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Eric's POV
I was agitated. I couldn't believe that Grayson had dragged Amalia, a born rogue to a pack of some of this continent's most dangerous rogue supernaturals. They could be doing anything right now. Brainwashing her to submit. And what if she joined them. I would never see Amalia again.
We had to find them.
After the showdown with the council, we tried to pick up their trail but it was no use. Grayson wasn't stupid. He'd done everything to make tracking impossible. I would have congratulated him, if it wasn't making our job more difficult.
Then Nathan commanded us to return and I had no choice. We returned to the Daylight pack house. Nathan was already working on finding Amalia and Grayson.
'I've been in contact with Oliver Caine, and he's sent us everything that they have on the Daylight pack, which isn't much,'. Nathan pointed to a large cardboard box sitting on the desk.
'Well its a start and it looks big enough,' Reynard said, opening the box lid. He frowned and reached in to pick up, one single folder, that was about a quarter thick. Peering into the box, I realised that was all the contents inside of it. I glanced, with a puzzled expression at Nathan, who would send a folder in a massive box, did they not have an A4 parcel at hand?
'I think Oliver Caine and his people have a sense of humour,' sighed Nathan.
'This isn't funny,' I said snapping the folder from Reynard's hand and flicking through the pages.
There were profiles on confirmed members, suspected members and previous members, including....
Grayson.
'Grayson was part of the Haven pack, ' I growled. Nathan knew, he must have known.
'He wasn't fully a member, otherwise I would have never accepted him. He ran with them for a time, which would explain how he thought they could help.'
'What can they do for Amalia, that we can't?'
'Witness testimonies,' Nathan said, ignoring my question and nodding towards the folder in my hands. I flicked through until I found several hand-written and typed testimonies, signed and dated over the past few years.
'I was found by the werewolf, Jeremy, who took me to his pack. They were camping in the mountains, south to where my pack lived. I explained that my pack had exiled me, because I was displaying 'rogue like behaviours'. They helped me. I don't know how. I just know they did. I stopped being so angry all the time. I was no longer anti-social. Maya trained me, while Vincent the witch taught me to increase my resistance to magic. He said that rogue werewolves were much more vulnerable to magic and I had to learn how to defend myself, both in mind and body. We travelled across the mountains, the pack were looking for something, but I can't remember. I wanted to go to my mother's old pack, see if i could get in there but I wasn't allowed to unless I...... I can't say anymore. This is wrong. Have you given me a truth serum? Goddamn it. I can't tell you anymore, you sons of........'
Several more witness testimonies followed the same pattern. Supernaturals talking about how the pack helped me, but not how, and giving no more details to locations, specific details. It was all very vague.
'Well at least they all lived after they left,' Reynard said, seeing it as a bonus. 'At least we know Amalia and Grayson aren't in any danger.'
'What because a commanded werewolf won't tell a Council trained interrogator what he wants to hear. I don't like it,' I spat, pacing up and down the office. 'That's why the Haven pack are dangerous, because they are incredibly skilled. They are a pack of different supernatural creatures who have banded together, training one another, sharing their knowledge and expertise. Then using that to help others but never allowing for their secrets to leave the pack,'
'If was being honest. I'd say that the Haven pack were filled with Alphas, and Maya is the Super-Alpha,' said Nathan, his arms folded across his chest.
'But what if that is true?' piped Reynard.
'Meaning,' Nathan was frowning.
'What if the members of the pack are former Alphas? Leaders of packs, covens, legions or denizens?
'It would explain how they are so powerful!' said Nathan.
'But then, how does that help. Haven't the council already tried to track down different packs to see if they hailed from there.' I said. If they're were missing or desposed leaders across the country, then surely it would have flagged up somewhere.
'Maybe the packs don't remember.' Reynard shrugged. 'Maybe the Haven returned and commanded them to never speak of them.'
'I'll follow that up with Caine,' Nathan said, dialling a phone and pressing it to his ear.
'This could work,' I said, grabbing some log books and began to go through them.
'I'll get a map. First reported sighting of Maya. Here?' Reynard pointed to Anchorage, Alaska.
'What was she doing there?'
'Jeremy? He's her second in command, the more obvious choice if he knew her longer than the rest?'
'Maybe. Jeremy's first reported sighting was in Washington State. Thats not too far from Alaska.'
'So Maya and Jeremy are from Alaska,' I said looking over a list.
'Alot of the werewolf packs are recent. Four packs from Europe. Two from Siberia.' Reynard said, sticking bits of coloured tape on to each point.
The Alaskan peninsula was one of the last places in the Americas where the Natives lived, having been generally uninterrupted. I could guarantee there would be skin-walkers too.
'What's Jeremy's lineage?'
'Believed to be half native? Why?'
I put my head in my hands. Did the council know? If they didn't, how did we miss this all these years? 'Jeremy's a skin-walker, not a werewolf.'
Reynard gasped, but then frowned.
'So a skinwalker and a werewolf walk into a bar?'
'This isn't the time for jokes, Reynard'
'I'm not joking. A skinwalker and a werewolf walk into a bar? In Anchorage, Alaska, before heading south towards Washington State.'
Reynard quickly logged onto the computer and began typing furiously.
The bar is called 'House of Lilies'. Fancy? Oh wait.
The bar was closed down, several years ago. The owner was a Jeremy.
'Get his record up,'
'On it,'
'Shit,
'What?'
'It's gone. Theres no record. No birth, marriage, death certificate.' Reynard began furiously typing, before he slammed his hand on the keyboard. 'There isn't even a high school diploma.'
'Come on, look closer. Something that could be missed, something they wouldn't think to conceal?
Nathan came back, clicking the phone off. 'Caine said he had difficulty with some Alaskan packs. Which is to be expected.'
'How so?' Reynard asked.
'They don't like the interference, espiecially since the Council is a european colonial institution.'
'Meaning they won't talk,'
'If Jeremy is one of them, they won't say a word,'
'Which packs?' I asked, interrupting their conversation.
Nathan gave me a list and I tried to cross-reference them with all the information we had.
'Maya's name is strange? Isn't it Hindi or something, or like....'
Ma'ayan,' Reynard screamed.
What the hell was he screaming for I thought, feeling his voice ricocheting through my already thumping head. I really needed some painkillers.
'Maya is short for Ma'ayan in Hebrew?' He squealed. 'And I remember that name. How have I never connected the two?' Reynard began rummaging through a box of photos when he took one out and looked closely, his face beaming.
'She's been in your office this entire time,' Reynard chuckled, shoving the picture in Nathan's face. Nathan snatched it off of Reynard and stared closely, shock appearing on his face.
'This photo has to be at least 70 years old,' Nathan looked at Reynard, probably in wonder at how Reynard, who couldn't remember where his keys were, could remember an old photo stashed in an old box.
'Where did you get it from Nathan?' I asked, walking over.
'One of the older pack members brought it, thought it would be of historical interest, but I've never had the time to look it over.'
'That's Ma'ayan Jansen. In the back. This is a photo of a legion of werewolf resistance fighters,' Reynard said, pointing furiously at the photo.
'I knew that werewolves fought, but I didn't think that they had resistance units,' Nathan said, looking at the picture. I peeked over his shoulder to look. Maya stood, sightly hidden amongst the figures, of mainly male werewolves. She didn't look like she had changed.
'She hasn't aged?'
That's when Reynard looked sad.
'They teach us this at my old pack, in school. Our sister pack in Europe, fought in the war too. They said that there was this pack of werewolves who'd banded together. They were unbelievable, but then Nazi scientists found out. They captured a few and did experiments on them, but then the survivors said that when the war ended, some were frozen and hidden away for a long time. When the survivors came back after the war, they were gone. Commies had got them and took them back to Russia.'
'She's been in Russia this entire time?' I said incredulously.
We stood in silence for a few minutes, trying to swallow Maya's origins, how she came to be who she was and all the things we didn't know yet. What did they do to her? When did they wake up?
'We need to take this to Oliver Caine,' Nathan said, but Reynard quickly grabbed the phone.
'What's the problem?' Nathan asked, not angry though.
'She's a war hero. I'm not turning her in.'
'Reynard, she's still a rogue. It needs to be reported.'
He didn't look like he would relent.
'No, i'll eat the phone,'
'We have to find Amalia, and I'm not pissing around,' I roared, getting more agitated and feeling a fever crawl up my neck.
'No,'
'We'll wait.' Nathan tried to reason. 'This information doesn't help us find Amalia, so for now it's useless. Once Amalia returns safely, which with Grayson, she will. If she speaks highly of the pack. We won't tell Caine. If she says otherwise, we tell him. What do you say Reynard?'
Reynard had the phone close to his chest, but he sighed.
'Okay.' he gave the phone back and Nathan pocketed it.
'You can't be fucking serious, Nate?'
'I know you are against the clock Eric, but there isn't much we can do. We're at a dead end and the only thing we have found out is Jeremy is a skin walker and the leader is a world war 2 freedom fighter.'
'I'm not waiting. I'll rip them . I'll rip them all apart.' I yelled. The fever was pulsing all over, like my blood was boiling hot. I was raging. I wanted to rip apart Reynard and Nathan for getting in my way, and then rip apart the Haven pack one by one.
'Eric, calm down,' Nathan commanded, but I was beyond his alpha control. Snapping and salivating, I prowled towards Nathan, when I felt something snap in my head, like a violin string, but it was painful and loud.
I collapsed into the dark.
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Word Count: 1877
Publish Date: 20th June 2018