Chapter 24

(Chapter Song ‘Original Prankster’ by The Offspring)

OLIVER My head is spinning. I’m trying to keep it together, but all these people telling me to wait is really starting to piss me off.

After changing, eating and cleaning up, we hop a chopper to Phoenix.

I’m checking in with River on the hour. Ezra has slipped into a coma and my head is about to explode.

I walk into the Alpha council room. It’s a lot different here than Falcon. I always get a weird vibe from them.

As I walk through the doors, Graham is on the phone. He’s talking quiet, but I still catch it…it’s interesting.

“Polly, I have no idea what you’re talking about…No…No, I wasn’t there…Polly, I'd know if I was outside your house…Stalker?!...Are you kidding me right now?...Polly…No…Yes, I will stay…I didn’t do this…Don’t hang up…Polly…” He pulls his phone away and looks at his phone with confusion.

“Everything alright?” I stop and study his face.

He glances at me, runs his thumb down his screen and pockets his phone. “Oliver.” He gives me a half smile. “Uh…yeah….Just a misunderstanding.” He huffs a chuckle and straightens up. “You want answers.”

“Yes.” I nod.

He puts a hand on my upper back. “You came the right place.”

We all take our seats and Owen takes the front. “Alpha Fredericks. Welcome to Phoenix.” He greets and I nod in acknowledgment. “I think you know everyone here.”

“I do.” I grumble.

“Nice to see you, Compa. When you coming to play poker with me?” Mateo smirks.

“When you stop cheating.” I smirk back. I’ve been fleeced by him before.

“Smart.” Bear mumbles from the wall.

Mateo turns his chair and shoves him with his foot. Bear chuckles and Mateo shakes his head.

“Alright, Oliver. You have an issue with a rogue?” Owen asks.

“Yes…She’s my…She’s a rogue and she’s dying.” I don’t need these guys freaking out like Falcon.

Darcy leans on the table. “Why do you want to save her?”

“I just do.” I narrow my eyes. I don’t have time to have my life picked apart.

“Bro’s helping a girl. If we can cure her, we can help the rest of them.” Brody says.

“Right.” I nod.

Darcy ticks his head. “That’s noble.” He smirks and narrows his eyes. “But I suspect there’s more to this girl then Oliver’s letting on.”

“Focus.” I grit.

He sits up and puts up his hands.

“My mother and Miranda are searching their vault as we speak. If they find anything they’ll call, but I will tell you, this new Croak, it’s not good. Everything we’ve tried so far has failed.” Jake informs. “London’s medical teams are working around the clock. Ricky says they may have something, but they have to confirm it.”

“What?” I ask.

“A string of DNA implanted in the virus. Apparently, Ricky can only describe it as a new set of genetic instructions.”

I scrunch my brow. “What the hell does that mean?”

He leans on the table. “Well, if what she says is true, the rogues are evolving.”

“Evolving into what?” Confusion fills me.

He taps his fingertips together. “If they are allowed to continue we could be looking at a whole new species of shifter. One that will pretty much resemble the genetics and behavior of Dire wolves.”

My brows go up. “You have got be kidding me.”

Owen shakes his head. “The results are pretty conclusive. In human history, dire wolves with a thing of the ice age, in our world…A dire wolf was a fierce soldier. Willing to kill at a moments notice. Well trained, relentless and determined. The last fell 1000 years ago. By the looks of things, someone has found a way to genetically manipulate us and bring them back.”

“Ok. So this could be a good thing then.” I offer.

“If in the right hands. The problem with Dire wolves is they are easily swayed and controlled. History shows they want the fight. They don’t care what fight. Right now, this army is the worst possible thing that could exist.” He says grimly.

“How do we stop it?” I ask.

Graham leans on the table. “This is the ethical question. In proper hands, these people can be trained to live decent lives if given the opportunity to live and evolve. The question becomes, do we allow that? Can we contain it? Do we want that responsibility of birthing a whole species?”

“Alliance Labs have been playing God for decades. If we allow this to happen, we’d be doing the same.” Hunter interjects.

I lean back and turn to him. “If we slaughter them, aren't we still playing God? What if this a fate thing?”

“Fate and science can’t really play in the same yard though.” Hunter says.

“Why not? If everything happens for a reason, maybe there’s a reason they’re evolving. We don’t know that this isn’t some plan by them.” I point up to the ceiling.

Jake ticks his head. “We could ask.”

I arch a brow. “Ask?”

He turns his chair and looks up at the roof. “Len!!”

I jut back and stare at him like he has a screw loose. “Len?”

Hunter sighs. “Prepare yourself.”

“Prepare for what…”

“Hi!”

I jump out of my skin as some skinny, pissant kid with moppy brown hair appears, cross legged on the table in front of me.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” I growl loud.

He laughs and slaps his leg. He points to me and looks around the table. “I like this guy.”

I swing at him and he disappears. He appears on the wall beside Bear.

“Hey, Ash. How’s it going, buddy?” Len grins.

“Get away from me.” Bear growls.

“I see you’re in a mood. I get it.” He pushes off the wall, walks to Jake and starts to massage his shoulder. “You rang?” He says playfully.

I point to him and look at Hunter. “What the fuck is that?”

“That…” Hunter starts.

“I…my psychopathic friend…am Len a.k.a…Destiny of the World.” He bows.

“Destiny…He’s bullshitting?” I ask Hunter.

Hunter shakes his head. “Nope, that annoying puke is Destiny.”

Hunt…We talked about this.” Len put his hands on his hips.

“No…You fucked with my systems, laughed in my face and blinked your ass out. It’s taken me a year fix the shit you caused.” He growls.

He nods. “Clearly you’re still mad…OK…Wallow in your bitterness….Moving on.” He claps his hands together and looks around the table. “What can I do you for?”

“The rogues.” Jake says.

Len blinks out and blinks on the table. He leans back on Owen's podium and kicks his legs out, crossing his feet. “Rogues? Those are fun guys, huh.” He smiles.

“No, they’re not!” I bark.

Len scowls. “Whoa, buddy. Find your center.” He snaps his fingers and a tin with burning incense appears in front of me. “Good vibes in, bad vibes out. Find your happy place.” He imitates breathing deep with his hand.

“Man!” I bat the incense away. It flies across the table and onto the floor. I point to him. “I will kill you!”

“You could, but then I would just kill you back, then you kill me again…It would just get messy. We should just talk it out. Want a hug?” His brows go up.

“Owen…” My mouth goes small, I tilt my head and glare daggers.

“Len. What are you doing with the rogues?” Owen asks with annoyance.

He ticks his lips down and shrugs. “Nothing. Just letting things happen.”

“People are dying!” I growl.

“People die every day. How many have you killed recently? Don’t tell me you’ve all of a sudden grown a set of morals. Ollie, we all know you like the dark side.” He smirks.

“Not like this, you dick.” I snarl.

He sits up. “OK. Yes, a few eggs are broken…horribly, but…this is a teaching moment, guys. Look, the Len-miester has it all under control.” He holds his hands out to the side and looks around the table.

Jake crosses his arms. “What are we exactly supposed be learning Len?”

Len smirks and leans to him. “If I told you, you wouldn’t learn anything.”

“That’s it!” I shoot out of my chair and Len disappears with a cackling laugh echoing around the room.

I glare at Owen.

“He’s his friend, not mine.” Owen points to Jake. “I only wore him for a year.”

Jake nods in shame.

I twist my face into confusion. “I’m in hell!” I flop my arms to my side and slam into my chair.

Owen straightens his suit and hair. “Alright. Cosmic idiot aside, what we have is confirmation that the guys up there couldn’t give a shit about what’s going on down here. So, strategies on how to proceed?”

Sawyer kicks back. “Load em up and start firing. Open season.” He says as he picks his nails with a pocket knife.

“I can agree with that. Wipe em out.” Zane says.

Peter holds out his hand. “After we find out we can’t cure them, of course.”

“Well, if they turn into these dire things, that would be bad. Do we want to wait until that happens?” Brody asks.

“Not another meeting. Are you serious?”

I turn to Graham as he pushes his chair back. He has this look of snarkiness and attitude. My brow goes up at his outburst.

He stands and rips off his glasses. “Ugh. Outta here. Catch ya guys later.” He waves his arm at the council and walks out of the room.

“OK…That’s the fifth time he’s done something weird. Now, can we say there’s something wrong?” Darcy holds his hand out to the door while looking at Owen.

Owen nods. “OK. I’ll set him up with a psych evaluation.”

“Thank you.” Darcy breathes.

I flip my eyes between the two. I can’t even. OK, focus.

“We arent hunting the rogues.” I state. “I have some information on where they’re coming from.”

“We know they’re coming from the North.”

I eye him. “They’re coming from Axelridge.”

“What?!” Hunter turns his chair to me. “No…no, Oliver.”

“Yes, they are." I cross my arms and turn my chair to him.

“Where did you get this information?” Owen asks.

“No, it’s bullshit. Finn doesn’t create rogues.” Hunter grits.

“I didn’t say he was creating them, but something or someone is.” I correct.

“Who?” Jake asks.

“He goes by the name of Cornell. He made a deal with Michael and Lefu to make a rogue army. From what I understand, he’s using Axelridge as his breeding ground.” I inform.

Hunter searches his tablet. “I can’t find anything on a rogue maker, just a serial kidnapper.”

“That’s him.” I point to the picture. “He’s making rogues and from what I was told, he’s in Axelridge.”

“Ok. Hunter, make a profile on this guy. Contact Trezner. We’re still waiting for the shamans so Oliver, you’re welcome to use the guest penthouse here until we figure this out.” Owen instructs.

“I wasn’t leaving any way.” I say.

Jake’s phone rings. He puts it to his ear. “Quinn?...Whoa, slow down. What happened?...” He looks around the room with concern. “How many?...Same guy?...OK, OK…We'll get the Enforcers on it…Quinn, calm down…No, do not engage…Quinn!” He stuffs his phone in his pocket and stands. “The guy in black struck again."

“What? Where?” Owen asks.

“The school.” Jake grumbles as he packs his stuff. “Several kids injured. All lycans. Quinn’s off the rails. I gotta go.”

“Shit.”

“Are you serious?”

“What dick attacks a bunch of kids?!”

“What’s going on?” I look around the room.

“We’ve had a problem with a guy dressed all in black going around the city killing lycans. Like a vigilante of sorts. We call him the Black Mace.” Owen rubs his nape.

“The Black Mace.” I raise a brow. “What? Are we in a comic book now?” I flop my hands open on the table.

“Well, biker in black with spiked ball sounded weird.” Darcy smirks. “Hot, but weird.”

I press my lips together. I’m surrounded by idiots.

“Well, have fun with your super hero shit. I'll be fighting rogues like a normal person.” I wave them off and head for the guest apartment.

As I walk through the halls, my phone rings. “River, is she awake?” I stop. “Repeat…When?...Where were you, rubbing one off?! How could you…Fuck…” I rub my forehead. “I’ll call my Enforcers to look for her…I’m in Phoenix…I’m trying to find a cure, River…if you even think of shooting her, I’ll shred you to goddamn pieces!...FIND HER! ALIVE!”

I hang up and dial my brother. I start walking to my apartment. “Ian…Ezra escaped the infirmary…I know…I need all units on the search. Rescue only, Ian. If she dies, I’ll throw down bodies, I swear it.” I get my key card and head to the elevator. “I’ll be 24 hours and I’m coming home. She might show up there. I want to have a cure ready for her.”

I hang up and rub my nape. I want to hop the first chopper out of here, but I cant. Not when I’m so close. I’m not really afraid of her surviving out there, I know she can do it with ease. I’m afraid her wolf will get her killed. It feels like her wolf is more sick than she is. Ezra has a form of understanding that I can punch through. Getting through her wolf is almost next to impossible.

“What are you doing, baby bird?” I mumble as I look up at the ceiling.