Women of the Otherworld, Reese/Nick

Reese was woken by a ringing noise. For a moment, he was puzzled, still shaking off sleep, then he realised it must be the guest cottage phone. He hunted for it and located it at last on a forgotten side-table. Reese picked up the handset. "Hello?" No answer. But with a werewolf's sharper hearing he could detect someone breathing at the other end of the line. "Hello, who is this? I think you have a wrong number."

A very familiar voice answered. "No, I reckon I have exactly the right number." Reese sat down abruptly as his knees gave way.

"Dad?" No, it couldn't be. His father didn't even know Reese was in the US.

"Yes, it's me."

"How did - how did you get this number?"

"I heard a rumour that a new kid was running around with the American Pack. A kid with a Kiwi accent. Didn't take too long to join up the dots, call in a few favours to find out the details." If he knew the number, he knew the address. Was Dad planning on *coming* here? Please, no.

"What do you want with me?"

"Hey, can't I phone up to chat with my only son, see how he's doing? No wait, technically that's 'only daughter' now, isn't it? Seeing that you're not a real man." Reese felt his stomach clench under the familiar onslaught of his father's anger. He forced himself to speak again, try to end the conversation.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to get out. Now. I'm giving you 24 hours to leave the cushy den you've found for yourself with the American Pack, get as far away as possible. Run around as a mutt again, turn into a wolf permanently, top yourself, I don't care as long as you get out. You don't deserve the place you have there, and you know it."

"They want me. This is my home now. You've said yourself I'm not your son anymore, so I don't have to listen to you, I - I don't have to do what you ask any more!" Reese put the phone down with a bang, like dropping a red hot poker. He sat still, trying to control his breathing. Every time he talked to his father, every time, it felt like he was six years old again. Like nothing had changed. He had a vivid memory of Dad shouting at him when he was a child, so angry it made him wet himself in fear. No, things were different now, he wasn't going to let his father dominate him. When the phone rang again, he disconnected it.

At the main house, over a leisurely breakfast, Nick frowned at him. "You're looking kind of shaken up. Did something happen?"

"No. No, nothing happened," lied Reese. "Hey, d'you fancy going out for a run this morning? I haven't Changed in a while, maybe that's what's making me nervous."

"Oh, sure. Maybe the others'll come, too." They finished the pancakes in companionable silence. As they cleared away the dishes, the phone in the other room rang. "Would you mind getting that?" asked Nick. "I don't want to answer if it's Elena bugging me again."

"What's she calling you for?"

"Oh, she's been trying to pick out a birthday present for Clay, wants some ideas. The guy is hard to buy for, I'll give her that. Anyway, would you? She's been driving me crazy."

Reese walked into the living room and picked up the phone. It was shaped like a goofy novelty football, probably one of Nick's 'finds'. He'd been half-expecting it, but the voice on the other end still made his heart sink.

"Hello, is that Reese? I have a message for him."

"I'm not going to listen to you." Put the phone down, put the phone down.

"Oh, I think you are. Because I'm going to *tell* them. See how much they want you when they know your dirty little secret. I'm going to phone this number in 24 hours, and all the other numbers I have. The whole American Pack is going to know, and if you don't leave, they'll kill you. They'll have to. I don't suppose they'll bother to hunt you down if you run far enough, though, so I'd start running now." *He wouldn't*. Of course he would. Reese knew too well what his father was capable of.

"Why should they believe you?"

"Hell, I'm your father. I can list your every scar, freckle, personality problem. They'll believe me."

"Please," Reese knew he sounded pathetic. "Don't do this."

"Pleeease!" mocked his father in a falsetto voice. "What do you want from me? I'm giving you a warning, I think that's more than enough considering what you are. You have until half nine tomorrow morning before I call the numbers."

This time, his father hung up on him.

Nick wandered into the room as Reese replaced the receiver numbly. "So was it Elena?" he asked.

"No, just a salesperson."

"You should be more firm with those guys. Hang up on them! You were standing there talking for about half an hour." Nick gestured expansively. "That's minutes of your life you won't get back, you know."

"Yeah, you're right." Shit. What was he going to do?