Chapter 66 - Response

"Now as for our warriors with you, if it comes to an Ambush, they will take you, hostage, immediately" Harris said, turning and taking over the bunk, where they kept the silver weapons. He waded through some arrows with dangerous silver tips, 3 separate spears of different shapes, a few prosthetic claws and 4 four short daggers.

He handled one of the daggers and beckoned Catherina to him. "You will have one, same with Jeremy over here," he stated. "If things go awry, you will threaten her life with this" I waited to see if any one of them remembered the past incident at the University. Hopefully, the current tension had made them all forget.....

"This won't work, Alpha," said Catherina. Shit.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harris. She looked straight at me.

"She has a weapon of her own." she started. "And incredibly more refined than our half-cast materials. What she has is pure silver" she explained.

Harris looked at me with urgency. "Is this true?" he asked me.

"Yes," I started. "Anything wrong with that? I've been a lone wolf for a very long time, you know."

"Where did you get it?" he questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" cut in Catherina. "I'm guessing his name starts with an overbearing V"

"So does your pink down there, but you don't see me complaining" I replied.

She growled, but No snide remark. She was learning.

"I knew you were past acquaintances, but I had no idea you still shared a strong bond with the Moonlights," said Harris, with his hand behind his back.

I shrugged. "We're still friends, yes" I replied, wondering to myself. Should I have said otherwise? No, I wanted Harris to know. At the time, I didn't know my green desire had begun burning so hotly. I wanted Harris to feel jealous, even inadequate, for me.

"I should think so" he started "Pure Silver is even rarer than unicorn hair these days. And you seem to be casually carrying one in your purse." I drew my bag even tighter. "Entire packs have been wiped out for less" he continued.

"I'm not going to apologise for having a weapon of self-defence," I said.

"Of course not, forgive me. I rather just enjoy illustrating how special you are" he smiled.

I was confused. Was he flirting with me, or not?

"Alpha?" asked Catherina, jolting him back to the situation.

"Yes, yes. We will proceed as planned" said Harris.

"And the dagger?"

He smiled. "I don't think Ms Naomi is particularly interested in handing over her precious dagger to anyone, is she now?" he asked me. "No, I am not," I replied acerbically.

"Why you-"

Harris silenced Catherina yet again. "No matter, Catherina. There are other ways of endangering a werewolf besides Silver. Far more torturous, and painful ways." he stated. Another weakness besides Silver? Impossible. He was probably bluffing.

"Alpha, you don't mean, that weapon?" said Catherina.

He nodded. "Yes, I think that would be fitting enough for a robust person like Ms Naomi," he said. "Don't you think?"

"It would certainly get the job done" responded Catherina. "But we'd be wasting it-"

"What on earth are you people talking about?" I cut in, irritably. Harris used his friendly, condescending smile. "That's for us to know, and for you to hopefully never find out," he said.

"Let me guess? Insurance?" I asked.

"You catch on really quick, Naomi," he said politely. "As I was saying, I will dispatch the weapon to you. Keep it concealed until the very end"

No way anything could threaten a werewolf's life besides Silver. It was all an elaborate bluff, or so I thought. Catherina nodded.

"And that would be the general gist of it" concluded Harris.

"Alpha" started Catherina. "As for the delegation, Naomi will still-"

"Of course. Naomi Holt is still the leader of this delegation. She has most likely been to the Moonlight Residence If I am not mistaken?" he asked me. I winced at being figured out so easily.

"I think we might be fortunate to have someone that close to the ruling pack. And for now, we will exploit that relationship for our own benefit. If all goes well, the Night Phantasm will move up in the world. If not, it would be, unfortunate, but we would rise to try again another day. You can count on that" Harris said, looking at every one of us, his eyes full with conviction.

"Well then, Naomi. You have my response, the rest is left to you" he finished. I looked about the room.

"I'll get back to him" I replied.

"We will be waiting " said Harris as I left his office, alone.

I wondered if it was best to make the call inside or take a long stretch outside. Harris was still watching the windows, right? He would definitely see me outside. But did that even matter? After walking slowly in the corridor, I quickened my pace to go outside and fuck it.

Outside, Vincent's line rang for about three seconds before he answered.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Hello, Naomi. What's up?"

"We're down. How do we proceed from here?" I asked.

"Well, that was quick. You must be quite the negotiator" he replied.

"Not really but-"

"But what-"

"Why do you have to cause a fuss? About me being the only person you'd talk to?"

He paused. "Allow me to make a guess. Your pack made a delegation to come for this job, and you are the leader of this delegation, correct?" he asked. I reeled. Of course, the general idea was to come with the pack as some sort of medium between the Moonligjts and the Night Phantasm, but I never expected I'd be made a leader. And how did he know that?

"How did you know?" I asked.

"You're welcome" he replied. Again, I could feel him winking through the phone.

"Yeah, and it almost caused a rift between me and them. In fact, almost might be too modest a word" I said.

"That's fine. They should be able to see how capable you are. If not, it's their loss." he finished. I breathed a sigh of relief. Why did talking to Vincent feel so refreshing and relaxed?

"So, how do we proceed?" I asked again.

"Bring your delegation to Ontario," he said.

"Ontario? You're not in Quebec?" I asked.