“I probably wouldn’t go along and have at least one other trustworthy person with me who knew the catacombs as well or better than I did.” Draugluin interjected.“But you’re a guy, girls aren’t like that. If she was truly down here to hide Randolph’s writings, she wouldn’t bring a man or woman with her lest they do something to her or the books and she definitely wouldn’t want them to betray her if they ever made it to the surface. Girls in love can be pretty possessive and if she was infatuated enough to hide his works, she would’ve done this journey alone. Just like if you died and someone tried to steal your research that you’ve done. I wouldn’t take Freki or Ermengarde or Lyall with me because I don’t want them to carry the burden of knowing where it is, nor would I want anyone else to know since it isn’t any of their business.”“Well, when you put it like that, it kind of makes sense,” Draugluin grumbled. With no lights, the catacombs became eerier than I’d remembered on the tou
“The voice, it’s male and slightly rusty. What does ‘Libérer mon espèce’ mean?”“Liberate my species? No, free my species,” Draugluin joined me at the fork in the road. “Unless Randolph knew magic, there’s something definitely wrong here.”“Maybe, or maybe it’s a protective charm so that only werewolves could understand and pick it up. Perhaps the gypsy’s only purpose was to hide Randolph’s writings and preserve them. She might not have known about it being a beacon to wolves.”“Interesting theory but technically we aren’t even halfway through the catacombs. T find something so soon is almost unsettling.”We sat in silence except for Draugluin translating a few things such as “Help free us”, “Save me and mine” and just a few other phrases that constantly repeated themselves. Finally I stood, making a firm decision.“I’ll go first and you can follow.”“No, Lucian, I forbid you.”“As Alpha Son, our pack needs you. I can’t allow you to go first. It’s not that I don’t think you’re capable
“That’s it!” Bayard pounced and landed on me. The sudden attack and smack to the ground only temporarily paralyzed me before I quickly shoved the boy backwards, grabbed his scruff and pulled him to the ground, now pinned beneath me.“Poor puppy,” my antagonizing sent the adolescent wolf into a squirming rage. Shockingly enough, Julias didn’t move a muscle to defend his packmate. Probably as punishment for not following orders and to keep the boy’s pride in check. “We are Argent Pack members, also called the White Guards of France. Our main purpose is watch over all historical artifacts to werewolf history throughout France."The Argent pack was the third largest pack in the world, spread throughout France with only one main house but branch homes throughout reclusive areas. There were certain werewolves who watched, or guarded, certain parts of France and the entire pack was known for only having white or light grey fur and spent most of their lives in wolf form, only becoming humans
After hopping in the passenger seat, Bayard said, “Take this,” and handed me a blindfold, similar to a superhero mask that partially covered the top of the nose and to top reached my hairline. He tied it tight and I felt the sting of pulled hair. I growling at him and I smelt a twinge of fear before it quickly dissipated. “You can’t see where we’re going if that wasn’t obvious enough,” Bayard snorted before probably securing a mask around Draugluin ’s head with a thorough inspection by his superior that it was on correctly.Once everyone was seated and buckled in, Bayard locked the doors and revved the engine. The truck roared to life, startling some passerby’s as I could hear their squeals of surprise and fright.“When we arrive, you will act as if you were cordially invited as guests,” Julias instructed us as we drove out of the city. “There will be werewolves there that do not have deep knowledge of the inner workings of the pack and don’t need to know the real reason you are there
“Young? She has to be in her early fifties” I crossed my arms but I got no response.“I assume we stay separated for our entire stay here,” Draugluin commented as we were led down steep metal steps into a well fortified hallway.“We have plenty of room,” was all that Julias had the guts to say which confirmed Draugluin ’s suspicions. Bayard passed Draugluin and I to unlock and open the two room doors since Julias certainly couldn’t in his wolf form.I felt like I was entering an animal shelter but completely enclosed with no sign of other life around me. The walls were tan and cushioned with a dull yellow light hanging above me. There was a twin bed in the room which actually didn’t look like a prison bed. There was also a small table and a chair as well as a carpet. Well, they had tried to make it homey. I turned around only to watch Bayard close the door with a resounding four clicks. How many locks were on this door? I also heard a low humming sound. So, we’d be monitored by came
“Oh really,” Julianna wrote that down. “Okay Miss Janitor, would you be willing to take a lie detector test?”“Are you?” My question really made her face twitch in restrained anger. “’Cause the story you just told me wasn’t 100% accurate to what Draugluin probably said. I think you’ve tangoed as much as I have.” My grin made Julianna look more dumbfounded. Now she wouldn’t know what to believe and the lie detector test may not even help her as I would clearly try and fail it on purpose.Just then the phone rang and Julianna tapped the speaker button with her pen. “Miss Julianna,” the secretary’s voiced sounded rusty over the speaker, “Alpha is here to speak with you.”“I’ll be right up,” Julianna stood so fast, her chair wheeled back hitting the wall. “Have a guard come escort Lucian back to her room.” She paused and glared at me, “And you better not try anything.” I merely held my arms up in defense and submission.The door opened immediately after that and a tall man with a scar ru
“We all get sick,” Draugluin bluffed, “he’s the type to be lucky enough to only catch the bad ones, though they don’t last very long.”“Really? My sources tell me he’s been sick for over six months now,” Alpha Jon waved his hand, “but that’s not why we’re here. I want the honest truth, why were you in the catacombs?”“We were looking for something,” Draugluin stated simply.“Looking for what?”“We weren’t sure. All information that was given to us came from a book in our library. I’m sure Lyall could find it for you. Pages 327-375.” Wow, Draugluin had memorized the page numbers. “I could even quote you the contents if that would be less time consuming for you.”“By all means,” Alpha Jon waved his hand.“There was a wolf, his name lost to us, who prided himself on the knowledge of his race and seeking a future for his pack and other packs believing that all wolves could have a chance to either be wolf or man by choice, not predetermined by a curse of unknown origin and even sought answ
Before long, the two of us were served a wonderful meal of steak, fries and bread along with any drink of our choice. I went with cola while Draugluin chose a Merlot from the wine list. The realization that we were almost four years apart strangely made me feel uncomfortable. Was I like a kid to him? It didn’t seem that way from how he treated me but even I treated Draco like someone much younger than me and we were only three years apart.Supper was eaten in silence. Afterwards, Draugluin and I faced back to back to undress into our pajamas. My bed was a bit springy but silent as I huddled under the covers. Draugluin clapped his hands after climbing into bed himself.“Hey Draugluin ?” I stared across the ten feet gap between us.“Hmm?”“How long do you think we’ll be here?”“Who knows,” I heard him yawn.“What are we going to do in the meantime?”“I’m sure they’ll try and interrogate us some more. They most likely won’t let us outside but Alpha Jon said to treat us like guests so I’m
Draugluin strapped my clothes tightly around me. We'd have to go the speed of sound in order to get back on track. The two of us stretched some before charging at full speed. The ground rose and dipped. While running, I got a to see a flash of police car lights. Two nice looking cars had had a head on collision. Out of three police officers, two were separating the two angry drivers who were shouting violently at one another. One gentleman was in a suit while the other was in casual clothing. The man in the suit looked up but I doubted he saw anything but the dim outline of wolves darting away.Soon, the landscape changed drastically. The forest turned into fields. We kept moving at a fast pace but made sure no one would see us. Draugluin and I reached the edge of Paris by sunset. We quickly morphed and dressed before trying to casually walk through the mass of bodies. The traffic wasn't too busy but the sidewalks were congested. Young couples smiled and chatted, a mother and daughte
We both dug in, yanking away the outer skin to tear into the meaty flesh. I barely chewed. All the energy I had exerted in running and the adrenaline pumping through me to keep me going had slowly made me hungry. Though I could have made it to America without eating, I was glad that this small feast allowed some rejuvenation."We'll have to bury this as discreetly as we can," Draugluin paused after getting a drink from the stream. "It will be evidence for Alpha Jon about our location if he passes through this area.""Won't he see a giant mound of dirt with poorly placed grass lumps covering it?""Not if we bury it in the slope. That's where I caught it. There's actually a little outcropping not too far from here. I was above the deer and dropped on him before he saw. It was an easy kill. We can dig into the dirt towards the bottom of the slope which will look more natural.""We'll drag blood through the grass." I felt like Miss Negative."It's the best we can do for right now. Our onl
"But-""Keep watch," Draugluin interjected. He poked his head into the dandelion-yellow lit sidewalk. I watched the back of his head swivel side to side, his muzzle peeking out from behind the thick furs of his side. Though it was spring, Draugluin still had his winter coat and it was thick and bushy like a beard but soft as bunny's fur. I wanted to snuggle my face into it. If only my fur was the same.When Draugluin crossed the street, I leaned my head out and sniffed the air while glaring intensely in every direction. My fur wasn't beautiful. At least I didn't think so. It was rough and striped with a bright, neon rainbow that didn't lay even on me at all. My green stripe was usually thicker than my pink and purple while the blue looked like a fading hair coloring. They red and yellow strips were the only consistent colors that weren't too thick or thin or too bright. I never outwardly complained because I had it easy. My curse was so tame compared to others' like Freki. My eyes dr
I walked up and pressed my body against his. Touch was very important for wolves and I felt that, despite our rank difference, Draugluin needed some sort of comforting. I could feel Mozzy's muscles tense then relax before tensing again. "It's okay," I reassured him. "Let's go but using our heads.""Alright." He stepped onto the road for a couple seconds. "We go straight for half a mile then turn right, continuing on for another two miles."After he returned to the cover of the trees, we took off. Now that I had calmed Mozzy, I mulled over what he said to me. What was bugging me wasn't the deadly poison that could be released on us. Draugluin had been taking poison over the years for immunity? Did Jun and Maengun also do it? Did Alpha Mother? What were the effects of starting to take poisons over time as children into adults?'I don't know anything about Alpha or his mate and sons. What's really going on within the pack?' I peeked at Draugluin before dodging a tree that I nearly kissed
“What do we do,” I whispered to Mozzy. With him practically covering me, I couldn’t see what was going on behind me. I almost whined in fear.Why was I acting like a frightened pup? Perhaps I didn’t want all the hard work Draugluin and I had done in Paris ruined in an instant. Maybe I didn’t want to lose the taste of freedom.There was a crunch of boots against gravel and dragging steps. One pair was getting closer to us. I trembled. I couldn’t move! The steps were coming closer!“Je peux les sentir,” it was Bayard and I hoped he wouldn’t call Alpha Jon over. The steps slowed then stopped. There was a shuffling of denim before I heard the pant of a wolf. I felt the urge to see what Bayard looked like as a wolf but I couldn’t turn. “Alpha Jon, avez-vous trouvé quelque chose?”“Non,” the alpha called back.“Merde!” Bayard snarled and...stepped down into the bushes!I shut my eyes and focused on taking deep, slow breathes. In. Out. I tried to swallow but the book was pressed against my th
than expected, Alpha had to bribe the few construction workers and carpenters of the pack that, if they could create a new, large extension of the house in the back left side before the pups were six months old, the workers wouldn't have to pay their monthly pack contribution for an entire year. The men were already planning what they would do with the extra money they'd have left over. One said he'd take his mate on a long needed vacation for the both of them. If only an alpha could take a vacation every once in a while.Alpha Mother came in with Alpha's hot mug of coffee accompanied with a side of cheese, crackers and sliced salami. Her quick barefoot steps were silent on the red, velvet carpet. After setting the tray down, she sighed. "Have you heard anything from Alpha Jon?""Not yet," Alpha took a swig of the coffee while his mate sat in one of the chairs before his desk, fiddling with the tray she'd brought all the goods on. The tapping against the bronze made Alpha's ears itch
I didn't retaliate. Now wasn't the time to squabble, playfully or no. When we reached the first level, there were two, very familiar faces standing in our path: Julias and Bayard. "Hi," Bayard sneered and tried to jump me, but Draugluin was already in his wolf form, sending the boy flying against a wall. Bayard rubbed his head but was ready to fight once more. Julias was already leaping at Mozzy, trying to tear into him but he wasn't big enough to take Draugluin down. Bayard was about to go into wolf form when I punched him down again. "Aw, did the wittle baby get a booboo? Poor baby." I taunted him to keep him distracted. Draugluin needed to take down battle experienced Julias. "You American rat. Why don't you go rot in sewers where not even the scavengers will feed on your flesh?!""What's that reference," I ducked a punch, readying my arms to block a knee. I winced as I blocked, but not from the impact. The corner of the book dug into my stomach when I ducked so low."Out of sha
It was no longer common for new wolves to integrate into the Grey pack, but so many wolves had entered in the past that mating within the pack was safe. Most of the wolves weren’t related by blood. But if Lyall’s parents met and married for love, why were they pushing him to be with Marigold?Lyall slowed and laughed, enjoying the rain that slithered down his body. How had his mind changed from Lucian to his parents trying to force him into an arranged marriage? Could it have been a distraction his mind set up?“You might get sick.”Lyall peered upwards to see Marigold holding a striped black, blue and white umbrella. She looked irritated.“I’m sorry. Did Alpha send you out here? How'd you get in this school with the gate closed?” Lyall shook his hair, hands on his hips. Why hadn't he heard her coming? He would have at least heard the rain bouncing off the umbrella.“I was looking for you and peeked out the window. I thought to myself that you were an idiot, running in the rain, but
Draugluin was shaking his head. I couldn’t tell if it was disapproval or disbelief. Whichever it was, he didn’t hesitate to break up the conversation by stepping on the treadmill and changing the setting. Julianna quickly restarted her stopwatch as Draugluin started running.The show-off didn’t follow my plan at all. Instead he ran at a steady jog for fifteen minutes. Then he ran fast for ten minutes before slowing and stopping.“Twenty-five minutes and fifty-nine seconds,” Julianna lifted the watch to Alpha Jon’s eye level. He didn’t look happy at the results but didn't complain like he did with me. Hopefully he did consider the possibility that we were slightly out of shape; or doubting the Grey pack's ability.Draugluin sent me a grin. He was looking down on my tactic! His didn't seem to be much better. I balled my fists, feeling my nails dig impressions into my skin but I wouldn’t squeeze so hard as to draw blood. That would be annoying to explain and take care of. Draugluin gentl