Aggrieved the Werewolf Part 3

Aggrieved the Wolf

Frau Hunter Ash

www.hunterash.com

Part 3

* * *

"The natives are definitely restless tonight," Mike commented, waving his hand to indicate the bank of monitors, each of them showing a different room. In almost every one of them was an occupant that was pacing or drumming their fingers, a manic light in their eyes.

"Full moon," Keisha replied. "Even makes the vamps crazy."

Mike's jaw hung open and Keisha's eyebrows rose in surprise when Case entered the room. The boss usually didn't stay on the premises during full moons, she always claimed that the energy made her crazy.

"How are they doing?" Case asked, ignoring their surprised expressions.

"Going nuts," Mike said, snapping his jaw closed. He twisted a knob and took monitor 7 to the larger screen. Case took in the sight of Nikki pacing her room, from window to door and back again.

After a few moments, Nikki sat down on her bed and grabbed up her guitar. Case's hand darted forward and turned the volume down as Mike grinned at her.

"What's the matter, boss lady?" he smirked. "I take it you've heard her when she's in this mood?"

Case looked down at him with a grin, "So has everyone else on that floor. How is her martial arts training going?"

"Excellent," Keisha answered. "She's even learning to control that temper of hers."

"Not easy with Weres," Mike added as Keisha pulled up Nikki's file on a computer terminal.

Case looked over the files for a moment and noticed Nikki was up again and pacing. The vampire was surprised when the werewolf sat down on the floor and crossed her legs. Case glanced at the other monitors and found almost every single occupant in a state of frustration.

Most were pacing like the wild animals they were, other were unconscious on their beds, having opted for being sedated on full moons. A rare few were also on the floor or their beds and meditating, like Nikki was attempting.

A good portion of the trainees were in full werewolf, werebear or vampire rage. Fangs, claws, red eyes, total package.

Case turned back to watch Nikki. A sheen of sweat appeared on the woman's forehead but her eyes remained closed and her breathing regular. The vampire's eyes narrowed with appreciation.

"How long has she been in meditation class?" she asked.

"Only a week. She's not gonna make it," Mike predicted.

"She might," Keisha said thoughtfully.

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah, ten bucks says that she holds out for over an hour before going wolfie," Keisha proposed.

"Do you two do this often?" Case laughed.

"Yep, that's how I bought the new stereo system for my car," Keisha joined in the laughter.

Case shook her head with a grin as she turned back to the monitor.

"Deal," Mike muttered with a sullen look on his face but a twinkle in his eyes.

Nikki was sweating visibly now and her breathing was a little more ragged. The three in the Control Room could see the young werewolf struggling to maintain a relaxed posture. Twenty minutes passed before another level of strain began showing. Nikki's muscles tensed and nerves were beginning to twitch. Case noticed the young woman's breathing was raspy as Nikki continued to fight for control.

"Wow, she's really trying," Mike whistled. "Most of them give up before now."

Case glanced at the other monitors and saw that Mike was right. Even the most experienced werewolves, werebears, berserkers and werserkers had given over to the call of the moon except for one young man and Nikki. The young man, Jake, had been there two months longer than Nikki.

Keisha laughed with victory as the hour passed with Nikki still maintaining control. After another 10 minutes, Nikki fell forward onto the cool concrete and clutched at the floor. Case turned up the volume and heard a whimper of defeat from the girl. The vampire frowned as blue eyes turned wolf yellow and fangs began extending.

They heard Nikki yell in anger and watched her squeeze her eyes shut. Case was amazed that the fangs receded back into Nikki's jaw. The werewolf whimpered again as they began growing. Nikki rose to her knees and then hit the floor with an incredible force. A howl of pain caused each of the three watching to flinch but instead of changing further the young woman sat back down, crossed her legs and held her hand out in front of her eyes as her breathing evened out. Another hour passed before Nikki's eyes glazed over.

"She's f**king hypnotized herself!" Mike exclaimed.

"Amazing, the pain is giving her a different focus," Case pondered. "How long can she keep this up?"

Mike turned and called up another screen on his computer terminal and checked some readouts. "Her vitals are normal. F**cking amazing. I don't know. How long can someone stay hypnotized by themselves?"

Another half hour passed and the worst of the moon's influence passed into the darkness. Most of the trainees were curled up on the floor, beginning to settle down.

Nikki pitched forward onto the floor, unconscious.

"I'm going in there," Case announced.

Mike jumped up and blocked her path to the door.

"No you don't!" he snapped. "Cardinal rule number one: No one enters a room on a night like this, no matter what they do to themselves. Your rule, boss!"

"My rule to break," Case responded calmly.

Surprisingly, the man stood his ground. Case knew he suspected that she might be Kin but was puzzled when she didn't fit into any known category. She was impressed that he was standing up to her, especially if he thought she was Kin and therefore could break his neck easily.

"No, boss lady, she could wake up and be dangerous," he growled.

Mike grabbed at the filing cabinet next to him as his knees went weak and he stumbled back out of Case's way.

"So can I," Case whispered and walked past him. "Turn the monitor off."

Mike sat down, visibly shaking as he turned the monitor off.

"What the hell happened?" Keisha demanded, her voice concerned.

"Nothing," he mumbled sullenly and turned back to the monitors. "I didn't see yellow eyes, I didn't see yellow eyes. I'm just tired," he whispered to himself.

* * *

Nikki felt someone lifting her head and cradling it. The werewolf kept her eyes closed, tasting blood and feeling pain everywhere. She whimpered lightly and snuggled further into the body holding her. The energy was nice and felt safe.

"Shhhh," a voice said gently. "It's alright, Little One. You're through the worst of it for tonight."

Nikki opened her eyes and focused on the green ones above her. "I beat it, didn't I?" she asked with a weak grin.

Case felt tears stinging her eyes and wiped away a trickle of blood from the elf's lips. Must have cut her lip when she fell.

Nikki smiled slightly and grabbed Case's hand and moved Case's fingers towards the vampire's mouth. The vampire's breathing became ragged as she looked at the blood on her fingertips.

"No," she whispered.

"Something you should know about me," Nikki said softly as she firmly guided Case's fingers to the red-head's mouth. Nikki grinned as Case took the fingers into her mouth, closing her eyes with a shudder. Nikki moved her other hand behind Case's head, frowning slightly at the pain in her hand but ignored it. "I don't play fair," she informed the vampire and pulled Case's lips to her own.

Case whimpered at the electric shock that passed through her when her lips connected with Nikki's and then the vampire moaned as she tasted the blood.

Nikki felt Case trying to draw back and growled and turned the kiss slightly rougher as Nikki's strength returned. Nikki moaned as she felt Case surrender and then become willing, attacking back at Nikki's lips, bruising them. Instead of backing away from the fierceness of the kiss, Nikki seemed to welcome and encouraged it, biting at Case's lips.

Nikki twisted her body and took Case to the floor, covering the red-head's body with her own as their lips and tongues fought for dominance.

"No," Case protested and pushed Nikki back slightly.

"Tell me you don't want this," Nikki whispered. She waited patiently, watching the conflicting emotions running through Case's eyes. "I want you, Case and I don't want just a one night stand either."

Nikki lowered her head and nipped at the soft flesh of Case's neck. Nikki was answered with a shudder that racked Case's entire body and Nikki wasn't sure if the vampire hadn't climaxed already. The werewolf moved back to the lips she had been craving for months, her hands beginning to roam over the body under her.

Case's hands joined in as well, moving the smaller woman's t-shirt aside, cupping two welcoming breasts. Nikki felt her body arching, her head thrown back in arousal. Case smiled and took advantage of the young werewolf's inattention to flip Nikki over onto her back.

Nikki growled but grinned up at the other woman.

The vampire knew this was a very dangerous game on a very dangerous night. They were both tired and unnerved from the full moon's influence and if this turned into a dominance play, they could both be hurt physically and emotionally.

Case threw caution to the wind and bent her head to take one of the pierced nipples in her lips and teeth as hands began fumbling with her belt. Both women froze as klaxons shattered the night.

* * *

"Where's the boss?" Keisha yelled as Mike ran his hands over several controls.

"Still in room 7!" Mike yelled over the alarms. "Damnit! Inner security doors have been breached! We're screwed!"

* * *

"What the f**k?" Case demanded, as she jumped to her feet.

Nikki, a little more caught up in the passion, was a little slower to move.

Case leaped for the door, running a card key from her pocket through the electronic locking mechanism and was through the door in a flash. She could hear Nikki pounding on the door in anger.

The red-haired vampire ran down the hall and through several security doors as she struggled to reach the Control Room.

"What's working?" Case demanded as she entered the center of operations.

"Not much!" Mike admitted. "All security measures have failed except for the cell doors."

What few monitors were working chilled Mike, Keisha and Case to the bone as they showed vampires and werewolves sweeping through the gates and doors. Werewolves and vampires with flak jackets and guns.

This was the nightmare that plagued all of them, especially Mike and Keisha. After going to work for the rich and beautiful Case Quinn, they had seen many things and many werewolves but nothing like this. These creatures seemed bigger and meaner. Mike figured it was their descent into the dark hell of their curse.

These werewolves wouldn't fight against the change, they would welcome and encourage it. Mike knew that these were the kind of werewolf, who would grin with those jaws and fangs as they ripped his heart out right before his eyes.

Explosions sounded in the night and Mike fought with the computer to regain control but knew he was losing.

"Get out of here!" he yelled at Keisha and Case but they shook their heads. Case joined him in fighting with the computer as Keisha went to a large locker and pulled out three shotguns. She handed one to each of them with two boxes of shells.

"Police action riot guns," he muttered, assessing the weapon. He knew the shotgun loads were a combination of wood pellets, iron balls and silver. Maybe it wasn't enough to kill any Kin but it might be enough to slow them down. Possibly a head shot would kill them though, Mike hoped so anyway. He loaded the weapon and began stuffing the shells in various pockets.

Case went to the locker and pulled on a geologist's vest and stuffed shotguns shells in the many pockets.

"Status?" she demanded.

"Totally f**ked," the technician growled.

Mike turned and dashed over to one of the wall lockers, trying to move it. Keisha joined him and they shoved it over on its side across the door.

"Weres and vamps heading our way, armed to the teeth with assault rifles, axes and shotguns. They're working their way here," Mike snapped.

Keisha and Mike managed to drag three lockers in front of the door, no longer trusting the electronic security to keep them safe. Case handed them their shotguns.

"Right, now listen. We have to move quickly," Case said calmly. "There is an escape tunnel from this room and out of the grounds."

"Oh thank God!" Keisha whispered, reflecting Mike's thoughts. Neither one of them had relished the thought of being trapped in the room with werewolves and vampires moving closer and closer. The monitors showed the guards and trainers falling quickly to the claws, fangs, blades and claws.

Keisha and Mike turned away from the monitors. Case watched with grief stricken eyes. She had seen horror before and on a massive scale but this sickened her.

"First things, first," Case muttered. "Are the files back up on the main computer on the island?"

Mike nodded, turning back to the monitors, watching the progress of the werewolves and vampires heading their way.

"Good, sever the connection and erase the hard drives. In the bottom of that locker you'll find some nasty little devices with digital clocks on them. Set them for 10 minutes and put them in the heart of the computers. Also, unlock the cell doors, we have to give our trainees some kind of a chance."

Mike and Keisha both heard the catch in their boss' voice but tactfully ignored it as they went to work destroying the records and setting about preparing the room. Soon, they could hear screams from the hall followed by howls and shots.

Mike turned the monitors off. He had just seen one of his best friends ripped into pieces by a werewolf.

"Can't we get them out?" Keisha asked softly. She was quite fond of the trainers, guards and trainees. This was all so senseless.

Case shook her head, fighting back her tears.

"No, those bastards are between us and them now. We can only pray that some make it out and we can find them again."

Case opened a secret panel and motioned for Keisha to go into the tunnel, handing her a flashlight. As Mike went through, Case pulled out a vial and spread a liquid around the room, especially thick by the tunnel. Mike hesitated and questioned her with his eyes.

"It helps mess up their senses," she explained. "Hopefully, they won't be able to track us to the tunnel with this stuff and the explosion."

He nodded and moved down the tunnel.

Case looked at the door as fists began pounding at it.

"Nikki, I'm sorry," she whispered, shutting the panel behind her and her feelings down, as well.

* * *

Case pulled the tarp off the jeep that had been hidden deep in the woods near the entrance of an old mine shaft. The vampire was confident in its abilities even though it looked like it had been left under that tarp since the end of WWII.

Keisha kept her shotgun trained on the mine's entrance while Mike scanned the area around them, both on high alert. Case made a mental note to take a look at the young human when they were safely away from the compound, maybe a hundred miles or more. Mike had blood trickling out of one ear from the concussion from the blast. The three of them had been caught in the mine when the control room had exploded. They were tossed around the mine shaft like pinballs. Case ended up with Keisha sitting on top of her chest and Mike nearby screaming, holding his ears.

Fortunately, everyone had managed to get to their feet and kept moving.

I need to give them a raise, Case thought as she put a duffel bag in the back of the jeep and pulled herself into the driver's seat.

Case spun when Keisha squeaked and fired her shotgun. Unfortunately for the young black woman, she forgot to brace the weapon firmly against her shoulder and ended up on her tailbone.

Mike raised his shotgun at the small figure cautiously moving out of the entrance of the mineshaft.

"No, wait!" Case yelled. Something about the small wolf caused her to hesitate. Something . . .

The small black wolf limped towards them, sniffing the air. It seemed to be ignoring Mike and Keisha as it moved slowly towards Case. Mike kept his shotgun trained on the animal and held his breath as Keisha cursed softly.

Ice blue eyes in black fur looked up into green ones and Case jumped out of the jeep with a startled cry and wrapped her arms around the wolf's neck.

"What the f**k?" Mike demanded as the wolf collapsed into the red-head's lap. The wolf began shaking with seizures.

"Quick, get her into the jeep!" Case snapped. "Keisha, can you drive a jeep?"

"Better than I can fire this damned thing!" Keisa growled, stumbling to her feet. "Motherf**king piece of iron!"

Case's eyebrows rose in surprise at the profanity. Normally Keisha was one of the most composed person she had ever known. Mike put his own shotgun in between the driver and passenger seat. He then moved around and helped Case lift the unconscious wolf into his arms. Mike waited while Case jumped in the back of the jeep and laid the wolf into her arms.

Mike went around to the passenger side as Keisha started the jeep.

"Should we see if any others make it?" the young black woman asked, looking back at the mine entrance.

"No, anyone else will be unfriendly," Case said firmly. "I don't know how she found me."

The vampire thoughtfully stroked the fur along the wolf's neck.

"Will she come back?" Mike asked, glancing at his boss and wolf. He muttered a curse as the jeep lurched. Keisha shrugged an apology and downshifted, moving the jeep off into the night.

"Yes, probably at first light," Case yelled.

"Where are we going?" Keisha asked, following an old logging trail.

"The private airport and then home," Case said. "Congrats, people, you just got promoted and major raises.

Mike was shaking his head, trying to get the blood out of his ears and looked around. "Huh?"

Case managed to laugh, a bitter one.

"All those people," she muttered, wiping away the tears flowing down her face. She continued to stroke the fur under her fingers. "You, my werserker warrior, you found me."

"Can I ask another question?" Mike yelled.

"Yes?" Case looked up.

"Will she have clothes on when she changes back?"

Case hit the back of his head with a small smile. There were disadvantages of turning into a full wolf, they all knew.

* * *

"Don't ever leave me again," were the first words Nikki said when she opened her eyes in the plane, Case wrapping a blanket around her.

Those eyes grabbed at Case's heart and held it prisoner.

* * *

"Home" proved to be a private island off the coast of Maine. The secluded home was three stories tall and of a typical New England style. On the lowest level was the renovated basement which had two rooms, a large computer room and the rest of the large space was taken up by a gym. Complete with weight machines, treadmills, boxing bags, everything needed for physical training.

Mike marveled at the computer equipment as well. State of the art and rarely seen outside government or powerful corporation computer centers.

"This puts the Center to shame," he commented as he sat down to get the files and things in order. One of his top priorities was going to be looking for clues as to who attacked them. He was determined to find those answers.

The ground level included the kitchen, living room, library, and recreation room. The upper level included two bathrooms and five bedrooms. All four of them had taken a room for themselves and settled in as best they could.

Case instructed Mike to order clothes and personal items to help the three of them settle in.

Seclusion and wilderness was what the rest of the island was all about. Just what the doctor had ordered for an enraged werewolf, vampire and two humans.

Nikki spent hours roaming the woods, mostly running through the trees until she thought her lungs would burst from her chest and her heart would explode. Nikki could remember bits and pieces of that night and it haunted her.

It also haunted the others.

Mike, remembering what he had seen on the monitors, would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Case had only raised her eyebrows slightly when Keisha had taken to sleeping in his bed. She would soothe and comfort him back to sleep.

Keisha, while taking care of Mike, was neglecting herself until Case began urging her to eat better. Case was stubborn but also willing to listen to reason and began paying attention to her needs better.

The vampire found her sleep as restless as ever. Case's daytime hours were filled with rage and guilt because of all the deaths at the center. She spent hours in the gym on the lower level, pounding the punching bag and working out.

Nikki had watched her a couple of times and had developed an appreciation for the hidden strength in the slender woman. The werewolf definitely never wanted to be the punching bag that Case took her frustrations out on.

After waking up in the plane, Nikki had retreated into herself and Case had slammed a door on any emotions coming to the surface. Neither of them approached the other. For a while that felt like what was needed to Nikki, both needed to work through their anger and grief over the massive loss of life, trauma and horror.

Nikki balked at accepting a new guitar and equipment from Case but finally gave in, insisting that she have some sort of job around the place. Within a week Nikki was acting as the general handyman and grounds-keeper. The werewolf also began teaching Mike and Keisha self-defense and weapons. Nikki complained that, even though they were techs and not Hunters, they needed to know how to defend themselves.

Nikki concluded they had all been lucky when the Center was attacked.

Case knew that had been more than luck but it had helped.

The vampire called them together after dinner one night and when she entered the living room she found Mike and Keisha curled up on the sofa watching "Young Frankenstein." The young couple was holding hands and Mike had one arm wrapped around Keisha's shoulders.

Nikki was sitting in an easy chair with her guitar, unplugged.

Case handed Mike a file folder and the young tech began leafing through the pages.

"There's computer sites and email accounts I want you to hack into," Case explained. "I want to know where, when, how much and the wherefore on these people. My sources around the country have pieced together that we were attacked by a government group. Seems they think we're a danger by collecting the Kin together. They probably believe I'm training assassins like they are."

"The question then is how did they know and what do we do about it?" Mike pondered.

Nikki sat with a scowl on her face, fingers pressed together thoughtfully.

"Kill them," she answered calmly.

"That's a thought," Case said softly. "Are you ready to kill?"

Mike and Keisha looked up from the file folder, noticing the sudden increase in tension.

Case was answered by Nikki's eyes darkening with a glint of battle lust.

"They tried to kill all of us, especially you. Yes, I could kill," Nikki said firmly.

Even though Nikki looked relaxed, the others knew her muscles were tense and ready to spring.

"We have to decide if we want to go to war with the government," Case pointed out. "Granted, it won't be the entire government. It's one of their top secret experimental groups but they are strong, well equipped, trained and dangerous."

"They killed our Kin," Nikki whispered.

"Yes, and they probably think they broke us," Case countered. "They probably know I got away if they've managed to trace my identity. I've had many years to perfect covering my tracks but they probably think I won't risk gathering young ones again. They might leave us alone if we don't force the issue."

"What do you want to do, boss lady?" Mike asked, holding Keisha's hand.

The pencil Case had been playing with snapped under the pressure of her fingers. "I want their blood," she admitted. "What we should do is another matter."

"What happened to my grandfather and father?" Nikki asked, surprising Case. She didn't expect Nikki to bring this up after all this time.

"They thought they had another assassin with your grandfather," Case said slowly. "They dropped him with a pack of werewolves into Cuba to cause fear and havoc, to cause the peasants to panic and turn against Castro. I guess they figured since he had been SS and Hitler youth, he wouldn't mind. They were wrong.

Case leaned back in her chair, trying to relax.

"When he figured out what the mission was he turned on them and took the pack on," Case continued.

Mike, who had watched the monitors and knew what werewolves could do to each other, tightened his grip on Keisha's hand. "Oh my God," he whispered.

"The secret reports state he killed them all but received critical injuries himself," Case finished.

"My father?" Nikki questioned. "I was told he died of a heart attack."

"They grabbed him the moment he entered the military and tested him," Case explained. "He was only a partial werserker and didn't have the talent to change even partially. His latent abilities were brought out and enhanced, increased speed, reflexes, strength, stuff like that."

"A super soldier," Mike muttered, shaking his head.

"He became one of their trainers for the Green Berets, a very good soldier, as your grandfather had been," Case continued. "They picked him for a special assignment in Washington, DC. Reagan was President at the time. When it was revealed what they wanted him to do, he refused and was executed with a bullet to the head. They had misjudged him as well."

Nikki's expression remained unreadable.

"Reagan?" Mike questioned with a frown.

"They had a backup plan, some kid they had been working on by breaking his sanity," Case explained.

"What happens to the Kin that the government gets their hands on?" Nikki asked and Mike shifted uncomfortably.

"They test their abilities and train them to use those skills to their fullest," Case said calmly. "They're probably assigned to assassination squads or as independent assassins."

"What happens to Kin that won't play?" Nikki asked.

"We don't know for certain," Case answered reluctantly.

"Sure you do," Nikki growled. "What happens?"

"Alright, they are probably executed or die during experiments," Case conceded.

"They're looking for me," Nikki said slowly. "What would happen to me?"

Case felt like a sledge hammer had hit her upside the head and she tore her eyes away from the ice blue ones tearing into her heart and soul.

"That's what is happening to others like me," Nikki said softly. "Those too young to fight back yet. Isn't that why you started the Center? What about the rest of them out there?"

"How the f**k do we put the government out of business?" Mike demanded.

"One door at a time," Nikki said firmly.

"No," Case surprised everyone, leaning forward. "We can't take them on yet. At least not yet, not on a large scale. I have others set up around the country and they aren't ready yet. They're too scattered and too small to be of help right now."

The other three remained silent.

"You're right, Nikki," Case said slowly. "We can't abandon the others but we aren't going to get ourselves killed needlessly either."

"Did you ever study Marx or the IRA?" Keisha asked everyone.

"Not really, why?" Mike asked.

"We start small, hitting the government goons and then disappearing," Keisha began explaining. "We take on a few students, train them and send them out to train others, just like before but only smaller and faster. Resistance through organized cells, small units independent and barely answerable to the main group. We give just enough information to function but not enough to betray the entire group."

"Excellent!" Mike agreed.

"Timeless," Case added.

"Then we begin training other Kin and start tracking down those bastards," Nikki said firmly.

"Yes," Case agreed. "Starting tomorrow, Mike begins tracking down the various squads and groups that the government has in the northeast and New York area. Keisha, you start getting equipment together for training. You'll find a trap door in the equipment shed leading to a row of cells and enough firepower to start a war. Lots of silver, wood and iron."

Nikki raised her eyebrows in surprise. In all the times she had been in the shed, she had never sensed the cells or the silver.

"No one has been in the cells yet," Case explained Nikki's confusion. "Nikki and I will hit New York; it's a breeding ground for Kin. We're bound to run into some government types as well."

"What about the fact that Nikki is wanted by every government agency in the book?" Mike demanded.

"We'll be careful," Case answered.

* * *

"Hey."

Case turned at the sound of Nikki's voice and found the young woman leaning in the doorway of her room, watching the vampire heading for her own room. Case stopped and waited as Nikki detached herself from the doorframe and approached her. The vampire swallowed and struggled to maintain a cool exterior as Nikki got closer.

The werewolf was wearing a tight white t-shirt that left nothing to the imagination, including the fact that she had pierced nipples. Nikki's jeans were tight in all the right places and Case always thought that the young elf looked ravishing in motorcycle boots as well.