Landing outside, a young man in his late teen threw an iron handle from a cheap rake with an engraving running down its length, giving off a warm glow but bursting to life when I caught it out of the air.

He pointed in a direction and I took off, sprinting as hard as my body allowed me.

I would occasionally hear a howl and adjust my direction.

I had been running for about five minutes when I heard something heavy and extremely angry quickly catching up with me.

We reached a clearing with the young wolves pulling back from a ghostly, sickly green and blue image of Nala with the characteristics of a tiger, fangs bared, and clawed hands.

I also got my first look at John. He was easily 8 feet tall at his shoulders, a giant dark gray dire wolf.

He snarled, hackles raised in pure rage as he looked at the thing using a twisted image of his mate’s form.

“I need it pinned against something long enough for me to restrain it, but don’t fight it in a battle of strength. It’ll just burn what it has taken and you will lose.” I said, wondering for a moment if he understood what I’d said, but then he calmed visibly, looking around calculatingly at the wraith and surroundings.

“Go!” I yelled, seeing an opening as the wraith lashed out, scoring a deep gash on a scarlet, orange wolf, easily the largest after John.

John charged towards the wraith as its form had solidified, tackling it to a lone tree twenty-five feet from the tree line, and held it in place with his bulk as it screeched and clawed at him.

I arrived barely a second too late as the wraiths’ form turned wispy and simply sank through the tree, making the wood warp and tear.

The wraith made for the edge of the clearing, but before it could reach it, a chain sprang up, circling the entire clearing with glowing runes.

“It might have made me late for our first attempt, but it’s gonna give us as many as we need.” I thought, giving John an affirmative, that it was done.

He backed off quickly as it charged back towards the tree and him.

The wolves ran circles around it, hounding it with impressive teamwork.

“Apparently, all they needed was motivation.” I thought, seeing their improved coordination.

It didn’t get an opening, so it didn’t burn any energy for an attack. But it didn’t take long for it to figure out the culprit behind the chains keeping it here.

It cried out an inhuman scream and charged at me.

Did. Not. Move.

Which was pretty fucking hard as it doubled in size, ready to rend me in half.

I knew that even though we had it trapped; we were still in a race against time.

I waited until the last possible second before throwing myself to the side, and before it turned to pursue me, John arrived behind it rearing up and slamming two front paws on its back transferring an enormous amount of momentum into it, smashing the wraith down onto a large rock face beneath us.

As it impacted stone, I jumped up and rammed the sharpened point of the glowing runed iron-rod through the wraith and deep into the rock.

It screeched in anger, lashing out at us as we backed off.

It turned ethereal and moved off the rock, but this time it got exactly two feet before a dark chain attached to the rod rattled into being, restraining it and turning it corporeal.

I smiled wickedly at it, flanked by wolves.

“My turn asshole.”

Red and black wisps of energy streamed down to my hands as I stalked towards the wraith, struggling to pull out the rod getting viciously shocked for its trouble.

Now back to the size of a normal person, Nala’s features and appearance were gone as her energy was out of its reach. It was left as a dark green image of a man.

A man who turned back towards us confused, only to get an energy wrapped fist to the face.

A lot of intelligent and knowledgeable people, who have spent years studying the spiritual elements of life, will give a horrified No to the question, Could you physically beat a spirit into submission?

I didn’t like that answer. Luckily, the answer was the same for my next question. Have you ever tried?

***

As I was brutally beating the absolute incorporeal shit out of a wraith in front of them, Lydia and John stood in their human forms.

“That looks like Mr. Anderson.” Lydia said, surprised, as she remembered seeing pictures of their parents with him.

“Yes. It does.” John growled out, remembering the man who had advised his family for close to 80 years about everything occult. The man who had also died along with John and Lydia’s parents while fighting some evil magical entity close to 20 years ago.

Mr. Anderson’s circle had always insisted he died valiantly along with their parents, but John had always known that to be a lie.

The first thing he did when he took over for their mother as leader of the pack was banish the circle from their territory, urging the surrounding packs to do the same.

“We’re ready over here.” Aleks called out.

“I had my doubts when the Mando priestess recommended a male from the city, but now I’m thankful I listened,” John thought

Aleks was holding the broken and asymmetrical form of Anderson by the neck inside the glimmering red sphere cast by the Runed iron-rod.

“I can’t tell where he’s hiding it. I need you to feel for it.” Aleks said.

“How?” John asked, confused.

“Some say it sounds like a sweet and pleasant chime, others a warm glow, but only someone who shares a deep bond with the person can locate it and coax it out.” Aleks explained.

John stood there, worry slowly building.

“Maybe what Nala and I have isn’t enough, maybe I can’t do this.” he thought, his doubts tearing away at him until he heard something, a soft melody, he saw an image of Nala standing in their kitchen with the warm glow of sunrise flowing in through the window, lighting her up like an angel, she stood there humming a melody, radiating the calm he’d lost with his late wife Marie.

***

I watched a tear form in the corner of John’s eye after he hesitated. A blue glow erupted from the wraiths’ stomach. John reached out and gently touched it and it sank into him, shimmering under his skin briefly.

“Good, means I don’t have to carry it,” I thought, feeling things in my shadow let out a sigh of relief.

But that relief quickly turned to hungry begging as the pure unblemished energy left, leaving only a dirty, wretched thing, clinging to a life that ended decades ago.

“Their favorite.” A part of me thought viciously.

I hadn’t heard the story behind the recognition John and Lydia showed, but I could feel his twisted deeds.

How he’d sacrificed the innocent to extend his own worthless life, how their suffering had deformed him, exposing his vile acts. How he had been confronted and killed, but instead of dying with some dignity, he left behind a part of his soul to fester in the world, eventually latching on to someone that didn’t carry the blood of the ones that ended his despicable life.

I turned and held the now squirming mass over the shadow I cast from the low moon, before giving it one last indifferent look.

“Pitiful.”

I let go and shadowy claws and jaws gripped the shrieking green mass and pulled it down.

I turned back to a group of wolves and two naked people staring at me like I was the weird one.

“Put on some damn clothes. You’re worse than the Sentires.” I thought embarrassed, but also kind of missing the city now.

“What?” I asked, a little self-conscious.

“What the fuck was that?” Lydia asked harshly.

I decided to have some fun.

“What was what?” I replied innocently, like I had no earthly idea what she was talking about.

Lydia turned slightly red at my childish behavior, obviously fed up with it from the young snickering wolves behind her. But before she could respond, John held up a hand, stopping her.

“Is it done?” he asked firmly.

“Yeah, you won’t be seeing him again. As far as I could tell, that was the only piece of him left.” I replied.

John nodded appreciatively.

“You know what to do with that, right?” I said, pointing to where the blue ball of light had sunk into him.

“I do.” he replied with a soft smile, looking peaceful and happy. “I can feel it.”

***

Back at the farmhouse, Nala hadn’t woken up, the Charly dejectedly explaining how he’d tried everything. But nothing had worked.

John walked forward, unperturbed by what the doctor said.

He knew he carried his mate with him. He put his hand on the side of her face and leaned down to kiss her, a blue glow moving from his body to hers.

When he pulled away, she opened her eyes and smiled at him. A thousand words unsaid, but still heard between just the two of them.

I turned to my side to see a now fully clothed redhead with tears in her eyes.

“Are you crying?” I asked teasingly.

“Shut up.” She said with a sniffle and a smile.

***

John and Nala had insisted I stayed the night in their guest room. And when I went down the following morning the house had transformed, the dark cloud hanging over the pack had vanished and the stairway echoed with jubilant laughter from downstairs.

When I walked into the large kitchen, The teenage wolves from last night filled every seatable surface in the kitchen, retelling aggrandized versions of the events from last night to Nala who had to sit on John’s lap, though I doubt she minded at all. Her gray, sickly complexion gone as she had instead turned as radiant as the sun.

John was already looking towards me before I turned the corner to the kitchen. I gave him a polite nod, and he excused himself as a seat cushion, instead letting his mate take his chair to hear the rest of the fantastical story.

***

John led me out onto the porch. He didn’t say a word along the way, but as he turned, I saw the pure gratitude and happiness in his eyes as he struggled out the words.

“I don’t know how to thank you. Raeni never mentioned a fee, not that I could ever repay you for what you’ve done for us.” He spoke, his voice breaking slightly.

“Raeni was right. They’re good people.” I thought with a smile.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. This was more of a brief introduction,” I said nonchalantly.

“If this was only an introduction, I fear imagining what a real favor from you would look like.” He said with a hearty laugh.

“Raeni said you were good people, and she was right. I’m glad I could help,”

“She’s sweet, unlike her grandmother,” John’s expression twisted like he’d eaten something sour.

“That bad, huh?” I asked.

“You haven’t met?” he asked, surprised.

“Nope. My first meeting with Raeni was not the pleasant and friendly kind,”

“Afterwards, we just sort of ran into each other.” I finished with a shrug.

“Interesting. A lot of people are competing for her Coven’s favor because of her grandmother. Powerful witch, that one.” He said as a warning.

“So, where to next? I get the feeling you won’t be sticking around.” John asked.

“Yeah, I’ll probably keep heading east. Stay on the move.”

Just then, Nala came out the door holding a phone, trailed by a group of curious teens.

“It’s for you,” she said questioningly, before handing me the phone. I took it and held it up to my ear.

“Hello?” I said cautiously.

“It’s Black-lace calling Big Broad and Brooding, come in Brooding.” Sophia’s voice said jokingly over the phone.

“How’s the vacation going?” She asked.

“Oh, you know, ripping an old warlock’s soul out of the local pack alpha’s Tigress mate for a bunch of witches after being jabbed in the neck by a vampire with what I’m starting to suspect was black tar heroin only to get kidnapped and then hunted through the woods by a black ops team.” I said, grinning. “The usual.”

“Sounds fun. But we need you back in the city.” She said, basically ignoring the absurdity of what I’d just said.

At least the teens looked suitably shocked, a few whispering, See? I told you so. Nala and John even looked a little surprised at some parts.

“That bad?” I asked.

“Worse. We’re sending a helicopter to pick you up.” Something felt off about her voice, it felt strained and forced.

“You okay Soph?” I asked, concerned.

“Yes, of course I am. Just hurry back.”

***

An hour later, a helicopter landed on the clear piece of land behind John’s house. I said my goodbyes to the pack and went up to it, one of the pilots meeting me halfway and handing me a headset. After putting it on, he informed me of the flight plan as we got in.

“Sir, we’ll be in the air for an estimated 4 hours before refueling and doing a final stretch of 3 hours. The winds are a bit rough, so please fasten your seat belt.”

“I’ll try to get some sleep. If any problems arise during travel, please inform me.” I said while strapping myself in.

During the flight I started working on a new rune-cluster on the right side of my chest, to anyone else it would look as if I was sleeping in my seat, with the occasional red glow from under my clothes that might just as well have been a phone or other device.

After the first stretch of the journey, I had finished laying the foundation and started expanding it, unfortunately my control was a little sloppy and as I finished a small section my control slipped, causing a massive amount of interference, the helicopter not responding thirty tense seconds before the cussing pilots got it under control.

“Sorry, won’t happen again.” I said, eyes still closed.

Both pilots looked at each other, then back at me.

***

We landed on a helicopter pad near the harbor with the usual stylish town car already waiting for me.

When I got out in front of the Eve Tower, something felt off. I hadn’t memorized every face in Clan Eve, but I felt like I saw a lot of new ones looking at me. Two assistants hurried out to greet me, leading me to a temporary room. On the bed was an expensive-looking suit, along with my axe and dagger carefully placed in a custom briefcase.

I hadn’t had a chance to retrieve them before leaving.

I showered and dressed just in time to answer the knock on my door, expecting to find a familiar face to tell me what the hell was going on, but instead I was met with an unfamiliar scowling Sentire.

“Mr. Titanos, you WILL follow me.” he said, trying to compel me.

“Go fuck yourself.” I thought... Loudly.

He frowned, obviously surprised, and made his second mistake. He reached out to grab me.

“No one from Clan Eve would do this.” I thought to myself.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as my shadow reached behind him and raised up, forming a suit of intricate black plate and chain armor. It stood there for a moment before a single red light glowed from the T shaped opening in its helm.

It grabbed the vampire by the back of the neck, lifting him off the ground before he got to me and turned smoothly, slamming him face first into the wall opposite my room hard enough to shake loose dust from the ceiling.

I stepped out of my room as I said in a commanding voice.

“Bring him.”

It reached down and grabbed the Sentire’s collar, and dragged him along effortlessly.

The moving armor was intimidating at 6’7. In combat, it fought with a slight hunch, seams along the armor glowed red with every movement in that region giving it a pulsing appearance.

I got a few curious looks while I walked to the secure elevator.

The Moving armor entering ahead of me and pushing the button without even being told to do so. When the elevator opened, I saw Sophia’s frantic face as she took a step back, seeing the imposing armored figure next to me, and then noticing the unconscious guard being held as if by the scruff of his neck.

“Seems there’s trouble in the Tower.” I said, throwing a look at the still unconscious Sentire.

“Doesn’t seem to trouble you at all.” She replied, relieved but giving the armor a nervous look.

“I have my moments.” I said before stepping to the side letting Sophia onto the elevator.