The Dynamics of Attraction
“Silence,” Theodore snapped, as a low, hissing sound reached his ears, despite not having them in the actual sense of the word. Whatever this witchcraft was, it had to be of the most conniving kind. Cassandra had to be behind it, or her allies, no matter what nonsense the field mouse was spouting about he and the other human having had killed her.
“You are in my power now,” a voice sounding as one from beyond a grave floated to them.
“What the heck?” Jack exclaimed. “No way. Danny killed you. I saw you die with my own eyes, not to mention I made sure you stayed dead.”
“What’s going on?” the human guardian interrupted.
“I will tell you what is going on,” the cavernous voice continued. “You fell right into my trap. Alpha of Whiteflame, fear not; your end will be swift. If you don’t want to suffer, you will convince the guardian to surrender all the knowledge he has.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Jack started, “what am I missing? Did I skip an entire episode or something? It’s not okay, by the way. Also, use the spoiler tag or whatever.”
“Disgusting filth,” Cassandra’s otherworldly voice boomed.
Theodore was certain he would’ve felt a shiver go through his body if he still had one. He wasn’t scared so easily, however. The witch’s play was all a show of smoke and mirrors, and nothing else.
“For the record, were you talking about yourself just now?” Jack continued.
“No, you!” Cassandra replied, sounding quite unnerved by Jack’s audacity.
“Hey, that’s rude,” Jack shot back. “Although, I did hit you in the head with my crystal ball, so maybe, just maybe, that makes us even. You were already dead, but, okay, sorry. So, what’s this place? Are we dead, too? Will we come back as zombies? Will we want brains for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? What if we’re vegetarians?”
“Stop babbling! You’re driving me crazy with your incessant talking!” Cassandra shouted.
“No offense, lady, but you’re already crazy, so I don’t think that’s possible,” Jack replied.
The city clairvoyant was quite calm under the circumstances. It occurred to Theodore that Jack might actually manage to cause Cassandra to give away important details about their current situation by mistake. But could he truly suspect the field mouse of that level of intelligence? It seemed unlikely. Either way, this banter was creating the conditions needed for him to find out more. After all, he was still an alpha, and alphas weren’t only strong; they were highly intelligent, and he in particular was capable of playing this witch and finding out the truth.
“What do you want?” he demanded in an icy tone.
“What do I want, alpha?” Harsh laughter followed. “Your kind has hunted mine for so long, but all of that will soon be over. Pack after pack, you will all fall. And then we will be ready to tear away the veil that’s been keeping us from taking over the world!”
Theodore couldn’t recall from his childhood or otherwise whether he had ever heard of clairvoyants being chased and hunted by his pack. Or any other pack. Unless Cassandra wasn’t a clairvoyant at all.
Bits and pieces of memories were swirling in his mind, but he couldn’t grab them and put them together to solve the puzzle.
There was no time to analyze things that had happened so long ago. Right now, he needed to determine what the witch or clairvoyant or whatever Cassandra was had in store for them, so he could foil her plans.
“It seems to me that you can’t get what you want,” the human guardian said in a calm, steady voice. “Or else you wouldn’t be keeping us talking right now.”
Vince had to be more than met the eye. At first glance, he was an attractive human, with a harmonious body and an overall healthy attitude regarding life and the choices he made. Except, of course, from so quickly assuming his position as a protector of the field mouse.
“Soon, the other alpha will be here, and I will have you all in my clutches,” Cassandra hissed.
“I so call bullshit on that one,” Jack said. “I think you are dead, and you’re sorry that you’re dead. And you can’t keep us here long, because your powers are fading. Yep, in case you’re wondering, I can tell. You’re getting more and more tired… You’re getting sleepy… I will count to ten, and when I say ‘ten’, you will be dead-dead.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Cassandra shrieked, obviously enraged by Jack’s chatter.
“I was trying to hypnotize you, but it probably doesn’t work if you don’t use an old pocket watch. Eh, it was worth a try, I guess.”
“Enough! Any moment now, and you will all be--”
Cassandra stopped abruptly. Theodore understood why right away. He could hear voices, coming from somewhere beyond this space in which they existed without their bodies. Could it be the alpha of Luna’s Sentinels, falling into the trap as Cassandra had intended?
“She doesn’t have much time,” Jack whispered. “Her hour is almost up,” he added in the same conspiratorial tone. “But reinforcements have arrived, so let’s buckle up, boys.”
Theodore could now hear the alpha’s mate’s voice quite distinctly. He was expressing his wonder about their surroundings, which only annoyed Theodore more, because he couldn’t see anything.
“We’re in the middle of a strange, twisty, little tale,” Jack announced out loud. “Yep, look for us all you want, but you won’t be able to see a thing. Whatever witchcraft that witch created, she really did a number on all of us. I had no idea it would feel so weird to have an out of body experience, but here we are.”
“Are Vince and Theodore with you?” Asherman’s mate asked. “How can we help? Can we help at all, to begin with?”
“You could have helped by not being here,” Theodore retorted.
No answer came from the human named Danny, the one who had dared attack him with a toaster of all things. Theodore hated repeating himself. What if the human couldn’t hear him at all?
“Oh, rest assured that you can,” Jack continued, seemingly the only one of them capable of communicating through the barrier keeping them prisoners here. “And yes, our brightest and bravest are stuck with me in… in this weird existence-non-existence. Glad you have Ryder with you, though, because only a true alpha can undo this strange curse.”
“But how?” Danny asked.
Asherman’s voice replied, “If Jack believes it is a true alpha that must save them, I am that alpha.” And then, “Danny, hide!”
It felt incredibly unnerving to be unable to see what was happening. To be powerless.
“Easier said than done!” Danny shouted.
“There’s that boulder over there,” Jack advised. “No, to the right! The other right!”
Could the field mouse be able to see beyond the dark curtain that had been pulled in front of their eyes? Theodore hated to admit it, but the city clairvoyant had his uses. And he would hurry to obey Theodore’s every order, because that was his destiny.
“I am Ryder Asherman,” the alpha’s strong voice boomed, “the alpha of Luna’s Sentinels. Whatever you are, I do not fear you. Show yourself, and I will defeat you.”
Theodore appreciated the fearlessness the other alpha showed. But this was a dangerous game and treating it so recklessly would lead to disaster.
“Field mouse,” he said harshly, “tell the alpha to run. Since she can do what she did to us, she can very well do the same to him.”
“No can do,” Jack said. “I know this might sound weird, but I think I see dead people. Cassandra, at least, so I don’t know if it’s a pattern already or not. And she’s fading. Slowly, but she is. Ryder only needs to kick her sorry ass into oblivion.”
“Are you sure about all that, Jack?” Vince asked.
“I can’t lay out the cards here and now, but I’m pretty sure. Yep, convinced even.”
The sounds of a fluttering of wings could be heard now. Cassandra spoke. “Your wretched mate has deprived me of my mortal body. But I am thankful. I am no longer bound to the earth that keeps you all prisoners. And it is a pleasure to return the favor. Die here, alpha, unless you want your so-called friends to remain shadows forever, just as I am.”
“Ryder, don’t listen to this crappy witch,” Jack warned. “She’s obviously losing her powers, and it is driving her mad.”
“I will defeat you,” Asherman said in a loud voice. “Mistress, lend me your strength, and I will chase away this evil spirit.”
Theodore would nod in approval if he could.
“She can’t hear you. She is weak,” Cassandra hissed. “You should have waited until the full moon if you wanted her to lend you all her power. As she is now, she can barely keep hanging in the sky as she should. You are mine, alpha.”
It was a dire fate to be punished with being unable to act. Theodore swore to himself that he would destroy Cassandra’s kind if he had to walk the entire world to search for them, whoever they were.
***
Ryder was really awesome, fighting like that. Jack never watched contact sports as a rule, but in this case he was willing to make an exception because boy oh boy, Ryder really knew how things were done when dealing with witches. His majestic wolf shredded through the shadow the witch barely kept together, while a single ray of silver light fell from the moon straight on the crown of Ryder’s wolf head, caressing it and lending him her power.
“Wow. Just wow.” He had to express his admiration, because he was witnessing one hell of a fight. They all were. “Theo, are you seeing how it’s done? You should look up to Ryder.”
“No, I should not. And you should shut up,” Theo’s irritating voice replied.
“What do you mean, I should shut up? Tell me you’re not impressed.”
“I am not at all impressed. Human, you must hold your tongue or I will teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.”
“Ugh, you’re so annoying.”
His quarrelling with Theo was making him miss the most fun bits of the fight.
“Jack, what’s going on?” Vince asked. “I don’t know if you can tell, but I think you’re the only one of us who can see anything.”
“For real?” Jack whispered. “What about you, Theo?”
An arrogant huff confirmed Vince’s words.
“Okay, then let me commentate the fight like the best sports commentator in history. Basically, the witch is down, and Ryder is ripping even her shadow to shreds, and yes, he has a great ally. The Moon herself, ladies and gents, the Moon herself is in our champion’s corner. So, now, let’s count… and she stays down. Yes, ladies and gents, what a fight, truly, what a fight.”
“Jack,” Vince asked urgently, “is Cassandra dead?”
“Hopefully completely dead this time. Okay, now that’s out of the way, what about us?”
He barely had time to say those words before he experienced the same weird sensation as before, like falling through the earth, only now it was happening backwards.
And, just like that, they were back, rolling on the grass of a nice-smelling meadow, all together in a huge ball of limbs and bodies and whatnot.
Jack grunted, although he fell on something not as hard as the ground, but hard enough to warrant a little further inspection. “Cool pecs, Theo,” he said, placing his hands on the alpha’s chest.
Theo pushed him away angrily and jumped to his feet. Only to immediately grab Jack by the front of his t-shirt and shake him hard. “You puny human! How dare you speak to me like that?”
Thank fuck for Vince, who was quick to grab Theo by the arms and jerk them back hard. Jack sighed in relief as his feet felt the ground again. It was so easy for the alpha to manhandle him. Was that how rough he would be in bed? Jeez, Jack thought, he really needed a lot of preparation for what lay ahead.
“You need to work on that attitude, Theo,” Jack warned, straightening his clothes. “And Vee, thanks a lot. You’re like my personal bodyguard.” He grinned at Vince and swooned to make a good impression.
Theo looked at him like he wanted to have his head.
“It’s good that Vince is taking care of your personal safety now,” Ryder interjected. “Make sure you keep him busy, Jack.”
Everyone was there, and more importantly, they were all in one piece. Phew, now that had been quite the adventure.
“You know I will,” Jack replied. “I have a big mouth, and I tend to get into all sorts of trouble--”
Theo’s sudden growl made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. There were perks to not having a body, Jack thought, but it wasn’t like he wanted to go back to that dark place. He hadn’t showed it at the time, but he’d been pretty scared.
“You will learn obedience since you belong to me,” Theo growled. He shook Vince off and took another step toward Jack.
Damn, this alpha and his attitude.
“Awesome pipe dream, my man,” Jack said and patted Theodore on the chest.
Theo grunted and looked away. Jack removed his hand as if it has just been burned. Okay, so that was… what the hell was that? That little sound Theo had just made, using his throat or whatever, why did it go straight to… certain parts?
Alphas had to be using pheromones or something. Jack couldn’t understand why his little friend – the one he kept in his pants and usually neglected except for showers and peeing – was getting all twitchy from only hearing a wolf grunt like he wanted to claim possession of a puny human who’d never gotten dick in his life.
“We are so glad you are all okay,” Danny said loudly, interrupting Jack’s weird train of thought. “What happened? How did Cassandra--”
“It is unimportant,” Theo said abruptly. “You saved us, alpha,” he added, addressing Ryder now. “It would have been a mistake on my part to kill you.”
Jack couldn’t stay silent. “For anyone who didn’t catch it, that was Theo’s way of saying sorry.”
“I do not need a personal translator,” Theodore said in an icy tone.
“If you want to get along with other people, you will need one,” Jack shot back. “It’s that, and you need to learn to stop being the equivalent of a human-sized porcupine.”
Vince was quick to stop Theo, who was about to take another step toward him, most likely with violent intentions. Jack fought himself not to go hide behind Ryder. He’d have to deal with this alpha, whether he liked it or not.
***
It surprised Vince to see that particular look in Pembroke’s eyes. It was a look of longing and something harder to define. He was also suddenly aware of their bodies touching way too much, causing their warmth to mix as if it was meant to be.
He could very well be imagining things. They had just been through a potentially life-threatening adventure, and his body might be feeling the need to claim itself back. It felt good to move. Also, it felt good to feel another’s body close.
“We must return to my pack,” Ryder announced, making them all turn toward him.
The alpha of Luna’s Sentinels barely had time to say those words before wolves of all sizes emerged from the woods and surrounded them.
“Thank you for freeing our pack from the curse, alpha,” they cheered, as they paid their respects to Ryder.
One young wolfshifter hurried toward Jack. “I’m so sorry, Jack. I failed you,” he shouted in dismay.
That had to be the wolf who had helped Jack through the woods earlier before the clairvoyant had been pulled into the course meant for him, Vince, and Theodore.
Jack smiled at the young man and waved, but he didn’t have a chance to do more than that. Pembroke stepped in front of Jack and pushed him behind his back. “This human is my responsibility. Beat it, punk.”
Vince had to say that he felt sorry for the pup, who was quick to make himself small before Theodore.
“I meant no disrespect, alpha,” the youngster said, showing that he knew very well what the power of an alpha meant.
Theodore said nothing; he only watched the pup retreating and stood there, standing tall, with his fists clenched.
“You could be nicer, you know,” Jack said. “I mean, the poor kid must have been so worried after losing me in the woods--”
“He didn’t even do his job right,” Theodore said with a huff. “I’m not surprised.”
“Well, Cassandra’s creepy lullaby did him in. It wasn’t his fault,” Jack insisted.
Vince wanted to signal to Jack to stop talking if he knew what was good for him, but it was impossible to catch the guy’s eye. For all his talking smack, Jack seemed to find it impossible to tear his eyes away from Pembroke.
“Should I leave you guys alone?” Vince joked to break the tension between them.
“No. We must all remain together,” Theodore said, moving his eyes from Jack to Vince.
There had to be something to be said about the eyes of an alpha. Vince had had his fair share of bed partners, but he couldn’t recall one time when a single glance from a man, no matter how attractive, made him think of sex instantly. It was an overpowering sensation, too; in bed, Vince was a top by design since guys normally expected him to assume that role, but under these particular circumstances, with this particular man, he could see himself folding.
No, he shook his head, what was he thinking? Pembroke just happened to be incredibly sexy, and Vince, being the unapologetically gay man that he was, couldn’t not notice it.
His role was to guard and protect. Even if he wasn’t certain what that meant, it surely didn’t include getting freaky with a man with eyes of steel and a body to match. Right?
The same pup from before interrupted their weird tension. “We’ve reserved a house for you. It has all you might need for a short stay, but we’ll resupply it soon. Would you please follow me?”
He kept his head down, surely fearful of Theodore.
“Very well,” Pembroke said in his usual domineering tone. “Lead the way.”
Jack fell in line with Vince, hanging back a bit. He wrapped his arm around Vince, gluing himself to him. “Theo is making my little thing hard. Do you think we’re required to mate or whatever it’s called sooner? Or later?”
“I have no idea,” Vince replied honestly.
TBC
Thank you for reading!
@Derek - exactly what you wanted to know happened in this chapter :) And rest assured... the banter will continue!
@Mark Mortland - don't worry, I will read your comments no matter how late or early! I'm so stocked that Meryl managed to make such an impression, lol - since he has so little screen time.
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