"How many times are you going to try this?”

“Until it works.” Alexander lazily shrugged as he was led back to Trisha’s house.

“Are you soft in the head?” The enforcer looked at him in momentary disbelief.

“Quite hardheaded actually.”

Unable to think of anything else, the werebadger left him at the front door with one last confused look.

Alexander rolled his shoulders and mentally crossed off this escape attempt from his list of ideas. To tell the truth, at first, he didn’t think too much of Richard’s declaration that he couldn’t leave but the last two days had confirmed the lock down was quite serious.

Strolling into the backyard, Alexander went through the sliding glass doors as he plotted his next escape. He might see what he could do in the server room next. Well, server shack. Maybe he would be able to disrupt their shift change?

“Maybe a power surge?” Lost in thought, Alexander almost forgot to dodge out of the way of Ester as she charged at him. With a rapid sidestep, the tiny wereboar went right out the still open door and tumbled in the grass.

“You have adapted well, haven’t you?”

A sudden wave of annoyance chased away Alexander’s scheming as he looked up at Richard. The Alpha gave a half chuckle as Trisha and Rusty came around the corner with two large pots.

“What are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to visit my uncle’s and aunt’s house?”

Alexander had almost forgot that the werewolves were related as he said another curse at this bad luck. “This is the first time I’ve seen you over.” He responded bluntly.

“Things have been busy. Normally I eat over at least once a week if not twice.” No matter what, almost every conversation between them devolved into an intense staring contest as Alexander made a disgruntled noise and glared.

“Great.” Alexander half snorted the words before he pushed past Richard to go to his room. But as he passed by Trisha, she quickly grabbed his arm.

“Hold it, I need your help.”

Before Alexander could say no, he was directed into setting the table and bringing a few more dishes over. It was a bit embarrassing being ordered around by someone other than his husband, but when Alexander saw that Richard received the same treatment, Alexander’s soul was satisfied.

Quickly dinner came together as the extended family sat around the wooden table.

The atmosphere was awkward at best as the same tension sank in between the two men. Even though Richard sat at the head of the table with an eager Ester flanking him on one side and Rusty on the other, Alexander felt no desire to speak. Luckily, Ester was filled with energy as she kept asking Richard about tips and advice for running a pack in between bites of food. A future Alpha in the making even if she was only 8 years old.

Really, things would have been fine, but slowly Richard’s presence and Rusty’s open mouth chewing were grinding away at Alexander’s last nerve. Seriously, this was a dining table, not a farm. Mixed in with his failure to find a way out, he was in no mood for this as he stood up when his plate was empty.

“I’m going for a walk.” Alexander left no room discussion as he went through the back door. Since his call with the Triplets, it had become a struggle not to think about escaping. Especially since Michael just recovered from his incident. As his partner, he couldn’t sit on his hands. But Richard had flagged him as high escape risk and any chance of sneaking off had been constantly crushed these last few days. So, the last face he wanted to see was Richard’s.

However, it was that dog’s face that followed him as Richard kept in step behind him. At first Alexander tried to ignore him, but like a dogged hound he followed at the perfect pace.

“How was your first day in the server room?” The question came from behind him as Alexander scowled.

“It’s a mess.” Alexander had specifically said he dealt with software, not hardware, but all the same he was stuck in a breezeless shack next to the main building.

“Yea, we had it installed about a year ago but the guy helping us ended up leaving half done.” This was Richard’s opportunity. Without asking, the werewolf strolled up beside Alexander with his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for starting work on that.”

“The fact the building hasn’t burnt down is a testament to your pack’s dumb luck.” The insult was so dry that it nearly slipped under the radar as Alexander slouched. He had nearly suffered a heat stroke when he first entered. The dumbass before had failed to install cooling system. The fact more hardware wasn’t scraped was a miracle.

“Ah, yea.” The fake laugh was awkward as Alexander could positively see that Richard had something else bothering him.

“I should have it manageable in a week or so.” Alexander threw out the words as a half-hearted consolation prize before speeding up.

“Wait.” Even if Alexander didn’t want to, Richard’s words had an influence on his character as he stopped with one heel up. “Do you have any friends outside of the pack?”

“Why?” Always answer a question with a question.

“I was wondering if you have been in contact with any of them lately.” Richard gave a small smile.

Perfectly ambiguous, Alexander already knew thanks to Michael’s head up. He fixed Richard was a dull look and shrugged. “I have a few college friends, but I haven’t contacts anyone lately.”

“I see. How about outside of college? Did you have friends from your internship?”

“Richard, what do you want to ask?” Alexander cut through the crap. This questioning game was already getting old.

The abruptness caught Richard slightly off guard as he adjusted himself. “I wanted to ask you about a young man I met out today. He said he knew you.”

“Really, then why did he tell you this?” Any friends of Neil’s wouldn’t have the foggiest idea who Richard was. But this wasn’t a guessing game, Alexander already knew the bush Richard was beating around.

The question caught Richard for a second, but he quickly recovered with a small cough. “Because I heard you on the phone with him.”

“Wow, I don’t remember making a call though.” It was said so seamlessly that Richard almost believed him as Alexander continued. “Isn’t it a bit creepy to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations?”

“Neil, don’t lie. I also recognized his scent. It was all over you the other day.”

Alexander only gave a short laugh, before he kept walking. This conversation was over, but Richard didn’t give up as he kept up.

“Look, this guy is a hunter. Bad news. On top of that he just got in trouble for taking on an unregistered bounty.”

“We’re not talking about this.” Alexander hissed.

“As your alpha, I only have your best interest at heart. You should keep far away from hunters. At best they are an unfortunate necessity, but most of the time they are too morally questionable to trust.”

For a second, Alexander stopped. A question froze on his lips as he raised an eyebrow at Richard. He guessed Richard’s relationship wasn’t doing well. After all, Alexander wasn’t the only one guilty of dating a hunter, the entire office gossiped about his witch girlfriend.

“Leave me alone.” After regaining himself, Alexander went to walk away again only to have his wrist grabbed. Red marks began to form under the tight grip.

“There was a minor breakthrough on the Kitt family case. If you tell me about the hunter, I’ll tell you about it.”

‘Oh, you bastard.’ Ripping his wrist away, Alexander rubbed the red marks with a disgusted look. “If it’s so pressing, then yes. We know each other.”

“And?”

“And what?” Alexander spat out, his teeth slightly bared.

“A person doesn’t sneak out for someone they ‘just know’.” Richard quoted the last words. But Alexander didn’t feel like diving deeper. If the grown man couldn’t figure it out, he didn’t see why he had to enlighten him.

“The case?” Alexander raised an expectant eyebrow.

“Tell me more about this hunter first.”

“Why am I not surprised you wouldn’t keep your word.” Alexander gave an exasperated shrug and went to leave again when his shoulder was grabbed.

“Fine, we’ll do this piece by piece.” Richard shook his head. “We have an idea why your family was killed. Your turn.”

There was a fierce debate on whether Alexander should break the hand that currently held him. But he managed to suppress it as he scowled. “We’re close enough that it’s uncomfortable to talk about him to others.” He pulled away his shoulder. If Richard had two brain cells, he would understand what Alexander meant. Unfortunately, those two brain cells were nonexistent

“The witch who tried to capture you revealed that there is a coven of witches behind it.”

“And the reason for their murder?”

“You first.”

Alexander knew Richard must have been so proud of his little game as his frown deepened. “We’ve known each other for over five years.”

Richard gave a slight nod. “It looks like it’s a summoning ritual.”

“What are they summoning?” At the mention of something familiar, Alexander couldn’t control himself. Actually, he had suspected as much since for the last few days he had been having dreadful dreams. But every time he woke up, they would fade. Though he remembered something involving blood and a summoning circle.

“We don’t know yet. But we’re getting close.”

Not quite reassuring, but Alexander had other things to think about as he finally begrudgingly let out a sigh. “Do you know anyone who deals in dream reading?” The words were half muttered. To tell the truth he didn’t want anyone to mess around in his head, but there was a chance this dream was useful.

Luckily or unluckily, Richard’s hearing was sharp as he nodded.

“Never mind.” Alexander sighed and ran a hand through his hair before slouching with his hands in his pockets. “Is there anything else you feel like bothering me with?”

“I’m still waiting for your friend’s name.”

“Fuck off.” With long strides, Alexander nearly leaped away from Richard. This whole thing was done. Anyway, Richard would eventually learn when he brought Michael back to the Packland.

In a three days’ time he would have an Exception that would let him get the hell out of this place. Michael was waiting for him and even if his skin was thick, Alexander couldn’t help but worry about his health, especially after Michael sent him a few bandaged shots. Also, there was the added fact that he was going to be introduced into his future in-laws and he wanted to make the best impression. There was a chance they could be stuck in this world for a while and he knew that building a family was important for Michael, so Alexander wanted to get their blessing.

Stopping at the protector tree, he quickly jumped up to his normal spot among the canopy. With little to do, he stayed up there brain storming introduction gifts until later into the evening.

---

“Shit.” Alexander hissed as he threw down a small board onto his cluttered desk. A few computer parts fell off and hit against the collection of old electrics. The loud whirl of the server room fans did nothing for his headache he tried to figure out if he should try another craft project.

“Maybe a carving?” The few stripped thin branches from the Protector tree continued to taunt him as his braiding efforts failed. His attempt to make a new token for Michael were middling at best. But it was better than organizing the mess of the server room that had become his second home.

The sound of the door was nearly lost as Alexander picked back up his weaving board to try again.

“Neil?”

An agitated groan was the only response Richard got as he looked into the shed. It was nearly impossible to make out Neil’s hunched form in his swivel chair.

“Neil?!” Richard shouted a bit louder but didn’t try to enter the cluttered place. A part of him feared that a single step would rip out a wire or break something he didn’t understand.

“What is it?” Putting that board back down, Alexander swiveled around to look towards the entrance.

“Can you come out? I have someone I want you to talk too.”

“Nope, can’t do that doggie.” Twirling back around, Alexander pulled out his phone to flick through the photos Michael had sent him. One of which was a selfie of him with another woman with a pair of bunny ears on. It didn’t help as bitterness boiled up and he put down his phone to try at his handicraft again for the third time in the last few minutes.

“Neil, it’s important.” Richard pretended he didn’t hear the doggie comment as he shook his head. “It has to do with the case.”

“What did I say last night?” Alexander’s temper flared as he growled back.

“Look, I won’t ask you more questions about your friend.” It sometimes felt like he was dealing with a teenager as Richard looked back at his guest. “Look, he’s helping with the case. Come out and meet him, please.”

Alexander didn’t response quickly. Several minutes passed, but finally the tall lean form of Neil emerged from the shack as he looked at the wolf with unamused yellow eyes. To tell the truth the moment he looked outside he was momentarily blinded, so his gaze fell about 40 degrees away from where Richard was.

He blinked several times until he could make out the two different men. One was the dog that continued to torment him and the other was a new face.

Alexander didn’t like him.

Whoever this new guy was, two things stuck out immediately. First, he wasn’t a werebeast and second, he had a very punchable face. His handsome features were softened by a level of youthfulness that made him seem refreshing next to the gruffer werewolf. Blond hair fell in soft short waves around his face as clear blue eyes reflected a spirit of mirth as he nodded at Alexander. An easy smile revealed white straight teeth. All Alexander could think of was which magazine this fuck stepped out of. His glasses didn’t even detract from his bullshit looks.

Next to him, a spotted grey hound sat obediently. Occasionally it looked between the three men before returning to its lazy position.

“Who?” Alexander turned his gaze back to Richard and nodded his head at the stranger.

“Brody Harrison.” The blonde held out his hand, but Alexander left it hanging as he scowled.

“Explain.”

“Greet Mr. Harrison properly.” Richard felt he had been overly nice as of late, but Neil continued to test him as he growled at the younger man.

Alexander rolled his eyes, but still shook Brody’s hand. “Happy?”

“Come on Richard. It’s fine.” Brody gave a small chuckle before putting a hand into his pocket. “I’m helping the pack with the Kitt Case. I’m not a werebeast, but a summoner with the Witch’s Council.”

“Ok?”

“Boy-“ Richard threatened but Brody held up a hand and stepped in front of the werewolf so that he could cool down.

“It’s not a commonly known fact, but animal summoners are born from werebeasts. I kind of act as an in between for Werebeasts’ interests in the state. However, I’ve been working as the magical advisor for the case.”

“What do you want from me? I already gave my statement weeks ago. All I know was there was blood and that’s about it.” Crossing his arms, Alexander shrugged and shook his dirty blond hair out of his face.

“Yes, I’ve read your statement.” Even when confronted with the hostility, Brody didn’t flinch. “Richard called me up though because of something you mentioned about a dream reading. It so happens that I have some talent in that type of magic as well.”

“Ew.” Alexander grimaced. But then quickly reeled in his attitude. He had promised Michael he would try to stay more in character. In theory Neil should be down for anything to find out more about this case.

However, the reaction got a hardy laugh from Brody as he nodded. “Not everyone is into it. But it’s a useful skill.”

“So, Richard called you out for that?”

“More than just that, but it’s one of the things on the list.” Brody smiled.

“And if I didn’t want you to look at my dream?”

“Then I won’t. But I think it would be better to discuss this indoors.” The Florida sun was unforgiving as they all began to sweat, even the dog panted beside them.

“We can use my office.” Richard finally spoke up and Brody happily agreed as the trio went to the main building.

Inside of the room, Alexander leaned back into the same scrapped up chair as Brody casually set next to him and rolled his sleeves higher.

“That dog one of your summons?” Alexander didn’t know much about summoners. Really his only information came from Michael who was partnered up with one.

“No, no. This is Grace, she’s my darling. I volunteer at a greyhound rescue and we just had an instant connection. She’s such a good girl that she follows me everywhere.” Brody stretched the dog’s head as Alexander regretted asking. He didn’t give a shit about pets unless it was Michael’s.

“I’m going to cut straight to the point-”

“When don’t you?” Alexander cut Richard off with a hand.

“If you’re having dreams about the murder, it might be useful if Brody checked them out.” Richard tried to suppress his growing annoyance as Brody just gave a weak chuckle.

“Trust me, I’m quite talented at it. If you’re worried, I can only look at what you give me permission too.”

It wasn’t something that really worried Alexander, there was no way a fragmented world character would be able to probe anywhere in his mind. It was just…annoying. But to stay in character, he figured Neil would agree.

“Will this actually help?”

“No promises, but a lot of times memories get mixed in with dreams.”

“But I haven’t even explained what this dream is. Richard just assumed.” The eye roll was palpable was Alexander did nothing to hide his animosity. But Richard remained well behaved for the moment.

“Do you mind explaining to me then?” This whole session felt like a therapist’s interview. Brody’s voice was smooth and frighteningly calming as Alexander nearly forgot his own distain for the man.

“Fine.” Alexander sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and nearly went to fix his nonexistent glasses before sliding into rubbing his eyes. “I’ve had this dream the last few days. It starts with my family’s house but after I’ve entered everything turns hazy. There’s blood and then I wake up.”

“Is the dream clear when you’re asleep?”

“I think so? It’s hard to remember when you wake up in a cold sweat and confused.” Afterwards, Alexander would call Michael to calm down. Late at night, early in the morning, Michael always picked up.

“I see. Well, if you would like I might be able to stabilize the dream.” Brody offered as Grace rested her head on his lap.

“What would you need to do?”

“Nothing much. I just hold your hand and help guide you through the scene like a waking dream.” The process sounded easy and really it wasn’t like Brody could poke around anywhere outside where Alexander liked.

“You don’t need a crystal ball or anything?” Alexander dryly teased.

“Not this time.” A good nature chuckle eased the room as Alexander finally gave a nod.

“Fine, let’s try it.”

This was the answer the summoner wanted as he held out his hand. Alexander gave his right hand and began to follow Brody’s instructions.

A lot of it was calming guiding mumbo jumbo, but Alexander was pretty experienced in his own mental scape as he quickly found the section for the developing Neil and pulled at that recurring dream. With a thing to lock in on, Brody activated his ability as Alexander found himself sucked into a scene.

Everything became crystal clear.

An eerily quiet house sat before him. To Alexander it was quite noticeable, but Neil was oblivious to the atmosphere. This was the main house his family lived in and after twelve hours of travel he was tired as he pushed open the front door.

They never locked it. After all they were the only ones on a 100 acres. The front hall blocked the view into the rest of the house, as he shouted his hello, but got no replies. To his travel addled mind, Neil thought nothing of it as he threw his backpack onto the couch.

Perhaps it was the exhaustion or a sense of relaxation from finishing his internship, but Neil failed to notice the smell as he headed towards the kitchen. It wasn’t visible, but a den hung down the hall to the left of the kitchen. It was where they often gathered for family movies and game night. However, as he continued to get no response, he finally found it weird.

They had been angry with him going off for so many years. But he thought that hatchet had been buried. And to tell the truth it was for his own sanity. Who could sanely live in a place where the only company was your own family?

He called out one more time as he finally hooked the corner and gazed down the hall. That was when the smell hit him.

Blood. His entire body suddenly went cold as he called out a few more times, each shout more desperate as he followed his nose and came upon a sight.

The den had been the heart of the house. A gathering place for all generations to relax and mingle. But now the collection of couches and chairs had been moved to the side of the room to make way for a sickening display.

All 20 members of his family were laid out. They had been arranged in five groups, each taking up the point of a star burnt into the floor. The room was covered in blood, but rather than random it seemed like some had painted the entire place red. It was as if they took relish in going over framed photos and old heirlooms. The bodies of his family were bare, stripped of everything including flesh. He couldn’t even tell who was who except for by their size. Everyone from his family, from his parents to young cousins were there. Their dull yellow eyes staring off into oblivion as flies buzzed around and landed on each body in turn.

How long they had been like that, he would never know. Neil could only back up. His mind in chaos as he tripped over his own feet and knocked against the kitchen counter. The sudden pain woke him from his stupor as he just ran out of the house. He didn’t know what to feel as he shifted and ran into the forest. He just needed to get as far away from the scene as he could. Everything was confuseion.

What had happened? Why had it happened? When did it happen? It looked like he was the first one to come across the scene. It was hard for him to think logically and he ran through the marshy forest for hours before he finally came out onto the main road. By then he had got a little hold of himself as managed to use someone’s phone and immediately called Trisha. He knew he couldn’t directly call the police. But he didn’t know any other numbers that could help as his older cousin picked up and he nearly broke down in the front of the motel that had lent him their phone.

Everything else that followed became a blur. From the police to the questioning, he had floated around for over two weeks before Trisha told him to come live with her. He had agreed but then when he was supposed to meet with Rusty for pick up, he decided instead to go get drunk at a dive bar in some no name beach town. Then his troubles returned again in the form of his one-night stand.

“Fuck me.” A sense of nausea overwhelmed Alexander as he pulled back and held his head.

“Are you alright?” Brody seemed unaffected as he rested a hand on Alexander’s shoulder.

“Yea, I’m fine.” He pulled back and grabbed the water on Richard’s desk. As much as dream made his head spin, it had been profitable for Alexander ran through den’s layout a few more times.

As a veteran of demonic bullshit, he had a pretty extensive library of summoning rituals. But when he thought about the set up, it was pretty muddled. Elements fit that of a high tier demon but there didn’t seem enough for proper exchange. Twenty lives couldn’t be scoffed at, but for a trash realm like this it was barely enough to entice an imp. Maybe if he was there, he might have been able to get a better idea, but it was all a dreamscape.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

Alexander’s concentration was broken by Brody’s constant pestering as he looked at the other man. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a small headache.” He sighed. “Did you get anything?”

“Quite a lot actually.” Brody perked up as Richard looked over interested. “This might be able to help. The records were lacking the exact symbols used. I’ll add it to the report and ask a few more experienced witches to help with identifying it.”

“Why didn’t you have the exact symbols? When I left, the house was untouched.” That was a bit weird as Alexander finished off the water bottle.

“When we first arrived at the house, they had all melted away. It’s a massive stumbling block.” Brody shrugged and scratched Grace’s head.

Alexander just gave a half nod before crushing the empty water bottle and throwing it into the bin. “If there is nothing else, I’m leaving.” He had done his character part.

Richard looked like he was about to say something, but Brody stopped him. “No, thank you for your help.”

“Sure.” With a shrug, Alexander left the office to hide back in his server room. The nausea persisted along with a growing agitation that at gnawed him. The discomfort lasted until he finally called Michael.

A/N

Putting another chapter between the boys' meeting up again. I'm truly evil. Really. Evil to myself. Fuck. Literally ten chapters later, I'm feeling unrequited love by this point.