P E R C Y U S
The movie finished with Calla in tears. Not because the ending was sad, but because the watching a movie for the first time was such a beautiful experience. She was awestruck throughout the entire thing, so focused on it, that she couldn't even be bothered by the fact that her wolf had let her snuggle right up onto my lap. He head was resting on my chest, her eyes glued to the screen. When a fight scene came on she would start to bite at her fingernails in anxious worry for Tony Stark, but seemed too interested to be scared by it. She knew it was pretend. I just lightly stroked her hair and hugged her a little tighter.
When we went up to bed, I gave her a kiss on the forehead, as I had to go back to my office to clean up for the night. She immediately cuddled into the covers, biting her cheek shyly before saying, "Okay, hurry back." Then she did the most adorable thing I've ever seen, and kissed her hand and blew it my direction.
I was almost so gobsmacked that I missed it, but at the last second I made a quick move to catch the invisible kiss, making her laugh. I made a big deal of shoving it into my pocket, insisting on 'keeping it for later'. Her laughs were so beautiful that I found it hard to leave. Eventually I did, making a quick dash for my office so I could come back sooner rather than later. But the second I burst into my office, I bumped straight into Lorenzo.
"Woah, sorry man." I apologize, taking a step back to get out of his immediate personal space. I could tell by the ice cold air that this was in fact, Patricia.
He held up a camera, no doubt the one Lorenzo set up earlier. My heart tumbled to my stomach, my cheeks heating up a bit in anxiousness. Fuck, he's figured it out. If he knew, then the whole plan to fix Lorenzo's problem was shot to hell. He cleared his throat, "Why was this in my room?" he was back to the hard, commanding voice. No emotion other that a slightly psychotic and deranged curiosity. It was like any second he could either start yelling or punching me, or he could just float off. It was chilling.
I furrow my brows in a feign innocence, "You put it there."
His face paled considerably. "Why?"
I was bothered by how weird this side of him was. It was such a different personality, so apathetic and calculated, like he was a surveillance camera, watching and scanning. It was like he was searching for your flaws. You could tell when he found one because that's all he would look at. He was looking at a scar above my eyebrow. I struggled for an answer. "You were watching Iron Man earlier and wanted to recreate a scene where he was testing out his suit. You had flashlights in your hands and pretended to be him." Goddess that was lame. I'd be shocked if he wasn't suspicious about that half ass excuse.
"I did that?" He asked, but it was rhetorical. "Must not remember. That's weird." It was such a rushed excuse, like he was trying to cover his tracks. I honestly had no clue what was wrong with him. It was like Patricia didn't want me to know he was in control of Lorenzo. I could press for information and pry it out of him that he was in fact a fraud, a faker, but I couldn't blow the cover. Also, I didn't want to start a war in his brain, it was obvious Lorenzo was already at a disadvantage.
I pressed my lips together awkwardly. "Yep."
And just like that, the tension was so thick it was suffocating. We both knew how totally awkward standing there in silence was, but neither of us made an attempt to move. Goddess, it was so tense in the room it made me want to cringe. I swiped my tongue over my lips to moisten them before nervously laughing to ease sound back into the silent room. He had been intently staring at me, his eyes searching and finding more flaws. He would blink as his eyes had already found a new flaw, like he had a mental image of me in his mind to find new scars without even having to roam my skin very much. It was unsettling. My laugh didn't help.
"So, um- I'm just gonna clean up in here..." I said, sidestepping him to avoid skin contact.
However he stepped in my way, making me shudder unnoticeably. "I have one more question." His body was so close to me I could feel the heat coming off his body.
"Is it 'am I standing too close to you?' Because in that case, yes." I said, pushing him backwards gently. "Personal space."
He scowled, his eyes narrowing, "No, you twit." He snarled. He disregarded the raised eyebrow I gave in warning to ward against him doing that again. I didn't like Patricia disrespecting me. "Can I have the list of scheduled border patrol times and they're names?"
An uneasy feeling crept its way into my stomach. Something was definitely not right, and I knew it. Patricia is weird, but this is getting dangerously close to the line that he shouldn't be crossing. I fudged for an excuse, "Uh, yeah. Can you give me till tomorrow though? I'm swamped with work right now and I need to go to bed."
I tried to sidestep him once again, but just like last time he blocked my path. I felt my heart palpitate a bit in my chest, my stomach twisting up. I worried for Lorenzo, stuck there in the back of his own mind while his later ego took reign and controlled his every move. I swallowed hard, getting a little anxious and annoyed at how persistent he was being at getting in my way. He cut to the chase before I could tell him to knock it off.
"Actually, I was hoping to get them now. You're in your office anyway, right?" There was a mischievous glint in his eye, and the corner of his lip turned up. The look was one I was familiar with, as Lorenzo was always up to no good, but this wasn't Lorenzo. There was no way I was handing over those papers.
I sighed stiffly, my lips in a flat lime, "I came in here to tidy up, business hours are from 8am to 7pm. Try again another time, hmm?"
His smirk turned sour, his nostrils flaring in annoyance. "Right. Very well then. I guess you've got to hurry and clean. You wouldn't want to leave your mate out there, all alone."
With that, he turned around swiftly on his heel. I let out an airy laugh at his thinly veiled threat, "Bless your heart."
His figure disappeared from the hall and I turned to my desk, trying not to get angry. Whatever Patricia was up to was no good. I jammed my papers into their folders, leaving the patrol papers out so I could hide them. I would have to tell my patrol squad to be more alert than usual, because whatever he wanted those papers for, I wanted them to be ready. I don't think Lorenzo, or his alter ego would ever want to bring harm to the pack, but at this point I couldn't take that chance.
As I finished hiding the papers and straightening my desk, Calla knocked softly on the doorframe. I looked up with a half smile, "Ready for bed? I sure am."
But when I finished that sentence, I realized the look on her face wasn't one that meant good. She looked pale, her chest rising and falling a little harder than usual. She wiped her palms on her jeans, breathing in deeply.
"What's wrong?" I asked breathily, suddenly standing in front of her. I didn't remember even running over here, but there I was, my hand cradling her right cheek.
She grabbed my wrist, her grip firmer than I expected. That same stomach-drop feeling hit me as her own emotions drifted through the bond. "There's something I need to tell you." She was so serious that it had me a bit taken aback.
"I- what..." I asked, my hands growing a bit clammy.
"It's about Lorenzo."
C A L L A
I smiled to myself, Percyus having just left to his office, thinking about how perfect the night was. I wondered if he could feel my heart hammering in my chest the whole movie, my stomach fluttering from being so close to him. I was starting to feel things I had never felt before. I never wanted to leave his side, I wanted to be so close to him that you couldn't tell where his body ended and mine began. Was that appropriate? Probably not, but I was willing to test the boundaries with him.
I was yanked from my thoughts by a rather intrusive jerk of my body. I barely had time to register what that was for, when it happened again, this time pulling me straight out of my seat. I landed in a heap on the floor, but before I could mourn over my aching side, a white light burst into the space above me. My body flattened to the floor of its own accord, and a harsh gasp left my mouth. My back arched off the ground, my eyes twitching. That meant they were switching from black to normal. Walla was trying to take over. She had never done this to me before, but I quickly concluded this wasn't her doing, as the light got impossibly brighter.
The Moon Goddess.
What in the heck was she doing in the living room of the pack house at this hour of the night?
She didn't bother with pleasantries, "Child, I'm sorry to intrude on your wonderful night with Percyus, I really am. Tonight you must tell him about Haes. He is in Percyus's office as we speak, asking for the patrol change times. He is trying to destroy this pack, your pack. Your mate will understand and be able to help, trust me."
I knew my mouth was open in shock. I couldn't think of anything remotely intelligent to say, so I blurted out, "I didn't know you made home visits."
I could hear her light laugh, "Good, my child, hang onto that humor. Use it, grow it. And while you're at it, have Percyus show you a thing or two about hand to hand combat. This is your time to rise up and break down the walls you've build around yourself. You aren't a slave to anyone but yourself now. I believe in you, and so will your pack. You must get them ready for this battle."
"But this is my problem. Shouldn't I fight this on my own? I don't want anyone hurt at my expense."
"This pack will do anything for you, Luna Calla. They're loyalty is unwavering. You will not win without unity."
"But-"
Suddenly the light faded out to the darkness of the room. Just as suddenly as she appeared, she was gone. I knew there was no use in trying to call her back. She gave me all the information she knew was necessary, and I had to run with it. The burden I've been carrying around for the past few weeks would finally be lifted. Holding a secret so deadly was harder than I thought. Haes has such power over me and I knew that it was toxic. He controlled me in every way, but now it was time to start fighting back. I needed to push back and resist.
I pushed myself up from the floor, breathing in and out deeply. My heart pounded in my chest, the thought of exposing Haes, knowing he had the power to kill Lorenzo, was eating away at me. But I couldn't help him alone. I had to trust the people around me to help. Not all battles had to be fought alone, and I had to get that through my head. I had to put my trust in Percyus, my mate.
Walla suddenly ruffled her fur in the back of my mind, Showtime, motherfuckers.
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Thank you for reading!
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