[28] Stranger Danger

a/n: yay I updated this week! please vote :D


[28] Stranger Danger


Saurus sifted through a proposal sent by foxmen. With years of expertise reading their documents he'd gained insight in viewing their careful wording. Of all beastmen, they were certainly the most cunning. If they weren't so lazy they could easily overpower the sharkmen in terms of business strategy.

He began typing out a reply when Mia sighed softly and looked at her homework with a pondering expression. Her head tilt to the side, allowing him to zone in on the soft area of her neck. The slender curve enticed him, he could feel his teeth begin to sharpen the more he stared at it.

Clearing his throat he tried to redirect his attention, but then she did the unconscious act of moving all her wild curls to the opposite side. To think, it was simple things like this that made him grow agitated in their youth and caused a lash. She would claim he was on his 'man-period' when really it was her oblivious actions that made him twist in discomfort. He had tried so hard to bury that attraction that inadvertently he ended up pushing away the very person he should have drawn to.

Suddenly, a chorus of howls pierced through the air. Saurus immediately stood to attention, and Mia jumped from her seat. The wolves were calling out. Something was wrong.

"Stay here," he directed her.

He strode out the room and reached out to Rex.

What happened?

It appears this new moon has incited a band of corcorus wolves.

Samuel's face contorted into disgust. Those vile creatures again. They had enjoyed a couple months of peace without them. As Rex went on to tell him the sheer number of them it was clear they had remained under the radar to increase their dwindling numbers. Now they were back with a vengeance. But it'd make no difference. Each and every one of them would be destroyed. He contacted his wolfmen and gave the instructions.

Within moments they met outside and gave report.

"Alpha, I contacted Lisa and Mandy. They're shutting down today's work in the agricultural center and sending the workers home," John informed.

Samuel nodded and looked to Michael, his Beta. "How much time do we have?"

"The wolves predict that at the speed they're coming they'll get here in about three hours, assuming they take no breaks."

"What trajectories are they coming from?"

"All from the southwest. They're coming as a group."

Samuel pursed his lips. That was...odd. Corcorus wolves, while dangerous were not very smart. They were creatures who preferred to wander solo and brought destruction without care for their odds. Coming together belied an alliance, which could only arise from communication and trust.

"Alright. Send contact to members out in town. They must return to the packhouse as soon as possible. I'll be gathering the children personally. In one hour I want a head count of who's inside and whose missing, any questions?"


<<<>>>


Two hours later Mia paced uncomfortably in the study. Saurus had not come back, but she had gone out to investigate and had some werewomen inform her of the upcoming lockdown. She returned to the study to not get in the way of their pre-planned protocol. The news was startling. Something like this hadn't happened in years. The last one being when she and Sammie were in junior year.

It must be those corcorus wolves again.

Sammie wasn't even home yet. Mia texted her full of anxiousness and was replied that she had heard the news and would be arriving as soon as possible. As the new moon wouldn't pass for another day it meant instincts for the pack were still high. While the weremen were rallied to fight, all the werewoman couldn't help but want to remain inside. In the face of danger they were pulled to be where the children were, and children would stay inside. A soft knock drew her from her musings.

"Yes?"

The door opened slowly. Long hair and blue eyes poked from the wooden door. "Mia, is that you?" Jasmine asked.

When the woman's eyes confirmed that yes, it was in fact Mia in there, they widened with surprise.

"Hey," Mia said, albeit distractedly.

"I was hoping to catch Saurus to talk to him. I should've guessed he'd be out with the men solving the wolf problem," she said.

When Mia didn't respond, she continued. "You're...you're allowed in here?" she inquired.

Jasmine took a step inside, this time more boldly. Her eyes assessed the room as though it were unfamiliar to her. And truly it must have been, since she hadn't been allowed here when she dated Saurus. Mia forced down the sour feelings she felt for this girl. Each day she was getting bolder and bolder in her approach to Samuel.

"Of course. Sammie and I used to do our homework here when we were in high school." Mia motioned to her discarded schoolwork on the table. The laptop had gone to screensaver mode with disuse. "My old habits haven't changed."

Jasmine's played with her bottom lip, it was clear this news disconcerted her. Good. Mia was done trying to normalize her relationship with Samuel. Now that she really analyzed it, despite his harsh attitude with her in the past, he had made it obvious he held preference to her over anyone else. Always she was an exception, even if he pretended she was a pest. But she was a pest he never tried to get rid of, he didn't shoot her down with the same definitiveness he had with others.

Jasmine remained mute as she took in her surroundings. Sighing, Mia decided she would focus on her studying until Sammie got here. She had nothing else to do, and hopefully Jasmine would get the message that she wasn't in a mood to talk. She sat down and opened her notebook to jot down a slide she kept having troubling memorizing.

Mid-sentence a horror-filled gasp drew her from her writing. Confused, Mia looked up to catch Jasmine lift a trembling hand to her lips, her eyes grew watery with fat tears.

Mia's brows drew in confusion. "Are you okay?" she asked, carefully placing her pen down.

Jasmine's expression had gone from curiosity to full on despair in the timespan of a few seconds. It was disconcerting to say the least.

"Y-you..." an onset of tears fell down her cheeks. "I know why you seemed so familiar now. I'm so stupid. Y-You're the girl." Jasmine wiped the tears away and her voice hardened to one of repulsion. "Just like this he drew you so many times. Right in this room, doing exactly what you're doing. This whole time you've been right in front of me. No wonder he won't take me back. He won't love me until you leave."

The piece fit like a completed puzzle. Finally, Mia's assumptions were confirmed. She was the one in Samuel's drawings, the reason for why Jasmine was so upset, the factor in the downfall of their relationship.

"Even if I leave, Samuel won't stop loving me. You made your choice when you left him in Everglades, there's no point in trying to fix what's broken."

"No, you're wrong. Him and I can get back together. I saw those drawings, it was always him watching from afar. You never loved him. Only I can love him the way he deserves to be cared for."

Mia couldn't believe this. This woman was delusional. "As much as you'd like to think you love Saurus, the truth is you don't love him the way you think you do. If you had, you would've never cheated on him."

The hand on Jasmine's chest curled to a fist. "It was a mistake! I never meant to leave him like that!"

"Cheating is not a mistake. It takes intentionality and thought. It takes planning out. You knew exactly what you were doing. At least have the nerve to own up to your actions."

Jasmine's lips trembled. "I just want him back," she said desperately. "I'll do anything for him to take me back, anything."

"It's time to get over him. Whatever was between you guys is dead. Samuel will never love you back."

Jasmine recoiled as though she'd been burned. Mia didn't care. She was tired of this woman circumventing the truth. Saurus didn't love her. He never would. And she would be holding herself in emotional bondage if she didn't accept that.

"I would do anything," she whispered fiercely, her eyes gleamed with deep emotion.

Before she could respond the door was pushed open and Sammie breezed inside. She was still wearing business clothing, but her expression was distressed, almost frantic.

"The men are leaving to battle." Her lips straightened to a stern line. "We're anticipating the best, but Lisa thinks we should prepare a few batches of merridin in case accidents happen. It takes a while to grind the plants correctly, I need your help."

Mia took a deep breath and followed after her. As much as she wanted to continue this conversation with Jasmine, other things were more imperative. Sammie took her jacket off and threw it on a couch they passed by without a care.

"What was Jasmine doing in my brother's study?"

"She wanted to fix their relationship. Instead, she found out I was the girl in his drawings," Mia said, letting out a nervous laugh. "We were kind of having it out."

The werewoman smirked. "I was waiting for that to happen. As if yesterday's dinner wasn't enough for her; he made it so obvious. Now I feel bad I interrupted."

"No, this is more important. Jasmine and her hurt feelings can wait."

In the kitchen Lisa and Mandy hovered over a generous stack of dried merridin flowers and other herbs. A set of mixing vials were beside them, along with manual grinders for its preparation.

"Sammie, go change into something more comfortable. We're gonna be doing this for a while and you'll be constricted," Mia advised.

Sammie was trying to undo the buttons on her wrists and she could tell wearing an outfit like that all day was not her preferred choice. Sammie looked like she was ready to refute but a shared agreement from the twins had her scurry off in aggrivation.

"Thanks for the help Mia. There's a very specific way of mixing this, so I'll show you before you start." Lisa beckoned her closer and demonstrated how to make it.

Although merridin was the main ingredient for removing the infection caused by a corcorus wolf bite, there were other herbs added to help reduce pain and inflammation. Mia observed carefully how Lisa portioned each ingredient and how finely she sifted them.

"...once you finish adding the white willow bark it's done. The main element of the treatment is in this combination, but if we ever have one of our men injured we make it into a paste by adding this." Lisa pointed at large bottle of oil.

It was murky and dark brown in color. It was made of other antiseptic properties that helped clean out the area and draw the poison out. By the time she finished explaining Sammie was back and the four of them got to work.

While the females were confident that all would go well, there was an air of anxiety that refused to leave. Mia forced her focus to remain on the task.

Cut. Grind. Mix. Repeat.

It made the time move quicker. She was in the midst of adding some yarrow when a wind of red spiraled into the kitchen.

Annie shuffled from foot to foot, looking ever displaced. "Guys, I was doing the house rounds just like Alpha told me to do every hour. I...I found the side door opened."

Sammie slammed the wooden handle down. "Who went against lockdown protocol?! Saurus has not given the all clear."

Annie had her hands up with eyes closed in a wince. She had her please-don't-kill-me-I-swear-it-wasn't-my-fault expression on.

Mia massaged her temples. This wasn't good. "We have to do another headcount. Who's in charge of the kids?"

Counting the adults were easy enough, but while most of the kids congregated in the living room innocently watching cartoon without a thought of the outside world, the others were scattered throughout the house. They were smart enough to follow instructions, but sometimes little ones could be curious.

Sections of the packhouse were split and Mia went upstairs to the left wing. Some rooms were empty, in others children were napping or playing with toys.

"How many?" Annie called.

"Six in the left wing," Mia replied.

The others said their total counts and Annie quickly added them up. Her face turned grim. "We have three children missing."

"Say the names," Mia said, urgent. She had a feeling on who those three might be.

As the women rattled off each name her heart slowed to a stop. It was just as she thought — Allan, Amy, and Jason were missing. In her disbelief she ran to the living room where the three mainly stayed, and sure enough, her little rascals were not there.

"Hi Luna," a little voice called to her.

Mia looked down to see Trina, the little girl who had given her an apple during training. She crouched down to her level. "Sweetheart, have you seen Amy? I know she's close to you."

The little girl nodded. "Yes, she and the guys went with a woman. The new friend you brought."

Mia's face paled. How could they have forgotten. Three kids weren't the only one missing—

Jasmine was too.


a/n: yikes! here comes the drama >.< I feel like I need to work on writing action/suspense LOL Please vote and let me know your thoughts and theories on what went down!


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