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- 06/14/2021
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Cernunnos - 33. Chapter 33
A loud commotion erupted outside of the room. Jaime and Kara were the first to their feet, positioning themselves in front of the second bed. Cyn rose from the bed. His heart pumped with fear. Wha- What’s going on?
A silhouette flashed in front of him and from the scent, he instantly knew it was Shea. The deer's eyes darted to Kara, who silently grabbed a handgun from her duffel bag. The three lycan looked at each other, only for Shea to hold up a closed fist. Both men withdrew their pistols from their bags. Following a few swift hand signals, Jaime knelt in front of Kara.
Cyn sat in complete terror. When Shea glanced back, the wolf smiled and brought a finger to his lips. The deer understood. Silent. I… I think they are ready to strike! Shea’s palm was brought up, giving an order to remain seated.
The noise ended, and the lycans shared another look. Shea tapped his nose and wagged two fingers towards the door. Jaime and Kara nodded. As the enforcer walked forward, Jaime stepped backwards, guarding the cernunnos.
He watched as Kara gripped the door handle with Shea at the ready. She counted down from three using signs. The last finger fell and she yanked the door open. Cyn’s breath held as Shea lurked outside the room and went left as Kara turned right.
Firm and commanding voices clashed, but Cyn distinguished Shea’s demanding tone. “Put them down! I said put them down!” Silence came again. “In the room, now! Before we wake up the whole building.”
Cyn watched as four men entered. He shook as he saw a few of them with gashes along their faces. A familiar scent rolled by and he recognized one of the captives.
It’s him! That… It’s that man from the road!
The officer’s eyes met Cyn’s, but Jaime stepped between them. “I’ll drop you right now.”
Shea’s growl erupted in the room. “Explain everything.” He darted his barrel towards the man left of Baxter. “You. I recognize your scent from a previous mission. Speak.”
One of the bloody lycans nodded, “Yes, Delta. These two are with me on your security detail. This man isn’t. We saw him stalking the hall and was approaching your room door. We intervened and he started a fight.”
Shea’s gaze fell to Baxter. “Why are you here? You are not a part of their team and your earlier stunt already pissed me off. I want an answer!”
Cyn pulled the comforter closer. The movement caused a collective shift of glances, including Baxter’s. The wolf’s nose twitched as he and the deer locked eyes. Cyn shivered and looked away.
A grunt forced his head up. He gasped when he saw Shea gripping Baxter by the face. “Are you fucking looking at him?” The enforcer’s eyes squinted as anger flowed through the room. “You wanted a midnight snack, huh?”
Baxter barely shook his head against Shea’s hold.
“No? Then why have you looked at my mate with anything less than a smile?” He released the officer and watched him fall to a knee.
After collecting himself, Baxter bared his neck to Shea. “I wasn’t here to cause shit, sir! If I can do something without getting shot, I have an envelope in my back pocket.” Looking at Jaime's aimed gun, he dipped his head for permission. Once the barrel was lowered, Baxter slowly pulled a paper from the promised location. “I wanted to slide this under the door. Alpha Rogier reamed me a new asshole.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “I won’t be a liar and say I’m fond of the prey shifters, but I try to mind my business.”
Shea growled but took a step back. “I understand your intentions, but an in-person apology would have been fine.”
Baxter shook his head. “No, sir. Alpha told me how protective you are of the cernunnos. I felt this was the best route. I wasn’t expecting the security though.”
Kara clicked the safety on her pistol and let her arm fall lax. “Shea, I smell his sincerity. He’s an asshole, but I think this was a misunderstanding.”
“I agree.” He lowered his Glock and glared at Baxter. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, but I’ll accept the envelope on one condition.”
“Name it, sir.”
Shea crossed the room and sat next to Cyn. With the big man’s arms around him, the deer’s smile started to return.
“I want you to apologize to Cyn. He’s gone through a lot the last week and you pulling us over didn’t help.”
“May I approach?”
Cyn saw Shea’s head close in. “You okay with that, baby?”
The deer nodded and whispered, “Y-yes.”
He watched as the mustached man took a few steps. “When Alpha Rogier gave me a talking to, he told me what your alpha told him. If I would’ve known your actions over the last several days, I wouldn’t have acted like an ass. Did… Did you seriously spot a scope from a bush in a forest?”
After slowly nodding, he felt Shea nuzzle his neck.
“My wolf is beyond impressed. Like I said, I'm partial on prey shapeshifters, but you seem different. You're not like the ones that squeal and demand for better treatment when it hasn't been earned. You... ” Searching for the proper words, the officer looked down, but lifted his gaze back to Cyn's, "You fit in well. From Alpha's tale at the crime scene, you wanted to do your fair share of the work." Baxter knelt on his right knee. “I respect you, kid. Please accept my apology.”
Cyn looked over the lycan for a few seconds. He's telling the truth. When I look at him now, I don't get the feeling like when I first saw him. He was mean then, but he isn't now. The cernunnos smiled. “I accept. I think you were scary before, but I don’t think you mean any harm.”
Baxter stood and turned to Shea. "I'll see Alpha in the morning and accept the disciplinary charges."
The enforcer shook his head. "I don't think that's necessary. You came to deliver an apology and that's what I saw." Looking at the security detail, Shea continued, "I can't give orders, but I'm requesting this incident go unreported."
As the security team nodded, Baxter bared his neck. "Thank you, sir. I'm sorry for waking you all."
Baxter and the detail quietly left the room. As the door closed, Kara whispered, "You sure that was a smart move, Shea?"
Shea grumbled and moved to his side of the bed. "Probably not, but I'm too tired to care. If anything, it taught that asshole a lesson in humility." He laid his head on the pillow and reached for Cyn. "Come here, pup. Let's go back to sleep."
Cyn smiled and unfurled the blanket. Scooting closer to the wolf, he brought the comforter up to his neck and was wrapped in Shea's burly arms.
***
"You did what?" Eike snarled at his subordinate in a state of fury.
Hauser shriveled and bared his neck in submission. "I needed to piss, and you were taking a while with the rabbit."
The furious growl couldn't be contained in the truck. With a swift backhand, Eike struck. "Now they know we were there! You know they'll get Farren out there in a fucking minute!"
Thinking, the delta's mind moved hastily. Green Bay isn't safe anymore. Milwaukee'll be on high alert as well. Do we make our run to the border? No, it's too soon. Damn it all!
He sighed and glared at Hauser as he put the truck in gear. "Thanks to your fuck-up, we'll need to lay low. When the stores open, we're buying some camping gear and rations."
***
Bright and early the next morning, Kieran knocked on the alpha's door with his satchel shouldered. He waited a moment before repeating. Is Alpha even awake?
The lock turning jolted the scribe back into the present. He watched the door open to a shirtless Arric. The scowl on the muscled man’s face was the center of attention. “I thought I told you nine.”
Kieran smiled cheesily. “It is nine, Alpha! I can come back later if you need some sleep.”
Arric growled. “I’m already up. Come on, I’ll make some coffee.” He turned and walked towards the kitchen.
Closing the door behind him, Kieran followed. He set the satchel down and pulled his laptop out. The aroma of coffee grounds wafted to his nose. “Is that Death Wish?”
“Sharp nose. Only shit that gets me going in the morning.”
Kieran watched as Arric sniffed the open bag. The thinnest smile curled on the alpha’s face as he loaded the filter. Arric’s eyes darted to meet the historian’s. “See something, Kieran?”
He blinked and raised his eyebrows. “What’s that, Alpha?”
“You’re staring.”
“Oh, my bad!” Booting up his computer, Kieran resumed his work. “I finished the map last night when I got home. Just sent it to your email."
Arric kept his gaze fixated on the coffee pot while tapping his foot. "Good. What's your take on it?"
"Well, there wasn't a whole lot. Pretty much after Cyn's attack, the vehicle booked it to Green Bay and hovered in the downtown area between the murder scenes. Then it suddenly changed routes to the scout camp and was there for two days."
"Marric must have deserted then. Eike's smart enough to keep those two next to him."
Kieran crossed his arms and snorted. "Or Marric was sent on a mission to watch the forest."
The alpha smirked. "This is a new side of you, Kieran. I'm not sure if I like it yet."
"What do you mean?"
"You're cold and calculating. What happened to the dopey historian act?"
The lanky wolf snickered. "Can't help it! I guess I'm a little protective of my students and Cyn's gonna be one of them. That, and you told us to move fast with catching these guys."
Arric straightened up and leaned against the counter. "I did, and I appreciate everything you've done so far. Ever since I laid eyes on the cernunnos, I knew he would be something special. My wolf told me to protect him."
"Speaking of new behaviors, I haven't seen you like this before, Alpha." When Arric raised an eyebrow, Kieran knew he had to explain himself, "You're usually this big, bad wolf that's pretty commanding. Since Cyn's been around, you're a lot nicer."
Arric scowled. "I can be nice sometimes."
"Yeah, around Christmas. It's been different the past few days. You like Cyn, don't you?"
"He's different. I scared the shit out of him at the hospital and made him piss himself." The coffee was done pouring and the alpha grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. "Guess it was an awakening moment that I should change things up a bit."
Kieran smiled. "Just my opinion, but I like this new side of you."
"Really now?" Arric brought the mugs to the living room and handed one to his company.
But Kieran gave him a funny look. "Now this is getting weird."
"What? Bringing you coffee?"
"Yeah!"
Arric chuckled. "Call it giving you a little appreciation." He sat next to Kieran and sipped his brew. "Show me the map and their path."
The scribe explained the coordinates for each major destination, including stores and restaurants in Green Bay and the surrounding smaller towns. "This is good, Key. Send this to Rogier and tell him we can lend some uniforms to help out however he needs. Add Donovan onto it as well."
"Yes, sir." He minimized the map and opened a new email. Typing at a frightening speed, he put in a detailed message for the neighboring leaders. Within a minute, Kieran clicked the send button and stretched his arms above his head. “That’s done!”
Arric downed the rest of his coffee and rose. “Nice work. Hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“I'll get dressed. We’re going out for breakfast.”
Kieran widened his eyes in disbelief. “Wait, what?”
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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