Always Gotta Make It Complicated
By tenshinrtaiga
Disclaimer: I don't own The Covenant or The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Summary: Third in The Witch Uniter series. Things are getting more complicated for Chloe as she juggles her new boyfriend, being friends with her old boyfriend and of course, The Order. And it doesn't help that her friend's lives are becoming just as complicated as hers.
"Ugh," Chloe groaned, an arm flung over her eyes.
"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?" Reid asked teasingly as he sat at her desk working away. He didn't bother looking over at her prone form.
"Ugh," she repeated. He chuckled in response. "I don't remember them being that energetic," she mused aloud, rolling over onto her stomach to watch her boyfriend work. He had his turn-in coming up. For his studio art class, he was required to submit twenty sketches at the end of every month. There were two days left and he was still half a dozen sketches short. "Were they always that energetic?" she asked.
"Yep," he replied, lips smacking at the end. "Worse, actually."
"No way," Chloe replied, eyes wide in disbelief. There was no way they could be worse.
"Hey," he said, finally turning to look at her. "I lived with two of them. They can get worse." The duo were of course talking about the three youngest children in their family (not counting the baby); Honor, Justice and Victoria.
Chloe took a moment to ponder her next words very carefully. She debated whether or not to say anything. If it was anyone else, she probably wouldn't, but she and Reid had known each other nearly their whole lives, they had dated on and off for years and they knew what their family was like. "You know… mom called me on Skype a couple of months ago…" she trailed off. Did she want to bring this up?
"And caught a glimpse of a naked Alek?" he asked. A few months ago, that thought would have probably made him jealous; even if it was just a little bit. Now, though… now, Chloe was his again. He had no reason to be jealous. "I remember."
"Mom mentioned… She said that Honor looks up to us. That she wants to be like us." Chloe nibbled on her lip. Reid, sensing that there was something else, took his attention away from his book to focus on her entirely. This only made Chloe more hesitant. "Mom says that… it makes the families dread us ever having kids."
Reid blinked in surprise at that before leaning back in his chair to contemplate it. If she had told him that story before, the duo would have laughed it off, but now that they were dating, stories like that took on a different meaning. "Yeah. I guess our kids would be super wild," he finally replied. The funny thing was he could absolutely picture it. A girl with her strawberry blonde locks and his grey eyes or a boy with his blonde hair and her blue eyes… or any combination of their looks. It was easy to picture. Maybe too easy. They had been known each other for so long, Chloe was honestly the only person Reid had ever been serious about. But at the same time, they were young. Reid had just turned 20 less than two months ago and Chloe 18 six months ago. Then again, their families married early. With the addiction, it was hard to know how long a witch would live. His parents married at 19 and had both him and Essence before they turned 22.
Luckily, a phone ringing drew them both out of their thoughts. Simultaneous sighs of relief echoed the room, causing them to look at each other first in surprise, then in amusement. It was clear that they had both been contemplating their future and, with a shared look, mutually agreed that they were still too young to be contemplating anything of the sort and tabled the conversation for later. Much later.
"Hello?" Chloe asked, picking up her cell phone.
"Chloe?" a male voice asked huskily, like he thought someone might overhear.
"Kai?" she replied in response, recognizing the familiar voice. Kai was a Jackal, a friend and a former lover. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Reid startled at the familiar name. "How are you?"
"Fine," he answered quickly. "Look, I hate to bother you, but you said that if there was ever a conflict, I should call you, right?"
Chloe's spine straightened immediately. This obviously wasn't a social call. "What's wrong?"
"There are some Mai and they've been hassling our Pack. I don't recognize them so they might be from an out of town Pride… But then, I don't really keep up with the San Francisco Pride members, so maybe not," Kai explained. "Nothing's happened yet. Just insults, but they're really riling my dad up. I think they're trying to get us to attack first so they can claim self-defense and dad probably knows that too… But you know how dad can get."
Chloe nodded although she knew he couldn't see her. Jackals had a notorious temper and Kai's dad certainly got that end of the gene pool. Kai, on the other hand, seemed to be the exception to the rule. It was what had once drawn her to him. He was calm and gentle; sweet even.
"Okay, I'm on my way," she replied, reaching out for a hoodie. Today, she was dressed to relax and lounge around the house. She wore an old pair of blue jeans with rips in them at the knees and thigh and a baby blue tank top. Her hair was a curly mess – she hadn't bothered to do anything with it but dry it – and tied into a messy knot that hung low at the base of her neck. The hoodie she slipped on was old and well worn, a heather gray Hollister sweatshirt that she got when she was thirteen or fourteen. It had been slightly large on her then, but now fit fine, if a little on the tight side. Still, Chloe loved it too much to get rid of it and still wore it on days where she lounged around the house.
"We're still down by the docks," Kai replied. "Hurry, the Mai have been coming down in the early afternoon."
"Got it." She nodded seriously, taking a quick glance at her clock to confirm that she had to rush if she wanted to make it on time.
"Oh!" Kai startled. "And, uh, please don't tell my dad how you heard about the conflict. You know how he feels about asking for help."
Chloe rolled her eyes, but agreed and hung up. Kai's father had to be one of the most obstinate people she had ever met… and she was mature enough to admit that she included herself on that list.
"Should we get the others?" Reid asked as they exited her bedroom. Chloe hesitated for a minute. It might be a good idea… Who knew how many Mai there were and the Jackals had a history of taking down anything that stood in their way, friends and enemies alike.
Chloe made her way down the hall and wrapped sharply on a wood door. "Chase?" she asked softly.
The door opened to reveal a rumpled, half-dressed boy. "Hey," he said drowsily. "What's up."
"Treaty problems," Reid replied from behind the strawberry blonde.
Immediately, Chase straightened up, his eye clearing in focus. "Give me one second." He turned around and threw on jeans and a t-shirt, barely pausing to grab his favorite brown leather jacket before joining the couple. "Let's go."
They trooped down to the cars and took Chase's Mercedes. "I'm texting Caleb and telling him what's up, just in case we end up needing them later," Reid declared from the passengers seat.
"He's out with Jasmine, right?" Chase asked.
"Yeah," Chloe replied. "But considering the problem is between Jackal and Mai, I really don't want her to know about this. Kai said that he didn't recognize them, but they could still have been part of the San Francisco Pride."
Reid nodded and sent a second text, requesting that Caleb not inform Jasmine about the problem because it might involve her Pride. He quickly received a text back agreeing and warning that if he didn't hear back from them for over a half hour, he'd round up the cavalry.
"Caleb says to keep him informed and to text every half hour. Any longer than that and he'll know we're in trouble," Reid reported as Chase pulled into the docks near where the Jackals lived.
Chloe and Chase both nodded in understanding before exiting the car. "What's the plan?" Chase asked, looking at Chloe. It was hard for him to ask her, she knew. Chase was the oldest and he had enough issues with Caleb who, despite being the second oldest, was leader of their Covenant. Still, Chloe was the Uniter and sometimes, that meant that she took the lead.
"We split up," Chloe decided, her eyes surveying the area. "Chase, I want you up high, on a rooftop. Reid, I want you shadowing me from a distance." Both boys nodded, splitting off immediately. Chloe took a deep breath, trying to calm her heart. This was her first official conflict since the negotiations completed. How she resolved this would set a precedent for all future conflicts. She had to be firm, but not cruel. "Let's do this," she whispered into the air before making her way to the warehouse she knew the Jackals lived in. She settled into a discreet spot in the narrow alley next to it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chase on the roof on the warehouse across from her, giving him vantage of the front door and any vehicles that might come up from the rear. She couldn't spot Reid, but bet that he was somewhere behind her, watching her back.
Minutes past as the trio waited. Looking at her watch, she realized that it was almost time to text Caleb again. She looked up at Chase, wanting to indicate her watch, hoping that he'd get the message and send their check-in text, but Chase wasn't paying attention to her. His brow furrowed, he seemed to be tracking something with his eyes. Chloe tensed. She had a feeling it was go-time.
Soon, she could hear the roar of a car speeding down through the docks. She sent a quick text to Caleb letting him know that things were starting up before pocketing her cell phone. She watched with a critical eye as Jackals began pouring out of the warehouse before anyone even stepped out of the car. Clearly, they already knew what was going to happen.
Sure enough, a small group of Mai exited the vehicle, smirks on their lips. Two girls took the lead; dark skinned, dark haired with equally dark looks in their eyes. "What is that reek?" one girl asked another.
"Smells like wet dog," the other replied with a snicker, ignoring the growls of the Jackals.
Chloe frowned as the taunts began to worsen and the Jackals began to get visibly angrier. She started when she felt a light touch on her lower back. She automatically lashed out, but her fist was caught.
"Woah," a male voice said lowly, surprised.
"Kai?" she breathed in surprise before relaxing. She should have known. There was no way Reid would allow an enemy to sneak up on her.
"Hey," he replied, reaching out for a quick hug. "I thought I caught your scent when I left the warehouse, so I tracked you down. My dad didn't even notice."
Chloe frowned, nodding knowingly as she turned back to the taunting fight in front of her. "I don't recognize those Mai so I think you were right about them being from out of town. And they are definitely trying to trick your dad into starting something." She scowled. This felt like a test. Someone wanted to see how she would react. If it was just a disagreement, the Mai would have attacked by now. Instead, they were forcing the Jackals to make the first move. And it couldn't be a coincidence that an outside Pride came all the way to San Francisco, the city she lived in.
A roar distracted her from her thoughts, drawing her attention back to the fight. Behind her, she could feel Kai rumbling, body shaking with anger. Chloe didn't catch what the Mai had said, but if it was enough to piss off calm, sweet Kai? It was no wonder Raoni attacked, his son Neco right next to him, throwing themselves at the two Mai women. Kai bolted into the fray, heading straight towards his father and brother, Chloe barely a step behind. She could feel Reid behind her, his longer legs quickly catching up to her. By the time she arrived to the fight, the entire Pack was fighting with the Mai.
"Enough!" she yelled, forcing her magic out of her in a ripple of pure magical energy. She staggered slightly from her own force; it had been a while since she last Used and her magic was eager for the release. Forcing her attention back on the fight, she looked around. Every single Mai and Jackal was frozen, staring at her. She wasn't sure if her magic literally froze them or if they were simply stunned by the interruption. She didn't care. With a wave of her hand, she magically separated the two warring factions.
Raoni growled at the interference, but she simply turned her pure black eyes onto him with a scowl and soon, he gave a tiny whine of submission. She then turned her attention to the two female Mai, clearly the instigators of this mess.
"Who are you?" she asked strongly, glaring.
The two girls shared a look, communicating silently, before smiling at her. "I am Lilah, this is Nikki. We are from the Sao Paulo Pride."
Nikki smiled too. "The rumors are true. You are as powerful as they say."
Chloe's left eyebrow twitched slightly. She knew it. This was a test. "What do you want?" she asked angrily.
"To meet you," Nikki replied like it was obvious. "We have heard so much about you; the legendary Uniter. We wanted to see you in person." Chloe didn't appear to believe her. "Truly," the brunette said imploringly.
"Then why attack?" Chloe scowled.
"To see you in action," Lilah replied, awe visible in her eyes.
Chloe hesitated, wondering what to do. With a wave of her hand, she released everyone from their freeze. "Raoni… It's okay, you can all return to your home, now," she said absent-mindedly, focused completely on the Mai.
"They attacked us! We demand retribution!" the Jackal leader roared.
"You attacked us!" Lilah snarled back.
"Because you-"
"Enough," Chloe barked out. "I know what happened. I will deal with it." Her eyes finally turned on the Pack, flashing between their normal blues and her magical black. "Return to your home."
The Pack instantly did as told, acknowledging Chloe as their leader, above even Raoni, but he still lingered. Chloe scowled, having Raoni disobey her was making her look weak in front of the Pride… She needed to nip this in the bud. "Kai," she called out, the boy one of the last to leave along with his brother Neco. "Your father seems to be worried. You may stay since your father has proven his inability to control himself."
Raoni growled at the insult, but Chloe's warning black eyes forced him to finally enter the warehouse, his oldest son following right behind.
Chloe finally turned back to the Mai, unsurprised to find that Reid had taken to watching them while her back had been turned. "Shall we go some place more civilized?" she asked calmly.