CHAPTER 2
Alpha
Ms. Teo heard whimpering as she descended the stairs into her basement. The loupgarou was awake and sitting on the blankets she'd put out for him last night. She'd had to shoot him with one more bolt of hellebore before she'd felt safe leaving him so that she could make an early morning run to the grocery store. From the looks of him he hadn't been awake too long. The right side of his face was still swollen but it had come down enough that she could just make out his eye. His shoulders tensed and he started to curl his legs under himself.
"I woudn' if I was you couyon." She held her crossbow up as she came down the last few stairs. "Eliot be here to collect yo sorry hide in the next little while." She set the platter of meat she'd been carrying on the floor, keeping her eyes and her crossbow on Quinn the whole time. When she stood, she used the toe of her shoe to slide the platter across the floor to the wolf.
She kept the crossbow trained on the loupgarou but leaned her shoulders back against the stairs. "So, how you get yo'se'f into dis fix?"
Quinn gulped the mouthful of meat he'd been chewing and started to wipe his mouth on his arm when he noticed that arm was still covered in fur. He stared disconcertedly for a moment before he closed his eyes in concentration and willed the fur away. "I was kidnapped." He sounded grumpy and his voice no longer had the thin raspy quality from the night before.
"An' who be kidnappin' a great strappin' wolf such as yo'se'f?" She raised her eyebrow but didn't lower the crossbow.
"Vampires." Quinn spat the word and the fur sprang up on his arm again.
"Well, you lucky to be alive I 'spect." She gestured with the crossbow. "You finish eatin' all a dat. Don' wan' Eliot to be thinkin' I starved ya."
"How about these manacles?" Quinn held his wrists out to her.
"Don' worry your head none. Eliot be here soon." She rolled her eyes as she went back up the stairs.
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Eliot gave directions to his uber driver and was dropped off at the French restaurant down the block from Ms. Teo's. He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and with a shake of his head to move the hair off his face he started down the street. It was late spring and in Portland that meant the weather was still pretty cool most days. Here the heat and humidity had rolled itself out like a blanket and Eliot was glad he'd stuffed his jacket in his bag.
About halfway down the block he started to pick up the tang of herbs that he always associated with Ms. Teo but there was another scent that he was picking up as well. It was faint and bitter, and he felt the skin at the back of his neck prickle. "Vampires. What the hell did you get yourself into Quinn?"
Eliot walked a little faster as he continued on. Rounding the corner, he hopped the gate and jogged up Ms. Teo's front steps. He could smell bleach and blood and imagined Ms. Teo had been up early cleaning the steps so as not to rouse the suspicions of her neighbors. As he raised his fist to knock, the door swung open.
"Eliot cher!" Ms. Teo pulled him into a hug. "Glad you came so quick!"
"How are you doing? Quinn didn't hurt you, did he?" Eliot was picking up a blood scent inside the house, but he wasn't sure where it was coming from.
"No, he been tore up too bad to be much of a threat." Ms. Teo walked down the hall but stopped before she opened the basement door. "His wolf be very nearly uncontrolled. I couldn' doctor 'im 'cause 'is wolf won' let me touch 'im. An' I had to put 'im in irons 'cause he just too unpredictable."
"I'm sure you did what you had to." Eliot rubbed a knuckle over the scar on his lip. A souvenir from the first time he'd met Ms. Teo. "Why don't you wait up here a minute and I'll see if I can get a handle on things."
Ms. Teo nodded. "Alright cher. You jus' wait a moment." She hurried down the hall to her kitchen and came back with a small silver key. She pulled a handkerchief from her skirt pocket and wrapped the key in it before she handed it to him. "I'll be in da kitchen wheneve' you boys is ready."
~~o0o~~
Eliot walked slowly down the stairs and kept his eyes on Quinn as he approached. He was nearly overwhelmed with the stink of fear, and pain, and anger. He could smell the sickly-sweet scent of vampire venom, the medicinal smell of hellebore, and blood. "What have you gotten yourself into?" Eliot stopped farther back than he thought Quinn was capable of lunging to.
"That crazy old woman is keeping me prisoner down here!" Quinn tried to get up to his feet but staggered under a wave of dizziness and had to lean against the wall.
Eliot crouched low balancing on the balls of his feet and watched with a touch of amusement as Quinn slid down the wall and back to the floor. "You're not being held prisoner."
Quinn held his arms up and rattled the chain of the manacles.
Eliot quirked a half smile. "If you had better control, she wouldn't have needed to lock you up."
"So get her to take 'em off!" Quinn tried to sound angry but mostly Eliot just thought he sounded like he was in a lot of pain.
"In a bit. So, what happened?"
"We were kidnapped. I…" Quinn had to stop and get control of his breathing.
Eliot pushed the feeling of calm and safety out and watched as some of the tension in Quinn ebbed away. "Who is we?"
"Will and Reese and me." Quinn pressed himself back against the wall.
"They're still with the vampires?"
"They….They…." Quinn gulped air. "Will is dead. They killed him!" Quinn started to slump to the side.
The pull of a less dominant wolf in need tugged at Eliot and he moved closer. Just as he was about to put his hand on Quinn's shoulder, Quinn's eyes flashed blue, and he lunged for Eliot's throat. Eliot was in much better shape and had been half expecting something, so it didn't take much to grab Quinn by the throat and force him back to the floor. He used a wave of dominance to settle Quinn's wolf. "No wonder she's got you locked up." Eliot said with equal parts pity and disgust. After a moment he could smell Quinn's grief. "I'm sorry about Will." He knew from the last time he'd worked with Quinn that Will was Quinn's Alpha. Eliot huffed a breath while he thought. "Was Reese still alive when you got out?"
Quinn nodded and shrugged.
"We need to get you cleaned up, but that means you gotta get control of your wolf."
Quinn nodded again but a frown rolled across his face with a whine. "The vampires. I think they broke something. I can't…. I keep trying but…."
"But you need some help with the wolf." Eliot sighed. "Okay. Just a second." Eliot stood and walked back to the stairs. He pulled the phone from his pocket and dialed Parker.
"Eliot?"
"I want to bring Quinn into our pack. He needs help with his wolf."
"Okay?"
Eliot could hear the unsure tone in Parker's voice, and he could feel her confusion in the pack bonds. He waited a moment. "What time will you guys be here?"
"How did you know?" She sounded surprised and annoyed.
"'Cause you been our mastermind a while now, and I maybe know you a little." He teased. He felt her confidence in the bonds again. "So, Quinn?"
"Okay. If you think it's right."
"Alright. Call Nate and Sophie so they'll know what's happening, just in case they feel something when I bring Quinn in. What time will you guys be here?"
"Three."
"Okay then." Eliot hung up and went back to Quinn.
"You called Parker?" Quinn couldn't help hearing both sides of the conversation.
"She's my second. I'm not the kinda Alpha to make big pack decisions without my second." Eliot shrugged nonchalant. "So will you be okay with a blood bond or …?" Eliot raised an eyebrow.
"Uhm, I guess. I don't know." Quinn looked confused.
"How old school was Will?" Eliot had never met Will, he'd heard he was a good operator, but he didn't know anything about Will as a werewolf.
"Not too bad. Didn't micromanage when I was out on a job."
"Let's stick with the basics then." Eliot pulled the key in its handkerchief out of his pocket. "Can you keep it together if I take off the cuffs?"
"I'll try."
Eliot unlocked the first cuff and gently pulled it off of Quinn's forearm. The skin was scalded red with raised blisters scattered about. Eliot waited a beat and kept a wary eye on Quinn. When nothing happened, Eliot unlocked and removed the second cuff. The skin here was also red and blistered but there were also several patches of burnt fur as well.
"Okay. This is going to hurt but there's no way around it." Eliot shifted one fingernail to a claw and sliced a deep two inch long cut into his own forearm like someone would do to commit suicide. "You want to handle your side of things, or do I need to do it?" Eliot knew Quinn was struggling for control of his wolf, so the question was meant as an offer.
"You do it."
"Okay." Eliot pushed the power that made him Alpha and grabbed Quinn's hand to hold him steady while he cut a similar wound into Quinn's arm. He had to imagine that cutting through silver burned flesh was even more painful than it looked, and he was privately grateful that they didn't share a bond yet. He paused after cutting Quinn's wrist.
"Was Will the one that turned you or were you bonded into his pack?"
"Turned." Quinn clenched his jaw and did his best to fight his wolf down.
"Do you know the words for bonding?"
Quinn shook his head.
"After my part you say 'Alpha, your pack is my pack." Eliot felt a little uncomfortable with the drama of it but he'd learned the words from Nati years ago. He'd never thought he'd need to use them. "You got it?"
Quinn nodded.
He let go of Quinn's hand and grasped the middle of his forearm so that their wounds pressed together. "You are bound with a tie not easy to break. My protection is yours. My provision is yours. Your blood is mine. Your obedience is mine. You are pack." Eliot's eyes went yellow as he repeated the words Nati had taught him years ago.
Quinn couldn't seem to help it as his head tilted to the side exposing his neck in a show of submission. "Alpha, your pack is my pack."
A zing of energy burned through Eliot's arm and into the pack bonds and Quinn hissed in pain and confusion as it hit him. "It's okay. We gotchu." Eliot pulled Quinn toward him until Quinn's forehead was on his shoulder. After a moment when the pain ebbed, Eliot put a hand on Quinn's shoulder and held him at arm's length. "You sit and rest. I'm gonna get Ms. Teo and we'll get you fixed up."
Eliot returned in no time with Ms. Teo following him down the stairs. "Quinn." Eliot put a little push into Quinn's name. Quinn's eyes went blue, and he focused on Eliot. "Ms. Teo is going to doctor your wounds and you are going to let her. You will not touch her." Eliot's eyes were yellow as he gave Quinn orders.
Quinn nodded.
Ms. Teo bustled to her work bench and started pulling various bottles, tins and cheesecloth bags from the shelves above. "Eliot cher, would ya mind bringin' down tha' first aid kit from da bathroom?"
"Sure thing." Eliot moved at werewolf speed not wanting to leave Teo alone with Quinn for too long.
Quinn could feel Eliot's mistrust and frowned. "He trusts you more than me."
Ms. Teo heard Quinn's quiet statement. "Give it time baby you was kin'a a surprise this mornin'." She added a little water to the powders she'd already mixed and stirred everything into a semi translucent paste.
Eliot set the first aid kit on the workbench and unzipped it. "What do you need?"
"Jus' the gauze bandages for now." She took the bowl and a brush and turned on her stool.
"Hang on a sec." Eliot hurried to the storage room and brought back another stool. "Alright, let's get you up." The last was directed at Quinn. Eliot moved behind Quinn and with a hand under each arm he lifted Quinn to standing and helped him onto the stool facing Ms. Teo.
Quinn couldn't help the growl and after a second, he glanced over his shoulder at Eliot.
"You can growl at me all you like." Eliot couldn't help the smirk on his face.
"Alright baby, lemme see ya wrists."
Quinn rested his elbows on his knees and held his hands out.
Ms. Teo used a brush to smear the paste over the silver burns on Quinn's wrists. "Thi' should help wit' da sting an' the blisters." After she'd smeared each wrist she wrapped each one in bandages. "I'm afraid tha's the last o' the good news chil'. The rest is likely ta hurt." She reached out and patted Quinn's cheek. His eyes flashed blue, but he didn't move.
Eliot could see a number of deep open wounds across Quinn's back along with various bite marks, bruises, and punctures. "Some of these bites look human, and some…"
"Werewolf?" Quinn nodded his head. "Yah, and there's a bunch a vamp bites too." Quinn looked at a scattering of bite wounds across his chest and abdomen.
"Let's start wit da face." Ms. Teo turned back with a small envelope. "Cher can you be tiltin' 'is head up an' hold it there?"
Eliot got a firm grip on Quinn's head and tilted his face until the swollen side was facing the ceiling. "Get a grip on your stool. If she says this is going to hurt, it's really going to hurt."
Quinn's breathing turned rapid and shallow, and he gripped the stool.
Eliot could feel the panic building and shook his head at Ms. Teo. He let go of Quinn and moved around to where Quinn could see him. "Hey, I'm not going to let you get hurt. What she's doing is painful but necessary. You been in the business long enough to know the difference between pain and hurt."
Quinn nodded but didn't meet Eliot's eyes.
Eliot could feel uncertainty coming from Quinn. If it was Parker or Hardison he'd have a better idea of what to do but he'd never seen Quinn like this. He'd seen Quinn on a job or two before Quinn became a wolf, back before Leverage, and Quinn hadn't changed much since he'd become a wolf. He'd always been cocky and quick with a comeback but now he was beaten and vulnerable and still grieving his Alpha.
Quinn glanced at Ms. Teo and back to Eliot. "Could you just give me some meat and let me sleep this off?"
Eliot knew that he didn't react well to vampire venom, and he hadn't been able to heal on his own when he'd been savaged by vampires. He quirked an eyebrow at Ms. Teo. "You saw him last night. Has he healed at all since he got here?
"No cher, but den he didn' have 'is Alpha to help 'im heal."
"Even with me feeding him energy I'm worried about the vampire bites."
Ms. Teo shrugged. "Could be dey don' heal and stop the rest o' 'im from healin' like he should. Could be he got you an' you make da difference. You was lone wolf an' there weren' no choice."
"Wait?" Quinn looked at Eliot. "She's put this same stuff on you?"
"Years ago, Ms. Teo rescued me from the vampires, and she doctored my wounds. So yah, that's why I know she's not kidding that this stuff is going to sting and worse. But it will work. It'll help you heal faster."
Quinn nodded. "So, you think this is best?"
Eliot nodded. "If you want to eat and try to sleep it off, I'll let you, but I think you'll heal faster this way."
Quinn tilted his head a little and tried to find the order in what Eliot had just said.
"I won't make this an order. It's your choice."
Quinn looked at Ms. Teo again. "Okay fine. Bring on the freaky witch powder." He gripped the stool again and angled his face back to the ceiling.
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It had taken over an hour to doctor all of Quinn's wounds and Eliot was a little concerned that a couple of Quinn's screams might have been heard by the neighbors. After the doctoring was finished Ms. Teo had set Quinn up in one of her spare bedrooms and Eliot had brought him a plate of raw roast and told him to sleep if he could.
Checking the time Eliot leaned back in one of Ms. Teo's armchairs.
"Wha' time will da rest of ya pack be gettin' here?" Ms. Teo set a cup of beef broth tea on the side table next to Eliot's chair.
Eliot inhaled the delicious smell. "They'll be here at three. What is this?" Eliot sat up a little straighter and holding the cup in front of him he inhaled deeply.
"It be a blend a spices an' herbs ta give ya energy an' help wit' healin'." Ms. Teo blew across her own cup.
"Did you add broth to my cup?" Eliot smelled the same spices in her cup but not the distinctive scent of beef broth.
"Well I ain' givin' energy ta tha' baby in da other room am I?" She smiled as she took a sip. "My Henry always like 'is tea wit' broth insteada water."
Eliot took a sip and enjoyed the warmth that spread through his chest. "Wow, that is good."
"So how is Alec doin? He settlin' in well at bein' a wolf?"
"Yah he is. He's really got the hang of things. It took him a while to believe he had control but he's been doin' great from the start." Eliot took another sip of his tea. "I shoulda called more often." He'd spoken with her not long after Hardison's one month anniversary to let her know that Hardison had made the change but time had slipped away and there'd only been a few calls since then.
"Don' worry. I'm sure you babies had ya hands full there." She sipped her tea. "How you dealin' wit' all da changes cher?"
"Doing okay. At first Hardison was needing a lot of extra time and attention" a quiet growl rumbled in his chest "but now things are… about as normal as they're ever going to be I guess." Eliot savored the next sip of tea.
Ms. Teo chuckled into her cup. "You thought ya would enjoy havin' another wolf aroun' but he was underfoot at ev'ry turn and ya couldn' get a moments rest wit'out him clingin' to ya an' now dat he don' need ya so much it be just as disconcertin'."
Eliot couldn't help his own chuckle. "That's about the size of it."
"I'm glad he settled in."
"Yah. Wait 'til you see him." Eliot gulped the last of his tea. "Be right back." He hurried in the direction of Quinn's room.