we should talk about the tourism brochure you've been considering lately."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about your office awarding a legally enforceable contract and then lying in order to help Kard kick the Paige family out of their home."
"You have no proof of that."
"Actually, I do. I have copies of both the original contract and your personally signed denial that the bank was sent just yesterday. It really was quite careless for you to get so involved. Brandon must have offered you quite the bribe."
He was silent for a second. "Peters. That weasel sold me out."
"No, Mr. Mayor, Peters just guaranteed himself a job. If you move against him then I'll see you thrown out of office and sent to jail."
"You don't have the power."
"Mr. Mayor, you have no idea what I'm capable of. Go to the Paige house tonight, apologize for the…oversight and congratulate Mrs. Paige on winning the contract. If you ever mention this conversation to anyone I'll make very sure your career comes to a very sudden, very bloody end."
I needed someone to make sure the Mayor followed orders. Jasmin's room was empty. I turned to go follow her scent trail and almost ran Rachel over.
"She went with James. They're taking a foot patrol around town to establish our continuing right to be out there. Jasmin said they'd be fine because Brandon's pack won't try anything with all those potential witnesses around."
I almost swore. "The two of them shouldn't be let out unsupervised."
The Porsche took corners well into triple digits, but I still felt like I wasn't going to get there quickly enough. There was no way I'd find them while still in my car, so as soon as I reached town I bailed out and started running in the direction of the strongest scent trail.
Less than a minute later I came around the corner of the school just in time to see Vincent shove James. Even well into twilight as we were, it was obvious who was doing the baiting.
Cassie was circling Jasmin and Nathanial was standing back with a smirk on his face. I was still more than sixty feet away when Vincent backhanded James and began shifting.
James' figure began blurring into his own hybrid form even before he'd finished recoiling from the blow. Jasmin knocked Cassie back into the flagpole and dropped down onto all fours before Nathanial could do more than blink.
It was insane for Vincent to have pushed us into a confrontation out in the open, but I let my own hybrid form explode outwards as I covered the last few feet.
James was still injured from our fight earlier, and he was rapidly losing ground to Vincent, who was fresh and unwounded. Jasmin and Nathanial had locked already. It looked like she might have the superior position, but they were whirling about too fast to be certain.
Cassie spun around as she realized they weren't alone, but I grabbed her with one hand and hurled her into the brick of the outer wall. It would have been simpler to kill her, but we couldn't afford a death out here. Unless there was no question that they'd breached our territory, there was too much chance we'd be the ones punished for the fight.
Vincent had clinched with James, each wolf trying to immobilize their opponent's arms and legs while savaging them with their mouths. It was obvious that James didn't have much longer. I hit the pair of them with enough force to warp the heavy metal doors, knocking Vincent loose.
Vincent tried to spin around and attack me, but I already had a firm grip on his arm, and spun him around and slammed him into the wall before he could regain his footing.
James was back on his feet and he sprang at the closest enemy he could find. Nathanial let out a yelp as wicked, eight-inch claws tore him away from Jasmin.
"This is over. Go back and tell Brandon to police his pack better or next time he'll find himself explaining to the Coun'hij why it was the three of you felt it wise to use your alternate forms so close to the middle of town."
My voice came out low and threatening,
but that wasn't what caused Vincent and Cassie to back off. With my arrival the odds had just swung soundly in our favor. The fact that both James and I were still bleeding was nothing compared to what Vincent and Nathanial had just received.
For a moment it looked like James was going to refuse to put Nathanial down, but even overcome with blood lust, his beast knew better than to tangle with both Jasmin and me.
James dropped the smaller wolf into a bloody heap that Vincent had to pick up and carry away. He was going to miss a day or two of school, but he wouldn't die.
As soon as the other three were safely out of sight we transformed back to our human forms and gathered up the scattered pieces of clothing.
I ordered James and Jasmin back to the estate, and almost thought Jasmin was going to argue. I followed them back to Jasmin's black Mercedes, just to make sure she didn't disobey.
James was in my face as soon as I pulled into the garage.
"We had them. Dead to rights. They started a fight in a neutral spot, and we would've come out on top. Why did you blow yet another chance to kill Vincent?"
"First of all, I didn't blow the last chance. Second of all I'm the Kir'shan here. You do what I say when I say it. Tonight wasn't the time to fight to the death. Especially not in the middle of town. You were stupid to have let them goad you into a battle right there, and only the fact that they changed first is saving you from a beating."
It wasn't the most politic of ways to handle the situation, but I couldn't tell him the truth. The only thing keeping the pack together right now was the belief that inside the ridiculous set of rules the Coun'hij had established we had a chance at beating Brandon, or at least goading him into the kind of mistake that'd cause them to take care of him for us.
If James and Jess knew the rules were being rewritten to favor Brandon, there was a distinct possibility they'd disappear on me.
For a second I thought that James was going to attack me, but he'd picked up a whole new set of wounds. He was even less of a match for me than normal and he knew it. The energy level inside the garage ratcheted up nearly to the point of a transformation, and then he turned and stormed out.