111 - Face-off

111 - Face-off


Nel

“Who’s there?”

Damn! The news hit me hard, and I lost my concentration. I must have made some noise. Thank God it’s raining and I can mask my scent quickly. With a snap of my fingers, I ignite a small fire to some random papers in the nearby street bin to cover whatever traces and set off running like the wind all the way to the nearest building entrance. I stay hidden there for some minutes till I’m sure that they’re both gone back to wherever they came from and then allow me to collapse on the wet pavement.

It would be easier for me to handle the sky falling on my head than what I just heard. One more.. no, two more relationships of mine built on solid lies. Only difference between them is a part of me expected Will was hiding something all along and investigated on every occasion.

Damn! Now he’ll confront a face of me he’s never seen before. I gave you too many chances to come clean, and you always skipped them. What else are you withholding, cousin? Why is it that nobody dares to be honest towards me? Why should everybody’s ulterior motives cloud my already burdened mental health that’s hanging from a thin thread?

My legs straighten on their own, and I’m back on my feet, not caring if it’s a good idea to act on such an impulse. I could set the entire city on fire right now if I don’t find a way to calm down. I’m soaked to the bone, despite the relatively light rain, as I’ve been out for too long and I honestly couldn’t care less.

I try to stop a taxi to bring me to the Black Moon territory, but nobody stops, given my unkempt appearance. Ellie is exhausted after the extensive night run, and refuses to keep going. She wants to go to her mate and let him take care of us and soothe us, but I can’t allow that. I must face William first.

‘And Greg after him.’

Shut up, little voice!

It’s too long of a distance to walk in my condition. Think, Nel…

On second thought, their territory might be out of reach, but like my current position, their business group shouldn’t be too far away. The problem is that I don’t have my phone with me and therefore no access to the internet. My brain seems drenched too and refuses to cooperate.

Nah, enough with my being kind. I’ll trace the first werewolf and do something I’ve never done before… use my Alpha influence on them. Linda seemed to think that whatever natural alpha heritage I have should be amplified because of my unique set of genes, therefore forming a compelling force towards any given non-ranked wolf.

I move to the rear part of the GoldenChem building and approach the parking lot. Surely there will be some wolves working here…

The poor guy looks terrified when I open the door to his car and enter, slumping into his passenger seat.

“Take me to the Black Moon territory,” I order him, not leaving any space for reactions on his side.

Despite his lost look, he does my bidding. Sorry, unknown fella, I’ll make it up to you somehow on a later notice.

As we approach our destination, his wolf gets uneasy. He doesn’t want to trespass. Of course, he’s a pack member, following his superiors’ rules. The man sweats hard, obviously trying to revolt against my control on him, but I’m too tired today to show him mercy.

Soon we are next to the borderline. Their patrol should be here any moment now. I don’t need the poor guy to face any bigger danger than what he already has, so I let him stop the vehicle and jump off, ordering him to return to his work, which he would have done, anyway. And so he turns and speeds off.

Moments later, just when the screeching sound of the speeding car’s tires grows distant, they have surrounded me and growl aggressively. They don’t know me and I come unannounced, which is the definition of a threat to them. Guess what, though… I don’t give a damn what they think of me. Let them try to attack. They’ll get a small taste of what my anger feels like on their skins. Some of them show their fangs in warning, while others still in human form move back, apparently mind linking their superiors.

It doesn’t take much for a new group to arrive at high speed. All this while they assume they’re keeping me restricted, while in fact I’m just letting them set up a solid perimeter around me so that I can blast them all together, if it comes to that. All my rational judgment has escaped my mind and what is left behind is a dark red. I can’t think. I’m too drained and worn out. All I know is that I’m furious.


Within the group of the newcomers I recognize William’s Beta, Terrence. When he sees me, he calls them all off immediately and runs towards me, taking off his jacket and placing it on my shoulders to protect me from the rain.

“What happened, Miss Moore?”

“Take me to your Alpha… NOW”

He seems taken aback by my outburst, and even needs to take a couple of staggering steps to stabilize himself. The rest of the group is in much worse condition. Yeah, I don’t care about that. All I need is for them to do what I say.

“Whoa, easy there with the aura, Miss. They all get agitated. Let’s go back and get you dry. The Alpha is in a meeting, but should be finished by the time you change into some warmer clothes.”

“What part did you not understand? I didn’t ask for new clothes. I asked to see William… With no further delay.”

He nods to one guard behind him and a car approaches, wasting no more time. We both enter and head back in silence. The ride is short, but I welcome the dry seat, which I know I’m ruining right now. No matter what I told him only minutes ago, I do feel the need to change my drenched attire that’s stuck on me like a second skin. My stomach, which has been facing numerous problems because of my disordered sleep and my immense stress, is complaining harshly and a powerful wave of nausea hits me with no mercy. For a moment, I consider Terry’s offer, but then I remember I didn’t come here for a friendly visit.

As soon as the car stops, I hop off and run towards Will’s office. It’s good that I always memorize the places I’ve seen before. Even in my miserable state, my sense of orientation works just fine. Poor Terry jumps off and sets off running behind me, shouting how I should stop and follow him first, let him announce me to his Alpha and all the rest that I sincerely don’t give a damn about. Without the slightest pause, I reach his door and barge inside at full speed.

Okay, I just interrupted something. There’s an older woman in his office and they both seem very serious, as if they were having a heated disagreement before my interruption.

Do I care if I cut them short? Hell, no, I don’t.

As if the lady is not even there, I walk up to him and shove him back with my hands on his chest. He didn’t expect it and he takes a couple of staggering steps behind to balance himself.

“What on earth got to you?” he says, surprise and accusation mixing in his voice. “This is an exceptionally lousy time. I think Terrence warned you about it.”

“And I already told him I don’t care if it’s a good or bad moment for you. I need some explanations and you’ll give them to me now. The lady can come back later and you can continue your fight then.”

The woman has stood up and is watching me with an interested smirk painting her face.

“Oh, don’t mind me! Carry on with your little talk. I can wait here quietly. I won’t disturb you at all,” she says.

Will shifts to her with his Alpha anger rising, but as soon as she turns to scrutinize him, the frostiness in her causes him to focus back on me.

“Good… Now that I have your attention, I demand to learn why you never told me about your relationship with Greg, although you clearly knew he was my friend. And why you acted like a prick to him in the first place… And… Damn it, William… How many times did I warn you to not lie to me?”

While I’m still venting out and letting all my suppressed anger flow, his gaze leaves me and gets stuck on the woman in desperation and fury. Both are clear to read on him, at least in my eyes. On the other hand, she royally ignores his glaring and comes to stand closer to me.



“Well, well, well… look what the cat’s brought in! Is this my wonderful niece? Good one, Alpha William. I didn’t believe you’d keep your promise.”

Her words momentarily sway me off my feet, and I lose my initial focus. What did she just say?

“Who the hell are you? And what kind of sick joke is that? I have no living relatives,”

My words drip scorching anger, and I can’t help noticing William’s wince.

“What? You really expect me to just not pay attention to you keeping so many hidden cards, Alpha William? How many times did I ask you about your secret agenda and you always swore to me there was none? You betrayed my trust, and that’s hard to fix.”

“Nel, I…” he begins, but I put my hand up to hush him.

“Not now… Maybe never, but certainly not now. So I’m here. What unlikely promise did you keep? As I’m positive you already know, I’m Eleanor Moore. Who would you be?” I continue, turning my attention to the woman.

She’s no doubt a powerful witch. Her powers send creeps to the back of my neck. Still, the most unnerving part is that her figure is strangely familiar. I am a hundred percent certain that I’ve never met her before, but there’s something about her that seems like home. It’s so weird, because I can’t really put my finger on what this would mean, but against my better judgment, I feel drawn to this woman. The warmth in her smile is fake despite how genuine it looks. She may not be happy to see me, but she’s satisfied that I’m here.

Does she know I can see behind her antics? Does she even care?

“I believe I asked you a question…” I repeat, getting more irritated by the moment.

I didn’t come here to form new acquaintances. I came to confront my so-called cousin about his lies, or better, half said truths. Of course, that still doesn’t answer my internal debate about what to think of Greg and what to make out of his part of the story. A dirty secret they both hid. He may be the victim, but he’s equally guilty for never saying a thing.

One problem each time… Focus, girl!

The woman takes a step towards me. She’s watching me with a wild fascination, almost like Greg would study the results of his experiments, which I won’t pretend to appreciate at all.

“Excuse my misbehavior, my dear… I just didn’t expect to meet you here. I’ve repeatedly asked Alpha William here to help me contact you, but to no avail. My name is Claudia di Mauro, and I’m the supposed-to-be villain to your story… the Head of the local witch coven.”



To be honest, I’m taken aback by the blunt simplicity in her words. No beating around the bush, I guess. However, she doesn’t stop there.

“Today is my lucky day, I suppose! I was looking for you everywhere, and you showed up right in front of me by yourself! Isn’t it funny? No, no, no, don’t be scared of me…
Unlike those wolf friends of yours, I don’t bite. All I wanted was to unfold another side of this story that they all coincidentally concealed and nobody plans to enlighten you on. Just a chance to talk. Nothing else. Wherever you want and on whatever terms, with the sole demand that you are alone when we have this conversation. You may come to our meeting point with company if you wish, but what I have to tell you is for your ears only.”

“I agree.”

She didn’t expect it. I can tell by the slight tilt of her head at my quick reaction. There’s nobody I trust enough to accompany me at the moment, and with my current powers, fueled by the extreme frustration that’s only rising since we arrived in Southville, I could most probably turn the whole place to ashes if she so much as blinked the wrong way towards me. And I know she recognizes it, which kinda shocks her, even though she won’t show it.

“Whoa, there… Somebody came here pretty loaded. Relax, my dear, your condition becomes uncontrollable when you’re so emotional. You must have realized that by now. So name your place and time of preference. Ask for whatever measures will make you feel secure. Remember, no need to get all worked up. Just an honest talk… That’s all I’m asking of you, and after that, if you choose to have no further contact with me, I will respect it.”

“Here and now. No procedures, and no drama, please… I hate both.”

She turns to William with an almost theatrical move.

“You heard our girl. Provide us with some privacy then, and leave us alone, will you? But first bring her some dry clothes. It’s not polite to dump your guests like this.”