Calix
Destiny’s question drew everyone’s attention to the wolf that had just walked in. He was tall and buff like an Alpha although he lacked an Alpha Aura to match his build. He actually reminded me of one Alpha in particular: my brother, Felix. Dante, as Destiny had called him, was wearing dark nondescript clothing and a Felix-worthy scowl. There was something about him that communicated a desire to be incognito. For some strange reason, it seemed like Destiny had blown his cover. Like Destiny, he was not dressed warmly but that was normal enough for a wolf, especially one of stature. My eyes went to the thin pink lines all over the exposed skin of his face, neck and upper limbs. How strange. Dante was covered in scratch marks. That wasn’t the way male wolves tended to fight. Did he have a house full of aggressive cats or something?
I sniffed the air, expecting to catch a faint whiff of blood along with the scent of whoever had inflicted those scratches. I couldn’t help but be curious. After several sniffs, I was certain Dante smelled like Dante, soap and no one else. He had probably showered recently and carefully, thereby scrubbing off the scent of his assailant.
I watched Dante glance at Destiny in annoyance before veering sharply away from the bar, rather rudely ignoring her concerned enquiry. He took a seat as far away from her and the bar counter as possible. Clearly, he did not want to talk with her and yet, she made her way to where he sat by the wall. I heard him sigh after which he tried to feign interest in his menu, avoiding eye contact with Destiny. I glanced at my own menu. There were only about half a dozen food items on it, not much to choose from.
Alex and Felix were busy talking about our next move while Danny was nodding at everything Alex said while Felix opposed it all.
“Calix, what do you think?” Asked Alex.
Um.
“Um,” I said, turning back to my eldest brother. “Uhh, it’s a great idea.”
Alex smiled. Felix scowled.
“He wasn’t even listening!” Grumbled Felix.
Out of the corner of my eye, Destiny was still trying to take Dante’s drink order.
“A beer, ok,” Dante mumbled.
If my eyes were not mistaken, his were black. What was he so mad about? I made sure not to openly stare at them.
“Ok,” replied Destiny meekly.
I felt bad for her. She dutifully brought that jerk his beer, opening it for him. She looked very upset about his grumpy mood. Maybe they had something going. While I was trying not to look directly at Dante, I was also getting the feeling that he was trying not to look at us either. He seemed to be trying to inconspicuously listen in to our conversation. Or maybe it was just my imagination. Chasity’s kidnapping might have made me paranoid.
“If Chance is right about Deidre Binx being an imposter while the real one is dead, that makes her our next significant lead,” said Alex, lowering his voice.
“She’s connected to whatever happened to Chasity’s parents and she was in the neighbourhood at the time Chasity went missing, meaning she may very well be connected to that as well. We’d have to go to her at some point. We have to confront Deidre Binx,” murmured Danny.
Felix was staring at Danny. He looked troubled by that suggestion.
“So once we’re done with all the leads here, you think it makes sense to hop on a plane to LA?” Asked Felix incredulously. “What if Chasity is still here in the pack lands?” Asked Felix. “We locked the pack lands down remember? She’s more likely to be here.”
The desperation in his tone made my heart constrict painfully. I understood exactly what he meant and how he felt. We didn’t want to be further away from Chasity at any cost even though we didn’t know exactly where she was. Leaving the pack lands even briefly felt like leaving her behind. My wolf had a fleeting horrifying thought: what if Chasity showed up to the pack house out of the blue having escaped her kidnapper while we were in LA?! Mom could open the door, take one look at our beautiful mate Chasity and slam the door in her face after claiming we had moved on. I flinched at the thought. I quieted my wolf.
Mom wouldn’t do that, I assured him and myself. She wouldn’t, I repeated to myself.
“She could be here or she could be anywhere,” said Alex sadly. “The point is to connect all the dots and one of the biggest enigmas here is Deidre Binx and her lookalikes. I don’t know whether we should be tailing the one spotted here or the one simultaneously spotted in LA so let’s try to track down both!” Suggested Alex with a determined glint in his eyes.
I nodded. We needed to go down every avenue until one of them led us to Chasity.
“Cover all the bases,” I said. “We need to be on the lookout for other members of the Furina Ornata who might know something. So we should be keeping an eye out for that tattoo!”
“Definitely,” said Chance. “Not all members knew each other. Far from it. There were different pockets with different goals. Only the moon snake and the amazing power-giving properties of its venom connected them.” Explained Chasity’s grandpa.
I thought I saw that jerky guy, Dante, flinch out of the corner of my eye. I quickly glanced at him over my shoulder. He was engrossed in that menu again. Clearly, chicken tenders versus buffalo wings was the biggest decision of his life. I looked away before he could spot me looking at him.
“Yeah yeah but let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” muttered Felix. “We’re not done with this lead.”
He was right. Grumpy but right.
We need to find out if Deidre was really here, right? I confirmed. Like our exes said.
My brothers gave me the mind-link equivalent of a nod.
Let’s start with this human chick, said Felix, nodding towards Destiny. Let’s just ask her out right.
We need to employ some tact though, Felix, said Alex.
Leave it to me! I insisted. I’m the best with the ladies! I reminded them cheekily.
Alex and Felix did not look pleased but they kept quiet.
I let out a heavy sigh, ensuring Destiny was in earshot. She was behind the bar again and wiping the same glass over and over, clearly distracted, probably by that negative encounter with Dante. She looked up at me, alerted by my sigh.
“Can I get you anything else?” She offered helpfully.
I frowned and just shook my head. I put my head in my hands. It was easy to act upset. Chasity was missing. I was upset. I had been upset ever since. I knew she would take the bait. Bartenders always tended to act as unofficial therapists, especially for people who could probably really use some real therapy and less time spent in a bar.
“Wanna talk about it?” Asked Destiny kindly.
I gave her a faint smile and a shrug. Pretending to be reluctant to reveal what was bothering me made it all the more believable.
“I’m all ears,” said Destiny encouragingly as she pulled up a chair on her side of the bar and sat facing me.
“I’m trying to find this girl,” I admitted.
“The Luna, Chasity!” Squeaked Destiny knowingly.
Hearing Chasity’s name caught me off guard, almost making me flinch. I supposed everyone in the pack would know by now that their rightful Luna was missing. Neighbouring packs would be aware too. We had contacted all the Northern Alphas of Wolf Country asking them to be on the lookout for her. However, it was still somewhat alarming to have it said out loud by a relative stranger.
“I do want to find my mate but I was trying to find someone I heard was in town but it’s probably a stupid rumour,” I assumed. “You’re going to think it’s so dumb,” I mumbled, looking down.
“I won’t!” Destiny assured me.
“You see, I’m a huge fan of that model competition show where they pick a couple girls from several packs across werewolf country,” I lied, making sure my face lit up.
Destiny actually snorted with laughter. She covered her mouth with her hands as though surprised by her own reaction.
“She-wolf Supermodel Search?” She asked, saying the name of the show.
“That’s the one!” I confirmed bashfully. “I know, don’t judge me,” I added.
“I can’t imagine an alpha watching that,” admitted Destiny, stifling her own giggles.
“It’s Baby Boy Calix’s favourite show!” Said Felix, chiming in with a smirk on his face.
“He never misses a single episode!” Alex added, grinning.
I glared at them. I had asked to work alone on this one.
“Anyway,” I said, trying to hide my annoyance. “The retired supermodel who coaches them was in town supposedly,” I said, getting to the point.
Destiny nodded eagerly.
“She doesn’t coach anymore though! She moved on to host a show on the Chomp Network,” Destiny informed me.
I knew the show and the channel she was talking about though I didn’t actually watch it. I didn’t watch She-wolf Supermodel Search either despite what my brothers might think.
“Snack Pack Attack!” I said, nodding. “I love that show!” I said, trying to sound as earnest as possible.
“What’s that about?” Asked Danny out of nowhere.
Chance answered before I could.
“Pairs of chefs from different packs compete. Every episode they have to make a snack in record time and the judges pick the best one…” Chance said, launching into an explanation.
“I don’t watch that,” I said quickly, wanting to get back to the point.
You just told her you loved that show? Pointed out Chance.
I had but whatever. She didn’t seem to be questioning anything I was saying whether it added up or not.
“I only watch Deidre Binx’s show!” I said, contradicting myself though Destiny didn’t seem to notice.
Her eyes were bright with excitement.
“Deidre Binx!” She exclaimed.
“Yeah, that’s her name!” I said, smiling.
“She was here!” Whispered Destiny excitedly.
Destiny actually jumped up and down a little. I looked at her with wide eyes.
“Is she still in town? Do you think she’d sign an autograph for me?” I asked, my tone desperate.
Destiny fell silent. She seemed to be thinking over the matter. When she finally responded, she sounded very apprehensive.
“Her boyfriend or whoever he is…he’s moody. He’s pretty grumpy,” mumbled Destiny, her eyes downcast.
“Was he mean to you?” I asked quickly.
“He was nice at first but he showed up today acting like a jerk!” Complained Destiny, lowering her voice.
My heart sped up. Could it be that jerk in the corner? What was his name again? It had slipped my mind for a second.
Dante, my wolf reminded me, actually speaking plainly which was a rare occurrence for my Alpha wolf. We usually communicated instinctively.
“Where is he?” I asked immediately.
“Oh, he left,” said Destiny softly as she picked up a beer mug and wiped it with a dish towel.
She seemed to be avoiding my gaze all of a sudden. Was she lying to me? She could be telling the truth. There could have been another jerk who had been here earlier.
“So if he’s in town then Deidre Binx is too,” I concluded.
“I shouldn’t tell you this,” began Destiny, her voice barely a whisper.
Even with my Alpha hearing, I still had to lean in to decipher her words. My heart was pounding as the anticipation built. Would Destiny lead me right to Deidre and would Deidre lead me to my Goddess Chasity? I was scared to even get my hopes up.
“But I know where they’re staying!” Continued Destiny, whispering conspiratorially as she leant in, her eyes darting from my brothers to Danny to Chance to me.
I leant in too. Destiny whispered in my ear like we were children exchanging secrets on the playground. I couldn’t help the huge smile that spread onto my face as she revealed the exact location at which Deidre was supposed to be staying. The address she whispered to me wasn’t too far from our Beta’s house! I looked at Alex. He looked stunned. Felix was livid.
Deidre has been right under our Beta’s nose! Grumbled Felix over mind-link, his inner voice practically a growl. The audacity! He snarled.
The best hiding places are in plain sight, said Chance wisely.
Unfortunately, yes, said Danny, his tone sombre.
I felt sick to my stomach. The party my brothers and I had encouraged Chasity to attend had been held at our Beta’s house by his daughters, Moxie and Roxie. What if we had put Chasity in harm’s way by insisting on going to that party? Little did we know, doppelgänger Deidre had been in the neighbourhood. I knew Chasity had been kidnapped from the attic balcony of the pack house but our suspect could have been tailing us that night since the party. I felt Alex’s hand on my shoulder.
No use crying over spilt milk, he said sadly. Let’s move forward. We’re going to that house.