Dangers within Banking

[tinkerbell]

The van screeched to a stop right outside the big brick home. The driver flung open his door and rushed to the side of the van to open the door. He was sweating and he certainly seemed nervous. He flung open the door and then took several quick and panicked steps backwards

Adela emerged from the van in human form, screaming curse words in German, French, and English. She was naked. No one had been courteous enough to remember that once she’d change forms again, she’d need clothes. Oh, and no one had gotten clothes for Josef either. So they were riding in a van, naked, with a strange woman. The awkwardness irritated Adela beyond belief. That irritation quickly transformed into anger. She stormed out of the van and headed straight for the front door, screaming at the people behind her.

“We were in a hospital, for God’s sake Josef! You could have let a damn doctor do it! Sticking your fingers in my wounds! What the hell were you thinking? You’re an imbecile, you know! And a jackass! How could you let some stupid humans sneak up on you like that! Besides being an imbecile and a jackass, you’re also a werewolf, remember? I thought you were dead, Josef, DEAD! UGH!”

She shoved him in his chest, hard, not caring that he too was still healing. She turned and Adela noticed a strange car in the driveway. Well, not strange, it was Marc’s Jeep. She stormed through the unlocked front door. “CLOSE YOUR EYES!” She barked the order out loud enough that Marc would have heard her in the next county. She was stomping, slamming doors, and huffing at every opportunity. The bedroom was her next victim. Adela flung open the door to the closet and snatched her ivory robe off its hanger. It wouldn’t be ivory anymore once it touched her skin. She was still bleeding from the bullet wounds that Josef had oh-so delicately operated on. She snatched his robe as well and then turned away from the closet. The werewolf was so angry she was shaking. Part of her wanted to change forms and simply run until she could not run any further. But she knew she couldn’t bear to be away from Josef for the moment.

She wrapped the robe tightly around her waist and tied the band before coming back into the living room. Marc was sitting, almost cowering, on a chair in the living room. Adela walked straight passed him and upstairs, taking them two a time. The door to her painting room slammed behind her and Adela collapsed into the day bed. Oh the paintings she would make from these memories. She laid back very slowly into the cushions and closed her eyes, forcing the tears down her cheeks. Adela wasn’t really crying so much as expressing the immense relief she felt. They were home and safe…. For now. Her breath caught in her throat and she sobbed softly, covering her wolf’s yellow eyes with her arms.

[tinkerbell1]

Marc, like many of the residents of New York, had been watching his evening news when he learned about Josef. He’d raced the Jeep to the Alphas’ house but had arrived to find the door wide open, television on, a coffee mug shattered on the kitchen floor and a painting half finished next to it. He knew that Adela had probably seen the same news cast he had. Marc made the difficult decision to sit tight, clean up, and even guard the house if it came down to it. He’d cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and then spent the remainder of his time in wolf form, patrolling the outside of the house and neighborhood, looking for anything and everything that was out of place.

He hadn’t called in the rest of the pack. Given Josef’s unstable health, it would have been dangerous. A fight for rank could have erupted easily. Of course, Josef could still tear Marc to pieces if he came home and found him here but Marc was banking on the Alpha’s humanity to keep him in one whole piece. That was a well in good, but still a theory. Marc had been a werewolf longer than any other member of the pack but that hadn’t changed his ranking. Plus, this whole pack thing was new to everyone. No telling how anyone would react.

But now, it was time to put his theory to the test. Marc heard the van coming, heard Adela’s ferocious screams, as they pulled onto the street. He took a deep breath and sat down on the air chair in the living room. He suddenly felt very very small. He could sense the powerful Alpha’s coming in, Adela more than Josef. She was mad, furious, about something and Marc sure as hell didn’t want to get in her way. He locked his eyes on the floor and slouched purposefully, trying to make himself look as small and insignificant as possible. Josef could certainly take his presence here as threat and Marc wanted to make sure the message was clear: Just here to help.

“CLOSE YOU EYES.”

"Okay," Came his soft response. Even though he was looking down, Marc could not disobey the Alpha’s command. Sure, she was technically the Alpha, but at this moment in time she was certainly radiating the power and control of one. Marc waited patiently, his head down and eyes still closed. Well, at least Adela hadn’t killed him. He hoped for the same from Josef.

[endaaherin]

The chaos that seemed to engulf New York that night was almost... paranormal. The sense in the air seemed to tell more of the story than any news reporter on any channel could. No matter where she flipped, the breaking news was the massive gunbattle that erupted in the hospital and now by... all official reports... Josef Abad was placed in protective custody. The reports were sketchy but what did escape was that four gunmen ran into the hospital in another attempt on Abads life. What had the Alpha gotten himself into? No more had she heard of the gunfight than had she been out the door. There was only one place to go, Abads.

She had to have broken every speed limit, run through every single red light. The dangers that faced Enda were apparent. As she turned up the street, squad cars dotted sides. Police were about and eyeing every car that dared near the Abad home. The police were not the dangers that Enda faced. It was Abad... and his Mate. Amongst the females of the pack, Enda was the Omega, though she held a mouth that an Omega should not. She had her own demons, the lust for taken men that seemed to get her in trouble more often than not and as a result, she was not Adela's most favored person. As she pulled just behind an unmarked van, spotting Marcs own vehicle, she realized the pack was regrouping. If Abad was really injured, then it was dangerous... for any wolf to be around. Would Marc, a male himself be tolerated so close to an injured Alpha or would he try and take down the weakened male on his own? Would there be a fight for supremacy of the pack on this evening?

She no more than stepped out of the house than had she smelled Adelas scent. It was stong, illuminating from the unmarked van as was an unknown humans. 'So there was more than just wolves in the home...' Enda thought as she approached the front door. Quietly, she opened, hearing feet stomping upstairs, spotting Marc sitting and Josefs frame in the kitchen with an unknown womans. A growl escaped her lips. If Enda couldn't be near Abad why could some humans?

"Marc," Enda whispered, "how are they?"

[Josef Ibn-Abad]

No more had they come home than had Adela started going off. Stomping her feet, yelling, storming through the house, she let everyone know of her anger towards the Alpha. As her rampage continued on, finally being take to the upstairs floor, Abad shook his head and let out an unnatural grunt in frustration. "Try and do something nice..." Then he smelled Marc. Following Adela's little womanesque rampage through the bottom floor, Abad had passed Marc not once but twice and yet took no notice of him. That was dangerous and almost stupid. Josef, in his state, should have taken notice of another Male in his territory. Marc was strong, fast and agile and all of this was especially true in his wolf form. Jo barked and howled within Abad, wanting to be let loose to ensure Fasano would remember his place but as the Alpha reentered the den, he knew Marc to be no immediate threat though also spotted Enda. Marcs demeanor was one of defeat. "Two things Marc." Josef began, "Thats one scary woman when shes angry so don't think ill of yourself for cowering." Omega wolves were known to get ass chewed more frequently than the others of the pack, "the second is... are we going to have a problem?"

The question was pointed and direct. Abad wanted to know if there was going to be a challenge to his roll as Alpha he would rather it occur now than later. Before Marc could reply, a new scent entered the room, Averian. "Josef, I need to talk to you about something." Abad nodded and left the room. "You two get something to eat and stay out of Adelas way. Lord knows I will." His body was so agitated, so angry, so tense. His muscles remained flexed throughout his body, his skin stretched. He followed Averian into his office on the bottom floor which was more of a study than anything. "What do you smell?"

Abad took a sniff.

"Trespassers."

"Good." Averian replied. Josef was starting to catch up. "Whats missing?"

His eyes shot around, the computer was gone and desk drawers were on the floor. Walking over, he moved debris about with his foot. "The Computer, my two backup hard drive and my flash drives with the Bank of Luzon information on it."

Averian knew of the missing computer but did not know of the hard drives or flash drives. "My men were hear earlier. They hit your home just after... I mean moments after Adela left for the hospital. From a neighbors report Adela got into her car and by the time she turned down the street another vehicle had pulled into your drive and was already at the front door."

"Someone just fuck me!" Josef howled. He lifted a drawer, polished oak and tossed it across the room, the wood shattering against the wall. Adela's life had been put into danger, she herself could have been hurt. "Marc - Enda!" Josef snapped with absolute rage. Storming through the home, Abad went right back into the den, "You two are staying here for now. Anyone... and I mean anyone comes walking through that front door, comes busting in through the back or windows or come in some other way, you had better tear them apart. Am I understood?"

He did not mean to snap at them as he was, but in the matter of several hours, he had been shot at then poisoned. His mate had nearly been ambushed at their own home. She had nearly been killed in the hospital and now to learn that his shit had been stolen was only the more frustrating. A slur of arabic swears escaped his lips as he headed back into the kitchen, "Didn't I tell you two to get something to eat?"

"Josef?" Averian asked, holding Josefs robe. "I found this by the stairs. I think Adela had wanted you to put something on."

Watching an arab man blush was unique. It was like tanned pink skin encompassing the entirety of his body. She tossed the robe as it was now realized by Abad that he had been storming through house completely naked and yelling at his Omegas. Perhaps that was why they looked so surprised. A naked Alpha shouting at them. "Thank you." He said, sliding the robe on.

- - - - -

He'd made his leave from the kitchen and headed up to their bedroom. He could feel the emotion from Adela, even before he opened the door to see he laying upon the bed. Her wounds were healing but the smell of her blood filled the air. That's when he backed down. His own wounds still hurt but because of the two attempts at shifts, they had begun to heal a bit more rapidly. Slowly, carefully he made his way to the edge and sat, one arm resting on her thigh, "I'm sorry..."

[tinkerbell1]

It was strange to quiver uncontrollably under the voice of someone he hardly knew. Marc had lived for so long as a lone werewolf, only going where he wanted and doing the things that compelled him that Josef’s power over him was unsettling. But the Alpha’s power was obvious and impossible to ignore. Marc stared at the floor with hard green eyes, not daring to look up at Josef and challenge his power. Not to mention he was stark naked. Once the Alpha’s rage began to diminish, Marc felt he could move again. His muscled had tensed up and now releasing them was painful. He grabbed Enda by her arm and yanked her towards the kitchen. “Come on,” He pressed open the double glass doors that led to the back porch. The wind was surprising chilly. Or perhaps it was the scent of danger in the hair that made his hair stand on end.

Marc kicked off his sneakers while he pulled his shirt over his head. “We should set up some kind of perimeter around the neighborhood. I’d say, maybe three miles in circumference. That way, we can still be close to the house while still keeping a good boundary.” He pulled his belt off and tossed it onto the wooden deck. “Hurry.” Marc had the uncanny ability to almost burst into his other form. He had been quick to accept his fate and readily admitted how much he enjoyed his supernatural powers. As such, his transformation was swift, though still painful. But the werewolf had come to welcome the pain as prelude to indescribable pleasure. Within two minutes, a large, dark chocolate brown wolf had replaced the Texan man. As a wolf, Marc was gangly. His legs were a bit too long and his shoulders too broad for his body. It only made him faster. He threw his back and let out a short, excited howl. He would have howled all night but it might scare the neighbors. With no time for the stairs, he leapt agilely over the railing of the porch and was running before he hit the ground twenty feet below. No one was getting past him while he still had energy left in his body.