Chapter 17
Chasing after Malcolm's scent got the pack nowhere. The trail ran cold, ending at an outlet road a quarter mile off their property. The witches must have picked him up from there.
"They have no idea what they've unleashed," Clay muttered darkly. With Malcolm, there was no going too far. Nothing was off limits. Now he was free.
"The point is he's gone," Logan reiterated, trying to stay calm. Malcolm didn't know where Rachel was, he couldn't have helped Logan. Did Logan want him dead, of course, but there was no point in worrying over something they couldn't change. He'd tried hunting down Rachel while anxious, and it hadn't done him any good so far. Maybe if he tried keeping a straight head he'd have better luck.
"No," Nick insisted frantically. "No, he can't be. We promised the Alpha council his head on a stake. I'm going to find him." There was no way Nick was letting Malcolm get away. Not with Jeremy's status as pack leader on the line. Jeremy couldn't lose the pack. If Jeremy lost the pack, the pack lost Annie.
Before Annie or anyone else could stop him, Nick was sprinting off in a random direction, trying to pick up Malcolm's scent. Logan quickly followed after him. Jeremy stopped Annie before she could join them.
"Leave him. Running might help him work through his frustration," Jeremy ordered, knowing exactly why Nick was so anxious about not having Malcolm's head.
"There's no sense in searching the woods. Malcolm's gone," Elena sighed, shaking her head at Nick's foolishness.
"There's no sense in any of this," Jeremy muttered before turning to head back to Stonehaven. After another glance in the direction Nick had disappeared, Annie followed after him.
"Will you really lose your seat on the council if we don't give them Malcolm?" Annie asked, falling in step beside Jeremy.
"Yes," Jeremy responded, keeping his eyes on the path in front of them.
"What will happen to us?" Would they be free to follow Jeremy as mutts? Or would the new pack leader allow them to all stay on as members?
"I don't know," Jeremy sighed before sparing a glance at Annie. When she caught his eye he pressed on. "I fear you and Elena would be given to whichever pack bids the highest. Or whichever pack's champion win you in a fight."
Annie's steps faltered at Jeremy's honesty and a chill ran through her at the thought of being carted off to another pack who only saw her as their property: a breeding machine. As much as Annie hated being left out of pack business, she knew Jeremy did it out of love and protection of her. The rules she lived under now were luxurious compared to what she would be sure to endure under another pack's rule. Her body and mind wouldn't be her own. She wouldn't get to choose who she loved. The pack alpha would tell her who to love. And Elena, she had just gotten back with Clay. To force them apart would be a tragedy. Especially since Clay is the whole reason Elena was even pack. If anyone had to have a 'claim' to her, it should be him.
"Now you understand Nick's reaction," Jeremy murmured when Annie didn't respond.
…
Annie drifted off from the others once they returned home, climbing the back stairs to Nick's room so she could trade her tank she had thrown on that morning with one of Nick's shirts. She wanted to wrap herself in Nick's scent. Perhaps it would make other wolves hesitate when it came to her, knowing there was a male wolf who had some sort of claim on her. It was a long shot, but both Nick's scent and the thought that it might deter others helped Annie relax.
When Annie returned to the kitchen it was to find it empty. Following the voices down the hall, Annie balked at what she saw.
"Jeremy!" Annie shouted when she turned the corner to find him levitating in the middle of the entrance hall. Glancing towards the witches that stood before him, it was easy to see it was the younger one, Paige's, doing. The same one who had temporarily blinded Nick.
Feeling anger burning insider her, Annie channeled her rage from the past few months into one swift punch to Paige's jaw. It distracted the witch enough to have Jeremy jolt back to the ground.
"That was for Nick. And this, this is for taking Malcolm," Annie snapped, already swinging her fist again. That time Paige was ready for it, stopping Annie's fist mid swing without even touching her. Using her magic, Paige threw Annie backwards into the wall.
"Stop!" Jeremy demanded when Paige looked ready to throw more magic Annie's way. He succeeded in getting her to turn back towards him. Picking up where she'd left off, she had him off the ground. Clay and Elena were the ones to shout out to Jeremy that time as they came running down the stairs at the commotion. Though as soon as Clay saw Annie sprawled out on the floor, holding her head in her hand, he was at her side, helping her up. At that point, Paige was already opening Jeremy's hand one finger at a time until the ring fell to the ground.
"My apologies for such rude treatment," Ruth commented offhandedly as she slipped her ring back on. As soon as it was back in her possession all the doors and windows slammed close again.
"If you ever do anything like that again, I'll tear your throat out," Jeremy growled, holding eye contact briefly before his eyes flitted over to Annie and Clay.
"She's fine," Clay assured him, ushering Annie back to where Elena stood behind Jeremy.
"Look, the other female werewolf," Paige commented, ignoring Jeremy's threat. "They both seem as barbaric as the rest of them."
Annie really couldn't care less what the witch thought of them, but Paige's comment definitely got under Elena's skin.
"Sorry, was it witch or bitch?" Elena muttered, taking a step closer to Paige. Jeremy stopped her from getting any closer. He didn't want Elena to be levitating, out of control of her body, as he was, nor did he want her flung back against the stairs or wall like Annie.
"What have you done with Malcolm?" Jeremy implored.
"We asked for your pack's help, you wouldn't give it," Ruth responded, not answering his question.
"So we did what any decent witch would do. We went and we helped ourselves," Paige expanded on Ruth's answer.
"Without understanding the importance of the person you took," Jeremy spat out. They had no idea what they had unleashed when they took Malcolm.
"Oh we understand all too well. He's gonna be the thing that saves our girl Savannah." Ruth didn't care how big and bad the werewolf was. As long as he got them Savannah, she didn't care. "We should be on our way."
Nick and Logan came rushing in from the back. They'd caught the witches' fresh scent and followed it back to Stonehaven. With his only thoughts being on getting Malcolm back, Nick started towards the witches. Paige quickly had him stepping back with one sentence. The memory of what she'd done to him was too fresh in Nick's mind.
"They have Malcolm," Jeremy confirmed.
"Then let's go get him," Nick insisted.
"We need him to lure this demon that calls himself Aleister," Ruth explained. How the wolves would think it would be so easy to get Malcolm back, Ruth didn't know. They took him so easily. They would hold on to him better than the wolves.
"How do you know he wants Malcolm?" Jeremy tried a different line of questioning. Hoping to find one the witches would answer.
"We can…communicate with Savannah. That's how we know about Aleister. And that there was a werewolf on the compound that gave up Malcolm's name. He also mentioned your littlest she wolf." Ruth responded, figuring no harm could come with answering that question.
"What about Annie?" Nick growled, taking a step forward.
"Down boy," Paige muttered. "He just mentioned Malcolm wanted her."
"They attacked Malcolm's house in Rochester, but he escaped," Ruth pressed on. If the pack understood how big of a threat Aleister was to them all, she might be able to get them to help.
"As dangerous as your wolf may be he pales in comparison to Aleister," Paige interrupted, sensing what Ruth was trying to do. As much as she didn't think they needed the wolves, they still might prove useful. They could at least be the meat in a fight. They all seemed capable of brute force. Except perhaps the she wolf that was born, Annie. She didn't pack as much force behind her punch as Paige had anticipated coming from a wolf. True it would leave a mark, and it was stronger than a human's of her size. Still, Annie was different.
"Savannah has been through so much. She's impressionable. This monster abducted her right from our home. A twelve year old girl," Ruth implored, stopping in front of Elena in hopes her remark would have an effect on the woman. Even a she wolf had to sympathize with the abduction of a young girl.
"We'll help you find your little girl." Jeremy offered. "Then we want Malcolm back."
"Oh, now you want to play" Ruth commented coyly. It was exactly what she'd been fishing for, but she couldn't let the wolves know that.
"I don't want to play, I just want Malcolm and this seems to be the only way I'm going to get him. Now if Aleister shows up with his followers, you're going to need our assistance. They're brutal fighters. We've seen the evidence." Though they were human, the felt no pain. It made them stronger fighters as the thing that held most people back in a fight was pain or the fear of it.
"Our plan is to entice him. We'll use Malcolm as the lure. Once we contain Aleister then we will force him to take us to our girl." Ruth tried to make it clear she didn't care what happened to Malcolm as long as he got them Savannah.
"And we get Malcolm," Elena reiterated.
"As you wish. We'll have no further use for him." Ruth answered. It seemed the wolves couldn't understand what she'd been inferring. Or perhaps they just required it to be spelled out for insurance purposes. Ruth couldn't fault them there.
"You two go with them now," Jeremy ordered Nick and Logan once he'd thought about Ruth's offer. If it was the only way to get Malcolm, he supposed they'd have to help the witches. "The rest of us will meet up with you shortly."
"Jeremy," Annie murmured. Before she could ask him, he nodded his head towards Nick and Logan, indicating she could go with them. Just a glance to Antonio afterwards and he followed after her. Jeremy was fairly certain Annie would be safe with just Nick and Logan, but just to be sure he'd rather the wolves outnumber the witches four to two.
…
"This Alliance thing, what are we getting ourselves into," Nick muttered once they finally reached the meeting spot. They'd had to hike a mile west after the witches parked the car before they got to the old barn.
"They painted us into a corner. Once their witch show up with Malcolm they give us everything," Logan murmured back.
"I don't like it. I don't think we can trust them," Nick retorted, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the witches were already inside. "They stole Malcolm from us in the first place. And they've already used their magic against us."
"Annie already socked the younger one in the jaw for that," Antonio commented, clasping his son on the shoulder and sending Annie a brilliant smile.
"You hit the sadistic witch that made my eyes bleed?" Nick barked out in disbelief, turning the heat of his gaze on Annie. How could she be so stupid? The witch had attacked Nick when he hadn't even done anything to her.
"Relax, she didn't burn me to ash. Though I do have a nice bump on the back of my head from when she used her magic to push me against the wall." It was worth it. The look of shock on the girl's face when Annie's right hook connected with her jaw was priceless.
"Principessa, non giocare con il," Nick muttered in Italian.
"I'll stop when you do," Annie responded in English, knowing Nick would never stop playing with fire. Part of being in a pack was putting your life on the line for them.
"We should probably go make sure they didn't abandon us here for the real meet up spot," Logan interrupted, starting towards the barn. Annie took Nick's hand in hers as she trailed behind Logan, hoping some affection might soften his frustration.
What they found inside was beyond creepy. The withes had formed a circle out of what looked like twigs. Paige sat inside it, her eyes white. When she spoke it was in a higher pitched voice. This was what they meant when they were communicating with Savannah.
"It's like witchy skype. Or witch face time," Nick whispered to Annie, only to be shushed by Antonio and Logan. Annie suppressed her responding laugh at Nick's comment so she wouldn't be shushed next. Antonio was right. They needed to hear what was going on.
"It's quiet here now. The woman from Rochester, the one who I told you was screaming. Nobody was hurting her. He said that she was in pain because of the baby."
Rachel. Aleister had Rachel. Logan came to that conclusion around the same time as Annie, and he launched himself at Paige, demanding to know where Rachel was, that she say more about the pregnant girl. As soon as Logan shook Paige she started convulsing. Nick pulled Logan back while Annie took a step forward.
"She's having a seizure," Annie commented, but Ruth simply pushed her away.
"No, give her space. When you break a channel like that you risk terrible damage," Ruth cried out as Paige finally stilled in her arms. "Paige, are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's kind of like a Gin hangover. Or worse, schnapps'," Paige grunted as she sat up slowly. Annie had sympathy for her. She'd only really had the one hangover, but it was horrible.
"I'm sorry. The girl you were talking about. Her name is Rachel. She's Logan's girlfriend," Annie explained, feeling they owed the girl an apology for what Logan's interference had done.
"She's pregnant?" Ruth asked.
"Almost two months," Logan replied.
"Malcolm took her from Stonehaven a week ago," Nick added. At least they knew she was still alive now. He hadn't seen Logan look happy since Rachel was taken. Now there was hope shining in his eyes.
"Here," Annie murmured, offering Paige two Advil from the travel packet she always kept in her jean pockets. The witch was still wincing from pain. "It's not holistic, but it will do the job." Annie couldn't help adding, only slightly mocking.
Paige took the medicine. Anything would be better than the pain of being yanked out of the connection. She mumbled a 'thanks.'
"Jeremy's here," Antonio announced at the sound of tires on a dirt road. When Paige stared blankly at Annie she added in, "it's a wolf thing."
"We should check the perimeter, make sure it's clear," Nick suggested, talking mostly to Annie as he sidled up beside her.
"Why don't you come with us?" Annie invited Paige, holding her hand out for the girl to take should she need help standing. "Maybe you can fix whatever problems we find with your voodoo."
"It's not voodoo," Paige sighed before taking the hand Annie offered her. Of all the wolves, Paige disliked Annie the least. Other than her first outburst, and the punch to the jaw, she'd been the most tolerant of them. And Paige couldn't blame Annie for the punch. She had made her boyfriend's eyes bleed. Did wolves even have boyfriends?
"So, how long have you two been together," Paige whispered the question as her and Annie fell a little behind Nick.
"How did you know we're together?" Was it possible that Paige could read minds? Annie supposed so since she was capable of communicating with Savanna from miles away.
"First, you're definitely wearing a man's shirt, so you're dating someone. Second, he looks at you like you're his whole world. Not to mention he's super protective. Like how he's listening to our conversation now in case I decide to try and hex you," Paige responded with a smirk.
"To be fair, the whole pack is obsessively protective of me," Annie countered.
"For good reason," Nick called out, not even turning back towards the girls. He was close enough to get to the witch should she try something on Annie.
"They think I'm like some human form of crack that attracts all mutts. Even though Elena is also a girl and also a wolf. And they let her go outside without a bodyguard." It was still a sore spot for Annie.
"Well you are kind of small," Paige answered. When Annie gave Paige an appraising look, looking down at her from Annie's two inches above her, Paige amended her first comment. "For a wolf. Besides you have that innocent look to you. You look like an easy target."
"Thank you," Nick turned to smile at Paige. It was the first time he hadn't looked completely pissed when talking to either Page or Ruth.
"That doesn't mean she is one. It just means she has the element of surprise when people assume she is," Paige snapped back.
"Nick's right. I'm not a fighter, so there is no element of surprise," Annie sighed, speeding up to catch up with Nick. They needed to focus on securing the perimeter.
…
"How are you not being eaten alive by mosquitos?" Nick muttered as he slapped one that had landed on his neck.
"Guess I'm not as sweet as you," Annie responded with an innocent smile as she glanced up at him.
"Did you have Paige put a bug repellant spell on you?" Nick grumbled, squinting his eyes at her.
"There's nothing magic about it. I applied bug spray before we found Malcolm missing this morning. I'd been planning on going for a run," Annie relented.
The squeaky sound of the rusted windmill spinning like crazy interrupted their banter. Straightening up some they began looking around. Paige had said the windmill would let them know when Aleister was coming. Annie watched as Aleister appeared out of thin air in a field, making his way towards Malcolm. The witches showed their presence first. They weren't supposed to intervene unless Aleister's henchmen showed up.
Annie ignored that plan when Aleister sent a rusted, broken piece of siding flying towards the redheaded witch. It sliced right through her side, leaving a huge gash. Instinct kicked in, and Annie sprinted full speed in her direction, determined to help. Elena had broken protocol too and was chasing after Malcolm. All Elena could think was Malcolm couldn't get away. She didn't reach Malcolm. Aleister used some kind of magic to make the dirt kick up and a paralyzing high pitched ringing to start in her ears. Looking around, Elena realized she wasn't the only one affect. The whole pack, even Nick who hadn't been anywhere near Aleister, was unable to move because of the noise. Everyone but Annie.
Aleister's followers came just as the ringing wore off. Nick fought off the few that came at him, but quickly ran towards Annie. If the spellbound humans decided to go after her, he'd be there to protect her while she helped Bridget.
"Can you get her inside?" Annie asked when Nick squatted beside her. Without a word he lifted Bridget in his arms, carrying her into the barn until they reached a bale of hay.
"I don't think there's anything I can do for her," Annie admitted, turning to Paige. "I've seen worse patients, but I don't have any medical supplies on me." It was killing Annie that she couldn't help the redhead. The one thing she was good at, and she couldn't even do that without the proper materials. She didn't carry a first aid kit everywhere she went.
"I know a spell," Paige announced as she knelt beside Bridget, her hand pressing into the wound.
"I'm helpless in the one area I shouldn't be," Annie murmured, causing Nick to pull her into a side hug. Before he could say anything to cheer her up the barn door flung open. One of Aleister's followers had found them.
Releasing his grip around Annie, Nick charged the woman from the side, throwing her off momentarily. It didn't take her long to go back on the attack, crushing through all of Nick's defensive moves.
"Nick!" Annie shouted when the woman kicked him back, sending him flying across the barn. As the woman charged Nick, Annie sprinted after her, flinging herself on the woman's back and trying to get her in a chokehold. The woman simply aimed a punch up to Annie's throat, causing Annie to release her hold on the woman. Thankfully it bought Nick enough time to get to his feet. After taking a couple more hits, Nick sent the woman flying backwards, crashing through a wooden post. As soon as she was down Nick went to Annie.
"Are you okay?" He asked, brushing his hand against the bruise that was already forming on her neck. Annie nodded her head, still trying to get her voice back. When she noticed the woman rising from the rubble she frantically pointed behind Nick, croaking out his name.
"Oh come on," Nick ground out as he rose to his feet, kicking up a broken piece of metal when he realized the woman had a weapon of her own. They only sparred for a matter of minutes before Nick had the woman back on the ground. He was getting ready to deliver the killing blow when Paige pressed her hand against the woman's head and muttered something in Latin that knocked her out cold.
"You couldn't have done that two minutes ago?" Nick asked, his breaths coming in uneven gasps. Paige glanced back at Bridget for her answer, only to freeze when she realized Bridget wasn't breathing.
"She's gone," Paige whispered, not wanting to believe her own words.
…
"You go ahead, I'll be right in," Annie told Nick when she saw Paige as they were making their way back towards the house. She'd stayed with Nick as he was photographing evidence of Malcolm's death so they could burn the body. Even though Malcolm was dead, she knew Nick's anger still simmered under the surface. Malcolm had taken so much from them.
Nick hesitated, but ended up listening to Annie. Malcolm had been the one after her, and he was now dead on a slap in the cremation room. The Alpha council will have their proof of Malcolm's death so Jeremy could keep his seat. At the moment, all immediate threats to Annie were eliminated.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Annie announced her presence. At first Paige didn't say anything. Annie was turning to leave when Paige finally spoke up.
"I just thought that this would be the end. That Savannah would be home, and that Bridget would be alive. I never had…I never needed a sister. Because I had them. Bridget and Savannah. And I took them both for granted, and now they are both gone. Because of me," Paige sobbed, her hand clutching at her chest.
"I know what you're feeling. Elena is my sister, just like Savannah is to you. And she's missing. So is Logan. They've been taken by that same monster," Annie spat out that last word. "There's no point in placing blame. What's done is done and it can't be reversed. Don't kick yourself for things you could have done differently. Focus on what you can do going forward."
To Annie's surprise, Paige pulled her into a quick embrace. It lasted no more than a second before she was pushing away, a look of determination on her face.
"Tell Ruth I'll be in a minute," Paige murmured, turning back to Bridget's body.
…
"No!" Annie screamed, her eyes fluttering open. It took her a moment to break through the haze until she realized she was lying on the couch, her head in Nick's lap. Nick's warm hands were pressed against the sides of her face, forcing her to focus on him. She'd fallen asleep on the couch after leaving Paige in the yard. Another nightmare had followed her into sleep.
"What did you see?" Nick's tone was clam and low. He had come to realize how best to handle Annie startling herself awake.
"Elena. Lying dead in the middle of a gray room. A shard of glass the size of my arm piercing her stomach." Annie reached for her own stomach, still feeling the sharp, stinging pain she had in her dream. "This time, I felt it. I felt her pain."
"It wasn't real," Nick reminded her, though he wasn't so sure. Elena had been taken by the cult with the burn marks. And the last thing Annie had a nightmare about was freakishly true.
"You don't know that Nick. I saw your eyes bleeding and that happened. What if Elena's…" Annie couldn't bring herself to say it, her body shaking at the thought.
"You also saw me dead, and you're still stuck with me," Nick countered, bending down to press a kiss to Annie's forehead. He didn't know what was causing her nightmares, but he wished he knew how to make them stop.
"Is she alright?" Paige asked as her and Ruth entered the room with the rest of the pack.
"Just a nightmare," Nick retorted. "You wouldn't have some magic spell to take those away, would you?"
"Nick, be nice," Annie murmured as she shifted to a seated position. She was still a little shaky.
"What did you see?" Paige asked as she eyed Annie warily. She'd never seen a nightmare take such a physical toll on someone. Annie's shakiness reminded Paige of how she felt when the connection between her and Savannah was broken.
"Elena," Annie breathed out, causing Clay to become more alert. "Dead, with Aleister's mark on her neck and a shard of glass embedded in her stomach. I can still feel it."
"Before that she saw me dead, having bled out from my eyes," Nick added tersely, making a dig at Paige. As though it was her fault Annie was so freaked out. Which it kind of was. Annie wouldn't be taking her dreams seriously if Paige hadn't made him cry blood.
"The dreams are reoccurring?" Ruth cut in, her eyes troubled.
"The only thing that changes is who dies, and how. And where. At least the past two times," Annie responded.
"And do they always leave you like this?" Ruth pointed at Annie's shaking hands.
"Not to this extent, no. Why? Do you know what's happening to me?" Annie would give anything for answers. Especially answers that came with remedies to stop the night terrors.
"I've never heard of a werewolf experiencing it?" Paige stammered, glancing from Ruth to Annie.
"We've also never heard of female werewolves before Annie and Elena," Ruth responded just as cryptically.
"What are you talking about?!" Nick shouted, frustrated that the witches might know something about Annie and weren't sharing.
"Psychics are rare among witches. We can't see into the future. If we could, Savannah wouldn't have been taken," Ruth started to explain. "From what I know about it a witch has to have contact with a personal object before the vision occurs. But Annie isn't a witch. Which makes it all the more puzzling."
"I'm not seeing the future," Annie answered adamantly. She couldn't be seeing the future. That would mean Elena was going to die. It would also mean, if her dreams were visions of the future, Nick would be dead right now. "Nick didn't die."
"But he did bleed from his eyes," Paige countered.
"Visions aren't so easy to decipher. Sometimes even they show some lies with the truths," Ruth answered as cryptically as the nightmares themselves.
"I can't have visions," Annie insisted. "Like you said, I'm not a witch. I'm a wolf." All this talk of her nightmares being visions was crazy. Annie had no magic. She didn't even have the full healing abilities as normal wolves, including Elena. Everything about her was average.
"Maybe in part," Ruth mused, tilting her head to the side. "How much do you know about your mother?"
A/N: hey all! Here's the second chapter from season two! Let me know what you think :)
Rach
xoxo