Episode 06: Strays

Genre: Horror

Characters: Kaya, Rafe, Bane, Connor, Benjamin, Rachael, David, Melinda, Lucy - Jacobi & Harley Crane

Word Count: 2,833

Rating: R

Type: Series

Summary: Connor notices Rafe's attraction to Kaya and tells him that she and Bane have been hooking up and she isn't looking for anything long term. Kaya gets a visit from their handler Benjamin who informs her there is an issue with one of her shelters that needs her immediate attention. Once she arrives she discovers a large amount of wolves in need of a home and they all appear afraid of something. The hunters are back and decide they need to kill a few wolves before the approaching full moon reaches.

Warnings: Language, suggestive material, violence, adult content, adult situations

“Damn it!” Rafe yelled tossing the empty bucket back onto the bar and sitting the bottle down.

“What’s ya problem, Mate?” Bane asked stepping into the living room and flipping on the television.

“Why the fuck do you care?”

“Whoa. I was just makin’ conversation. If ya prefer we can keep up the same ‘ostilities, ain’t no fur off my back. But if ya lookin’ for ice, there’s a containah of it in the kitchen,” he grinned and turned back to the screen.

Rafe looked at him curiously before thanking him and heading towards the kitchen to grab some ice for his drink. He pulled the bin from the freezer and dropped a few pieces into his glass, swished the liquid around and took a sip.

“Hey, hey what the hell are you doing?” Connor asked grabbing the ice bin and placing it back into the freezer. “You’re fucking suicidal? That’s Kaya’s ice.”

“What?”

“Kaya’s ice as in never EVER touch it unless you want to bring down the full fury of a she-wolf hell-bent on revenge.”

“Fucking Bane,” Rafe sighed.

“Yeah if he’s ever nice to you, alarms should be immediately sounding in your head. He’d like nothing more than to see Ky go mental on your ass, trust me.”

“What the fuck is that guy’s problem anyway? I did nothing to him!”

“You did more than you know. Now I won’t say anything about the ice to Ky but for future reference, never touch it. She uses it when she’s really hot and when it comes to that she can be a bit of a bit…”

“Bitch?” she asked walking into the kitchen. “Is that a dog joke? How very sweet of you to say Connor,” she smiled. “My ice huh?”

 “Kaya I didn’t know. It was just a few pieces and…”

“Relax; I’m sure Connor is making it sound way worse than it really is.”

“Am I? Then that was some other daughter of Lobo’s that threw the toaster at my head? I mean man, I’m her best friend and I took a huge knock from touching her ice.”

“Seriously Con if you’re going to tell a story at least tell it right! You let that nasty little thing you brought in here have at the whole thing! Of course I was pissed! You’d just gotten off and I was left with an empty ice bin and an itch that needed scratching! What the hell did you think would happen?”

“Ah so you’re not gonna tackle me or bite off my head?” Rafe smiled.

“Not unless you want me to, I’m pretty flexible. Anyway, we have some more training ahead of us so, finish your drink and I’ll see you in the courtyard in five,” she said moving away from the island and heading outside.

“Uh oh,” Connor laughed looking at Rafe watch her leave. “You have a look of a man in lust; maybe a strong like.”

“What?”

“Kaya.”

“We’re just friends.”

“Yeah but the look in your eyes says you want more.”

“No, that’s ridiculous I only just met her. Why? Did she say something about me?”

“Not to me she hasn’t,” he grinned.

“Oh. Well uh, is she seeing anyone?” he asked taking a sip from the glass in his hand and maintaining his focus in his cup.

“I don’t think she’s looking for anything long term. She has this thing with Bane anyway…not sure how that would work.”

“Thing? What thing?”

“Dude, you really need to wolf out already. Take a moment and really use your senses; you can’t smell it?”

“Smell what?”

“His scent is all over her. The two of them have sort of an arranged sex thing. If she is really in heat, he takes care of her and vice versa.”

“Is it serious?”

“Hell no they’ve only fucked a few times. Kaya could never really be with an asshole like Bane. She only did it out of necessity. I thought for a moment she’d actually explode from the pent up frustration. It’s worse for she-wolves; unlike us they have their real moments of heat when they are ready to mate. Trust me, had it not been for that, she’d have never given him a second look. I tend to think he took advantage of her which is probably why we stopped hanging out as much as we used to. I’d rather be pounding his face in instead, props to you for that.” 

“Right, thanks; I’d better get out there, interested to see what she’s come up with now.”

“Are you gonna keep me waiting all day?” a blonde asked stepping towards Connor and running her fingers along his shoulder blades. “I’m not a very patient girl you know.”

“I’ll catch up with you later,” he smiled at Rafe as he took her into his arms and started for the stairs.

Rafe finished his drink and exited to the back porch he smiled as he saw Kaya waiting for him near the pond but stopped as someone he’d never seen before approach her and engage her in conversation. He leaned against the wall of the house and waited for her to finish.

“Thank you,” he heard her say and watched as the man hurried towards the front gate. He sauntered slowly towards her, his arms folded against his chest as he saw the man exit the security fence and jump into a blue sedan.

“Hey, change of plans, you’re on your own today,” she smiled tossing a weight towards him. “Work on your strength and I’ll be back to check on you.”

“Wait, where are you going? Who was that?” he nodded in the direction of the front yard.

“Ben; he’s a friend of mine and our handler.”

“Handler?” Rafe asked raising an eyebrow. “For the band? Publicity?”

“Oh no, we have Ulrick for that. In wolf terms he’s the one that looks after us and the Manor when we’re changed. He makes sure that everyone and everything is safe during our transition. He also runs a few of the shelters I set up for some of the displaced members of our community. They refused to stay here because of Dad so I started a charity and built some apartments for them to live out of throughout the city. There’s a problem at one of them and I’m going to help out.”

She started back towards the house to change and he grabbed her by the elbow and turned her around. “Well, do you need help? I can come along if you want.”

“I don’t know Rafe. You’re still…”

“I can take care of myself. Besides, what kind of man would I be letting you walk into the middle of a dispute without protection?”

She smiled and pulled her arm away. “Ok, but if you get sucker punched or something don’t say I didn’t warn you. Oh and don’t forget to grab a change of clothes.”

“You want me to change?”

“Well you can if you want but bring a spare set of pants at least just in case.” His confused look made her giggle before explaining. “In case a change happens, you want to always be prepared. Otherwise you’ll be running around naked and don’t think that kind of stuff won’t get noticed by strangers on the street. Or have you forgotten how we met, Tripod?”

He laughed and watched her head up to the manor to change; loving the way her hips swayed with each step.

They got to the brownstone and immediately Ben came rushing to the car. “I’m glad you made it,” he sighed and looked at Rafe. “This all you brought?” he sniffed in his direction and frowned. “A cub? You brought a cub to help you?”

She laughed and pulled him up the curb. “Help? You really think I’ll need it? Benji, this is Rafe, Rafe this is Benjamin.” They gave each other a nod of acknowledgment. “So where are…”

“And if you come back I’ll rip your throat out!” a woman yelled as she tossed household items at a man stumbling down the front stairs.

“This is my house too Rachael and I’ll be damned if I let you kick me out of it!”

“Mommy, why does Daddy have to leave?” a little girl asked stepping towards the porch.

“Sweetie, Daddy isn’t going anywhere; Mommy is just having a little tantrum go back…”

“Get your ass back to your room and stay there until I tell you to come out,” Rachael yelled and pulled her daughter back inside. 

“Don’t speak to my child like that! You can say whatever the hell you want to me but leave her out of this!”

“Why are you still here David?” she yelled tossing a suitcase at him. “If you think you’re the only wolf in town you’re wrong! We don’t need you and I definitely don’t intend on smelling some other bitch all over you when you decide to come home either!”

“Uh, excuse me?” Kaya smiled as she noticed a crowd starting to form on the street. “Do you mind if we take this back inside?”

“And who the fuck are you? You’re probably the whore he was off with the nights he didn’t come home!”

“No, I’m the woman that owns your apartment and the person asking you kindly to get back inside so we can settle this amicably.” She flashed her eyes and the woman nodded before backing up into the apartment. Kaya walked up onto the porch and motioned for David to follow; Rafe and Ben weren’t too far behind.

Everyone entered inside and stood in the living room. Rachael seethed and folded her arms into her chest and huffed a sharp breath from her nose. “Now will one of you explain what’s going on?”

“Yeah after you explain why any of this is your business.”

“My name is…”

“KAYA!” the little girl chirped and ran towards her. She wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged her tight. Kaya leaned over and returned the gesture, smiling as she ran a hand down the back of her head and stroked her hair gently. 

“That’s right. And what’s your name?”

“Melinda, my Daddy calls me Mel. I have your pictures on my wall! Wanna see?”

“Thank you Melinda, that’s a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Can you do me a favor Mel? Your Mommy, Daddy and I have to speak so could you show my friend your pictures instead? He loves pink and if I’m not mistaken that room at the end of the hall is yours isn’t it?”

She nodded vigorously and grabbed Rafe’s hand dragging him forcibly down the hall. He turned and frowned at her and she shrugged her shoulders. “You said you wanted to help.”

He turned towards Mel, smiling at the way she laced her fingers with his and swung his arm merrily. “You’re not gonna hit me are ya? I hear you she-wolves can be pretty vicious.”

“Don’t be silly Mister. I’m just a puppy! But when I get older I’m gonna be as strong as my Daddy. He has a big bite!”

Rafe stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She giggled and rushed ahead. “Come on! Wait until you see my posters!”

Kaya turned her attention to the parents again and properly introduced herself. “I understand that it’s not my place to interject myself in what appears to be a marital spat, but it is my cause for concern if the police are called.”

David made a motion with his hand to silence what he knew was a protest from Rachael. She turned and dropped dramatically onto the couch as he prepared to speak and silently cussed him under her breath.

“We didn’t mean to cause a disturbance. My wife and I were just having a small misunderstanding. We apologize for any concern it may have caused but we’re a little unclear about why you were called here for this.”

She looked at Ben and he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m an elder wolf and I want to make sure that there are no reasons for this pack or this community to become exposed to the human world. It’s important to keep things of that nature hush hush and yelling about wolves in the open as your wife did is not what I’d call being secretive.”

“You’re absolutely right and again I apologize.”

She looked at Rachael who refused to meet her gaze. She growled letting the woman know she was not in the mood for games and she stood and approached her. “I’m sorry about my outburst Kaya. I’ll try and maintain a low profile. But that does not mean I’m letting him off the hook either!”

“I wasn’t telling you to forgive him. I can smell her on him too and if he has no real excuse, what you do to resolve it is your business. Just don’t let it blowback on the rest of us.” She called for Rafe, said goodbye to Melinda after giving her three VIP backstage passes to their next concert and exited the apartment.

“That went well,” she smiled as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Right, but that wasn’t what I came to get you for.” 

She followed Ben as he led her to the dining hall at the end of the block and froze as everyone inside stood and stared at her.

“Ben…?”

“Yeah,” he said as they stepped further into the room. “They just came out of nowhere and I didn’t know what to do.”

She smiled, greeting the 20 or so wolves in the room. “Well, you’ve come to the right place.”

“This is dumb,” Jacobi groaned standing from the couch and moving towards his older brother. “How long are we gonna wait it out before we go and find some of those dogs and skin ‘em? I’m sick of waiting here!”

“Patience little brother. We have all the time in the world,” Harley replied as he continued cleaning and sharpening his weapons. “Besides after that stunt you pulled in the woods I’m not looking forward to taking you out again anytime soon. You almost cost us a good one!”

“I’m sorry Harley I was just a little excited that’s all. It was the first one we found in a long time! I was anxious to split him open!”

“And that’s exactly why we’re waiting now. The dogs have his scent and we can track him that way; but I don’t need you going all trigger happy on me again.”

“But the wolves wouldn’t hesitate to ‘pull the trigger’ if they had the chance Harley, you know that,” a woman said as she stepped into the room behind them. She smiled revealing a perfect set of pearly whites behind her rose red lips. “They would rip out your throat and feast on your heart the second they smelled you. It’s why we never show pity!”

“I wouldn’t call what I did ‘showing pity’ Luce. In fact if anything it’s quite the opposite. Allowing that wolf out of those woods after Smokey and Liberty got his scent just means that once we’re ready we can find where he got off to, his nest! There are probably tons more!”

“Well I have my own way of bringing out the baddies and tonight, we’re going to do just that. Willow Reed is infested with them and every one of them will feel the pointy end of my blade,” Lucy hissed.

Harley shook his head. His baby sister, just as his brother, was impetuous when it came to hunting. And although they were practiced that never stopped them from often losing their heads in the middle of a hunt especially when the adrenaline hit them. He was tired of cleaning up after them but he knew that their hearts were in it. He also knew that if they didn’t slow their pace soon they’d be the ones on the other end of a kill.

“Let’s go,” Harley groaned. 

“Where?” Jacobi asked pushing off the wall and grabbing his shotgun.

“Hunting. You and Lucy need a kill to calm your nerves and I need to make sure you two don’t run off and do something stupid.”

“Am I bait again?”

“Lucy I’ve never been comfortable using you as bait. That was your half-brained idea. Besides we still have a live one in the basement. Using his scent we can lure a few more in,” he smiled. “There’s no telling how many more we’ll encounter. And with the full moon coming soon, I’d like to take out as many of them as we can.”

“Pfft,” Lucy scoffed. “Wolves hunt in packs Harley what makes you think they’d care about a solo wolf outside of their family?”

“Because he’s a young one; never laid claim to a pack. There’s one thing we can always count on, wolves won’t leave a kindred wounded in the woods. No. They’ll smell him and they’ll come looking to save him and when they do we’ll be ready.”

Continue ---->