Pack Dynamics

The Reason

“Casey...Earth to Casey...”

The cat shifter blinked, was waving in front of his face. With a roll of his eyes, Casey swatted at the hand, “What?”

“The movie ended like 10 minutes ago. You’ve just been staring at the screen.” Nora pointed out with a perfectly arched black eyebrow.

Casey focused on the TV. Sure enough, the DVD’s main menu was repeating on the screen. “Oh. Did they catch the werewolves in the end?”

“Actually, they turned out to be mutants, not werewolves.”

“Mutants? Really?”

“Yup.”

“Hmm, almost wish I had paid attention, now.”

“It was okay. And it didn’t hurt the werewolf hunter was hot as fuck.” Nora pointed out with a sly smirk.

Casey snorted.

“Maybe he wasn’t your type. You’re more into tall, dark, and authoritarian.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Casey lowered his voice. Eugene was sitting at the tiny kitchen table, boots up on the surface, studying some of the articles Mason had shown them yesterday. The wolf looked like he wasn’t paying them any attention, but with Eugene one could never tell.

“Oh, please.” Nora leaned in a little closer. “It doesn’t take a canine nose to sniff out what you and my brother were doing in that bedroom.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nora scoffed and her brow arched even higher, “Eugene?”

The wolf didn’t even look up from the paper he was reading, “You smell like a whore house.”

Nora fixed Casey with a told-you-so look.

“Oh, God.” Casey groaned in mortification.

“I don’t know what you’re so bent out of shape about. I think it’s great. Mason needs you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, he needs someone that challenges him. Someone who doesn’t always put up with his dominant bullshit. You know, so he can just be Mason sometimes, instead of Alpha.”

“Fuck that!” Eugene snapped, laying down the papers and turning in his chair to face them, all pretence of being uninvolved forgotten. “The Alpha needs someone strong to be his mate. Someone reliable. Someone who doesn’t bail out of the blue one night and not come back for two fucking years – abandoning their pack. The Alpha was better off before you came back – we all were!”

Casey and Nora both watched, slack jawed, as Eugene stood from the table and stormed out, slamming the apartment door.

Nora’s hand moved across and patted Casey on the knee, “He’ll get over it.”

“Why should he?” Casey questioned, getting off the couch. “I can’t figure out why any of you would want me back after what I did.”

“Because – ”

Casey cut her off, “I need a little time alone. If you don’t mind, Nora.”

There was a poignant pause. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

Casey retreated to the bedroom. He growled and paced. Eugene was right. What was he even doing here? Using them, using his pack. He had no right to just come back after all this time.

He just needed to find Shelby and then disappear again, let everyone go back to their lives – without him.

~~~

Mason’s eyes were fixed on the bloody figure lying on the ground. It was a female – he thought. It was hard to tell for sure because she was curled on her side, facing away from the room. She smelled like night and jungle and blood and fear and... Casey.

“Alpha Rossi.” Lavoie repeated insistently across the room.

It was all Mason could do to tear his attention away from the body to the stout, barrel-chested man behind the desk. “Lavoie.”

“I see you’ve noticed our guest.”

One would have to be blind not to notice Mason’s attention had drifted to the captive. He steeled himself so as to not let his true interest show.

“It’s the blood, I didn’t eat yet today. That smell makes me hungry for raw meat.” Mason dismissed. “Who is it anyways?”

“Our special guest.” Lavoie explained minimally. “She’s a Betrayer.”

The word slammed around in Mason’s head. A Betrayer. His nails bite into his palm as he strived for a calm he didn’t feel. “Does the Alliance know you’ve captured a Betrayer?”

Lavoie’s smile was smarmy. “Hardly something I thought the Alliance would be interested in.”

“You presume to know what the Alliance thinks?” Mason gave him an arrogant look. “You are new in the area and perhaps not acquainted with how the Alliance runs its territory. Nothing is beneath their notice.”

“Ah, I see. A simple mistake. I will see that they are notified at once. I was just doing them a favour, you see, one less rat in their midst.”

“May I?”

“Of course.” Lavoie waved him off.

Mason walked over to the body, looking down at it. It was a girl all right, maybe Casey’s age. Fine features and almond shaped eyes proclaiming at least a half Asian heritage. The eyes were closed; she looked unconscious, or maybe heavily drugged. Her most telling feature was the dark hair streaked with blonde spots.

Mason’s chest ceased for a moment, when his heart started pounding again it was slightly painful. “She’s a jaguar.”

Lavoie nodded. “Indeed. You are familiar with the breed. Your omega is one, is he not?”

“My Beta.”

“The man who accompanied you last night?”

“Yes.”

“But... he was wearing an omega collar.” Lavoie’s forehead wrinkled, puzzled.

Mason shrugged casually. “Have to keep ‘em in line sometimes, you know?”

“Of course, of course.” Lavoie answered with a sadistic little leer. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Mason took a moment to evaluate her condition. It was clear she had been beaten, but not to an excessive degree, most of the blood was from the silver cuffs that cut into her wrists and ankles. Though he didn’t risk actually checking her pulse (it would look too suspicious) her breathing seemed raspy, but regular. She would live. For now. Mason straightened away from the body and then turned towards Lavoie, appearing to dismiss it, “She’s quite the unique specimen.”

“Indeed, quite rare. That’s the only reason she’s still alive now. She’s valuable for research purposes, if nothing else.” Lavoie motioned to one of the servants. “Can I get you a drink?”

Mason nearly growled thinking about the after-effects of the ‘drink’ he had been given last night. “No. Thank you. What research are you talking about?”

“It is one of the reasons I asked you back so soon. I wanted to make sure there were no ill-effects after last night. You left so suddenly...”

“Ill-effects?” Mason growled shrewdly. “What was there to affect me?”

“No need to get your hackles up, Mr. Rossi. Just a little mood-enhancer in the punch last night. To ensure everyone had a good time.”

Mason’s growl was deadly. “You did drug us.”

“Now, now, that sounds so...underhanded. It’s a perfectly natural plant material called grao d’escuridao. I gave it to you last night assuming you would stay the whole Run, and thus could be monitored for your own protection.”

Mason stood to his full height, shoulders hunched forward aggressively, his claws and teeth sharpened. Even though they had him grossly out-numbered, Lavoie’s pack members stepped back from him, eyes shifting, looking for weapons or exits. The smell of fear flooded the room.

Mason ignored them, stalking closer to Lavoie’s desk, “Give me one reason not to kill you right now.”

Lavvoie’s hands up came up, beseeching, “Alpha Rossi, come now, no need for that. I’ll explain everything to you; I know you’ll appreciate my efforts.”

“You have 30 seconds.”

“It’s all about pride, Alpha Rossi. We’re already the strongest, most powerful creatures; this drug only makes us more so.”

“What does it do?”

“It has several interesting properties.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Grao d’escuridao frees us from the shackles of humanity. By quieting the constraining human consciousness, grao d’escuridao gives our wolves the power they were always meant to have.

“The wolf takes the driver’s seat, even if the shifter is in human form?”

“Crudely put, but yes.”

“Why would you want that?”

“Mr. Rossi...Alpha Rossi, we are blessed as Shifters. Far superior to the weak and foolish humans. It makes no sense not to embrace that side of ourselves, to try and hid it away and pretend we are less than what we are. I’m sure you can appreciate that. You have quite the reputation in the otherworld community for holding no great affection for the humans. They killed your parents, did they not, and most of your pack?”

Mason’s lips curled to show his teeth. “That is none of your business.”

Lavoie held his palms up again, placating.

“And felines? Does it work the same way?”

“The pumas have tried it before; the result was not as strong. I was hoping to observe the effect on jaguars. But you took that feline of yours away before it had time to fully take effect.”

Mason’s teeth ached at the thought of Lavoie using Casey as some sort of guinea pig.

“Of course, we can now test it on this little rat. She’s been given some horse tranquilizers, so we’ll also get to see how the drug reacts to those.” Lavoie nodded to two of his men. They hurried over to the girl and half lifted her from the floor, making the chains rattle. Lavoie took a small jar and syringe from his desk drawer. He unscrewed the top off the jar and dipped his little finger in the dark brown extract. He licked the drop of liquid from his digit.

Lavoie smirked over at Mason. “I like to take a few nips now and then, keeps me sharp. You really ought to try it, Rossi.”

“No, thank you.”

“Ah, well, next time.” Lavoie filled the syringe. “For small doses, ingestion works. That is how it was administered to you last night, in your drinks. It acts relatively slowly, and does not produce such a concentrated reaction. But if you want it to work quickly, and thoroughly, injection into the blood stream works best.” Lavoie passed the syringe to a guard. “Give it to the girl.”

Mason watched as the guard pushed the needle into the female’s arm and then introduced the drug.

Her body started to tremble, almost at once. Sharp little claws extended, and her mouth dropped open to accommodate growing canines, her skin even mottled, leaving the faint impression of the jaguar’s rosettes under her tanned skin. She started to writhe, her body flexible like a cat, pulling away from the hands holding her up. The men were forced to drop her and move away to avoid being scratched.

She crawled a few feet, blearily, hissing when she reached the ends of the chains.

She swatted a hand at the men who were closer to her. Her body was still human, but there was nothing human about how she was acting. She was acting like a feline. A very doped up feline, but a feline none the less.

Her head swung in Mason’s direction. She seemed to recognize him, crawling unsteadily a few feet in his direction. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air and then purred.

Lavoie laughed. “She seems to like you, Rossi.”

Mason clenched his jaw. She obviously smelled Casey on him, just as he had on her.

“How long have you had her in your possession?”

“Three days now.”

Coldly, Mason assessed this information. It all made sense now: Casey’s return coincided with this girls capture. She smelled like Casey, she recognized his scent. Casey had obviously come back for her – and nothing else.

He ought to kill her right now. He doubted very much Lavoie would try stop him. In fact, the sick fuck might actually get a kick out of it. He moved towards her, his claws extending like knives, though his expression remained impassive. He wondered how Casey would take the news of her death. Mason hoped it destroyed him, turned him dead inside – so he would know what it was like.

He couldn’t stop the growl that rumbled up from his throat. The female heard it and her head jerked up. Her eyes were hazel and slitted, just like Casey’s. He didn’t know why it surprised him, but it did. He claws shifted back to nails.

“Perhaps I should take her off your hands.” Mason spoke low, comment directed only to Lavoie.

“Ah, ah, Rossi, don’t get greedy you already have your own jaguar.” Lavoie chided. “But, if you’d like to use her, we can give you a room and some privacy.” Lavoie clearly misinterpreted Mason’s interest in the feline. “She’d be up for it. The drug certainly ramps up all the survival instincts – feed, fight, and fuck.”

“No.” Mason growled the word. “Thank you.”

“Ah, perhaps, your interest lies in a different feline form. Perhaps the one you have in your pack.” Lavoie handed him the now half-empty jar. “Please take it, as a token of my appreciation and my desire to work with you more in the future. There’s enough there for a double dose, sure to get any kitten purring.”

Mason took it, ignoring the slimy, knowing look Lavoie gave him as he did.

“A pleasure seeing you again, Rossi, I trust there are no hard feeling about last night.”

Mason merely grunted.

“I also trust that any report you should give to the Alliance would be...favourable? After all, we wolves must stick together.”

Mason gave a tense nod. “I’ll be in touch soon, Lavoie.” With one last look at the female jaguar, he left the room.

“All good, Boss?” Jessica greeted him as he came down the stairs.

Mason inclined his head slightly, and touched her elbow to direct her towards the door. “Let’s go.”

A figure came out of one of the adjoining rooms and nearly knocked into him.

“Watch where you’re going.” The person snapped at Mason and Jessica.

Mason growled. It was the puma. Nd unlucky for the cat, Mason was all out of patience. “What did you say to me?”

The cat looked up at him. Several shifters stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange. The puma flushed, but wasn’t willing to lose face in front of his pack. “You heard me. You may be an Alpha, but this is my territory, not yours.”

Mason made a move towards him and the puma flinched back. In the background, several of the wolf shifters cackled. The puma’s hands tightened into fists, his flush spread down his neck.

Mason snorted, and started to turn away, dismissing the puma.

“You’re going to regret that!” The guard yelled, a clear threat.

“There a problem here, gentlemen?” Lavoie stood at the top of the stairs, watching the action below.

“Yes,” Mason growled, “This oaf nearly violated my pack member yesterday at the Run, now he has nearly outright challenged me – a guest in your house. He is a strain your pack, Lavoie. Frankly, I don’t know how you put up with it.”

“Hey!” Dwayne hissed in his own defence, “That jaguar of yours was asking for it. I didn’t do anything without his permission.”

“Yes, but you didn’t have my permission.” Mason’s tone was as lethal as his look, “I don’t know how it works here in your pack, but in my pack, I am in charge.”

“I assure you the same is true here.” Lavoie soothed, descending the stairs. “I shall deal with this...disgrace.”

“See that you do.” Mason nodded to Jessica and she preceded him out of the house to the sounds of the puma guard grovelling to his Alpha.

As he walked towards the truck, Mason heard a few loud barks and snarls and then a howl of pain come from inside. Beside him, Jessica’s ears perked and she looked back towards the house with a little shudder. Mason didn’t break stride. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

~~~

Casey stuck his head out of the apartment door. “Oh, you’re still here.”

Eugene looked up from his position sitting on the floor in the hallway, leaning back against the wall beside the door, long legs stretched out in front of himself. “Yeah, just like I have been the last five times you checked. Trying to go somewhere?”

“You know, usually when people storm off, they storm off. They don’t just sit outside the door like a welcome mat.”

“The Alpha left me here to baby-sit you. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“I don’t need a baby-sitter, despite what you or that domineering bastard thinks.”

“Oh really, so you haven’t been trying to sneak off for the last two hours?”

“Do you have any idea how boring it is in there? I’m going stir crazy. I just want some fresh air.”

“No.”

“Augh!” Casey smacked his hand on the doorframe, frustrated. “What is your problem?”

Eugene stood up, chest puffing out slightly. “You. You’re my problem.”

Casey took a menacing step forward. “Whatcha going to do about it?”

Eugene growled, the whites of his eyes disappearing.

In return, Casey wuffed, snapping his teeth.

Eugene stepped closer, chests almost bumping.

“Boys, break it up.”

Mason’s rough bark had them both stepping back.

“Eugene, go home.”

Eugene opened his mouth and then closed it again, shooting Casey a dirty look before walking off down the hall towards the stairwell.

“You,” Mason turned to Casey. “Inside.”

“Aw, c’mon, I haven’t stepped foot outside all afternoon.”

Mason brought a paper bag out from behind his back, “I brought dinner.”

Casey sniffed the air. “Cheesebugers?”

“Inside.”

~~~

Casey set out plates and napkins on the living room table, pulling his plaid recliner up and grabbing a burger. Around a mouthful of food, Casey asked, “How’d it go with Lavoie?”

Mason shrugged just watching him with unfathomable, dark eyes.

Casey swallowed, tongue flicking out over his lower lip. “Everything okay?”

“You tell me.”

Casey shifted, uncomfortable under Mason’s quiet scrutiny. “Uh...Ty called here about an hour ago. At Alliance headquarters they figured out there was a drug in our systems. Called it – ”

“Grao d’escuridao.” Mason finished for him.

Casey looked at him questioningly, “I take it Lavoie knew about it then.”

“The visit was quite...informative.”

Casey reached for a drink and Mason snarled, teeth bared.

Casey pulled his hand back. “What?”

“That’s mine. The other one’s yours.”

Casey looked at both paper cups, “They look exactly same.”

“Yours has more ice.”

Casey rolled his eyes lightly, “Whatever you say.” He took the cup and brought it to his mouth, sucking at the plastic straw.

Mason reached forward and took a drink from his own cup, eyes never leaving Casey.

~~~