Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Monkey Wrench ❯ The Wonderful Werewolves of Oz ( Chapter 11 )

Tuesday, January, 11, 2005

10:05 a.m. EST

Wilmington, DE

Theryn's Apartment

 

Rowan stared at the gaping hole he'd just punched into the beige painted wall in horror. He felt like he'd blacked out for minute and woke to discover his left fist stinging in pain, slightly covered in a chalky mixture of blood and dust. Thankfully, Theryn was not present for his uncharacteristic display of rage, as she was taking a shower at her next door neighbor's apartment, due to the untimely destruction of her own ruined shower curtain.

 

He slowly lowered onto the tiny blue sofa, as if making no sudden movements would quell the pounding in his head, and looked down at Theryn's seemingly innocuous silver cell phone. Amazing the delicate machinery had survived his wrath, for he now remembered what had set him off earlier.

 

Gage had refused to follow his plan! His alpha had outright ignored his opinions, his ideas, and his well vested interest in Theryn's safety. Gage had ordered him to return to Uig's Hunt by two o'clock this afternoon, with Theryn in tow.

 

Walking into the kitchen to cleanse his throbbing hand, Rowan reflected on the conversation. He had told Gage about the change in his and Theryn's relationship; now thinking that it might have been smarter if he hadn't. Certainly Gage should have better understood his hesitance in returning home.

 

It was customary for male lupus and lupinaras, upon performing the claiming mark, to become abnormally territorial and possessive. It was a well known side effect of the age old ritual that while seemingly unjustifiable to humans, was hardwired into any male werewolf's brain.

 

Luckily, this often awkward and unsettling instinctual impulse only lasted about a week, which is the same amount of time it would take the claiming mark to fade from Theryn's skin. In short, Rowan had been trying to avoid the unavoidable, the presence of other males. A little while ago, it had not seemed an impossible feat, but now he feared his own responses to other males in Theryn's vicinity once they got back home.

 

Rowan thought it best to avoid telling Theryn about his mark induced jealousy though; it would only piss her off and make her jumpy. Plus Rowan hated the thought of telling her the power she'd have over him, even if it was only for a week.

 

Unfortunately, Gage did not seem to share Rowan's fear of his reaction, despite the fact that he was something of a genetic anomaly. Doc, Dom and Gage had been trying to figure out how his unique druid/lupinara ancestry would affect his responses to what was ordinary lupinara behavior nearly all his life. Needless to say they had come up with very little answers, mostly due to the fact that he was the only druid blooded werewolf born in recent history.

 

Weres tended to intermarry among themselves, usually within the same animal but not always, yet very rarely with humans. It was more unusual to see a Were and a human marry, then say a Werelion and a Weregazelle. Snibs as a whole were an elitist lot and most looked down upon their human neighbors, it was simply a matter of superiority. This was also why his mother was something of an anomaly herself and Rowan's birth was not expected by anyone, including his own parents.

 

His druid mother and lupinara father had been killed by a very old, very powerful vampire when he was nine years old, for reasons nobody is aware of, even to this day. Considering a person doesn't really retain true memories until about five years of age, those last four years were precious to him. He'd kept little company ever since, the exceptions being his maternal fey grandmother, Egierha, and the Uig Pack's own Gage, Dom and Doc.

 

Rowan always assumed the Pack's three ringleaders had taken an interest in him only because of his unusual abilities. Had he not been the fastest, the strongest, and the smartest, he would have simply faded into the background, another orphan for the Pack to rear as their own.

 

However, he was noticed, and at the tender age of ten, was trained by the elite fighting army of Mastema. They were a warrior class of demon hybrids, with the resolute Mastema serving as the Hell dimension's leader of demon/human offspring. Not everything supernatural was revealed at the time of the Unveiling, humans were completely ignorant of the existence of demons, angels, animal spirits, and countless other species that had chosen to remain hidden from mortal's prying eyes.

 

Unless of course one was to give birth to a hybrid, in which case, one would eventually meet the demon Mastema or the angel Seraphiel. There were a surprising number of “humans” fathered by the denizens of dimensions Hell and Strata, although quite a few more from Hell now that Rowan thought about it.

 

After four years of the most brutal instruction one could learn in the art of death, and indeed it was an art, for being trained to kill efficiently by Mastema ensures pre-meditation regardless of actual circumstances, Rowan was fourteen and ready to assume his role as the Uig Americana Pack's Beta Guard.

 

Gage and Dom both knew that given time, he could have challenged Gage's position as Alpha and won, but those two hadn't sent him to train in the brutal Hell dimension just so he could usurp their power base. Rowan had made it clear from the moment he knew he could have it, that he didn't want it; being Alpha required a hell of a lot more traits than strength alone, despite the fact that a physical fight was how the werewolves had settled the matter since their inception.

 

The Pack loved Gage; they adored his polite demeanor, his steely determination, the way he'd brought the Pack back to its former glory. The man could do no wrong in his followers' eyes and Rowan would have to be insane to want to take that all away. Plus, he truly respected the man; he was a good leader and had remained a steadfast friend for over fifteen years.

 

Moreover, Gage respected him in return, and in an impressively humble show of acceptance, had rarely ever ordered Rowan to do anything, because he knew Rowan was hard pressed to take orders from anyone, even if it was from the Alpha he acknowledged as his own.

 

This was why it was so difficult to wrap his mind around Gage's earlier declaration, an unwavering demand for his return to the Hunt this afternoon, it just wasn't like him. If he'd only just wait a week, then maybe…

 

Turning away from the sink to grab a glass of homemade sweet iced tea out of the fridge, Rowan sat down at the kitchen table. He rubbed nervous fingers over the deep wood grain and thought of the other thing he'd wanted to avoid thinking about, Theryn's claiming mark.

 

He'd completely forgotten about marking her this morning and when she found it, he'd been shocked by how well she handled the stark reminder of physical possession. Rowan wasn't fooling himself though; he knew that while Theryn technically accepted the mark for what it was she had no clue as to its significance in lupinara society.

 

To further complicate matters, she was completely unaware of the Daoine Maithe union charm he'd placed on her last night. Thanks to careful instruction in the customs of his mother's branch of Seelie fey by his grandmother, Rowan had recognized the trademark Sidhe glow when he saw it. If someone harbors significant Sidhe blood in their veins, as Rowan and apparently Theryn did, they will emit an incandescent light, as if glowing from within, but only when coupling with each other.

 

A Sidhe fey will not glow for those outside their race, although the mystically illuminating trigger saw no distinction between the Seelie and Unseelie kingdoms. This was the first time he'd ever seen his own silver-white luminosity and Theryn's answering golden-pink radiance had pushed him to mark her in the way of the fey as well.

 

Thankfully, Theryn had her eyes closed for most of it, and seemed all too interested in fireworks of another kind to notice their little bioelectric light show. Also, the union charm was not a physical manifestation like the lupinara claiming mark. It was a magical stamp on Theryn's aura; consequently, it had a shelf life of about eleven months. Luckily, only Spell Casters, demons, angels and the fey could see it.

 

Speaking of demons, he remembered another thing he did last night that seemed oddly appropriate, tasting Theryn's tears. The gesture was a demon custom he'd been told about by Mastema, the demons believed a human female's tears was precious nectar, never to be wasted. Rowan believed it was the harsh and cruel reality of the Hell dimension that pushed so many demons to come here and seek the kindhearted company of human women. It was the demons' one collective weakness, and no amount of cautious scolding by the Inter-dimensional Portal Council would ever change it.

 

Clearing his mind from thoughts of demons, Rowan brought himself back to his previous thoughts on the Daoine Maithe union charm. He had no intention of telling Theryn about the fey mark, there was no reason for it. Plus, she might not take this one as well as she had the other, and Rowan rather liked the idea of keeping his balls intact, thank you very much.

 

Nevertheless, he was now committed to her in ways he'd never thought possible and it scared him like nothing else could. He'd never really planned for this sort of thing, certainly not this early in his life, despite the fact that the majority of werewolves mated by their twenty third birthday.

 

Rowan had wanted to marry for love like his parents, and was willing to forgo the experience completely if he didn't find it. At least he'd only done the claiming mark, it was still possible to ignore his instincts and try to make things right, although he'd always carry the permanent imprint of Theryn's scent in his mind. Rowan snorted into his glass with contempt, he really needed to stop thinking so hard; it was making him wistful.

 

He picked up the sounds of Theryn's slippers as she scuffed along the carpeted hallway to her front door. Languidly crossing his arms, he planned on feigning idleness until she noticed him. He still wasn't sure how to act around her; after all they'd been through lately.

 

Hearing a loud gasp from the threshold, Rowan never got the chance to play coy because he barreled out of his seat and into the living room like a just released rodeo bull. He found Theryn, outfitted in her fuzzy white bathrobe and hair trussed up in a towel turban, staring wide eyed at the newly minted aperture on her wall.

 

She swung her head around so fast in his direction that the yellow towel flopped off her head and onto the floor. Strands of water darkened hair clung to her neck and face like creeping vines as she bent to pick it up.

 

“What happened to my wall?” she asked, in a voice slightly higher than normal.

 

Rowan wanted to lie so badly he could taste it, but he figured Theryn was too smart to believe the drywall spontaneously combusted, so he went for the truth instead.

 

“I got angry and I punched it,” he replied stoically, somehow feeling defensive of the crumbling void that served as a testament to his righteous anger.

 

Rowan staggered back in surprise when Theryn's first reaction was to reach for his hand and inspect it for injuries. He'd been expecting her to body slam him into the couch, but he'd take this oddly compassionate Theryn over an enraged Theryn any day the week.

 

Cradling his left hand in both of hers, Theryn asked, “You didn't hurt yourself did you?”

 

Smiling sheepishly Rowan rubbed the back of his head with his unwounded hand, “No, I'm fine,” then smirked as he reminded her, “I'm a werewolf don't forget, it takes a lot more than a little drywall to hurt me.”

 

He was almost relieved when he saw her trademark saccharine sweet smile, ah yes, this was the Theryn he knew and loved. Uh, loved? Where'd that come from? Just a figure of speech, he assured himself.

 

“Good, then you won't mind paying for the maintenance guys to come up and fix it tomorrow. Oh, and let's not forget about my car window, I'm blaming that on you too,” Theryn warned, and finished softly under her breath, “just so I can pay Joe back for Heather's stupid purse sometime this century.”

 

Rowan loved how Theryn seemed to forget he had supernatural hearing, if he could hear her mutter obscenities at the dumpster in the parking lot during trash pick up, he could hear her whispered, frustrated ranting two feet in front of him.

 

Agreeing to pay the bills with a nod of his head instead of a signed contract in blood like Theryn had wanted, Rowan asked her to get dressed quickly because they `needed to talk'. Cringing at the sudden apprehension in her eyes, he carefully sat upon the recliner and waited for her to get ready.

 

He hadn't chosen the best terminology in describing this inevitable discussion but it was the most apt phrase he could think of. Sadly, their future was out of their hands.

 

Be it by orders from his alpha, or their own impetuous instincts, they were riding on a runaway train neither of them could control and this realization burned a hot fiery resentment inside. He'd give anything for control of his own life again, damn near anything.

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------

 

Theryn's Bedroom

 

I can't believe Rowan punched a hole in my wall! I mean, I know he broke my window earlier but I can't for the life of me figure out what would have caused him to go berserker on my poor innocent drywall. The whole incident didn't seem like him at all, but I had to remind myself I'd only really known him for three days. Yikes, when you say it like that I feel a whole lot sluttier than I did this morning. Guess it just goes to show my excellent judge of character, yeah right.

 

Flipping my head over to dry my hair, I started wondering what Rowan wanted to `talk' about so seriously. I figured it was about whatever `plan' he and Gage had come up with to ensure I didn't get kidnapped again by a gang of 4-wheel drive obsessed vamps. Or it was about this lovely oversized scratch mark on my back. Which for some reason had yet to start hurting, maybe it wasn't really a scratch at all and some sort of mystical red body paint?

 

Turning off the blow dryer I began pulling on some clothes, now somewhat more concerned with my appearance around Rowan, in light of recent events. I found my favorite green turtleneck sweater, the one that matched my eyes perfectly and paired it with my best fitting blue jeans.

 

Quickly throwing on some make-up, grateful for the recent reprieve from blemishes I was getting, and shoving feet into shoes, I was ready to face the mighty Beta Guard sulking in my living room. I didn't have time to question why I no longer needed my contacts or glasses to see, I'd worry about that strange post-abduction side effect later.

 

Taking a seat on the sofa, I crossed my legs and rested my chin in my hand, while gracing Rowan with a look of bored attentiveness. I didn't want to make a big deal out of this, I knew nothing he did last night was permanent, and we both got a little carried away. I was just happy I didn't have any weirdo supernatural `claiming marks' of my own to worry about, I could thankfully pretend I had nothing to do with it. Again, yeah right.

 

“I talked to Gage this morning, he didn't agree with my plan,” Rowan stated, obviously miffed.

 

I was somewhat startled by this news, Gage didn't agree with him? I knew Gage was the alpha and all, but he didn't seem the type to argue with Rowan, guess I was getting a lesson in werewolf politics.

 

“Okay, what does he want us to do?” I asked.

 

Rowan stood up from his position at the edge of the recliner, and looked at me with defiance in his eyes, but I couldn't figure out if he wanted to argue with me or with Gage's orders.

 

“We have to be at the Hunt by two o'clock this afternoon. Pack your bags for at least a week because I don't know how long he wants you to stay there.”

 

Seeing the stubborn look on my face, Rowan quickly interjected, “Don't think you can get out of this, Gage was adamant. I have to follow my alphas orders,” he added a rumbling growl at the end, “for now.”

 

This still wasn't enough for me, “Did Gage say how long he expected me to stay there? I've got to back to class in less than three weeks, plus my job at the University starts February 7th, I can't commute from Elijah's Island to Philadelphia everyday, it would take over three hours!”

 

Rowan looked slightly sympathetic, “You'll have to talk with him about it. Look, why don't you go pack your things, we're cutting it close to our deadline even with you driving like a bat out of hell. We really shouldn't be late today.”

 

Seeing that arguing with Rowan was going to get me nowhere I got up and started packing for an indefinite stay at Uig's Hunt. I really hated having my life dictated to me but I remembered the vampires and their cold, unfeeling demeanor. I also remembered breaking down into a crying fit last night, pining hopelessly for my former life. Guess I should just be glad someone still cared enough about my life to dictate it to me at all, but that didn't mean I had like it, not one bit.

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------

 

1:50 p.m. EST

RT. 20 Delaware

Theryn's Car

 

I risked taking a look at Rowan from my perch in the station wagon's driver's seat. It had been our luck that Lisa had wanted her Jeep back and we'd switched vehicles before we left. A monsoon was creeping over the Delaware sky and no amount of plastic wrap and duct tape was going to keep out the torrential downpour from leaking inside. My passenger looked none the less appealing however. If that had been me in his seat, I'd have looked like a drowned sewer rat within five minutes, but he managed the wet look very nicely indeed, although I already knew that.

 

Shaking my head from those thoughts, I turned up the volume on my CD player, so Disturbed's “The Sickness” blared through my speakers at the appropriate decibels. It was not a song to play softly in the background and I needed a very loud distraction.

 

Rowan had filled me in on the finer points of the claiming mark and I was relieved to find out it would only last a week. By this time next Tuesday, it will have completely vanished from my back, so let's hear it for temporary lupinara marks; it was the best news I'd heard all day.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't regret having casual sex with Rowan, twice. Not at all, in fact, I think it was the best thing that could have happened between us. It had gotten rid of all that crackling tension and now that we had worked it out of our systems, we got along much better. I was no longer the raging über-bitch from hell and Rowan had toned down his domineering demeanor.

 

Now I just had to suck it up and live with a colony of werewolves, as the only human, for an indeterminate amount of time. I started to feel my eyes water in despair, and I really hoped I hadn't opened up some kind of dam and would start crying at the drop of a hat. Making up for all those years of dry eyed bliss was going to be the payback from hell.

 

Making my left turn onto the lane that lead to Uig's Hunt, I found it odd there were no black clad security guards to greet us this time and said as much to Rowan.

 

“Gage told them to expect us and they recognized your car. You won't have to go through inspection with me in the car. They'll open the gate for us too.”

 

“Oh darn, and I was so looking forward to being frisked by Bruno and Vinnie again,” I stated, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

 

I was not prepared for Rowan's fierce look and intimidating growl, he turned toward me, his face a mask of outrage, “Who are Bruno and Vinnie and why did they frisk you?”

 

Oops, I forgot that wasn't their real names and what was up with Rowan, over react much?

 

“Those guys that went with Seth and Gage to my parents' house on Saturday,” I answered, trying to sound nonchalant, “I never learned their real names, but they looked like a Bruno and a Vinnie, so that's what I called them. They checked me for weapons when I first came here, but don't worry, Bruno didn't molest me or anything, in fact he was a perfect gentlemen, during the frisking I mean.”

 

Rowan seemed to calm down after that, so I parked the car on the same grassy clearing as I had before. Everything looked the same except there were a lot more people outside the farm; but I didn't see any wolves this time either.

 

I exited the car, humming the old Seasame Street ditty, “One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not the same…” It was definitely the appropriate theme song for my re-entry into the Uig Pack's stronghold, I suddenly felt very, very vulnerable around all the predatory glares.

 

I guess Rowan picked up on my trepidation because he quickly shouldered my enormous duffel bag, only after wrestling it from me might I add, and fastened his hand on my elbow while walking closely by my side to the front door.

 

We were met by Gage, Dom, Seth, and a woman I hadn't met before. She was at least six feet tall with vibrant curly red hair and pale turquoise eyes, definitely werewolf eyes. She was wearing a winter white wool suit that clung to every curve, staying within the boundaries of taste by the skin of her Hollywood white teeth. It was an outfit best suited for corporate ladder climbing, if you know what I mean. Dom was again in his designer apparel, looking rather dashing in his black jacket, matching trousers and burgundy silk tie. The two of them together looked like CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, not werewolves.

 

Gage looked more comfortable in his Levis and red cotton sweater. If he worked for Dom and the redhead, I'd imagine he'd take casual Fridays very seriously. I found myself instantly disliking the redhead because she reminded of Dom's smarmy condescension, and what woman in her right mind would elect to wear three inch spiked sling backs when the boss is sporting L.L. Bean?

 

I noticed Gage give Rowan a blatantly questioning look, but I didn't have time to worry about it. Dom beckoned us inside and I had a feeling of déjà vu as we were quickly ushered into Dom's super mod office. I took the opportunity to look at Seth, he appeared to be okay; I'd have to talk to him later, without so many people around.

 

Rowan and I stood at the corner nearest the door, he was still gripping my elbow, but in a more forceful hold then before. My exploratory attempts at dislodging him were met with warning growls so I rolled my eyes and decided not to make a scene.

 

Gage introduced the redhead as his mate/wife, Katie. Whoa, talk about how opposites attract. We exchanged pleasantries and it was hard to miss her thick Irish brogue I'd always found terribly hard to understand. My Dad's family was Scot-Irish and I'd taken a semester study abroad last year at Trinity College in Dublin to learn more about my heritage. Only my last week there did I finally get to the point where I could follow a conversation between the natives, and that was only under the dubious influence of numerous pints of Guinness.

 

Apparently, Katie was to act as the Pack's human/werewolf liaison. Her position as the Alpha's mate was well respected among the pack members and Gage seemed to think a quick introductory tour, with her at my side, would ease some of the tension that housing a human female could bring to the Hunt.

 

Prying my bag from Rowan's reluctant hands, Katie handed it to a passing girl with instructions to take it to the guest's wing. I watched in horror as the girl abased herself to Katie, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste to carry out the woman's orders. I quickly realized that while Gage played his folksy, `man of the people' part, Katie made sure the pack didn't forget who was in charge. Her Alpha Queen routine was the flip side of her husband's down to earth nature, and I couldn't figure out what a preferred more, a leader whom acted like a commoner or a leader who called a spade a spade and didn't bother with the façade.

 

Smiling down at me from her statuesque height and it was no surprise Gage's wife was so tall, for anyone shorter would look quite comical standing next to him; we made our way down the hall and into what looked like an immense auditorium. I stopped short at the threshold, for there were easily a hundred highly alert people sitting inside and we were at the entrance to the stage.

 

I saw each and every one of them stop their individual conversations and stare blankly at me with irises in a rainbow of sunlit colors. I spotted Loretta waving to me from the front row, she was sitting next to a lab coated Dr. Mitchell. Katie grabbed my right hand and escorted me onto the small stage, the room was so quiet I could hear my heartbeat, and had the feeling I wasn't the only one.

 

Katie beamed at the assembled crowd, clearly loving her position of power. All eyes were now on her and with a toss of her waist length curls; she spoke in her captivating Irish lilt.

 

“Thank you all for coming to this Pack meeting. Gage is tending to some business in the office wing, so he asked me to speak on his behalf.”

 

The wolves seemed to grow more alert with this statement and their eyes swung back in my direction. I felt like the featured freak at a Carnival sideshow, all Katie needed to do now was shout “Come one, come all, take a peek at this most disturbing specimen of human inferiority. She doesn't bite, but we sure do!” I'd never wanted to disappear into the floor so much in my life.

 

“This is Theryn Thompson, our newest Pack member Seth Thompson's sister. As you know, she donated her blood to ensure his successful transformation from human to lupinara a few days ago.”

 

The crowd was intrigued, I could tell. Oh goody, I'd done something right.

 

“Due to some unfortunate circumstances surrounding that incident, Theryn has been asked by Gage to stay here at the Hunt for a little while. He asks that you treat her as an honored guest.”

 

Now many in the congregation burst into shouting, some of them stood up out of their seats, pointing at me in obvious disgust. Others were excitedly whispering to their neighbors, taking quick glances in my direction. A small minority was silent, simply studying me with intellectual curiosity. In any event, I was the subject of suddenly intense scrutiny and that was a surefire way to make me bolt.

 

I didn't the chance because Katie tightened her grip on my hand with enough force to snap my metacarpals in two, making me cry out in pain. It was then that my formerly benign claiming mark flared to life with a breathtaking burning sensation and I fell to my knees, overwhelmed.

 

Within twenty seconds the backstage door flew open with a resounding boom and Rowan strode in, looking just as he did before slaughtering the vampires in the warehouse lot. I wanted to get out of this den of iniquity so bad I was tempted to start knocking my heels together chanting, “There's no place like home, there's no place like home.”

 

Deciding to forgo passing out from the pain in my hand, neck and back, in favor of the usually tried and true life preserving state of consciousness, I bit my lip in concentration and turned to the strange mix of growling, shouting and scuffling going on behind me. I felt an arm under my left shoulder and looked to see Seth pulling me up to a standing position, bless my brother, he knew how much I hated looking weak.

 

Rowan and Katie were going at it like Rock `em Sock `em robots, with Gage and Dom trying in vain to pull them apart. Finally, Gage grabbed Katie by the back of her neck and she went limp like he'd hit a Power Off switch. She was dead weight in his arms, so he carefully lowered her to the floor, while Dom tried to hold off Rowan from tearing her to pieces. What the hell was going on?

 

I remembered we had an audience and looked out to see them all staring at me once again, some in horror, some in disgust (was I that revolting?) but most with a sort of bemused acceptance. Why the sudden change of heart? One girl, whom I recognized as the bleached blonde Meghan, was boring laser eyes of doom at me, and I made a mental note to self to avoid meeting her in a dark alley anytime soon.

 

Gage gave Rowan a quelling look, then strode toward me purposefully, in full alpha mode, no longer looking like the man who'd kiss babies and attend barbequed chicken dinners on the campaign trail.

 

“Theryn, are you all right?” he asked softly.

 

“I'm okay. I think she just broke a few fingers,” I answered, while cradling my right wrist.

 

Gage nodded at me once, and then turned toward the assembled crowd.

 

“Uig Pack members, you now know the status of this human girl. I doubt any of you want a repeat of what just happened. Theryn is here because I have requested her presence at the Hunt and I know you will make her feel welcome. Furthermore, be mindful of her delicate condition, my wife found that out the hard way.”

 

Rowan started growling at those words. Damn straight man. `Delicate condition' my ass, just because I can't bench press an armored tank like you were-freaks, it doesn't make me delicate. Bastards. Gage shot a look at Rowan and he stopped his thunderous rumble, but not without narrowing his glowing purple eyes at the alpha. Shit was Rowan asking for a beat down? Surely, Gage wasn't going to take such insubordination in front of the pack?

 

I was surprised to see him nod at Rowan in confirmation, of what I hadn't the foggiest.

 

Gage looked out into the audience again, “I also don't have to remind you of what to expect out of certain members of our pack in the coming week, I expect those of you to whom this applies to behave accordingly. We are working with uncharted territory here; I'd hate to be witness to any accidents that may occur. As always, any questions you may have should be addressed to me, I'll be in my office in one hour. You are dismissed.”

 

And with that, the werewolves left the auditorium with no less fanfare than an international soccer tournament. Katie had come back from her instant-coma and was snapping at Gage, Rowan and Dom none too softly.

 

“I didn't mean to break her gods be damned hand Rowan. Bloody hell, you think I wanted to hurt her and send you into a killing rage after me? I didn't even know you'd marked her! She was going to run! I don't have to tell you what that would have started!” Katie exclaimed.

 

“But you did know she was human, Katie! What were you thinking applying that much pressure?! You're lucky she only has a few broken fingers.” Rowan roared back at her.

 

“Are you threatening me, Rowan Campbell?” Katie bellowed, “By Christ's holy name you'd better not be or I'll see to it that you--”

 

“QUIET!” Gage ordered.

 

Everyone was silent; you could have heard a flea fart in the hushed stillness of the amphitheater.

 

“Rowan, take Theryn to Doc's lab, he'll mend her hand. Dom, take Seth to your office so he doesn't have to deal with `20 questions' when he gets out of here. Katie, go to our room, I'll meet you there shortly,” Gage rattled off in perfectly timed precision.

 

Katie looked ready to argue but a quick look in Gage's direction stamped any defiance from her eyes. I didn't blame her; the alpha was depicting a quiet anger, the kind that only got worse as time went by. When Rowan took me from my brother to head toward Dr. Mitchell's, I was very glad to be gone. I wanted no part of this, yet here I was, front and center, ringside seats to the scariest show on Earth.

 

I knew I'd be lucky if I got out of this with nothing but a few broken fingers. You know it's bad when you start thinking like that. Bring on the wicked witch and her flying were-monkeys; it couldn't get much worse than this. Now if only I could find some ruby slippers…

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------

2:30 p.m. EST

Uig's Hunt Farm

 

Dear Diary,

OMG I am going to kill her! Can you believe that stupid human bitch has HIS claiming mark on her?! She must have put some kind of spell on him first, cuz there's no way he'd have done it on his own.

 

I didn't think he'd want anything to do with HER! She looked like an 80's reject when I gave her that fey catalyst potion, is that what HE finds attractive? No Way! She's done something to him, I know it. Now to make sure she goes away forever…

 

I know! All I have to do now is tell Boss man and he'll get rid of her for me. He and that vampire of his tried to kidnap her last night, but HE killed the vampires and saved her. I knew HE could do it, man I wish I had been there to see it.

 

Well Diary, I better get going if I'm gonna give that bitch Theryn over to the Boss. We'll do it real sneaky like, so HE won't even miss her. I'm supposed to call Darastus first though; he told me if I wanted my love spell to work I was supposed to contact him before Boss man.

 

I'll have to wait for dark then, he's still sleeping in that nasty coffin down in the basement. Oh well, that creepy vampire wanted to know any updates about the human whore anyway; well this'll have him giving me enough spell power to make HIM forget all about that little weakling slut.

 

Hope her finger bones heal like crooked hook. Ha ha ha, that would be funny. Oh, and don't let me forget to get Julie her birthday present, her party's next week! I'll be sure to write ya later Di.

 

ROC ♥ MEC

 

Loves and Hugs,

Meghan Elizabeth Campbell

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------

 

6:15 p.m. EST

Milford, DE

Nikolai's House

 

Darastus stood in the thick black darkness that shrouded the old Victorian's basement in a veil of suffocating shadows. The little Uig snitch had just contacted him and had told him the most wonderful news he'd heard in a very long while. Rowan Campbell had put the claiming mark on Theryn Thompson, and this was after the girl had been doused in the catalyst potion.

 

Rubbing his hands together with glee, the vampire smiled in the direction of the crescent moon lingering outside his window. It wouldn't be long now, he was sure of it. All the while that desperate Russian fool would play right into his hands. This didn't change things really, Nikolai would still get what he wanted; it would just be slightly different than what he had previously anticipated.

 

Yet Darastus was most pleased with this turn of events. Technically it didn't matter who had done the donating, as long as one of them did, although this turn of events did make for a nicely ironic twist. Yes, if pressed he would confess that he was happier with how things turned out, if only because of his penchant for melodrama.

 

Stretching his tired limbs toward the ceiling, Darastus made his way up the stairs to have a chat with his lupinara host. They needed to make plans for the future and armed with Meghan's information; Darastus could now make sure he was the one to benefit. He quirked his thin lips into a sinister half smile, as if he'd ever intended to benefit anyone else.