Sui Generis – 51

 

Lew was stopped at the entrance by two doormen who wouldn't allow him inside until they'd seen his ID and patted him down. With nothing to hide—no drugs, no alcohol—he allowed it and paid the cover charge.

Once inside, he saw that there were several stages scattered around the huge room, DJs on each one. As if that wasn't enough, the place was packed with young men and women dancing while talking at the top of their voices to be heard above the electronic music spewing from each of the venues.

If you can call that music. The flashing lights, the noise, assaulted his sensitive eyes and nose. How the hell am I going to find her in this… mess? Nightclubs are a snap compared to this.

He moved his way through the crowd, deftly avoiding the dancers, searching for Alanna. For all that the doormen had patted him down, he figured they must have missed a lot on some of the kids because he could smell weed and alcohol and from the glazed looks on some of the kids' faces, there were other club drugs being passed around.

"Hey, handsome."

Lew looked down at the be-ringed hand on his arm and then at the scantily dressed young woman it belonged to and arched an eyebrow.

"Wanna dance?" she asked.

"Sorry, I'm with someone," he replied, lifting her hand off his arm.

"Bummer." She moved away, homing in on another male who seemed to be on his own.

::Any luck?:: Randulf asked.

::Not yet. This is like hunting for a needle in a damned haystack.::

Lew finally made it to the relative safety of one side of the room. Looking up, he saw a narrow balcony then located the stairs to get to it. He managed to make it up there with only two more young women coming on to him in the process. One of them called him 'Daddy', which he found vaguely amusing. He might not look twenty, but for sure he wasn't in the over-thirty range either. At least not visually.

Leaning on the balcony railing, Lew studied the crowd on the dance floor. He knew for a fact that Alanna wouldn't pass for a kid. Twenty-five, maybe, but definitely no younger. Unfortunately, interspersed in and among all the youngsters there were a small percentage of slightly older women and men. Reliving their college days. He chuckled in amusement.

"Depressing, isn't it?" a dulcet-toned voice said from beside him.

"Being one of the old ones here, relatively speaking?" he replied as he turned to see who was talking to him.

Blue-lavender eyes met his amber ones, glinting with amusement. "Yep. We're close to being old codgers." Even if he hadn't seen photos of her, he would have known it was Alanna just from the eye color. She used her hip to nudge him over enough so she could join him at the railing.

"Not even close, at least in your case." He raked his gaze over her and smiled.

"You're hardly in your dotage yourself," she replied, doing the same. "The question is, why are you here if you feel out of place?"

"A dare?" He chuckled, improvising quickly. "My younger brother was telling me about a rave he went to in LA and when I let him know I'd never been to one—well, as I said, he dared me to check them out. So here I am. I must say I'm not terribly impressed."

"I only come because I find them amusing," Alanna said. "All the kids—and they are just kids—trying to act so world-wise. For instance, look at that group." She pointed and for the next few minutes, they compared notes on what they thought of the rave attendees.

Finally, apparently tired of the game, she asked, "Do you smoke?" When Lew looked at her a bit askance she laughed. "Cigarettes, not anything else, although I'm sure we could get a joint or a blunt if we had a mind to."

"I don't, but if you're having a nicotine fit, we can go outside so you can indulge yourself."

"Exactly why I asked. I'd rather not stand out there on my own. You never know what sort of creeps are hanging around."

Like you.

"Too true, I'm afraid." He nodded toward the stairs and followed her down them, admiring the sensual sway of her hips. Too bad she's what she is. Or maybe… Maybe it's a good thing? His thoughts instantly went to Randulf and sadness overwhelmed him. If only things were different perhaps I could make amends. But—he sighed deeply—he hates me too much. He'd never believe I meant it, so it won't happen, Mag's wishes to the contrary. He smiled morosely, and continued down the stairs behind Alanna. 

Sui Generis – 50

 

Randulf sensed when Lew's mood soured and knew it was his fault. I shouldn't have sounded so… critical. He's doing what he's supposed to and was only pointing out what I can't see from where I am at the moment.

::Give me a visual, please.:: Seconds later, he saw what Lew was seeing and nodded. ::Do you have a feel for where she could be going?::

::There are houses up ahead, well-spaced from what I can see. Possibly one of those.::

::Shades of Fedor,:: Randulf grumbled. Then when Lew asked, he gave him a brief rundown about where Fedor had held Brand prisoner.

They remained silent after that while Lew continued following Alanna's trail. Randulf stayed well behind him, as he had since they'd started.

::I was wrong.::

::Meaning?:: Randulf asked when Lew didn't elaborate. Lew gave him a visual of where he was at the moment.

What Lew showed him was a small strip mall. Randulf presumed that during the day it probably teemed with people but now, being close to four in the morning, it was dark, except for scattered streetlamps and lights over the doorways. Then Lew gave him another visual, this time from in back of a building at the end of the mall. From the sign painted on the wall beside the door, was supposed to be a large self-storage outfit. There were cars in the lot, and people coming and going through the rear door. Randulf's first thought was the place had to be housing a rave.

::She's in there?:: Randulf asked.

::Her trail leads here.::

::So she's going for two kills in one night. Strange.::

::My thought too,:: Lew agreed, ::unless…::

::Unless?::

::If she's as insane as Antton said, she could be planning to take out another human just to thumb her nose at the council and the Enforcers—leave a trail for us to follow, thinking we'd be too late to stop her. I doubt she knows Antton has a police contact who let him know the moment the last body was found.::

Randulf thought about what he was saying. ::If you're right, and I think you might be, we have to stop her before she latches on to some unsuspecting male.::

::No kidding,:: Lew replied tightly. ::Stay where you are until I get inside and see what's what.::

::Lew,:: Randulf cautioned, ::be damned careful and don't try to play, you should excuse the expression, the lone wolf.::

Lew chuckled low. ::Wasn't planning on it. Believe it or not, I do know my limits.::

::I know you do. I just… Never mind. Are you going in now?::

::Yes.::

Sui Generis – 49

 

Two nights passed with no sightings of Alanna. By night three, the tension was beginning to tell on the Enforcers. It ramped up even more when Antton received a report that the mangled body of a young male had been found in an alley several blocks from one of the clubs they were focusing on. 

As they had each of the previous nights, the group met briefly once the clubs had closed to compare information. Or as Ulrik wryly put it, lack of information. They were about to disperse when Antton got the call from one of his police contacts. He was swearing when he hung up.

"She's struck again," Antton said tersely, telling them about the dead body.

"She didn't pick him up at the club I was watching," Ulrik stated adamantly.

"Or at mine," Antton said, as his was the closest one to Ulrik's.

"I thought, when she killed, she left the bodies behind the clubs," Brand said.

"Usually, but not always," Antton told him.

"Do they know if the victim had even been to one?" Randulf asked.

"It's too soon to tell. The body was only found an hour ago. My man will keep me updated. However, if it was her and not feral dogs who killed him…" He sighed angrily.

"Either way, the word will get out and people will start to panic," Lew pointed out. "Two kills in a week will be hard to keep quiet."

"Antton?" When Antton looked at him, Brand said hesitantly, "You told me when we first met that you can pick up the scent of a werewolf if they're within a mile or so of you. Couldn't you, or one of the others, visit the site of the kill and see if you can track where she went?"

Antton glanced at the others, muttering, "Is 'stupid' tattooed on my forehead, because it should be."

Lew chuckled. "It isn't. He's right though, one of us should do that and since you're the leader."

"No," Randulf put in. "It should be you, Lew, since you can hide the fact you're a werewolf, even from us. If she did kill that man and if she can be tracked from where she left the body, there's no sense in alerting her to the fact there's another werewolf close by. She's not stupid. She has to know there are Enforcers out looking for her."

"Oh she does, and she loves being able to evade us," Antton said.

"Then I guess it's up to me," Lew said, standing. He started to say something more, then paused.

Probably was going to be one of his smartass comments about how he's the best man for the job. Brand was surprised, and so was everyone else from the looks on their faces, at what Lew did say.

"I think it would be a good idea if I had some back-up. Not too close, for the very reason that you're using me to track her, if I can." His glance fell on Randulf. "If you're willing, because of all of us, you have the best mind shielding abilities." Lew smiled slightly. "Sorry, Antton, but in that respect, he's even better than you."

"No argument there," Antton replied.

Randulf hesitated then nodded, saying tersely, "Let's do it."

*****

::This is her kill,:: Lew mind-spoke to Randulf.

::Is her scent strong enough that you can follow it?::

::Here it is. Presuming she didn't do something to hide it farther away, we should be good.::

::I don't recall seeing any streams in the area, although if she headed toward Standley Lake, there are some there,:: Randulf said.

::Then let's hope she didn't.:: Lew glanced at him. ::Give me a good half-mile head start.::

Randulf scowled. ::I know what I'm doing.::

Lew merely nodded in reply then started walking, swiveling his head as he sniffed the air, and occasionally kneeling to get closer to the ground, where Alanna's scent was stronger.

At one point, much to Lew's surprise, Randulf chuckled. ::If anyone was watching you, they'd think you need new shoelaces that would stay tied.::

Lew knew it was just Randulf's way of trying to release some of their tension, so he laughed softly and didn't bother to reply. But somehow it made him feel better.

For the next few miles, Alanna had kept to alleys or side-streets. She seemed to be heading north, despite several turns to the right or left, as if trying to throw off anyone who may have been following her.

Lew had a sudden thought and voiced it. ::Why is she on foot instead of driving?::

::Can you tell which form she used?::

::Yeah, her human one, since her scent isn't as strong as it would be as a wolf.::

::So either she doesn't have a car or prefers the freedom of movement she has on foot::"

::Or…:: Lew didn't like what he'd just thought. ::She expected an Enforcer would be smart enough to do what we're doing and is leading us to who knows where. It could be to throw us off about where she really goes to ground or to lead us into a trap.::

::Both are possibilities. That means I should probably pull even farther back.::

::Good idea.:: Lew felt the distance between them widen.    

After going another mile, Lew realized something. ::She's moved into an open space area, with streams, and she's not using them to cover her tracks.::

::Of course not! If she's leading us somewhere,:: Randulf replied scathingly, ::she wouldn't.::

Lew sighed. The truce, if that's what it was, and he'd thought they might have been establishing one, seemed to have vanished.

Sui Generis – 48

 

Lew ran a hand through his hair, staring off into the distance. "We were after a rogue. I'd convinced him I was on the same page he was—that it was time to show the world who the real top species was—and that I knew someone else who felt the same way. The idea was I would draw him to a place outside the city so the three of us could make plans. He was… interested. Both in the idea and in me personally. When we got to the house, Randulf wasn't there yet so I..." He smiled ruefully. "I kept the rogue busy."

"In your own incomparable way."

"Yeah. Randulf walked through the door at just the wrong time. Instead of taking things the way he should have, he attacked. The rogue shifted and launched an attack of his own. We're no slouches in our human form, but against an enraged werewolf who thought, quite rightly, that he'd been drawn into a trap… Well, he managed to do some real damage before Randulf could shift. We ended up killing the rogue, but Randulf's wounds were serious enough to warrant his ending up in our clinic."

"Werewolves have a clinic?" Mag asked in surprise.

"Well, we can't quite go to a normal hospital, now can we?"

"True, I guess."

"Anyway, Randulf blamed me for what happened. It wasn't my fault. I was just doing what I had to until he got there, but he didn't see it that way. We were already on the verge of separating. That was the final straw as far as he was concerned. He's hated me ever since."

Mag shook his head. "I don't think he hates you. He doesn't trust you. That's obvious. But hate? No."

Lew crossed his arms, staring at Mag. "On what do you base your opinion?"

"I was watching him during the meeting. He's full of anger, but… I don't know how to put this. I think he's angry because he still cares and he doesn't want to, so he won't admit it, even to himself. If he really hated you, he'd have walked the second he found out you were going to be part of the plan. And, he's willing to go along and be your backup when the time comes."

"That's part of his job."

"Nope. It's part of someone's job. He could have told Antton or Ulrik to do it. Or, as I said, he could have backed out in the first place and someone else would have been brought in. He doesn't want you to get hurt and it sounds as if Alanna could do a lot of damage to you, once she realizes what's going on."

"Or, when the time comes, he'll stand there, watch, and let her do her worst."

"No. He's too honorable."

Lew nodded. "He is that. I'm still not buying that he doesn't hate me, but…"

"You'd like to."

"Yeah, Mag, I would."

"Then the two of you had better work on repairing what got broken."

"It won't happen because he'll never let it."

Mag snorted. "I figured you for a lot of things, based on what little I saw today, but a coward wasn't one of them. So think about it." He turned away, then, saying, "Brand and I have to go home so he can get ready for tonight and I can study."

"All right." Lew smiled slightly. "Thanks for the pep talk. It won't do any good, I suspect, but thanks anyway."

*****

On the drive home, Mag told Brand about his conversation with Lew. When he finished, Brand smiled, patting his thigh.

"Trying to play matchmaker?"

"More like peacemaker, I think. That means I have to talk to Randulf too."

"Leave it alone. It won't do any good. Even if you tell him what you think, Randulf's not going to buy into it."

"Even if he knew how Lew feels?"

"Mag, you don't know how Lew feels. Not really. Sure he might have… implied he wants to try to work things out, but you saw them together this afternoon. They're like oil and water; Lew the playboy and Randulf the rigid, authoritarian figure."

"He's not, you know. Or at least he hasn't been with you. He did everything he could to teach you how to handle your new abilities and never once got angry or upset when he had to show you more than once."

Brand smiled slightly. "Or twice or four times."

"That too. The same holds true during the battle with Fedor and company. He did what needed to be done, but he never ordered anyone around in the process."

"Okay, but still…" Brand shook his head. "I don't think you stand a chance in hell of getting him to see that he really does care for Lew. He doesn't trust him—not on a personal level. And if Lew was telling the truth, Randulf went all 'alpha' on him in their relationship, which made things even worse. That won't change, because it's what Randulf is, by dint of age and what he can do."

"But if I could get them to let go of their anger long enough to just talk…"

"Lots of luck. Still, maybe, when all this is over…"

"I should try."

            "Yes, my peacemaker, you should try, because it will drive you crazy if you don't."

 

Sui Generis – 47

 

Randulf barely waited for the meeting to be over before stalking out of Antton's house. He was almost to his truck when he heard Lew say, "Wait up a minute." He debated ignoring him.

"Don't," Lew said, moving swiftly to stand in front of Randulf. "Don't brush me off."

Staring at him with displeasure, Randulf muttered, "That's your trick, if I remember correctly."

Lew sighed. "Still galls you that I walked out." 

"Walked? No, Lew, you ran for your life."

"Not even. I just saw the writing on the wall long before you did. It wasn't working, it never worked, and it never would have, no matter how hard we tried. We're opposites, Randy." He grinned when Randulf scowled at him. "All right—Randulf. See, that's part of the bigger problem we had." He leaned against the fender of Randulf's Dodge Ram, stroking it. "Still hanging on to this old girl, I see."

"It runs… does what I need it to do."

"Which is what you want out of everything in your life. To conform to your specifications and damn them if they don't."

"Not true," Randulf spat out. "But I do think I rate at least a little respect when I'm in a relationship. Stepping out on me with… Fuck it, this is old history. Move it. I'm out of here."

"Not until you admit we could have made it work if you'd just been less rigid. And for your information, I wasn't stepping out on you. I told you that a hundred times. I just needed to be with someone who saw me as… as interesting in my own right."

"Someone who looked at the packaging and ignored the conceited bastard inside."

"What's wrong with having a good package? Okay, perhaps I should rephrase that, although you never seemed to mind my 'package'. Yeah, I'm good-looking, and yeah, I know it, and I play on it. But while we were together, which wasn't all that long in the grand scheme of things, I never bedded anyone else—male or female—unless it was…"

"The fuck you didn't!" Randulf said derisively before Lew could finish. Walking around the truck, he got in, turned it on and revved the motor. When Lew jumped back, Randulf chuckled. Not that he was happy. Far from it. But at least he figured he'd thrown a small scare into Lew. Putting the truck in gear, he made a U-turn, pulling up beside his ex-lover. "Remember, tonight you're looking for Alanna, not the first woman who's willing to spread her legs for you." With that said, he roared off down the drive to the street.

*****

"And fuck you too," Lew spat out angrily. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder and spun around, in the mood to deck whoever it was. Instead, he smiled slightly when he realized it was Mag standing there.

"I'd ask if there was trouble in paradise but from what I'm getting, there never was a real paradise between the two of you," Mag said.

Lew shrugged. "For a couple of weeks, maybe a month. We're both alphas and want our own ways. Trouble is, he's more alpha than me and felt he had to be in control of every situation. And why the hell am I telling you this?"

"Maybe because I'm human and new to this whole world so, to some extent, I'm unbiased. I don't really get the total alpha thing when it comes to relationships. In other ways, sure. Antton's the head man in this area because he's got the power and the know-how. From what everyone was saying earlier, Randulf's the perfect Enforcer—warrior, I guess. He's big, he's smart, and he knows what to do to deal with whoever you all are after."

"You think I don't?"

"No clue, since I've never seen you in action. But you wouldn't be with the Enforcers if you weren't good at something."

Lew snorted out a laugh. "True. I'm not in Randulf's class as a fighter, or even Antton's or Ulrik's, when it comes down to it. My skills lie elsewhere, but I can and do hold my own when I have to."

"A lover, not a fighter," Mag said, smirking.

Lew chuckled. "When needs be."

"And you played that card when you had to, while you and Randulf were together?"

"Yeah," Lew admitted. "But it was never personal, despite what he thinks. He should know that, damn it." 

"It sounded…" Mag paused. "Maybe I shouldn't say this, but it sounded like something happened that might have gotten him killed because of you."