Beneath The Darkness

A Death In The Pack

    Kaze

    ''It's just the house settling. Calm down.'' Misery said.

    ''Look all I'm saying is she doesn't look anything special. It's like the only thing she got from Fury was her appearance. Unless... unless she sealed away her powers to hide her from them. She did seem a little paranoid just before she died.'' I stopped in front of Misery.

    ''I mean it is a possibility. And if that's the case we don't know how to unseal her.'' she replied. ''Besides I'm sure this has all somehow worked as part of her plan. You know Fury was the greatest strategist the Agency ever had.''

    ''Yeah I know.'' I said solemnly. ''But you know how much I hate waiting around.''

    ''So do you want to be the one to call the directors and tell them we failed or should I?'' she snapped at me ''Because you know how hard it was for Fury to convince them to be apart of this op.''

    ''Fine. Sixty days. Then we move ahead with my plan. Okay?''

    ''Sounds good. Sixty days. Then we move. Until then continue to monitor her for any changes.'' Misery replied.

    I left to return to my room. I hate observation ops. I wasn't an informant nor an observer. I was an agent, an executioner. The Agency was full aware of how dangerous I was when I got bored. I still don't why Fury wanted me be one of the two to take over if she failed. But Misery was right, Fury was a great strategist and a very powerful witch. Sometimes her plans bordered on precognition, so I just had to trust in her plan. The only thing I couldn't figure out was why she returned the 'Magic For Beginners' book I got her as a joke when we first started running ops together. And her cryptic message about needing it for a mission soon. There was a knock on my door. I tossed the book onto my nightstand and turned to greet my guest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Jenny

    When I got back to my room my mind was trying to process what I heard. Nothing made sense. How did they know my mother? And what di they mean by replacement? With all these unanswered questions running wild in my head I fell into an uneasy sleep.

    Morning came and I was beyond exhausted. I walked into the dining room for breakfast.

    ''Good morning, Jenny.'' Mizore said brightly when I sat down. ''Your father had some emergency pack meeting this morning.''

    As I sat eating breakfast Franky and Juliette came in and sat on either side of me. When Juliette sat down I caught the faintest smell of fire and sweat. I looked at her and she had the brightest smile on her face, like she just had the best night of her entire life. I was about to growl at her when Kaze stepped into the dining room and his scent hit me full in the face.

    ''I'm leaving early. I'll grab breakfast on the way.'' he said. "And I'll be back late.''

    "Kaze, why don't give them a ride to school?'' Mizore asked.

    ''Fine. But I'm leaving right now so let's go.'' he replied.

    We walked out to the garage where two new cars sat. Kaze walked over to an all black street racing car, got in and started it up. I was nervous walking over to his car. I got into the back seat and I was glad no one else could see my face. Being so close to him and being surrounded by his scent was sending Rose into lust overdrive. I silently wished that the ride to school wouldn't take to long.

    My brain was practically mush by the time we got to school. As soon as Kaze parked I got out of his car and walked to my first class in a daze. I spent the whole day zoned out trying to think of a way to talk to Kaze about being my mate. But also how to tell my dad everything I overheard last night.

    ''Hey? Jen, are you in there?'' Juliette asked me.

    ''Huh? What?'' I stammered.

    ''We said we gotta walk home because Kaze has something going on tonight.'' Franky responded.

    ''Oh. okay.''

    ''Are you alright? You've been off since this morning.'' Franky asked.

    ''I know what's wrong.'' Juliette chimed in. ''She found her mate.''

    ''What? Who? When?'' Franky exclaimed.

    ''Don't tell me, Franky, that you didn't notice.'' Juliette teased. ''The whole car smelled of her arousal. She was thinking of him all morning. She's in love.''

    ''That's disgusting. And no I didn't notice. I was too busy gazing at the hunk of stepbrother she has.'' Franky replied. ''So Jenny tell us, who is he?''

    ''Ugh, fine!'' I yelled. ''It's Kaze.'' The smiles on their faces quickly went away and they looked at each other. ''What? What's the problem? Other than the fact that he's supposed to be my stepbrother.'' I asked.

    ''We, uh, slept with him last night.'' Juliette said quietly.

    ''Both of us.'' Franky finished.

    ''Both of my friends slept with my mate. And to top it off it's like his mother and him are plotting something. But I have no idea what because they were talking in code. And it has something to do with my mother.'' I shouted.

    ''I mean to be fair he was down with taking both of us, saying he doesn't have a mate. And you didn't say anything about it.'' Juliette stated. ''Also judging by this morning it doesn't seem as if he feels the the mate bond pulling him towards you.''

    ''Yeah he did basically ignore you this morning.'' Franky agreed. ''I think maybe you should talk to him about it.''

    ''Maybe you're right. But what do I do about the both of them planning something?'' I asked.

    ''How do you know it has something to do with your mom?'' Juliette asked.

    ''While they were talking Kaze brought up her name. He said that she sealed someone and was paranoid before she died. He said it like he knew her pretty well, but there is no way he could've. Both him and Mizore would've been in Japan when she died, and she didn't have any family from what I've been told.'' I said.

    ''Maybe they were talking about someone else.'' Franky said.

    ''How many people do you know named Fury?''

    ''Touché.''

    ''I don't know. Maybe it's all coincidental. I mean to me it just seems like some words get mixed up. English isn't their first language.'' Juliette said. ''But you really should say something to your dad.''

    She was right. Kaze and Mizore had lives before now. It was very possible that they knew someone using a nickname or code name that just happened to be the same as my mother's. But as a precaution I decided I'd say something to my dad, alone.

    For two months I kept an eye on Kaze and Mizore. But every time I tried to talk to my dad about them, either Mizore was with him or he was busy with pack duties. And anytime I tried to talk to Kaze about him being my mate, he would avoid me. During that time neither Kaze nor Mizore made any moves like they had something planned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ██████

    I stood at the edge of the property waiting for my prey. A mid-March breeze blew through the trees, rustling the leaves in the nearly full moon light. The wind brought the smell of rain and wolves. I saw the man walk out the backdoor alone and started towards me.

    ''You ready, Shadow?'' Misery asked me.

    ''I've been ready for months.'' I replied. We walked up to the man, our cloaks blowing in the breeze.

    ''I should've guessed that it would be you two.'' he sighed. ''Why go through the whole charade if you're just gonna take her without telling her what's going on?''

    ''Because the plan changed. Originally Fury was supposed to bring her after explaining and training her.'' Misery explained. ''After her passing, the director in charge decided to move up her collection.''

    ''But why go through pretending to marry me and living here for the last couple months?'' he asked.

    ''We had to be sure she could be strong enough to take Fury's place as a Sin.'' I said impatiently.

    ''So what happens next?''

    ''We eliminate you, the pack goes to your beta, and we leave with the future Sin, as per the contract you signed.'' Misery replied. ''I assume you've already made the preparations?''

    ''Yes. I'm ready.''

    Misery nodded to me. I smiled a devilish smile, and in the blink of an eye I stood in front of the former alpha. He closed his eyes and I slowly pushed my hand into abdomen. Reaching into his chest cavity, my hand slowly grasped his beating heart. His pulse quickened and the smell of fear poured out of him. I squeezed /his heart in my hand until it was a pile of mush. It took just a few moments for the oxygen to stop getting to his brain. He dropped to the ground, eyes wide open, the color slowly draining from his face. After we were sure he was dead, we left him laying on his lawn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Jenny

    I awoke to my alarm and started getting ready for school. The dining room was empty when I got down to it. I assume everyone had already left for the day. I ate breakfast and headed off to school. I chatted with Franky and Juliette for a bit before heading to my first class, expecting to see Kaze in the back as usual. But Kaze never showed up. After lunch I got called down to the admin office, where Beta Mark was waiting with Franky and Juliette. Silently he led us to his car and drove to the pack house where the entire pack was waiting for us. He led us up to a stage where a pyre was erected and began speaking to the pack.

    "Late last night Alpha Jacob was attacked and killed. In the absence of a Luna, I shall carry out the will and wishes of the late alpha according to his instructions given to the elders before his death.'' He pulled out a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. ''First, the alpha daughter is to return to the pack of the former Luna when her family arrives to reclaim her. Second, the beta is to assume command as the new alpha until such a time as the return of the alpha daughter.'' They brought my father out and laid him on the pyre before igniting it, returning him to the moon goddess. I sat in stunned silence as pack members came up to me and gave me their condolences. I was quiet and calm on the surface all the way home. Juliette and Franky stayed with me all the way to my room. Franky left and Juliette helped me change and laid me down in my bed before leaving. After Juliette left I broke. I began crying and curled up into a ball as darkness closed in around me.

    I awoke around noon and made my way down to the dining room where Franky and Juliette were talking. They stopped when I walked in.

    ''Hey Jen, want something to eat?'' Juliette asked.

    ''What's going to happen to Kaze and Mizore?'' I mumbled.

    ''What's that sweetie?'' Franky asked.

    ''What's going to happen to Kaze and Mizore?'' I asked louder. They looked at each other.

    ''Who?''

    "Kaze and Mizore. My mate and the woman my father was supposed to marry this summer.''

    ''Jen, darling, your dad wasn't going to marry anyone this summer.''

    ''And you haven't met you mate yet. At least you didn't tell us if you did.''

    I ran towards Kaze's room. I refused to accept that my mate had abandoned me and my friends forgot who he was. When I threw open the door I found a bare room. There was nothing in the closet or drawers. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room aside from a strange book on the night stand. 'Magic For Beginners'. I opened the cover and there was a note written in it.

    'Shadow, don't let Misery break after I'm gone. I've taken care of everything. -Fury, et requiem tibi Avaritia

    I closed the book and held it tight against my chest. I curled up on the bed and began crying again.