"Mother, how is Gabriel?" A voice broke the enforced silence in the private hospital room.
An old voice issued from the body of a rail thin teenaged girl, "He lingers. For some reason, his wounds do not heal. You must tell me about the raid, again. There must be something that was missed."
The Nordic blonde man sat down in a seat that was vacated quickly by a follower. He settled himself and started, "As I said before, I have no idea what happened. Our surveillance of the pack was very accurate. With his death, the deal we had with Francois was forfeit. The new Alpha was sloppy and very free with the security details. It was supposed to be a simple intimidation. It was obvious the dog had no idea how to run the place. We were to go in and put the fear of us into him. He would roll over and give us the usual gratuities. But, the bitch..." The man looked away from the eyes in the room. "She was fast. She'd ripped out Craig's throat before we knew he was in trouble. The howl. I've never heard anything like it!"
The girl raised her hand to make him stop. "In chronological order, son."
"I.. I'm sorry. We entered and faded in as always. They took longer than anticipated to start the mating ritual. The dog must not have been pack born. He seemed afraid of the bitch. We figured we could dispatch him and put the blame on her. Under the fade, Craig injected the sedative into the bitch. She seemed to get drowsy, but she didn't go down. She shook a little. The hair dropped off of her. It was as though she'd been wearing a coat and dropped it to the floor."
The man looked around at the listening group, then continued, "She turned and grabbed Craig by the arm and tossed him to the far wall. She saw through the fade. Craig got up and jumped for the ceiling. She got there first and... I think, now, that he was dead before she did the blood letting. We all converged on her. I remember a crunching sound. Percy and Gabriel got to her before Aldus and I. She snapped Percy's arm and leg as so much kindling. She looked at me while she fed off of Gabriel. She was daring me to come forward as she drained him."
"And the new Alpha," the mother asked guiding him from his thoughts. "What of him?"
"We lost track of him. We were too busy trying to keep her from killing Gabriel. We finally managed to get him free from her and made exit. She ran with us, Mother. She nearly caught up before we could break the tree line. She would have gotten us, if the other dog hadn't run up and taken her legs out from under her. I didn't think the dogs could run like that, with their crooked legs. Have they been hiding this from..."
The delicate hand raised again, and his mother spoke, "Marcus. Calm yourself. There is nothing new, here. Just a return to the old, perhaps. This bitch. Are you sure she was a bitch? She could have been a felid. They can match our speed. Dogs do not have a bite that does not heal. Felids are rare. I don't remember whether they had a festering bite."
"No, Mother. She was a dog. She had a dog's head, and dog's fur. Right down to that bushy tail," Marcus protested.
"Are you absolutely sure."
"Yes. She is a bitch."
The mother looked around the room at the others that had gathered in the room, "Then, we may need to have a conversation with the pack elders. The council must try to strike some sort of compromise before this escalates."
*
Sebastian Rousseau was awakened by his cell phone. "Yes," he rasped as he sat up in bed.
He knew immediately who it was, when she railed at him,- - Why did you have to fuck her again?- -
His response was a quick, "Because you weren't here, where you belong. To what do I owe the pleasure of your voice, my queen?"
- -I hate you. Why did you have to do that? I mean, I can't stand that. Why do I have to feel that? Couldn't you just pick somebody else?- -
"That's funny. All of this talking for someone who said she wished she'd never met me. It got to you, huh? You felt something good, didn't you? That's what this call's about. Are you done playing with the boy?"
- -Just stop it!- -
Rousseau yawned, "Can't. You've gone and confirmed you're a bitch."
The voice on the other end sputtered, - -I don't ... I don't want you.- -
"Oh, but it's the contrary. You want me to scratch that itch. That's why you got my number from the boy. Name the place and time..."
- - When hell freezes over!- - The call disconnected.
He dropped back into bed with a slow smile. Something had changed. He could hear it in her voice.
*
I slapped the phone shut in my frustration. He seemed so smug over the phone.
"Are you sure this is necessary, Ellen," Toshi said as he oversaw the workmen.
I frowned at him, "Absolutely sure. He's going to try to come and get me. The only thing that can protect everyone will be this safe room."
"Dear, I don't think anyplace is truly safe," he scanned my face.
"We'll see," I said. I'd felt a rush when I spoke to Rousseau. I was immediately hot. It scared the crap out of me. How could I want a man that I had seen inside my sister the night before? I was so disgusted with myself. "How soon will the cement be dry and the fittings cured."
"Well, it'll take a few days for the curing process to be done. The plumbing has been tested, as well as the separate air supply. The filtration systems are due to be installed and tested tomorrow. It should be ready by Thursday or Friday at the most."
