A/N~ Because of several appointments this week and the next, I will not be able to post next week. As I'm actually kind of ahead of schedule though, I'm sure you will all understand. Have a great couple of weeks though and please don't forget to read and review and hope that everyone enjoys it. ~A
Chapter 18
Issac is running in the woods with Cora as part of her therapy. They aren't anywhere near werewolf levels of speed but they are keeping up a steady pace and Issac is monitoring her breathing and pulse closely to make sure they don't overdo it.
Which is probably why he didn't detect either Allison and Ethan until they were practically on top of them. His quickness kept the youngest Hale from falling over the Alpha Twin but both of them were nearly knocked down when Allison came running around the curve in the trail. To say the meeting was awkward would be understating it mildly. Issac was instantly in Beta mode with teeth showing, eyes gold rimmed and claws extended.
"Easy, I'm not here to fight," Ethan said to the three other teens as he held up his hands.
"No? Then why are you here," the taller Issac said as he stood between the Alpha and the two girls. A fact that nearly choked Allison up considering the way most of the Pack had been treating her lately.
"Apparently the same reason the rest of you are, to take a run." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Stopped to tie my shoelaces and thought I smelled something. I was trying to figure out what it was when you all came running up and well here we are."
Cora looked at the teen a little suspiciously before saying rather proudly, "Issac can probably tell you, he has one of the best noses in the Pack." She said as she began to walk around in a circle as a stitch was beginning to form in her side.
Seeing her eyebrows beginning to knit in pain the blond teen scented the air and realized that her pain level was indeed increasing. He figured he could help figure out the mysterious scent and take the other werewolf home before her pain level got too high.
He lifted his nose to the soft breeze and inhaled deeply, eyes closed in concentration. They snapped open once again gold rimmed as he said, "Something's dead, something big and freshly killed. The blood isn't even dried yet." He said and then forgetting what he had planned earlier he scrambled into the bramble of dried brush and dead or fallen limbs and things. Clearing a path for the smaller members of the group.
Issac led the way to a clearing in the woods where three adults lay on the ground. Their heads were all nearly touching in the center. One would think lying there looking up into the sky, that they were a parody of kids looking for shapes in the clouds. It all looked perfectly innocent if it weren't for all the blood.
Two women and a man were laying in the clearing, their bodies aligned like some macabre variation of Derek's triskele tattoo. Their throats were nearly cut clean through and the wounds matched very closely to the ones that Stiles had told everyone about at their last Pack meeting. The mass murderer of Beacon Hills had struck again.
Issac had Cora sit down and then called Derek and the Sheriff and in that order. When the deputy asked for directions to their location, Allison took the phone from the younger man and began giving directions to the law enforcement officer.
Ethan was also on the phone apparently to Decaulion about what they had found. When Allison finally got off the phone and gave it back to Issac, the taller blond teen raised an eyebrow at her and the innate and precise sense of direction she had shown, to which the huntress merely responded, "Hunter." and the pair nod at each other understandingly.
~O~
Bo held onto Vex as they traversed the stairs down into the dark fae dungeon. Although she had given him a good portion of her chi, the Mesmer was still acting weak and debilitated and she was more convinced than ever it was an affectation. A trick to look weaker than he actually was to lull the Morrigan and whoever else into a false sense of security.
Bo kept her head on a swivel though as they went into the lower levels of the dark fae compound, otherwise known as the modeling agency the Morrigan used as a business front for their more questionable dealings.
When she sees the pair of them coming down the stairs toward her, the Morrigan's eyebrows rise in amused query as she saw Norris coming down the stairs behind them, the dark fae leader says, "I send you for the one Mesmer, and you bring me back two play things and one of them is a succubus. An untouched succubus at that."
"Hate to tell you this but the untouched part is inaccurate, I can give you an abridged list of my partners if you like," Bo said in a snaky tone as she glared at the older fae woman. Instead of a glare the older woman began to laugh in true amusement.
Vex squeezes her arm warningly before he leans in and in an undertone explains, "When she says untouched she's talking about your skin being untouched by whip or scourge succubae."
Bo actually turns just slightly pink and gets angry as she remembers what those particular instruments were used to do to Vex. Because of the surprisingly strong grip that the Mesmer had on her arm though she managed just barely to keep her mouth shut.
"I have a job for you and as it happens the addition of the succubus is an opportune one." the Morrigan says as she went to sit in an unusually elegant chair for the location. Even as Bo thinks about where they are she starts looking around and notices the fresh blood and various implements of torture on a nearby table that clearly have been used and are hopefully awaiting a good cleaning and sterilization.
Vex though keeps his focus as he says in a clearly hostile tone. "You've broken your own rules too many times in the past few days Evony. I am the evidence of that, lover."
A flash of anger goes through the Morrigan's eyes as the Mesmer addresses her with her real name in front of the other fae. "You've never complained about that before Vex dear."
She said and there seemed to be an almost warning in her tone as she spoke. A warning that the dark fae who held the succubus arm chose very deliberately to ignore. "Not that you ever paid any attention to you mean. Including within the past twenty four hours, Evony dear."
"You dare to question your mistress?" she said sharply her eyes now flashing at the Mesmer.
"You were my lover first Evony, my mistress second and now you will be neither." Vex said and his hand tightened painfully on the succubus arm almost painfully.
"What did you say?" and the look in her eyes was now clearly sparking with anger and hostility toward the pair.
"I release myself from you Evony. For reasons of not following your own rules, in the game. Rules that were agreed to by the both of us and that you have broken a multitude of times and in front of witnesses. You have broken and voided the contract we made between us. So now in front of witnesses I am ending the contract between us." he said and although his voice was firm. There were hints of sadness, and anger in his voice.
She shrieks in rage and lunges at the Mesmer only to have a staff suddenly appeared in front of her face. "How dare you resist me in my own dungeon," and her usually beautiful voice is now nothing more than a screech as she says this.
"Norris take her, I want her on the cross for defying me." Evony demands as she turns to the table to choose her next toy to use.
"No." Norris says flatly.
"Excuse me," the Morrigan says over her shoulder, not really believing her ears.
"You will have to deal with them as normal people as they are not your slaves and they have already given me their safe words. As long as they are in MY dungeon." Norris said placidly. "If you persist in breaking the rules of this dungeon, it will be you on the rack."
The Morrigan actually turned and faced the other woman in shock. Then pushing her temper aside with a great deal of effort as she thought about her only remaining relative she said, "Very well, all will be forgiven if you go and save a certain human for me."
"Why? What does this human mean to you?" Vex asked suspiciously.
"None of your concern Mesmer," the Morrigan said dismissively. "A bunch of Alpha werewolves are attacking the little hamlet where he lives and I want him saved. If you can save the rest of those in the town from the savages more power to you." She looked at Bo with a smirk as she added, "Perhaps you could take your little human friend as bait, if nothing else."
"And where is this supposed to be taking place?" Bo asked a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach at the timing. "Too convenient," as the dark fae leader looked at her with an amused gaze. As if she knew she had already won the argument.
"The name of the town is Beacon Hills."
~O~
The Sheriff questioned the teens, starting with Issac and Cora. Although Issac would have liked to say the Alpha Twin was responsible, and Cora would probably have said that Allison was. The pair were both honest in their determinations. Issac reasoned, "Ethan is smart enough not to hang around if he'd actually had anything to do with the murders."
Cora also admits, "Allison actually came running up after the two of us so she couldn't really be a likely suspect either."
Decaulion comes up complete with the other two members of his Pack. Almost immediately he tries to shift blame to Cora, Issac and Allison.
The blind Alpha explains, "I'm afraid that this is clearly a situation from school that has escalated out of hand. This group of delinquents has had it in for my young wards almost since we arrived. A rivalry over some girl I imagine," he said glaring disdainfully in the direction of Cora and Allison.
Ethan tells the truth though much to his Pack's consternation. "None of them could have had anything to do with it as they came running up after me. I probably wouldn't have even noticed the smell. I'm usually pretty fast and would have blown right by it. Had to stop and tie my shoes though and that's when I noticed it. The smell I mean." Decaulion stares in the direction of the teen rather petulantly, the Sheriff gives him a small smile of approval though.
Allison's father walks up then explaining, that he heard about the incident on his scanner and about his daughters involvement and was concerned for her.
He is surprised at the unusually cool reception from the Sheriff, as they usually have a rather cordial working relationship, Allison tries to signal him of something with her eyes and then begins trying to signal him about Stiles warning, unsuccessfully unfortunately.
Actually they haven't spoken much at all in the past few days. The Sheriff actually asks both Chris and Decaulion, "Gentlemen I need to know your whereabouts for the past twenty four hours," he looks over at Kali and Aiden and the two of you as well."
Decaulion began in an offended tone, "Sheriff are you implying that we might be suspects…"
"I am." the Sheriff replies baldly, "Unless you have an alibi you're coming with me. And by the way three suspects trying to alibi each other isn't an alibi. For all intents and purposes they're the newest arrivals in town and the murders started at about the same time that you arrived in town. Hell of a coincidence don't you think."
As an excuse for arresting the trio it's totally legitimate and simple in its elegance. Argent is impressed and yet more than a little shocked and caught flatfooted to be lumped in with the others. Especially since he was actually out hunting last night and can't exactly tell the Sheriff that.
The Sheriff hauls them all in and makes a big demonstration of putting the three Alphas together in one cell and Argent in the other. As soon as his deputies left the holding area though, the Sheriff knelt in front of the door that held the Alpha trio and snapped his fingers. A row of mountain ash flashed across the area in front of the cell door. Snapping a barrier into place in front of the werewolves and Argent. The group is rather gob smacked when the Sheriff stands and they see something almost predatory in his gaze as he tells them.
"I think that should keep you where I put you, for the time being. The law says that I can hold you for seventy two hours on suspicion. I'm thinking if someone comes forward and tells me about oh I don't know kidnapping, torture, something like that I can keep the lot of you here indefinitely.
"So you don't think we had anything to do with the deaths in the woods?" Chris Argent said as he watched the other man with a new sense of respect and perhaps a tinge of fear.
"OH I didn't say that, since it was my son you and your family kidnapped and tortured along with two of his classmates." And then looking at the Alphas with something almost unholy in his eyes he adds, "Not to mention the three teens that you lot kidnapped, including a young woman who is lying in a coma in the hospital right now, and one recovering from being poisoned," he said looking at the trio of werewolves, "I'd be thinking real hard about what the next actions you take are."
Decaulion looked at the older man and said, "You know the rules, you can't risk exposing the fae…,"
Realizing what he's said the Alpha looks around but the Sheriff moved closer to the bars and said, "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not fae and you're staying right here as long as I can hold you."
The Sheriff walked away, but he didn't really believe any of them had anything to do with the deaths in the woods. He was sure his son and the others were right about that. Which of course leaves the Sheriff with the same problem as before, no suspect with the added problem of more bodies in the morgue.