DARK CRESCENT

Executive Decisions

“Ugh, where did that come from?” I groaned, examining the atrocious shirt.

“Christmas gift from Moses. I swiped it from his office” she smiled.

“But it’s not even Christmas yet” I frowned.

“So, I couldn’t wait” she grinned.

“Dead people could have waited for that” I snickered.

Ada rolled her eyes.

“Wait, he didn’t do like a family matching set thing with the whole pack, did he?” I questioned nervously.

“I’m not sure, I didn’t see anyone else’s presents out in the open” Ada informed.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of redundant?” I frowned.

“What do you mean?” Ada probed, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

“A bunch of werewolves celebrating Christmas, what’s the point ya’ know?” I shrugged.

“It’s to have fun, enjoy family and hold on to some humanity” Ada explained, sitting down beside me, criss crossing her legs.

“But why, half of us were dying and the other half chose this when humanity let us down” I explained.

“Then we do it to show recognition to people we feel are special” Ada said.

I snickered lightly shaking my head.

“But do you see how naïve that sounds?” I smiled.

Ada looked at me, her face pensive and finally she opened her mouth to speak.

“If it’s so naïve, then why are you wrapping a present?”

She pointed to my lap with a snide grin. She got me. I’d completely forgotten about Maggi’s present that was sitting nicely in my lap beside the one that Ada had previously tossed there. I smiled and nodded, informing her of my defeat, as I began pulling the silver bow apart. Once I was done unwrapping it, I opened the box, placing the top beside me on the floor. I reached in and pulled out a keychain. It was a small, silver, rectangular object, with what looked like tiny tally marks engraved in it on both sides.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s songs. You can scan it with your phone, and it will play the songs. One song is how I feel, and one song is how you make me feel” Ada explained shyly.

It was a beautifully crafted gift, and here I was, with the exception of Maggi’s gift, empty handed.

“Thank you, Ada, this is really cool” I smiled. “I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything.”

“It’s okay you’ll owe me one” she beamed.

I then remembered last night and running into Ada on the road.

“What happened last night?” I probed, looking curiously at Ada.

“What do you mean?” she shrugged.

“When we ran into you on the road, what were you doing, and why did you almost go after Maggi?” I asked.

“The rogue, I chased him, well was chasing him. Once we got closer to the road somehow, he managed to get away from me. It’s like he jumped into a tree or something and caused me to land in the street. And I went after your girlfriend because she shot at me” she explained.

“She didn’t shoot at you” I said.

“She would have, had you not stopped her” Ada replied unapologetically.

I just shook my head.

“He’s that close now?” I asked with wide eyes.

Ada nodded.

“Twice, twice last night we almost caught up to him. But he’s running scared, unsure of himself, dangerous and angry” Ada said slowly.

“What did Moses say about it?” I continued.

“He said we might call in outside help, set up a perimeter and keep him away from town, you know…detained” she informed.

“That’s a good strategy” I nodded. “Maybe if we close in on him and he sees he’s not alone he’ll calm down, change back and we can ask questions” I said.

I couldn’t help but think what Moses meant when he said, ‘outside help’. Were we not the only pack around?

“He’s so big Theo” Ada said, eyes wide, voice barely a whisper. “Like in his wolf form he’s almost as big as you and Moses.”

“Really?” I said.

Ada nodded.

“Well maybe when we catch up to him, we’ll figure it out” I said.

“No.”

Ada and I looked up to see Moses standing behind us near the couch.

“Why not?” I asked, Ada and I getting up from the floor.

“The rage has long consumed him. Even in his human form he isn’t in his right mind anymore. If we cross paths with him, we have to put him down” Moses explained.

“We can’t just kill him. None of this is his fault, he didn’t ask to be this way. He’s still a person Mo” I frowned.

There were times when Moses and I were on the same wavelength, and there were times when I completely didn’t agree with his methods. First it was leaving Rodney behind to die and now this. And of course, this would probably be one of those things that was better for the pack.

“He’s going to hurt someone; he’s running off of vengeance and rage” Moses explained.

“Do you not remember how I was at first?” I questioned. “And Ada and Alex?”

Ada nodded attentively, looking up at Moses.

“You were different” Moses sighed.

“We’re not killing him” I growled.

“Are you being insubordinate?” Moses asked.

“You may be Alpha, but I’m still a grown man. You wanted me to be Beta because I challenge and question authority. I go by my own instincts, my own intel, and my own path, weren’t those similar to your words?” I asked.

Moses glared at me, his chest heaving up and down. I walked closer to him.

“I see you’re unmoved and my decision stands. Do whatever the fuck you feel you need to do Mo, but I won’t be part of it. I’m not a killer, not with humans anyway” I said.

I picked up Ada’s gift and my gift for Maggi. I cradled them both in my arms and walked passed Moses, bumping his shoulder with mine as a warning.