Chapter 15: Territory
Avery blocked another goal attempt, the chill November wind whipping at her hair, tied back in a high ponytail. She was playing center back in a scrimmage match to close out the afternoon’s practice. She liked the position, it gave her a better view of what was going on at any given time than if she was playing forward or midfield. She would have been happy hanging back as part of the defense permanently, but her coach was always shuffling things around. It made it even harder on Avery to keep her true abilities under the radar.
It was why few wolves followed the path Avery had. Having supernatural speed, strength and stamina would seem like an advantage in any athletic arena, and to a certain extent they were. But they also necessitated constant regulation to keep realistic to human ability. You had to learn to walk the very fine line between under and overperforming. She was shuffling to her left, ready to back up the left back if she needed, when she spotted someone. And it wasn’t Brooke. A tall, dark figure dressed in a black trenchcoat stood under a nearby streetlight, watching. It was Atticus, no doubt about it. As if she needed confirmation, his scent hit her nose a second later. She froze. For just a second she was back in the bloody clearing, watching her parents die. Then the moment passed and she remembered where she was. Shaking her head, she resumed her position, stealing glances at the interloping lycan. How long had he been there? What was he up to? Technically the practices were open to spectators but they rarely got any. Especially when it was this cold and dark out. The practice went on for another 30 minutes, and Avery was distracted the whole time. Afterwards, she made her excuses and peeled off from the group, quickly jogging over to the spot where Atticus had been standing. She looked all around, but he was already gone. Fuck, she thought. So this Is gonna be the rest of my night now. All Avery wanted was to get home and check on Brooke. She also had a stack of financial statements on her desk that needed reviewing. She had to make sure the Pack was set for winter. But apparently Atticus had other plans. Avery sighed, pulled out her phone, and called Rachel. The Beta wanted to come herself, but Avery insisted that her and Ben stay with the pack in case Atticus was planning on targeting it.
There was a police scanner in the pack Explorer, but it would take them too long to get there from the Pack House. The info was always better in person, anyways. So Avery texted Jade that she’d send the location as soon as she had it, and hopped on her bike, as usual not bothering with a helmet, and drove quickly to the sheriff’s station on the southwest side of town. She parked in a lot behind a nearby restaurant and proceeded on foot.
Keeping her pace to a brisk walk had Avery gritting her teeth by the time she was approaching the station. She came up from the direction of a side street, towards the corner of the building with a broken security camera. Pulling a CBD cigarette and lighter out of her pocket to give herself a visible pretext, she leaned against the rough concrete wall of the station. Closing her eyes, Avery leaned her head back and let her senses extend outward. The soft voices of the Sheriff and Station Manager filtered out of the dense structure, too soft for a human to hear, but Avery got most of what they were saying.
“-be there in a few. Probably just some kids.” That was the voice of the sheriff. A large, balding human, with a hoarse, breathy voice. He was well suited to the low crime rate in Moss that gave him a pretty easy desk job most of the time.
“Shouldn’t you go with them to back the others up?” The station manager had a softer, slightly melodious voice.
“Vandalism in one of the old warehouses? ccccThey can handle it without me.” Close, but I need a little more info, Avery thought, letting her hand and the cig fall down at her side, not wanting to miss a syllable.
“They did call for backup…”
“And I sent them some. They’ll be fine. Probably just need a couple more bodies. The old cannery is huge.” There it was. Avery listened for another 30 seconds or so just to make sure she didn’t miss any potentially valuable information, then crushed the still-smoldering butt under her heel, and set off at a jog, texting Jade the cross streets as she went.
There were a few blocks of abandoned industrial buildings on the northeast side of town, among them a cannery that had gone under about a decade earlier. Jade, Pedro, Brian, priscilla, and Jack were on their way, but they wouldn’t make it in time. Avery was closer, so she went forward alone.
Avery took the back roads, avoiding the routes the deputies were likely to take and ignoring speed limits. It paid off. She only saw the one cop car as she approached the large abandoned building. Its lights were off and there were no signs of the deputies or lycans. They must already be inside.
Avery parked in the shadow of the building across the street, heading to the side of the cannery opposite the deputies’ car. She approached cautiously, aiming for a side door and listening vigilantly. She didn’t hear anything out of place, a distant compressor, traffic on the nearest arterial, the nocturnal inhabitants of the forest beyond waking up. It was dark out already, despite it not even being six yet, so Avery knew her nose and ears would be more valuable than her eyes. Damned New Moon. Not only did it lock her in human form, it made it impossible to see anything properly. The side doors were rusted steel, held shut with a chain and padlock that look like they hadn’t been disturbed in years. Clearly Atticus’ people hadn’t come in this way.
With a wrench, Avery pulled the stuck door open, wincing at the loud clatter as the chain slithered to the ground. Stepping inside the old cannery, Avery was momentarily overwhelmed by the smell that hit her like a wall. The whole place reeked of old fish, machine oil, and neglect. Adjusting, she picked her way through a minefield of broken and abandoned equipment. The human deputies would be lucky to make it out without getting tetanus.
Avery’s head snapped to the right at the sound of thuds in the distance. It sounded like a few people, moving something heavy. Judging by the sound, they were on the floor above. Squinting through the gloom, Avery looked around, trying to get a sense of the layout. She had a flashlight in her bag back on her bike, but she didn’t want to lose her night vision. Or to alert the lycans to her presence. Spotting a staircase along the right wall, Avery quickly made her way to it. The ancient, dilapidated stairs looked ready to collapse at any moment. Even if she’d only weighed as much as the average human, she wouldn’t trust it.
“-der arrest!” Avery heard distant shouts join the irregular thumps. Fuck, she thought. I’ve gotta get up there before the backup arrives; human lycan or werewolf. Avery backed up a few steps, taking a deep breath. Tensing her muscles, she leapt up the staircase, landing halfway up on the small platform where the stairs switchbacked. She immediately heard a harsh clang and felt the platform start to give way beneath her. With superhuman speed, she stepped onto the first of the second flight of stairs, and used the dwindling leverage to launch herself up onto the second floor, quickly clearing off the steel platform onto more solid ground. She winced at the deafening crash of the stairwell collapsing behind her. So much for the element of surprise.
Avery hurried quickly down a hallway in the direction she’d heard noises. She had to clean up this mess before more humans got involved. Much as she wanted to wait for her backup, they’d never make it in time. She was here so she’d figure out a way to handle the situation. Somehow.
Bursting through the creaking door, Avery quickly assessed the situation. The room was about fifteen feet square, nondescript grey walls unevenly lit by a fallen flashlight on the floor to her right. There were a few dusty boxes in the far corner, and two passed out humans in the middle of the floor, a pair of shifted lycans standing over them. Avery didn’t see any blood, which was good, but she rushed to the center of the room all the same, relieved that both had a pulse still, one eye on the towering forms next to her.
“The fuck did you do to them?” She asked. Some combination of shock and mutually assured destruction gave her a false sense of familiarity. If someone in law enforcement got wind of the supernatural elements in the area, they could all be screwed, Still, she remained very aware that she was in their element here. Outnumbered and underpowered. Her muscles stayed tensed, ready to spring at any moment. The lycan on the left scratched the side of his head.
“We were just checking the place out, and these two assholes tried to arrest us. But we showed them.” Avery held back a groan.
“Did you at least check the surrounding buildings for security cameras?” She shook her head in disbelief at their recklessness.
“What do you expect us to do?” A cold, caustic voice from the doorway dripped with resentment. Avery would never forget his voice, even if he died today. Still in his human form, Atticus detached himself from the shadows of the hallway, stepping into the scattered light. Avery jumped to her feet, putting as much distance between herself and the lycan Alpha as she could, feeling like cornered prey. She laid her right hand against the wall behind her. Felt like regular brick. She could probably punch through it if she needed to. “We have to find a home somewhere. This place isn’t being used. We were just browsing.”
“if you’re going to live near humans, you have to be more careful.” Avery hoped she was just imagining the tremor in her voice. Atticus threw his oily head back and laughed cruelly. Avery watched his every move, eyes wide. Jade and the others should be here any minute, she reminded herself. But it did nothing to slow the pounding of her heart.
“I’m sick and tired of being careful.” He pulled a small vial from his sleeve. It smelled pungent and acrid when he uncorked it. Smelling salts. “As much as I appreciate the concern.” He put a mocking hand over his heart. “This is our time. Not yours. And we’ll handle our business ourselves.” Holding the bottle under the noses of the two humans, Atticus brought both round. The deputies blinked blearily at the unfamiliar surroundings. Atticus slid one long hand up to the side of one man’s face and clamped the other’s wrist in a bony death grip. Their eyes glazed over, turning to face the stooping lycan. Atticus’s voice shifted, rounding out and dropping low, almost too low for humans to hear, it choked the air and made Avery’s ears hurt. “You saw nothing. Just some kids looking for trouble.” Avery could have sworn the lycan’s dark eyes flashed to hers for a moment, but it was too dark to be sure.
“Just some kids,” one of the deputies repeated dazedly. Avery could hear a distant siren getting closer.
“BETTER CALL IN AND TELL THE OTHERS NOT TO BOTHER COMING.” The dreamy deputy on the right nodded clumsily. Pulling the radio mic off his shoulder clip, he pressed the button on the side and spoke clearly, as if the words were his own.
“Nothing to see here. Just some kids. Heading back now.” Avery had heard that Atticus was unusually skilled at manipulating minds, an ability all lycans had to a small extent, and likely the reason they’d survived as well as they had, but she had never seen it this close up. It sent a shiver down her spine like she’d just been doused in cold water. Not even the feel of Jade and the others fast approaching could calm her nerves as she watched the two human deputies file calmly out of the room, trading low casualties, completely unaware that there was anyone else in the vicinity. They left without a backward glance, and Avery’s muscles tensed in anticipation as Atticus’s attention turned back on her.
“This is our territory now. You’ll stay away if you know what’s good for you. I’ll make an exception this time. But after tonight, if we catch you or any of yours north of elm, we’ll teach you to regret it.” Avery was reminded just how many pack members they’d lost during the last war. They’d won, but it had cost them dearly. If Atticus hadn’t been blocking the door, she would be gone already. So she was taken aback when the towering lycan stood aside, a hand out as if in courtesy. “Run along to your little ragtag friends. But do not forget what has happened here tonight.” As if she could. Avery moved towards the door carefully, wary of making any sudden moves. She was almost out the door, thinking that maybe peace with the lycans was possible, when one long, cold hand shot out and clamped around her wrist. She was immediately back in the bloody clearing. She could smell the violence in the air as it choked her lungs. She felt the tears running down her cheeks from eyes that wouldn’t close to the horror in front of them. Watched as a tall, dark figure tore her parents from her, From each other, from the pack, from the world. Smoothly, her perspective shifted, pulling her into the center of the carnage. She looked down at her parents’ lifeless bodies, and found her clawed hands covered in their hot red blood. Through the too-bright memory his words echoed faintly, as if she was dreaming. “NEVER FORGET. NEVER FORGET WHAT HAPPENED HERE. NEVER FORGET THAT, WHEN GIVEN A chance, I let you go. NOW GO.”
The next thing Avery knew, she was running as fast as she could down a long, dark hallway. There was a faint light at the end, a window. She had to get to Jade, running forward towards the feel of her mind, feet pounding loudly against old concrete. When she reached the end of the hallway, she didn’t hesitate, throwing her shoulder into the thick window and feeling it crack under the pressure. She fell out into the cool night air amidst the shriek and clatter of falling glass. She landed heavily among the shards, shaking her head.
Avery looked around herself, disoriented. There was no sign of either cop car which was good. She couldn’t sense any lycans either, but she knew they were nearby, lurking in the shadows.
She jogged across the street. Scenting the air she was relieved to smell and feel her pack members approaching. Their SUV pulled around the corner, Pedro and Jack running along either side, Jade perched out of the sun roof, bronze knives raised.
“WE have to get out of here,” Avery said as they pulled up. The idea was all-consuming. It was the only thing she could focus on and the only words she could string together. It echoed in her mind and aloud. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE Jade sheathed her knives in midair, landing smoothly in front of Avery, her pale eyes roving over her, assessing.
“What happened? You’re bleeding.” Avery looked down, noticing for the first time that she had several lacerations, spread over her limbs mostly. Blinking, she pulled a large shard of glass out of her left shoulder with a squelching, prying pain that quickly faded to a deep itch as the wounds started to heal. Avery opened her mind to the others and let her memories flood across the pack bond. It was all jumbled. Out of order. But evidently they got the gist because a moment later Jade was helping her into the car. Was she shaking or was it the engine?
“We have to get out of here.” She repeated. Jade put a warm hand on her shoulder.
“We are.”
Looking back, Avery would be able to recognize the exact moment they crossed back over the new border Atticus had drawn. It was like a thick fog suddenly cleared from her mind. She blinked, looking around.
“Nice to have you back with us,” Priscilla mentally called from the driver’s seat. Avery could hear the crackle of static from the police scanner on the dash, and feel the bump of every imperfection in the road. She was herself again.
“Dude is fucking terrifying on the New Moon,” Avery said, stating the obvious. She shuddered, as if she could shake off the ghostly grip of his hand on her wrist. Jade was silent, but Avery could feel how much she longed to turn around and repay the lycans cut for cut. But she also knew tonight was not the night.
“You can say that again,” Brian said from the passenger seat.
“Long day,” Jade stated.
“You have no idea,” Avery said.
“Those Hunters better come through soon,” Pedro put in.
“You can say that again.” Avery made a mental note to check in with Ben about it tomorrow. Standing so her head and shoulders poked out the sun roof, Avery breathed deeply in the smell of the forest. Of her forest. There was a storm brewing. Pulling out the elastic now half-tangled in her hair, she closed her eyes, leaned her elbows on the roof of the car in front of her, and let the cool night air wash the reek of the day from her skin. The farther they got from town, the more she was able to relax, basking in the sweet simplicity of the pack bond. She listened idly as Jack and Priscilla discussed the kids’ school projects, as Jade strategized, a Pedro shared his worries about his mate’s upcoming thesis presentation. Avery took a deep breath. Finally, finally she was on her way home.