Jaxon Spencer vs. Catherine 'Kate' Stevens
Pix: Jax the menace
Video: Light Em Up by Fall Out Boy
Dedicated to legerton
Cheers!
***
"I'm going to teach her a lot of things, Uncle Ian," Little Rodney said boastfully as he rubbed the tip of his baby sister's nose.
"Like what?" An amused Ian Williams asked his nephew.
"Baseball, Roblox, bike riding, horse riding..."
"You don't even know how to ride a horse, Rodney," His mother laughed from the dining area where she was setting the table with Mitch, his father.
"Stay out of our conversation, Shay," Will gave his sister a mock growl. "And I think someone is hungry." He smiled down at the baby who was trying to put her tiny fingers into her mouth. "Shay?"
"Aw, come on, you know she's a foodie," Sharon snorted. "It's not even time for her next meal," she added as she started for the kitchen.
"Honey, go and see to her," Mitch called out. "I will handle this."
"Is that all you plan on teaching her?" Will asked Rodney as he stood and allowed little Ava's head to rest on his shoulder. Rhythmically patting between her shoulder blades seemed to soothe her.
"I will teach her how to ride a car and..." Rodney's words got lost in the deafening explosion that shattered the serenity of the afternoon. The baby burst into tears.
"What the..." Will's head swiveled to the door as his sister came running into the living room with an alarmed expression. "Take Ava, Shay," Will said even as his brother-in-law ran outside.
"What the hell happened?" Will heard Mitch's shocked shout as his long strides took him outside.
For a moment, all Will saw was a huge bonfire where his Jeep had been parked. He went closer to the burning Jeep with shock on his face. He wasn't aware his car had a problem that could result in it going up in flames. It was in perfect condition, for goodness sake.
"Oh, my god, Ian," He heard his sister gasp behind him and turned to look at her with wide eyes.
"Take the baby inside, Shay," he instructed as he started towards where Sharon stood on the porch.
"You love that Jeep," Sharon said shakily.
"Yeah, shit happens," Will murmured as he opened the door for Sharon.
By the time the firefighters arrived, the Jeep was beyond salvaging. What was left was taken away for examination.
"Probably an electrical fault," Mitch said as they sat down to eat.
"It sure did burn fast," Will muttered. "Almost as if it was filled with explosives."
When they heard the knock at the door, Will went to open it. "Hey," he smiled at his mate.
"Hey," Stan responded softly as he drew Will to him and kissed him lightly. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Will led the way to the dining table where Sharon, Mitch, and Rodney sat eating.
"Hey guys," Stan greeted as he reached out to ruffle Rodney's hair. "How are you doing, little man?" He pulled a chair and took a seat.
"I'm good, Uncle Stan," Rodney quipped. "Uncle Ian's car just went boom." The grown-ups chuckled at that despite themselves.
"So I hear," Stan chuckled. "Did you see the firefighters and their huge trucks?"
"They didn't get here early," the little boy said with a scowl.
"They did, Rodney," Will sighed. "It just burnt too fast, that's all."
"What do you mean burnt too fast?" Stan asked as he dished some food onto his plate.
"Exactly what I said, Stan. Within minutes, everything was gone."
"I see..." The frown on Stan's face spoke volumes. "Need to make some calls." He left the table.
By that evening, Stan had the report he needed.
***
Jaxon Spencer stood across the street and looked at the huge condo where Will lived four days after the soldier's Jeep went up in flames. He'd already done the necessary investigations. His issue was with the soldier and not the human beings in the building so he didn't want innocent humans to lose their lives. Definitely not because of that dickhead.
Moments later, Jaxon was knocking on the door of Ian William's neighbour, looking professional in a white overall. Each section of the condo had two apartments. Williams shared his with a family of four. The man of the house had gone to work and their five-year-old son was in school. The lady of the house was home with the couple's six-month-old daughter.
"Hello," the lady said through the intercom.
"Hello ma'am," Jaxon responded in a friendly voice. "There's a gas leak in the building which we're trying to fix. It is vital that we evacuate everyone before we start work. We recommend you wait by the poolside."
"Now?" she asked.
"Yes, please. If you have pets, kindly take them out too."
The woman groaned. "Alright, I'll just pack a few things for my baby and be out of here."
"Do you need help?" Jaxon asked in a most sincere voice.
He was ready to lend a helping hand like a perfect gentleman.
***
"We don't know who's after us for now, so I want all of you to be very careful," Admiral Mathias addressed the Arrowheads, a Black OPs task force who were originally Navy Seals. "From the report Stan shared with me, whoever we're dealing with is damn good. The explosives he used were very sophisticated, implying that he has whatever resources he needs."
"Probably a syndicate," Ty, Will's fellow Arrowhead and supervisor growled. Clearly, Will's colleagues had assumed that the attack was meant for the squad rather than just Will.
"Probably." The admiral nodded with a grim expression on his face. "Until we apprehend this person or group of persons, we are not safe because we don't know where they plan to hit next."
"Fuck," Will cursed. He wasn't worried much about his colleagues. He was worried about the safety of their families.
As a Black OPs task force, the Arrowheads were usually called upon whenever there were specific dangerous operations that were generally almost suicidal in description. They were a force to reckon with so naturally, had made enemies in the course of their work. But this was the first time anyone had dared come after them.
Knowing that whoever had bombed his car must have monitored his movement and probably knew that Sharon was his sister terrified Will. He hated that he'd put the lives of his sister and her family in danger. Not only were his sister and her family humans, but they also didn't know about Will's supernatural status. Even though Stan had posted a guard...who was also a werewolf, at his sister's house, Will still felt uneasy.
"Well, whoever those sick fucks are, they should bring it." Jackson, another Arrowhead sneered. "Maybe you shouldn't have gotten a new jeep just yet, Will. I would hate for those idiots to blast it into thy kingdom come too."
Will couldn't suppress his smile as he responded with a touch of bashfulness; "I don't know what Stan was thinking getting me a new jeep."
"Not just any jeep, my friend," Ty chuckled. "The latest version of what you were using. And dare I say it... it's sleek as fuck!"
The Arrowheads erupted into chuckles. They had all been both surprised and indeed impressed when a new Jeep was delivered to the base the morning after Will's car was bombed. Will had been even more shocked because even though Stan had spent the night with him in his condo, his mate hadn't told him anything about buying him a new jeep when they were leaving home that morning. Well, that was his mate...full of surprises.
"Maybe I should leave it on the base for now," Will sighed. "I'll..."
"Wait, isn't that your condo, Will?" One Arrowhead whose eyes had been trained on the muted television pointed at the screen even as Admiral Mathias grabbed the remote control to increase the volume.
A portion of Will's building was on fire. And that portion was his apartment. Even as they watched, firefighters arrived on the scene. Will stared, the expression of shock on his face mirroring that of the others in the meeting room. First, his pack, then his car, and now his apartment!
"Oh shit, I'm the target."
***
"That bloody Aussie rogue!" Stan growled that evening as he stared at a picture of Jaxon Spencer on his laptop.
"Oh he's so dead," Paige's chuckle was without humour.
The four friends, Jeremy, Paige, Philip, and Stan were on a Zoom call with Ryan and Will. In Stan's living room, Will paced, feeling a myriad of negative emotions as he listened to the others speak. He felt anger, fear, anxiety, apprehension and most prominent, contempt for the rogue he had encountered three months earlier.
When Will's condo was blown up that afternoon, he'd immediately suspected the rogue he'd fought during his mission in Australia. He'd rushed home to talk to a few people who had been around during the explosion. The woman next door had told him that right before the explosion, a nice man in overalls had knocked on her door and informed her that she had to leave her apartment for a while to enable him check out a gas leak.
According to the woman, the nice man had even helped by carrying the bag she'd packed for her baby. She'd been waiting by the pool when the explosion went off. Will had all the confirmation he needed then. First of all, he was the target and secondly, only a rogue would be that stupidly daring. At least the fool had ensured the neighbour was safe. A rogue with a conscience, Will couldn't help but appreciate that. Unfortunately, he had lost everything in his apartment in the fire. That meant all the possession he had left in the world were the few things he'd moved to Stan's home. All his important documents were gone. That was a big deal.
Unfortunately, since he'd deliberately omitted information on the rogue in his debriefing after the mission, he couldn't tell his squad about his suspicions. Besides, he couldn't involve the Arrowheads in supernatural matters. He still needed to conduct his own investigations to be certain anyway. Stan had therefore pulled some strings and gotten info on all males that had entered the United States from Australia in the last three months. His plan was to start with that and then move on to flights from other countries.
Fortunately, moving on to flights from other countries hadn't been necessary because they'd found the person they'd suspected. The rogue, who went by Jaxon Spencer, had visited the country two months earlier and had stayed for a month. He'd come again two weeks earlier and hadn't left. Will had checked with his neighbour who had confirmed, upon seeing Spencer's picture, that he was the man from the gas company.
"I should have killed him," Will growled as he paced.
"That would have risked exposure, Will," Philip said. "We don't risk that no matter the situation."
"That's why I stopped you, baby," Stan breathed, his gaze following his agitated mate. He could feel the turmoil within his mate.
"Well, now look," Will snorted. "He's like a ghost. We don't know where he is. And we don't know where he's going to strike next. He's holding all the cards and I'm a frigging sitting duck."
"We will find him, soldier," Jeremy rasped. "Trust me. Rogues are careless. He is bound to put a foot wrong very soon. And he will curse the day he was born. That's a promise."
"But in the meantime, we can't control what he does." Will sounded as if he was struggling to catch his breath. "Innocent humans are involved. If what everyone says about rogues is the truth, then they are very destructive and mischievous. My family is not safe." His voice raised as fear and fury blended in a potent rush. "What if he decides to go after my colleagues just to spite me? Huh? Those guys are easy prey, as are their families. How the fuck am I supposed to..."
"Will, he didn't harm your neighbour," Paige chipped in. "Neither did he harm your sister and her family."
"And your point is?" Will growled. "Am I supposed to be hopeful because some rogue isn't acting like how he's supposed to?"
"I'm just trying to be..."
"Trying to be what? Positive? Well, spare me your optimism, Paige," Will snapped. "Know what? I'm beginning to think becoming a werewolf was not the..."
"Will..." Ryan's yell cut the soldier off as he'd meant it to.
"Hey, come here baby," Stan said softly to his visibly shaking mate. If he was upset about what his mate had nearly said, it didn't show. It was obvious that the soldier was losing control. He needed to rein him in. "Talk to you later, guys." He reached out to close the laptop. "Come."
Will kicked off his flip-flops and went to straddle Stan on the couch. He laid his head on Stan's shoulder and pressed his face against the warrior's neck. He was shaking so bad. Stan wrapped his arms around his very tensed-up mate and rubbed his back gently. After a while, Will gave an audible sigh of contentment and then completely relaxed against Stan. There was nothing better than being in his mate's arms. In those arms, things didn't seem so bad even though it was.
When he fought that rogue in Australia, he hadn't thought the idiot would come after him as he'd threatened. He remembered what the rogue had said as clearly as though those words had been uttered just that morning. He'd said it wasn't over by a long shot. Well, it looked like he'd meant it.
"I'm scared," Will's voice was barely audible.
Stan's arms tightened around his mate in reaction to the fear he heard in his voice. He knew that Will's fear was for his sister and her family. He'd doubled surveillance for Will's sister because he didn't want to take any chances.
"I know. And very angry," Stan murmured.
"I can't help it," came the muffled response.
"So angry that you'd rather not be a werewolf." It wasn't a question. Stan sounded stern but the kiss he pressed against his mate softened the harshness.
"I'm sorry," Will groaned. "I just feel so helpless."
Stan sighed. He understood Will. He wasn't going to hold what his man had almost said against him. Fear and helplessness would do that to anyone. His mate was hurting and he needed to soothe him. That was Stan's priority.
'Tell me what you need,' Stan demanded on their mind-link.
'Bite me, please.' It was a needy whimper, but Will didn't care.
As an Arrowhead who already had a reputation for being a badass, Will hardly showed fear. And as an alpha wolf, exhibiting any form of fear would be an act of weakness. But with his mate, he could let go and be vulnerable. He needed that high and the mental repose that came after, to enable him think clearly and strategize. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that not only were virtually all his belongings gone, but there was also an imminent threat out there that could disrupt his life. It was only his mate who could give him that high.
Will allowed Stan to adjust his head and braced himself for the glorious bite. When he felt his mate's fangs sinking into him and with it, that unique, intimate connection, little breaths almost like sobs fell from his parted lips as the usual euphoric pleasure and calm began to course through him.
'I love you,' Will heard his mate whisper on their mind-link and couldn't help the tears that slid down his cheeks.
They weren't tears of pain from the bite or sadness from his current predicament. It was due to the overwhelming emotions that his mate conveyed through that intimate connection. He felt reassured that everything was going to be okay but above all, he felt cherished and loved. Who wouldn't with a mate like his? Those intense emotions could bring a strong man to his knees.
'I love you,' the soldier whispered back.
***
In the huge state-of-the-art surveillance room in Stanwood Pack, Will, Pete, Stanwood Pack's head of assassins, George, the head of hunters, and two other young werewolves who were warriors, laughed merrily as they conversed. Will was handling the pack's surveillance as he'd promised Kate he would to enable her go on her outing with her girls. Pete and George had decided to turn it into a boys' hangout. They munched on juicy pork ribs and drank while Will monitored the feeds. He had eyes on every inch of the pack land.
Stan had grumbled at Will's decision to handle Kate's job that evening because he had plans for them. He'd later decided it was for the best as Will would be on the pack land. That was the safest place for him with that psycho rogue on the loose. His mate getting to hang out with the crazy duo, as Pete and George were affectionately called in the pack, was just icing on the cake for Stan because he knew that Will would enjoy their company. If all that laughter was anything to go by, Stan was right. Will was having fun.
"I know that's possible because I saw my math teacher cheating on his wife with the head of religious studies," Will said, drawing more laughter from the guys.
"That's what I call religious exploration," Pete laughed. "Did you guys hear the story about the woman who was diagnosed with a terminal disease and had nine months to live?"
"No, what happened?" Will asked.
"Well, her husband wanted to grant her whatever wish she had. Bitch asked the man whether she could sleep with her ex one last time."
"What!" the guys bellowed in unison.
"It's a lie." George looked shocked.
"It made the news," Pete nodded. "The Mirror, New York Post...google it."
"Shiiiiiit!" George shook his head in wonderment. "Guys, every time he fucks her, she's thinking of that ex."
"Facts," Will agreed. "What the actual fuck!"
"She was clearly dickmatized by that ex," George added with a comical expression. "And that's her dying wish."
The guys dissolved into laughter.
"She's like, my man, we both know that your stroke game is weak. So why don't you be a nice man and allow my ex to break my back one last time before I go?" Will said to more laughter.
"Just how terminal is her terminal?" one of the young warriors asked, wiping tears of mirth from his face. "For all you know she probably arranged with her doctor to give her a fake diagnosis just so she could go back for a taste."
"If I were the husband, I'd ask...how sick are you, woman?" Pete chuckled.
"She doesn't care." George shook. "Just give her that dic..."
"What the hell is that?" Will's sudden gasp cut George off. The Arrowhead stared at the screen.
On the very edge of the pack land was smoke. Thick smoke with billows of flames. And it seemed to be spreading fast.
"Oh god, bushfire," one of the young warriors said in panic even as Will zoomed on the image.
"Not another Christmas Wildfire," Pete grumbled.
"Or maybe someone intentionally started this one," Will muttered as he reached for his phone.
"Shit, shit, shit," George groaned. "There are wolves out there," he said as he rushed out, the two young warriors at his heels.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Will was asking Stan.
"Oh, it's him alright," Stan growled. "If we act fast, we should catch that fire starter before he leaves the area."
"Think he's stupid enough to hang around?"
"He's a rogue, Will. They thrive on admiring the chaos they create," Stan snorted with disgust. "We need Ryan," He breathed even as he messaged the powerful mate of the alpha of all alphas.
"Ryan? Don't you mean firefighters?" Will's eyes went wide with incredulity. "What can Ryan do about this?"
"We need Ryan to reach out to any wolf out there on their mind-link," Stan chuckled. "He needs to warn those out on a run to turn back. And to also put out that fire." As a relatively new pack member, his mate still didn't know what some of the pack members, like Ryan, were capable of. "Sit tight. I'm on my way." Stan hung up.
"What did he say?" Pete asked Will.
"He's getting Ryan to talk to the wolves out there to turn back and come home." Will looked at Pete with bemusement.
"Good call," Pete looked relieved. "Once you're on this land and are a werewolf, he can reach you."
"I mean I get that Ryan can reach the wolves out there but...how does he expect Ryan to put out the fire? Shouldn't we just call the fire depart..."
"And wait for them to drive all the way here?" Pete cut Will off with a chuckle. "Why waste all that time when Deloris can conjure rains to put it out? And Ryan can probably put it out even faster," he grinned. "There..." he pointed at the image of a floating man on the screen. Both Pete and Will stared at the screen. "That's what I'm talking about," Pete gave a fist pump when the flames and smoke began to clear up.
"You must be shitting me," the Arrowhead breathed.
"See? He didn't even bother bringing down rain," Pete's chuckle was filled with pride.
"Damn," Will breathed as he watched Ryan do his thing on the screen.
"Come on, let's go." Pete started for the door even as he began to strip.
"But I can't leave," Will groaned. "I'm..."
"Call her."
"Who?"
"Kate. You stepped in for her. You need to tell her if there's a problem, dude." Pete was down to his boxers. "And the real action is out there. If someone actually started that fire, we will catch him...or her. And woe betides the idiot," his grin was downright devilish. "You can't afford to miss it. Besides, this place kinda runs itself." With that, he was gone.
Will shook his head in amusement when he heard the excited howl of Pete's wolf. As the head of assassins, Pete thrived on violence so Will wasn't surprised at his pumped behaviour. He dialed Kate's number.
"I'm on my way," she said after the first ring. "Surprised you're now calling me though."
"Sorry," Will sighed as he headed out. "Who called you?"
"My boss," she chuckled. "See you soon."
***
Jaxon Spencer relaxed against his Toyota Tundra from across the street and stared at the thick smoke with a look of satisfaction. Stanton Woods was on fire and he loved it. The best way to bring a pack down was to destroy their woods. A pack needed their woods to run, hunt, frolic, feel alive, and be one with nature. To take that away meant taking away the pack's safe haven.
Initially, he'd contemplated maiming the soldier's fiancée. A minuscule silver bullet delivered to the fucker's hip from a sniper's rifle would have done a brilliant job. The silver component would be too low to kill him but would leave him deformed. Any proud werewolf would desire for death if they saw pity in the eyes of others. But he'd decided that destroying the pack's thickets was a better option.
Jaxon had learnt long ago that the best way to rain hell on a pack was to burn down its running grounds. Old Alpha Rolo had felt his wrath in the form of a blazing heat that he and his wicked executive members hadn't seen coming. That had been payback for killing his parents and baby sister. A ghost of a smile curved Jaxon's lips as he recalled the anguished growls of Alpha Rolo and his wicked team when they found themselves trapped in the woods by fire. What had meant to be a fun, relaxing run for the pack's leadership had ended in sorrow for the pack. He had enjoyed watching the shock on their faces when they saw the banners that dropped to the ground in the midst of the flames. They simply read: For the Stewarts. They had lost all their leaders except Zeke, who had received a mysterious phone call to report urgently to the police precinct just before the run.
Jaxon chuckled as he recalled how pissed off Zeke had looked when he was told at the precinct that he'd probably been pranked. He'd had the pleasure of watching everything on film as he'd hired someone to capture the werewolf's reaction. The fun part had been when Zeke read the note stuck to his windshield when he came out of the precinct. It had simply read, 'One good turn deserves another. Jack Stewart'. Jaxon still laughed anytime he remembered how the werewolf's head had swiveled around, looking to see whether he was being watched. Well, he'd spared his life for the kindness he'd shown him when he was a little boy. Zeke had become the Alpha of that pack. Jaxon hoped he ruled better than Rolo.
Well, it was the turn of Stanwood pack to feel his wrath. It was only a small gift to the pack for nurturing Ian Williams. He could have killed them on the basketball court by using silver bullets but he hadn't. From his research, he'd known the pups wouldn't be on the court so were safe. He'd also spared the soldier's sister and her family because they were humans. Now, it was time to destroy their woods...with everything in it. Wolves that would perish in that fire would be collateral damage like Miguel's family had been.
"What the..." Jaxon straightened up against the truck when the smoke suddenly began to clear up.
It was as if something was swallowing up all the smoke. And it was all happening so fast. Jaxon couldn't even see the flames that was blazing and crackling minutes earlier. With confused shock etched on his face, he crossed the street and inched closer to the edge of the woods he had set ablaze moments earlier. The smoke was virtually gone. And then suddenly, he saw it!
"Fucking hell," Jaxon gasped and went still.
Initially, he thought it was an apparition. But then, as the last of the smoke disappeared, Jaxon realized it was a man floating in the air. The young man was in jeans and a T-shirt and looked very relaxed. Looking at his bare feet, Jaxon couldn't help but think the man looked like he had been watching television just seconds earlier. Then had decided at some point to elevate in the sky just because he could. Jaxon had never seen such white hair on such a young person. He thought the man looked almost...ethereal.
"Who are these people?" Jaxon breathed, recalling how weird he'd found his encounter with the soldier three months earlier.
Oh, he had a lot of questions. How had everyone disappeared from the bunker without him hearing anything on that fateful day? He hadn't seen any other person...human or werewolf besides the soldier. How had just one ordinary werewolf been able to pull it off and with such speed and quiet? All these had informed his conclusion that sorcery was involved. And that made him feel cheated. Feeling cheated had increased his thirst for revenge. Now he knew for a fact that other forces had been at play on that day.
Jaxon heard growls of what sounded like over twenty wolves and decided to make a run for it. He knew he couldn't fight that number of wolves and win. He was daring, not stupid. It would be better to live and fight another day. After all, he had other plans up his sleeve for the soldier and his pack. Burning their woods could wait. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of looking up at the levitating man. His eyes clashed with the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. The white-haired man seemed to be looking into his very soul through his eyes. Jaxon couldn't move. Neither could he look away.
'You've been very naughty,' Jaxon heard a soft male voice in his mind. He knew it was the young man because he actually gave a smile that was partly amusement and partly a smirk.
'With good reason,' Jaxon responded. He didn't even know why he responded to the man. He'd only communicated with just one other werewolf on his mind-link. And that had been years ago. It still felt strange. 'And who the fuck are you?'
'Name's Ryan.'
***
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