“Abdul, how we livin’?”

“Right on schedule, Primus,” he answered, understanding immediately that I was asking for a status update. Unfortunately, not everyone in the Pack spoke Jive. “The Packmaster’s lair should be complete in five days’ time.”

As I looked around I had to agree. They had just finished the roof this morning and now were working on the inside of the house. “Awesome. Tell me if more paws are needed. I can always move folks around to free some up. I’m off now, call me if something comes up,” I said as I turned from him and made my way back to my house, every sense I owned alert for anyone or anything that didn’t belong. So far so good, but the one time (of many) I took my safety for granted, I got a bullet through the back. Not willing to have a repeat, no.

As I ducked under a low-lying branch on the Honey Locust tree, I shook my head in agitation. Mentally, I felt as if I had dozens of flies buzzing around my head. My clairvoyance was restless to the point of pissing me off, and I couldn’t get a handle on why. There was this… charge in the air that only I felt. Everyone else seemed to be fine. The werewolves were happy, Hilde was happy, Howard was… er… not bitching, and everything was moving along smoothly. The sun was out and bright, the sky cloudless, the grass green, the temperature pleasant for anything or nothing. There was something though, something that had my senses warning me that there was going to be some shit some where some how.

Despite that feeling I had things to do. So, breakfast was served (or stolen, who the hell knows) from that deli again. Construction went on, injuries continued to heal (including mine), reports were received, directions were given, and so on for the Shenlong. It honestly felt like any other day. Wufei worked from my house today so as to keep a close eye on his Pack as well as the surrounding area. I kept an ‘eye’ out too, but so far there hasn’t been any problems. It has been about an hour or so since lunch was served (or stolen, I was beyond giving a shit) from the deli again, with construction and chores picking up where they were left off. Hilde and Howard had left for work right after, and I was on my way as well.

I entered my house through the back porch, easing the door closed as Wufei was working in the kitchen, chewing somebody out over the phone. I walked over to give him a kiss, but as soon as I did I heard the word ‘warrant’ and vacated the kitchen promptly. Popping my head into my room I saw Catherine working with the cubs on the alphabet. Stepping passed the door I grabbed my bookbag and patted a few heads on my way out as I mouthed to her that I was going to work. With a negligent wave of her hand she continued to work with the cubs as I slipped out of the house and into my car. Heero was already dozing in the passenger seat and didn’t stir as I started the car and drove off.

***

“No Abdul, that’s not a good idea.” I stared blankly ahead as I listened to the werewolf plead his case. Leaning forward I laid my head on the counter so that I could rest my cellphone against my face without having to hold it. “Because it’s the same difference, that’s why! You guys wanted a swimming pool and Wufei shot you down, so how’s building a god damn moat any different?!” I heard Heero snort from his spot on the roof. My sentiments, exactly. “Look, dude, think of the pups, okay? I don’t want anything happening to them… yeah, I understand that, but shit happens Abdul. Pups are pups, they obey only when it’s convenient for them. They do… why are we discussing this? The Packmaster said no, well, he said, ‘the hell I’m saying ‘yes,' ’’ but again, semantics… Me batting my eyes won’t change anything…” This time I heard Heero chuckle. I was done with this. “God dammit Abdul, Wu said no, get a pool membership like everyone else… Fine, I’ll ask. But if he kicks my ass I’m kicking yours.” Frustrated, I sat up, caught my phone as it slid off my face and hung up.

Heero snorted again. “A moat?”

I looked up to the ceiling, even though I knew I didn’t need to talk loudly for him to hear me. “Yes, because, ‘A moat can be used as a defensive measure for the house.’ Like swimming in a moat would be any different than a pool. Hell, a moat may make it easier to do laps.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “At least they are getting creative.”

“And becoming a pain in my ass doing so.”

As Heero laughed I went back to the Google searches on my phone. All searches on Chimaera and the Hecate led me to webpages of Greek myths. The searches for Adze led me to obscure pages that made me question the validity and sanity of the person who owned the site. I went through dozens and dozens of pictures of sand dunes, in desperation of finding the one I could see my mystery man standing before. That went over like a lead balloon. I just could not think of a way to figure out what the hell Chimaera was, or its connection to Quatre.

Frustrated, I picked up the Creature Catalog and flipped it open to the first page like I always did. I didn’t know why I did this to myself, but it was like some sort of sick ritual. I would stare on end at Treize Khushrenada; I would stare at his stupid perfect face, at his stupid blue eyes, at his stupid perfect body, at his stupid everything. Each time I would be tempted to throw the Catalog across the room, but the damn thing was so heavy I nearly sprained my wrist doing so. (Because, you know, I wasn’t pathetic enough.) Just to be an absolute dick, I flagged his page with a pink sticky flag. Of course, I was sure that he would find a way to make that sexy without any effort if he knew about it. Stupid, gorgeous vampire. Made me sick.

I marked G’s page with a neon green sticky flag, and mine with a blue. Done with my ritual for the moment, I flipped to the page with a yellow sticky, which was Quatre’s. Just like before, I stared at his picture for some time and read his stats again.

Allegiance: Voluntary Ally and Servant to the Last Descendant of the Chang Clan, Lagrange Five, The Shenlong Werewolves.

Classification: Shape-shifter.

Creature: Lion, predominately.

Nationality: Arabic.

Special Abilities: Unlimited shape-shifting forms, excluding werewolf.

Titles: Unknown.

I kept coming back to that time and time again.

Titles: Unknown.

I thought that was so strange. The Hunters knew Quatre was a servant and ally, a voluntary one at that, but not why or that he was Privileged. They’ve had centuries, literally, to get it right or to figure it out. The Hunters organization wasn’t born yesterday. There was so much on Treize I felt like I knew him inside and out. Was it because of Treize’s vampire status that more research was done on him? I didn’t think that was the case. I ran across a page of some kind of were-rat creature that was several pages long. He had been killed some time ago, but there was a great deal about him and he wasn’t anything particularly powerful or special. Was Treize more accessible and Quatre less? The Shenlong did tell me that they had traveled a great deal… but if the Hunters knew where Treize was, wouldn’t they announce it? Did Treize not give a shit who knew what about him and Quatre have more to hide? Maybe—

I gasped. Oh my god. “That’s it.”

“Duo?” I closed the book before Heero’s head appeared upside down in the window. “Everything alright?” He glanced at the book then back at me.

“Yes,” I told him. “I bet Wufei would allow them to build the moat if I made them swim in it every day during the summer. The insects are insane in the summer, especially around water. I bet they would fill it up without being asked just to stop having to maintain the damn thing. Wufei would appreciate them learning their lesson.”

Heero frowned. Being upside down didn’t make it seem like he was smiling. “If a mosquito bites me on the ass, I will come after you.” He disappeared back onto the roof.

I snorted. “If a mosquito bites you on the ass, it’d probably break its teeth.”

“It would serve it right,” floated down to me. I dismissed that from my mind to focus on my eureka moment.

Quatre was hiding something. It was the only thing that made sense. Looking at his picture again in the Catalog, Quatre looked taken aback, unpleasantly surprised, not aggressive or vulnerable like I had thought before. Switching mental gears to the present, I understood that he knew the Adze and the Adze knew him, an association that was secret even from the Shenlong. He was connected enough that these groups of shape-shifters crossed oceans and continents to reach him. Someone knew something of him, otherwise they wouldn’t have left those pictures of him and I in compromising positions.

‘They were trying to flush him out,’ I thought to myself. ‘Quatre realized this too, that’s why he buggered off.’

Where I couldn’t find a connection was between Quatre and my mystery man. That was something I was going to have to ask the blond himself… if he ever contacted me back. Obviously, his definition of ‘soon’ and mine were light years apart. Probably literally. I knew time held a different meaning to nearly immortal beings, but this was fucking ridiculous. It has been two weeks and I haven’t heard a thing from him. I haven’t seen hide, hair or flash of light from the Adze either and that concerned me. I was afraid Quatre hadn’t contacted me not because he wouldn’t, but because he couldn’t.

It was while I was staring out of the window that I nearly missed what was happening. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a sparkling golden light. Turning my attention to it I noticed that it was the Creature Catalog that the light was emitting from. Gasping in surprise I tossed the book away from me. It landed on the floor with a solid thump, the gold dimming down and seeming to solidify. Heero’s head appeared upside down in the window again as I picked the book up. His eyes widened in surprise.

“What are you doing with a Creature Catalog?” He sounded appalled.

“It’s mine,” I murmured distractedly as I watched where the sparkling gold seemed to edge around a certain page. I opened the book and kept turning until I reach four hundred and twenty two, where the golden light covered the entire page. As soon as I touched it, the light dissipated, leaving behind a red line that bisected the page from the top left corner to the bottom right. The image it bisected was a familiar one.

Heero was standing at my back, looking over my left shoulder. “Oh wow,” he said, but he didn’t sound impressed. If anything, he sounded incredulous. “That is not something you see everyday.” He leaned over my shoulder.

“What?”

“He was old.” He pointed to his stats. “Not the oldest out there, but he was older than most.”

I looked at his stats and had to agree. He wasn’t much younger than Quatre. A few hundred years at the most. “Why do you sound so surprised?” As I read further down, I nearly choked on my spit. Holy shit!

Heero stood up, popping his back. “The older one is, the harder they tend to be to kill. I wonder what happened.” He shrugged. “Maybe his existence soured on him.”

Looking at his beautiful face, I frowned. I knew exactly what happened. I also knew he wasn’t hard to kill. He was pathetic, in a way. I was horrified by his murder, but I also pitied him. “Maybe he was betrayed,” I said blankly.

“Maybe,” Heero agreed with no conviction. “Duo… what are you doing with this?”

“It’s mine,” I repeated, glaring up at Heero.

He didn’t flinch away. “Where did you get this?”

“None of your business.”

He remained steadfast. “Wufei will not be happy to hear that you have it.”

“I could give a damn if he’s happy,” I said, truthfully. “I’m a grown ass man. If I want this or the Kuma Sutra, I can have whatever the fuck I please.”

“Duo,” he started, completely unmoved, “there are things in there you may not understand—”

“Nope,” I interrupted, “there are things in here y’all don’t want me to know.” I pointed at him. “I’ve warned y’all about that before. Either you can tell me what’s up, or I’ll find my own way. Well, y’all didn’t tell me what was up, so now I get my information how I get it.”

“Duo—”

“You’re dismissed,” I finished, pulling rank. I did not want to fight with Heero, and I needed some time to myself after this revelation.

His jaw clenched. “Primus,” he said with a bow, before turning and going back out of the window and onto the roof. I didn’t watch him leave, but I could tell by the way he was stomping across the roof that he wasn’t happy with me. Guess who did not care?

Instead, I stared at the image of the beautiful shape-shifter that I saw shot down. He was facing the camera, but I had a feeling he had no idea he was photographed. His face was stamped with a red dotted circle just like mine was, his name right above his picture. He wore the nomad clothing that I saw in my dreams, as he stood in the middle of sand dunes surrounded by blurry images of camels in the background. My eyes went straight to those of the shape-shifter, that beautiful blue that I would never see again. The shade of blue I will name Rai, after their owner.

Allegiance: Jyo Oh of Lagrange Four, Chimaera, The Shape-shifters of Sandrock.

Jyo Oh? What was that?

Classification: Shape-shifter.

Creature: Indigo Snake.

Nationality: Arabic.

Special Abilities: None.

Titles: Prince of Chimaera.

Cessation of Existence: Fall in the Year of the Petal, Second Millennium; Coordinates 29.8526222, 37.4554494.

Year of the Petal? The fuck…

Cause of Death: Gunshot from unknown source.

Taking out my cellphone, I pulled up GoogleMaps and typed in the coordinates listed on the page. I got a satellite image of this deserted, sand and mountain area in Saudi Arabia that was right outside the border of Jordan. I dog-eared the page and closed the book, unable to look at it anymore. The Shifter they killed was a fucking prince. A prince of Chimaera. So, Chimaera has to be part of a country, or at least a place organized enough to have royalty. I was told however, that shape-shifters weren’t organized. I was also told though, that there were pockets that were. This was obviously one of those pockets.

I shoved the Catalog back into my bookbag, dismissing the magic that happened earlier with it from my mind. It didn’t matter, but it also answered a hell of a lot of questions. Using my phone again, I pulled up Quatre’s last message. I stared at it for a few minutes, afraid to text at a bad time, afraid of the answers he may give me, afraid because I felt afraid. Finally, I decided on what I felt was the most important question to ask.

/ Where is Chimaera? /

As soon as I sent it the door opened, and I became busy. It was when I was closing up for the night that I remembered to check my phone for a message from Quatre. There wasn’t one.

My worry grew.

***

I didn’t know how Heero was able to contact Wufei to rat me out (I didn’t hear him use his cellphone), but I knew something was wrong when I pulled up to the house and felt how empty it was. Even the injured had been relocated. The only soul remaining I found when I went into the kitchen to get a beer. Wufei was seated at the table, wearing the Frowning Face of Doom. I wore my Could Give Two Shits face as I took a deep draw that allowed me to swallow half of my beer in one go. Ahhhh…. Shiner Bock will always be my one true love.

“Duo—”

“I’m not trying to hear it. I’m a grown ass man. Packmaster or not, you do not own me.”

It seemed like the room held its breath all of a sudden. Weird. “There are things you will not understand—”

“You mean Treize?” That stopped him cold. “Wu,” I began, plopping down in my chair as I joined him at the table, “you expect me to think that a creature like you, who is beautiful, brilliant and hundreds upon hundreds of years old, would not have sexual relations with other beautiful, brilliant, bajillion year old creatures until I came along? Please.” He snorted as I took a small sip of beer. “That’s not reasonable. Hell, when you were born I’m not sure my family line even existed yet. So big whoop.” I threw a hand lazily in the air. “Honestly, what’s the big deal?”

He stared hard at me for a moment. “There are things that I would rather you not see—”

“Like my page in the Creature Catalog?” His frown nearly touched the floor. Yeah, I figured he knew. “Thanks for the heads up about that, by the way. Totally makes sense now, why the Hunters were gunning for me. I was bewildered until I knew.” I finished my beer, threw it in the recycle bin and started to leave. “You can sleep outside,” I told him as I nearly left the kitchen. “I warned you about this secretive bullshit, Wufei. You’re not giving me what I need, so you can’t bitch to me about my methods.”

“Some things you will be better off not knowing,” he snarled, standing.

I was shocked at his vehemence. Wufei and I have argued before, but he just went from zero to sixty and I didn’t understand why. This seemed overly aggressive. “Nooo,” I said, slowly. “There are some things you will be better off with me not knowing. There’s a difference.” I was puzzled at this point. What the fuck was he hiding? What was so bad that he was getting frustrated with me for not leaving it be? I motioned my head towards the door. “You should go.”

Wufei stood there for a moment before he began to prowl towards me. I could see it, in my mind’s eye, the change that came over my lover as he stopped being Wufei and became the Alpha of his Pack. It was something I realized I had never had directed towards me. The results were very telling.

The weight of his anger, along with his power, was so strong it crushed me. With a cry I dropped to the floor, feeling as though a boulder had fallen on my back and was keeping me down. Blood flowed from my nose like an open faucet. I could feel my limbs trembling; not from fear, but from this feeling of being overstimulated. I felt like I was being jabbed all over with little lightening bolts. I kept gasping to catch my breath. I tried again and again to push myself up from the floor, I just couldn’t do it. Peering up, I could see that Wufei remained unmoved to my plight. He stood over me, eyes narrowed and bright, teeth bared in anger.

The Alpha had been challenged, and he was going to put me in my place. Unfortunately for me, I was no werewolf. “Gah, uh…” I choked a little on my blood. Coughing afterwards helped. “Wu…” My head was pounding something fierce. I almost couldn’t take it. “Wu…”

“Let me be clear,” he began, his voice a mixture of his usual tone and that of his werewolf counterpart. It was terrifying. “I am the Packmaster of one of the strongest Packs in existence. You are not my equal, and I will not be made a fool of by you.” He shifted his weight, unintentionally making it seemed as if he grew right before my eyes. “You are my Primus,” he said, slowly. “That means that I do in fact, own you.” My breathing sounded shaky and wet. I didn’t know what to do. “Yield,” he growled, his words barely recognizable as words.

I trembled, unable to get the words out. I didn’t think I could’ve bared my neck even if I had wanted to. Unfortunately, he mistook my silence for disobedience. “You… dare?”

I tried to shake my head no, pleading with my eyes for him to believe me. No, no! I didn’t dare! I didn’t dare!

The back door to the kitchen slammed open. “Packmaster,” Heero said, entering. I rolled my eyes up to see him. I had collapsed beside the refrigerator which blocked my view of the blue-eyed werewolf. All I could make out were the toes of his boots. “We require your guidance.”

Wufei began to simmer down. I could tell he had somewhat calmed by the fact that I was finally able to draw a deep enough breath. “I am busy,” he said, as he stepped towards Heero. The Special turned his head to the right, baring his neck. There was no hesitation. Wufei leaned forward out of my line of sight, but I heard him sniff and his teeth clack, like a dog’s when they bite at the air. Whatever it was, I could feel the pressure in the room lessen. The instant yielding calmed the Alpha in Wufei even more.

“New intel has arrived regarding the shape-shifters. It had been sent by Quatre.”

“He does not yield.”

“He yields,” Heero countered swiftly, head still turned to the right. It took me a second to follow who and what they were talking about. Talk about a nonexistent segue. “You have turned away from him and he has yet to rise. He submits himself to you. You are his alpha.”

I wanted to cuss Heero out but I understood what he was doing. I was not yielding so much as too disabled to stand, but again, semantics. Of course, if I was able to get up I would’ve done so. I would have taken off running and would not have stopped until my legs had fallen off. Heero was doing what he could. “It is urgent, Packmaster,” he iterated.

I only hoped there was something from Quatre. There was going to be a hell of a reckoning if Heero was making this up.

“Very well.” Wufei’s footsteps were heavy but calm as he approached me. As he leaned down I closed my eyes, unable to even wince as he gave a sharp and painful nip to my neck followed by a sweep of tongue. Without further ado he stood and left through the back porch, Heero at his heels. I remained on the floor in my own bloody mess. The pain was easing, but the aftershocks sent echoes through my body that left me feeling weak and nauseated. After a few pathetic attempts, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to move under my own power. A whine not unlike a werewolf’s rose from my throat, but I knew I was probably the only one who heard it. Even if the other werewolves did, I doubted they would come to see me. Wufei’s temper would keep them away.

Shit. What the hell just happened?

***

The next thing I knew I was woken up by the sound of the door to the kitchen opening. I didn’t feel the heavy, sure tread of a werewolf in human form, but several small, light, cautious ones. I rolled my eyes up and was surprised to see Mariemaia, Trollé and Quinze surrounding me. “Maarrr..” I slurred, wincing at the sound of my voice. Or rather, lack of it. “Mar…”

“Be quiet,” Trollé said, not unkindly. “Save your strength. You will need it.”

Mariemaia went off to start a bath while Trollé and Quinze got me up. The girls stayed in the bathroom with me, getting me undressed and bathed before drying me off and tucking me into an old shirt and plaid bottoms. They then carried me to bed before I was looked over by Quinze. After some unscientific poking and prodding his assessment was that I would live. I thought he was joking. When I realized he was serious I tried to bash my head against the pillow. Repeatedly. Unfortunately, this didn’t kill me.

“You are healing well,” Quinze told me. “All you need is a drop or two to top you off. Are you willing?”

“Yes, he is willing,” Trollé interrupted, turning to me. “Do not refuse. It will help.”

Because of all that she has put herself through for me, unwilling or not, I could not find it in me to deny her. “Okay.”

Quinze bit his wrist and held his arm out, wrist down, until two drops landed on my tongue. Instantly, I began to feel better. Once that was done, the vampire got up and left my room. I got situated in bed before Mariemaia changed into her pajamas, these ones some kind of Disney TV show. She crawled into bed with me, then Trollé tucked us in. The pup and I laid nose to nose as she periodically brushed my stubborn bangs away from my face until she fell asleep. I remained awake a bit longer, mind overwhelmed with everything I learned and what had happened between me and Wufei. “Quinze has cleaned up the kitchen,” Trollé told me quietly. “He and I will remain with you tonight.”

I didn’t argue. She had her reasons or orders. “How long was I down for?” My voice cracked.

She didn’t hesitate. “A little over two hours.”

I closed my eyes. “He let me lie there for two hours?”

“You challenged an alpha werewolf Duo, particularly the Packmaster.” Her voice was filled with a sympathetic, but ‘what the hell did you expect’ tone. “You had to be punished. Truthfully, I do not think he knew that forcing you to submit would do this to you, but it did and it was sufficient for him.” I heard her lean closer. “If you had been human, it would have been much, much worse.”

I stared at Mariemaia’s adorable nose. “I am human.”

“You are not,” she countered immediately. “If you were, what he did would have outright killed you instead of left you weak on the floor.”

Shit.

“Enough of this.” She turned the lights off to my room and seemed to have settled down on the floor by the door. “Sleep now. This problem is not going anywhere.”

She was right. I could feel the lingering pain and exhaustion pulling at me. I had barely closed my eyes before I was out. Unfortunately, my sleep was not the most restful. I had several nightmares, but the most occurring one was of me being shot down instead of Rai. My shooter was none other than Wufei, who kept screaming at me to yield even though I had died.

(tbc)