Stuck between two sets of glaring wolf eyes, Alexander coolly texted on his phone. He had been sending Michael little updates since they had parted. It was only when he heard a growl rattled from the back of Richard’s throat that he finally put the phone down.

Alexander wasn’t shocked about his current situation. While he had hoped that his plan would be flawless, there was one big flaw that he couldn’t rid himself of.

As much as Trisha had promised to cover for him, she was far from a master liar. Almost immediately after Rusty had gotten home that her plan started to fall apart. When the old wolf asked where Neil was, Trisha tried to convince him that her younger cousin had felt ill and was sleeping it off in his room.

The lie didn’t work. Rusty hadn’t bought it for a second. Between how fidgety Trisha was along with the fact he couldn’t smell the other man anywhere in the house, if he truly believed Neil was still home he would resign from being an enforcer. So, when he pushed into their temporary guest room, Rusty was greeted by emptiness. After that, it didn’t take him long to find the second car was missing as well. The frosting on the dumbass cake was his wife’s own guilty expression as she avoided eye contact while making up some excuse on why he wasn’t there. Rusty knew exactly what happened and felt a bit of rage at Neil for taking advantage of Trisha’s kindness to sneak off again.

When Alexander returned later that day, after taking the scenic route back, he was immediately dragged to the main office by Rusty.

So, here he was being “intimidated”. It wasn’t working. Mostly he was focused on way to teach these guys how to relax.

Their silent stalemate stretched out until Richard finally gave a long sigh and rubbed his forehead.

“What exactly did you do while you were out?”

“Met up with a friend.” Alexander didn’t feel need to explain his personal relationship. It was one thing to tell Neil’s cousin since she was a useful ally. With these two wolves, he knew there would be a fight the moment he mentioned having a romantic partner.

“To do what?” Richard impression of Neil had dropped severely within the last three days. How could one man be such a fool? From the moment he had agreed to help this kid out, the wereleopard had snuck off twice with unknown individuals. Sure, this time he hadn’t been attacked, but how often was he going to do this? The pack did not have infinite resources to dedicate to him. Anytime Rusty had to go and help him, or another enforcer was called out they used up manpower. To tell the truth, it was quite the insulting reply to all the good will they had given him. Richard could only think that if Neil didn’t grow a sense of danger soon, he was going to beat it into him.

Alexander was amused by the Alpha’s change in demeanor. Earlier he had been so friendly and happy, now he looked like a disappointed father. All sour face with a tense brow and drawn out frown. He held back a laugh as he fiddled with his phone. He figured Michael would be busy with work, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to call him.

“We talked, eat and just hung out. You know?”

“No, I don’t.” Richard’s words were cold. It was clear they had done more than ‘chatted’ just from Neil’s scent. If that was just chatting, Richard didn’t want to know what serious conversation was. “Do you not understand the danger you’re in?”

“I think I do. There’s someone out there looking for me. I know that’s dangerous.” Alexander’s cocky attitude was enough to burst a blood vessel, especially when he arrogantly crossed his arms and blew off the danger.

“It’s more than that.” Richard growled before he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes to cool down.

Alexander raised an eyebrow. Since he only knew the bare minimum about Neil’s involvement in the plot, he was interested in any farther development.

“We suspect the group who put out the bounty for you are the same people who killed your pack. They want you and have put up more than a few unofficial bounties because of it. I’ve been in contact with the Hunter Organization. We’re trying to put an end to these requests.” Richard had always been at odds with the organization. After all their purpose was to hunt supernatural creatures. Something he and his pack were. On top of that, past incidents between werebeasts and hunters had left a lot of old blood that was hard to wash away. But they were the closest thing to a regulatory body for bounties and most who worked for them were supernaturals of some type. Anyway, he didn’t need too much, just a decent level of cooperation.

“I see,” A bit of a chuckle pulled at Alexander’s words, “how much are they charging for my head?”

The joke didn’t go over well as Rusty swiftly walked over and struck him hard across the back of his head. For a moment, the world flashed white as Alexander’s ears loudly rang. Dazed, he blinked his eyes several times before the specks of light that had creeped into his vision disappeared.

“It’s not a joke.” Richard slammed his fist into the desk. “There are plenty of people who are willing to take these bounties. If they caught you while out on your own, we can’t help.” His anger temporarily subsided as exhaustion creeped into his expression. These last few days had been more stressful than he wanted to admit as he sighed and rubbed his temples. “That is why I am officially forbidding you from leaving the pack land until this is all resolved.”

As much as Alexander wanted to scoff at the command, he knew that these words were not said lightly. Neil didn’t have the standing or skills to go against a direct order from an alpha. So, Alexander had only his personal tool set that would allow him to wiggle his way free if he needed. Still he wanted to argue a bit just to keep up the fire.

But before he could get a word out, Richard shut it down with a hand. In that moment the room became suffocating as Alexander slinked back a bit. He was unprepared for the level of pressure Richard just released on him with his alpha aura.

While most would be scared, it only pissed Alexander off. With time or a bit of preparation he would have been fine, he had been in stronger presences before, but in his current state as Neil he was forced to submit to the dog’s command.

“Don’t argue. You are part of my pack; you follow my rules. You are not allowed off this land until I say so.” There was no room for Alexander to speak as Richard glared at him with sharp yellow eyes. His normal brown chased off for the moment as he asserted himself.

“You can go now.” With a wave of his hand, Richard dismissed him.

Once outside the central building, Alexander wanted to walk to Trisha’s place so he could enjoy a few moments of solitude to think of what to do next. Instead he got to enjoy a tense drive home that seemed to stretch out into eternity. The entire time Rusty felt the need to cast him the most judgmental looks while he muttered comments about Neil’s intelligence under his breath.

By the time Alexander got through the initial scolding, the dinner scolding and the after dinner scolding it was close to 10 PM.

When a break finally appeared, he checked his phone and found that Michael had texted him. Tired of being surrounded by Neil’s family, Alexander excused himself so he could go for a walk. As he headed for the door, he could feel Rusty’s eyes tracking his hands. It was obvious his intentions as he made sure Alexander didn’t swipe the car keys. He knew that Richard has given the wereleopard the command to not leave Pack Land, but it didn’t mean he physically couldn’t. It was just more difficult, so a part of Rusty worried that Neil would try to pull a fast one.

Instead Alexander remained good and just went straight for the door. It didn’t stop Rusty from following him as he offered to walk with him.

As Alexander ran his eyes over the taller scruffy red head with a permanent scowl and intimidating atmosphere, that would be a solid no. The last thing Alexander wanted to do was go for an evening walk with his cousin in law so he managed to turn up the charm and convince the wolf that he wouldn’t go too far.

After he walked a distance from the salmon-pink house, Alexander finally felt comfortable enough to check his texts.

The image of the Michael’s wrist drew his attention as he looked at the little trinket he had fixed for his partner. With a finger Alexander traced it against his dark wrist before flicking through the rest of the message.

The last goodnight was only about 20 minutes ago, not too long in his opinion as he kept walking to make sure no one was following. He didn’t like eavesdroppers as he turned to head toward the Protector Tree.

The entire way he tried to call Michael, but the man didn’t pick up. Dissatisfied, he knew that Michael had said goodnight, but it was unusual for him to turn in so early. Even as a human, Michael had a bad habit of operating on only a few hours of sleep unless he was completely exhausted.

‘Such as yesterday evening’, the thought brought a smile to Alexander’s lips. He figured he would try a few more times, just to make sure everything was alright.

 

With another turn, Michael restlessly tried to find a good spot on the couch. At first, he thought it was his position, but no matter which way he laid, a persistent itch crawled under his skin.

It wasn’t the first time he had felt it, but it was even worse as it tormented him and kept him from finding a comfortable position. Every time, just as he thought he found it the hairs on the back of his neck would rise and goosebumps would cover him skin.

Something felt wrong, but as Giselle laid softly breathing in the bed across from him, he thought it was just him over-reacting again. Silently he rubbed the bracelet around his wrist as a small sense of calm slowly unraveled his growing tension.

Still even as the goosebumps subsided, Michael was unable to even contemplate sleep. Instead he flicked on his phone and looked at the time. It was only half past 10. Not too late for him. But even so, he should still go to asleep as he silently sighed and tried to lay down again. After a few twists he managed to find a half decent position as he focused on the faint energy that radiated off the bracelet. The soothing sensation lulled him and finally he felt like he was about to doze off.

Suddenly a bolt of electricity shot through him. His nerves were on fire as his entire body was set on edge.

Something was wrong.

Without a thought, he reached for his bag and pulled out his handgun. Quickly he then strapped his knife to his belt before he shouldered his bag and went to wake Giselle.

A few pushes did nothing to move her. If it weren’t for the fact he could hear her breathing, Michael would have thought she was dead with how still she laid. When the soft nudges didn’t work, he resorted to harsh shoves until she finally began to respond with a series of half muttered words. Almost immediately afterward she turned and buried her face back into the pillow.

“Giselle.” He hissed her name from between his teeth. The fear of disturbing the quiet of the room kept his voice low as he gave her another shove.

More of nothing. Finally, he smacked her across the arm. She gave a bleary low ‘fuck off’ before she whacked away his hand. 

“Giselle, wake up.” The command was a low whisper by her ear. He shook her arm more as he nearly lifted her shoulder off the bed.

This, ultimately, got a proper reaction as she angrily pushed his hand away. Her posture was a bit unstable as she sat up to scold him, only to find her mouth covered by one of his hands. His other hand came up to his lips, a motion for her to stay quiet.

At first Giselle wanted to rip her face away from his touch, but the longer his palm stayed against her, the clearer her mind became. Suddenly the exhaustion that had enthralled her earlier faded away. It's place was a sense of confusion and alertness.

Her entire body shuddered as she realized something was off. Without a word she took the gun from Michael’s hand and looked around. They were still inside the second-floor guest bedroom of Mr. O’Mara’s house. But even though the clutter seemed solid and real, she couldn’t shake off a sense of discomfort. She couldn’t pinpoint it though as she stared at the electric clock on the nightstand. It said 10:45, but as she stared at it, the numbers didn’t change. She made a motion and Michael looked over at the clock before he pulled out his own phone and checked. It was more of the same. They knew time had passed but the clocks still said 10:45 pm. 

“Ideas?” Giselle mouthed the words as she grabbed her duffel. She cursed herself for not checking it yesterday as she quickly flipped through the interior and found all her normal items were in there.

Michael just shrugged and locked the door to the room. There were a lot of things this could be and a lot of things it could not be. Michael was no expert. Instead he focused on finding a way out as he glanced out the window.

Once more nothing seemed unusual as the cloudy humid summer night passed by gently outside. A bit of a breeze rustled the trees and caused the house to creak. It was mundane, but he could not settle down. This buzzing sensation pressed against him as it tried to invade his mind. A sense of danger and long-buried giddiness pushed at him as he shook off the memories that slowly began to reappear. Now wasn’t the time for such things as he turned back to Giselle.

“We should leave.” He had noticed that the old man didn’t set the alarm as he opened the window. Not even a beep was heard from the aged alarm system as Michael looked at the small roof under their window. It made the climb a lot easier as he softly jumped down. Giselle soon followed.

While the job seemed profitable on paper, neither were stupid or money blind. This was too shady. Nonsensical monsters, frozen time and a sense of dread that even made Michael worried was more trouble than the two of them wanted handle. It was better to leave and come back with the support from the Organization.

At that thought, Giselle tried to send a message out. But it wouldn’t send. Even though it showed full service, the message was denied.

Michael leaned over her shoulder to see the failed message and tried himself but experienced the same denial.

“Realm?” Giselle silently stated her question.

Whatever it was, Michael hated it as they quickly went to their parked cars. Given how odd everything was, Giselle opened the hood of her car. As much as she wanted to believe it was her own paranoia, the moment she looked inside the hood her guess had been proven right. Her car had no battery. Along with that someone had tampered with the engine. Michael also quickly checked his rental and found the same had been done to his. Someone did not want them to leave.

“Shit.” She barely held back her desire to hit the hood of her car as she hissed out the word. But her fury was disrupted by the sudden heat of the detection necklace she wore. The metal grew hot against her skin as she pulled Michael to hide behind her car. They crouched low as the sound of footsteps became audible. Her Detection Amulet rarely acted up as it required a large amount of magic to be present. However, it now felt like a hot coal against her chest.

“What’s wrong?” Michael mouthed the words as he noticed her uncomfortable expression.

She said nothing and instead dug out small round pendant with a laurel stamped on the front of it. It looked unassuming but he still took it. The metal burned against his palm and he understood what it was. He had read up about different magic items in his quest to figure out how they would interact with Hunter’s anti magic constitution. He had found few items would work for him.

Michael put it around his neck and tucked it against his skin. There must have been a lot of magic around. At that thought the footsteps finally materialized into a new set of faces.

To tell the truth, the group didn’t look like what they had expected. A tall suited young man led a group of oddly shaped humans to the front of the house. His well put together aura was clear even from a distance. His blond hair was pulled tastefully back to reveal a strong brow and handsome features that easily enticed the affections of others. Only otherworldly blood red eyes disrupted this perfect image as they twinkled under the outside lights.

His professionalism was at odds with the gory collection of abominations that followed on his heels.

Giselle let out a small hiss and reeled back. These beings could only be described as meaty. Even though they were humanoid in shape, they could not be mistake for humans. The flanking figures had limbs too long to fit comfortably on upright figures. With every step the swayed as if fighting the urge to walk on all fours. Their hunched posture made them seem the same height as the human among them, but it was clear that they were far taller.  

Steam radiated off of them even on this warm night. It was like their bodies were moments from burning as they dumbly turned their skeletal heads around to sniff the air. Bright red muscles stood exposed to the night air with twitching ligaments and tendons that dragged out movements. Like a skinned monstrosity, their muscles were on full display. He stopped at the door and gave a light knock that was promptly answered by Mr. O’Mara.

Still dressed in his clothes from earlier, Mr. O’Mara’s limp was nonexistent as he lit up in the younger man’s presence. Quickly he welcomed him in. The five beasts remained outside as their heads came fully into view.

Giselle bite her tongue to stop her sharp inhale. These bodies weren’t topped off with a skinned human head. No, instead they diverted from nature even farther. A chunky red skull that heavily resembled a massive grey hound tittered on human neck. Their long snout a defining feature as sharp teeth became visible through laying of stringy muscle. Dark empty sockets stared endlessly into the void. Only hints of shiny white bone broke up the mass of mushy red muscles. One of them opened their jaw and a long dark purple tongue lashed out, licking its chops before slowly slithering back in.

Michael didn’t quite know what to make of these beasts. By themselves, while disgusting, he was hardly frightened. Flesh and blood had once been common sights to him, these mutations of the human form were quaint. However, the atmosphere of the world seemed to get thicker as it agitated him. It was like they clung to these abominations and rolled off them like hot sticky steam.

For Giselle she couldn’t pull her eyes away. She had dealt with many monsters and fae. Hunted all sorts of corrupted creatures who bleed pus and spat acid, but even with her high mental fortitude, she still felt a small wave of disgust roll through her stomach. It was unfortunate she had eaten a lot at dinner.

With her force of will she held back her bile and turned away. Whatever those things were, it was clear that the entire situation was dangerous.

In a hushed whisper she summoned one of her familiars. A raven slowly pooled in her hands. Feed by the shadows, the bird unfurled its glossy black wings and looked at her with intelligent eyes. Whatever conversation they had was lost on Michael as the bird quickly took off into the sky.

Its black coat easily blended with the night as Giselle motioned for him to follow her.

 

A/N

Chapter 9 and 10 used to be one chapter, until I found out it was over 6K long. So, it because 9 and 10 instead. :P Also, this author might like eldritch body horror. Happy to finally start getting into the meat of this arc. I'm starting a posting schedule after this chapter. We've Lost the Plot will be updated Fri, Sat, and Sun.