The Alpha Wants Everything Book 1 The King's Queen
Chapter 55: Stay with me!

Johnny and Kenneth

Kenneth and Johnny reached the art gallery before 2, it had been rebuilt after the fire, but the upkeep on the exterior of the building was lacking much like the rest of the town.

“Do they not take pride in their town?” Kenneth asked as he looked at it.

“Doesn’t appear so.” Johnny said as he looked around. Run down building after run down building. Half the shops on Main Street were boarded up and closed down.

“This place would be too much of a money pit to invest in. Would be cheaper to wipe the whole town and start over.” He added.

“Who are we talking to?” Kenneth asked as they moved towards the entrance to the gallery.

“Some greasy slimeball named Greg Clarkson. Sounds like a fast talking used car salesman.” Johnny replied, opening the door. They weren’t even in the building before a short round man with a bad toupee approached them.

“Mr. Jackson, good to meet you, your assistant Thomas tells me you’re interested in purchasing the art gallery.” He said, extending his hand. Johnny recoiled at being called an assistant.

“Unfortunately Mr. Jackson could not be present today, some urgent business came up that requires his immediate attention. This is his associate Frank Garnett.” Johnny introduced Kenneth to the agent.

“Of course Mr. Garnett it’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Greg Clarkson.” Kenneth shook the man’s hand trying to fight the urge to laugh at Johnny’s expression after he was referred to as an assistant.

He showed them around the art gallery saying it has been purchased and sold three times in the last three years, talked about the dimensions, the windows and other things. Showed them the back rooms.

“So it’s just the front half as the gallery and the back half as storage?” Kenneth asked, frowning.

“Yes! The previous owners blocked off half the building, not a lot of calls for art in this town I’m afraid” Greg explained. After looking at what was hanging on the walls for sale it wasn’t hard to see why. Like the rest of the town the art they were trying to sell was drab, and boring or something a five year old could have painted and nothing stood out.

“So why wasn’t the building used for something else?” Johnny asked, looking around. The gallery was dingy, dirty and he was pretty sure something was moving in the corner of the storage room.

“If that is a rat, I am out of here!” Kenneth said through the link. He was watching the same movement in the corner as Johnny.

“Unfortunately, town policy is that it can only be used for an art gallery, it is what it was designed for.” Greg answered,

“That is an….interesting policy” Kenneth stated. “Not sure my associate will like that, if he were to buy the building he would want to make the decision on what it is used for. The location is not terrible, it could have been a bar.” He added.

“He could petition to have it changed.” Greg offered,

“How long would that take?” Johnny asked,

“A few months. Small town politics work much slower here, we are not in a rush like the big cities” Johnny and Kenneth shared a look and they moved to walk out of the back room. Neither wanting to be near the moving thing in the back corner anymore.

“But, a few words from some key people could grease the wheels and make the process move faster.” Greg spoke fast to keep their interest.

“Is he talking about bribery?” Johnny asked

“I do believe he is” came Kenneth’s reply.

Moving back to the front of the gallery, one more look around, they both again just looked at each other.

“This place caught fire a few years back didn’t it?” Kenneth asked,

“Yes! Why?” Greg asked them curiously,

“Wondering if it is structurally sound, or will one swift wind knock it down” Johnny ventured. They needed to get him talking about the fire.

“Oh it is sound. There is no worry about that. The fire broke out in the middle of the room, I guess about where we are standing right now. It burned most of the pieces and the floor, the fire department had it out before it even touched the exterior walls.” Greg claimed,

“Do you have a copy of the report? We would like to take a look at it.” Kenneth inquired,

“Oh you don’t need to look at that, just a bunch of nonsense. Someone didn’t like a piece of art and destroyed it, that’s all.” Greg waved his hands at them, brushing off their request. Again Johnny and Kenneth shared a look.

“He’s hiding something!” Johnny stated.

“How do you want to play this?” Kenneth asked.

“How would you handle it in New York?” Johnny returned.

“Lean on them and apply pressure,” Kenneth offered.

“That sounds fun!” Johnny said.

They both looked at the man. Kenneth arched his eyebrow.

“Isn’t it a policy to disclose everything in the sale of buildings. By not doing so is against the law. If someone died in that fire my associate will not be pleased if he has to make restitution to some family that he did not know about. So not adhering to our request to view the fire or inspection report is hindering our ability to make a decision on whether or not our associate should buy this property. He is not a man that likes to waste his money or his time. And if he were to buy this location and it were to fall down around him it would not be us he would come after. It would be you.” Kenneth stated.

“He would destroy you in ways you could not imagine. He would go after you, your family and whatever family they could possibly have for years to come. And he would not stop.” Johnny added,

“So we will ask you again to see the reports” Kenneth looked at Greg narrowing his eyes.

They saw the man visibly swallow, before he sighed.

“No one died in the fire. A young girl did get trapped inside the building before it caught fire, which is strange because the back door locks from the inside. She should have been able to get out, but someone barricaded the back door. It took them over 20 minutes to reach her. She should have died from smoke inhalation. How she survived is a mystery. She had a small minor burn on her arm and that was it, a pipe above her burst surrounding her in a pool of water, but she was rescued and I guess she’s fine. She disappeared without a trace from the hospital. They think someone used Molotov cocktails to set the fire in the middle of the room next to someone’s art piece. It’s still an open investigation so any further details would have to come from the fire marshal.” The man shook his head as he explained what happened that night, it was clear he did not want to say anything.

“That confirms Damon’s thought, whoever started the fire was after her.” Johnny said.

“They waited till she went back in the building.” Kenneth agreed.

“The door at the back, they would have had to come through the front” That didn’t make sense to Johnny

“Two places, one person?” Kenneth questioned.

“There had to be two of them” Silently cursing, this just got more complicated.

“Who called the fire department? And how fast did they place the call?” Johnny asked,

“What does that have to do….” Greg started to say

“Don’t ask questions just answer them” Kenneth snapped,

“The artist who’s piece went up in flames I believe, he was the last one out when the fire started, he looked like hell too, said he got into an altercation with another artist.” Johnny looked at Kenneth and they both headed for the exit.

“Wait, what about buying the building?” Greg called after them.

“We’ll be in touch” Kenneth called over his shoulder pulling out his phone to call Damon.

Damon and Carter

Carter and Damon made it to the first house on the list, after taking a wrong turn.

“This fucking town makes absolutely no fucking sense” Damon complained,

“Should just burn the whole fucking thing to the ground,” Carter agreed. Both men were angry over the events of the diner. They exited the vehicle and approached the door.

“How do you wanna do this?” Carter asked, he was more than ready to get the hell out of this town, it made his skin crawl.

“We’ll play it by ear.” Damon replied as he knocked on the door. A tall man in his early thirties answered the door, he immediately tensed up when he saw Carter and Damon standing there.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” He asked, his tone showing concern.

“Charles Brady?” Damon asked,

“Yes!” His voice hitched and he swallowed hard as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

“We would like to ask you a few questions, is it alright if we come in for a minute?” Damon asked,

“What is this in regards to?” He asked,

“I don’t think you want us to do this on the front step, you should really invite us in, unless you want your neighbours to know what a dirty pervert you are?” Damon urged. When it didn’t look like he was going to let them in, Damon stepped back and took a quick scan of the area to make sure no one was watching then nodded to Carter. His fist connected with the man’s jaw and he fell back into the house.

“I wanted to like you Chuck, but you had to be difficult.” Damon said as he stepped into the house dragging Charles with him. Carter took another quick look and followed closing the door behind them. The home was clean and tidy and there were photos of a happy family on the wall.

“Is this your daughter Chuck? Does she know the pictures her daddy likes to look at?” Damon asked, motioning for Carter to search the house. Carter moved quickly through the house looking for computers, tablets and flash drives.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Charles groaned, holding his jaw.

“Never looked at dirty pictures Chuck?” Damon asked more directly this time.

Carter came back with two tablets, a laptop and a few flash drives.

“I don’t think he would leave this in the open, for his precious daughter to replace.” Damon mused “Check the basement” Carter was gone again.

“What are you talking about?” Charles yelled. Damon pulled up a photo on his phone and showed him, recognition flashed in his eyes.

“So you do look at them. What if this was your daughter? Would you still look?” Damon asked,

“That’s sick!” Charles cried,

“Oh that’s sick, but this is….healthy?” Damon questioned,

“It’s harmless!” Charles defended himself.

“Harmless” Damon considered the word. “It’s harmless” then backhanded Charles causing him to fall backwards on the couch.

“Is it still harmless?” Damon asked.

“Damon down here!” Carter called from the basement. Damon looked towards the basement door and when he looked back Charles had his phone and was trying to call the police. Damon grabbed the phone from his hand and crushed it.

“We won’t be calling anybody right now” He grabbed Charles by the back of the neck forcing him down the stairs.

“Someone has a naughty habit!” Damon said. They destroyed all the physical copies of every photo of Dax and then turned to the computer.

“How did Marco say to do this again?” Damon asked, scratching the back of his head. Carter looked at him then at the computer. He picked the whole system up and smashed it on the ground. The case around the system crashed open exposing all the circuits and boards and Carter stomped on it till there was nothing left. Then looked back at Damon with a shrug.

“That’ll work!” Damon nodded. Turning back to Charles, he showed him the photo one more time.

“Tell me about it!” He asked,

“I don’t know anything. I was looking and they popped up” by the amount of fear coming off of him he wasn’t lying.

“Tell me something Chuck” Damon said, grabbing him by his hair forcing him to look at him.

“What?” He whimpered,

“How do you sleep at night looking at photos like this, when your daughter sleeps down the hall from you?” Damon questioned. Charles’ response was to just cry.

“Disgusting! So how should we deal with this?” Carter asked,

“Do you remember when Garret’s kid taped you to the tree?” Carter nodded, how could he forget, he was jumped by the kid and three of his friends. They taped him to a tree, after Lacey told everyone that he was gay. They wrote queer boy on his forehead and left him there. Damon had to cut him down, he beat the shit out of Garret’s kid and put him in the medical ward again. Then he taught Carter how to fight.

“Think I saw some duct tape over there” He moved towards the back of the basement and came back with a roll. When they left, Charles was duct taped naked to a tree in the front yard with PERV written on him in sharpie and his dirty photos scattered around him. An email was sent to his wife from his account detailing the pictures he liked to look at and she should take their daughter and go straight to her moms.

The next three houses they again had no luck getting any answers, and Damon beat one of the guys after he laughed at his ears. With two houses left on their list, they were getting frustrated at their progress. The only thing they accomplished was coming up with unique ways to destroy computers.

“Hopefully Johnny and Kenneth are having better luck then we are” Damon said as they walked up the path to the house.

“This neighbourhood seems busier than the last one,” Carter noticed as he looked around. They were getting a few looks from people passing on the street.

“So don’t start the conversation by hitting him. Fix your ears, we have to be presentable.” Damon said as he knocked on the door. Carter just glared at him, but did as he was told.

A young guy opened the door, maybe 25, he took one look at them and started laughing.

“Oh shit! Sorry bro! But what the fuck? Why are you both wearing ears?” He choked out,

“Bro!” Damon repeated, Carter just nodded, then he noticed a tattoo on the guy’s arm. They saw that symbol on the webpage that had all the photos.

“Nice ink!” Carter said, motioning towards it.

“Yeah! You like? Saw it on some webpage and I was like that’s pretty sweet.” The guy said, showing off his tattoo.

“Nathan Granger?” Damon asked,

“That’s me! What can I do for you guys?” He asked with a big grin on his face.

“Shane sent us, we’re associates of his” Carter took a shot in the dark, but when he saw Nathan’s face light up he knew he nailed it.

“No shit! Come in, come in” he held the door open for them to enter. “That must mean I won.”

Both Carter and Damon exchanged a look, then looked back at him.

“The competition?” Nathan looked back and forth between them.

“We don’t know anything about a competition. Shane is under investigation for fraud. He has very few close friends and he considers you one of them. He wants to know if you’d be willing to testify on his behalf.” Damon lied through his teeth, but this kid was eating it up.

“Oh fuck yeah I will! Poor guy!” Nathan said. Poor guy is not a word they would use to describe Shane. Dead guy would be a more accurate term.

“Great, tell us everything you know, starting with this competition” Damon instructed,

“Yeah sure, I can show you” Nathan offered,

“That would be perfect” Damon looked at Carter with a crooked grin on his face. Now they were getting somewhere.

He took them down to the basement, pictures of naked girls hung all over the walls. There wasn’t anywhere they could look that didn’t have tits and asses in their face….including the floor.

“Nice decor!” Damon said,

“Thanks!” Nathan didn’t seem to register the sarcasm in his voice. He sat at his computer and pulled up the site and the competition and showed them. It was to get the best photo of Dax.

“You can submit as many photos as you like, me and this other guy Graham were neck and neck there for a bit but I think I got the winner.” Interesting he should mention Graham, he was the last name on their list. Nathan scrolled through a bunch of photos till he found the one he wanted and showed them the photo, it was of her in her bra and panties walking around her loft. Both Damon and Carter subtly looked away. Damon’s eyes flashed green, Titan was not happy, that was his sister.

“How did you get all these?” Damon asked,

“I figured out who she was and followed her around taking her photo. She’s fucking hot, a real bitch though. I grabbed her ass in that diner she goes to and she punched me in the throat. Hurt like hell couldn’t swallow right for a week.” The more he spoke, the madder Carter became, he was fighting to control himself, but he seemed to be losing.

“Hey, is your friend all right?” Nathan asked. Damon looked over at Carter and motioned for him to go upstairs.

“He’ll be alright. Got into a fight with his girl, you know how bitches can be” Damon said, as he watched Carter disappear up the stairs. He’d let Carter have this one but the boy would probably rip him to pieces. He’d allow it if it weren’t for the fact that people saw them there.

“Boy, do I ever!” Nathan agreed, shaking his head. “Shane’s right, they’re only good for one thing.”

This kid was seriously pushing his luck. Damon took several deep breaths to keep himself in check.

“Did Shane ever tell you what he wanted these photos for?” He asked, clenching his fists.

“Nah! Something personal, wouldn’t be surprised if he used them to get off. Like I said she’s fucking hot, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t from time to time.” Nathan admitted. Again Damon had to fight to control himself but it was getting harder and harder. Moving away from Nathan the urge to snap his neck right this second was strong, but they needed more information.

“Sadly I don’t think you can help your friend. This is all a liability to him. They will investigate him, and you and when they replace all of this a few more charges will be added, like stalking, then they will look into sexual assault allegations. And you just created a bigger fucking mess.” Damon said, looking at him.

“Whoa bro! Stalking? Sexual Assault?” Nathan stared at him wide eyed.

“It’s what they call it when you follow people and take their photos without their knowledge or consent, and if I’m not mistaken it’s a felony. I mean I’m no lawyer and you can take your chances in court, but pretty boys like you don’t fare too well on the inside. You’d be someone’s little bitch inside a week.” Damon raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders.

“Jail, I could go to jail.” Nathan was bewildered; he ran his hands through his hair. “What do I do, you gotta help me”

“Bro, I ain’t gotta do shit to help you, but if I tell Shane what we discovered here and he cuts a deal.” Damon said,

“Deal what deal?” Nathan looked at him,

“Well for his freedom of course. He’ll turn you over and that’ll be it. They will be much more interested in you than him. They’ll look into your background and put pieces together, you’ll be charged” Damon was just guessing, but this kid looked scared.

“No bro, you can’t let them do that. I didn’t do anything, I took a few photos. Shane is the disturbing one, he’s fucking crazy. He’s had like 6 sexual assault charges, but nothing ever sticks, they all take back their….their statements. There was a fire at the art gallery a few years back, he started it, laughed when I told him some girl almost died in the fire. Said the girl was why he started it. But that chick, he’s obsessed with her, like crazy obsessed. What do I do?” Nathan babbled telling him everything he could.

“Wait, he told you he started the fire at the art gallery?” This caught Damon’s attention.

“Yeah! He has a burn on his arm and I asked where he got it from. He told me he was throwing bottles of gas into the art gallery and one splashed back on him or something and he got burned. You have to help me, what do I do?” Nathan begged,

“What do you mean he’s crazy obsessed with that chick?” Damon asked.

“Like cr-a-zy. Has to know what she’s doing at all times. I heard him on the phone once yelling at somebody. He went nuts on the guy. Telling him he was gonna kill him or something. I didn’t hear the whole conversation, just enough to know that Shane wasn’t happy, the guy lied to him or something about something that was promised to him” Nathan went on. “Come on bro, you have to help me, I can’t go to jail, what do I do?

“Destroy it all. Leave nothing, don’t just delete it, I mean wipe everything, flash drives as well. And stay the fuck away from that chick and stay the fuck away from Shane.” Damon advised. Nathan just nodded his head and started deleting all his files. Fuck this kid was stupid! Damon stood there watching him destroy everything. When everything was destroyed Carter and Damon left Nathan sitting there. He kept asking over and over if they were going to tell anybody what he did. They never answered him and just left the house. One more stop.

Graham was just as helpful though not as stupid as Nathan, he caught on to them quick, he confirmed the 6 assault charges and his obsession with Dax but he couldn’t tell them why, the why was important. Now Damon stood in the kitchen eating a bowl of Captain Crunch, listening to Carter beat the shit out of him in the basement. He walked into the living room looking at his music collection, he turned on the stereo and Hedley Lose Control came on, he turned it up and started moving to the music as he continued eating his snack. When Carter came upstairs, his hands were covered in blood, but he was no longer shaking with anger.

“Is he alive?” Damon called from the kitchen. When Carter rounded the corner he stopped dead and looked at him.

“I’m fucking starving” was all Damon said,

“Is there anymore?” Carter asked,

“There’s a whole box in the cupboard” Damon pointed to the cupboard by the fridge.

Carter washed the blood off his hands and then opened the cupboard where he saw the box of cereal and a bowl. Reaching into the fridge he grabbed the milk, and Damon pulled a spoon from the drawer he was standing by and gave it to him.

“So is he alive?” Damon asked again,

“He’s breathing, Alpha Kane didn’t say to kill them.” Carter replied, eating a bite of cereal.

“What do you think Kane would say if he saw us right now?” Damon asked, taking his own bite. Carter just looked at him.

“He’d be big mad” Carter said, looking down at his cereal.

“We won’t tell him then, probably best not to tell him half the things we did today. He won’t let us hang out anymore.” Damon said, Carter just nodded and they both went back to eating only to be interrupted when Damon’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey Kenneth!”

“Just finishing up”

“Ok, we’ll be there”

“Finish your cereal Carter we gotta go.” Damon said as he disconnected the call.

Kane, Dax and Marco

Kane, Marco and Dax arrived at the warehouse just after 2. Kane told her to wait in the truck and they would come back and get her when they found a way in. It wasn’t the type of warehouse that had bay doors so they wouldn’t be able to get in that way. There was the front door that had a 6 digit pin lock and Marco didn’t have anything with him to crack it and the side door that had the edges sealed up around it to prevent it from being pried open. Feeling his frustration growing at this, she climbed behind the wheel of the truck. Kane said not to leave the truck but nothing about bringing the truck to him. She is discovering the art of loopholes. Are you sure about this? He said don’t leave the truck. This wouldn’t be leaving the truck! Johnny also said don’t let you drive his truck! We just won’t tell him! Girl you have gone crazy! Yup! She started the engine and hit the gas.

“Cosa sta facendo? She….do?” Marco asked as they saw the truck coming towards them.

“Like I have any idea,” Kane replied, as they watched her swerve around them, spin the truck and stop it pointing away from the building, then throw it into reverse and back up to the door and put it in park.

“What are you doing?” Kane asked her,

“I didn’t leave the truck,” she replied, looking at him.

“No, you didn’t, but it doesn’t answer my question. What are you doing?” He asked again, opening the driver’s door.

“You were getting mad,” she answered as she turned to look at him.

“We can’t get into the building.” Kane should have known she’d respond to his frustration.

“Can’t you break the door down?” She heard Marco snicker from behind Kane.

“I can’t break the door down, it would take to long” Kane replied,

“Can we attach something to the back of the truck and pull the door off?” She asked, looking at him,

“Always thinking.” He kissed her head and told Marco to replace something to attach to the back of the truck. They were going to pull the door off.

Marco came back with a chain and they attached one end to the door, and the other to the hitch on the truck.

“Drive it like you stole it baby!” Kane kissed her head one more time and closed the door. He’s not sure what would happen but he and Marco hid around the corner of the building just in case, his firecracker was at the wheel after all. Dax threw the truck into reverse and got as close as she could, then threw it into drive and hit the gas. The tires squealed, and the rubber burned as she pinned the pedal to the floor. They heard a huge CRUNCH! As the door was pulled away from the frame and went sailing through the air. BANG! When it crashed down onto the ground, and only when they heard metal scraping across the pavement did they peek their heads out.

“Cazzo! Lei è fottutamente fantastica! (Fuk! She’s fucking fantastic!)” Marco laughed, as the truck came towards them dragging the door behind it. When she stopped, she killed the engine and he helped her exit the truck.

“Johnny’s going to need new tires” He chuckled when he pulled her into his arms.

“We don’t have to tell him I drove the truck” CLANK! Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him. Uh oh! They looked behind the truck at the bumper on the ground.

“Can we tell him you did it?” She asked, looking at him again, biting her lip.

“No! We can not tell him I did it.” Kane replied, trying to hide his smile.

“Can we tell him Marco did it?” She asked,

“No, tesoro! Non possiamo dirgli che l’ha fatto Marco! (We can’t tell him that Marco did it!)” Marco yelled from the front of the truck. She looked at the back of Johnny’s truck.

“I think that means no we can’t” Kane said still fighting to contain his laughter

“How mad do you think he’s gonna be?” She asked, playing with her fingers.

“You broke the bumper off!” Kane was no longer able to contain his amusement at this. Johnny’s gonna be pissed. Ky howled in his head.

“We….we can tell him it just fell off!” She suggested,

“We can try that!” Kane said laughing. Johnny’s not going to buy that! No he won’t! There would be hell to pay when he saw his truck, but they could try. He unhooked the chain and threw the bumper in the back of the truck and ushered her towards the building still laughing.

Searching the ground floor, and coming up empty handed they moved to the second floor. Seemed to be where he did most of his living. Like her loft it was open concept, the living room was opposite the kitchen and the dining room was beside it. Tucked in the corner just off the dining room was a door. A heavily locked door. This loft was a bit bigger, he had a space where he made up an office beside the kitchen, a hallway leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom. Marco went straight to the office and started combing through his computer while Dax and Kane searched for his hidden device or laptop and any flash drives or SD cards. He had them hidden all over the place, behind paintings, in vases, in throw pillows, under the area rug. Hidden in coffee cups in the kitchen. She saw a telescope by a window.

“What are you looking at?” She said, when she looked, she recoiled at what she saw. “Oh naughty boy!”

“That’s a very naughty boy!” She said to Marco, who chuckled at her. Kane was searching a bookcase, where he found a tablet hidden amongst the books. He gave it to Marco to work magic on. He told Dax on the phone that the next batch of photos would be ready this week sometime, they wanted those photos and whatever other photos he had of her.

Dax was looking around at the art in his place, it looked vaguely familiar to her. She picked up a crystal ball with an orchid in it and looked at the bottom, sure enough stamped in the middle CC. The ball fell from her hands, shattering to the ground. She picked up another piece CC and another and another and another. These pieces looked familiar because they were hers. They were all hers.

“What’s the matter baby?” Kane asked, grabbing her shoulders.

“They’re all mine” she whispered, showing him the stamp on the bottom of a glass sculpture. Kane looked around the loft at the art. Each detailed, intricately done piece, spoke her name, her handiwork, her time and effort. The last three years of her work was in this loft. Each piece more detailed than the next, like he was challenging her and each time she rose to and exceeded the challenge.

“Let’s hurry up and get the fuck out of here” Kane said to Marco, who just nodded turning back to the computer and tablet.

“È qui che lavora, ma non dove tiene le sue foto. (This is where he works, but not where he keeps his photos.)” Marco said,

“English, Marco” Kane commanded, Marco released a small growl, as he fought to replace the words in English. Kane eyed Marco, the time has come to replace out the reasons why Marco was….complicated.

“He….on….just….work here. Not….all” Marco said over his shoulder.

“Fuck! Keep looking!” Kane was getting angry.

Her and Kane moved down the hallway to check the bedrooms. She checked the spare bedroom, while he checked the master. She searched through the bedside table, under the mattress and under the bed, where she found a locked box, she pulled it out and placed it on the bed. She moved to the closet, where she found another locked box and pictures. She put those on the bed and moved to the dresser but the drawers were empty. She checked under and behind the dresser where she found a flash drive taped to the back. She checked the vent in the room but came up empty. She brought both lock boxes, the pictures and the flash drive to the living room. She walked back down the hall, but some photos on the wall caught her attention; they looked like parts of a face. Take them! The voice spoke in her head. She started pulling them off the walls and out of the frames, she placed them in the living room as well, then she headed back down the hall towards the master bedroom.

“Don’t touch anything!” Kane didn’t even turn around when she stood at the door. He had ripped the room apart, drawers were pulled and the contents were spilled on the floor. Clothes were thrown out of the closet and he had tossed the bed to one side. His skin felt like it was crawling. He hadn’t found anything useful, just an obsession with bondage and brutality. When he turned around to look at her, he had a haunted look in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, in hopes of soothing him. He crushed her to him and held her tightly. If what he saw in this room was what he was planning on doing to her, he would die an even more painful death than Carl. What he saw in this room will haunt his nightmares. He backed her out of the room so she wouldn’t see anything, she has enough nightmares running through her head she doesn’t need anymore. He closed the door behind them, telling her to stay out of that room, she nodded her head and stepped into the bathroom instead, while Kane moved back into the living room.

“I’m …. ending computer…. every….finito …. done” Marco informed Kane.

“Good!” Kane said with a nod, then moved to the dining room to the locked door. Why would it need this much security? What was he hiding behind this door that he needed so much security on?

“Chi sta cercando di tenere fuori? (Who is he trying to keep out?) Keep….out?” Marco asked, coming up behind him.

“Not us” Kane kicked the door hard. It crashed off its hinges into the room, splintered wood from the frame flying everywhere. They looked around the room, her photo was everywhere. Every square inch of wall space was covered with some picture of her, her face, or her body. In the middle of the room lay a double bed. It wasn’t locked to keep people out, it was locked to keep someone in.

“Fanculo! Sono quelle catene? (Fuck! Are those chains?)....chains?” Marco pointed to the headboard and footboard of the bed. He was obsessed with her. The more Kane saw the angrier he became, his fists clenched and his eyes flashing azure blue.

“Get that stuff in the truck then burn this whole fucking place to the ground” he growled. Marco just nodded and they both backed out of the room. They still didn’t replace his secret laptop and he was starting to think maybe he didn’t have one but after seeing this room he had to have one. Marco said he didn’t replace any of the photos in this room on any device or flash drive he looked at.

Dax was in the bathroom and she could feel Kane’s anger building and building. He was about ready to unleash Ky on this place and that would not be good. She searched under the sink and the cabinet above the toilet but nothing out of the ordinary there. She looked in the medicine cabinet and found bottles and bottles of pills, all different kinds. Some half full, some totally full. She didn’t know what the medication was or what it was for and couldn’t pronounce half the names. Pulling out her phone she took pictures of the labels. She tried to read them again, Zyprexa, Risperdal, Saphris, Parnate. What the hell are these? I don’t know, but they don’t sound good. Ooo Valium I know that one, anxiety right? Sure, let’s go with that! Big help! I try! She looked at the name on the bottle. Magnus! That sounded familiar, she looked for the last name but it was ripped off. She pulled down another bottle of pills, Magnus no last name. Who are you Magnus? Why were you taking pictures of me? Another bottle, no last name. She saw a bottle at the top of the cabinet, standing on her tippy toes she couldn’t quite reach it. Using a comb she flicked the bottle down crashing it into the sink. Seroquel, she looked for the name. Magnus Whitekar! Her hands started to shake, then her body “You’d know it if you heard it” rang out in her ears. The bottle fell from her hands as her nightmare came to life before her eyes.

YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH, LOOK WHAT YOU DID! Her breath came fast, while her heart beat harder. HE WILL OWN YOU! THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT! She covered her ears and shook her head. Shutting her eyes tight, she fell to the floor, and pushed herself into the corner of the bathroom, fear overwhelming her, trying to get away from the voice screaming in her head. No, no, no, please stop! You’re not real! I don’t need to be real you pathetic little bitch! YOU FEAR ME! I CONTROL YOU! And soon he will as well, you belong to him! You were chosen especially for him! And he will take back what is his! Not even your mountain can save you now!

2 years old she stood in a nice clean house with white walls, listening to a man and a woman arguing. “No, we can’t stay here,” the woman screamed. “You don’t have a choice, I own you” the man yelled back. “It’s not safe,” she screamed back. She flinched as she heard the hit and the woman cried out in pain and fell to the floor. The man transformed into a monster screaming at her. “You stupid bitch, look what you made me do” and he hit her again and again. “This is your fault. You disobeyed!” Hitting her again. The woman disappeared before her eyes and the nice clean house with the white walls faded to yellow with stains and dirt upon the floor. The smell was rancid and the monster was screaming at her. “You stupid little bitch. Look what you did!” He smacked her across the face and she fell to the ground, her little body unable to withstand the blow he used. “This is your fault! You disobeyed!” He hit her again. “You useless waste of space, worthless good for nothing, this is all your fault” the screaming monster would not stop, his eyes filled with so much rage towards her, so much hatred. “I sowee papa! I sowee! Don be mad, peas!” her voice was small and weak. “You’re sorry, you’re sorry. You stupid little bitch. YOU WRECKED EVERYTHING!!” One final hit and all went dark.

When she opened her eyes she was 14 and she stood in the foyer of a nice penthouse apartment, two cops stood on either side of her and they had just brought her back to her nightmare. “We found her Mr. Whitekar on the bus heading out of the city.” “Thank you officers, you don’t know how much it means that you brought my baby girl back to me. I was so worried” but when he looked at her it was not worry she saw in his eyes. She could feel his hatred, rage swirled in his eyes. Engulfing them in unbridled loathing. She was just rejected by the woman who gave birth to her and now she was going to be killed by her monster. She didn’t want the cops to leave, they were the only things stopping him from killing her right there. The second the door was closed his hands were around her throat squeezing the life out of her. “You stupid, stupid little bitch” he hissed at her, “I should have done this along time ago” he squeezed tighter, but his phone interrupted him. “What?” He barked as he dropped her to the ground, giving her a quick kick to the ribs. She tried to cry out but she couldn’t. She couldn’t catch her breath, she gasped and wheezed, drawing in as much air as possible. “Yes Magnus, she’s fine.” “Yes Magnus I know what I said.” “Magnus, that is enough!” “MAGNUS ENOUGH!” He bellowed into the phone. She tried to stand up, and run out the front door, but he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. He backhanded her across the face causing her to fall and hit her head off the floor. Her world spun, starting to fade “Don’t worry Magnus I will keep my promise, when the time is right she will be yours” then all went black.

Kane was loading some items into the truck, when an intense coldness hit him hard. His whole body shook violently and he grabbed onto the side of the truck to stop his legs from buckling under him. He could hear Marco calling his name, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t say anything. FOCUS!! A voice hissed at him, he’s never heard it before. She needs you….NOW!!! Something flashed before his face and he fell backwards as he let go of the truck. He laid on the ground for a second, GO NOW!! The voice screamed at him to move. He was on his feet running back into the warehouse with Marco right behind him.

“Dax!” He called, no answer.

“DAX!” He yelled louder. “Come on baby, answer me.” He ran down the hallway praying she wouldn’t go in that bedroom, when he passed the bathroom, there she was lying on the floor.

“No, no, no, no baby. Open your eyes baby, open your eyes.” Kane felt for a pulse. She was ice cold, her lips were blue, her breathing was shallow and her body shook violently. Kane gathered her in his arms holding her tight trying to warm her up. He could hear her heart beating so loud, so wild, so out of control.

“MARCO! GET A BLANKET” Kane yelled from the bathroom.

“Come on baby, open your eyes for me, open your eyes, please baby just open your eyes” Kane begged her. Her breathing was becoming more and more shallow as her body grew colder.

“No, no, no, no baby stay with me. I got you, stay with me. Stay with me, I got you” he held her tighter trying to use his body heat to keep her warm. Marco ran into the bathroom, not even waiting to be told what to do he wrapped the blanket around both of them. Making sure all of her was tucked under it. Kane moved his hands up and down her body trying to warm it up. He kept repeating for her to stay with him. When she started to respond, the colour returning to her lips and her body warming up, both him and Marco breathed a sigh of relief.

“Get the truck!” Kane ordered, kissing her forehead and resting his cheek against it. When Marco left the bathroom, the first tear fell.

“Stay with me, I can’t lose you,” he whispered.

He picked her up and moved out of the bathroom and down the hall. He could see Marco fighting to keep control, his eyes glowing amber. This situation upset him.

“Burn this fuck hole to the ground” Kane’s eyes glowed azure blue.

“Con piacere! (With pleasure!)” Marco bowed and started gathering supplies to start the fire. He found a few bottles of lighter fluid, turpentine, and a few aerosol cans. He poured the turpentine in the locked room and the master bedroom and the lighter fluid all over the flash drives and the computer. He moved the furniture around making sure it would catch. When he moved the couch he heard something hit the ground underneath it. Taking a look he pulled out a laptop. A smile crossed his face. Turning the oven on he chucked a few aerosol cans inside and he put a few in the microwave and set it for 30 minutes. Grabbing the other bottle of lighter fluid he squirted it all over the kitchen making sure he hit the microwave and oven. Then he grabbed the laptop, the remaining items and got the hell out of there.

When he got behind the wheel of the truck, Kane was already in the back seat. His arms were wrapped around her, he was still trying to get her to open her eyes but she wasn’t responding to his words. She was trapped in her mind with her nightmare, she was alone and scared, he could smell her fear. She would shake violently or her body would grow ice cold. The two men shared a look in the rear view mirror and Marco started the truck. Pulling away from the warehouse they heard the first explosion, followed shortly by the second. Marco stopped and they watched the building go up in flames.

“Back to the pack house quickly,” Kane said, Marco nodded and stepped on the gas. Like his Luna he drove it like he stole it. He called Johnny trying to fill him in on what happened. Kane could hear Johnny yelling through Marco’s phone, he was panicked and upset and he was fighting to control his wolf. Marco’s broken English wasn’t really helping, though he was trying, it wasn’t working he didn’t know how to say what needed to be said.

“Mi dispiace, Johnny. Ho rotto il tuo camion. Broke….truck” Kane’s eyes snapped to Marco’s in the rear view mirror as he heard Marco confess to the bumper falling off the back of the truck. He heard Johnny yelling some more.

“Non siamo riusciti ad entrare. (We couldn’t get in.) I….redo.” Johnny yelled some more, but they both knew he didn’t care about the truck, he needed to vent, he needed to get it out or Johnny would go after the first person to piss him off and rip them to pieces. When Marco disconnected the call, he looked in the rear view mirror again.

“Thank you!” The emotion he heard in his Alpha’s tone, he was fighting to keep it together. Kane ran his fingers through her hair, still trying to get her to open her eyes. They remained closed, with her breathing soft and shallow and her body continued to shake. Still feeling the coldness moving throughout his body, surrounding him, when her body grew cold it would steal his breath away and he would hold her tighter to him, trying to keep her warm. He felt something pulling at him, trying to pull him under. He’s felt this before, the night she pulled him into her dream. He fought to ignore it, to remain in control. Let go! The voice in his head whispered. She needs you! Giving in, he let it take him.

Damon and Carter picked Johnny and Kenneth up from the art gallery and they headed for Maria Whitekar.

“Not sure all of us need to go in.” Kenneth said from the back seat.

“True, might be a bit overwhelming for her. So who goes in and who stays behind?” Damon asked from the front. They sat in silence for a bit trying to figure that out as they sat in front of her house.

“Well Carter just beat a man half to death, before we picked you boys up” Damon stated. Kenneth and Johnny just looked at him.

“You beat the first one because he laughed at your ears” Carter countered,

“Respect the ears, was that a little too much to ask” Damon defended himself,

“Kenneth threatened the real estate agent, with Kane.” Johnny said. Kenneth looked at him and just shook his head.

“You threatened his whole family lineage” Kenneth replied. Ok so none of them seemed like the best fit for going in there to talk to Maria.

“Alright we aren’t getting anywhere. Who’s the best at smooth talking?” Kenneth asked,

“Johnny!” Damon and Carter said in unison.

“What?” Johnny asked bewildered,

“Brother, you sweet talked the panties off a nun.” Damon exclaimed, Carter just nodded.

“That was one time and how did you hear about that?” Johnny asked Carter,

“The whole pack house knew” he replied laughing,

“That’s not just a saying?” Kenneth questioned as he looked at Johnny.

“It was one time, Damon bet me I couldn’t do it. How did the whole pack house know?” Johnny looked wide eyed at Carter.

“I told them. I lost 50 bucks. He’s a fast talking silver tongued devil” Damon replied, “Johnny goes in!” Damon said. Johnny grumbled under his breath.

“We’re starting to draw attention.” Carter informed them, as he watched people slow down as they passed them sitting in the truck.

“Stop your bitching and get in the fucking house” Damon said,

“Fuck!” Johnny got out of the truck and approached the front door.

“$20 says he gets in, in under 2 minutes” Damon offered,

“I’ll take that bet,” Kenneth agreed. They watched as Johnny knocked on the door. Damon started the counter as soon as the door opened, sure enough in under 2 minutes Johnny was being invited in.

“Pay up!” Kenneth cursed under his breath but slipped 20 bucks into Damon’s outstretched hand.

Johnny was standing in the middle of a small living room, he didn’t really lie to get inside, extended the truth a bit, he said they were investigating the death of Carl Whitekar, which they tied to Shane Kragmuawit and the fire at the art gallery, she gave him a knowing look and invited him right in. Maria had offered him a glass of water and was in the kitchen. He took the opportunity to look around, and he noticed the photos on the walls. A mother and her son, she was always smiling in every photo, but as the photos progressed the smile on the boy’s face faded as did the softness around his eyes. The last photo the boy looked to be 18. His jaw was set and his eyes were hard, he was a dead ringer for Carl.

“That’s my son Magnus,” Maria said as she came out of the kitchen, catching Johnny looking at the photos.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop, but your son looks suspiciously like the person we are looking for.” Johnny apologized,

“That’s all right. He doesn’t come by anymore. We had a falling out when he turned 18 and he walked out that front door and has never been back since.” She explained,

“Yet you hope that one day he’ll walk through that door” Johnny asked her looking back at the photos.

“Yes and no. I hope one day my happy little boy will come through that door and not the monster his father created. And he looks like him because he is him” Maria said coldly. Johnny looked at her, questioningly.

“I left his father when Magnus was 6.” She began. “Things were fine for a while. Then Magnus started to change, he would be moody. Uncontrollable bouts of anger. I caught him standing in my bedroom once holding a kitchen knife while I slept. Took him to doctors, several doctors, but he had this uncanny ability to lie and be believable, just like his father. When he was 10 neighbourhood pets started disappearing.” She looked away from Johnny. He could sense her shame.

“You think he did something to them?” Johnny asked, she motioned for him to sit on the couch and handed him a glass of water. He thanked her and waited for her to proceed.

“No, I know he did something to them. One night I saw him burying something in the backyard. While he was at school I dug it up….I wish I didn’t. I took him to more doctors, showed them pictures of what I discovered in the backyard and they would give him a clean bill of health, he told them he found them like that and they needed a proper burial. Then when he was 12, he got his first crush, a little girl named Sarah, and he seemed to be ok. Then she told him she didn’t like him like that and he pushed her off the playground structure. Poor thing broke her arm. He followed her everywhere for weeks, until the family had to move to the next county. Took him to yet another doctor and finally they started to believe me that something was wrong with him.” She said.

“You knew something was wrong with him?” Johnny asked,

“I knew from the day he was born that something was wrong with him. A mother always knows when something is wrong with her children.” She said, looking at him.

“What did they say was wrong with him?” Johnny asked,

“He had so many different diagnoses, bipolar disorder, manic depressive, borderline personality disorder, they finally settled on OLD when he was 13.” She replied.

“OLD?” Johnny never heard of that.

“Obsessive love disorder, he replaces someone and he becomes overly obsessed with them. He imagines a whole relationship with them, and if they reject him….” She explained leaving the ending hanging in the air. Johnny didn’t need her to finish it, if the object of his obsession rejects him, he kills them.

“Has he ever hurt anyone, besides that one little girl?” Johnny asked, he wasn’t going to tell her about Dax.

“No thank god. When he turned 14 he took a turn for the better. I thought it was the medication, so I never questioned it….I should have questioned it. I was just so grateful, my happy little boy was back. Turns out he got in contact with his father and was communicating with him on a regular basis. This carried on for four years, I would stop it and he would replace a way to get in touch with him anyway. The day he turned 18 he walked out that door and never came back. I don’t know if he was still talking to his father when he left, but I assume he was.” She wiped her eyes as her tears started to pool.

“Maria, why did you leave his father?” Johnny asked,

“Because he’s a monster. Monsters shouldn’t raise monsters. When Magnus was 4, Carl wanted another child, not a biological one, which was a good thing after Magnus I couldn’t have any more children, he literally destroyed me from the inside. Carl had read about this baby that was left on the steps of a church and he wanted her. Said she was perfect. At the time I didn’t think anything of it, thought it was a great idea. But one night I overheard him telling Magnus that she belonged to him, and when he grew up he would never have to be alone or work to replace someone to love him the way a woman was supposed to. They would train her how to do it right the first time.” She shuddered at the memory, but continued.

“I knew right then that little girl wasn’t safe with Magnus in the house. I would hear him telling her that she was his and no one else could have her or he would kill them and her. I took the wrong child that day. I should have taken her and ran far far away. So they could never replace us.” She put her head in her hands, her soft sobs rang through the house as Johnny just sat there. He wasn’t sure what to do or say to this woman. She knew she fucked up when she didn’t take Dax and run, she has been living with guilt for 19 years.

“Baby Girl Jane Doe, survived living with your ex-husband, but your son is still after her. He tried to burn her alive in that gallery fire and we fear he will make another attempt on her life….” Johnny pushed her.

“The only way to stop him, is to kill him. When you replace him….if you replace him, put a bullet in him, she’ll never be safe until he’s dead.” Maria interrupted looking at Johnny, he saw the seriousness in her expression. She was telling him to kill her son, she didn’t have to tell him twice, it was already in the plan. Johnny rose to his feet, thanked her for her time and left.

He was walking back to the truck when his phone rang.

“Hello Marco! English Marco!” He listened intently as Marco spoke.

“WHAT?” He took off in a run yelling for Carter to start the truck.

“What bit his ass?” Damon asked,

“WHAT HAPPENED? ENGLISH!” He was barely in the truck before he was telling Carter to head back to the pack house.

“WELL HOW IS SHE? ENGLISH!” Johnny was panicking,

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WON’T WAKE UP? FUCKING USE ENGLISH!” Johnny yelled into the phone.

“Who won’t wake up?” Damon was turned around in his seat staring at Johnny. “Feisty pants won’t wake up?”

“What the fuck happened Johnny?” The more upset Johnny got, the more upset everyone else became.

“DAMON SHUT UP!” Johnny yelled at him.

“Punch it Carter, we need to get back to the pack house now!” Damon ordered. Carter hit the gas as he took off down the street heading for the highway.

“TRUCK? MY TRUCK? YOU DID WHAT TO MY TRUCK?” Johnny hollered into the phone.

“HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT?” He ran his hands through his hair. He didn’t give two fucks about his truck right now, he just needed to focus on something else.

“Damon, call Dodger he’s on duty, he’ll give them a police escort to the pack house, the highway will be busy this time of day. Carter, use the backroads, we’ll catch up with them on Miller Creek Road” Johnny was barking out orders, as soon as he disconnected the call from Marco.

“What happened Johnny?” Kenneth asked from the back seat.

“She had an incident at Magnus’s warehouse, the parts I understood, Marco said she was sleeping, her body was chilly and her lips turned blue. Now she’s unconscious and Kane can’t get her to wake up.” Johnny reiterated what he understood Marco telling him.

“What the fuck happened and who the fuck is Magnus?” Damon asked as soon as he got off the phone with Dodger.

“Shane the photographer is Magnus, and Magnus is Carl’s son” Johnny replied. The truck fell silent, until Damon spoke.

“Shane Kragmuawit, if you rearrange the letters you get Magnus Whitekar. He said she’d know his name if she heard it. But how did she hear it?” Johnny explained what Maria had told him, about the doctors she had taken him too, about the missing neighbourhood pets, the bodies in the backyard, that Carl adopted Dax with the intention of making her Magnus’s property. Told them that she took Magnus away to save Dax, but realized later that she took the wrong child. How Magnus pushed a little girl off a playground breaking her arm and the family had to move away because she rejected him and that he and Carl have been communicating since he was 14.

“Holy fuck! Is he fucked in the head?” Damon asked,

“They finally started to believe her when he pushed the girl off the playground that something was wrong with him. At 13 he was diagnosed with Obsessive Love Disorder. He picks an object of affection and obsesses over them, he has a full blown relationship with them, in his eyes that person is his and only his, no one else can have them. If that person were to ever reject him, or do something he didn’t like….” Johnny was explaining but he didn’t know how to word the last part.

“He’d try to set them on fire. We assumed he wanted to kill her because she put his father in prison, but she rejected him that night and then beat him with a napkin dispenser.” Kenneth finished for him.

“Exactly. But she survived, now he thinks he’s got a second chance at his imaginary relationship with her. Except it’s not imaginary, it has been ingrained in his brain since he was little that Dax belongs to him.” Johnny continued nodding his head in agreement with what Kenneth said.

“His obsession with her might have diminished when his mom took him away, but when he started talking to his father again at 14, it came back stronger than before. Marco said something about a locked room in the warehouse. It had pictures of her everywhere and something about a bed with chains. All those women he fucked, were just stand-ins for the real thing.” Johnny’s body vibrated with anger, when he replaces this guy he’s gonna rip him to pieces.

“His name would be on a prescription bottle, if he’s fucked in the head then he’s on or at least has medication he’s supposed to be taking. His name has to be on the bottle. That’s how it triggered her, she had to read the name.” Damon guessed.

“So what the fuck do we do?” Carter asked the one question no one asked. They all looked at each other, no one had an answer.

“When I found her that night in the kitchen she was catatonic, I brought her to the medical ward and told the doctor to give her something to calm her down, not sedate her. Maybe it’s the same thing, she’s trapped in her brain and can’t distinguish what’s real from what’s a memory, so she’s reliving it all again like it’s real.” Damon again was guessing, but it might help.

“Benzodiazepines” Kenneth said,

“What?” Johnny looked at him,

“They are mild sedatives, used to calm down patients who are having a panic attack” Kenneth explained, he’s had to use them a few times on Marco.

“Ok, ok, so ok” Johnny said, not really finishing his thought before he was on the phone with Marco.

“When you get to the medical ward tell the doctor to give her benzodiazepines, they will calm her down, maybe tell him to give Kane one as well.” Johnny said he had the phone on speaker so the others could hear as well and Kenneth could translate.

“S, SAREBBE FANTASTICO ADESSO! (Yeah, that would be great right now!) ABBIAMO UN GRANDE CAZZO DI PROBLEMA! (We have a big fucking problem!)” Marco was hollering into the phone to be heard over all the snarling coming from the back seat, before he could say any more a loud growl echoed through the phone. No one needed the English version to understand that there was a problem.

“Oh shit! Big bad wolf is not happy” Damon said,

“SANTO CAZZO! NON È STATO REATTIVO NEGLI ULTIMI 20 MINUTI! ORA STA RINGHIANDO CON IL FOTTUTO CAMION! (Holy fuck! Hasn’t been responsive in the last 20 minutes! Now he’s growling with the fucking truck!)” Marco yelled again as another growl ripped through the line. Carter had to fight to keep his truck on the road.

“DAMON!” Johnny had to yell to get his attention; he had his ears covered.

“I’M ON IT” Damon yelled back, calling the switch board. Another growl ripped through the cab of the truck, cracking the windshield.

“He’s getting louder!” Kenneth remarked,

“STO PER MORIRE! PROVA A ESSERE NELLO STESSO FOTTUTO CAMION COME LUI! (I’m dying! Try to be in the same fucking truck as him!)” Marco yelled.

“The triplets are in route and they have benzowhatthefucks.” Damon said as yet another growl louder than before ripped through the cab, they all covered their ears, but Carter, who fought to keep control of the vehicle. The passenger side window shattered and Damon had to turn his head towards Carter seeing blood trickling out of his ears.

“MARCO!” Kenneth yelled into the phone, when he didn’t receive a reply, he started to panic.

“MARCO ANSWER ME” Kenneth tried again,

“SANTO CAZZO! LE FINESTRE! (Holy fuck! Windows!)” Marco bellowed after a few minutes.

“We just lost Carter” Damon said, he touched Carter’s shoulder startling him, causing the truck to swerve.

“WHAT?” Regaining control he looked at Damon, but he could only see his mouth moving with no sound coming out.

“WHAT?” He repeated,

“PULLOVER MARCO, THE TRIPLETS SHOULD BE THERE SOON AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE TRUCK” Johnny had to yell to be heard over the next growl. The back passenger windows shattered, raining shards of glass down on Kenneth and Johnny and the phone disconnected. Kane was definitely getting louder.

They came upon Johnny’s truck on the side of the road. Marco was crouched down beside it covering his ears, they could hear the growl from where they were. Damon had to keep his hand on Carter’s shoulder so he’d stop scaring him every time he needed to get his attention. He tapped once to get his attention pointing to the side of the road. Carter nodded and pulled over. The medical van showed up at the exact same time. James was out the door before the van even stopped, he carried a syringe and a bottle and moved quickly towards the truck, but had to stop to duck his head, when another growl erupted from the interior. The others were out of the truck but Damon told Carter to wait there as they rushed towards them. James moved quickly filling the syringe with the correct dose and injecting it into her arm then backing away from the truck fast. He heard what happened the last time, this happened. Marco wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way, the scream and the growl that erupted from the truck threw him 20 feet into the air, he hit the ground with a hard thud. The windshield shattered, the truck shook violently and the tires blew, then all was silent.

They waited, 1 minute….2….3 minutes….4….5 minutes. When nothing happened, everything moved in fast forward. James was in the truck with them, checking vitals, one of his brothers was standing by with a gurney, and the third was checking on Marco. The others rushed to help, Kenneth went to Marco’s aid while Johnny and Damon went to the other truck. They had to help pry Kane’s arms from around her, so James could get her on the gurney. They fastened her in and loaded her into the back of the van. With Marco on his feet, the third brother ran back to the van and jumped behind the wheel taking off down the road towards the pack house. Damon motioned for Carter to come closer with the truck, when a loud growl ripped through the air and the back passenger door exploded off its hinges when it was kicked. There stood the beast and he was fucking pissed. He glared at all of them until he caught the faint whiff of her scent, he saw the tail lights of the medical van and took off after it, shifting to his true form without even breaking stride.

“Oh fuck!” Johnny went to run after him, but Damon stopped him.

“We won’t catch him, let him chase the van, we’ll cut through the woods beating them to the medical ward.” Johnny nodded, they left their phones and wallets with Kenneth and he and Damon took off into the woods shifting as soon as they hit the tree line. Throwing their heads back howling an alert as they went. There was a beast heading towards the Blood Howlers and he would rip apart anyone that got in his way of what he was after. Leaving Kenneth to deal with the two deaf men.

Johnny and Damon, beat the medical van back to the pack house, they shifted back and quickly threw on a pair of shorts and ran towards the medical ward, yelling for the doctor the second they entered. They needed sedatives and powerful ones and tranquilizer guns. No way in hell any of them were getting close enough to Ky to stick him with a needle. Damon was in constant contact with James through the link.

“5 minutes out Damon”

“Doors are open back the van right up to the entrance”

“Hope you got a plan, he’s right behind us and he’s big fucking mad”

“Just get here”

Johnny and Damon stood at the doors when they saw the van speeding down the driveway. The brother at the wheel whipped the van around, threw it into reverse and back right up to the entrance. Damon opened the door and they all quickly exited the vehicle, the doctor was right there and they did the best they could to explain to him what happened, but their explanation was cut off by an ear piercing howl. Ky was coming and he was coming fast. Something slammed into the side of the van causing it to rock.

“You think he can move the van?” Johnny asked, making sure the tranq gun was ready.

“We’ll replace out!” Damon said, lifting his own gun. The van started to shake, they could hear the crunch of metal as Ky tried to move the van from the entrance. It creaked and groaned in protest, but they could see it pulling away from the door.

“Get ready Johnny, puppy’s coming in,” Damon said, raising his gun.

“As soon as you see him don’t hesitate to start shooting, he’ll rip this whole medical ward apart to get to her.” Johnny commanded, flicking off the safety, Damon just nodded. CLUNK! The van smashed back into the entrance. They heard a loud deep growl as the van started to shake again more violently this time. Again it started to pull away from the entrance only to smash back into it, over and over and over. They could see the entrance starting to crack and crumble shards of concrete breaking off and clattering across the floor. Nothing but snarls and growls could be heard from outside the medical ward. Ky was furious!

“Is he trying to smash the entrance in?” Damon asked,

“One way or another he’s coming in.” Johnny replied. Then all went quiet.

“Maybe he got tired” Damon offered, shrugging his shoulders, then they saw the van rock. Then rock again and again, then stop.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Damon asked, looking at Johnny.

“Testing it!” Johnny replied, never taking his eyes off the van, as it started to rock again.

“Testing it? Testing it for what?” Damon was wide eyed.

“To see if he can flip it. Ky isn’t stupid, he’s a quick learner.” Johnny answered.

“Fanfuckingtastic!” Damon exasperated, when the van started to rock more and more harder and harder. They could see it lifting off the wheels on the one side as Ky was pushing it over. A loud howl pierced the air as the van went over and at the entrance stood the thing of nightmares. Ky’s azure blue eyes shone through the dust.

“MATE!” He growled,

“NOW!!” Johnny yelled. Both Johnny and Damon started firing the tranquilizer darts into Ky’s chest, but they didn’t seem to be slowing him down at first. 4 darts….then 5….6, he started to slow down but didn’t stop advancing towards them, 7 darts and he stumbled but didn’t stay down, 8 took him down and had him struggling to get back up, but he kept trying. Each only having one shot left they waited to see what Ky would do. His growls sounded like whimpers and he was straining to get to his feet.

“Holy fuck! Just stay down puppy!” Damon said, not lowering his gun. Johnny shot his last dart into Ky’s back.

“Nos paenitet, frater!” He said as he lowered his gun. Losing his fight with the tranquilizers Ky finally stopped moving.

With Ky finally sedated they both let out a deep breath.