Family
"What happened?" Mary asked rushing to help the three into her house.
"We were training—" August started.
"You two did this?" she accused.
"No, technically Jay did," Charlie told her as they set Steve in a chair. Mary looked back at him in shock.
"Well, technically Malik," August stated causing Mary to snap her head back to him.
"We discovered a way to train through the pack link," Steve groaned. "Jay was preparing to help me fight Malik."
"Train through the link?"
"We discovered it when I was captured by the harpies. Steve was able to recreate the harpies and the cave I was in, animating them so that everyone could prepare to fight them."
"And now you're preparing to fight Malik?"
"Yes," Charlie told her.
"Why?"
"To get Leonard back," the alpha groaned.
"You two know you could help heal him," Mary suggested, interrupting Steve.
"We've tried," August said to her surprise. "Something happened while he was training. He had been damaged while fighting the harpies but nothing came through to the physical side."
"He almost died this time," Charlie finished.
"What kind of wounds did the harpies deal?"
"Mostly slashing him as he fell past them," Charlie told her.
"Deep?"
"Not really."
"And against Malik?"
"Full force," Steve grunted.
"So, scratches from harpies compared to Malik, a powerful werelion, trying to kill you," Mary explained.
"You think it's that simple?" August asked.
"It makes the most sense with the information. I assume the injury is from the fight?"
Steve nodded. "Then why can't we heal him?" Charlie asked.
"I'm not as sure about that, but I have a theory," she led Charlie to the couch. "Go into the link and try and heal him there."
Charlie and Steve closed their eyes before they appeared in the white expanse. "Not working," Charlie said holding up his hand.
"Try touching him," Leonard's voice came out. "The healing abilities we get from the link aren't as strong as yours and Jay's innate abilities."
The beta approached the alpha and grabbed his arm. Black tendrils started to make their way up his arm.
"It seems to be working," August stated as he looked at Charlie's arm.
"The wound was created in the mind, so it could only be healed from there," Mary said before turning towards August. "I had sensed death a few moments before you two arrived."
"Steve's wounds were that bad?" August commented, turning back to the alpha.
"No, Steve stopped before it got too far."
"Something's going to happen then?"
"You tell me," she stated causing August to turn back to her. They were interrupted by the two wolves gasping as they opened their eyes. "Feel better?" she asked Steve.
"Yeah," he replied, rising from the chair.
"Go figure out a better way to get Leonard back," she told him.
Steve nodded and headed for the door. Charlie moved to follow, but was stopped when August placed a hand on his chest.
"You're going to do this here?" Steve asked from the doorway.
"Go ahead, Steve," Mary told him. The alpha's head tilted for a moment before he left the three alone.
Charlie grabbed the hunter's arm and pulled it off his chest. "Shouldn't we all be coming up with a plan?" he asked Mary.
"You two killing each other isn't going to help anything," she told him.
"We weren't going to kill each other," Charlie stated causing August to glace over at him.
"It's only a matter of time before one us takes it too far," August commented. "We have a common purpose."
"Until you decide not to," Charlie commented.
"Then on that day, you can kill me. I'm not saying you have to like me, 'cause I'm not going to. But we're family now."
Charlie scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "He's right," Mary told the beta. "The pack needs both of you right now."
"Fine," Charlie stated as he moved towards the door.
August followed after him. "You can train Thane if you want."
"I don't think Steve is going to let either of us train him anytime soon."
"Okay, I looked it up and it's not an automatic forfeit if someone else joins," Leonard told them once they were all back in the house.
"That's great, it can be us against Malik," Jay said.
"Not exactly. Someone has to step in to help my dad, then it basically becomes a free for all."
"I'm pretty sure Malik could take us all on anyway," August said. "I doubt we could take him, Ariel and the siblings."
"They're willing to throw the fight, but they aren't going to be the ones to jump in. Dad wouldn't be happy about that," Leonard said.
"So, we'd have to get Ariel to attack Steve," Kaia sighed. "That's not going to be easy."
"Isn't it?" Jay asked.
"What do you mean?" Fiona asked.
"Ariel has a very strong trigger when it comes to Leonard. All we have to do is endanger him while Steve is fighting."
"But then she would attack us not Steve," Charlie commented. "And I'm pretty sure that isn't against the rules."
"It's not. Anything outside of the duel is fair game."
"Won't she be upset that I'm trying to take Leonard back?" Steve asked.
"She might be a bit annoyed, but I think she's fairly confident in Malik's abilities," Jay replied.
"If the mental training was anything to go by, Steve's not going to have time to attack Leonard himself," August commented.
"Gee, thanks."
"Jay could attack me."
"I was mildly unaware of my death wish," the werecheetah replied.
"If you moved fast enough you could be able to get her to attack Steve," Kaia said. She ran the scenario in her head before sending it to the others.
"I'd have to take a hit though, which also leaves me open to Malik," the alpha mention reaching for his abdomen.
"My scream should be able to at least stun him so you can recover," Fiona stated.
"And then we are fighting two of them while fake fighting Leonard and his siblings," Thane mentioned.
"Yeah," Steve sighed.
"Scream," Jay muttered.
"Yeah, it makes me want to too," Thane replied.
"No, a banshee's scream. If all of us get involved Mary would sense our impending deaths," Jay said.
"Great, she can come watch us die," Thane joked.
"There would probably be a few people unhappy about their kids being killed," Jay stated, looking between Kaia, Fiona, and August.
"Yeah, they'd be a bit upset," Fiona said looking at the werecheetah.
"I'm pretty sure an ancient kitsune, lifelong hunter, and powerful banshee would give Malik a run for his money," Jay told her.
"Look at you coming up with a strategy," August said, smirking.
"You're in cat county now," Jay winked.
"We just need him to surrender, right?" Kaia asked.
"Yeah, pretty sure everyone else showing up will get him to give up."
"You ready for this?" Kaia asked Steve as the pack headed for the pride house.
"Nope," he stated. "I'm just hoping everyone can get here quickly."
"You'll have to act fast," August told Jay.
"Fast is my middle name," Jay replied.
"I thought it was witty," Charlie commented.
"It's fast and witty," Jay told him. "It's weird but what do you expect from parents who abandon their child?"
"That's a little messed up," Thane muttered from behind them.
"You feel anything yet?" Charlie asked Fiona
She shook her head. "Malik has to accept and Ariel has to attack Steve before our lives are endangered."
"Well, at least our deaths aren't written in stone then," Charlie sighed.
"So how do we do this?" Thane asked once they were outside.
"You call a for a challenge," Leonard said.
"Gotta love how specific that was," Thane muttered. Steve shifted before roaring at the house.
"Did it work?" Kaia whispered after a minute.
"The house shook," Leonard answered before the door slammed open, revealing Leonard and his family.
"What do you want?" Malik spat.
"I came for Leonard," Steve stated calmly.
"My son will never join the pack so long as I'm around."
"Yup," Steve said, crouching down as the rest of the pack backed away.
"You're challenging me?" Steve nodded at the werelion. "I'll enjoy this," Malik stated, smiling as he stepped towards the alpha. The rest of his family followed him outside. "It'll show Leonard how we handle irritating mutts." Malik cracked his knuckles before roaring at Steve. The ground shook slightly as the werelion's emerald eyes glared at the alpha.
The two circled each other, Steve keeping light on his feet. "Well?" the alpha asked.
"You're the challenger, you get the first attack."
Steve's eyes widened slightly. "You didn't mention this part," he told Leonard.
"Wasn't aware of it," the werelion replied.
"You need to keep your distance," August warned him.
"I'm aware." Steve continued to circle the werelion as he thought. He smirked slightly as he stopped and dug his claws into the ground.
"Interesting tact—" Malik started but was interrupted when a handful of dirt and grass hit his face. Malik roared before rushing at Steve.
The alpha jumped to the side as the werelion ran past, the pack now at the alpha's back. Kaia nudged Jay in the side. The werecheetah stopped focusing on the fight before running towards the other werelions. "Sorry," he told Leonard as he ran his claws across the werelion's arm.
Jay slid to a stop past the family and looked up as Ariel whipped around, her emerald eyes almost popping out of her head. He glanced over at Steve as the alpha jumped back from another attack, but was caught on the shoulder by Malik's claws. The rest of the pack started to move back to give him room, Charlie and August tucked their arms behind their backs as they started to heal the alpha.
Jay ran past Ariel as she stomped towards him, catching Leonard on his other arm. "Oops," the werecheetah mocked her. She roared at him before rushing over, knocking Isidore and Zavis to the ground as she charged through her family. Jay took off towards Steve and Ariel followed, keeping up with the werecheetah. "Incoming," Jay thought to Steve before leaping over the alpha.
Steve fell to the ground as Ariel knocked into him, she quickly pushed off to continue after Jay. "Oh, shit," Jay sighed before running off again. Fiona let out a scream as Malik moved on the fallen alpha.
The werelion stumbled as Steve rose to his feet. "I guess you surrender then?" Malik growled.
"Actually, Ariel attacked him," August stated as he stepped forward, flicking out his staff. "She intervened on your behalf."
"She did no such thing," the werelion growled.
"She knocked him over for you," Fiona told him.
"Rules are rules," Kaia added.
Malik growled at the four of them. "We've got your back, Dad," Zavis called out as he and the other siblings stepped forward.
"Charlie and Thane take on the siblings, Jay will join in a minute," August ordered. The two werewolves took off and started to hold off the siblings.
"Will I?" the werecheetah asked as he continued to flee from Ariel. Fiona sighed before sending a scream towards Ariel, knocking the werelion to the ground.
"Sense anything yet?" Charlie asked Fiona. He heard a scream erupt from the other side of the valley as Ariel turned to face Fiona. "Never mind."
August tripped Ariel with his staff as she neared Fiona and Kaia pulled the banshee out of the way. The lioness rose and turned to Steve who now stood in between her a Malik. "Bad plan," the told them as the two werelions charged for him.
"Jump," Fiona thought to him. The alpha leapt into the air, barely missing the two werelion's claws before he was knocked through the air towards Charlie by Fiona's scream. The alpha rolled on the ground before he regained his balance and slid to a stop. He looked up as Ariel started running for him as Malik approached the others.
Ariel lunged forward with a snarl, Steve sidestepped her before elbowing her to the ground. "That wasn't too bad," Steve commented.
"Speak for yourself," August thought as his staff and Kaia's sword were grabbed by Malik. He tossed the two of them aside before walking up to Fiona. The banshee stepped away from the werelion before a scream erupted, knocking Malik to the ground. Steve heard a gun cock and a sword being drawn. He looked up and saw Tiberius, Yuki, and Mary running forward.
"Stand down, Malik," Tiberius stated, pointing his gun at the werelion.
"They attacked me," Malik said.
"You were going to kill them," Mary stated.
"They're not a part of the Republic. You should be backing me."
"Not if you're planning to kill my daughter," Yuki commented. Malik growled at her. "Try it," she hissed, readying her katana.
The werelion huffed as he returned to normal. He turned to Steve and narrowed his eyes. "I surrender," he muttered.
"Sorry, couldn't hear that," Steve stated putting his hand to his ear. The werelion's eyes flash emerald as he growled at the alpha. "Nope, got it," the alpha said quickly, lowering his hand. "Leonard will be coming with us then." Malik glared at the alpha in response before Steve slowly started to walk away, Leonard following behind.
Yuki sheathed her katana before approaching Kaia. "What were you thinking?" she hissed.
"That you'd show up," Kaia whispered.
Yuki sighed as she helped her daughter to her feet.
"This was not what I meant when I told you all to come up with a new plan," Mary whispered to Fiona.
"But it worked," Fiona whispered back with a quick smirk.
"Another move like this, and you'll be out of the valley," Tiberius stated as he leered at Steve. The alpha nodded as the rest of the pack collected themselves and left.
"This is Thane," Steve stated once they had returned to the pack house.
"I gathered as much," Leonard stated holding his hand out to the beta.
"Nice to hear you not in my head," Thane commented as he grabbed the werelion's hand.
"We found something you might like," Charlie stated gesturing towards the hall. The pack followed Charlie to the library's door.
"It's kinda dark," Leonard said as Charlie opened the door.
"There's a light switch somewhere," Charlie muttered. His blues eyes shown in the darkness as the beta searched the walls. "Here it is," he announced before flipping it up.
"Illuminating," Jay commented when nothing happened.
Charlie sighed. "I'll grab the lightbulbs," Fiona told them. She returned a few seconds later and August turned on his flashlight and grabbed the bulbs.
He searched for lights on the wall, but found none. "Do we have a ladder?" he asked shining his light on the ceiling where a chandelier was.
Steve grunted and walked over to the hunter. He tossed the hunter into the air and held before grabbing August's legs, holding him up to the chandelier. "That work?" the alpha asked.
"Yeah," he replied as he started to swap out the bulbs. Jay ran to catch the old ones as August let them fall. "Okay," August called out after changing them.
Steve turned as Charlie flipped on the lights blinding the others briefly. Steve noticed the beta glaring in his and August's direction. Steve let August drop to the ground and moved towards the beta.
"Jesus, when was the last time this place was used?" Leonard asked looking at the dust.
"Charlie and I were in here a few days ago," Fiona told him.
"You guys do a lot of reading?" Thane asked.
"We grabbed a book," she answered.
"And looked up the summary online," Jay commented causing Leonard to laugh.
"We probably should clean it," Kaia told them, joining Leonard as he examined the shelves.
"There's a lot of texts on lore in here, could be useful," August commented as he strolled past the shelves.
"Gonna kill him 'cause he changed the lightbulbs?" Steve whispered to the beta.
"Nope, no killing, just silent resentment."
"He's lighter than you."
"Fiona's light," Charlie replied.
"August is taller," Steve chuckled as the beta narrowed his eyes at him.
Charlie turned back to the others as they searched the library. "Half of us have family outside of the pack," he stated.
"Yeah?"
"We don't though, they're all we have."
"I believe you were the one who said that even if it were just you and me, we're still pack," Steve stated, but Charlie didn't respond. "But you're worried they might leave?"
"Yuki gave us a pretty big task, not sure if that's something we can handle between the two of us."
"Everyone risked their lives to get Leonard back. Fighting a friend, er, ally, I guess," the alpha chuckled as he moved away from the wall. "I think they're going to stick around for anything that comes our way. Besides, we're family, right?" Steve added, turning back to the beta with a smile.