AT QUERCIA HEADQUARTERS A chair shattered against the hardwood floor, and several glasses followed suit; Alessandro didn't even flinch at the splinters and shards scraping his skin. The walls vibrated from his wrathful yells and slams of more furniture. His fury would see no end until he dealt with those who hadn't listened. "These ineffective idiots! Waste of space flesh bags! Beta!" "Yes, Alpha," he answered promptly, having been right outside the door. "Status?" "There are four left to be located. Seems they have places to hide." Alessandro laughed a lengthy, hearty laugh and smiled. "These young ones truly do not understand the values of a family. Of our authority and why all is in order the way it is. What happened to the elite like you and I?" "I can't say I know. It is painfully obvious they lessen each day," his beta replied carefully. "Exactly. You understand. How is it that I only have five competent men now? There aren't more in charge because of this." "And we're g
Another snarl sounded in her ear. The air whooshed beside her from a missed swipe at her face and her heart leapt into her throat. Legs wobbled from the pressure of pushing their limits; it was after her and it wouldn't stop until she was caught. In the next moment, the world was ripped out from underneath her. Body weightless, she fell forward and into a mouth full of extra sharp teeth. *** Limbs stiff; weighed down by paralysis, she struggled to open her eyes. She willed herself to move, to not fall asleep again. She wanted to scream. Hands touched her arms with a gentle squeeze, and she was lifted into an upright position. The solace of an embrace eased her eyes open and calmed her spirit. They stayed that way for a while on account of her squeezing back whenever the hold attempted to loosen–it made Victor laugh. "I'm not going anywhere right now. I promise," he said, caressing her face. With a short nod she let go and looked around. She was back in her bedroom, but there was
ON THE WAY TO HEADQUARTERS Usually there was nothing good on the radio in the middle of the day, but Enora dialed through them anyway. She left it on her favorite station and lowered the volume, hoping something would come on after the commercials. Victor pulled onto the line at the fast-food place, reaching for her hand but she pulled away. He suppressed a laugh but couldn't hide the smile, "You're really mad at me?" "What do you mean? Yes! You're kidnapping me!" "No, no. Not kidnapping, think of it as taking you on vacation. We've got everything at headquarters, and you won't have to lift a finger." "Listen, I figured I might get to visit headquarters, but not stay. Vi-sit!" she emphasized, glaring at him when he started laughing. "Fine. I'm just going to ignore you and hang out with Gil and Wilson. They'll be fun." The laughter ceased, "No you won't. You're joking, right?" "Hello. How may I help you?" the voice at the menu screen interrupted. Turning away from him, she fo
Victor swiped the bag from the table hurriedly, but she had already imagined what it could be. The taste of bile was strong. Crawling up her throat, she had to turn away in order to suppress it, willing herself to keep it down. "That sick b*stard masked the scent!" Victor yelled out angrily, fist hitting the counter. He turned to her after a breath, "Give me a minute, ok?" She nodded in response, watching as he pulled out his phone and entered his bedroom with a slam of the door. With a tissue, she slid the note over to avoid touching it, her other hand still over her nose and mouth. Though she knew nothing good would come of reading it, her brain had convinced her to do it despite that. The paper looked of high quality as she opened it and found it to be quite lengthy as well. My dearest Enora, my sincerest apologies for what happened. I would have written sooner, but that vile man who dared approach you had to be dealt with. May we never find ourselves in this situation again. T
Several days passed and Enora was both physically and mentally exhausted. Assimilating into this life was as strenuous as she had thought. Learning the rules, watching people come in injured at all hours of the day, and of her own foolishness, learning a lot about the gruesome history of the Lotus and Quercia. Star fishing onto the bed, she closed her eyes with a sigh, "I have to tell him, don't I?" The black wolf plush beside her seemed to give her a look of sympathy as she grabbed it, holding it above her. When Victor had given it to her after their date, she'd found it cute and funny, but after some thought, it was also eerie to have it look like him. She knew he meant well, but he clearly hadn't thought it through. Of course, she'd come to love it anyway. "I know he wants to make me feel better and he's probably used to showering girls with gifts, but I don't know. Is it wrong to feel overwhelmed by those too?" Having told Victor that she enjoyed the gifts to spare his feeling
Several eyes turned to Enora as the surrounding group got quieter. Wilson turned to usher them away, "If you're not involved, keep it moving guys! Come on!" "They must have not seen when you escorted her out days ago sir, but we didn't crack. Not even Rick," Mina finished, pulling out a tissue to wipe her nose. "I knew you wouldn't. Now take a breath, start from the beginning," Victor answered, patting her arm. "Yes, sorry. We patrolled her building and surrounding area from twelve to five pm as usual and waited for the next car to come around. Once they checked in, we made our way back here when they intercepted. They must have not been watching the building before we got there, otherwise they would have followed the two before us." "That makes sense, that area becomes more populated by noon. Make it easier for him to blend in," Gil added. "Three guys get ahold of us and start the fight. Rick and I weren't doing too badly because we managed to get one guy down, but then anoth
On their way back to the apartment, Victor had managed to ease her worry over what happened. The updates from Gil and Wilson were positive, and he assured her Mina and Rick wouldn't put blame on anyone; they weren't the type. And if that wasn't enough to convince her, he would go around asking people their honest opinions on her. She hit him again as they entered, "Stop! That would be beyond embarrassing!" "I'm joking, I'm joking. I have to get that frown off of your face somehow," Victor replied, lightly pinching the corner of her mouth with a grin. A chime on his phone interrupted his next words and hardened his expression. "I have to go take care of something, but what I was going to suggest, was that we get comfortable and stay in. I won't put this off anymore, I'm sure it's been bothering you." "Kind of. More confusing if anything, but thanks. I'll be here, so you hurry back," she answered with a smile. "You got it." There was an unusual quiet to the room when he left, and
AT THE CAFE The familiar aroma of coffee, sweets, and flowers created an instant dose of dopamine for Enora that morning as she sat in her favorite spot in the café. Having work to distract her from her messy behind-the-scenes life never failed to help her focus and solve problems. A current problem being the gnawing nagging in her gut that a dire event was on the horizon; excluding the war that Bianchi would set a day for any time now. Something was to happen that would put her in mortal danger, but she couldn't let Victor know this. He had insisted on dropping her off every morning to scope out the place even though it had been a safe haven thus far; she could only imagine how he would act with this new development. Besides, there was a chance the feeling would go away. "What are you thinking about?" Lilla asked, sliding into the seat across from her. "Nothing much, a lot on my mind. Things to do at home." "Yeah, I can't get anything done when I'm sick either. I'm glad you ac