Dominant Species Ch. 34-36

Rachel jumped to her feet. "I've... I've got to go. I can't stay here any more."

Reggie looked with sadness at his sister, but she was right. "Go to him as soon as you can travel. Whatever it takes, you get him and get your family to safety." She ran over and embraced him, she was shaking with emotion right now. "Get things packed."

"I'm going too." They all turned around to see Abigail standing. "I may be tolerated, but I know when I'm not wanted. I'll take my chances out there."

"Me too," said Silvia. She got up and hugged Abigail. "We can take my car. I'll take my chances on the road, I can't live in a place that would do this to innocent humans."

Rachel joined their hug, tears streaming down her face. "Get the kid's stuff ready, the car is in the garage and we need it packed before dusk. As soon as the sun is below the mountains, we need to take off, before anyone can stop us." They nodded and went off to gather their meager belongings while their children kept sleeping. Rachel linked Marcus again, and filled him in on what was said at the meeting. "Marcus, love, I don't even know who my father is anymore."

Marcus sent his love back, there was nothing else he could do; he wanted to regret his actions, to make it all go away, but he couldn't do that and there was no point in wallowing in self pity. They would have to suck it up and go with it. "All right, if you have the car, drive to town as fast as you can. I'll have Josi meet you in front of the bank, Reggie needs her safe and she can help protect you guys on the road. She's not bad at riding shotgun."

"The car's going to be full, Marcus."

"Don't worry about anything but the people, sit on each other's laps if you have to, just get out of town. We need you safe."

"What about you? How are you going to be safe? Come with us, Marcus."

He paused. "You know I can't abandon my patients, love. Don't worry about me, I have a plan. I'll be up at North Fork in a week or so. Please, love, for me. Keep Raven safe with you. I have nothing to live for without you."

"And I have nothing to live for without you."

She closed the bond and opened the door to their bedroom; she allotted herself one suitcase to carry the essentials. The rest would have to be abandoned, unless she could get someone to deliver it later.

Tears ran down her face as she looked around the room; the memories in photos on the walls, the life they had built together here, it was all gone now. Wiping her face, she steeled herself for what was coming up. She had to get her family through this, no matter the cost.

While she was packing, back in the living room Reggie was still pacing back and forth while his mother watched in worry. He was linking his friends, lining up those people he would need to initiate the challenge. The Pack meeting had spooked them, now that they knew what the Alpha had planned, he had people coming to him asking how they could stop it. So far, he had over a dozen who pledged to support his challenge.

He cut off the latest mind link and looked back at his Mom. She was hunched over, her face in her hands, crying softly as she watched her family explode apart around her. He walked off to the guest room, hoping she would somehow talk her mate out of this madness before it was too late.

Reaching the room, he pulled off his shirt and looked in the mirror. He knew he was strong, but he would need to be ready and rested. He closed off all links and laid down on the comforter, hoping to get a couple hours of rest before this all went down.

He was almost asleep when the door softly opened; without opening his eyes, he knew it was him Mom. She walked over to the bed and sat down; opening his eyes, he could see the dried tears on her face and the redness of her eyes. "Mom?"

"He won't listen to me anymore, Reggie." In a flash, he was sitting up, taking her into his arms as she broke down emotionally. "I can't stop it!"

He hugged her tightly until her sobs stopped. "I've got it, Mom. I'll do what I have to do. I'm just sorry for what it is going to do to you. I don't want you hurt."

"It's too late, baby," she whispered in his ear. "And I'm only doing what I have to do."

Reggie didn't have time to register the meaning before he felt a sharp poke in his neck. His mouth opened in shock, but the fast acting sedative was already flooding his brain and shutting it down. Lisa withdrew the hypodermic needle and tossed the injector into the corner of the room. "Shhh..." She caught his weight as his muscles gave out, laying him gently back on the bed. The last thing he heard before blackness took him was his mother. "Sleep, baby. I can't let you do this."

She got up and locked the door as she left.

-

Josi paced back and forth in the front office of the clinic. The sun was going to be down in another thirty minutes, and she hadn't heard a thing from Reggie. His link wouldn't respond to her, no matter how hard she pushed on it.

Marcus had been gone for most of the day now. With each passing hour, the humans he had bitten were improving, with a dozen that had already woken up. She and the others who could had been very busy caring for everyone and explaining what had happened. So far, no one had freaked out.

At least, not too much. They had all seen too much death already not to cling to the life rope when it was tossed to them.

Finally, Marcus pushed through the doors of the clinic, tossing off the blanket and putting the glasses in his pocket. He smiled as Josi ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Easy, little one, your mate might get jealous."

"I'm not worried about that, he knows you're an old man, even if you are my brother in law now." She stepped back and looked at him, noting the changes from when he left. He was carrying a Glock 19 on his hip, and was wearing a mesh hunting vest with a half dozen thirty round magazines stuffed into the pockets. She could see two barrels sticking up from the rifles on his back, recognizing the flash hiders as being from AR-15 sporting rifles. "Marcus? Are those for the trip to North Fork?"

"In part." He took off one of the rifles and handed it to her, it had a Trijicon illuminated reticle scope that didn't need batteries, so it was still working. He pulled three more magazines out of his pocket and set them on the table for her, then from the other pocket he pulled out a small 9mm semiautomatic she recognized as a Smith and Wesson M&P compact. "These are for you. As soon as the sun sets, a car is going to leave my house with my family, Silvia's family and Abigail's family. They are going to pick you up at the bank on the way through town. I need you to protect them on the way, and make sure they get to North Fork safe and sound for me."

She looked down at the weapons, but then she picked up on what he didn't say. "So what are the rest of the weapons for?"

"I'm staying here, Josi."

"NO! He will KILL you!" She pushed him onto the couch, anger coming off of him in waves. "Reggie told me they are coming for you. You HAVE to leave."

"I can't, Josi. But I won't be alone." As he stood up, other townspeople started to make their way in the door. Those that could protect their eyes were making their way here, and they were carrying duffel bags full of weapons and ammunition.

"Doc, what do you need us to do?" Deputy Robert Stevens was the highest ranking law enforcement official left in town, but he was clearly deferring to Marcus.

"Start talking to those people who can fight, figure out what they can comfortably do and arm them up. When the rest get here, we will set up the rest of the defense. We don't have much time." The men nodded and started laying the armaments on the appointment desk. Patients who had overheard what was going on, who knew the Alpha was coming after Marcus for what he had done to them, started picking out things they were used to.

One thing about Northern Idaho was that pretty much everyone knew how to shoot, and many had military experience at some point. While they were getting weapons ready, Marcus gathered the Deputy and other men around a map to talk tactics.

"First off, boys, it's worse than I thought. I told you they were coming for me, but that's not all." He paused and looked down before looking him in the eyes. "I told you earlier that werewolf law was not to turn humans and not to let humans know we exist. Alpha Richard has decided that the new turns are a danger to him and his Pack, and so are humans knowing of us."

"Why? We've known your family for generations, Marcus!" Stanley Drummond shook his head.

"It's the way things are; or at least the way they were. Look, I told you we were a small Pack. Even after all the people who have been lost here, humans still outnumber wolves in this town by far, and wolves can still be killed by hunters. It may be paranoid, but it's consistent." He looked around, making sure to make eye contact with each one. "It's not all Alphas that are like that; Alpha Marcus, he bit every surviving citizen of his town just like I bit everyone here. We don't have central authority we can go to right now to resolve this, there are no communications, no law enforcement. Right now there is us and them, and they are coming for us."

Deputy Stevens nodded. "Then we'll be fucking ready for them." Using the map and Marcus' military experience, they identified likely attack paths and defensive emplacements. While they were working on this, men and women started pouring in to the building, all of them heavily armed and with serious faces. By the time everyone had been assigned, they had fifty shooters available on and inside the clinic and six surrounding buildings.

Marcus called them all together just before sundown. "My friends and neighbors, thank you for standing up for your town today. The people coming are coming to do you harm, and you cannot allow that to happen. Humans and werewolves need each other, now more than ever."

He waited for the murmuring to die down before continuing. "There is still a chance to fix this, to stop it before we kill each other, so I need you to give me that chance. When you are in place, pass word back to me if you spot men or wolves coming. It is CRUCIAL that no one starts shooting until Deputy Stevens orders it." He looked over to the Deputy who had an air horn in his hands. "When and ONLY when you hear the air horn, do you shoot until the threat is gone. Don't worry about me or anything else, we won't have anyone outside so if it moves, shoot until it doesn't. Got it?"

A chorus of "Yes Marcus" yells came back.

"One last thing. I'm going to go out and meet them and try to stop this." The murmurs started up again until he raised his hand. "If they shoot me or kill me, let them. Deputy, don't give that order for me, I'm going to do what I have to do out there. I'm still a Werewolf, so it's not your business. If they come past me to attack the Clinic, THEN it is your business. Got it?"

Deputy Stevens nodded, and walked forward to shake Marcus' hand. "Got it. Take care of yourself out there, Marcus."

"You too." Looking at the fading light coming in around the door, he looked at everyone one last time. "Time to take your positions, everyone. Good luck, and may God bless you."

The people covered up and moved out of the room, some heading back outside to their sniper positions on other buildings, and some to places in or on top of the clinic. Those who couldn't move were still arming themselves and taking defensive positions within the clinic. Soon Marcus was left with only Josi.

"You can't do this, Marcus. Don't sacrifice yourself."

"I have to do anything I can to stop this, Josi. All of these people, all those in the Pack, they are all my friends. If I have to be killed to keep my friends from killing each other, so be it. Now, I need you to be with my family." He pulled her into his side. "If I'm killed, it's going to be very hard on Rachel and Raven. Please, I need you with them, I need you to help them through this. You're family now."

She gave him one last hug, then pulled a towel over her head and put her sunglasses on. "You get your ass up to North Fork in one piece, Doc."

She walked out the door, not looking back, because she didn't have time to cry no matter how much she wanted to.

--

"Ready?" Silvia was behind the wheel of the classic car, Ray-Bans and a hooded sweatshirt on with thin gloves. The back seat was full with Abigail and the three children they had between them, all huddled together under a thick blanket for protection from the remaining sun. She also had a Glock in a shoulder holster and a pump shotgun between her hip and the door.

"Ready. As soon as I pull the door open, you fire up the engine and I'll jump in. Don't stop for anyone or anything, we have to get ahead of them if we're going to make it out of here. Just... don't kill them if you don't have to. They are my friends and family, even if they are trying to kill us." She had the door unlocked and was gripping the handle. "Three... two... one... GO!"

The door flew open as the V-8 engine roared to life. Rachel didn't open the door, it was a convertible so she jumped in just as Silvia was flooring it. They peeled tires out of the garage and tore down the short driveway to the main road.

The Pack members gathered in the covered porches of their homes reacted instantly. Some shifted and ran for them, others stayed in human form but raced to cut off their escape. Silvia turned onto the road, the back of the car skidding and knocking a grey wolf into the ditch. "GO GO GO!" Rachel grabbed her AR-15 and shot into the ground, stopping a group of four wolves in their tracks as they started to chase them, but more were coming from every angle.

"RACHEL! We're not going to make it to the highway!" She could see them, they had almost reached the cattle gate that separated their rural housing development from the main road. If they got it closed, all was lost.

Rachel spun back around and sat down, placing the rifle down she closed her eyes and focused inward. In her mind, she found the links connecting her to the Pack and her Alpha. She cut them.

Her scream shocked everyone in the car, Silvia looked over in shock to see if she had been hit, and even Abigail poked her head out quickly to see what had happened. She was breathing heavily, eyes closed with the pain of the pack bond being lost.

Rachel looked back to the gate, whatever she had done had affected all the other wolves as well. They were on their hands and knees, holding their heads as they screamed in pain. They shook it off and got up, but they had lost precious seconds, seconds that made the difference.

The old convertible caught air as it jumped over the concrete of the cattle gate. Silvia locked up the brakes and spun the wheel, power sliding on the dirt road until the tires found pavement. The tires screamed out as the engine roared, and they quickly left Rachel's home and life in the rear view mirror.

Back at the main house, Richard watched as his daughter sped away. The warriors of his pack ran back to the safety of the shade. His Beta, Ron Johnson, knelt in front of him. "Alpha? Should we pursue?"

He shook his head. "Leave her. She made her choice, and she can live with the consequences of it." He looked across, the setting sun was now behind the mountains. "Gather the men, we shift and head to town to finish this."

"NOT YET." The voice of the Pack Elder, Diane Moonbeam, rang out over the yard. She walked slowly across the yard, the men making way for her. Pack Elders had no official rank, but they were an impartial arbiter of Pack laws and traditions and even Alphas deferred to them for certain things. Stopping before Alpha Richard's imposing form, the five foot nothing great-great grandmother looked up at the man she used to change the diapers of. "A formal challenge to your leadership as Alpha has been filed. Call the pack together."

"Very well, Elder Diane." He sent out a mental communication, and soon all but one of the thirty nine remaining members of the Salmon Pack were gathered in the yard. They made their way as a group to the challenge circle. From the air or ground it looked like a circular oasis of grass in a formal garden. Werewolves knew better; none would walk into the circle willingly, there was too much blood and history in there.

Alpha Richard took Lisa's hand in his as he walked, scanning the group for his son and not finding him. When they reached the edge, he looked around and saw no one standing opposite him. The Pack was just as confused, the young men were looking around in panic and frantically trying to mind link with Reggie, but he was not answering.

"Elder Diane, do I have a challenger?"

"Yes." She looked around the group. "Challenger, enter the circle." No one moved at first, and then Lisa dropped Richard's hand and walked to the center.

"LISA! What are you doing?" Richard fell to his knees, the realization hitting him of what she was doing. "Stop this foolishness, please!"

She looked at him with disdain. "My mate, that's EXACTLY what I have been saying to you all night. Stop this foolishness. You can't order the death of your son, widow your own flesh and blood and order the deaths of an entire town. MADNESS! They are not our enemy. Right now, you are."

"You are my mate, my life, my equal in all things. You can't challenge me, you are our Luna, our Alpha Female!" He was starting to panic, she wasn't bluffing.

"Actually, Alpha," Diane said, "The Pack Laws contain no restrictions on who can challenge, as long as they are supported by at least 25% of the adult members."

Lisa smiled. "Who stands with me? We can't attack our friends, coworkers, and innocent humans. Everything changed with the solar storm, and our laws must as well. We have seen or heard of three wolves find their mates in the past few days, including my son, and all with humans. How many wolves will lose their mates if we wipe out this town?" She looked around. "Are you willing to risk the future of you children on a fear of what MIGHT happen? Or should we focus on making sure that the new wolves get through the change and strengthen our Pack?"

The members started to move as they talked and linked amongst themselves. Slowly, six people lined up behind her.

"Six isn't enough," Richard said. "Please, baby... withdraw the challenge. Go home."

"You know I can't, Richard. Now that the challenge has been made, now that I am in the circle, I can only fight you or be killed." She looked around. Realization hit more people, if two more didn't stand up for her, their Luna and the one they all looked up to as a surrogate Mother would be killed by them.

Four more people quickly moved behind her.

"The requirements for a valid challenge to the Alpha position have been met," said Elder Diane. "Alpha, you must step in the ring to fight to the death, or you can concede the challenge and the position and put yourself at her mercy."

His shoulders slumping, Richard looked into the eyes of his mate. She met his gaze, anger and determination blazing in her eyes. "So be it." And he took a step.

--

It was just getting dark as Silvia's car entered town. They had been able to put the blanket in their laps and take off the sunglasses, and that made it easy to see what was happening.

War.

Rachel scanned the rooftops, she counted over a dozen firing positions, most with scoped rifles. As they pulled into view of the clinic, she could see more on the roof, in the yard and behind vehicles in the parking lot. She frantically tried to link Marcus, but he wasn't responding. Her eyes went forward, she saw Josi standing outside the bank. "Up there," she said, pointing at the bank parking lot.

Soon she was embraced in a hug as a heavily armed Josi ran to the passenger door. She returned the embrace, then pushed her back so she could look at her. "Where's Marcus?"