Chapter 37 - Easy boy
2030 Words
John parked his car and walked with vigorous steps towards the hospital. He went directly to the elevator, taking him to the Cardiology wards. He couldn’t sense Isabel’s scent anywhere, and his hope of finding her here, at work, safe and sound, slowly faded.
“Dr Hendricks?”
He turned around, only to see Emma, Isabel’s friend, standing there in the corridor in her scrubs, looking at him with surprise.
“Gemma, is it?” he asked.
“It’s Emma,” she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sorry, Emma. I’m looking for Isabel,” he could sense her disapproval of him being there.
“Oh really?” she gave him a scornful look. “Well, she’s not here.”
“Do you know where she is?” John tried to sound friendly, keeping his cool, even if he was feeling impatient and stressed.
“I’m not going to tell you,” Emma frowned with despite. “Is it true?” she continued. “Are you married?”
“What?” John furrowed his brows. “No! Why would you think that?”
“Isabel thinks you might be,” Emma shrugged her shoulders, her eyes still full of contempt. “It could explain why you’ve been such a dickhead.”
“Well, I’m not married,” John hissed. “Now, can you please tell me where she is? I really need to see her.”
He began pacing back and forth, not being able to stand still. The fact that Isabel was not here, while Nicholas was on the loose, made him extremely nervous.
“No,” Emma shook her head, pursing her lips.
“Please...” John ran his hand through his damp hair. “I beg you. It’s important,” he looked at her pleadingly. “It might be a matter of life and death.”
“I don’t know…” she hesitated, looking at him suspiciously.
He seemed very agitated. Was he even sane, or why was he behaving like this?
“Emma, please,” he stopped right in front of her. “I have to see her. I have to make sure she’s OK. I made a mistake; I shouldn’t have left like that. Please let me make it up to her.”
“OK,” Emma sighed reluctantly. “She’s out with my other friends, Helen and Eileen. The same girls we went out with last weekend, if you remember?”
“Where did they go?” John asked impatiently.
“They were going to that fancy French bar... I think it’s called Folie something.”
“Thank you,” John shouted, already running towards the elevators.
“You’re welcome,” Emma muttered, wondering if she should call Isabel and warn her that John was looking for her.
She decided to call Helen instead.
“Hi Emma! How are you? Are you coming to join us?” Helen’s excited high pitched voice reverberated over the phone, accompanied by some music playing and people talking in the background.
“No, silly, I’m at work,” Emma smiled. “Are you having a good time?”
“Yes, we are having the best of times! But we miss you!” Helen exclaimed.
Emma laughed, her friend was clearly a bit drunk already.
“Are you still at that French bar?” Emma asked.
“What?” Helen yelled.
“Are. You. Still. At. That. French. Bar?” Emma repeated.
“No!” Helen replied. “We’re at the Royale. Are you coming?”
“No! I’m working!” Emma emphasized. It was hard not to laugh out loud.
“So why are you calling me?” Helen shouted, clearly confused.
“Never mind,” Emma smiled. “Say hello to the others for me, will you? And look out for Isabel, she needs a little support.”
“I am supporting her!” Helen was cheering, and Emma suspected they were doing shots.
“OK, honey, have fun. Talk to you later,” Emma shook her head. That girl was crazy!
“Bye! Love you!” Helen shouted and hung up.
While running towards his car, John searched for Folie on his GPS. Folie à Deux. What a strange name, he thought.
With the GPS leading the way, he drove towards the older parts of the city, where the large buildings were exhibiting the golden years of the past. He wondered what it would have been like to live back then, when one was supposed to travel by horse for example.
He couldn’t think of anything worse! Horses were instinctively and deeply frightened by werewolves, seemingly sensing their true nature even when in their human forms. Thus, he had never touched any horse. Those few times he had tried, they had become wild and crazy, rolling their eyes with fear.
Arriving at the address stated by the GPS, he peeped through the large windows to see a bustling crowd, but he couldn't spot Isabel or her friends. After parking his car, he stepped inside and caught a whiff of Isabel's scent. At least, she had been here! But no matter how much he looked, he couldn't see her anywhere in the fancy restaurant.
People were starting to look at him suspiciously, but he didn't care. However, suddenly, his attention was drawn to a pair of eyes that locked onto his. He halted in his tracks, his gaze meeting that of another wolf.
As John approached, he noticed the other wolf was a tall, dark-haired man dressed in a sharp tuxedo, chatting casually with some girls with pretty dresses at the bar. A quiet growl escaped him when he realised... The other wolf had Isabel’s scent on him. The closer he got, the more certain he was! But where was Isabel? What had this wolf done to her? John's heart raced with fury as he approached the stranger.
“Hello, may I help you?” the other wolf looked at him coolly.
“Where is she?” John growled.
“Who?” The man in front of him quirked up a brow, looking amused.
“Isabel,” John rumbled through gritted teeth, his eyes starting to glow. The girls at the bar looked at him in shock.
“I’m Oliver,” the other wolf said. “Please, let us discuss somewhere else.”
He showed the way to a door behind the bar, leading to an old-fashioned office with a large mahogany desk and leather Chesterfield armchairs.
“Who do you think you are? Showing up here, at MY territory uninvited, behaving like that?” Oliver snarled as he closed the door behind them, giving John a menacing stare.
“I’m John Hendricks,” John’s eyes were fuming with anger. He had to muster every inch of self-control to not throw himself at that self-righteous prick! “I’m the Alpha of River Valley Pack, and the leader of the Western tribe. And I think you have something that belongs to me.”
“Ahhh, I see…” Oliver’s lips curled into a spiteful smile. “The mighty Alpha of the Black Wolves… But as far as I’ve heard, you’re not their Alpha yet.”
“It’s only a matter of formalities and procedures. But I am already their Alpha, in the eyes of the pack.”
“And yet, here you are…” Oliver was arching a brow. “Not with your pack, but looking for a human girl?”
“Enough of this nonsense!” John bellowed. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Oliver shrugged his shoulders.
“You’re lying,” John walked up to him, standing face to face, staring him in the eye. “I can sense her scent on you. What have you done to her?”
“She does have an extra-ordinary scent…” Oliver smiled wryly. “And she is very attractive. Lovely legs. One wonders what it would be like to plunge in there…”
John fiercely threw Oliver against the wall.
“Where is she?” he bellowed. “If you have hurt her…”
Oliver stood up slowly, rearranging his tie. He looked at him coolly, seemingly not frightened at all by his outburst.
“Easy boy,” Oliver scorned. “I must say I’m a little disappointed, John. I thought you would be more… sophisticated.” He walked over to his desk and sat down at it with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I don’t know where your human is. She was here with a mutual friend, and we were introduced, but that’s all,” he frowned. “But it’s good to know the weak spot of the Black Wolves. I never thought it would be such a banality as a human… It makes you very weak,” he added.
“I don’t care what you think,” John sighed, running his hand through his hair, his eyes desperate.
His whole being just wanted to find Isabel, hold her in his arms and keep her safe. There were too many wolves involved in this now.
“They said they were going to the clubs, if it’s helpful,” Oliver said after a while. “But if I may come with a piece of advice, you should forget about that girl. It will not end well..." Oliver stood up. "You will not be able to mark her, you know, since she is human..." he continued. "... and with a scent like that… if you want to keep her safe from other wolves, you will have to lock her up. Most men are not as in control of their wolves as we are. Even if I’m starting to doubt your ability to control yours.”
“Do you know which one?” John asked with a hoarse voice, his eyes weary.
“They said they were going to Royale,” Oliver looked at him with pity.
“Thank you,” John turned to leave.
“And, maybe I should tell you…” Oliver said to his back.
“What?” John looked over his shoulder with a frown.
“There were a couple of other wolves with them. They came here and picked up the girls right before they left.”
“What did they look like?” John tensed.
“One of them was tall, dark… looking a bit like you,” Oliver recalled.
John froze. Was it Nick? How could he have missed his scent?
“The other one had auburn hair and blue eyes. Very well dressed, I liked his suit.” Oliver continued.
“Marcus,” John shook his head. He had been so focused on Nicholas, he had forgotten about Marcus...
But of course! Marcus had been obviously interested in Isabel. John had believed it had been a coincidence, that Marcus just happened to be there that night, not that he was actually pursuing her... Besides, what was Marcus doing here anyway? He was Freya’s brother, the upcoming Alpha of the Emerald Lake Pack, shouldn’t he be with his pack up north?
“Thank you,” John repeated over his shoulder and was just about to leave Oliver’s office, as he stopped and turned to face him again.
“Who are you, really?" John squinted his eyes. "I reckon we are approximately the same age, but I don’t recognize you from Alpha training.”
“That’s because I’m no Alpha or Beta,” Oliver snickered. “I decided early to leave pack life, it wasn’t for me. I prefer the humans’ world,” he spread his arms. “This humble life suits me perfectly. I still have some wolf friends, but that’s enough.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” John chuckled. “Not that I would call it humble.”
He turned and left, walking with brisk steps through the restaurant, and started to run as soon as soon as he got out in the street. Once again, he searched his GPS. Royale... Another nightclub... Another club visit.
"Another chance," his wolf whispered.
"We are going to find and protect Isabel from Nick, that's all," he muttered back.
"Who do you think you're fooling?"
- Writer
