Daughter of the Earth- Stary Writing Academy III

Chapter 2: Red Room

2 Days before Sera's mission

Dimitri

“Da. Speak.” Dimitri pressed the phone to his ear while he looked out over the nightclub.

“Dimitri. We need you for security detail this weekend. You’ll be working with Florence and Keith.”

Dimitri sighed. He should have known that he would forever be working for the coven, their memories were short regarding things that did not benefit them.

“What’s the situation?”

“Red Room has caught wind that there will be a few...undesirables...crashing the boss' party.”

"Asmodeus is having her party at the Red Room? I thought she despised that place."

"She heard Leviathan will be there. You know he's been plotting on the boss' territory for a while now. She wants to see for herself whether any vampires from her coven would dare stand against her."

Dimitri instinctively licked his silver fangs, his bloodlust rising. “Fine. Book me the fastest flight possible. I’ll be there.” He hung up the phone and slowly rose from his chair, stretching his 6’5 frame to loosen up his muscles. It had been a while since he had had to fight werewolves. He would relish this.

***

Castor

"Let's go! Are you werewolves or puppies?"

Forty werewolves, both men and women, crested the hill. Their Alpha, Castor, was leading them, pushing them to their absolute limits. There were growls and howls as they raced down the hill to the training grounds, which signified the completion of their 6-mile run. In the end, while most of them were stooped over or lying on the ground, Castor checked on each and every one of his pack members. He offered water to those that seemed thirsty and encouragement to those upset with where they placed at the end of the run. Before he could get them into the next part of their training, he was distracted by an older woman hurrying across the lawn. She was clutching a phone in her hand and her expression was grim.

"Castor! Castor, you have a phone call."

Castor rushed to her and took the phone from her hands.

"This is Castor."

"Alpha Henderson. This is Alpha Callahan. We just got word that this weekend, Leviathan and Asmodeus will be at the Red Room."

Castor gripped the phone tightly, trying his best to suppress the growl that was building in his throat.

"Thank you for the information Alpha Callahan. I do have some questions for you though. You're sure one of them is behind the attacks on my territory?"

"Positive."

"And how much faith do you have in your informant?"

"Absolute."

Castor sighed and covered his mouth with his hand.

"Very well. We will be there. Will any of your men be there?"

"Yes, one of my men, as well as the informant. I must stress this to you, however. You will not endanger the informant in any way. Is that clear?"

Castor could feel Enzo balking at this blatant attempt to try and give him orders.

"Alpha Callahan, I will do my best to ensure no innocents are harmed with my actions. However, the person that needs to ensure your informant's safety would be the man you intend to send. So you should make it one of your elite."

With that Castor hung up the phone and thrust it back into the woman's hand. Before he had a chance to leave, however, she pulled at his arm gently.

"I need to speak with you."

Castor grabbed the woman's hand, looking at her patiently.

"Yes, Ms. Louise? Is everything alright in the kitchens?"

Ms. Louise pulled her hand out of his grip and put her hands on her hips.

"Castor if you don't get that crazy she-wolf out of your chambers this instant your mother will have a fit!"

Castor's eyes flashed, his wolf rising to the surface to express his displeasure.

"What the hell is she doing in my bedroom, Ms. Louise?!"

She looked at him like he was dumb.

"I know your daddy taught you not to go sticking your piece in crazy. You just had to test it yourself to see if it was true. And now crazy is up in that bedroom declaring that she will be the new Luna come end of the month."

Castor let out an exasperated growl as he dragged his hand down his face.

Melina had been a thorn in his side ever since he made the rookie mistake of having a one-night stand with her. She was crazy, and delusional, which go hand in hand if you think about it. Castor thanked Ms. Louise for the heads-up and contacted his best friend and Beta, Gabriel, through mind link.

'Yo, what's up Cas?'

'Gabriel, I need you to lead the warriors in this next exercise.'

'You're joking, right? It's running in wolf form. Why the hell would I want to lead that?'

'Because I have to get Melina's crazy ass out of my room.'

'Say no more. I've got the easy job.'

Castor rolled his eyes and jogged off in the direction of the packhouse. He kept trying to mind link Melina but for some reason, he was blocked from doing so. She probably did it so he wouldn't be able to tell her crazy ass to get out of his room without telling it to her face. Crazy she was. Dumb she was not.

When he finally made it to his room, he could smell her signature perfume permeating the hallway. It wasn't necessarily disgusting, but the overprocessed chemical scent gave him a headache. Barging into his room he looked around wildly, trying to see where she was. It didn't take him long to see her under the covers, pretending to be asleep. Castor ripped the covers off the bed, fully intending to snatch her up and out of it. Before he could put his intentions into action she had jumped on him, her chest pressed against him, the sheer fabric of her lingerie scratching his bare chest and stomach.

"Cassie dear! I have been waiting so long for you! What took you?!"

Castor peeled her off of him and tossed her back on the bed.

"Practice. What kept you from attending again?" Castor replied dryly.

Melina gestured to herself as if she alone was worth hours to prepare.

"Melina, are you telling me that you skipped practice to do..." Here he gestured to her half-heartedly, "this?"

Castor held up his hand to stop her from replying.

"Wait! Don't answer that. Instead please tell me exactly what made you think you had the right to be in my bed instead of out on the training grounds with your packmates?"

Melina got up and huffed at Castor as if he were a loveable i***t that she had to explain everything to time and time again.

"Because, dear, the Luna shouldn't have to train. Her job is to rule beside the Alpha, and look damn good doing it."

Castor massaged his temples.

"No hot-blooded wolf would accept a leader that did not go through rough patches with them."

"Well running is too rough a patch for this Luna," Melina replied snarkily, flipping her hair over her shoulders. Her manicured nails gently curled raven black hair, and heavy makeup was yet another reminder that this she-wolf flaunted the training rules of the pack to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Castor gritted his teeth and grabbed Melina by the arm, dragging her to his door.

"The next time you step foot in my bedroom, I will assume you want either death or banishment. I have no problem granting you either. You would do well to remember that."

Melina's face paled and her ice-blue eyes frantically searched Castor's face, looking for any sign of humor.

"You're serious, aren't you?" she whispered.

"As a rogue attack. Now stay out."

He shoved her through the door, not even caring that all she had on was lingerie. Not ten seconds later he heard a pounding on his door. Flinging it open with a snarl, he was ready to rip Melina apart. Unfortunately for him, the person at the door was his mother, Joanna.

"I don't give a damn that you kicked that hussy out of your room. Good for you I say. However, you will not fling her out into the hall with nothing but dental floss on. We may be werewolves, but we aren't animals."

Castor ducked his head, a little ashamed. He hadn't thought about how it might affect her with the pack, he had just wanted her out. He quickly picked up her clothes and handed them to his mother.

"Sorry, mother."

She smiled and patted his cheek.

"It's ok my son. I forgive you. This time."

Moving down the hall where he could see Melina peeking from around the corner, his mother called out over her shoulder, "don't forget to catch up to your pack. They're halfway done with the run!"

Castor cursed under his breath and whirled around back to his room. Making his way to the balcony he flung open the doors and leaped, transforming into his wolf Lorenzo before he hit the ground. He took off running, not to meet up with his pack, but to start his 6 miles. What kind of leader would he be if he used excuses just to get out of training?

No. Unacceptable. He would just use this as fuel.

'Message: any werewolf I pass on this run will be doing it all over again.'

He could feel the anxiousness and nervousness of his pack through the pack bonds and he urged Lorenzo to speed up. The huge wolf happily obliged and barreled around the trail even faster. He saw some of his wolves kicking it into high gear, especially knowing he was behind them. At the end of the run, Castor came in dead last, but overall the pack had cut down on their time by twenty minutes.

After the warm-up was done, the pack broke off into several different groups. Some were in wolf form, practicing how to take on different enemies, be it vampires or rogue packs. The ones in human form were practicing in hand-to-hand combat to subdue enemies in one-on-one situations as well.

Castor would step in and out of all the human groups, offering advice and tips. He then shifted to wolf form and let Lorenzo guide the younger pups in their pack training.

At the end of the training, Castor was tired but satisfied. While he showered he thought about how far the pack had come since he unofficially became Alpha 4 months ago. After he brushed his waves down and tied on a do-rag, he looked in the mirror. Castor had a physical build characteristic of all Alpha wolves, his muscles rippling with every move. He was tall, about 6'2, with smooth umber skin, and golden eyes that flashed grey when his wolf was agitated. Looking in the mirror he was reminded of his father and all that he had done for the good of this pack. He still felt as if he wasn't doing enough, but he could only do what he was able to at the moment. Speaking of, he needed to make plans. He quickly mind-linked Gabriel.

'Gabriel, my office. Now.'

'Yes, Alpha.'

Castor strode out of his room, down the hall to his office. Entering the room and making his way to the desk, he noticed all the pictures lining the walls. They were mostly of his father and mother in their prime, as Alpha and Luna of Rivermoon Pack. There were a few pictures of him and his sister here and there, but it was apparent that this office was not Castor's. Not yet anyway. Sitting down he used his computer to pull up a map of the area surrounding the Red Room.

Not long after, he heard Gabriel coming up the stairs. Finally making it to his office, Gabriel held his nose and fanned himself with his hand.

"Alpha. No shade, but it stinks in here."

Castor gave him an annoyed look and motioned for him to close the door.

"Direct your complaints to Melina. That's her perfume after all."

"I'm good. I try to give crazy at least 6 feet of breathing room at all times. If you adopted that policy too you wouldn't be in this mess."

Castor grudgingly nodded his agreement before turning his computer so that Gabriel could see it.

"Callahan called. He told me that Leviathan and Asmodeus will both be at the Red Room this weekend."

Gabriel nodded excitedly.

"That's great. We can get down there. But we have never seen either of those vamps. How will we know who we're after? And is he sure that one of those two is behind the attacks?

Castor nodded curtly.

"He is sending his informant as well as one of his best men to point them out for us. And he assures us that the information from his informant is absolute."

Gabriel sat back and stroked his chin in thought.

"That's a whole lot of trust that man is asking for."

Castor sighed.

"We don't have that many options, Gabe. So, who do we want to take on this mission? I know there's no way I can convince you to stay behind, so Desmond will have to do it. Luckily for him, my mom likes him more between the two of you so he shouldn't have a problem."

Gabe put his hand to his chest, feigning hurt.

"That hurts. Momma Henderson loves me."

Castor chuckled despite himself.

"Yeah, just about as much as one loves a toothache. But on a serious note, we need to figure out who is coming."

Suddenly the door flew open and a small blonde girl with a smattering of freckles burst through the door.

"Whatever it is, I'm in."

"Absolutely not Becks."

Becks crossed her arms and pouted.

"Why does Gabriel get to go and not me?"

Castor sighed and slipped from behind his desk to hug her.

"Because you're my little sister, and I couldn't bear to lead you into that death trap."

"No, I am not. I am a wolf of the Rivermoon pack. Put me to use Alpha."

"Becks adopted or not, you are and forever will be my little sister. Period. And there are plenty of ways that I can put you to use on pack lands."

Becks wrinkled her nose.

"Having to deal with Melina harassing me for brownie points with you? No thanks."

Castor shrugged.

"Regardless, you're not coming tonight and that's final."

***

The night of Sera's mission

Castor

"Gabriel, would you mind explaining to me just how Becks was able to sneak onto this mission team after I specifically forbade her from coming along?!"

Becks giggled beside him as Gabriel kept tugging on the collar of his shirt in distress.

"Because oh wise Alpha brother of mine, you did not give me the actual Alpha order. So I just got ready before you guys, doused myself in the potion Pix gave us, and hid in the trunk."

Castor glared at her.

"I try not to command my family to do things, as I usually trust them to do what I say. I see with you that is not the case. I'm calling one of the warriors to come and get you," he said, reaching for his phone.

Becks grabbed his hand and quickly came up with an excuse to stay.

"If a werewolf drives up now and I get in the car, the vamp bouncers at the door will smell it and our cover will be blown. I'm here now, and I can be helpful. I promise."

Castor let out an angry sigh.

"Rebekah Ann Henderson, you will not do anything that will cause you harm. That is an order."

She gulped nervously and nodded her head.

"Yes, Alpha."

Castor motioned to Matthew, the other wolf he had brought on this mission, and they all headed over to the entrance.

'Keep your eyes and ears open. The potion that hides our scent should last for about 6 hours. That should be enough time for us to get information at the very least. Be safe, be smart.'

'Yes Alpha' came the collective reply.