The Werewolf in the Woods (Sequel to TWITC)

The Werewolf in the Woods...20

Chapter 20

Third-Person POV

     Brian slammed a map down onto the dining room table. "I've got it. I know where their lair is."

     Dominic scurried over to the table and expected to see a red circle on the map clearly indicating where the lair was. Longitude and latitude written down somewhere. A fucking red ball pinpoint. Something, anything other than what he was looking at right now. He frowned. "What am I looking at? It's just a map."

     "Right." Brian nodded.

     "Of Florence."

     "Exactly."

     Dominic looked around the room at everyone else to make sure he was getting it right. "Am I missing something here?"

     Brian rolled his eyes. "I forget kids don't know how to read maps these days." He beckoned for Dominic to come closer. "Look, you see this mark I made here?"

     Dominic squinted. "You made that mark? I thought it was a part of the map. And what's this other marking?"

     "It means," Loren interjected. "That their lair is somewhere in that general area." He chuckled and shook his head. "Brian was able to mark the area looking at the different cases and patterns of missing people in the area."

     "Exactly. The shitty thing is that they didn't just kidnap and turn people here. They just ended up settling down here in this city, which means they were doing it all around. My guess is that they started in the U.S. and worked their way all over the world. Making their own pack."

     "But why turn people? Isn't that like...forbidden?" Mel asked softly.

     Amaris shook his head. "Not exactly. It's not forbidden, just extremely frowned upon. If you managed to turn someone, you'd get kicked out of your pack and become a rogue wolf."

     Brian nodded. "Turned wolves are usually unstable and need more training than born wolves. That being said, they can be extremely lethal and dangerous, and they can be stronger during the first few years of their turn."

     "Which is why having a bunch of turned wolves in your pack can essentially make your pack the strongest." Kenny shook his head. Out of reflex, he pulled Mel closer to him protectively.

     Amaris couldn't help but pull Cqari closer to him as well. "So we know for sure that they are here right under our noses?"

     "I've double and triple checked the locations in which people went missing. Their lair is definitely here."

     Brad nodded and placed his hand on Dominic's shoulder. "We almost got them," he assured him. He turned to look at Aaron who was leaning against the wall looking deep in thought. He walked over to him and nudged him. "You alright man?"

     Aaron looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, man. I'll just be glad for Dominic when this is all over and he gets his girl back."

     Brad grinned at him. "And then we can finally go back home." He didn't miss the faraway look Aaron got in his eyes when he mentioned going back home. He didn't miss it at all.

     He definitely needed to follow Aaron to see what he's been up to. He hadn't given it too much thought because he wanted to give him space and privacy.

     Enough of that. He needed to see what's going on with his best friend.

~~~

     Aaron had decided that maybe it was time to ask Jasmine more about Marissa and if there was a way to get to her. Without, you know, ruining their relationship. Or potentially getting Jasmine killed over it. For fuck's sake, Aaron was the only one who knew for sure that Marissa was alive and with them. Everyone else was just hoping that she was alive.

     "You leaving out again?"

     Aaron turned around at the sound of Dominic's voice. He was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and making his biceps bulge. He had been working out in Brian's basement. Said he wanted to prepare himself for the fight that was bound to happen between them and the Viscosoes since they did get pretty fucked up from the first encounter they had. Aaron included.

     He had the scar from Jasmine to prove it.

     When Dom raised an eyebrow, Aaron realized that he hadn't answered. "Oh, yeah. Just wanted to get some air. Clear my head."

     Dom chuckled like he didn't really believe him. "You've been doing that a lot lately. Getting air. Clearing your head."

     Aaron nodded slowly, trying to see where Dom was going with this. "Yeah well, I'm in a foreign country surrounded by foreign wolves and trying to help save a foreign person. I think I'm entitled to some air."

     "I'm just concerned that you're out there by yourself after the first run in we had with them. You're not worried about that?" He tilted his head.

     See, Aaron had expected Brad to question him like this. Brad was the one who noticed every little tick and confronted it. Where was he now, though? And why was Dominic questioning him like this? Aaron shook his head. "Not really. I doubt they'd kill me."

     "And you know this how?" Dom furrowed his eyebrows. "After the first encounter where they tried to kill us?"

     Aaron shook his head. "If they really wanted to kill us, they would track us down and do it. We're on their turf, remember? We're not that hard to find."

     Dom made a sound, "Hmph." He wasn't really falling for any of Aaron's words. "Be careful." With that, he nodded and pushed himself off of the doorframe.

     Again, where the hell was Brad?

~~~