Chapter 20: Everyone's Gambit

Later in the middle of the night, Bernie barged into the garage, which Zoe and the others looked at him confused as he grabbed the safe and lifted it over his back, which the stench of alcohol were strong off his breath, and he were about to smash the safe into the ground before Zoe caught it. "Dad! What the fuck are you doing!" she shouted.

Bernie glared at her intensely. "Let go! I need to get into this safe! It has all the contacts in it!" he shouted.

Zoe snarled at him and transformed into her anthro form just as Bernie did in an attempt to overpower her. "Dad! Sasha can talk to ghosts! She could get the code from Steele! Why try to make this so much harder on you?" she said.

Bernie stared at her for a moment before he relaxed his grip, which Zoe took the safe from him and sat it down. "Now...let me go over and get Sasha...okay? Just don't drop the safe on anyone! Nuff said" she said before she rushed out of the garage and out into the backyard. She unzipped the tent, which Sasha was quick to shriek and cover up her chest.

She looked up at Zoe and let out a low sigh of relief, which she rubbed her eyes groggily. "What is it?" she asked before she let out a big yawn.

Zoe growled lowly. "Dad is about to wake up the whole neighborhood because he wants to smash that goddamn safe open. I told him that you would be able to get the code for the safe...you can do that right?" she asked before she grimaced and looked away.

Sasha stared at her for a moment before she closed her eyes. "My abilities don't work like that! I can't just summon Steele here and ask him. It has to be mutual" she said.

Zoe rubbed her arm nervously. "What if he's outside, and he's giving you privacy?" she suggested.

Sasha shook her head and grumbled. "Argh! Alright! Let me get some freaking clothes on first!" she fumed. She lifted up Toby's massive arm and slid out from underneath. After she managed to get out of bed, she shoved a shirt on and hastily slid the rest of her clothes on. She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a heavy sigh. "Okay!" she said lowly.

As they walked out of the tent, Sasha looked around, which Steele sat on a lawn chair looking over at them urgently. She walked over to him, and he flashed his fingers to her. "33-10-65" he told her. Sasha stomped into the garage and put the code into the tumbler much to Bernie's amazement, the safe opened.

"I'm going back to bed!" Sasha told them. She rubbed her arm and groaned. "I'm so flipping sore right now!" she grumbled as she went back outside.

Bernie ruffled through the papers before he found what he were looking for, which he grinned and flashed them at his daughter. "Ha! You see this! These are all the numbers that go straight to all the Alphas of the clans in the Pac northwest. Even my phone number is in here" he said.

"What do you plan on doing with those numbers? Are they even current?" Zoe asked crossing her arms over her chest skeptically.

"Just watch..." Bernie said slightly annoyed as he pulled his cell phone out and started dialing numbers. He waited for what seemed for like an eternity.

"Hello, this is Scott..." someone said he sounded pretty drowsy.

Bernie sighed deeply. "Um, hey Scott this is Bernie..." he said proudly.

"Bernie!? Steele's partner in crime?! How are ya!? I haven't heard from you since the '05" Scott yelled back sounding very excited.

"I've been better! Well, it turns out that I'm the outright interim alpha now...but let's focus here for a moment! Have you been paying attention to the news?" Bernie asked.

"Well Yea! It's kind of hard to avoid around here! Ian problems, am I right?" Scott asked.

Bernie nodded. "Heh, Yea...that fucker just won't die! Now, just hear me out...we've had some really bad sequences of events happen, and a lot of the clan has turned towards his side" he said.

"What sort of really bad sequence? Was Toby killed?" Scott asked with a low growl.

There was a long pause before he started walking over to the fridge, which Zoe blocked him off. "That's enough beer dad! You can barely talk!" she raised her voice.

He shot her a look and forced her out of the way, which she resisted causing him to growl out viciously. "Don't test me pup!" he barked. He hip checked her like a professional hockey player, and she fell back onto her rear with a great thud.

He opened the fridge, and Yvonne stomped down the stairs shooting her husband a death glare. "Knock it off! I just got the pup to sleep! If he wakes up, you're going to be the one to put him back to bed!" she scolded him before she raised an eyebrow. "If you drink another beer, you can sleep on the couch tonight! I don't want to sleep next to a brewery tonight!" she growled at him.

Bernie looked towards his daughter defeated as she stood back up, which Scott sighed heavily. "So is Toby dead or not?" he raised his voice impatiently.

"No, Toby's alive; although, hunters did try to kill him. Well, he was dating a human, and her father put a hit on Toby once he turned his daughter into a werewolf..." Bernie muttered.

"I see...well...what can I do?" Scott asked.

"I know, but I need some of your finest wolves to come here before Howl time!" Bernie said.

Scott yawned deeply. "Why?! That doesn't give me much time! That's like in two days" he asked.

Bernie sighed. "Because I believe Ian is going to attack Portland with his army, and if he is not stopped here then he'll go towards Seattle!" he said firmly.

"How many are we talking? What makes you think that they are poised to attack?" Scott asked.

Bernie sighed. "Thousands potentially...He's got Betas now, and they are Alpha level. I don't know how many of our own have defected, but I know it's enough to make our defense as soft as a sponge. My priority right now is to summon as many wolves as I can from Zones 1 and 2. I'm calling Skinner next; you can say it's part of the plan. I'm like fifty percent sure this is going to happen, but if you can have some wolves on standby, that would be real helpful" he said.

Scott sighed. "Very well...I'll see what I can muster, but I can't guarantee I'll have everyone rounded up by howl time...I have to cover my own tail here" he said.

Bernie sighed heavily. "Right, just don't be sending me any greenhorns! We're dealing with Über betas here not just Ian" he said.

"I got yea...I'll get a hold of other clans here also. I'll ask them to tell others and for them contact even farther. Everyone will be on the same page over here" Scott said.

Bernie smirked. "Great, let's raise the awareness bud!" Bernie said.

"Alright, Keep me updated" Scott said before hanging up.

Bernie hung up and pulled out the sheet before he dialed a new number again. He waited for a second and then someone answered.

"Hey, Donald here" someone said with an Irish accent.

"This is Bernie of the Metro Clan..." Bernie said before he looked towards his daughter happily.

"Hey, I've been hearing some reports of the slaughtering in your area...They certainly gave you the shitty end of the stick when they gave ya the Alpha job didn't they?" Donald asked.

Bernie rubbed his forehead. "Yea...Ian's is starting up a new attack soon and I'm losing more and more wolves to his side" he said lowly.

"Aw man...so there's something more to it than just Ian, correct?" Donald asked.

Bernie sighed. "Yea...Amarok and Pete are wrapped into this. In fact from what I've been told was that they have accumulated at least 30 betas some of them Übers and thousands of Thralls to boot" he said.

Donald growled. "Aw man! He's got Über betas? What makes you think we have enough strong wolves to spare!?" he grumbled.

Bernie continued rubbing his forehead roughly. "I've asked Scott of the Sound clan, he's getting everyone on alert up there...I'll ask more to help around here. But I'll need you to commit some of your strongest to be ready to fight too...Whatever happens here we got to be on guard" he said.

Donald sighed. "So when is he going to attack, you suppose?" he asked.

Bernie tapped his finger against the counter. "I'm fairly confident he's going to attack during Howl Time" he said.

Donald growled out loudly. "What!? That is three days from now!...why didn't you call sooner?" he asked sounding surprised.

Bernie sighed. "This is why we should keep up with the times. We just now dug up Steele's contacts on his mountain. Our other contacts magically disappeared along with Pete. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it weren't for Toby's mate. She's been doing everything she can to help out. She even helped us not just locate the safe but open it up" he said.

"I see...well it's better you called a couple days in advance...It's good to hear you've have taken over...I'll call you back after I make some Wolf Tweets" Donald said.

"Right...call me back then" Bernie said while cringing at the terrible pun before they even and spent fifteen minutes talking to the other clans before Zoe interrupted him. "So what was going on now? Are you going to leave me I the dark?" she asked.

Bernie looked up at her sternly and looked away sighing heavily. "Well to keep it simple. We know that Ian is going to attack on the Full moon...I have to start asking the clans for recruits...I haven't gotten confirmations just yet, but I'm thinking I got more than enough to fight...I just hope doesn't attack this week" he said before he looked back at her sternly.

"We need to come up with a plan. I'm going to strategize where we are going to place the medical base and staging places for our support to get set up. We got three days to get our shit together" he said nervously.

Zoe stared at him realizing just how dire this situation was getting. Deep down she hoped that her father was overestimating Ian, but Amarok's words played in the back of her head. "How about we block the entrance into the city? Would that work?" he said.

Bernie looked at her skeptically. "Block it how? I don't think we'd be able to do that. You just can't block off roads...we don't have the wolves to set up a perimeter to even attempt that anymore" he said.

Her jaw hit the floor before she gulped nervously. "Just how many wolves did we lose?" she asked. He looked away, but he said nothing before she raised her voice, "Dad!?"

"We're down to fifteen hundred wolves now...two hundred of those we lost were gammas" he said before he shook his head with frustration. "I was wondering why the response time was so terrible" he mentioned.

She frowned. "So is this an inside job?" she asked.

He nodded and looked at the floor. "We never found Peter's body, Zoe...He's alive...they all left with him" he said.

She went silent as walked over to the couch. "So Peter wasn't incompetent at all? This was all intentional?" she muttered.

He nodded slowly after he sat down on the edge. "The Elders suspected this was going on...Jean said we just didn't have proof to get rid of him that way" he said as she sat on the other side of the couch.

"Wait...So if you guys couldn't get rid of Peter then why would he just leave like that?" she asked. She shook her head trying to make sense of everything.

He looked up at her and smirked. "Toby exploited a loophole and requested to the Elders that I replace Peter immediately. Peter caught wind of it and jumped ship. You know...I've suggested in moving Toby's ceremony ahead just in case..." he muttered.

She stared at him in shock. "Wait! Already? Is he even ready? You've haven't been the alpha for very long!" she asked.

He nodded before he walked over to the couch. "I think that he's ready...and I believe that he's afraid to bear this responsibility...that's why he's been so lackadaisical as you put it" he said.

She shook her head at him. "No, dad...I don't think that he..." she said before her father smiled at her.

"Jean agrees with me...and we're going to have to get him thinking like an alpha. This whole Interim Alpha is bullshit! It's just a damn title that Jean made up so that Peter did not kill Toby" he finished.

She gritted her teeth. "So what happens after Toby's ceremony?" she asked.

He smirked. "Nothing! Nothing changes technically, but Toby will be a Provisional Alpha--another title Jean made up. I will be training him and such like I have been doing. Hopefully, he'll be more motivated...just don't tell him nothing has changed" he said before he rubbed his forehead. "This electing a pup to be an alpha has been a real pain in the ass, but you know, I'm kind of glad it turned out this way" he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?" she asked.

He snickered. "Because, it kept total power away from a corrupt asshole like Peter, which I had control over the gammas. Peter just gave it the rubber stamp" he said.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, if you had control over the gammas why didn't you keep Peter on a tighter leash?" she asked.

He sighed heavily. "I did not run to be elected Alpha. We had a procedure, and Peter manipulated most of the wolves to think that we were weaker without an alpha and having a drunkard like me as being in charge of all the gammas. The Elders approved it as a mock election, but they did not expect it to turn out as hilarious as it did. You know the rest of what happened" he said as he kicked up the legs of the recliner. "The fact was that I was Steele's second in command, but I never had the title as Alpha until recently. Peter had unwittingly shown us who was likely to defect when things got too bad" he said.

She stared at him remembering the conversation on the phone. "But didn't you just say you didn't know how many of our own defected from the clan? How do you know now?" she asked.

He smirked. "I don't know the exact number, but Jean and his team are working on that right now. They looked at the election results, but only they'll know the names of who defected. I just care about a number they can infer from the results. I don't give a damn about who defected. They let fear run their lives anyway" he said.

She gulped. "But, that election was twelve years ago...is it really that reliable?" she asked.

He grinned. "There have been a lot of polls done since, and there's a correlation with policies, and who's ideology one's aligned with" he said before he frowned. "I'm aware that the results won't give us an exact number, but with it, I can probably not just get an estimate of how many, but also where to place more gammas. We got the best support wolves working on the metadata, and I'm banking on utilizing them" he said.

She stared at him in shock. "Metadata? Dad, is all this stuff even allowed?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course it is! We aren't barging into everyone's dens looking for information. We are looking at information we have lying around the file cabinets" he said before he closed his eyes. "Don't worry. Jean wouldn't agree to this if he did not feel it was ethical" he said.

She looked away and sighed. "I hope this all works out...this stuff sounds way too complicated" she said as she walked into the garage.

"Get some rest! I expect you and Toby to do more sparring tomorrow!" he said as she closed the door.

He walked back upstairs into his room where Yvonne was in her bed reading something on her tablet. She looked up at him with concern as she set her tablet aside. "Are you sure that it is a good idea to be making them spar after everything that happened today?" she asked.

He nodded as he kicked off his boots and removed his uniform. "Of course I do...they need to polish their skills more. I know that they can handle themselves. Look at how they handled the hunters today. I'm proud of them both" he said before she grabbed her tablet from the bed.

"I don't know hun...my intuition tells me that they need rest" she said sternly.

He gritted his teeth and scratched at his arm. "Well, Zoe takes after me. You won't be able to stop her once she has her mind set" he said.

She let out an exhausted sigh, while she sat the tablet on the night stand. "I'm still against it. They're going to get burnt out, and what will happen then?" she asked.

He plopped onto the bed and relaxed. "It's nothing to worry about" he said confidently. He closed his eyes trying to ignore his wife's skeptical gaze, but she was not going to have any of it. She got up out of bed and shook her head at him, which he looked up at her confused. "What are you doing?" he muttered.

She briefly gave him a hostile gaze then turned towards the door. "Maybe someone else will listen to me. Good night, Bernard" she said coldly. She left him to speak to Zoe downstairs, and Bernie stayed in bed knowing that he had done it now.

•••

The next day, everything was going without incident. Bernie pushed Toby's boss to give him the day off with success. Sasha spent most of the frigid morning cozying up to her snoozing lupine lover in the frost filled tent. She felt a burning sensation in her, but she did not know if this was normal as she assumed that her wolfman would wake up feeling the same way. She grabbed onto her stomach and rolled over hoping it would help only for her to whimper. Her stomach finally made a loud growl, which she noticed his ears perked to it.

She turned over to him just as his stomach growled deeper and louder, and she blushed and reached up to touch his stomach. "Toby? Are you awake?" she asked with a hint of panic in her voice. One eye opened up and focused onto her. "Am I hungry? Is this what I'm supposed to feel? Is there something wrong with me? I've never felt this before!" she raised her voice clutching onto his fur tightly.

He began to stir and stretch before he ran his padded hand over her tummy. "Terrible feeling isn't it?" he asked. He sat up and most of the blankets pulled way exposing her to the elements. She instantly tried to pull him back in, which he smirked at her. "Cold?" he teased.

She nodded slowly before he reverted to his human form. He grabbed his clothes and threw them on before he stretched again. "You got a werewolf stomach now...that pain won't stop until you eat" he said with a big yawn.

She rubbed her eyes and slid out of the bed. "I can see why you wanted to kill that one guy...does this happen before every meal?" she asked.

He shook his head and smirked. "Not really, it doesn't just suddenly happen. We just simply got more hungry than we were cold" he said.

She rubbed the goosebumps over her shoulder and frowned. "It felt all of the sudden to me. All I know was I was cuddling with you, then bam! It all hits me!" she said. He looked at her oddly not understanding how she could not feel herself get hungry.

Zoe opened the tent with a sausage link hanging out from her mouth. She looked at him before she grabbed his arm and yanked him away. A soft low growl crept from the back of Sasha throat, but Zoe rolled her eyes taking him inside the house. "Are you feeling alright? You're good for training right?" she asked. He looked at her strangely as he nodded before she let out a relieved sigh. "Okay good..." she said before she left for the table piled with food.

He looked over at Sasha as she passed through the sliding glass door. "Let's go eat" he said taking her hand.

Yvonne looked between them and gave them an intense concerned gaze. "Toby shouldn't be pushing himself too hard today" she said.

Zoe looked over at her shocked hoping that Toby's word would sway her. "But mom! You heard him! He said he's fine!" she shouted.

Haley shook her head at her. "Zoe...You aren't a doctor. We don't even know how much Theobromine got pumped into his body. He's not good to go until I check his vitals, but either way, Mom is right! Don't push him to hard today. That stuff should take eight more hours to get out of his system" she said.

Zoe let out a loud grumble, but her mother shook her head. "You can try to be as sneaky as you want, but I know you way too much" she said much to Zoe's discontent.

•••

After breakfast, Haley hauled her backpack back from her car, and she sat it aside before she reached in to pull out the medical equipment she needed. She plopped thermometer into his mouth and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his wrist. She listened to his heart before heard the thermometer beep, which it read, "104.2°F"

She shot Zoe a glare showing her the temperature. "He has a fever and high blood pressure!" she said before she placed her stethoscope to his chest where she listened carefully. "...Why don't you hang out with your friends? He's not in a condition to be exerting himself" she said before she turned her examination towards her directly.

Zoe was caught off guard with this, and she tried to fight off her sister before her mother raised her voice, "Zoe! Knock it off!" She loomed over her shoulder with her arms crossed before Zoe surrendered to her sister; although, she continued to grumble out of protest.

Haley rolled her eyes at her before she looked up towards their mother as she rested her stethoscope onto her shoulders. "Zoe's got symptoms of Theobromine poisoning as well, but she's more well off than Toby is that's for sure" she said.

Zoe glared at her. "You're making that up! I don't remember getting hit!" she shouted.

Haley shook her head and growled with frustration. "You don't need to be hit by a bullet you turd! They could use aerosolized particles, and you could inhale them without you knowing it. That's why you're supposed to wear your mask, idiot!" she lectured her.

Zoe's eye twitched before her mother smirked with satisfaction. "As I thought..." she said before she left the room to attend to her crying child.

Haley shifted her attention to Sasha and noticed her discomfort. "You look like you've had better days" she said cheerfully.

Sasha forced a smile, but she could only manage a half one as another surge of painful spasms wreaked havoc all other her body. "This will all stop after my first transformation...right?" she asked.

Haley rubbed her upper arm encouragingly, and she nodded. "Good thing that the full moon is nearly here, so you'll have to endure this for only a little while longer" she said before she got up. "I'm going to go check on, Lilian. Make sure that they stay out of trouble, okay?" she asked.

Sasha nodded before she rubbed her neck vigorously. "I'll try" she said. Zoe was sat in a corner with Percy as she fumed to herself. Kari and Clare were not sure what to say, but Sasha held onto Toby's hand and looked at him nervously. "Can you rub my back please?" she asked.

He gave her a strange look before he nodded, which she sat on the couch with her back facing towards him. He began to work on her back quickly as Yvonne came up to Haley. "Thanks" she whispered into her ear. She looked back at her and nodded before leaving for the clinic.

•••

Later that afternoon, Toby and Zoe walked to the quarry with their large entourage, which they were met up by Olivia and Van at the fence in front of the stormwater management ditch. Sasha glared and growled at her, but Zoe stepped out between them and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright! Let's be civil here!" she demanded.

Sasha scowled at her. "What is she doing here?" she voiced in disgust.

Zoe looked back at her and smiled. "Don't worry about it, I invited them over" she said.

Sasha stared at her before an evil smirk crept upon her lips seeing Zoe's intentions, which it was only confirmed not too soon after as Zoe gave that familiar underhanded giggle came from her lips. "Oh yea...So I was busy editing The Werewolf Wikia last night...and I was able to update your new alpha status and your hexagon, but I haven't done your sire stats yet" she said.

Toby groaned. "Oh come on...do you have to mention that to me! Those were just accidents!" he shouted before Sasha cleared her throat in protest. He laughed nervously as he looked back at her. "Okay one siring was intentional" he said before he processed that statement farther. "What do you mean _my_new alpha status?!" he raised his voice.

Olivia looked at them curiously "The Werewolf Wikia?" she asked.

Zoe nodded eagerly. "Yea...The Werewolf Wikia was made for werewolves, and it's about werewolves and the werewolf realm. I help upkeep the Metro clan's developments, and I've even added Todd, Sasha, and even you" she said.

Olivia's eye twitched and pulled out her phone to try to attempt to access the site before she pouted. "It's password protected?" she asked.

Zoe laughed. "Well duh! Do you think that just anyone can access the site?" she said before she grabbed her phone and quickly entered the password.

Zoe gave Olivia's phone back, and she looked herself up before she huffed. "What!? Why am I so weak!?" she shrieked.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Pfft, cause you don't do any training! You think you instantly become the shit when you get werewolf powers?" she asked.

Olivia growled. "You have that little brat as stronger than me!?" she shouted pointing at Todd.

Todd glared at her. "Do you even train!?" he asked before Toby laughed.

Sasha was already on her phone, and she beamed with pride. "Wow! You're pretty high on health aren't you?" she muttered.

Zoe laughed. "I gave him it after he survived getting rebarred" she said.

Olivia growled more ferociously. "How in the hell are you and Toby so freaking powerful? I call bullshit! You can put anything you want on this site!" she said.

Zoe grinned. "Well, it's been verified...there are many techs that will farther edit or revert things back if they feel it's needed. Actually, I invited you here to show you just how powerful we are, Olivia" she said.

"Are you going to answer my question!?" Toby shouted.

Sasha looked up at Zoe annoyed as she held her phone out. "Really? Largest breasts in the clan? Are you serious?" she fumed.

Zoe stared at her. "I didn't put that, but I might know a perv who might know such information" she said as she closed her eyes with wide grin. "You should read the things on Toby's physical attribute..." she said before Olivia interrupted.

"Really! 12.8 inches!?" she shrieked.

Toby looked at her oddly. "Hey my tongue isn't that..." he said before he looked over Olivia's shoulder, and he looked over at Zoe amused. "So that's why you asked to measure it" he said.

Olivia gasped. "Is Toby's really that big?" she asked.

Sasha coughed. "It's actually bigger than that" she said in the cough.

Van squirmed getting uncomfortable, and Clare grinned. "My, I wonder what you can do with a tongue that big" she said before she nudged Kari.

Kari laughed nervously. "Are we using tongue as euphemism?" she asked.

Clare glared at her. "You just ruined it" she muttered before she looked over at Sasha's phone. "So does the entire werewolf community have access to this?" she asked.

Zoe shrugged. "Only those who have the password, but I can give you the password if you'd like...maybe you can find a wolf you might like to play with?" she asked while giving her a playful nudge.

Clare blushed. "Uh...I might be a little interested" she said.

Sasha looked up at Zoe curiously. "So, does this also act like dating service? I mean why would werewolves like to know your sexual preference?" she asked.

Clare smiled. "Well, it's good to know that there are bicurious wolves out there at least. Am I right?" she asked.

Zoe let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, there's a dating function but there are wolves who just want to have a good time. The sexual preference thing is for those who want to disclose it, it's not mandatory" she finished.

Toby looked at Sasha's phone oddly before he took it from her. "Where did you get a pic of my lycaon form? What did you mean when you changed my alpha status" he asked.

Zoe laughed. "I'm a gamma, Toby. Trust me, I've taken pictures of more than just you being in lycaon form" she said before Percy looked at her oddly. Zoe grinned. "Don't worry, I've deleted them...well most of them" she said.

Zoe snickered. "Yup, and it's not voyeurism if they give me consent" she said before she gave him a wink.

Toby scowled at her. "Is it consent when one is under the influence?" he asked.

Zoe smirked. "I told you those were special brownies, Toby! You chose to eat them" she said before she nudged them. "Hey you ever see a werewolf on pot?" she asked.

Toby grabbed her by the shoulder. "You better not show them!" he growled.

Zoe laughed. "Relax! It's Terry" she said.

Sasha looked at him annoyed. "How many times did you eat these special brownies?" she asked.

Toby flinched. "Once...err...not very often" he said.

Zoe looked back at her and smiled. "Toby's quite mellow, actually he's not been needing 'em since you been around. Sis, had been using it to treat his PTSD" she said before she pulled up a video. "Terry freaked out and thought he swallowed his own tongue" she said as her brother cried hysterically.

Clare looked at Toby and smiled before she started to walk ahead of them. "Let's get going" she said lowly before she hopped the fence.

Kari grabbed onto the chain link fence and proceeded to climb as Bernie pulled up to in his Sheriff squad car. Olivia looked at him nervously, which Zoe glanced over evilly. "Hi daddy!" she waved happily.

Bernie rolled his front passenger window down. "All of you be careful. There was another group of attacks last night in Beaverton" he said before he looked towards Toby. "I've called other clans for some help, I even got a hold of an old friend you might know" he said.

Toby stepped up to the car and leaned in. "Do you know anything about my alpha status?" he asked.

Bernie shot Zoe a terrifying leer, which she looked away and took a couple steps back. There was an abrupt chatter on the radio that interrupted the conversation. "Calling all units, we have a report of human remains near Cook Park, code 2" Dispatch said.

Bernie frowned and lifted the transmitter to his mouth. "10-4, Sheriff Cooper en route" he said before he looked at Toby sternly. "Nothing has changed!" he raised his voice. He looked towards the group stoically. "Stay on alert!" Bernie said before he turn his lights turned on sped off. His siren blared, and the sound of his engine revving up echoed through the neighborhood.

Olivia looked at Toby worried. "More attacks? Who is doing this?" she asked.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Toby do you care on explaining this, because I've already explained this to her already, like 3 times" she said.

Toby sighed. "Not now! Maybe when we're at the quarry" he said walking across the dry grass.

Zoe huffed. "Well fine then!" she said insulted. Toby jumped another fence and over a swamp before landing on railroad tracks, while the others soon followed after him.

Sasha looked up at Toby happily, which he looked back at her oddly. "What?" he asked.

She smiled. "Oh, nothing..." she said.

He touched his face nervously then felt his teeth. "You're making me paranoid when you look at me like that" he said.

She laughed. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...I was just thinking" she said.

"I thought I had something on my face or something" He said.

She shook her head as she set her feet down on one of the concrete railroad ties. She felt a sharp pain in her leg and grabbed it. "Ow! It's back!" she shouted.

He stopped and looked back at her worried. "Here, let me carry you" he muttered as he picked her up.

"This really sucks" she muttered.

Olivia grinned. "What? Can't handle being a werewolf?" she asked as she place a hand over her hip. "You sound so pathetic when you scream like that! You sound like an animal that needs to be put down" she said.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "You weren't bitten by a pure blood. You can't possible know what pain she's going through. You were only bitten by a third order thrall" she spoke to her severely.

Olivia huffed and walked ahead of them before Van frowned. "Yo, Olivia, what's eating you!?" he shouted.

She spun around and glared at him. "Just drop it! I'm done! I'm not putting up with them protecting her!" she spat out.

Van looked at her harshly. "That was uncalled for! She's part of the clan...she's a friend!" he said spreading his arms out openly.

She looked back at him irritated. "She's not a friend! She's taken away everything from me! And that other bitch is just trying to put me in my place! Well, I won't stand for it!" she shouted.

He glared at her. "And what is it that she has taken!?" he shouted.

She pointed at her. "Everyone has been talking about that bimbo since she got her. Just because she's got fucking cow udders! I thought, when she got fat, I'd get my popularity back but no! She got more popular. I just can't win!" she shouted before she started to tear up. "It's not fair!" she muttered as she whipped the tears off her face.

Sasha balled her fist and pointed at her. "Hey! If you think having bigger breasts is going to make you more popular then go ahead, have mine! I don't care what people think of me, and that's the whole problem with you! I'm not obsessed with who's popular...I'm just nice to everyone. You don't associate with anyone but who you deem worthy. You put yourself in a bubble, and now that bubble has popped. Are you going to be a little girl and throw a fit, or are you going to be a woman and own up to your own mistakes?" she asked.

Olivia clenched her fists and growled. "It's not that simple!" she shouted before she ran off.

Van were about to chase after her, which Zoe stopped him. "Don't, Just leave her be! She's being an immature brat right now. Going to her will just show her that it's okay to act this way!" she said coldly.

Toby was first to walk off the tracks and up the trail, while the rest of the group walked single file up the trail behind him. They reached the ledge to the quarry, and Nate and Todd unstrapped their backpacks and set them down on the ground.

Toby looked at them and smirked. "Alright, let me tell you how this all is going to work...you two are going to be throwing rocks at me as hard as you can. Don't think just throw...what I need to work on is my reaction time a bit...so you think you got it?" Toby asked.

Todd and Nate both nodded, and Toby smirked. "Good, this shouldn't be too hard. I'm going to draw a line in the dirt; it will serve as your boundary. The rocks are all at the bottom of the quarry so go nuts" he said as he adjusted the weights on his body. Sasha slid off and limped over to a stump to observe, but Zoe glared at him intensely as she crossed her arms over her chest. She bit her lip remembering the lecture her mother and sister gave her about pushing things too far.

Kari gasped seeing Todd and Nate jump off the cliff, while Percy looked over at Zoe nervously. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Zoe glanced over him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Oh yea! I'm perfectly fine!" she raised her voice sarcastically.

"Is this about the Theobromine poisoning?" he pried farther.

She bared her teeth at him and stared him down. "I said I'm fine!" she growled with hostility. Percy gulped and his eyes widened before he backed off shivering.

Toby paid no notice to Zoe's brooding as he soon followed after the boys, and Kari looked towards Sasha dumbfounded look after realizing they were unhurt from a hundred foot fall. Sasha smiled at her weakly before she grabbed her arm writhing in pain.

Clare watched on concerned before she reached into her backpack and pulled out some acetaminophen tablets. "Here, try this...it should kill the pain" she said.

Sasha looked at the bottle of pills worried. "I've already taken Ibuprofen" she said.

Clare shook her head. "No, this pain can't be treated with just that. These are nerve pains. I can see your muscles spasm like crazy" she said as she opened the bottle. "Trust me. My dad gets them really bad in his back. This should help you" she said as she reached in for a bottle of water.

Sasha took two pills and drank the water before she rubbed her arm in pain. "I hope it works quickly" she muttered.

Clare rubbed Sasha's arm. "Look on the bright side, this is only going to last what one more day?" she asked.

Sasha laughed. "Well, I'm more worried about my first transformation...I can deal with this" she said.

Zoe started tapping her finger into her shoulder impatiently as Toby drug his foot into the soft moist dirt and drew a line. He looked at the boy who was already holding large fist sized rocks. He smirked walking beyond the line briskly. "Let me get in my position, Okay?" he asked.

Nate looked at the line. "Toby should we really be this close?" he asked curiously.

Toby laughed. "Naw, naw, just let'er fly" he said.

Nate threw the rock at Toby, which he barely had enough time to react to the sharp angular rock. The rock busted up one of the main hydraulic cylinders to a nearby excavator that was parked behind. He looked back at the cylinder spraying highly pressurized hydraulic fluid in a big dirty cloud. Todd threw another rock, which Toby caught the movement in his peripheral vision, and he dodged the rock. There was a loud shattering of glass as the front window was sacrificed this time.

Toby growled at them. "Damn it! Are you aiming at me or the fucking equipment!?" He yelled.

"You keep moving...of course we're going to hit it, stupid!" Nate said.

Todd threw a rock, and this time Toby caught it. "Hold on!" Toby yelled. They lowered their arms and watch Toby pushing the 50 ton mammoth across the dirt. "Fucking smart ass..." Toby grumbled.

Sasha and her mystery crew watched in disbelief. "Wow...Toby's that strong?" Clare muttered.

Zoe jumped off from the cliff and stomped over to him. "Toby! Quit fucking around and let's do what we came here to do! I didn't come here to watch you play with the pups!" she chastised him.

Toby smirked. "Fine, let me get my stretches in then we can..." he said before she grabbed him by the collar.

"You better take this seriously! You aren't going to be pushing back your responsibility any longer!" she shouted before she pushed him back. "I'm not holding back, Toby!" she shouted.

Toby looked at her confused before he ran back to the others jumping back on top of the cliff. He walked up to Sasha, and Percy walked up to them nervously. "I forgot to tell you, but...Zoe's kind of pissed off at you" he said.

Toby stared at him. "At me? Why!?" he muttered.

Percy rubbed his shoulder. "Well, I overheard her talking to her dad, and...he told her that you never took anything seriously. So, my guess is blowing her off wasn't the best ideas" he said.

Toby scowled at him. "Blowing her off? I just wanted to..." he muttered before Clare interrupted.

"Show off?" she asked.

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Include the pups...Look, they need to get stronger too" he said.

Zoe stood a few feet away and gave a very stern glance. "It's not the time to invest in the pups right now! I case you haven't heard, our whole fucking world is falling apart! So pull your head out of your ass and stop wasting your potential!" she lectured him.

He looked back at her sternly before he sat by Sasha. "I know our world is falling apart! There's nothing we can do to stop it. None of it is in our control!" he said before Zoe rolled her eyes and turned around.

"Wow, I can't believe our new alpha is acting like such a loser! What happened to that wolf who slaughtered those humans last night? You looked to be in control then!" she shouted.

Toby gritted his teeth. "Hey! You know that they would have killed more innocent wolves!?" he shouted back.

Zoe bared her teeth at him. "And what do you think Ian is going to do to the humans!? What the fuck, Toby? Wasn't this what you wanted to prevent when you fought Ian in the first place!? Grow a fucking pair, and I'll meet you down there!" she shouted before she jumped back into the quarry.

Everyone stared at Toby, but none could think of anything to say. Sasha handed Toby a jug of water. "Thanks Sasha..." he said gratefully before he opened it.

Sasha ran her fingers through his hair as he chugged the half a gallon down. "Toby...please get stronger, for me?" she said before she placed her hand over her belly.

Toby stared at her and looked at her oddly. "You aren't pregnant, are you?" he asked as he sat the jug down.

She jumped. "What? No! Why are you asking me that?" she asked.

He looked at her closely. "I don't know...I've just been noticing some things" he said looking at her touching her stomach.

She looked down and blushed. "No, I'm just getting cramps from the transition. You mean I can get pregnant during it?" she asked.

He stared at her in shock. "Of course you can. What makes you think you couldn't?" he gasped.

Her heart began to race, and she let out a soft whimper. "I...I...I just assumed that..." she said before she gulped. "What am I going to do?" she asked.

Clare looked over at them and gulped. "I'd take a test if I were you...When were you supposed to have your last period?" she asked.

Sasha frowned. "It was supposed to be last week, but I thought it were because of me being on the pill" she mentioned.

Toby got up and looked at them. "She's not pregnant, I thought I smelled something, but it's just me imagining things" he said before he ran off.

Sasha gulped. "Could my transition affect me being on the pill? 'Cause we had a condom break on us, but that was before he turned me into a werewolf" she said before she whimpered. "I don't know about werewolf sex to know" she said.

Clare pulled out her phone. "Hold on, you said your period were a week ago right? And you were bitten on the 21stright?" she asked. Sasha nodded, as she watched use an app. "It says here that you'd have to be ovulating at least around that time...but...just how long ago did you say that the condom broke?" she asked.

Sasha cringed. "It was around a week before...but..." she said.

Clare looked up at her. "Sasha...you need to talk to a werewolf doctor. If Toby's nose is catching on your hormones either you are or it's just a false reading" she said.

Sasha shivered. "Yea but...Zoe hasn't said anything" she said.

Clare shook her head. "Are you going to wait before all the werewolves start smelling it, or are you going to listen to one that knows your scent very well?" she said.

Sasha frowned. "But, he were only reacting to my hand on my belly" she said before she started biting at her finger nails. "I'll ask Toby's mom" she said before a shiver crept down her spine. "Oh no...how would she react to this?" she muttered.

Toby and Zoe quickly retreated back to the group extremely agitated and exhausted, and Toby looked to around the forest. "We're surrounded..." he said annoyed as he tried to catch his breath.

Suddenly Olivia's lifeless body were hurdled from the brush and rolled across the dirt. Van quickly rushed to her side and checked her injuries when people in tattered clothing soon appeared from the brush. Their hands and faces were tainted with blood while they growled and snarled at them. Toby looked over at the Van intensely. "Hey! Get them out of here!" He yelled.

Van gulped hesitated looking at Olivia's head not in a natural position, and he started to have a panic attack. "Fucking go!" Zoe yelled.

Van started grabbed Clare and Kari before he made his way towards the cliff and stopped several feet from the edge as Ian landed in front of them effectively cutting them off from their only escape route.

Toby growled lowly. "So you finally show your fucking ugly mug again" he yelled.

A maniacal laughter came from a sickly looking man in what appeared to be a torn up straight jacket. "What are we going to do, milord?" he asked. He licked the blood from his paws, and he looked at Sasha grinning evilly. "Oh, look at the tits on that one! I want to fuck her first!" he shouted

Ian chuckled while smirking. "Thralls, so easily to control, and yet...a very powerful tool...wouldn't you agree Toby?" he asked.

Van rushed back towards Zoe as Percy started fiddling with his phone. "Ian's here, Send help!" he sent to Bernie's phone. Toby growled again at Ian

Toby looked over at Sasha and growled. "Stay together!" he shouted. His voice deepened to a very intimidating tone as he were already transforming into his anthro form.

Ian smirked. "Ah, a mass grave is it? You're making it too easy for us!" he said before he marched up to him. "After all, you are in no condition to fight are you?" he said before he sucker punched Toby in the gut. Zoe stood between Ian and her group.

Sasha got up ran towards Toby before the insane person ran up and snatched her before she was pulled into a full nelson. He laughed again. "Shut up and watch the show!" he said.

"Let me go!" Sasha yelled.

Ian laughed. "Toby, looks like I win, runt! Letting you two beat the crap out of each other really paid dividends. I bet you're wishing to have rested up after you got shot up" he said smugly.

Toby growled, and without thinking, he threw a punch blindly at Ian. Ian dodged the punch, and he grabbed Toby by the neck. Toby instinctively grabbed onto Ian's arms, and Ian exploited the vulnerable position by impaling Toby's chest with his claws. Toby let out a deathly yelp before coughing up blood.

Sasha face went white, and Nate balled his fist up gritting his teeth. Zoe glared at Ian with intense disgust, which Kari buried her face into her leg. Zoe looked towards the bag and gritted her teeth. "Farewell trash..." Ian said tossing Toby aside. Toby's lifeless body flopped across the ground before his body stopped at Zoe's feet. "Do you feel responsible for how this has gone down? Are you satisfied for pushing him? No, he's right! You're not in control! I'm in control! I was always in control!" he said coldly.

Blood pooled around his body, and Zoe leaned in to check for a pulse, which his pulse was weak and diminishing quickly, and Kari growled. "He can't be dead!" she yelled as Zoe slowly transformed. Clare bravely stuck her hand into Toby's wound in an attempted to stop the blood loss. Kari looked at her in shock. "What are you doing!?" she shrieked. Clare said nothing as she managed to get the bleeding to slow down.

"You loved that weakling didn't you?" The insane wolf asked before he licked the side of Sasha's face. "Aw, a girls tears! It just turns me on so much!" he said.

Nate charged at the insane wolf. "Let her go!" he yelled. He was given a brutal kick to chest before he was kicked in the side where his arm snapped like a twig. While he did this, he not realize that he loosened his hold on Sasha far too focused on bullying the boy.

"Stay out of this pup!" he said before he let go of Sasha to grab his testicles after she clutched them so hard it felt like they popped like bubble wrap. "You bitch!" he muttered in a high pitched voice.

Sasha ran towards Toby crying hysterically seeing the person she vowed to stay with being slaughtered before her very own eyes. "TOBY!!" she screamed. Ian grabbed her from behind by her arm, and she struggled. "NO!! Let me go!" she yelled clawing at him.

Ian growled and slapped her upside the head, and Sasha fell to the ground unconscious. "Sasha!!" Todd yelled.

"Damn it! Where's our fucking help!?" Zoe growled before she glared at Van who was still frozen with fear and watch everyone else. "Hey! Get over here!" she shouted at him. This failed to snap him out of his daze as he looked back down at Olivia's body.

Ian scooped up Sasha and flung her over his shoulders as Todd ran after Ian with his back turned away. "Let her go you beast!" he yelled.

Ian glanced over, and he immediately grabbed him by the head and threw him against a tree. Todd's back broke against the trunk of the tree with a gruesome crunch. He laughed with wily gratification, and the insane wolf stood beside Ian to give him cover. "Looks like the mistake was fixed...good riddance" he said. He began to walk off leaving the lone wolf to take over for him.

The insane wolf looked up at Ian and growled. "What of the small fry?" he asked.

Ian looked back at him and the Thralls. "Go ahead and kill them...I got my prize" he said before he ran off with Sasha.

The insane wolf smirked as he and the thralls started advancing. "It's time for me to reunite you with your ancestors" he said.

Zoe growled viciously. "The only ones who can protect us now are me and Van!" she muttered to herself. She frowned looking over at Van sitting hunched over in defeat, and she recognized that she was going solo with this one. "I'm going to make you work for them!" she yelled before she transformed into her therian form. One of the thralls lashed at Zoe, and she jumped and tackled them in midair. They rolled across the growled clawing and biting at each other. Finally, she bit into the thrall's neck, and it went limp.

Another thrall lunged at the group before an axe came flying out of nowhere, which it struck the thrall in the side. The thrall let out a loud yelp as it bit and clawed at the axe. The insane wolf recognized the insignia on the side of the axe blade, which it had a hand painted pixelated blocky image that resembled a man baring his teeth with pronounced upper and lower canines.

The insane wolf looked towards the origins of the axe looking very annoyed. He laughed as he walked up to the thrall. "I knew I smelled a couple of injuns" he said before three Native Americans dressed in grey cloaks walked out of the brush. The other thralls growled at them, and the cloaked men growled back at the thralls. The cloaked men intimidated the Thralls, and the insane wolf yanked the axe from the injured thrall's side. Then the man smashed the side of the axe into the back of the thrall's head. "Take them out!" he yelled out in frustration.

The remaining thralls ganged up on the three, and the thralls were taken out with ease. The insane wolf smirked showing his bravado. "What a bunch of killjoys!...Well at least the mission was a success!" he said. He started off, which one of the cloaked men blocked him off, and the insane wolf slid in the mud falling onto his back.

The cloaked man stood over at him. "What mission?" He asked.

The insane wolf laughed and stood up dusting himself off. "You just don't get it do you. Instead spending time interrogating me...why don't you go check on your sacred wolf!" he said gesturing towards Toby.

Toby stood up defiantly and shook violently, which the insane wolf stared at him in shock. "Where do you think..." he muttered as blood trickled down the corner of his lips. He took a ghastly breath as he covered the hole in his chest. "You are going!?" he continued. Clare stood up with blood dripping from her hand, and she glared at Toby after he pushed her back.

"Man! That's hardcore stubborn you are!" the insane wolf shouted.

Toby clenched his fist. "You better run, because..." he said before he gasped and fell to his knees. "I'm coming for ya! When I do, I'm going to shove my big fat..." he growled as he started to lose conscious. "...up that empty skull of...yours" he said before he fell onto the ground completely.

They cloaked men immediately ran towards Toby. The insane wolf laughed lightly to himself. "Well at least your dear leader wasn't boring...Too bad the rest of you are so predictable!" he said before he ran off.

One of the cloaked men looked up and removed his mask seeming very upset. Zoe walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Thanks man" she said.

Todd groaned. "I can't feel my legs" he said.

The long haired man removed his mask as he walked up to Todd. "You've broken your back...You need rest to recover your ability to walk" he said. He looked over at Zoe and sighed. "Joseph will be here shortly...I don't think Toby's injuries are that bad" he said before looking down at the hole in his chest and frowned. "He is full of promise...this was their mission all along" he said.

Zoe growled. "Well, I'm just going to have to return the favor!" she said before she glared at Van. "Good job you fuck up!" she said before the man walked over to Olivia's body and put his finger to her neck.

"No pulse..." he muttered before he started to perform CPR on her while Van still watched in a trance.

Zoe watched them try to revive Olivia, and she looked away. Nate sat up holding onto his upper arm whimpering, which his sister went to his side. "You got a lot of balls kid!" she said before she patted him on the back.