Chaz (VLG #15)

Chapter Nine

Chaz woke, instantly knowing something wasn’t right. It wasn’t the fact that he had a warm, soft body curled against his side. He never slept with females, so it was a new experience. He actually liked having Shoni there.

Shoni’s head rested on his chest, one of his arms curled around her back, and the soft feel of her breath against his skin felt nice. They’d fallen asleep after moving into her bedroom, having sex again first. That was after the four rounds they’d done in the guest room.

He opened his eyes in the dark room, glancing around. Then it sank in. There was no noise at all. His keen hearing picked up a lot of things that humans probably didn’t. For him, it was the refrigerator downstairs. Shoni’s constantly made a low hum. That sound had ceased.

Very carefully, he turned on his side, easing Shoni away from him. He slid off her bed, glancing around her room. She kept a clock on the nightstand. No red-lit numbers showed on it to tell the time. The television she kept in her room always had a small red light on the center bottom. It was dark. That told him with certainty the electricity was off.

He crept to the covered window, moving the thick curtain half an inch. The human homes were very close together, so he could easily see the neighboring two-story condo. Their porch light was on, and from the flickering he could see in one upper window through their sheer curtains, they had their television on. That meant the power wasn’t out in the area.

“ Fuck ,” he mouthed, his gaze going to the open bedroom door. He listened but didn’t pick up any sounds coming from the hallway or below him. A dog barked nearby, probably from another condo unit.

He went to Shoni, slipped his arm under her, and used his other hand to clamp over her mouth as he lifted her off the bed. She woke with a gasp that his palm muffled. He could tell that her human vision had left her blind in the dark room. Fear had her eyes widening, and she started to struggle in his hold. Her hands blindly sought his arms, and she clawed at him in self-defense.

“It’s Chaz,” he whispered in her ear. “We’re about to have Lycans visit us. They’ve cut the power to your home.”

She stilled her struggles and eased the pressure of her fingernails on his skin. Her body remained tense.

“I’m going to put you down. Don’t make a sound,” he ordered. “Stay here while I see if they’ve entered your home yet. If they do attack, barricade yourself in the walk-in closet. All you’ll have to do is hold them off for a few seconds, and I’ll be there.”

Chaz hated to see the terror on her face, but she nodded against his hand. She once again impressed him as he sat her on her feet. Shoni didn’t say a word but held still. He released her and stepped away, going to the open doorway to inhale. There was no scent of Lycans.

He listened again, only picking out outside noises from her nearby neighbors and Shoni’s breathing and heartbeat, but nothing else. They hadn’t invaded her home yet. He had a little time before they attacked.

“Go inside your closet, shut the door, and put something on to wear,” he whispered loud enough for her to hear. “Stay in there once you’re done.”

“Okay,” she breathed back.

He watched as she put her arms out and flattened her hands on the wall, using it as a guide to the walk-in closet. She entered and quietly closed the door. Chaz shelled his skin to harden it a little and stepped into the hallway. He quickly crossed into the guest room, grabbed his discarded sweatpants, and put them on.

He used the opportunity while in there to peek out the covered window. The other homes around him had electricity. Only Shoni’s was without power, verifying his suspicion. The Folsom pack had made a very bad mistake by deciding to come after someone under his protection.

He spun, walking back into the hallway, and paused at the head of the stairwell. No noises came from below. A quick mental floor plan of Shoni’s home flashed inside his head. There were plenty of ways the Lycans could break in, but it would be difficult to come in through the roof or second floor. No balconies were there for them to access.

That left the big sliding glass door, the window near the front door, or breaking into the garage to go through a wall. He doubted they’d do that last one. It would be too noisy. The downstairs bathroom might have a window. He hadn’t opened the door to check it out. Regret hit him over that oversight.

He remembered seeing stickers near the front door advertising a security system. That’s probably why they’d cut power to her home. The Lycans would have seen it, too, and wanted to avoid setting off the alarm. Cameras and security systems were something they all looked for when they were about to do something they didn’t want humans to see.

A creak sounded from below. Chaz rushed down the stairs and heard it again. Metal groaned, too. He snarled, moving between her coffee table and the television to reach the sliding doors. He paused there, allowing his claws to slide out.

“It’s not breaking,” a male whispered from the other side of the glass. “The human has multiple sliding window locks.”

“Break the glass,” a woman hissed.

“That will be too loud. Look how closely humans live together.” Disgust sounded in the male’s spat words. “They’ll hear it and come out.”

“Apply more pressure,” the female encouraged. “The metal will bend, and then we can just lift the glass doors out of the way to get inside.”

“Fine.”

Chaz moved fast, went to the front door, and quietly unlocked it. He eased it open and looked around, but no one waited there. He stepped out, closed the door behind him, and silently rounded the corner into Shoni’s tiny patio. It had artificial grass but nothing else. It was only about ten feet wide and twenty feet deep.

Two Lycans, a male and a female, were trying to push on the slider to pop it out of the tracks. Chaz moved fast after glancing around. No one else was around, and he only picked up their scents.

He grabbed them both by the back of their necks, applying enough pressure to let them know he could crush their throats. “Move and you die,” he warned, keeping his tone soft.

The female gasped, but the male didn’t make a sound. Both went stiff, probably with fear since a breeze now blew at his back. His scent was directed right at them. Chaz shelled his body more, letting them feel the changing texture of his hands gripped around their throats as his skin hardened.

“I will squeeze your heads from your bodies if you attack me,” Chaz warned. “Your claws and fangs will only tickle me if you try to use them. I’d ask what the fuck you are doing here, but I overheard enough to know you’ve come after Shoni. Who sent you?”

He immediately suspected Corlin, but then again, the pack had just undergone the loss of their alpha. He’d seen packs splintered into groups in the past if they disagreed with the pre-chosen replacement. Some might resent that Corlin would inherit the position by birthright. A few lower-ranking enforcers might believe they’d be better alphas.

Both Lycans remained silent. They just stayed very still in his hold.

“I could apply enough pressure to your throats to stop you from breathing or crush bones. Of course, the pain might make you scream. None of us want that.” Chaz glanced around, hoping it was dark enough in Shoni’s tiny yard that her neighbors wouldn’t see anything. There were walls separating their yards.

Human eyesight wasn’t that good. At least, Chaz hoped so. “Or I could drag you inside to torture you until you answer me. Who sent you after Shoni? She’s the human you came after. And why? I told everyone in the warehouse I was going to have her memories wiped.”

“Corlin sent us,” the female hissed. “You should go kill him. We’re just following orders.”

He might have believed her, except the male jerked, trying to move his head to stare at the female. The scent of fear began to mix with his scent, too. Chaz wasn’t a fool. He’d dealt with a lot of devious Vamps in his time. Most tended to lie like it was their sole purpose in life. It was their way of placing blame on an enemy in hopes he’d take them out instead. That tracked with what the female had just suggested.

“I see. If I drag both of your asses back to Corlin, hand you over to him, and ask him why he sent you after Shoni… he’ll verify that?”

The scent of fear became stronger on both as they began to sweat. It confirmed Chaz’s suspicion. “Or I could kill you right now for lying to me.” He applied more pressure to the female’s throat. He didn’t want to hurt her, but Lycans were tough. Using the female would be more effective since most males were naturally protective. He needed to learn the truth.

The female reached up to scratch at his fingers when he cut off her ability to breathe. Her claws came out, but they were ineffective since he’d shelled hard enough to turn his skin into near stone.

He leaned closer to the male. “Is she important to you? Speak before she suffocates to death.”

The male made a low whining noise. “Noah sent us to kill the human,” he confessed. “Please release my mate. Don’t kill her. We had to do this. He threatened our pups.”

Chaz eased his hold on the female until she gasped air into her lungs.

“Go on. Who is Noah? Why did he send you after Shoni?”

“Shut up. Think of our pups,” the female pleaded. “Noah will kill them if he realizes we talked.”

A sick feeling settled into the pit of Chaz’s stomach. He adjusted his stance and bent a little, sniffing at the female. Then the male. He picked up the faint scent of younglings on them. They’d held them close to their chests recently, probably before they’d had to say goodbye to be sent on an assignment. Real fear sounded in the female’s voice.

Chaz straightened up. “I’m in no mood for more lies. I’ll help you if what you’re saying is true. I’ll do a hell of a lot to protect pups. Now talk.”

“Why would you care? You’re a GarLycan.” The female’s voice quivered as if she were close to tears.

Chaz kept both collared with his hands, worried they’d attempt to flee if he let them go. “As I said, I’ll do a hell of a lot to protect pups. Young ones are innocent and shouldn’t be dragged into adult matters. Tell me everything.”

“Noah was Keith’s lead enforcer for almost three decades. He was forced to step down once the six sons hit maturity. Our alpha used to tell us he was training them to lead the packs he planned to take over,” the male quickly explained. “We believed it because some of his sons bragged about what they’d do when they were in charge of their own territories.”

“Noah helped those six learn to fight. He was proud of all of them right up until our alpha set him aside and gave them his position to share. He couldn’t do anything about it because he’d never win against the six,” the female added. “Now that you’ve eliminated five of them, Noah plans to challenge Corlin.”

“Why send you here?” Chaz still couldn’t make sense of where Shoni fit into Noah’s plans to take over the pack.

“Not all Keith’s children are male. There are two daughters. They are alpha-blooded and could fight Noah if he kills Corlin. Our pack doesn’t believe in waiting days between challenges.” The male paused. “The two daughters would be immediately allowed to fight him if Noah beats Corlin.”

Chaz understood that. Noah wouldn’t walk away from a fight with Corlin without taking some serious damage. He’d be weakened and would most likely lose if the sisters were anywhere near as strong as their brother. Noah might beat one but not all three if he had to fight them in back-to-back challenges. “Would your pack follow a female alpha?”

“Yes,” the male quickly answered. “Both are respected and as fearsome as their brothers. Noah is going to say the daughters are who Corlin sent to kill the human, knowing he can convince the pack to demand their immediate executions. That way, he won’t have to fight them. You scared the hell out of everyone. With Corlin and his two sisters dead, Noah plans to offer all three bodies to your clan as proof that we don’t want a war.”

Chaz had to admit he might have backed off if the dead bodies of the ones who’d killed a human were handed over when he sought revenge. Of course, he’d also have investigated and found out it was bullshit. No one from the Folsom pack seemed overly intelligent.

“Why send you two?”

“We’re food growers,” the male informed him. “No one would suspect us of being able to murder anyone. Noah swore to kill our pups if anyone ever found out the truth.”

“Fuck.” Chaz believed them. Both seemed to be submissive. They hadn’t even tried to attack him. “I’m going to release you both. Don’t fucking move. I plan to sniff at each of you to verify what you’ve said. You hold still, and I won’t hurt you. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” they both agreed.

Chaz let them go. The female almost threw herself at the male. That male held his mate protectively against his body. Both visibly trembled. Neither tried to meet Chaz’s gaze when he got in front of them.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

Both glanced up but quickly dropped their gazes. Their quivering bodies exposed how uncomfortable they were being so close to him. One deep inhale by Chaz revealed their utter terror of him, too.

He visually inspected both. They were fit, of course, but not overly so. They weren’t enforcers or held jobs that were defensive in nature. They’d have been more muscular and intimidating-looking. The couple in front of him were still clinging to each other.

Chaz crouched by the male first, figuring that was the best way to show them what he was about to do. He sniffed at the male. What he picked up verified they had younglings. At least one was still in diapers if the rash cream he scented was any indication. He picked up fertilizer from the male’s shoes, too. It was enough to convince him they’d told him the truth about some things.

He backed off and straightened. “What did you do to the electric?”

“Noah sent a scout friend of his here. The male located the electrical panel in the garage and took photos. We were shown how to turn off the power to her condo,” the woman admitted. “The garage side door was left unlocked for us.”

Chaz looked at the male. “Go turn the power back on and come inside. Your mate stays with me.”

Their terror increased, making the air reek from it. Chaz breathed through his mouth. “I won’t harm your mate. I take it that Noah has your young?”

They both nodded.

“Then I’m going to have to get them back. I said I’d help you. First, turn the power back on, and then you’re going to tell me where your young are being kept.”

The female started to softly shed tears. “You’ll save our pups?”

“Yes. As I said, children are innocent and shouldn’t be dragged into adult matters. I’ll free them.”

“Thank you.” The female sniffed.

Chaz glanced at them both. “I’m trusting you near Shoni. You harm her, and you’re both dead. I can’t help your young if you’re not around to show me where they are. Am I clear?”

“We won’t hurt her,” the male swore.

His mate nodded in agreement.

Chaz wanted to trust them, but it was a risk taking them anywhere near Shoni. He wanted to be clear. “Anyone who’d use your young to force you into killing someone would have no problems killing your young. I’m the only chance they have at getting out of this alive. Do you understand that?”

Both nodded.

“What are your names?”

The male introduced them. “I’m Tiono, and this is Nama.”

“Tiono, go turn on the power, and we’ll meet inside. Your mate is coming with me.” Chaz motioned for them to move.

The male rushed around the corner of the building, heading toward the front of it. Chaz herded Nama to the front door. He opened it and entered, his eyes adjusting quickly to the darkness inside.

He pointed at the barstools. “Sit and don’t move. I’m going upstairs to check on Shoni. You want your young back, so do as I say.”

“I give you my word.”

Chaz hoped that meant something to the Lycan, but then again, the mated couple was motivated to gain his help. The lives of their younglings were at risk. He headed upstairs, taking them two at a time. He entered the bedroom, seeing that Shoni had followed his orders. She remained inside the walk-in closet with the door closed. He could hear her breathing in there.

“Shoni, it’s me.” He grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. Then, he froze. Few things surprised him, but the sight that greeted him did.

Shoni had used three suitcases to build a little barricade in front of her. She was crouched in the far corner with a shotgun pointed right at him. The weapon rested on the top of the stacked suitcases.

There was a light on in the closet. He glanced up, spotting an emergency battery-operated lantern sitting on the shelf over the clothing rack filled with Shoni’s outfits.

His gaze returned to her. “Why do you have a weapon?”

Shoni turned the barrel by a few inches so it wasn’t pointed directly at him anymore. Her gray-blue eyes were clouded with fear. “I live alone. Of course I bought some protection. What’s going on? I haven’t heard anything.”

The power suddenly returned. Chaz heard the humming from the refrigerator start below. He reached over and flipped on the overhead light in the closet to let Shoni know it was back. She glanced up before staring at him.

“You can come out of there and put away your weapon.” He saw an open case on the floor peeking out from under a row of her hung clothing. He’d seen rifle cases before. Shoni seemed to have found one for her shotgun.

“What’s going on?”

He noticed she didn’t move, refusing to get up from her knees behind her barricade or put her weapon away. It still rested on the top of the upper piled suitcase, and she remained gripping it.

“The pack sent two Lycans to kill you. Their younglings are being held prisoner to force them to do this. I’ve taken care of it. They won’t harm you now. Get up, put the weapon away, and let’s go downstairs. It’s a real possibility that their fear will prompt them to flee. I said I’d help them.”

Shoni slowly stood. She had put on what appeared to be an oversized black T-shirt and white-colored leggings covered in brown sugar cones with pink ice cream. A few of them had blue toppings. He couldn’t help but stare a little.

“Don’t judge me. I just grabbed the first thing I could find and got dressed. I’m not even wearing underwear or a bra since I keep them in my dresser.” She moved around her stacked suitcases and almost hugged the shotgun. “I’m bringing this with me.”

“No, you aren’t.” Chaz blocked the door. “I will keep you safe. Put it away.”

“Fine.” She turned, lowered to her knees, and pulled out the case. She carefully put the shotgun away and closed it, shoving it back under the row of clothing that almost touched the carpet. It was hidden by the time she was done and rose to her feet.

“I can’t believe you have that kind of weapon. You don’t seem the type.”

“Again, I live alone. It made sense to buy something to protect myself. My dad said a shotgun was best because, at close range, it would be almost impossible to miss what I’m aiming at. It was more affordable than some handguns I looked at.”

“I’m glad you take your safety seriously.” He paused. “I’m also grateful that you didn’t shoot me. I’d unshelled my skin as I came upstairs. That might have hurt.”

“I would never blindly pull the trigger, no matter how afraid I am, until I was sure it was something I wanted to take down. My dad taught me that, too. He made me watch over an hour of news videos about people who ended up accidentally killing someone they knew by doing just that. It left an impression.”

“I wasn’t aware that you and your father were all that close anymore.”

“Between the time he retired and before moving to Florida, Dad spent a lot of time with me. I think he’d figured out how badly Perri had fooled him and was looking for an excuse to get a break from her.”

Chaz reached out and snagged her hand. “Two Lycans are waiting downstairs. I just heard the male return. They’ve given their word to behave since they need me to save their young. You stay close to my side, though.”

“I can do that.”

Chaz picked up the faint scent of Shoni’s fear. He hated the smell of it. She still carried his scent from them being intimate. It made him angry. They should still be naked, curled up together in her bed. He’d looked forward to waking her for another round of sex. Instead, he had to go after a Lycan who thought he could manipulate him and take out Shoni in the process.

When they went downstairs, the mated couple sat next to each other on the barstools. Chaz kept most of his body between Shoni and them. He needed to be in two places at once. That was impossible to do. It meant needing to come up with a plan.

One thing was certain. He couldn’t leave Shoni in her home if he had to leave for a little while. He worried that other Lycans in the Folsom pack might be sent to harm her.