MARK
“The pack Elders have summoned you…to a congress of some sort.”I stared at Pascal with a bit of hesitation. For all my time as a Dennison, I’ve never heard the pack elders call Vincent to a meeting during his time as alpha. I couldn’t help but be skeptical about it.“…and you’re their errand boy, uncle?”“Oh, no …Heavens no.” He chuckled. “They’re not very fond of me. They are going to leave you a message pretty soon.”I thought that raised a couple of questions.“Firstly, How do you know this?”Pascal leaned back on the hood of my car before he answered. I moved closer to him, now more engaged than I had been.“I’m old, Mark, very old”, he started. “I can assure you that you don’t understand how much yet. Anyway, you don’t get to be this old without picking up a few things.”He finished, gesturing with both hands to himself in a rather gratuitous manner.I wasn’t satisfied with his reply, but I had something more important in mindMARKThe Cleveland estate was huge. Even though it looked like it had been standing for a thousand years, it still managed to look regal.Pascal trailed behind me as we climbed up the stairs to the main entrance to the courtyard. He seemed a little hesitant about being here. Still, he remained mostly expressionless as he always was.He probably was not on good terms with most of the pack elders due to his former involvement with Jacinta. The only reason why I think he wasn’t being hunted down was due to how powerful he was. Any werewolf in their right mind wouldn’t want to go against Pascal Dennison. That fact still did not keep his emotions in check all the time. He still seemed wary. I could see why he stayed away from pack activities All this time.In the Courtyard was a large round Marble table with twelve intricately carved chairs around it. In it sat the nine elders, heads of their respective families. The empty seats probably belonged to Chloe’s family. I wond
CHLOE“Wolves are social creatures, they move in families called Packs. And when the moon is full, they howl at the moon.”I could hear Mackenzie’s voice over the sound of the radio as she told her little brother stories about animals. She seemed to have a new obsession with wolves, I’d like to think that was a coincidence. The Drewsy Pack usually kept all information about their true nature from their children till the children turned 10 years of age. The change could be too much for the young wolf to bear. It usually ended up in a catastrophe, traumatizing the child and even causing self-alienation from the Pack.“Mummy, can we please get some Ice cream, please? You promised.”I'd been waiting for her to say that Mackenzie could forget her backpack in the house and settle into the car all ready for school, but she never forgot an ice cream promise.“Of course, baby girl.”I said with laughter in my voice at the pleading look on Mackenzie’s face. She started
MARKChloe was asleep beside me as the affairs of the day played out in my mind. I calmly told my wife that it was all fine and that there was nothing to worry about. If only that was the case. The look on Chloe’s face right before she went to get dinner ready was the scariest I’d ever seen her. Because she meant every word she had said. Chloe and I had been through a lot. Had a lot taken from us, so it was no surprise she was willing to crack heads and spill the blood of whoever was going to try to take the happiness we’ve found together, away from us. I would seek divine retribution for anyone who hurts my family…The fear of losing them loomed bigger than anything I’d ever faced. So I unconsciously said a prayer: Oh God I’m sorry. Please don’t take these beautiful things that I got.Chloe stirred at my side and snuggled up to me. I held her closer as my thoughts ran miles a minute with my fears.I took up my phone and called the only person I thought I could trust. The Pack elders
CHLOEIt was the weekend, and as promised, Mark and I decided to begin Mackenzie’s trails. She was to take the first step on the trail today with Mark and me around to guide her through. “I’m ready mummy. This is like when Aunt Sally gave me a tour of the woods at the other house. Uncle Mark raced me!”Mark laughed a laugh that only came out when he played with Mackenzie. A breathless laughter that always sounded unintentional, as though the child in him came out despite his best efforts. It never failed to warm my heart, seeing him be a father to her in a way Vincent never was. “Slow down little wolf.”Mark said, still laughing.“We’ll race alright, but first I have to tell you something. Something about our family and other families who live in Drewsy.”Mackenzie was jumping at this bit already. She’d always liked it when Mark called her his little wolf. But now she was eager to run and Mark wanted to talk. She was beside herself with excitement as sh
MARKI could hear Mackenzie’s blissful chatter as she told little Victor stories of how she beat me in a race. All I could think of was going straight to Caldor and detaching Ronald’s head from his shoulders. I didn’t mind stepping over his body to get the Crane Lilies, the only plant known to succeed in reversing the effects of fangroot. “You can’t go alone, Mark. Let me come with you. At least let someone else come with you, Pascal, or anybody Goddamnit!”She yelled now. Causing me to pause in my actions and regard her calmly. My phone rang with urgency as I made to silence it. I looked at the screen and saw it was my uncle calling.Speak of the devil.“Now’s not a good time, uncle. I’m in the middle of something.” I said coldly to my uncle. “This can’t wait. And if you wanna save Mackenzie from the Fangroot that has invaded her body for a year, you’ll get yourself to the Dennison manor and we’ll go on a little drive together.” My uncle finished with
CHLOEMark had gone to meet with his uncle and once again I was left at home with the kids. Mackenzie and Victor were my joy and reasons for living, but It was hard. It always was, sitting and waiting for the men in my life to cause problems and to solve problems, with me, left at home to wonder if they are alright and if we are going to be fine. Ever since Mark left I haven’t been able to take my eyes off my daughter. Always shadowed her, especially when she played with Victor. I hated to think that my daughter could be a danger to my son and herself, the little girl didn’t deserve to be burdened as such if only I had been there to protect her and keep her safe as a good mother should. The teardrops came running along down my face. “Now, Chloe. That just wouldn’t do.”I froze dead in my tracks at the familiar yet unfamiliar voice that invaded the air around me.“Hello, Chloe. I see you standing there doing what you do best. Nothing.”Ronald was sitting in
MarkThe unusual blend of dread and determination in my wife’s eyes was something I’d never seen before and it made my heart sink. I felt a bit of fear too but the rage mostly overshadowed it.Ronald had managed to get into my house despite the couple of wolves I had put on guard duty to watch my family. What was worse was that he also managed to get Mackenzie to ingest something and neither I nor Chloe knew exactly what it was. We were again at the mercy of one of Vincent’s goons. I could only imagine how distraught that made Chloe feel.The children were asleep now but she refused to take her eyes off them. She sat in their room and watched them as they slept. I, on the other hand, had to figure something out. I can’t sit on my hands while my family remains at Ronald’s mercy. I was so consumed by rage so much that I wanted to go to the Caldor lands myself and rip his head off with my teeth, consequences be damned. Besides I was only raised with the Dennison family
FANGROOT CHLOEAlone. Unaided, that’s how he did it. Ronald had successfully invaded my home and showed me what we all knew now. That we were completely at his mercy. I didn’t know it at the time, but Mark had half a dozen werewolves watching over us when he left the house. He had two monitors outside the gates, another two on the grounds of our property, and two more on patrol. Yet not even one of them smelled his entry, much less saw him enter. He sat in my chair and threatened to end everything I cared about in the world and we don’t even know how. Logically it was almost impossible to avoid the senses of six well developed werewolves on guard. Avoiding just one werewolf’s senses was lucky, avoiding two was considered divine luck. Avoiding three, now that would require divine luck and help from others. Avoiding Six was Ronald. And no one else. I knew Dennisons. I know the feeling of having your existence be threatened by one of them.Mark had left the house ye