Episode 63: Heads or Tails?

Genre: Horror
Characters: Kaya, Caleb, Connor, Charlie, Luther, Giselle, Lexi, Faith, Jacobi, Harley, Vaughn
Word Count: 3,703
Rating: R
Type: Series
Summary: Luther and Giselle lick their wounds after the Battle Royale at the Emergence ceremony. While contemplating their situation, Luther stumbles upon a startling revelation. Jacobi, after learning about his true nature, takes it upon himself to discover more information about his birth. Caleb informs Kaya about the truth behind something Luther told her. And the witches, Faith and Lexi, awaken the “Wolf Killer.”
Warnings: Language, suggestive material, violence, strong sexual content, adult content, adult situations, nudity

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-- Willow Reed – 2:20p.m. --

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Luther sat quietly in his study, thinking over recent events. He had plans to find the Shifter Phoenix and Julius had first informed him of and ‘convincing’ him to join Gideon but that no longer appeared feasible. Now knowing the Shifting wolf was the wild animal he once tortured and threatened in his basement his chances for a civilized chat had diminished remarkably. And added to the fact that on several occasions he tried taking the life of his new Luna, it’s a wonder he and the others even made it out of Shadowvale with their heads still attached.

“Licking your wounds?” Giselle asked, interrupting his thoughts as she entered without knocking. “Do you really think you have time to sit here sulking after what those mangy mutts did to us in the woods? They need to pay!”

“And how exactly do you propose we do that, my dearest Luna. We were on their land, in unknown territory with a rough terrain surrounding us. We were undermanned, outgunned and outwitted by beasts bred and born in the pits of the most barbaric of settlements with a reputation for the merciless slaughtering of innocents. Our advantage was gone the moment we set foot outside of Willow Reed. I didn’t go there in search of a fight Giselle. I went there for numbers!” 

“Geez Luther. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you had a hard on for these people. Although I must admit, they do sound like your kindred spirits.”

“Speak for yourself Love. Or have you forgotten your coup of your Sutherland home pack?” Giselle tossed him an annoyed scowl and he simply shrugged as he leaned onto his desk. “What is it that you wanted from me, dear?” Luther growled as his patience slowly waned.

“I want you to get our revenge! Go burn their homes down! Rape and murder their bitches! Kill their children by strapping them up by their scrawny little necks! Prove to me the Alpha that had the guts to mate me is still in there somewhere! Anything would be better than crying about it like a spoiled child.”

Luther smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes as he watched his mate move towards his bar to pour herself a drink. The moment her hand touched the bottles beneath his cabinet he was on her, pinning her against the wall with a single hand on her throat. “Heads or tails?” he asked as she choked for air the tighter his hand squeezed.

“What?” she managed to gasp as he gripped her harder, watching the tears pool at the bottoms of her eyes.

“Heads or tails? You should make your decision a bit quicker my dear. I don’t think you’ve quite mastered the talent of holding your breath. Although by the end of the night, it’s a lesson I hope to teach you.”

“Heads!” she cried and he dropped her to the ground. She slumped in a huddle at his feet, rubbing at her throat as she breathed in deep inhalations of air.

But Luther didn’t give her much time to recover before his hand tangled in the red strands of her hair and he yanked her towards the couch. “Well it seems you saved that virgin rosebud of yours, for now.” Ripping his pants down his hips in a huff, he dropped to the couch and dragged his mate into his lap without hesitation. “Bite me and I’ll end you,” he growled and rammed his cock down her throat as far as it would go. Giselle quickly went to work, licking and sucking his engorged shaft as his hand remained grasped on the back of her head. “Now then where was I before you so insolently interrupted me?”

“Oh right. A thought occurred to me seeing Kaya’s Alpha there protecting her and not recognizing the face he held. Something about the idea of a ‘magical facelift’ as she put it. I know for fact that Lobo murdered Kaya’s true mate, I knew it the day it happened. Kae told me the Savages had made plans to attack them and she asked that I aid them in case they came knocking. Obviously I was a little too late but…she knew. She had the sight you know? Even after she married Armand it was something that stuck with her,” he moaned as Giselle slurped him faster and he closed his eyes and leaned back against the cushions.

“But if her mate truly died that night, that means he was brought back by powers I’d be willing to bet matched that of the witch Damian hopes to wrangle for himself.” A wicked smile grew on the Alpha’s lips and he placed his hand behind his head as he thought about the connection. “That old councilman of ours may be of more use than he really even knows.”

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-- Willow Reed – 3:10p.m. --
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“And where the hell have you been?” Harley growled towards his baby brother as he trudged through the opened front door.

“Out.”

“Right. The standard Crane answer it would seem.”

“What’s that smell? Dude, what the hell happened here? You have a party with 30 people or what? And why the hell is it so dark?”

“Everyone keeps disappearing around here. I swear this place is falling apart,” Harley continued, ignoring the onslaught of questions directed at him.

“You can’t really blame us can you? I mean with these plans you’re making, you’re placing us all in danger. A little ‘end of the world’ hoorah is expected,” Jacobi quickly recovered, lowering his tone as he found himself yelling in anger at his brother. He couldn’t reveal his hand too soon. He needed answers and he knew being confrontational with their family’s patriarch was no way of going about getting them. “Have you seen Lucy?”

“Not since she went storming out of here last night. I’m worried about her. She’s talking crazy, ranting and raving about ‘good wolves’ and ‘saving a few of them.’ I swear that girl is really starting to piss me off. If you happen to run into her, try and talk some sense into her will you?” Harley snarled and snatched his beer from the table before heading towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.” Harley turned and looked at the concerned glare on his brother’s face and sighed. “I have a little business to attend to; like you said a little ‘end of the world’ hoorah!” The door slammed behind him and Jacobi was left standing alone in the living room looking at the remnants of Harley’s all night bender. Beer bottles and pizza takeout boxes were scattered over every surface of the small space and there was a rank odor of stale bread circulating in the air. Jacobi kicked one of the stray bottles at his feet and groaned. There was no way he was getting stuck with cleaning up this mess yet again.

He threw himself to an empty, dry spot on the couch and leaned back against the pillows. Lucy, he thought and closed his eyes as he reflected on seeing her in the arms of one of their sworn enemies. They’d looked cozy; too familiar had she seemed in that creature’s presence and it made him sick to his stomach. And then to hear her confiding in him things that she felt and things about her own family! Lucy had betrayed her own blood to those animals! But could it be true? The things she’d told the wolf about him? Could he really be what she’d claimed? And if so, why hadn’t he ever felt anything on nights of a full moon?

It was something Lucy said about suppressing his animal side. The way he was kept from ever knowing he was part monster. “THE TEA!” he shouted aloud to himself and headed towards the kitchen to check the tin. There were no ingredients on the label, but then again Lucy said it was specially created by their father for him. There was no telling what herbs had been placed in the brew to keep Jacobi tamed. But from the overwhelming stench of the liquid when boiling he knew they must have been powerful and he made certain to find out. 

Taking advantage of his time alone, Jacobi quickly locked the front door and rushed into Harley’s room. There had always been secrets, he knew that. And they were mostly surrounding the journals their father, Alistair Crane, left in Harley’s possession. Jacobi had never been allowed to read them. In fact he was forbidden to even hear the contents within them second hand from his baby sister; and now he knew why. Frantically he tossed the clothes around his brother’s closet looking for a trap door or a trunk or anything that might contain the books. 

He moved to the walls and knocked on them, listening for changes in solidity and a hollow pull out that might reveal a hidden door but found nothing. Pacing hysterically back and forth around the room, Jacobi thought of the many places in which those diaries could be hiding and each time he searched he came up empty. In frustration, he stomped his foot on the carpeted floor beside Harley’s bed and heard a variance in sound. Tapping again and then beside the bed, a large smile grew on his face and he quickly dropped to his knees and pushed the rug to the side.

Pulling up the floorboards hidden beneath, Jacobi found what he had been searching for. Quickly sorting through the leather bound diaries for the one he’d seen Lucy previously reading, he leaned back against the bed and engaged himself in the written words of his beloved father.

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-- Shadowvale – 9:39p.m. --

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“Guys.” Kaya smiled as her three favorite men turned towards her when she entered the planning room. “What? Am I interrupting some hush-hush guys only thing? Funny, I didn’t see any half naked women ducking out the windows when I came in.”

“Oh no, you never would. I had a few secret panels installed when I was Alpha,” Charlie smiled and slapped his hand against the wall. “You would never even suspect it, but this wall leads to an all night brothel down below where dozens of half nude girls wait to service our every need.”

“Interesting. And does Sophie know what you keep in the basement, Charlie?” Kaya asked with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “On second thought, I’d say turnabout is fair play.”

“Whoa! Hold on a minute!” Caleb exclaimed, sitting up quickly. “I have nothing to do with what may or may not be behind any of the walls in this room, Kaya. And I wholeheartedly disagree with any guy other than me servicing you!”

“So then it’s ok to interrupt your private boys club?”

“By all means, Beautiful,” he smiled seductively and rested back against his chair.

“You know it wouldn’t have been so bad if you had a tray of sandwiches in your hand,” Connor replied with a cheesy grin as he leaned back against the file cabinet.

“Or a few bottles of beer, Baby Sis,” Charlie joined in. “Of course that would only go well with wings, what do you think, Con?”

“Wings sound good to me. Just make sure they’re extra spicy!”

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes and watched a huge grin appear on Charlie’s face. 

“Hey now, you two had better stop giving your Luna such a hard time. As I said, that’s reserved for only me,” Caleb winked seductively and Kaya felt her face flush with color. Even after all of their many sexual encounters and time together, the man still had the power to make her weak in the knees; and his thoughts didn’t help much. God you look great! I want to bend you over my desk, hike that skirt up your hips and thrust into you so hard right now, he grinned devilishly. “What’s up, Babe?”

“Uh—um—I,” she stuttered, trying to ignore his thoughts. “I was just coming to tell you I was going for a run; burn off some of this energy.”

“Well there are better ways to do that.” And there it was again. The single most breathtaking smirk on the lips of the hottest wolf she’d ever known that made her whimper audibly to the three guys standing in front of her, instantly making two of them uncomfortable. 

“Yeah and this is where I take my leave,” Charlie declared and lightly tapped Connor on the shoulder. “You coming Bro?”

“What and miss all the kinky, sweaty, furniture breaking fun? Hell yes I’m leaving with you! I’d undoubtedly enjoy stabbing my eyes out with a fork more. No offense Peaches but…gah! Besides, I’m in the mood for wings now.”

“Me too! You’re buying!” Charlie laughed, slapping Connor’s back sharply.

“Fine but drinks are on you,” Connor replied.

“Man I thought they’d never leave,” Caleb smiled and patted his lap as Charlie and Connor exited the room, giving their Alphas some privacy.

“I’m gonna get going too—it’s a nice night out.”

“What? You can walk out on me after that? Wow, Kaya. I admire your willpower!”

“You’re cruel! I should learn to ignore you better when we’re in mixed company. Or does the fact you can excite me so easily make it fun for you?”

Caleb smiled at her pretend annoyance and shrugged his shoulders as he rested on his desk. “I love your reactions. I think you may have even shown those guys your O face for a moment there. Something I’m dying to see myself right now.”

“I thought you guys were busy planning and all. I really didn’t mean to interrupt but I do want to run. You can join me if you’d like,” she sighed, backed away and started for the door.

“Wait Kaya, before you go. There really is something we need to discuss first.”

“Hmm is this gonna be upsetting? You have serious face and serious face Caleb isn’t quite as fun as the ‘make me wet between the legs’ Caleb and I’m in too good a mood for upsetting news right now,” she grinned sheepishly hearing what she said aloud and slowly took a step back from the desk as her Alpha stood.

Caleb chuckled softly in his throat and walked around the front of the table and leaned against it. “Unfortunately it is serious. I have something to tell you about the First Witch.”

“Oh…k,” she inhaled deeply and waited for him to continue.

“Well for starters, everything Luther said about her was true. She was never killed just hidden away for some time.”

“Yeah I’ve heard the rumors before. The White Witch, the first of her kind. With hair as dark as the raven and smooth, porcelain skin as bright as snow; her face was soft and delicate. She had eyes so gray and lucid they appeared invisible and lips the color of blood. Her Wiccan talents kept balance among the territories and she was nicknamed the ‘Keeper of Mother Earth’ as she balanced the light and dark. But she was a tool to the wild ones, the Savages,” Kaya looked up at Caleb as she continued. “As Legend has it, she created a new breed of Lycan who would Champion their kind and bring about real change between witches and wolves alike.”

“That’s her.” He turned and walked towards the back bookcase, feeling her eyes on his back with every step he took. With a deep sigh he leaned against the wooden stack and turned to face her, a grim expression on his face. “Do you remember when I came to you as a child and you told me my eyes were funny looking.”

“Yes. You said your mother had given them to you, your white eyes.”

Kaya grinned and Caleb took a step forward, catching her in his arms. “Our children would be so lucky, Kaya; not saying yours wouldn’t suit them as well. Anyway, yes. My mother gave them to me, the same person who disguised me as Rafe and left me on your front door, Chandria Trent.”

“Are you saying…?” he nodded and Kaya gasped markedly at the implication. “I thought it was all a rumor, a folk tale to warn off the ‘civilized’ wolves from entering Savage territory. ‘Better be good and eat your peas or the First Witch will get you.’”

“She’s real, Kaya; as real as her two loving sons. She betrayed her kind by not only showing mercy to her firstborn and saving my life but because we existed in the first place. A wolf marrying a witch was unheard of and looked down on as treason from both sides. And to this day there are only two known instances of it ever happening. Once was my father and mother, the others were…”

“My parents,” Kaya completed his thought as she took in everything her mate was saying. “But my Mom denounced her magic to be with my Dad. She wasn’t a half breed and neither am I.”

“No? Then explain what happened in the woods. Explain the reason you and I are the only Shifters in existence and the reason our bond was so strong it superseded my death.”

“But that means your mother…”

“Is being summoned by Damian and I fear what his plans are for her. If she has the magic to raise me from the dead then that means…”

“What Luther said about the councilman being bulletproof was true and he’ll ride her back like the prized stallion of a horse race to the end of this war.”

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-- Willow Reed – 2:50a.m. --
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“Hurry Faith, the Witching Hour is almost upon us.”

“Are you sure you want to do this Lexi? The last time we let him out he was uncontrollable. It took the strength of the entire coven to seal him in that coffin; half of which we no longer have! If he gets too powerful again, we may not be able to place him back in stasis!”

“You’ve seen what’s coming, Faith. Do you really want the wolves to overrun us? Besides, we need a way to distract from ourselves in case this war gets out of hand. It’ll at the very least help us get away. Now then, are you ready?” Popping the last few ingredients into her cauldron, she moved over to the coffin resting in the center of the room. White candles had been arranged strategically beside conjuring crystals drawing energy from the two witches and combining it into the gems. Their soft light illuminated the pitch black tomb casting eerie shadows on the walls and making the dark room appear even more foreboding.

Together they began chanting, in Latin, words from their spellbooks. The candles flickered with the sudden breeze that blew through the void. A bright, white light encased the box, pushed between every crack of the wooden container and faded away. Large clouds of smoke billowed out of the casket quickly filling the room and shrouding everything in thick, gray fumes. Many of the candles had been extinguished within the smothering blanket of exhaust. “Did it work?” Faith inquired, taking cover behind Lexi as the smoke began to clear.

A faint scratching sound stirred from inside the wooden box and both Lexi and Faith gasped and slowly took a step back. Scraping noises, similar to nails on chalkboard, echoed within the hollow walls before the top burst open and a large, dark figure stepped out of the shattered coffin pieces. By first glance the man appeared in good health and well preserved for having been locked away in the walls of his sarcophagus. But as Lexi moved closer, she could see that part of the man’s face had been severely decayed from his time in the tomb. He was weak and nearly immobile and his breath seemed labored within his chest.

“Get the sacrifice,” she ordered and Faith immediately hurried from the room to an adjoining cave where a young girl, dressed in a short summer dress, was chained to a stone wall. Unlocking her binds, Faith jerked the poor girl forward, listening to her pleas of mercy. Instantly the eyes of the captive man turned towards the girl; her sorrowful cries a joyful song to his soul. Faith stopped dead in her tracks and glanced at Lexi fearfully. “Well what are you waiting for? Give her to him!”

She tossed the girl over and the man wasted no time piercing her neck with his razor sharp canines and draining her veins dry. She screamed, loudly at first but her shouts of pain diminished as her frail, young body was devoured by the brute behind her. The witches looked on as their newly resurrected friend cleaned the sacrifice of flesh and meat from her upper torso and picked his teeth with the bones of her spine.

He stood upright over the girl’s corpse, his posture polished and more developed than moments earlier. A menacing grin bent his mouth upwards, sending chills rolling up the witches’ spines. The man took one step forward and they took a mimicking step away. Again he moved and once more they followed by moving back. His grin expanded, building up into an intimidating, startling laugh. “That’s good, you should be scared.” Lexi eyed the cauldron beside her and the man followed her gaze.

She rushed towards it but was quickly overtaken by the man’s speed and strength. He knocked her back against the wall and watched her head bounce off the concrete ground. Slowly he meandered over to where the other witch stood, his evil smirk returning full blown. “When she comes to,” he started before knocking the cauldron over, spilling its contents to the floor, “give her this message for me.” Faith screamed as his hand slipped around her throat. Her breath struggled to push through her airways the tighter his hold became. Tiny dots swirled around her eyes and she felt herself passing out. The sting of his fangs reawakened her as they sank into her neck before everything faded to black.

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