Pierce's jaguar form fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
Catlia screeched to her guards, "What are you waiting for?! Kill them both!"
Time seemed to slow as adrenaline pumped through Rieka. Her angelic speed allowing her to see the guards aiming their guns which were surely loaded with magic bullets to gravely injure any supernatural so they could finish them off easily after pumping them full of gunshot.
Outnumbered, Rieka knew her best bet was to save Pierce and get to the safety of her pack as soon as possible. This new information was more important that killing Catlia where she stood.
In a flash, Rieka's eyes turned lightning white as her and Rayna became completely in sync. Her giant black wings erupted from her back and with a strong flap, she twisted around in a circle with her wings outspread. The razor sharp blue edges of her wings slicing the guns of the closest guards in half. Catlia tried to recoil away, but Rieka's wing tip caught her across the stomach causing a deep gash which oozed purplish black blood.
The gust of wind from Rieka's wing spin pushed everyone backwards a few feet, giving her a chance to stand over Pierce's bleeding body while they recovered and staggered to regain their footing.
Rayna pushed forward into control of Rieka's human form and spoke with all the weight of her alpha aura, "KNEEL!"
A tsunami of power radiated out of Rieka forcing all in the room to drop to their knees with their heads bowed in submission.
With wings outspread, Rieka slung her bags over her body and gently scooped up Pierce's body. She looked around at the creatures kneeling before her and spoke with a voice that shook the foundations of the building, "You will NOT follow us or you will forfeit your life. All of you think carefully if you choose to continue to serve this monster. Stay with her, and her fate will be yours."
With a push of her wings, Rieka used her angelic speed to escape from Club Crimson. Her wolf ears picking up the angry scream emanating from Catlia in her throne room.
"Alpha! Are you okay?" Charlie mind linked her. "Charlie! Yes, I'm fine. I need you to trail us unseen. I want to make sure that we aren't followed and if we are, I need you to keep them away from us." Rieka ordered through the mind link.
"It will be done my alpha." Charlie cut the link, but Rieka could sense him following behind.
Rieka used her powerful wings to flap high above the buildings and used her angelic power to bend the light around her making her invisible to anyone watching. She couldn't risk being seen by everyone in Santa Cruz.
Rieka mind linked Georgia's address to Charlie and told him to meet her there when he was sure they were not being followed.
After only a few minutes of flight, Rieka recognized the neighborhood that Georgia lived in. She spotted Georgia's car out front of her building and landed in Georgia's small fenced in back yard. Pierce's heartbeat was getting weaker and he had lost a lot of blood.
Rieka laid Pierce's blood soaked jaguar down on the ground, "GEORGIA! BACK HERE! QUICKLY!"
Georgia poked her head out of her back door, but when she saw Rieka covered in blood, wings outspread, with a ten foot long black panther at her feet, she rushed over, "Oh my god! What happened?"
"That succubus bitch happened. We need to heal him. He saved my life." Rieka said seriously.
"Can you get him inside to my attic?"
Rieka nodded, "Meet you there." With a gust of wind, Rieka and the panther disappeared. Georgia ran into the house and up the stairs to her attic.
The attic was filled with various shelves with ingredients, trinkets, books, grimoires, and anything else a witch could need. A large wooden table was in the middle of the room underneath a candlelit chandelier. On the table was laid the large ebony panther and blood was starting to pool beneath his body. Rieka stood over him worriedly trying to press her hands into his wounds to slow the bleeding.
Georgia grabbed towels off one of the shelves and threw them at Rieka who immediately started to press them into the deep gashes in Pierce's side.
"Who is he?" Georgia asked, while she scurried around gathering and mashing together ingredients to make a healing poultice in a steel bowl.
"Pierce. The head of Catlia's security."
"You've got to be kidding me." Georgia sighed handing Rieka the bowl with a foul smelling green poultice in it, "And you brought him HERE? Start putting this paste liberally on his wounds. Don't worry about the blood, the poultice will help with that. But SERIOUSLY?! I do NOT need an angry succubus knocking at my door!"
Knock, Knock, Knock.
Georgia glared at Rieka, "Oh great, now someone is at my door."
"Alpha, I'm at the residence you told me to be. No one is answering." Charlie said through their link.
Rieka sighed in relief, "It's Charlie. He's a werewolf and he's with me. Let him in."
Georgia eyed her friend suspiciously, "Fine. Finish up here and I'll go let him in. I have to get some supplies from the kitchen anyway." Georgia went down the stairs and let in Charlie then came up the stairs with him in tow carrying a box of various cleaners, bottles and supplies for her. When they arrived Charlie set the box down near the table and stood there waiting for Rieka.
"Are we safe Charlie?" Rieka asked as she finished putting the poultice on Pierce's wounds.
"Yes Alpha. No one followed you from the club. Just to be sure I masked your scent and set markers that would throw any tracker off your path."
"Great work. Thank you." Charlie bowed at the compliment.
Georgia looked over Rieka's work, "You did good too. The blood is already slowing. Stay with him for a minute."
Georgia picked up a gold dagger from one of the shelves and scraped up some of Pierce's blood from the floor. She flicked the knife and the blood splattered into a sand colored bowl. After doing that a few more times, she went to the box of supplies that Charlie brought up and pulled out a few coffee tins.
When Georgia opened them, it was definitely not coffee inside. Strange, earthy smells came from each tin as Georgia scooped out the mystery powders from them and dumped a small spoonful of each into the bowl with the blood. She then poured a heaping amount of a liquid that looked like a darker version of olive oil into the bowl and used the golden knife to mix the ingredients together. Georgia then took the bowl and walked over to a small table in the corner that was almost hidden from view. On it was a bunsen burner with a thick round wire holder above it, the type you use to set something on so the burner can be used.
Georgia set the bowl on the wire holder and lit the burner. About a minute later, the sickeningly potent brew was just at a low boil. Georgia put a cylindrical mold beside the burner and used tongs to pick up the bowl and pour the boiling liquid into the mold while muttering a spell in a language Rieka didn't understand. A skinny rope was placed inside the liquid within the mold and Georgia cleaned everything else up quickly.
"Can I do anything to help?" Charlie asked awkwardly.
"Actually, yes" Rieka said, "You know that my family is in charge of the Nocturnal Eclipse Pack correct?" Charlie nodded. "Great, I need you to run ahead of me with this smaller bag and tell my father, the alpha, that war is coming and give him the bag. I will follow when I can. Do you understand?"
Rieka took off the smaller bag containing her badge, clothes, and the information from the Lycans and Catlia and handed it to Charlie. He slung the strap over his shoulder and nodded silently.
"Good. Now go. And be careful, you could be followed. Whatever you do, that information must make it to my father." Charlie bowed low then disappeared down the stairs and out the door.
"So... are we gonna talk about the fact that you have another wolf calling you alpha? Or maybe about the bloody panther on my table? Or the fact that you have WINGS?" Georgia stood on the other side of the table from Rieka with her arms crossed, "I thought you were a wolf?"
Rieka sighed, "I am a wolf G."
Georgia huffed, "Last I checked a wolf didn't have wings."
"I'm different. I'm the only winged wolf to exist." Rieka slumped down on the floor as the adrenaline from the day started to wear off and she was too tired to explain.
Georgia went and grabbed a teapot, poured a few random liquids in it, said a few magic words and then put it on the burner. In a few short moments, the teapot whistled and Georgia grabbed it, along with two mugs, and sat on the floor next to her friend. She poured a sweet brown liquid into the mugs and handed one to Rieka, "Drink this honey, It will help you feel better."
Rieka took it gratefully and took a sip. It tasted like rose and hibiscus tea, but with a hint of berry and honey. "It's delicious G. Thank you. What's in it?"
Georgia took a sip, "I don't think you truly want to know. I will tell you that it will replenish your energy, heal any minor injuries, and restore your magic reserves. I have a feeling you'll need it."
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes drinking the tea. Rieka did notice that her muscles were feeling better and the fatigue from carrying a 400 pound panther was dissipating.
After finishing her cup, Rieka nodded towards the mold, "So what is that?"
"Its a healing candle. Just because I'm a blood witch, it doesn't mean we don't have our own methods of healing. Once I pull it from the mold, I'll light it and set it next to Pierce's body. The magic inside the candle will drift over his body and help him heal faster. In fact, it should be set by now."
Georgia got up and gently pulled the candle from the mold. It was greenish in color with dark brown swirls in it. She set it up next to Pierce's wounds and lit it with a lighter.
"Ok. There's nothing else we can do for him for a few hours. Let's get you cleaned up Ri. You look terrible. You can use my shower and I have some clothes that can fit you while I clean the blood out of your outfit. Then we need to contact the mermaids and get some food in you. Pierce won't wake until probably this evening."
After one last glance at Pierce, Rieka nodded and they headed downstairs.