“Where are you taking me?” she asked as Derrick started the engine.
“Shut the hell up!” Scott yelled. “My God! Do you ever stop yapping? Just do what we say and stop with the questions now! You got it?” Jenni just fearfully stared at him in response. “Good!”
***
She had no idea how long she had been tied to the chair. Everything was starting to blur together. Her lips were dry and cracked around the rope she was gagged with, and she could feel that her wrists and ankles were about to bleed. Her cheeks were sticky from the tears she could not wipe away, and these guys would not stop staring at her.
“Well,” Nick said, getting up from his seat, “I think it's about that time.”
“No! Noooo!” Jenni's scream was muffled by the rope as a fresh stream of tears fell down her face.
“Calm down, beautiful,” Nick soothed as he stroked her hair. “It's not that time yet.”
“No!” Jenni sobbed.
Nick pulled out his cell and started dialing a number.
“Wait!” Derrick said. “He'll see your number.”
“Good call brother,” Nick said, waving a finger at Derrick. “You're right. Good thinking.” He turned back to Jenni. “Where's your phone?”
He ran his hands up her thighs and around her pockets. She screamed and rocked the chair as he squeezed his hands under her legs to check her back pockets.
“Well,” he said, “I guess it's not in there. You're a feisty one. I like that. Adrian knew that too.” He winked at her.
“Son of a bitch! If you…” Jenni yelled as best as she could.
“Is it in your bag?” Nick asked. “Don't answer that.” He reached for her purse and dug around until he found it. “Here we go. This wallpaper with you and Carter is too cute. Ha ha! Well, let's get this show on the road.” He made a motion to Derrick toward Jenni. Derrick walked over and started removing the gag from her mouth while Nick dialed a number on her phone.
“You better not try anything,” he warned. “You tell him to come here. I swear if you try any shit...” He put the phone up to her ear, as she continued to sob. “Cut that shit out!” he hissed. The entire room got quiet and listened to the call.
“Hello?” Carter answered from the other line.
“Hey baby,” Jenni said, her voice shaky. “It's me.”
“What's up? What's wrong?”
“Uh, nothing,” she faked.
“Jenni! What's wrong with you?”
Jenni's eyes met Nick's glare. “Nothing, nothing,” she said into the phone. “I'm doing just fine.”
“So what's up?” Carter asked.
“Nothing,” she repeated. Nick gave her another dirty look. “Uh, so yeah. Me and the guys are hanging out.”
“Who? What guys?” Carter sounded concerned.
“Your guys,” she said. “At the frat house. Come on over.”
“Uh, alright,” Carter said. “I'll be there in, like, ten minutes.”
“CARTER! HELP!”
Derrick's hand was immediately over her mouth as Nick slammed the phone shut. He motioned for Derrick to move his hand. The demonic manipulator put his face two inches from hers and wrapped his hand around her throat.
“You little bitch,” Nick murmured. “I knew you would try something.”
“Screw you,” Jenni said. “All of you devils! You will not get away with this!”
Nick stood up and laughed. “Please, please. Save it for someone that cares.”
Scott jumped up to help Derrick hold Jenni still while he bound her mouth.
“You’ll get yours,” Jenni said through the rope. “All of you!” She continued to struggle against her binds and tried to make as much noise as she possibly could.
“Scott, stand the door,” Nick ordered. Scott did as he was told and peered out of the front window. “Clinton, back door.” Clinton nodded and left the room to go guard his post. Nick turned to Jenni. “I would suggest you shut up, and do it quickly.” He pulled a silver revolver from his back pocket and pointed it at her. She sat still and stared at Nick.
“That's what I thought,” Nick said. “Make another sound, and you will find out how serious I really am.”
He moved the gun out of her face and started running the barrel of it through her hair. She lost control and started sobbing all over again.
“Don't cry, Missy,” Nick cooed. “Everything's going to be alright. Have you ever heard the story of Dionysus? It’s Greek Mythology. Dionysus was on a journey across the sea when some pirates spotted him. They tried to lock him up because he had rich parents. But no matter what they did or how hard they tried, the locks never stuck – not on him, and not on his followers – for he was a god.
“Then, when he traveled to see his cousin Pentheus, Pentheus could not accept the fact that his family member was a god. So he tried to fight Dionysus, and was killed.” He lowered the gun. “Pretty good story, huh? I think so. It's always been one of my favorites.”
Nick's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Nick!” Scott whispered.
“Is it him?” Nick asked.
“It's him,” Derrick confirmed.
CHAPTER 8
“That was fast,” Nick mused. “Let's not be rude. Let him in.” Scott unlocked the door and cracked it open.
“What's going on, guys?” Carter said.
“Nothing much,” Scott said. “Come on in.” He opened the door wider to let Carter in, then shut and locked it behind him.
Carter stopped when he saw Jenni. “What the hell is this?”
“Oh, hey Carter,” Nick said, pretending to just see him.
Derrick jumped Carter from behind and forced him to the floor. He started throwing punches and Scott assisted with kicks. Carter tried to block against the blows, but he was defenseless. The two were putting a beating to him.
“Stop! Stop!” Jenni's muffled screams carried across the room.
Derrick got off of Carter so Scott could lift him up. Scott held Carter's arms behind him to give Derrick a clean shot to his face. THUD! Carter's cheek took another blow, and he was back on the floor. Jenni's painful cries resonated in Carter's ears as Scott lifted him back up. If Carter didn’t do something they would kill him with their bare hands.
Carter closed his eyes and absorbed the pain. He felt every stinging pore on his body. The betrayal and disloyalty seeped through his veins. He took it all in. Instantly his gray fur began to grow, his fangs grew, his claws widened. Carter became the biggest, tallest, muscular, most physically imposing version of his wolf form ever. He was an Alpha all along.
Carter shook his head and shoved Scott off of him like a mere child. Scott flew into the dry wall, putting a hole in the wall. Pivoting on the ball of his foot, he reached around and clawed Scott on the side of the head, sending him to the floor in a trail of his own blood. Derrick charged, grabbing Carter around the waist, trying to bring him down.
“What are you doing to Jenni?!” Carter growled as he swiped Derrick wherever his claws would land. “Why are you doing this to me? WHY?!”
Nick did not move from his spot next to Jenni. He watched on carefully, trigger hand engaged. Carter wrestled Derrick to his knees, then to his back, where he began receiving blow after blow from Carter's angry claws. Derrick stood no chance against the almost six foot Alpha wolf. Scott made a halfhearted effort to get Carter off of Derrick, but found himself beaten back on to the floor.
“ANSWER ME!” Carter raged.
Nick called out to Clinton, who was still at the back door. “What the hell are you doing back there? Get out here!” Carter got up off his victim and charged Nick. Nick pulled out his revolver and showed it to Carter. “Silver bullets. You may want to rethink that decision wolf.”
Clinton slowly strolled into the room as if he had not heard any of the commotion that had been going on. Carter snapped and started charging towards him.
“What the hell?” Clinton ye
lled, dodging Carter's advances. “Hey! Stop! Carter it’s me. You know I want nothing to do with this.”
“Why are you doing this?” Carter locked on to Clinton. They paced off face-to-face the living room. Carter couldn’t decide if he should maul Clinton or let him go. Clinton held his hands palms up, as if to say he didn’t want a confrontation. Carter finally barked and shoved Clinton across the room. “I swear! If I find out you had anything to do with this I will find you and drag from whatever cave you sleep in. I’ll fucking kill you and that’s my word.” Carter yelled, wiping his bloody nose with his fur-covered wrist.
Scott and Derrick helped each other off the floor, their faces and clothes bloodied. They made an attempt at Carter, but were stopped when Clinton grabbed the backs of their shirts.
“Come on, guys,” Clinton said. “We don't really have to do this. This is not our fight. We don’t have to die for this. All of that Alpha stuff isn’t real. You can’t learn it. Look at Carter, and then look at yourselves. He’s different. This is his fight. Let him fight it with the right people.”
“Are you really going to listen to a Vampire?” Nick yelled from the other side of the room. The two guys relaxed as Clinton let go of their shirts. They stared at Carter, who was positioned in the middle of the room.
“GET OUT OF HERE,” Carter demanded, to which his brothers listened. Behind him, Nick lifted the revolver and took aim.
“CARTER!” Jenni yelled as loud as she could through her gag.
Carter turned and dove at Nick. The gun fired and flew across the room as the wolf made impact. Carter and Nick scrambled to find the gun, but were more focused on attacking each other. Unlike the others, Nick was strong enough in human form to handle Carter. He was a true Alpha as well. Carter wasn’t easily overpowered but his strength was matched by Nick. Jenni continued to cry and struggle as she worked to get out of the binding. The wolf clawed and scraped at Nick who was growling in half-transformation.
“You little bitch!” Nick said, holding Carter on the floor.
“I WILL KILL YOU!” Carter pleaded. “What do you want with Jenni?!”
Nick punched Carter in the face. WHACK! The power momentarily dropped the wolf. “Shut up! I'll ask the questions!” He wrapped his hands around Carter's throat and started choking him. He then positioned himself behind Carter, arm wrapped around him in a choke hold, so that Jenni could watch his face as he suffered.
“Carter,” she sobbed helplessly.
“Jen,” Carter started fading out of wolf state and slowly out of consciousness. Desperate, he reached out for the leg of Jenni's chair. He felt his fingers wrap around it, and he squeezed as hard as he could.
“This is it, you little punk ass bitch,” Nick sneered.
Carter yanked on the leg of the chair, and it fell over with Jenni in it. He lunged forward with Nick still hanging onto him, and pulled the leg of the chair until it caught Nick in the eye. Nick's grip released, and Carter scrambled to untie Jenni.
“What are they trying to do to you?” Carter gasped, trying to collect his breath. “Why are they doing this? Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry.”
Nick fumbled to his feet, holding his hand over his eye.
“Carter!” Jenni yelled.
Nick planted his foot into Carter's back, sending him back down to the floor. “You aren’t even worth a fair one. This is too easy,” he said. “You were never a team player.” THUD! Another swift, stiff, kick hit Carter in the back. “Always questioning everything we did. Always wanting to do things 'Carter's way.' Well, do you see where that got you? Do you see?” Carter lay in a fetal position in an attempt to protect his organs from Nick's continuous kicking. “Huh? Am I talking to myself?
“This part of the show requires crowd participation. Sunt omnes unum. Do you know what that means? We are all one! You just couldn't go along with it. I actually tried to like you, too. I really did. What a shame. What a shame that things have to end this way between us.”
The circle of kicks finally stopped. Carter glanced up to see Jenni standing behind Nick and shoving the barrel of the revolver into his back.
“Jenni, NO!” Carter started.
“Go to hell you creep,” she yelled and pulled the trigger. BANG!
The sound echoed in their ears. Carter thought his head might explode. Nick fell forward in slow motion as the silver bullet pierced him internally. Carter made eye contact with him. He slowly got up, his eyes never leaving Nick. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Nick slowly faded away into human form. His eyes glazed over. He was gone.
“Carter... Carter,” Jenni stammered. “I-I had...”
He took the revolver out of her hands and wiped it with the only part of his shirt not covered in blood. “It's okay,” he said and put his arms around her.
The next few hours were a blur of red and blue lights, paramedics, police, and firefighters. The brothers and Jenni gave their statements and had their injuries treated. They all watched in silence as the paramedics rolled Nick out on a cart covered in a sheet. For a moment, Jenni had almost felt a tinge of guilt. Almost.
***
The funerals were days apart, but they ran together in Carter's mind. One minute he was in a crowded church, holding his girlfriend close while she grieved the loss her sister. The next minute he was at Nick's burial, where the only tears belonged to Nick's mother. He watched in silence as Zach and Bartley laid their hands on the casket to say their final goodbyes.
“This is all my fault,” Carter thought. “None of this would have happened if I didn't have to join that stupid cult fraternity. Jenni would still have her sister and these guys would still have their friend.” He turned away and strolled through the graveyard to be alone with his thoughts.
He started feeling sorry for himself, and was immediately angry for feeling that way. He had no right. Feeling sorry for himself was what led him to seek their approval in the beginning. “I wanted to be someone,” he argued with himself. “But I turned into a sheep, a robot. And look where that got me.”
He suddenly found himself envying the non-conformers he had always made fun of. They knew who they were and what they wanted. They lived their lives not giving a care about what anyone else thought. They aren’t afraid to be judged nor did they feel the need to join a group and conform to its standards. Those few who found themselves and accepted who they are, they are the lucky ones. They lived, loved, and experienced true life. They are the ones who are the most hated.
Carter pulled out his phone and dialed Jenni's number.
“Hey, babe,” he said. “What are you doing? Let's go grab some dinner. We need to talk.”
***
Carter pulled his tie off as Jenni toyed with her salad bowl. The gravity of the situation left both of them in a state of complete disarray. Carter knew what he had to say, but didn’t know how to say it. There was no real good way to put it.
“Listen Jenni,” he began, “there’s no proper way to tell you this but…”
“What is it babe?” she asked as she touched his hand with her free hand.
“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way but…”
“Carter just tell me. You know you can tell me anything,” Jenni said softly.
“We can’t be together anymore. You have to leave,” he said as he rubbed his temples. The statement came out a lot more harsh than he rehearsed in his head. Jenni’s eyes belt up with a well of tears. She didn’t need this, not now.
“What do you mean we can’t be together? Carter I love you!”
“It’s not my decision. I wish there was something I could do but I can’t,” he replied.
“What is this about Carter? We’ve been through everything together. We can make it through this, I promise,” Jenni cried softly. Her salad fork slammed on the glass bowl as she lost control of her emotions.
“It isn’t about me. I can’t protect you. They’re going to come for you,” Carter said with a shake of his head. “
Listen Jenni, you spilled the blood of an Alpha. Nick and I are different from the rest. We are born to be leaders and protectors of our pack. The others will be able smell it on you. There’s nothing you can do to rid of the scent. They are going to try to avenge him.”
“Who is they? Derrick and Scott? Oh my goodness, are they all like you?!” she shivered.
“It could be anyone. I might be able to keep Derrick and Scott in check, but I can’t guarantee anything. Everyone like me will be able to smell it. They’ll know you’re human. They’ll come for you.” Carter spoke slow and controlled. She needed to understand the seriousness of the situation. The tears didn’t stop flowing.
“What do you want me to do? Carter I need you! I don’t have anyone else,” Jenni sobbed.
“I suggest you move back home and keep some silver handy. I’ll tell my parents what happened so they’ll look out for you. They can also smell if any others come near. There aren’t any others at home like us. On a college campus it’s impossible to keep you safe at all times. You have to do this Jenni. I don’t see any other choice.”
Jenni closed her eyes and nodded. She accepted her fate.
“I’m sorry,” Carter said, “I’m sorry it has to be like this. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
###
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