As usual, if you recognize it from the show I don't own it!
Chapter 2 - Return
The next day, John and Joss's plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma airport as the sun rose over the Pacific Ocean. John had been quiet, even for him, the entire trip out. He'd pretended to read a book he had borrowed from the library, but Joss noticed he barely turned any pages during the flight that lasted over four hours. John was never a chatterbox, even under the best of circumstances, and Joss was used to his long silences, but this felt different to her. In addition to his usual determination and focus, there was an undercurrent of apprehension that she hadn't felt from him before.
He barely touched the breakfast that they were served on the plane and Joss made a mental note to make sure he ate something after they landed. John did not like to eat much when they were on a case, and that was OK when their cases only lasted a day or so, but this would probably last most of the week and he would need to keep his energy up. She was going to care for her mate no matter what.
They gathered their luggage in almost complete silence and picked up the rental car that Finch had arranged for them. John took the wheel and they started the drive to Puyallup. Joss noticed that the closer they got to the town where John grew up, the tenser he became. She could not help but look over at him with concern, constantly.
John felt Joss's worry and glanced over at her. "What?" he asked curtly. For once, his mate did not take offense at his brusqueness.
"I'm just worried about you, John. You're getting all wound up; I can feel it." She reached over and laid a comforting hand on his thigh.
John pressed his lips together in a thin line. There were times when it was a distinct disadvantage to have a sensitive mate who was so attuned to him. Truthfully, the closer they got to the place of his birth and childhood, the more he wondered if this was a good idea. He had left so long ago; he had no idea what they might be walking into all these years later and he was beginning to wonder if he should have risked bringing his precious mate with him. For all he knew, the entire pack was in on the murder of his parents and they were walking into the proverbial lion's den.
He glanced over at his mate again. She was looking at him with concern in those huge dark eyes of hers, and he looked back to the road before he got lost in them. "I'll be fine. We just don't know what we are walking into here. It could be very dangerous," he said with concern.
Joss rolled her eyes. "I doubt Puyallup can throw anything at us that's worse than what New York City already has," Joss sniffed. John's protectiveness was already manifesting itself and they weren't even in town yet!
John shook his head, "Don't bet on that. You've never lived in a small town; in a lot of ways it's worse. Everyone knows you, everyone knows your business, and there is no place to hide. As strangers, we will stick out like Fusco at a swimsuit competition."
Joss could not help but laugh at that. "Now there's a bad visual!" John gave her a sly grin in response.
They pulled into town shortly after. John drove down the main street while Joss looked around. He began pointing out various landmarks: the grocer's, the drug store, city hall, the high school, and he idly commented on a couple of business that were new since he had last been there. The diner was still there but it had a new name. The drug store too had also changed; it was now part of a national chain.
Joss was surprised by how normal and unremarkable the place looked. Because of what had happened to John all those years ago, Joss had imagined that the little town was a simmering cauldron of hatred and evil. She imagined that the town's exterior would be dark and dreary, reflecting the dark hearts and small minds of the town. She was surprised to see it looked just like every other small town she'd ever been in. It was peaceful, tranquil and completely unremarkable.
John pulled up to a new looking hotel on the edge of town. It wasn't the Waldorf, but it looked to be a good business-class hotel. "This is about the best place in town according to Finch."
"Gotta love the Finch Travel Agency," Joss remarked as she grabbed her bag out of the car.
They checked-in and put their luggage in the room. Joss turned to her mate, "Well, now what?"
John looked grim, "I think we need to take the bull by the horns and let the pack know I'm back. Let's go see Janelle."
"Who's Janelle?" Joss had never heard that name from him before. To be fair, he never talked much about the Wolves of Puyallup and Joss hadn't probed him much on the topic knowing how painful it was for him. He'd had so much pain in his life; she couldn't bring herself to force him to revisit such a huge betrayal again.
"Janelle Patterson was my mother's best friend while I was growing up and she was one of the few Wolves who stood up for me when I was accused of killing my parents. She was like an Aunt to me. She took care of the sale of my parents' farm and she handled everything for my parents' estate so I wouldn't have to return."
Joss looked skeptical. "It's been over twenty years; are you sure she's still here?"
"I had Finch check; she's still in her old house in the Wolf District."
Joss arched an eyebrow, she had never heard of such a thing especially in a town this size. "Wolf District? Seriously?"
John looked at her sadly. "You grew up in the big city Joss. Things were different in the small town. We Wolves kept to ourselves and the rest of the town liked it that way. Just about every Wolf who lived in town lived in one small neighborhood. Janelle still lives there, and once I'm seen going into her house, every Wolf in town will know I'm back within minutes."
Joss took John's hand. "Then let's get going," she said with her usual determination.
They drove to the Wolf District, a small neighborhood of comfortable middle-class homes consisting of several blocks on a stretch of road on the way out of town. They pulled up in front of a small post-war bungalow and got out of the car. John stood for a minute on the sidewalk just looking at the house.
Joss took his arm, "You OK?"
John looked down at her and smiled with a wistful expression on his face. "I spent a lot of time here growing up. It looks the just the same."
They walked up the steps to the front porch and John knocked firmly. Joss heard movement inside the house and the door was opened by an elderly woman who looked to be in her mid-70's. When she saw John standing there, her eyes opened wide and she put her hand over her mouth.
"John? John Davis?" she asked her eyes filling with tears.
John smiled softly, his eyes filling with affection for the old woman in front of them. "Yes, Aunt Janelle. It's me."
"I…I thought you were dead. No one has heard from you for so long."
John grinned, "Nope, I'm still kicking. May we come in and talk?"
Janelle opened the door wide and waved them in, tears in her eyes, too choked up to speak.
Joss and John entered and sat on the garishly patterned, but comfortable couch. "Coffee?" Janelle asked having finally found her voice.
"Please, thank you."
Janelle vanished into her kitchen and emerged a few minutes later carrying a couple of steaming mugs. John and Joss both politely turned down her offer of cream and sugar. Janelle settled into the armchair across from the couch.
"Janelle, this is my mate, Jocelyn Carter. Joss, Janelle Patterson, my mother's best friend and my unofficial aunt."
"It's so good to meet you," Joss smiled her warmest smile at the woman who had been such a large and positive part of her mate's childhood.
Janelle nodded and smiled back, obviously pleased to meet John's mate, "It's a pleasure to meet you too. I've often wondered over the years if John ever let himself mate. I'm so glad he found someone."
Then Janelle turned her attention back to John "I've thought about you a lot since…what happened. I've often wondered where you were and what had happened to you after you left."
John sipped his coffee, "In a nutshell, I went back to the Army. I did a few tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. I left the service a few years ago and now I work as a protection expert in New York. I'm an Alpha now, Joss and I have a pack in New York."
"Are you happy?" Janelle asked quietly.
John smiled fondly at her, "Yes, very. I love my work, I have a family I love and good friends."
A tear trickled down Janelle's face, "I'm so glad. The last time I saw you, you were so hurt and angry. You swore you would never change into a Wolf again."
John looked down at the floor, "I didn't for years after that. It took me a long time to get over the anger. It didn't have the most positive impact on my life."
"Last I heard of you, you were dating that nasty Sharon Green's little girl. Then you broke up with her to go to war."
John shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Her name was Jessica. Army life wasn't for her and I couldn't sit out the war while my friends were fighting and dying."
"The Greens didn't like Wolves either as I recall?"
"No, she didn't want a Wolf either, but at the time I didn't want to be a Wolf so it worked out. But I don't think she ever told her mother about us."
Janelle looked over at Joss with a big smile, "But you found a lovely mate John. How did you two meet?"
John smiled, "I was down and out. Joss reached out to me. Then we had some cases that overlapped."
Joss laughed, "He's being too modest, he saved my life when a mob boss tried to have me killed."
"And you have saved my life several times over," John reminded his mate.
Janelle wiped a tear away, "That's as it should be for an Alpha Wolf couple." She turned to Joss, "Thank you for making him happy."
"He's made me very happy too," Joss beamed at the old she-Wolf; it was obvious that Janelle cared for John deeply and had missed him these last twenty-two years.
John leaned forward, "Janelle, we heard about the latest Alphas."
The smile instantly vanished off Janelle's face. "I take it you noticed the similarities with the murder of your parents?"
John nodded, his face hard. "I shouldn't have left when I did. I should have stayed and made sure whoever killed Mom and Dad faced justice. Now they've killed again."
Janelle looked down at her hands in her lap and then looked up again, "I think they have killed more than you think, John," she said softly. "We've lost many pack members since you left."
"Tell me," John growled in the commanding manner of the Alpha Wolf.
"Several years after your parents, we lost Deke Williams. They said he was drunk when he smashed his car against a tree…."
"But Deke didn't drink," John finished the sentence for her.
Janelle nodded. "You remembered. No, I had known Deke for over twenty years; never saw him drink anything stronger than punch."
"Who else?" John snarled.
"The next one to die was a Wolf by the name of Jackson Holt. He came to town after you left; I think he was a friend of Matt Ellison's. He was only in town for a few years before he drowned in the river.
"Several years later, Janie Powell and Karen Rodriquez drowned too. Karen had mated with Mark Ellison, but she and Janie had gone to the river to pick berries by themselves. Mark found the bodies floating face down in the river. The sheriff said that it looked like one of them slipped and fell in and the other one went in after her friend. The current was cold, fast, and deep, and they must've drowned quickly.
"Remember Stan LeBlanc? He mated with Janet Milnar and they had a couple of cubs. The entire family was wiped out when their minivan went off the road on Kyle Mountain Road. It plunged down the side of the mountain and burst into flames when it hit the bottom of the canyon.
"The police think Deke, Jackson, Janie, Karen and the LeBlancs all died in accidents, that it's pure coincidence that so many have died."
John felt sick. Janelle's tone of voice told him that she clearly did not think they were accidents, and he knew that Janelle, while she looked like everyone's favorite grandma, was one cagey Wolf. If she didn't buy it, there was good reason not to. John got up, walked to the windows and stood staring out to the quiet street with his back to the women while he calmed his anger.
"That's a lot of accidents for a small pack," Joss said, putting air quotes around the word accidents.
Janelle nodded in approval. "I take it you don't believe in coincidences, Jocelyn?"
Joss shook her head, "I'm a Homicide detective in New York City. On my beat, coincidences usually turn out to be murder."
"I shouldn't have left," John snarled from his spot at the window.
Janelle shook her head while her faded blue eyes flashed with unexpected anger. "No, John, I think you would be dead too if you hadn't left town. I'm sure they would have killed you if you had stayed and tried to claim your birthright by taking over the pack.
"As a matter of fact, I think you should leave now and take your beautiful mate with you. You're happy, you've built a good life, don't risk it by staying here. This pack turned it's back on you in your hour of need; don't stick your neck out for them," Janelle finished bitterly.
John turned, "Not everyone turned their backs on me. You never did. There were others."
Janelle snorted in contempt, "The whole Pack should have been behind you; you were by rights our Alpha. The sheriff cleared you almost immediately. You owe this pack NOTHING."
John turned and looked at her in surprise. He could never recall seeing the mild-mannered Janelle get so upset before.
But Janelle was not done yet, "Whoever killed the other Wolves is still here, still killing. And now you're back. Do you really think they won't come after you and Jocelyn?" She finished with tears in her eyes.
Joss patted the agitated she Wolf's hand, trying to calm the old woman. "It will be alright Janelle. John is former Special Forces and I'm NYPD homicide, we're used to being in the line of fire. We do this every day. We know what we are getting into; we've caught a lot of killers together."
John left the window and knelt down by Janelle's chair, taking her other hand in between his hands. "I'll be fine, I promise. But I can't let the Wolf who killed my parents keep killing anymore. What kind of Alpha would I be if I did?"
Janelle looked at John teary-eyed, "Everett is the sheriff now; you may not have a choice. He may try to stop you."
John's face was immediately the expressionless mask that Joss knew meant he was angry. "Who's Everett?" she asked.
"Everett Ellison was my best friend growing up," John growled.
Janelle turned to Joss not bothering to hide her tears, "Everett and John were inseparable growing up. Everett's father Matt was one of the Wolves who was most adamant in believing John was guilty and Everett took his father's word over John's."
"They denounced me in front of the entire pack," John said softly, not bothering to hide the hurt in his voice. He hadn't thought about that night in years, how he had stood in the semi-circle of the pack while Matt flung accusations at him. Some pack members were silent, some defended John, but the majority agreed with Matt and he was loudly told to leave and never return. He remembered thinking that it couldn't be happening, that his friends couldn't be turning their backs on him right after his parents were murdered. This was not his pack, this was an angry mob, and the accusation swept through the mob like a virus. The memory stung him like it was yesterday, and he closed his eyes briefly to will it away.
Janelle's lip lifted into a snarl, "Matt is a bully, and he bullied Everett mercilessly believing that it would make Everett tough. Everett has been trying to please his dad his whole life, but he never will. Everett reminds Matt too much of his dead mate Patty."
John took over the narrative, "Patty was killed by a drunk driver when we were ten years old and Matt never recovered. The driver got off very light, Matt always said it was because Patty was Wolf. It made Matt very bitter."
"Was Matt right? Did the driver get off easy because he killed a Wolf?" Joss asked, shocked.
"Probably. But that's no reason to bully your own son because he looks like his dead mother," Janelle snapped. "To make it worse, Matt blatantly favors Everett's younger siblings, Mark and Marie. They're twins and just as nasty as Matt."
Joss rolled her eyes, "Lovely family."
"If you stay in town you will have to deal with them," Janelle warned them
John's face was hard, "Don't worry about us. We've dealt with worse."
"Something else you should know, John," Janelle hesitated, not sure how John would take the news. John looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Everett mated with Lisa."
John chuckled, "Poor Everett. He's welcome to her." He saw the puzzled look on his mate's face and chuckled again. "Lisa was my girlfriend in high school. She thought she was going to be the Alpha bitch of the pack, and she really didn't like it when I enlisted and left town. She felt cheated out of her rightful position."
Janelle giggled, "Oh dear, she was furious! Poor Lisa, she's beautiful on the outside, not so much on the inside. I guess she figured that the sheriff was a good substitute for the Alpha."
John looked tenderly at Joss, "Everett can have her. I found my true mate."