6 – No crime is perfect

Nel

For the past week, we’ve been through all kinds of potentially useful and/or useless information Greg could gather from the pack house; starting with Milton’s daily routine, his medication and his recent health reports to the timetable of the shift changes in the pack house and several alternative scenarios about how to take him out of the way.

Today’s the big day…

Greg will go in first as they know him and won’t be alerted by his presence. This way, when it’s time for the change of shift in the guards, he can buy us just enough time for me and Tim to sneak in and reach straight to Milton’s room at the time that he’s taking his daily siesta. We’ll make him drink a type of poison that will trigger a chain reaction with the medication he’s currently on, and then swiftly disappear. We have chosen a substance that fades away really fast. Our job will be complete before they can even figure out something’s wrong. Smooth and clean. By the time they realize he hasn’t come downstairs, the effects should be irreversible and most probably they won’t even suspect anything, as it will look like a regular stroke episode. But even if they do, the poison won’t be detectable by that time.

Our plan seems a bit too merciful for my tastes. I would rather abduct him and torture the living daylight out of him for all the suffering he’s caused us, but that would be too risky and could easily backfire.

So here we are, hidden behind a bush fence with Tim under the effect of strong scent suppressants, waiting for Greg’s signal, when it suddenly hits me… A weird, enticing essence, more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt. Something musky mixed with sandalwood and magnolia that makes me paralyzed. My eyes go wide, about to cry. It takes all my willpower to stop my legs from going out of my hiding place and running after the source of the scent; a big, muscular male with broad shoulders and rather long hair, tied up in a man bun, about to wear his helmet and ride a motorbike. I can only see his well sculpted back from where we are, but there’s no doubt this must be the notorious Alpha Nicholas himself.

It’s a hard fight to suppress all my urges to run and just stay hidden here. I know he can’t get my scent as I’ve actively masked it, but if I so much as budge now, a male of his strength and wits will right away be aware of our presence here.

Greg’s signal comes, but my feet are stuck on the ground, even though the Alpha is already gone. Tim senses my hesitation and follows the course of my eyes, that are glued to the road from where the bike disappeared. A small shadow of hurt flickers through his eyes as realization strikes him hard, but he’s quick to disguise it under a straight face. Right now, we need to get back to safety, or else we’re all doomed. The plan can’t go on, and there’s absolutely no plausible explanation why we’re here, if we get caught. Technically, we’re just trespassing rogues and for a pack that would be the closest to what terrorists would look like in the world where I grew up. Under different circumstances, I may as well have laughed at the idea of my shy, introvert college self on terrorist missions, but now really isn’t the right time for this.

Tim moves next to me. A slight sting on my neck alerts me for a second, but then the world goes hazy. All my thoughts are with Greg and whether he’ll make it out of there on time, as blackness starts to consume me and I drift out of consciousness…

Nick

‘Your nerdy friend is here’ Matt mind links me shortly after I leave the pack house heading for my apartment.

Greg is at the pack house? What day is it? Did we have an appointment that I forgot about? I hardly ever forget such things, though, and I don’t remember him mentioning any major experiment pending that would justify him showing up unannounced like this, either. For some reason, something feels off, and my intuition is rarely wrong about such things.

‘What does he want? Is he at my office?’ I link him back.

No response…

‘Leo, Bob to my office NOW’ I link them as I turn my bike back to return and see what’s going on for myself.

‘Matt, did you find him? What’s wrong?’ I try to link him again, but he’s blocking our connection and there’s still no response.

Upon arriving back, I rush upstairs and meet a very surprised Leo and Bob waiting for me right next to my door.

“Did one of you two call Greg here and forgot to mention it to Matt or the guards?”

They exchange a perplexed glance with each other and that’s all the answer I need.

“What’s wrong, Alpha?” Leo asks me, his eyes obviously anxious.

They both know their positions are at stake if Greg messes up, since they were the ones who vouched for him. He’s still just a rogue and maybe it was wrong of me to go out of our traditional ways with him. But he’s helped us out several times up to now with his expertise. Plus, he’s a natural talent with everything technology oriented and he’s willingly taken up organizing our software and security systems. Which only means he knows them all too well…

What’s your game Greg? Why betray us like this?

‘Nick, you won’t like it, but you need to come to the basement immediately’ Matt links me again and I almost run there. I easily find them in a cell following their smells. Greg is lying on the floor, face to the side with Matt’s boot pressing against his neck. Both seem out of breath, which means they fought. Who’d have thought nerdy Greg could hold a decent fight against Matt enough to tire him?

I take some steps further inside and stare with my brow raised, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Who will be kind enough to explain to me what the hell is going on here?”

“Simple Nick… He was trespassing, because when the guards informed me of his presence and he saw me, he attempted to run away.”

“Matt, leave us alone please,” I say in a flat, crisp voice.

“Yes, Alpha!”

It’s rare for Matt to call me by my title. It’s usually a way to express his disagreement. He doesn’t trust Greg and honestly, right now, I don’t know why I did so either.

‘Because he’s a genius, and he eagerly helped you with whatever you asked him,’ says one little voice in my head that’s trying hard to prevent me from killing him.

‘But you trusted a rogue and you know what they say… once a rogue, always a rogue,’ says another voice on the other side of my mind.

In the meantime, with Matt gone, Greg has sat up on the floor of the cell. His hands rub at his neck, but his eyes are stuck to the ground, not daring to meet mine.

“Give me something, Greg… Anything, to keep you alive. I’m really struggling here. I don’t want you dead. You’re more valuable to me alive.”

“Then don’t kill me… It’s as simple as that. You’re the Alpha here. It’s purely your choice,” he answers.

There’s this defiance in his attitude, that I don’t know how to go about it.

“Exactly, Greg… I’m the Alpha here and, as such, I’m responsible for all the safety and well-being of everyone here. But how would I expect a random rogue to understand such a thing?” I retort, irony dripping off my words.

“I’ll only say this once and then never again, Alpha… I may be a loner and not fit for pack rules, but I do have friends I honor and would give my life for. We’re free, but not immoral. All I ever did was to protect them. I never meant to undermine you or hurt innocent people.”

He sounds decisive, but sad. And he’s not by any chance giving me enough…

“Then what did you mean to do, if not harm the pack?”

“I’m afraid I can’t elaborate on that, Alpha. The decision is yours now. I’m here and I won’t resist whatever choice you make,” he says, bearing his neck to me as a sign of submission.

“Join the pack, Greg… Take our oath. Blend your blood with ours. Pledge your faith to me and I’ll spare you.”

“I can’t do that, Alpha.”

He carries this mysterious, defeated sorrow in his voice that I can’t fathom. Even though he’s defying me and my decision, there’s this brutal truth in his words. Still, it’s more than obvious he’s hiding too much and I don’t like it.

“Why not?”

“Because if I do, I’m as good as dead anyway…”

What on earth is that supposed to mean?

“I’m trying here, Greg… Like, really trying… But my patience is running out,” I say, massaging my temples.

“What is it you would truly want, Greg? Where would you go if I gave you an alternative? A free pass of your own choice?”

“Most probably the university… Fly away and continue my research in Northam. That would be the only way out, good enough for both sides.” he says thoughtfully.

“Under one condition…” the words are out before my mind can filter them.

“You can’t communicate with anyone about it. I’ll support you with all I have, but the only ones who will know about it will be you, me, Matt, Leo and Bob, not your ‘family’, nor my pack. Don’t betray me again coz I’ll notice right away.”

And with this, I turn and leave it to Matt, who’s been waiting outside, to arrange the details. I need to reach my penthouse as soon as possible. I’m not feeling well. There’s this absurd, intense, stabbing pain in my chest and head that’s getting worse by the second. I don’t know what to make out of it, and I can’t understand where it came from either...