Night Howls (4 page)

Obviously, sitting around for a quiet evening at home is going to be out of the question. I have been working non-stop lately. My cases haven’t been extremely exciting. In three weeks’ time, I have only been able to kill two people, both members of a crazy werewolf cult that has decided turning wolf and tearing humans to shreds is a good pastime. I have been hired to kill others, but the cases behind the contracts were too weak for me to see them through.

Most of my time has been used to build support groups within our community for victims of crimes. It makes no sense to me that I am the one driving these efforts, but I have to see Phee most days and I don’t like to think of anyone else ending up like she was after her assault. If her mom hadn’t thought to call me, my little minion might not have been around to drive me batty.

Part of the new program is me training more students on how to defend themselves. So far, my little group has expanded to ten, including Sam and Phee. The guards assist a lot to try to help keep my sanity intact.

My oldest recruit is my age and started with no experience. It has only been a week since we really got things going, but there has been noticeable improvement from all of the pupils. Phee has even been allowed to start wearing her knife sheaths. We are progressing towards firepower, but I am still hesitant.

“The kids probably wouldn’t mind an extra night of training. I had given them the weekend off, but it is most likely the only action you would get tonight, otherwise.”

“Have I mentioned how proud your father is that you are getting into this mentoring gig?” Walt asks. Yes, he has mentioned it and my dad has told me it himself on the one occasion we actually talked on the phone.

“I am well aware that once everyone picked their jaws up from off the ground, they are very proud of me being a grown-up and taking responsibility for other people. I couldn't very well let Jonas be the only adult in our group,” I respond a little tired of being praised for just being a decent person. You figure a person who has two mates eventually has to grow a heart. It has taken a couple of months, but most days, I do believe, I actually feel one beating in my previously empty chest.

“So, seriously, our only option for entertainment tonight is playing with a bunch of kids,” Jake complains. “This is so unfair.”

I don't know what is wrong with him tonight, but I don’t want him hanging around here with that kind of attitude. “Alex, you better let him run off to play with his girlfriend. I am not going to be able to handle him right now. I will make sure to schedule some arts and crafts, or something, tomorrow night to keep him busy.

“Fine. Jake, you have three hours to yourself. When you come back, you will be expected to act like an adult or you will be going one-on-one with me. Nyx deals with enough shit all day long. She doesn't need to have to find ways to amuse you, as well,” Alex replies in a tone that I find very sexy. It might just be that he is sticking up for me, but I like it when he puts his authoritative hat on.

“Yes, Alex. Sorry Princess, for being a pain. One of these times the doctors will get my medication right,” Jake says as he runs towards the elevator.

If I believed doctors could actually fix his problem, I would drive him to one myself. I doubt any of them would have something for a severe case of werewolf attention deficit disorder.

“Would you still like to bring the kids over? You have been wrapping up that jealous vampire case and you haven't seen them for a couple of days,” Alex states.

He is right. The jealous vampire, or Miller case, really ticked me off. A female vampire got pissed that the guy she was mooning after had been sticking his beef whistle in someone else. She hired me to kill him and led me on a merry little chase, only to find out the truth behind it all.

In the end, she was lucky I have a strict policy against stabbing my own clients, even if they really deserve it. Taking out my frustrations on my recruits sounds like a novel idea, so I quickly get my phone out and start dialing.

Chapter 5

Like taking candy from a baby

Eight of my soldiers show up for the unscheduled training. The other two weren’t answering their phones. If I were a mean person, I may be inclined to show the ones that did show up something extra special today. Of course, no one would ever confuse me with a mean person. Not.

The class tonight includes, Sam, Phee, Mary, Hans, Kris, Marc, Luke, and Annie. Remembering their names tends to overtax my brain, so I have just given them numbers. To ensure that I can focus on teaching and not figuring out who is who, they have tops with their number clearly printed on the front and back.

Yes, I am lazy. Get over it.

“Number one, front and center,” I say commanding Phee to join me in the middle of a wrestling mat.

“Yes, Master,” she shouts back and hustles to her spot. It is good to have minions.

“Since we didn’t have anything previously scheduled for tonight, I decided we are going to have a little fun. You don’t get to play with real ammo, yet, but I think a little game of catch the flag paintball style is something you all can handle.” It would be better to play it outdoors, but we have enough rooms and general space in the building to make it enjoyable. Jake might actually be sad he missed this, once we tell him about it.

“Yes!”

“About time.”

“This is going to be awesome.”

Apparently, the recruits are excited as well. Now, if I can just keep them from shooting paint in each other’s eyes, we may be making progress.

“Are you playing with us?” number four, Annie, asks.

“Alex, Walt, Jonas, you guys want to show the kids how it is done?” I ask the “adults” in the room. Even with Jake not amongst us, the word is used loosely.

“Sure. Us versus them,” Alex replies for the rest of the guys.

“Isn’t that a little unfair,” Hans, number nine, questions. It seems odd to have a number nine with only eight of them here, but I am not going to rename them now.

“For you guys, maybe,” Jonas says with an evil laugh. The poor babies don’t know what they are in for. They have been just learning the basics. Now, it is time to show them what Black Ops is really all about.

“You guys can be the red team and we will be the blue team,” I instruct and hurry over to my toy box. I had been using the gym strictly for workouts and didn’t even know this treasure existed until a week ago.

I grab the two flags and a dozen guns. We have different varieties of artillery, ranging from handgun to machine gun styles. I stick with handguns for everyone. I don’t want to teach them how to use the bigger varieties and I don’t want them calling foul if my team uses them. After pulling out a couple of cases of red and blue pellets, I am ready to distribute my booty.

“Okay guys, no rocket scientist needed to use these. They don’t have safeties on them, just point and shoot. If you get hit, you are out, so move out of the way or lay there and play dead.” That is all the instructions for gun usage they are getting out of me today. If they cannot figure out how to shoot me, I see that as an advantage to my team.

“To make the exercise fairer we are requiring earplugs to be worn. With everyone’s superb hearing it isn’t as much fun to play this game when you can hear what the other team is doing,” I say as Alex hands out the earplugs he retrieved while I was going over my minimal gun education. “We are taking the parking garage as our home base and you guys can have the entire gym.”

I am not sure who has the upper hand on the location choices. Both have a lot of good hiding places and multiple access points. The fact that I know a few secret passages in the building probably shifts the arrow in my direction.

“Don’t you think that since you guys are all trained in this type of thing that we shouldn’t have to wear the earplugs?” Phee asks trying to shift the arrow back to her team.

I look at the guys to see what they want and I am met with a bunch of shrugging shoulders. It doesn’t really matter, I guess. I don’t have to hear to smell someone coming up behind me. Since there are only werewolves in the class, I think I still have the advantage.

“Fine. No earplugs for you guys. Half of our team doesn’t even need to speak out loud to communicate and I can move quieter than a mouse, so I see no issues.”

My team puts our earplugs in and grabs our flag and weapons. I wave good-bye to the little kiddies and we are off to create the most impenetrable force we can with just us four people and a bunch of cars. This is going to be fun.

In the garage, we look around trying to figure out the best place. I figure Jonas and Walt will be left guarding the flag while me and Alex go after the other team’s. It will be easier for us to communicate without alerting anyone.

“Good idea,”
Alex says using our secret weapon.
“I am thinking we set them up in one of the cars. There are less access points and they will be able to see anyone coming.”

“Yeah, but depending on the car, they will also be easily seen,”
I reply pretty sure where this is heading.

I walk over to the Suburban and open the doors for everyone. Clyde jumps in. I had forgotten he was tagging behind us. I hope he doesn’t mind sitting with Jonas and Walt for a while. There is no way I am going to take the little bugger with me on this mission.

I point at Walt and Jonas and motion for them to climb in. They nod in understanding and bring their guns and the flag. They both climb in so I am able to softly shut the door behind them and turn back to Alex.

“Do you have a certain way you want to do this?”
I ask knowing that if it were me, I would find a way up into my apartment and then use the secret passage to get in a door that none of the recruits have ever used.

“I am good with that. Let’s show these young-uns how to play super spy,”
he replies twirling his toy gun around.

“Just be careful where you shoot that thing and follow me as quietly as your Amazon stature allows,”
I say as I take off in a run. I am not sure if Alex knows about the back stairway, but I sure do and you couldn’t pay me to take the elevator right now.

The bad thing about the secret passage is that I cannot reach the button that slides the wall away. Obviously, when Sebastian had it installed he didn’t have a short mate in mind. I know Alex can see in my mind where I need him to press, but I point at the wall to reinforce what needs to happen within the next couple of seconds. Technically, I could have levitated myself up there with my wings, but it seems like such a waste of wing time.

He makes a big display of stretching on tip-toe, even though it isn’t necessary. He is lucky he is on my team. I think when this is over there is a paintball with his name on it.

“Jerk,”
I say voicing my opinion on his act. I move into the passage and wait a second for my eyes to adjust. My night vision has finally come online. How I lived without it, I have no idea. Those night vision goggles you can buy have nothing on what I can see with my own two eyes now.

“I am guessing you know where to go. Sebastian doesn’t believe in making straight paths. It wouldn’t take much to get lost in here.”

“Sometimes the crazy paths come in handy. Yes, I have studied this building extensively since I moved in. I am surprised you haven’t been through it with a fine-tooth comb.”
I say as I take a right turn at a fork in the road.

I don’t mind the sensory deprivation I get from having my ears closed because even when me and Alex aren’t talking, Sebastian is hanging out in his little corner, so there is always some kind of noise to be heard. He isn’t actively drawing my attention, but I can feel his life force, or something, as if I were actually touching him. I have come to except him there and I can now understand how difficult it was for him when our original bond was deactivated.

“One of these days you will have to make room for me to join him in there.”

“My head is pretty full without Sebastian being there. I will see if I can make some room for you in my medulla.”

“I was thinking more of the hypothalamus. I know that is where I have a special place picked out for you.”
How much do you want to bet that part has something to do with sex?

I decide to bypass going all the way to the apartment. As I have thought about the tunnels more, there is a better route. The only thing I am worried about is that the door will open into the pool area. I figure that is probably where the other team has hidden their flag. It is where I would hide out and I am hoping that at least Phee has the common sense to do the same.

“How many of them do you figure they left behind?”
Alex asks.

Good question. Since there are eight of them, I wonder if they have even come to an agreement on anything. None of them have an alpha mentality, so I am not sure if they will have a defined leader to guide them.

“I bet we are going to run into the majority of them still there. You good for handling two or three of them without getting shot?”

“With my eyes closed,”
he replies.

We are finally to the door I want to use. My nose tells me seven of the eight members of the other team are within close range. The evil minion, Phee, is missing. I am pretty sure she has something up her sleeve.

“These seven are meant to be a diversion. I am surprised Sam is allowing her to be off on her own, but wherever she is, the flag will be.”

“You don’t think she went looking for our flag?”
Alex asks. If he knew Phee as well as I did, he wouldn’t have to ask. She has been learning through osmosis and takes in everything I teach her. My teachings won’t be helping her tonight because she still isn’t prepared for the likes of us and she recognizes it.

“No. She knows she cannot beat us, so she wants to have a little fun. We go in on three. I will be taking to the air as soon as I get enough room. They won’t know where to look. I will somersault in and try to clear you some space.”