18, Down boy
Tite
"Where have you been?” I was halfway up the stairs to my room and turned around and looked down at Nash who was standing in the lobby.
“Shadow has shown me around the place,” I said.
“That is my job,” he told me, walking to the foot of the stairs.
“Sorry, I didn't know. I thought it would be good if we stayed away from each other for a bit. I’m going to call my brother. I’ll see you,” I said. I was eager to get away from him, my wolf was not happy with me holding back and it was exhausting and painful to fight her all the time.
“Did you find something?” he asked. He looked tentative, as if he wanted to walk up the stairs to me, but at the same time didn’t think it was a good idea.
“No, not really. I just want to let him know we made it safely and that I have started looking around.” I hated the lies. But if I had told him I found a hex bag and was following a lead involving magic, he would most likely think I had fried my brain.
“Right. I’ll see you this evening? I’ll save you a seat and introduce you to some brothers you haven’t met,” Nash told me.
“Sounds like a plan,” I told him and walked up the stairs. I heated up some water for my cup’a’noodles while I phoned my brother.
“Tite, how is everything?” he answered.
“Hello to you too, Ulf. Everything is fine, well, we got here in one piece and I have made a new friend,” I told him.
“A new… Tite. I didn’t back you up to send you out with humans on your own so you could make new friends,” my brother sighed.
“She has made a friend? That is amazing news.” I heard Amber telling him in the background.
“I know it isn’t the main objective, I just thought I would start the conversation with something nice. And my new friend is very cool. He’s a werepanther,” I informed Ulf.
“A panther? Is he hanging around the Howlers? Could he be causing the issue?”
“Down, boy. He is a member of the club and he isn’t causing the issue. But that leads me into the not so fun things,” I said as I stirred my noodles. I told him about the state of the club and about the hex bag.
“Fuck! Hold on for a moment,” Ulf told me. I slurped on the noodles as I waited.
“You are getting your ass back home right this minute!” my father said. I was so surprised I had to check to see I was still on the call with Ulf.
“What?” I said.
“Dad needed to be in on this conversation,” my traitor of a brother told me.
“I’m not coming home, I just got here. I haven’t done anything yet,” I objected.
“You have done plenty. We sent you there to find out if their issues stemmed from our world. Well, you found fucking witchcraft. Your work is done, time to go home,” my father said.
“No. Who better than me to look into this? Ulf? Sorry brother, I love you, but you suck at magic. Are you going to take in an outsider? Who will make the introduction to a coven that will take your call?” I asked him.
“I will find a way. I’m not letting you deal with it all alone,” he demanded.
“I’m not alone,” I told him. He snorted in a way that wasn’t even close to being dignified.
“Humans. Humans will be of no use in all of this,” he said.
“And a panther,” I pointed out.
“Fucking perfect, a fucking panther. They are loners, Nefertiti. You can’t trust them. They have no sense of belonging to a pack, no honour.”
“Now you are just being small minded and petty. I would think you of all people should be more open. I’m staying. I will call aunt Hilda and she will give me an introduction to the local coven,” I insisted.
“Nefertiti I will not have you contact that woman and go around covens all on your own,” my father told me. I knew that when he used my full name, he was being serious. This was the longest conversation I could remember us having in years.
“Well, luckily for both of us, you can’t stop me. Ulf, tell him this is a good idea,” I said.
“Tite, don’t put me in the middle,” Ulf said.
“Fine,” I huffed. “I’m here and I’m staying. Nothing either of you say can change it. I have made up my mind and I would like to see what you do to change it,” I told them.
“I can order you as your Alpha,” my father said. I froze.
“Yeah, you could. You could even try your Alpha command on me. We both know it’s a fifty, fifty chance it will work. My witch doesn't recognise your authority and will fight it,” I told him. Sounding more confident than I was. I knew if he used his command on me it would be the final nail in the coffin that held our father-daughter relationship. Whether I could withstand it or not, it would be a clear line between family and pack member.
“Fucking stubborn child! Mani may have mercy on me for giving you both my and your mother’s stubbornness,” my father growled. “Fine! If you are set on staying, you may stay. But I want daily reports. If you haven’t reported to me by eight in the evening each day, I will send half the pack warriors to get you. And then I won’t care if they have to drag you back kicking and screaming. Am I making myself clear?” he asked.
“Yes, Alpha,” I said.
“Then it’s settled. Be safe. And call.” We ended the call and I poked around in my now cold noodles. I didn’t know if I liked my father being like this or not. A part of me enjoyed it as I could see it was his affection showing that made him worry. At the same time I wished we could have a better relationship. That didn’t mean I had to provoke him this far to get his attention. I sighed and forced myself to eat the rest of my dinner. The next thing on my to-do list was to call aunt Hilda.
“Tite!” Hilda exclaimed as she picked up. “My little dung beetle. Are you calling to tell me you finally decided to abandon that pack of your father’s and take your rightful place in the coven?” she asked. I laughed. I knew she was only half joking. She had started telling me I should join my mother’s old coven when I was sixteen. I had been tempted. But I knew I would never make it in a coven. If werewolf packs had a strict hierarchy, covens were even worse. And most of them had political undercurrents that packs lacked. Mostly because the high priest and priestess rarely inherited titles. Scheming was a way to get to the top.
“No, aunt Hilda. But I am going to need your help,” I told her.
“Oh, this must be something extra. You never ask for help. I am all ears, little dung beetle.”