Ursanthropy
37. Monsters

Jack

“What is going on Doreen, tell me!” I repeated as I shook her shoulders.

“Last night, I couldn’t sleep and I had put the necklace back in the drawer again. But it is hanging there on the ornament now!” She yelled frantically.

“Sweetheart, it was there when we went to bed, haven’t you dreamt that you’ve put it in the drawer?” I asked her.

“No! You don’t get it! I got out of bed, I’m sure of it!” She yelled again and shook her head.

“Alright love, don’t panic, I believe you.” I said while hugging her tightly. “I’ll see if the patrols have seen anything coming in or out of our pack, alright?” I asked her and she shook her head while being locked in my arms.

After a few breaths she calmed down again and rubbed in her own eyes. “Don’t ask your bears about it, it would only cause doubt and fear. We don’t need that now.” She changed her mind and took a few more breaths. “I must’ve dreamt it, like you said.” She continued, trying to take a steady composure while smiling lightly.

She wanted me to forget about what just had happened, to not cause any new problems, but due to all the danger that is coming soon I wasn’t going to wave something like this away. She surely felt in danger just now and I wasn’t going to accept it so easily.

After Doreen was calmed down I made sure that the new shift for perimeter checks had begun and told my warriors to run an extra lap around the house. Then, I linked Dennis and took him with me to the location of where we were supposed to leave Doreen, for her father to be picked up.

It was an old but solid barn, a few miles north of my pack. I had managed to buy the surrounding lands without Dennis knowing it, to make sure that no other people or shifters would come close to this location.

“So, the evening about two weeks from now, you will drop her off here, I’ll send the coordinates to Damien for him to pick her up and all will be well.” Dennis said, explaining how he wanted his plan to work out.

“The hell it will! We aren’t going to drop her off here! You are going to send that message to Damien and we lure him into a trap! Doreen won’t even come close to this place!” I yelled to him.

I had told him already that I was going to do everything in my power to keep both Doreen and the pack safe, so that’s what I was determined to arrange. But the difficult part of this whole operation was that both me and Dennis weren’t going to tell the truth about our own plans.

Dennis has been going back and forth to picture me as a lousy Alpha towards the pack and thus making it clear that he is after my job. But in order for him to become Alpha, he either has to challenge me in a fight or pick up the responsibility when I’m dead and because he isn’t strong enough to beat me in a fair fight, he needs to get rid of me in a different way. A way that will be believable for the pack to accept him as their new Alpha.

And my plan must be clear to him as well, he knows that I want to get rid of him, but I’m not going to tell him about what I have in mind to achieve my goals either. So, we are both not telling everything and we are both lying as well.

He began to laugh and casually walked inside the barn, with his hands in his pockets.

“Do you really believe that I will let you get away with this, once this is all over? How could you be so stupid?” I asked him angrily.

“Are you threatening your Beta, Alpha?” He asked me then.

“Damn straight I am! You threatened your Luna, you even planned this all for her to be send off to die at her father’s hands and now you are laughing about it? I’m going to kill you if you come out of this unscathed!” I yelled and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, showing me the front of the screen.

It was unlocked and showed an app that had recorded everything I just said. I acted as if I was surprised by this action of his, but I knew already that he was going to take every chance available to get me more into discredit with my pack. Let him have this one, I’ll get back to him…

“It’s only us here, Jack.” He said while stopping the app. “I am going to take your title and this pack will become mine!” He said and I growled deep.

“Is that why you had those hunters attack us two nights ago?” I accused him.

He started to grin and walked closer to me. “And what are you going to do if I did?” He said and shook with his phone, threatening me to send the message with coordinates.

“Just tell me if you did on purpose ask the hunter King to attack the pack!” I snapped, nearly breaking out in anger.

“Oh, I have done plenty of things, things that even you can’t prevent from happening!” He shouted.

I don’t know what he is meaning by those words, but I have a feeling that it is not anything good. All I could do is hope that what I have set in motion will be enough for Doreen to stay safe.

Suddenly, Dennis’ phone made some annoying sounds and he began to cackle in response. “I see stage two of my plan is about to be set in motion. How long will it take you to reach your precious mate? I mean, it has taken us about thirty minutes to get here by car, but even if you’d shift and ran faster than you have ever done, you still won’t get to her in time.” He said.

“What have you done!” I roared to him.

Doreen

This morning I was freaked out by the fact that my necklace was hanging from the mirror again. It had frightened me to a freakishly high level and I hadn’t dared to get up into the bedroom since then.

I was pacing around in the house downstairs as I felt that same eerie feeling from yesterday constantly roaming around me. It was as if I was being haunted by some ghost, feeling touches against my arms every now and then and the constant ache as if someone was watching me. As if I was doing something wrong and feeling anxious that someone would see me acting like a criminal.

Call me crazy, but there is someone in this house!

“Show yourself! I know that you are here!” I said while constantly turning myself to see if the person suddenly was behind me. My ears tingled and as if there was a fly on my skin I slapped it away, of course feeling nothing but air.

I hadn’t told Jack about me seeing the old woman in the mirror as I didn’t want to worry him, but me facing my fears and trying to summon her here with me, all alone, sounded rather stupid and dangerous. What if there truly was someone that could hurt me? Am I going to be able to fight it off on my own?

“Go to the bedroom…” A sudden whisper brushed against my ear and I turned myself around to see where it came from.

“Of course the ghost wants me to go into the bedroom! Why not the toilet or the garden!” I whispered annoyed.

I looked in the hallway, around the corner in the kitchen and in one of the rooms downstairs, but there was no one to be seen. At the bottom off the stairs I stood still, holding my right hand on the bannister, looking upwards while taking a few deep breaths.

“Go to the bedroom…” It sounded again and I gasped from the chill that ran over my spine.

“Show yourself!” I shouted now, mustering up all the braveness I could find, but still standing on the bottom steps of the stairs.

Suddenly, the door of the bedroom flew open as I looked at it, and then the front door of the house unlocked itself and flew open as well! A sudden gush of wind pushed against my back, urging me to follow the flow and make my way upstairs!

My heart was pounding and my breathing became faster and louder.

For a second I thought about all those horror movies, where right about now an eerie sound is being played in the background, making the viewers become aware of any danger bound to come soon. I really didn’t know if I should go upstairs and follow this surge of wind, but I do know that everything paranormal that has happened to me lately, has been nothing but good, so let’s embrace this as well!

Step after step I went upwards, sliding my hands along the bannisters.

The front door slammed shut as this ghost knew that I was following it’s guidance. As if it was approving that I was listening to it. But if this ghost is benevolent, then why is it freaking me out this much? “Quit scaring me! I’m already going!” I whispered under my breath.

I checked everywhere my eyes would allow me to see, to make sure if there was nothing else in this house besides me and this ghost. Luckily, I couldn’t detect anything so I stepped inside the bedroom. It was lit by the sun that was on his highest now so everything was clear to see.

My gaze instantly went over to the mirror, the mirror at which the necklace was still hanging from.

I don’t know if my mind was playing tricks again, but it looked like the mirror had shifted just enough to make the sun reflect back through the mirror, right against the silver of the necklace. As if it was made to make me completely sure to see it hanging there.

“What do you want?” I asked the ghost. “I don’t need the necklace anymore!” I said loudly.

“Protection…” The ghost wailed.

“Protection from what?” I asked it now.

I still didn’t know what my mother had meant by giving me the necklace. I had thought that it was because I am not truly human and that my father is a hunter. If he should find out that I’m one of them, he might want to hunt me as well. But I live in a pack now, I have a mate and I am stronger too! So, what could it mean?

“Protection from what? Please, tell me!” I asked the ghost again.

“Your own-

“SHE IS UPSTAIRS! GET HER!” I suddenly heard some of Jack’s men shout from outside, interrupting the ghost’s explanation.

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