SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS
Fruitybec: Glad you're enjoying it. I'm trying to put in all of what I want: the case and the romance between Kelly and Erin, so hopefully I'll be able to write the balance of the two well.
Sandygirl (Chs 2 and 3): Glad you like it. thanks for the patience. Thanks. Glad you think it's interesting. Here's more.
DISCLAIMER/AUTHOR'S NOTE
Chicago Fire, PD, and Med belongs to Dick Wolf. I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit. The plot is mine.
In the spare room he and April were lying in, Scott blew out a breath. Don't like the fact that Kel's giving up, he thought to himself. That wasn't like him. That had never been like him. Then again, he was well aware of what Pridgen had but his friend through. Had this been the final straw that had broken the camel's back? Had Pridgen succeeded in breaking Kelly? No! He couldn't think like that! Kelly was strong. He could fight this. And he would make sure that he did. He didn't want Kelly retreating into himself and going Omega. Sometimes I hate the fact that he's a Rover, he thought to himself. Being a Rover allowed his friend to slip into any pack position and the only time he ever went into Omega mode was when he was feeling like crap about himself and had it in his head that he wasn't good enough for anything. And if Pridgen had made him feel that way again, he was going rip the bastard's heart out, Head Alpha or no. Was that smart? Probably not, but he didn't really give a damn at this point. All he cared about was Kelly's well-being. And he wasn't going to let Kelly sink into a depression and risk him cutting off all ties with other wolves as he had a feeling that his connection with them was the one thing that was keeping his friend from going Feral. And he didn't want to see that to him. It was bad enough that Pridgen had driven Vince Keeler to it; they didn't need Kelly feeling that desperate as well. And he was going to do everything that he could to make sure that it didn't come to that. April glanced at Scott. I know you're worried. I am too, she told him. Not that she blamed him. Kelly wasn't acting like himself, which was disconcerting. What if he gave up on them and their connection? Sure they weren't bonded to each other anymore in a pack sense, but they were still close and she didn't want to lose that. She wanted him to stay the same cocky, arrogant, bull-headed wolf he always was. And if that meant she had to knock some sense into him, she would. Not that she would force him into anything that he wasn't comfortable with. That was something she wouldn't ever do. That was more of Pridgen's kind of thing, and she would never imitate that bastard. I am, her mate confirmed. He didn't like the effect this was having on Kelly. He was retreating into himself, becoming quiet. That was never good. As teens, whenever Kelly had gone quiet, it meant that he was internalizing and sometimes it was damn hard to get him to open up. And Pridgen hadn't helped matters one little bit. Almost unconsciously, his mind went back. Kelly whimpered and tried to make his black form as small as possible with his ears flattened against his head and his tail tucked between his legs as Pridgen stalked towards him, his black fur bristling with fury. The younger wolf immediately got onto his back, drawing his paws in, his whimpers increasing. Scott snarled out a warning as he went to intercept Pridgen. He wasn't going to let the man hurt Kelly again. Pridgen let out a snarl of his own, snapping his jaws at the other wolf. He wasn't going to let this insubordination stand. Not from Scott and sure as hell not from Kelly. Scott continued undeterred and Pridgen lunged at him, knocking him on his back, his claws, digging into the other man's sides. You think you can challenge me just because you're an Alpha? This is mypack! he barked. You're a sadistic bastard and we're not standing for this anymore, Scott shot back, trying to keep the pain out of his mental voice. For a response, the older wolf merely swung his paw across Scott's face and then shoved him aside. Almost instantly, he was knocked to the ground. Leave him alone! Kelly shouted, pinning the older wolf to the ground. With lightning speed, he twisted from underneath the younger wolf and quickly switched their positions, his eyes blazing a brilliant gold as he placed his paws on his chest. Submit, he growled, his eyes flashing. Immediately, Kelly's body became small as he went into the submission position. Pridgen's expression curved into a leer. Now he's right where he belongs. On his back, he thought to himself. He then nuzzled his snout into Kelly's neck, his grip on the other wolf tightening as he began to trail his tongue downward. Scott blinked at the small jab at his side.
"Where'd you go?" April queried softly. Not that she had to ask, really. No doubt he was remembering something Pridgen had done to them.
"Was remembering the night we left. What led up to it," Scott confessed and his mate pulled him close, hugging him tightly.
"He can't hurt us anymore. We snapped from him. He has no more control over us," she reminded.
"Yeah, I know. But he can still hurt Kelly," he responded, causing her to nod. He was right of course. Due to the fact that he hadn't joined another pack, Kelly was still somewhat vulnerable to Pridgen. Almost as if by mentioning him, they had summoned him, Kelly walked into the room.
"You guys don't have to stay. I'm fine," he responded.
"Not going anywhere," Scott and April chorused. While this was going on, a wolf had snuck out of Pridgen's lair, shifted, and had trotted off. Elder Riddle? he called. Yes? he heard a moment later. Your suspicions about Pridgen were right, he responded. Riddle nodded. He had figured as much. After all, four wolves didn't just snap from one Alpha without just cause. No, there was something going on. Is that all? he asked the wolf and the liaison hesitated. No. I had to participate in an attack, he finally replied and went on to tell the Elder what had happened. It wasn't your fault. You know undercover assignments sometimes require that kind of participation. You did nothing wrong, Riddle assured him. Not that it made that kind of thing easier of course. Wolves didn't generally like attacking their own and besides that, there could be strict consequences for an unprovoked attack such as the one that Patrick Pridgen had apparently ordered. And there would be consequences. He and the other Elders just needed to know how far Pridgen was willing to take his actions as this would be the deciding factor in what to do with him. Yeah, but still…the younger wolf said. I understand, Riddle stated. Then, he backed out of the wolf's mind and turned to the other Elders.
"It's just as we thought," he reported.
"You're sure?" another Elder, Declan Borroughs, queried.
"Yes," he answered and relayed everything he had been told, causing the faces of his constituents to become thunderous.
"THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE! WE SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS NOW!" Declan roared, his eyes shining a brilliant gold.
"But if we go in now we may not have enough evidence to take action," a third Elder, Susan Jessup, reminded. Not that I can blame him for being pissed. I'm pissed, she thought to herself. Hearing this, Declan sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly, though the shine in his eyes didn't dissipate.
"I know. You're right," he replied. All he wanted was for his community to be safe. Was that so much to ask? Maybe I'm getting too old for this, he thought to himself. He had been an Elder for a long time, even though a chosen Elder remained one until their death, maybe it was time for him to retire and appoint someone a bit younger. No. That was foolishness. He was doing just fine. It was just his natural protective instincts coming out in full force. It wasn't easy being an Elder: having to make tough decisions like dealing with an out of control Alpha. And to be honest, he wasn't sure if he wanted to put someone else through that. Therefore, it looked like he was staying in his position for a while longer. But maybe that was for the best. Okay, he couldn't let his thoughts go in this direction. He had to focus on a strategy for dealing with Patrick Pridgen. He needs to know that his abuse of his pack won't be tolerated, he mused. After that, if the wolves wanted to strike out on their own, he was in favor of letting them. They needed to know that they had a choice when it came to submitting fealty to a wolf. He had never been a fan of an Alpha forcing submission as it would often hurt the wolf that was being told to submit. That wasn't to say that he wouldn't ever be firm when giving a command, because he would be, he just knew that what Pridgen was accused of doing could potentially hurt morale among wolves. What no one knew, was that while all of this was going on, Keeler was in his cave, pacing. He had been found. This was bad. What was worse was that Pridgen was being investigated. My mind is mine, my mind is mine, he reminded himself. No one was allowed to be in his mind anymore. His mind belonged to him and to him alone. And now Patrick Pridgen was being investigated. This was bad. Very bad. No one was supposed to be investigating him. Repercussions could be bad. Very bad. He didn't like this. He didn't like this one little bit. He looked up at the sky and smiled as he noticed that it was starting to darken. Dark was good. The darkness kept him safe. The darkness kept people away. Darkness meant that he was safe. And that was all that mattered: that he stayed safe. He didn't want to be hurt again. He was tired of being hurt. People always hurt him. It was better to be left alone. And yet, people had visited him today. What if Pridgen found out? Pridgen would hurt him. He was sure of it. At the Twenty-First, a cop glanced at the cell where Dylan and Frank were being held.
"Shouldn't they have been released a while ago?" he quietly asked his partner. The other officer shrugged.
"Yeah, but orders were to keep 'em here. And you know this place: what Voight says, goes." At this, the first officer nodded. His partner had a point. Sergeant Voight had a certain way of running the Twenty-First and while he didn't get it, he certainly wouldn't question it. Hey, he was just here to be a cop. He didn't have a death wish. Nope. Meanwhile, Hank had reached Kelly's place and walked up to the door and knocked. Hearing the sound and inhaling the smell that permeated through the door, Kelly's eyes widened and before Scott and April could even blink, he had shifted and had run into his bedroom, squeezing himself under the bed, whimpering. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Head Alpha. Head Alpha. Head Alpha. Gonna be hurt, he thought to himself. Damn. Never seen him move that fast, Scott mused. It if it wasn't for the fact that his friend had just freaked out, Scott would've found the whole thing hilarious. With a sigh, he went to open the door to see who was there.
"Head Alpha Voight," he commented, trying not to show his surprise. What's he doing here? he wondered. They hadn't done anything to garner attention from a head Alpha, he was sure of it.
"No need for formalities," the other man responded. Wonder why Kelly got so agitated when I got here, he mused to himself, recalling the burst of fear that had filled the air a few moments ago. "Just came here to ask you a few questions," he continued. "Questions about what?" April queried.
"Patrick Pridgen. What kind of man was he?" Voight questioned.
"He was a bastard," Scott spat out. "He had a thing for head games and he was constantly playing them," he continued.
"And he likes to exert complete control over a wolf," April added and Voight nodded, his eyes flickering as he took the information in. From his spot under the bed, Kelly shook as he listened to the Head Alpha conversing with Scott and April. What are they doing? Pridgen will find out! He always finds out, he thought to himself. And if he found out that Head Alphas were asking questions about him, he'd send Welch and the others to hurt him again. And the next time, they would most definitely kill him. He had been lucky when he had survived Spellman's bite. He knew this. He wouldn't get that lucky again, Pridgen would see to it.
"How many times has he done that to you?" Voight queried.
"Too many times to count. It's usually when he wants to teach us a lesson. He'd take over so that we couldn't fight back," Scott answered, his voice turning bitter. Oh damn. What the hell? Voight wondered. If the Elders didn't take care of this guy, he would. Everyone knew that a pack was to be protected at all costs. And from what he was hearing, Pridgen hadn't done that. He hadn't lead his pack. He hadn't made them safe. No, he had terrorized them, made them fear him. And speaking of fear, he could still smell it radiating from Benny's boy. I think I need to talk to him, he mused.
"Thank you for trusting me with this," Hank said softly. "Do you think Kelly would talk to me?" he queried.
"I don't know. He's pretty freaked," Scott replied. Not that I can blame him, he thought to himself. Pridgen had done one hell of a number on him. "But you're welcome to try. Just…tread softly," he cautioned and the older wolf nodded. Then, he went to the bedroom that Kelly was in. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Kelly trembled. Even though the voices had been soft, he had heard everything Scott and Head Alpha Voight had said to one another. Why would Scott do this to me? he wondered. He was supposed to be his friend. On the other hand, Dad had been friends with him a long time ago. Maybe he would be okay. Maybe he wouldn't be hurt. Hank stopped outside the door.
"Kelly, may I come in?" he asked and got a snuffle of agreement. He stepped inside the room and stayed right where he was, leaving the door opened. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just have some questions about Pridgen," he told him and almost immediately, the low whines started and the fear that he had smelled upon entering the house increased. Holy shit. What did Pridgen do to him? he wondered. "Kelly, my team and I want to stop what he's been doing to you and other wolves. You're not the one in trouble here. Pridgen is," he continued. Kelly continued to whine. Could he trust him? It's been a while since I last saw the kid. Maybe he doesn't remember me, Hank thought to himself. "Kelly, your dad and I were friends a long time ago. Do you remember me?" Kelly's eyes flickered as he pondered the question. He did remember him, but what if this was a trick? What if he was in tight with Pridgen? Please, kid. Trust me. Just trying to get to the bottom of this, he thought to himself. Scott and April looked at each other worriedly. From the sounds coming from their friend, they could tell that he was scared, but they were hoping that Head Alpha Voight could get him to trust him. Trust him. Dad always said that even though they didn't always see eye-to-eye, there was no one he trusted more, Kelly reminded himself and he slowly inched forward. Hank watched this, keeping silent as the younger wolf moved forward. He'd have to tread carefully here. He didn't want to spook him. Kelly continued to inch forward and until he was out from under the bed. Once he was all the way out, he stared up at the man. What do you want to know? he asked. Hopefully, this wasn't going to come back to bite him in the ass…