Chapter 178 – Ride Along

“Eventually the point of diminishing returns is met in the development of any technology. We haven’t even begun to make it to that point yet but when we do, I am prepared to do what all major research organizations do and throw resources at the problem until it moves. Then I begin the cycle all over again.” – Jay explaining his ‘generosity’ to James Cavans

“Are you sure you are ready for this?” Kurt asked as he followed Jade into the Den.

“I have been eagerly waiting for this day.” Jade replied serenely as she led him through the entrance.

“Well, I appreciate you fitting me in today. Still want to do it in your room?” He asked.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Jade nodded. “I think that I would appreciate privacy for our first time.”

Kurt waved to the half dozen werewolves lounging around in the common area of the underground dormitory. He got many wide-eyed stares in return as the gathered wolves suddenly realized their spiritual leader was seeing many of them in their pajamas or even less in a few cases.

Continuing to follow Jade past them and into the halls, Kurt continued his conversation. “Still, this is probably going to be intense. I haven’t done it with any werewolf before.”

Jade stopped, turning to face him as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. “Sire, I have complete faith in your ability to leave me very fulfilled.” She ushered him through before turning to the two werewolves watching her in wide eyed shock.

“Gus, Sierra, make sure we are not disturbed.” She said and followed after Kurt, locking the door behind her and leaving her pack members staring in stunned silence.

Inside the room, Kurt took a quick look around. It was slightly larger than the other rooms he had seen in his tour of the Den on his last visit. The extra space was filled with a couch and pair of matching chairs around a low coffee table.

Across from the seating area, leaving a gap for a standard-looking bathroom, was a desk with a couple of bookshelves on the walls. The shelves were filled with not only books but also some small keepsakes and photos of who he assumed were family.

All in all, it was pretty much what he expected except for the strange color pallet he hadn’t thought the generally stoic woman would go for. “You really like teal.” He commented.

All the small throw pillows, her towels, the shower curtain were all matching shades of teal. Even the bed set on the opposite side of the room was covered in a white comforter that was decorated with little geometric patterns in the same teal shade as everything else. If it hadn’t been tastefully done, Kurt would have thought it was too much.

“It is a nice color for brightening up the space since it’s underground.” She replied as she took her place on the couch. “Can I offer you a refreshment before we begin?”

Kurt shook his head. “No, I would prefer to get right to business.”

Jade bobbed her head and looked around, suddenly nervous. “Where would you like to do this? The bed seems to be an obvious choice, but I wouldn’t presume.”

“The bed is fine.” Kurt said. “I am not sure how this is going to go. Since it is your first time and all.”

Standing, Jade moved over to the bed. “Should I lay or…”

“Nah, probably best to sit. It is kinda like meditation. Apparently, I can take you with me when I project my soul to that place.” Kurt climbed onto the bed after dismissing his shoes to his ring and sat cross-legged facing Jade as she adopted a similar position. “Hands please.”

Jade set her hands in his and he talked her through what he expected to happen. A moment later he closed his eyes and began to will his soul to travel to the meadow while taking Jade with him. He had the instinct that he had to specifically will her to come with him and followed its guidance.

There was a tingling sensation in Kurt’s hands that began to radiate up his arms. At first the sensation was just a little unpleasant, a slight itch that he couldn’t scratch. That itch quickly turned into a burning sensation like he had been swinging a hammer all day and the lactic acid was causing cramps. He was about to let go after it turned into a burning pain but suddenly found himself standing in a familiar grassy clearing under a perpetually twilight sky.

“Oh good, you finally brought her along.” Said the familiar voice of his wolf who approached from his side.

Kurt was helping Jade to her feet, an easy task since they were both in werewolf form and he was so much larger than her. “Yup, probably should have done it sooner but better late than never.”

The woman in question stared in disbelief at the large brown wolf that sat down in front of her. “Y-you are my wolf…”

“I am everyone’s wolf.” He replied with a slight ducking of his head. “For better or worse is up to you.”

“This is-this is incredible.” Jade looked like she was about to start fangirling as she stared at the wolf who was only slightly smaller than her, despite her larger alpha stature. “Sire, is this who you told me of? He doesn’t seem so intense.”

Taking a quick glance about the perimeter of the clearing, Kurt spotted the other being that he knew inhabited the area. It was just much closer than he expected. Before he could say anything, Jade was nearly knocked off her feet as the nose of the Avatar bumped into her from behind.

Spinning around, Jade’s jaw dropped and her head ducked as she came face to face with the remnant of their ancestor. She couldn’t even form words, instead just letting out a soft whine as she crouched under the gaze of the massive wolf.

The Avatar took a deep sniff of the fur around Jade’s neck before turning and walking away. It left as silently as it had approached, its massive paws not even leaving impressions in the grass as it returned to stalking the tree line.

“And that is the Avatar.” Kurt said, his introduction coming rather late to the party. “He really doesn’t talk much but is always sorta around.”

“You have spoken to him?” Jade’s voice was still high with stress from the sudden encounter.

Kurt snorted as he turned and began walking toward the cave that held the gallery. “Yeah, but it’s a real headache. Literally in this case since his words are often not coherent and they are projected straight into your mind.”

“Do not worry, Jade.” The wolf spoke as it followed along beside them. “I doubt he will have much cause to interrupt our time together in the future.”

Jade was still taking glances over her shoulder as she climbed the hill alongside them but turned to look at the wolf. “What do you mean in the future?”

“Yeah, what do you mean?” Kurt piled on.

“This won’t be the only time she comes to the forest.” The wolf said, like it was common knowledge. “Now that you have shown her spirit the way, she can project it here on her own.”

“Really?” Kurt almost stopped in his tracks. “I thought I had to take her with me every time. Can I do this with the others? Or just alphas?”

The wolf shook its head in an oddly human way. “Just her. She can come here because she is essentially a vessel for your divinity. An image or reflections of your soul and the will it contains.” It then continued up into the cave, forcing Kurt and Jade to follow.

As they entered the gallery, Jade looked around in confusion. “What exactly is it that you two do here, sire?”

“Well, mostly I have come here to learn about the Origin and our history. Like our primeval history before people were even recording it.” Kurt said. He then noticed that the gallery was unlit, all the scenes he had seen before having their wall section completely dark. “Or… not?”

“Your saint needs to learn these things for herself.” The wolf answered. “I trust she will be suited to understanding the nuances better than you, however.”

Kurt felt like he should be offended, so he was. “Hey, what is that supposed to mean?”

Jade answered before their wolf could. “Sire, I think it is because I will see things from a more religious perspective and will consider things as they affect us, the werewolf race, as a whole.”

“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.” Kurt grumbled.

“It is true.” The wolf sided with Jade. “While you are trying to learn about yourself, how to be what you are and what you are yet to become, Jade can focus on how to understand you. As a saint, it is her duty to build upon your domain. To do that, she will need knowledge and context rather than knowledge and ability.

“Already you have begun to diverge from her learnings. What she will see after a certain point will be focused on what she needs to know.” The wolf then looked down the long gallery and both their gazes followed.

Panels began to glow, but they were slightly different now. Where they had the same amber-gold light, there was now a matching border around them. That light spread down the gallery and Kurt immediately saw what the wolf was talking about.

At a certain point, some panels began to lose the border around them, reverting to the normal, even glow. Along with that, there were additional panels that only had the border, the center remaining dark. This uneven pattern continued down the length of the wall, breaking the scenes yet to be viewed into one of the three categories.

“Huh.” Kurt was impressed. He didn’t know that this gallery was such a complex and adaptable system. Sure, the panels had moved before but he didn’t know that some were more curated for just Jade. “Well, I guess I know what you will be doing.”

The wolf nodded. “Yes, we have much to catch her up on.” He then turned to Kurt. “You may leave her with me, and I will instruct her from here. Though, do come back soon. After the latest Strand you fought, there is much you need to learn and sooner is better than later.”

“Alright, I will make it happen.” Kurt promised before turning to Jade. “Have fun. I will tell the others to leave you be until dinnertime. Not that I think time in the real world matters much around here.”

“Thank you, sire.” Jade bowed, somehow making it look graceful despite being in her werewolf form.

Kurt then closed his eyes and reopened them to see Jade sitting cross legged in front of him. He slid his hands out from under hers and carefully climbed off the bed, making sure not to jostle her.

He stretched and checked the time. He had been under for a couple hours, not too long but once again showing that the forest had strange rules for time dilation. Sometimes it was a lot, minutes passing in the real world while hours went by inside. Other times, like this one, it was the opposite with only half an hour or so inside becoming over two hours outside.

“The only constant is that I wake up right on time.” Kurt mused as he made for the door.

He opened it only to find two werewolves standing right outside, flanking either side like guards. Sierra stood on the left and Kenst was on the right. They both straightened as he exited and closed the door behind him quietly.

It was Kenst looking at Kurt strangely that prompted him to speak. “Uhh. She is going to be a while. If she isn’t out by dinner, send someone to wake her.” He then turned to walk back to the exit.

“Yes, sire.” Kenst answered immediately.

“Sire?” Sierra asked, talking over Kenst.

Kurt stopped and turned around. “Sup?”

“Did you use some sort of sound barrier or something? How will we know if she needs help?” She was looking at him strangely.

“Oh, um no we didn’t. Unless the doors are super soundproof or something, you should hear her call out just fine.” Kurt answered.

He was about to leave when the fem-wolf once again blurted something out. “Sire, will you be taking any of the rest of us?”

“Sierra!” Kenst hissed under his breath and looked appalled.

Now very confused, Kurt walked back to the two wolves. “What are you talking about?”

“Sierra, I think you should shut up.” Kenst hissed again, this time not trying to be subtle.

Looking from Kenst to Kurt, Sierra just kept on her course, clearly not taking his advice. “As concubines, Sire. We understand that Jade would be first as it her… Sire?” She stopped talking after noticing the color had drained from Kurt’s face.

“NO!” Kurt nearly yelled before controlling his volume. “No-no-no-no. That is not what we did in there or what I have any intention of doing.” He was absolutely mortified as he recalled the conversation they had been having as they entered the Den.

“Oh.” Sierra looked disappointed but also relieved. “Then… what were you doing?”

Kenst, still looking like he couldn’t believe what was happening grumbled under his breath. “I would say lord strike me down, but he is standing right here.”

Kurt decided then and there that honesty would be the best bet in this situation. “Listen, I am going to tell you something and you need to make sure that it doesn’t spread outside the wolves living here under Jade’s control.”

Seeing them both perk up and nod vigorously, Kurt explained exactly what was happening, going so far as to open the door so they could see Jade meditating. He even went into a little detail about the forest and what he had learned and seen there. He knew it would lead to even more of the strange worship and infatuation, but it was better than the alternative.

After he had finished a detailed, though still abridged, description, Kurt looked at the two very shocked werewolves. “Any questions? Comments or concerns?”

“No, sire.” They said in unison.

A second later, Sierra’s eyes went wide with realization and the color drained from her normally dark complexion. “I gotta tell the other fems. Kenst, please cover me for a minute.” She then dashed off toward the common area before the other guard could answer.

“Anything else you need?” Kurt turned back to Kenst and saw the man shake his head. “Great, you guys got my cell if you need anything. Tell Ra to check in with Jade after she gets up.”

Taking the opportunity, Kurt made for the exit. As he entered the communal areas with the kitchen, dining and lounge, he saw Sierra talking to the other female werewolves as a couple of the men listened in. He was about to ignore it when he noted that the women were all wearing either leggings or jeans with tank tops. Outfits that looked suspiciously like what Val and Kristi normally liked to wear.

“I have got to get out of here.” He muttered while making quickly for the exit. He cleared the threshold and stairs in near record time while making for his car. He was happy to see that the rain had stopped as predicted and the sun was starting to poke through the clouds.

It was just as Kurt cleared the barn that he ran into another familiar face. Chief Henry was just climbing out of his… Subaru Outback. That sight stopped Kurt in his tracks only for his sense of uncanny valley to continue.

The chief was wearing board shorts and a Hawaiian print shirt along with a ball cap. The Oakley sunglasses perched on top of the brim almost distracted from the flipflops on his feet. He still had a Glock in his waistband, going off the slight imprint on his right side, but was otherwise completely unrecognizable as law enforcement.

“The hell are you staring at?” The chief asked after seeing Kurt literally stop and gawk. “Can’t a man have a day off once in a while?”

Kurt snapped out of it and his mouth snapped closed with the clack of teeth. “Sorry, it’s just I haven’t ever seen you like this.” He gestured at all of him then the car.

“Yeah, well, you might be seeing more of it.” Henry said as he approached. “I came to take Lady Jade up on her offer, if you’ve seen her around.”

“She is a little indisposed at the moment.” Kurt said. “What offer was that exactly?”

Henry stuck his hands in his front pockets, hooking his thumbs on the outside as he swayed for a moment like he was deciding on something. “Well, you probably know anyway so no sense keepin it quiet. It was about moving in here. But in a house they would build, not in that hole in the ground.” He gestured to the Den entrance with his chin.

“That and something about a gift?” He scratched at his ginger stubble. “Something about needing you for it though.”

“Oh.” Kurt said with as much intelligence as he could muster at that exact moment. “Well, that’s great. I can do the gift part if you want. For talking to Jade, you can come back… probably tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow would be my guess.”

Shrugging, Henry looked around just as Ra pulled up in one of the trucks that were reserved for the packs. “That’s fine with me.”

Kurt waived Ra over once he spotted him. The former Terminus goon trotted across the gravel at a little less than a jog. “Yes, sire?”

“You know about Chief Henry here getting the same gift that you and Justin got?” When Ra nodded, Kurt continued. “See any reason that Jade has to be here for it or are we good to do it on our own?”

Ra shook his head. “No, I don’t think she needs to be here.”

Clapping his hands, Kurt turned back to Henry. “Well, Chief. Want to take the next step and be one of the big dogs?” he suppressed his smirk almost as well as Ra suppressed his groan at the awful pun.

“What exactly does that mean?” Henry was giving both Kurt and Ra a lot of side eye.

“It means that I will gift you with the alpha strain that Ra, Jade and Justin have, but I don’t think you know Justin yet.” Kurt quickly explained while Ra pulled his collar aside to show the small puncture wounds that spread over his shoulder.

“Wait, you’re going to bite me?” Henry took a half step back.

Also taking a step back, Ra shifted, extending the process to alter his facial features to speak. “It is how these things are done. I was once as you, but my position called for more.”

Henry was staring up at the now 9-foot-tall Ra. “Christ, how many of you are there?”

“Just the three.” Kurt said, recapturing Henry’s attention as he shifted to tower over Ra’s already impressive height. “So, how about it? Ready to join?”

*****

Jay was enjoying himself immensely. It might have been the weather that was turning from a gloomy morning to a beautiful afternoon. It might have been the brand-new Miata he had just bought that he was driving on the curvy road along the Michigan coastline. It also might have been that his wife Lil was in a rather lovely sundress and sitting in the passenger seat of the new Miata.

“I must say, while I miss the pop-up headlights of the old version, the new model drives rather nice.” Jay said loudly over the wind that was coming over the convertible top.

Lil smiled as she looked over to him. “I will never understand why you like these little wannabe sports cars so much. You always struck me as a Ferrari type.”

Downshifting and glancing to his phone, Jay began looking for the address he was after. “It’s because I can use this car.” He reasoned. “The Italian supercars are fancy but not practical. I can’t use all 600 horsepower, I won’t drive at 180 miles an hour, they are wide, hard to see from and, until recently, were not comfortable on bumpy roads.”

He patted the steering wheel. “This, the slightly underpowered, slightly undersized and slightly priced, will be the better car because I can get everything out of it and not care if I scratch the paint. I can also fit in any parking space and go over any roads without dragging the undercarriage.”

Rolling her eyes, Lil went back to looking out at the lake and the few small sailboats that were making their way across the bay. “You have your points dear.” She conceded. “Now, where are we going?”

“After a little stop, we are going to be going to dinner then back to the house.” Jay said. He spotted the address he was after, or rather, the driveway and mailbox. The house was still hidden as it sat back from the road.

“Yes, but what is this little stop?”

“Just someone that I need to scoop up for work.” Jay said.

Lil did not look impressed. “You know I don’t like to watch you do that to people.” She said, putting on a very real pout.

Jay chuckled as he reached the end of the drive with a ranch style house and a large pole barn sharing a concrete slab of a driveway. “It isn’t that kind of work, sweetheart. I promise this is just a quick recruitment deal then we are off to enjoy the evening.”

He got out of the car and began walking toward the front door. He thought better about it a moment later when he heard a clang and a thump. Reversing his course, Jay went over to the side door on the pole barn.

Raising his hand, he banged hard on the metal door, figuring that it might be needed if the man was anything like the other smiths he had known. He waited for a few moments before raising his hand to knock again with a little more force.

The door swung open before he could and a shorter, very pale man stood in the doorway, squinting his red eyes at Jay. “Can I help you?” he was dressed in a short sleeve shirt with a slightly tattered apron over top that hung down to his mid-thigh.

“Yes, Mister Cavans I presume?” Jay asked.

The man nodded, still not coming any closer and staying out of the sun beam that was intruding into the doorway. “James is fine. Did we have an appointment?” He looked down at his apron and pulled out his phone. “I swear I didn’t have anyone coming today.”

Jay cleared his throat to get the man’s attention. “Ahem, no we didn’t have an appointment, but I am here for a job. A job for you that is.”

“That’s usually how it goes with gun smiths.” Cavans was looking him up and down. “Do I know you?”

Smiling, Jay pulled out a tablet and a folder from his storage ring, making the vampiric gun smith’s eyes go wide in realization. “No but you might know one of my employees. Mister Rosk told me of the work you two are doing and I was hoping to put you on retainer to be our exclusive smith. Full time.” Jay handed the folder over.

James took it and began to open it as he talked. “Well, I won’t turn down the work, but I have a lloooooooo… holyfuckingshit...” His words trailed off as he saw the number at the bottom of the offer summary. “You know, I was just thinking about how I might like a corporate gig rather than contract work odds and ends.”

“Great.” Jay smiled in a devilish fashion. “Let’s have a quick chat because I want to help streamline your progress on your current project. I think it will be needed sooner than later.”