CHAPTER 4
First
Eliot let out a whoop that ended in a grunt as Hardison bowled them off the edge of the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. Hardison smelled scared and then happy, and Eliot realized that Hardison had more or less wrapped him in a bear hug.
"Alpha." Hardison muttered with his eyes closed.
Eliot worked an arm free and ran a hand over Hardison's hair, neck, and shoulders, in a soothing motion. "Yes. Alpha." Eliot couldn't help the smile on his face when he felt how happy Hardison's wolf was. He realized with sudden surprise that he could feel the difference between Hardison and his wolf. Hardison was still a little scared and a little confused. "Hardison? Look at me." Hardison's eyes snapped to Eliot's face. "Take a deep breath man and talk to me." Eliot fought the urge to make it an order that required obedience. He started to sit up and took Hardison by the shoulders helping him to sit up too.
"P..Parker? Where is she?" Hardison looked around his bedroom.
"She's downstairs and from the smell of it she's burning the bacon." Eliot kept his eyes on Hardison.
Hardison inhaled deeply and swallowed hard. His eyes flashed yellow, and his stomach growled.
Eliot felt a little thrill at the yellow color of Hardison's eyes. He let his own eyes change and stay yellow.
"Uhm… Am I…" Hardison looked at his arms and ran his hands over his chest and stomach.
"Yes. You're a werewolf." Eliot waited to see what Hardison thought about it.
Hardison lunged at Eliot again, knocking him back to the carpet. "Thank you." Hardison looked confused for a moment. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" Hardison gestured at himself and Eliot. He couldn't ever remember a time that he'd knocked Eliot over.
"You're stronger than you're used to. Don't worry you'll get the hang of it" Eliot sat up again and pushed up onto his feet. "Come on let's go down and get some food before Parker dies of excitement and curiosity."
Hardison smiled. "I can feel it. Like you guys are always talking about."
They started to walk down the stairs when Parker spotted them. With a huge smile she raced up the stairs and leapt at Hardison. He caught her and started to pull her to him when he felt Eliot's hand tighten on his arm.
"Gently." Eliot cautioned in a whisper.
Hardison heard Eliot's whisper and stopped mid-motion. He marveled at how light she was in his arms, and how loud her heartbeat was. His nose wrinkled as the scent of jasmine and formaldehyde rolled from her hair. Underneath that scent was the scent of Parker herself. It was a scent he was familiar with but not usually one he could smell so strongly. He could tell that Parker was squeezing him as tightly as she could, but he didn't mind. Normally it would have felt like she might fold him in half but now it was just…enjoyable. She felt a little cool to the touch and he nuzzled his face into her neck. Even here where he was used to her being warm almost all the time, she felt cool.
While Hardison stood on the stairs with Parker, Eliot hurried down to the kitchen and pulled the pan off of the stove. "Parker, didn't I tell you not to burn my food?"
"Uhmhhmm." Parker's answer was completely unintelligible since her face was still pressed into Hardison's shoulder.
"Shhshh." Hardison rubbed very gently at Parker's back. "It's okay. I'm okay." He could smell a subtle shift in Parker's scent and while he didn't recognize it, and found it distracting, he could feel through their connection how upset she was. She had been scared and was just starting to feel relief and hope and happy, but she was still a little sad and worried. If this was what Eliot and Parker felt from the rest of them all the time, he didn't know how they didn't go crazy. Thinking of the others he could feel Eliot's focused attention even though he wasn't looking at them, and he could feel Nate and Sophie but lightly, like whispers from another room.
"Alright you two, come down here and let's eat. Then we need to get out of here." Eliot slid a pile of food onto the table. "Parker, climb down and don't make Hardison carry you. He's got enough to deal with right now." He didn't want Hardison to trip and hurt her because he was carrying her while adjusting to his new reflexes.
Parker slid down Hardison and ran for Eliot. She leapt at him like she had Hardison, and he caught her. He spoke quietly but didn't whisper since he knew that Hardison would hear him anyway. "No more runnin' for a while okay. Werewolves are predators and we like to chase things that run from us. Hardison won't hurt you but there's no need in yankin' his chain while he's still getting the hang of all this. Okay?" Holding her face in his hands he tilted her face down so he could kiss the top of her head.
"Was that what that was?" Hardison asked as he came down the last few stairs. Parker had sped down the stairs and he'd had an immediate urge to catch her.
"Don't worry you didn't act on it so it's okay." Eliot sat at the table and waited for the others to join him. Eliot closed his eyes and took a second to thank God that Hardison had made it.
"Wow, waffles too? I really must have been in bad shape." Hardison commented as he snagged a waffle from the stack.
Eliot swallowed hard and leaned back a little. He could still smell Hardison's blood and feel his body cooling in the cold night air. "Yah you were. What do you … No, never mind."
Hardison set down his forkful of waffle. "Never mind what?"
"We need to talk about how all this happened, but it can wait. We need to get out of here. But first you need to eat." Eliot dug into his own food in hopes of setting a good example.
"Why do we need to leave?" Hardison still felt jittery, and he didn't want to go anywhere.
"Because someone killed you to send a message to Eliot and they might come back." Parker said around a mouthful of waffle.
"What?" Hardison stared open mouthed between Parker and Eliot.
"Quit staring and eat your breakfast." Eliot commented. He finished the food on his plate and carried it to the sink. After washing the plate and fork he set them in the drainer and turned the stove back on. He waited a moment for the pan to get hot.
"I thought you said we were in a hurry?" Hardison asked as he polished off another waffle.
"You can thank me later." Eliot dropped two of the steaks into the pan and flipped them when the sound of sizzling died down a little. When both sides were browned, he set them on a plate and repeated the process with the last two.
Hardison's mouth watered at the smell. "I didn't think I was still hungry but that smells really good."
The corner of Eliot's mouth turned up in a half smile. "Yep. Wait till you taste it."
Eliot set the steaks in front of Hardison. "Close your eyes and eat."
"Close my eyes? Why?" Hardison looked at the steaks and then up at Eliot like it was a joke.
"Just do it." Eliot frowned. "Please." He took a deep breath and blew it out through his nose. "Dammit Hardison, does everything need to be a full-scale debate?"
"Cranky werewolf." Hardison stabbed the steak with his fork and closed his eyes as he cut a bite from the edge of it. "Can't even ask a question." Hardison muttered as he took the first bite. The flavor burst in his mouth, and he was sure it was the best steak he'd ever had. "Wow! That's amazing."
"Good. Finish your steak and we need to go." Eliot sat down at the table and cut the other steaks into cubes.
Hardison opened his eyes and saw the nearly raw steak sitting on his plate. He gagged.
"Uh-uh. Don't even think of being sick." Eliot growled. He slid the plate of cubed stake to Hardison. "Eat. You need the protein."
Hardison started to push the plate back shaking his head.
"Hardison, I don't want to make it an order, but I need you to eat." Eliot tried to pull his influence from the pack bonds so that Hardison could decide for himself.
"What if I don't want to?" Hardison looked at the red juices pooling around the cubed steak.
"Then you are going to be extremely hungry before we get to the next meal." Eliot frowned. He knew he didn't want to trap Hardison in a box of rules and orders, but he hadn't thought it would be this hard to resist making everything an order.
Hardison nodded and kept his eyes on Eliot while he took the next bite. Again, it tasted better than any steak had a right to. Hardison felt uncomfortable with the silence that had settled over the room. "Your eyes are yellow." It was a dumb comment, but he needed to focus on something besides the steak.
"So are yours." Eliot smiled a little. "It looks pretty wicked."
Hardison startled a little and gulped the next bite of steak. "Really?"
"Yep." Eliot kept his eyes on Hardison's face. It gave him another little thrill when he thought about it.
"It makes you happy." Hardison smiled and ate a couple more cubes of steak. It was weird knowing what Eliot felt. "Why?"
"Why, what?" Eliot asked and his head tilted a little to the side.
"Why do you like that my eyes are yellow?" Hardison looked down at his plate and was relieved and dismayed to find all of the steak gone.
"I don't know. I just do." Eliot grabbed the plates and cleared the table. "Parker, you got everything ready to go?" Eliot called up toward the bedrooms.
A duffle bag flew over the railing and slid across the floor. "Yep. Want me to grab one of your go bags?" Parkers disembodied voice came from down the hallway toward Eliot's bedroom.
"Thanks Parker." Eliot shook his head.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
They were nearly to the cabin when they got a call from Nate and Sophie.
"Eliot, is everything alright with you guys?" Nate's tone was calm but tension in the pack bonds told Eliot that it was pretense only.
"No, things ain't alright. Why?" Eliot listened but couldn't pick up anything unusual in the background. "Are you guys in some kinda trouble?"
"Not exactly." Nate poured himself a drink.
"Nate, spit it out. I don't have time to play games." Eliot stopped on the top of the hill they'd been driving up. He was afraid that he'd lose the signal on the downhill.
"I got a call from Cora over at McRorry's. She said someone had left a letter for me." Nate sipped his scotch. "The letter warned us away from you."
"How?" Eliot closed his eyes to focus on what he was hearing.
"We were told that if we didn't want to be taken down with you, we should steer clear. I was told specifically not to tell you. So I imagine that whoever sent this has anticipated this phone call." Nate set his glass to the side.
"You need to leave. Where are you guys right now?" Eliot looked at Hardison and then pointed to one of the bags that held Hardison's equipment. "I'll call Nati and make arrangements, but I want you on a plane to Dublin right now."
"I think we'd be more help if we came to Portland." Nate had already bought tickets for a flight to Portland that was leaving in a few hours.
"Nate, I got your tickets refunded and new ones booked. Your flight leaves in two hours." Hardison slid his tablet back in his bag. He could clearly hear Nate over Eliot's phone, so it felt natural just to talk to Nate like he did on the earbuds.
Eliot knew from experience that Nate couldn't hear what Hardison had just said. "Hardison booked you tickets to Dublin" Eliot glanced at Hardison, who nodded. "and your flight leaves in two hours. I'll call Nati and make the rest of the arrangements."
"I don't see why…" Nate started but Eliot cut him off.
"Because they stabbed Hardison and threw him out of a car in front of me. They meant for me to watch him die." He couldn't seem to help the anger that burned through him at the memory. Eliot looked out the side window. His voice was quieter as he got better control over himself. "I need you two to stay safe."
Sophie's panicked voice came on the line. "Is Hardison okay? What about Parker?"
"Hardison is a werewolf now." Eliot tried to keep his voice steady and lock down what he was feeling. "Parker is fine. We are all on the way to my cabin." Eliot knew that Parker was used to feeling things with him through the bonds and she didn't usually ask, or seem to judge, but Hardison was new to this, and Eliot wasn't sure how Hardison would handle it.
"Hardison? A werewolf? Can he hear me?" Sophie asked.
"Yes." Hardison and Eliot said at the same time.
"I'm sure you'll do great. Listen to Eliot and take care of Parker." Sophie handed the phone back to Nate.
"Hardison made the change… How are you doing?" Nate asked Eliot.
"We're okay. But it will be easier if you two head to Ireland until we figure out what's next. We'll keep you in the loop." Eliot hung up. He pulled back onto the road and continued on toward the cabin.
"So you really do think that they, whoever they are, are after you." Hardison looked at Eliot from the backseat.
"It didn't feel like someone getting back at Leverage, at our team. They waited until I was on the loading dock before they stabbed you. If they'd just wanted, you dead that could have happened anywhere, but they brought you to me. And it wasn't just bait to get us out of the building because they killed you and left. They didn't shoot at us or try anything else once we were out of the building. And even if I was thinking too much of myself that letter that Nate got confirms that they are after me. They wanted to hurt me, send me a message with your death." Eliot had been playing the scenarios in his mind ever since he knew that Hardison would make it. Why kill Hardison? Why do it in front of him and Parker? Why leave him at the pub and not in a ditch or just disappear him? Why was it a hit targeted at one member? Why not publicity or law enforcement to take the whole team down? Why Hardison instead of Parker? The questions just seemed to lead to more questions but the answer that seemed to fit best was that this whole thing had been directed at Eliot individually rather than the team as a whole.
"You think it's something like we ran into with Griswold? Someone not happy about the way you run our pack or your territory or whatever?" Hardison was a little tired of being harassed by the supernatural community. A moment of shock rolled through him as he realized that he was a supernatural now.
Eliot glanced at Hardison in the mirror. "No. I don't think they would have killed you the way they did if they'd known I was a wolf. They wouldn't have given me any chance to bring you back. And no one who knows about werewolves wants to risk facing two wolves instead of one."
"Can you stop saying they killed me? I ain't dead!" Hardison protested.
When they got to the cabin Eliot parked Lucille eight and helped carry in the bags Parker had packed. "I think we've got what we need for tonight but tomorrow I'll have to go back to Kalama for supplies." Eliot looked around the tiny cabin. "Hardison, were you wearing your earbud last night? If it was recording, we need to listen to what it picked up from just before you were snatched to when they threw you out of the car." He waited for Hardison's nod.
Eliot checked his watch and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'm gonna arrange things with Nati." With that Eliot went back outside and across the small clearing to the stump where he cut wood for the fireplace. After a few rings interspersed with a few long pauses he finally heard the line pick up. "Nati?"
"Eliot!" Ewen's voice came out of the phone speaker. "How have you been? It's been a minute since we talked." When Eliot didn't immediately answer, Ewen thought over what he'd just said. "That is the right expression isn't it 'a minute'?"
"Been talkin' with Hardison recently, huh?" Eliot felt for a second what it would have been like to have to tell Ewen that Hardison was dead, and he was so grateful that, that wasn't the reason for this call. "Frankly Ewen I been better and while I'd like to chat, I need to talk with Nati. Is she there?"
"You yanks, always needing to talk business." Ewen sounded pleasantly scornful while he walked up the stairs to look for his Alpha. "Alrighty mate, I'll be talkin' with ya later I hope." He handed the phone to Nati and headed back down the stairs.
"Eliot lad, what can I be doin' for ye." Nati sounded pleasant but a little distracted.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Eliot listened to the sound of Nati rustling sheets of paper.
"I would never call pack finances a good time, but I would love a distraction about now." Nati relaxed back in her office chair.
"Can you shelter Nate and Sophie for a little while?"
"Sure as moonlight. Are they in some kind of trouble or is it you again?" Nati couldn't help teasing him just a little.
Eliot huffed out a breath. "Me? Why do you assume it's me?"
"For the same reason I assume that the moon will be full in just a few days' time." Nati smiled. "It just can't help itself, and neither can you Eliot Spencer."
"Alright, I guess I can't argue with that." Eliot had enjoyed the banter, but any minute Nate and Sophie would be boarding their plane. "It looks like someone from my past is gunning for me. They tried to stab Hardison to death last night." Eliot felt how strong Hardison's connection to him was now and he tried to relax. "It would have worked. We couldn't have gotten him to the hospital in time…"
"You turned him." Nati was somber. She knew how much Eliot had struggled against that decision and it sounded like he'd been forced into it.
"Yes." Eliot paused. The only person he'd ever seen turned from human to wolf was a woman in Nati's pack. "When Katarina was turned… I don't remember her heart stopping. Is it normal for the person to… to die?"
"No Katy's heart never stopped. Most people whose hearts stop die and stay dead." Nati considered the possibilities.
"Most, but not all?" Eliot heard the wiggle room in her statement.
"Usually if it happens and the person lives it's because there was a bond forced on that person." Nati cringed.
"Do you think that I… Could I have forced this on Hardison?" Eliot immediately felt shamed and horrified.
"No, no dear boy. It takes a witch and a dark ritual and more than just the Alpha's will to do such a thing." Nati thought back over the centuries that she'd lived.
"How do you know?" Eliot was relieved to hear that Nati didn't think he'd forced this on Hardison, but he wondered if maybe she was wrong.
"Because that's how I was made a wolf." She still remembered the horror of it. "Believe me you didn't force anything on Hardison. It might be that since ye had a connection to him before the change, that magic is what helped bring him over. It could just be that you are a wily and stubborn bastard and God knew there'd be no livin' with ye if it didn't turn out." She sighed. Most wolves including herself rarely cared if the change was something that the new wolf really wanted or not and if there was a way that they could make it happen with fewer deaths then all the better. Eliot's concern over why it worked and if he'd done something morally questionable was such a rare thing that Nati could hardly understand it. She knew that was one of the things she really appreciated in Eliot. He reminded her that she could be a better person.
"Thanks." Eliot glanced at the cabin. "So you'll watch out for Nate and Sophie for me?" He had to ask one more time just to be sure.
"Of course, I'll guard your pups. Just have Hardison send the details to Ewen, and we'll take care of the rest." Nati smiled.
"Thanks, Nati." Eliot smiled as he hung up.