`I get that,' Ralph said, looking him up and down, still nervous. `You talk like a Wolf when it comes to family. When you speak, we can sense the truth in your words. But it won't be easy. Many Darkells don't like us and the Wolf packs will⦠Ah, fuck them. We're in.'
Mason shook his hand, excited to have the pack with him. Energy crackled where they touched and the air reverberated with a single hum. `Seems that the magic agrees as well.' Mason grinned as he pumped Ralph's hand, letting his joy well up.
`Wolf hug!' Ricco yelled. They all rushed Mason, Justin and Jon grinning.
`What? no!' Ralph tried to step back. He was grabbed as Mason laughed, accepting the crush of bodies. Strong arms and the scent of Wolf enveloped him.
Ralph stopped pushing away and gingerly hugged Mason. `I'm not calling you Dad.'
`Mason will do, smartarse,' he said, enjoying the smiles and excitement.
`What's going on?' The voice came muffled from the phone still crushed against Mason's chest.
He put the phone to his ear. `Just welcoming the boys into the family,' Mason told Max. A chuckle escaped him.
`Right. Are you okay? You sound odd.'
`I'm fine. How did you go?'
`Got a place. It was a slaughter house a century ago, now converted to a gym that flopped before it opened. The Fund bought it last year at the liquidator's auction. It comes with its own security which we can beef up. Plus it's nearby, there's room to move and it's mainly concrete and brick.'
`We need it yesterday.'
`No problems. It's empty. We can get right on it.'
`Hang on, Max.' Mason turned to Ralph. `You know where the old slaughterhouse is here in Bondi?'
`It's a few blocks away. We wondered who bought it.'
`Caused a bit of a stir with some locals once they found out the Fund owned it,' said Pete. `I wondered why myself,' he added pointedly.
`We get that.' Mason put the phone back to his ear. `Be there tomorrow morning, Max. Ralph and his boys will be around to move in.'
`Will do. Mason, how do you want this set up?'
`Full access and budget. Put my name on it and call the project Laikaens Security.'
`Nothing like being open and direct.'
`Get some training programs set up and find some of that nanotech clothing we developed. I think now is the time for it.'
`Yes, sir. Saunders reports no activity at the house but has ramped up the manpower as requested.'
`Good man. I want you to take care of this project, Max, until things have settled a bit.'
`Understood. These Wolves â you trust them?'
`Straight up. Talk to you later.' Mason hung up.
`Awesome,' Ricco said, rubbing his hands as Ralph scratched his head. `We got to go pack our shit.'
`Yeah,' Ralph drawled. `And we're going out tonight, boys.'
`Like clubbing?' Justin edged closer, excited.
`Yeah.' Ralph smiled and Mason knew why.
`Feels good, don't it?'
`Yeah, all that crazy stuff is gone. Like everything is clear now.' Ralph's smile slipped as Renee moved closer to him.
`Don't do anything rash,' Renee said, her voice quiet. `But,' she touched his arm, `you're free of me now. Just remember I don't break but other girls do.'
`Jesus.' Ralph blushed and Mason bit his lip, trying not to grin. `You're so not giving me the sex talk. Never. Time for us to go.'
`Just make sure you're at the warehouse first thing in the morning.' Mason shook their hands as they moved to leave. `Don't be late. Max hates tardiness.'
`No way we're going to be late for this,' Ricco said, looking back at him. `Thanks.'
`Go.'
Ralph waited, looking at his feet. `Ricco's right.' He looked up, face soft with emotions. `Thanks. No one has ever looked out for us before.'
`It's early days, Ralph,' Mason said, doing what he sensed Ralph needed and hugging him. `Enough of the thanks now. Go. And keep your eyes peeled for Bloodells.'
`We can come to the house tonight.' Ralph frowned. `I forgot about them with everything happening here.'
`No. Go.' Mason pushed him gently. `We've managed so far. If anything goes down you will know about it.'
`Yeah.' He glanced at Renee. `I have always been able to feel you in my head but now it's stronger.'
`We can test that more when we're hunting, Ralph,' Renee said, taking Mason's hand. `Go with your pack now. They're waiting for you.'
Mason nodded and the Wolves disappeared into the alleyway. His legs felt suddenly weak and he realised how much he had been struggling to stay upright.
`You need to sit,' Renee said, pulling a chair over to him.
`It's my turn then, I guess.' Pete stood, arms crossed. `But I'm not looking for a family and I don't want a job.'
`Maybe not. But there are questions to be answered. You weren't affected by Syrus's glamour and you know about Wolves,' Mason said, sitting down, glad to be off his feet.
`My brother was one. The secret killed him.' Pete sagged, uncomfortable waves of sadness rolling off him.
`You thought he was the only one?'
`Yes.' Pete began to pace. `How did you know?'
`We're not anything you've seen before, Pete,' Renee said from behind Mason where she was gently rubbing his shoulders. `And that's because you
were
able to see us. We keep a very low profile. We also see and understand things the average person doesn't.'
`The men in the alleyway? What were they?'
`Bloodells. Unnaturals who hunt and kill humans. They attacked my family last year.'
`Yes, we all saw that.' Pete finally sat down at the table, his big hands clasped before him.
Mason sighed; fatigue settled on him.
`It was a desecration,' Pete rumbled. `To murder your parents then attack you at their funeral.' He cleared his throat. `The TV footage was short but the security footage was graphic. It should have never have been put on YouTube like that. Did you find out?'
Mason felt his face go hard. He had dealt with the traitor himself.
`I guess so.' Pete wet his lips. His glance went to Renee. `What are you?'
`I'm an Unnatural,' she said. `A Darkells. We're peaceful. My family have been here for over a hundred and fifty years, living here in Sydney. We've kept the Bloodells out and have a relationship with the Wolves. They are the guardians of your kind.'
`These Bloodells,' Pete moved in his chair. `Obviously they want you dead, Mason. Why?'
`No idea,' he said, with a shrug. `We only found out about them last year. At the funeral.'
`And the thing I saw in the alleyway?'
Mason took a deep breath. It was hard to say out loud. `A true monster of darkness.'
`Don't say that!' Renee shook him. `That isn't you.'
`It is,' Mason said, touching her hands. `I accept it now.
`Pete, that thing was me. It's always been part of me, but now I understand and accept it. A little. Since that attack it has been growing, breaking free.'
`Right.' Pete sat back, his hands white on the table. `Why you? I mean, this has to be happening for a reason.'
`We're working on that,' Renee said. `Mother cast the Bloodells out. Something must be happening if they've dared come back.'
Mason closed his eyes, tired, waiting for the other question Pete had to ask.
`Where's your family? You had a wife and son?'
`Still do. We're adapting to a new set of circumstances.' Mason said, feeling odd speaking about it out loud to a stranger.
`He means we're all together, Pete,' Renee said, her tone light. `Nothing about us is conventional.'
`Tell me about your brother,' Mason asked, feeling Pete's pain and using it to change the subject.
`Jake and I lost our parents young.' He looked down at his hands, brow furrowed. `I'm the eldest and he was a few years younger. We ended up in foster care, luckily together. It wasn't easy for us but we got by. Then Jake had a fit one night, frightened the bejesus out of me. His body twisted and contorted.'
`His Wolf was trying come out,' Renee said quietly.
`The next time it happened I got him outside, away from the house and he changed all the way. I've never seen anything like it. He took an hour to become that thing. It was wrong. Nothing like Ralph. Jake was all twisted up, sick. In agony. I could feel his pain.'
`He wasn't a full Wolf.' Renee's fingers dug into Mason's shoulders. `Pete, without help from the pack there was nothing you could do. Not every half-blood Wolf accepts their change.'
`Jake didn't. I let it kill him.' A tear slid down the big man's face. `The next time it happened he died. An aneurism, the doctors said. He was only thirteen.'
`Pete.' Renee sat down beside Mason and reached for Pete's hand. `You did nothing wrong.'
`I still hear him scream at night, calling my name when I sleep.' His big hand accepted hers as they sat quietly.
Mason pushed his fatigue aside as Pete's pain ebbed around him. `When you saw Ralph today, you knew straightaway. But before today you didn't even suspect?'
`No,' Pete said, letting Renee's hand go. `I suspected nothing until Ralph and his friends ran past me, coming here. I could see his Wolf moving in him.'
`Pete, you haven't felt your Wolf, have you?' Renee sat back beside Mason.
`No. I was older than Jake but it never happened. Are you saying it still might?'
`Unlikely. You might not have the Wolvine gene.'
`It's genetic?'
`Yes,' Renee found Mason's hand and squeezed. `When two carriers with the Wolvine gene have a child, the wolf is a full-blood but sometimes a half-blood can be born with the gene. Most half-bloods adapt, some better than others. Some never have the gene, or never change.'
`And some die.'
`Yes. It's even possible you have different fathers.'
Pete sat back, face conflicted.
`It must've been hard without a family to help you.'
`My grandmother came over not long after Jake died. She came looking for her daughter but found me instead. Things got a lot better from then on.'
`And you've never told anyone about your brother changing.' It wasn't a question; Mason knew. Pete's pain was too sharp to have been shared.
`Who would I tell?' He shrugged. `Who'd believe me? Except you, of course.'
`What about me? And Renee and the Wolves. You've seen a lot today. Think you can handle it?' Mason rubbed his itchy eyes.
`I'd like to get to know more of Ralph and his lads.' His voice tinged with hope. `He's a good kid and now, well, there's more I need to understand.'
`It's a free world, Pete,' Mason stifled a yawn. `If you want, drop by the warehouse. Meet Max. Ralph will introduce you. With Bloodells here in Sydney it's probably a good idea you're in the loop. Up to you.'
`Yeah,' Pete said, standing, thoughtful. `That's a good idea.'
`Are you sure he's ready?' Renee bumped Mason. `I mean, no offence Pete, but Mason, do you really trust him to not say anything?'
`Yes.' Mason forced himself upright. `I know his word is binding. Isn't it, Pete?'
`He's right.' Pete's big hand enveloped Mason's, warm and strong. `Besides it's not like there's a taskforce set up for Unnatural occurrences.'
`No, and let's keep it that way,' Mason said trying to smile. His body ached. `If you need to contact me, Max or Ralph can help.'
`Understood.' Pete moved cautiously towards the doorway.
`They're gone, Pete.' Renee stood with Mason as he leant hard against her. Pete glanced back once then was gone into the bright day outside.
`He's rattled. More than he's showing,' she said, putting an arm around him.
Mason didn't speak, he couldn't. He was tired and cold.
Bloody cold,
he thought.
`You're cold!'
Her hot hand touched his face but his eyes wouldn't open. Darkness called out to him. Wanting him to come.
`Yeah.' He craved the warmth of the sun. Images of his home filtered into his mind. Insects calling from the rainforest, baking under the heat of the Queensland sun. `Home.'
`You're freezing cold,' Renee said, lifting him. `Something is wrong. I have to get you back to the house. We need Mother's help.'
`Yeah,' Mason muttered, smelling leather and vaguely aware he was being manhandled into Syrus. `Home.'
`Stay awake.' Renee squeezed his face. `This isn't right. I think you're reacting to what happened when Darla took you. Stay with me, Mason.'
`Here,' he said, mouth dry as Renee slammed her door.
Thunder rumbled. No, it's Syrus, he remembered. I'm in Syrus. `Hi Syrus.'
`Shit.' Renee cursed, touching his arm as they began moving. `You're icy. Can you still hear me?'
`Ya.' Mason felt his face shift into a grin. He felt good. The cold didn't worry him. `We're going home.'
`Damn right!'
He rolled sideways as Syrus turned hard under power. Vibrations from the engine tickled under his feet. Ruth's face wavered in his mind's eye, Wilson with her. Colours swirled around them, more faces rippled in his mind. Nikki and Lilly. All smiling. He grinned.
`And then there's you,' he drawled, prising open an eyelid with his finger. `My Renee.'
`Are you high? You're starting to freak me out.' She yelled at something through the windscreen. `Get out of the way!'
He didn't care. As long as everybody would be at home with him, he was happy.
`Mistress!' Syrus howled.
Mason barely heard him. The sounds of insects and surf grew louder in his ears.
`Mason. What is this? What's happening?'
Mason let his smile grow, letting the image of his home grow.
`Home. We're all going home.' He shivered. A wave of ice crashed over him then it was quiet.
Syrus was silent.
Warmth filled the cabin. A kookaburra cried out in surprise.
Mason managed to crack open his eye. A wall of trees greeted him. Rugged mountains filled the sky behind them as daylight glared hot outside. A soft sigh escaped as he let the darkness take him. `Home.'
Wilson shivered.
`You feel that?' He stopped, looking around.
`What?' Lilly said, voice muffled through the towel over her head.
`It's just turned cold.' Wilson dropped his towel, sensing something in the shadows around the lake.