Chapter Three – Cards Don’t Lie

Theodore gritted his teeth as he climbed the face of the building where his enemy was hiding. For a long time, he had trained to resist all the trickery used by foes of wolves and he had thought to have developed a strong resistance. Yet, that human had hit him in the head with the alpha-killing weapon, and he had fallen to the ground like a log.

His assistant had found him after calling exasperatedly to let him know that his schedule had changed but he could not reach him. In the end, his assistant had used an app to discover his location and acted immediately when he realized his boss was at a construction site that had yet to be completed. It had been Theodore’s bad luck to have to change back into his human before the young man had found him. Because of that, he had lost precious time by being admitted to the hospital and kept there while he was still unconscious.

Whoever those humans were, they would meet their end, along with Ryder Asherman. What sort of wolf mingled in such a forbidden way with humans? That was just one other thing to add to the list of terrible things the alpha of the Luna’s Sentinels was guilty of. Theodore had been forced to live in this city and among its inhabitants, but what was Asherman’s excuse?

It had to be the same sort of black magic Cassandra had used to contribute to the destruction of his own pack, a long time ago. Theodore knew her name, but she hadn’t been the only one behind the terrible fate of his packmates, his family. Asherman must have mentioned her without realizing that he would only confirm Theodore’s suspicions. That alpha could be simply dim-witted and nothing but a tool in Cassandra’s hands.

It didn’t matter. Whether he understood the error of his ways or not, he would be dead by midnight. Theodore licked his muzzle, his throat dry with a thirst he couldn’t quench. He needed to drink his enemy’s blood. That was the only thing that would satisfy him.

***

His victory was near. This time, it would be for good. No magic in the world could protect Asherman from his fate. It was just too bad that the alpha of the Luna’s Sentinels seemed to be quite adept at fighting. Under other circumstances, he might have been an honorable opponent.

But honor was a word Theodore cared nothing about. Now he had the other alpha underneath his paws, even if his eyes were defiant and his mouth continued to assert what he believed to be his own truths, Theodore knew there could only be one outcome.

He needed to destroy Ryder Asherman. And then, his thirst would guide him to destroy the humans who stayed by this alpha’s side – the one the alpha seemed to favor, the one with the strong arm who had managed to injure him earlier, and of course, the field mouse. Spilling their blood would bring little solace to his wounded heart, but there was no other way.

They had to die.

“You’re all bark and no bite, mutt,” the other alpha threw the well-aimed insult at him.

Theodore saw a veil of crimson lowering over his eyes. “Are you looking forward to dying, alpha? Die like a dog then.”

He opened his muzzle wide, ready to tear through the other alpha’s throat.

It all happened so fast, he didn’t have time to think. A sharp pain shot through his head, from the back to the front, snapping his muzzle shut, before darkness swallowed him whole.

***

“How are we going to proceed?” Jack was anxiously bouncing up and down by his side.

Vince looked through the large windows of the store at the man who was pedantically brushing off the invisible dust from the exhibits as if he were employed by a museum to preserve and protect precious artifacts, not at a store selling scents.

“You will have to trust me on this one,” he said.

“I always trust you,” Jack insisted. “By the way, nice job back there spilling the beans to Danny. ‘This guy’s a wolfshifter, this guy’s a clairvoyant’—didn’t you forget something important? Something, like ‘I’m a guardian, basically your guardian, and I’ve always known it’?”

“Shut up, hedgehog,” Vince murmured while planning his next move. “I’ll tell him when I’m ready. Don’t you think Danny has been shocked enough as it is?”

“He has, which makes it the ideal time to come clean. If you tell him what you are now, he won’t even blink. What’s another shock now? Nothing.”

“Danny needs allies he can rely on, not people he might doubt. Let’s not muddy the waters even more. Hey, are you cold? Why are you jumping up and down like that?”

Jack pushed his hands into the large pockets of his hoodie. “I’m nervous, can’t you tell? What are we going to do to this guy? Give him the chair?”

Vince grunted in disbelief. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Because it’s stupid?” Jack asked, challenging him as he was likely to do, according to the little Vince knew of the guy so far.

“No, because I can’t see any chair inside.”

“Right,” Jack said. “Hey, are you just going in?”

“It’s closing time. Can you park the car right in front?” Vince handed Jack the keys without looking at him, his eyes trained on the man inside. He needed to be fast, but his abilities were still only that of a human with good training. No evidence had been given to him yet to cause him to believe otherwise.

“Am I the getaway driver?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” Vince confirmed.

“Cool, I’ve always wanted to be that.”

“So happy to turn your dreams into reality.”

“Oh, Vee, you have no idea.”

Jack scurried away, while Vince moved. If he did this right, everything would be over in less than a minute.

***