49. That worked?

S tanding in front of the human, with Harlow on the other side of him, Foxx removed the illusion. "Hi!" he beamed with a wide smile as he yanked the man's goggles off and tossed them aside, revealing some thick ass rounded glasses.

The human jumped back and pulled out his gun, but Harlow grabbed it from him without much effort, chuckling. "I'll take that."

Yeah, that doctor had given Harlow some good fucking drugs if the dhampir was able to move that fast without even a wince.

When the guy started to spray him, Foxx giggled. "No, sorry, vampire, not werewolf," even as his nose wrinkled at the smell. Though he couldn't say he didn't prefer it to the human's body odor.

As someone who grew up in the Middle Ages, where foul odors were basically an unavoidable life hardship…he'd always found it shocking how many still loved to ignore the invention of deodorant.

Foxx tsked at the man's horrified expression when the guy spun around, looking back and forth from him to Harlow, seeming at a loss for what to do.

"Oh, look at that, Foxx. You were right, he's not a hunter." Harlow smirked. "So…how is that bastard Maverick doing? Besides being more criminally insane than before. Does he talk about me much? Man did love to bitch."

"Meep!" the human squeaked.

"That's an interesting sound… Anyway, you are going to do something for us," Foxx announced with an evil smile. Grabbing the man by the throat, he batted Harlow's hands away when Mr. Brainiac decided to try to run for it. "Yeah, you, no touch, Harlow. We don't need you to accidentally kill him."

"Right…" Harlow sighed, the dhampir eyeing the man. "I don't think he'll be able to lie for us… Like I feel we can get him to do it…but I don't think Maverick, or whoever the hell he reports to, will believe him."

Foxx glanced up at the human's face, not that he really needed to see his expression. Without looking, he had already known the man had been scared. He'd felt it. The human was shaking in his hold like a leaf, too petrified to even try to fight his way free. Which was…pathetic… Foxx was barely fucking holding on to his throat.

"Well…while the other may not work, we could try mind control?" Foxx suggested. "All we need him to do is check in and lie."

"Will that even work? He may be just a follower, but he no doubt has built up a resistance, simply due to the company he was in. And likely his fear now." Harlow's mouth twisted in disgust. "He just pissed himself…"

Glancing down, Foxx's nose wrinkled as he eyed the puddle. "Looks like seat covers will be in order. But I wasn't suggesting that I attempt to use mind control on him, but for you to. He no doubt has resistance to mine, but yours is another matter. Your mind is set up to easily control vampires. Maybe not vampires my age, but ones old enough that a human should be no issue."

"I w-won't t-tell anyone anything!" the human bolstered, in a pathetic boost of bravery.

Foxx hissed, flashing both fangs. The man cowered back, his eyes avoiding his as he shut his mouth. Ugh…Maverick sure wasn't hiring brave people.

"Didn't my brain just fuck up less than five minutes ago?"

"That's different. Just try."

"Let me clarify, Foxx. I have no clue how to use mind control…"

"Pft." Foxx waved his hand. "No worries, it's easy! All you have to do is stare into his eyes and project your will and thoughts!"

Harlow stared at Foxx, wishing he could project logic into the vampire's head. He was like three weeks into this shit, and his brain was still fucking up… Not to mention his strength was still…many hidden and non-hidden broken things out of control.

"Yeah…that sounds… so easy."

"It is, just try!" Foxx huffed.

"Y-you won't su-succeed, vampire!" the human squeaked.

He eyed the man who Foxx, honest to all fuck, looked to be only lightly grabbing. Like, what a pathetic piece of shit. But then that was usually who Maverick found to lick his ass.

Harlow smiled, flashing his fangs. "Your problem, human, is that I'm not a vampire."

At least…he hoped he was his problem… Here…goes nothing , he thought as Foxx's hold switched to the man's shoulders, and he firmly turned the human so he was facing him straight on.

Staring into the man's eyes, Harlow thought and…pushed his…will? Mainly thinking, let me in, let me in . No super sophisticated thoughts going on, he'd admit.

After a few moments, Harlow found himself rambling out loud as well. "Let me into your brain so we can get this fucking over with, because it's weird to stare into someone's eyes for this long, when I, in fact, want to punch them in the face."

Brow raised, Foxx peeked around the man and giggled. "Well…it's not the most poetic way to hypnotize someone, but…it appears to have worked." Foxx released the man and stepped to his side.

Harlow blinked, and realized the eyes he was staring into were now hazy and dazed. "Wow…can't believe that fucking worked…"

Really…how did that fucking work? He literally big bad wolfed it. Life was…weird.

"Told you it was easy! Well, when there is no resistance, that is. And since he's not a vampire, no resistance!"

"Fucking hell, apparently. Now I just…direct him?"

"Preferably just in your head, as it's not really necessary to say it out loud. Just like you did to take over, push the commands at him."

"Okay."

Sighing, he did just that, pushing all he wanted the man to do in one thought, and…it worked. Just like that… What even…was his life…?

The man blinked, staring as if he didn't see them, and pulled out his phone, dialing an apparently unsaved number. Both of them remained quiet as it rang, tensing when the person picked up.

"Therman Prickly reporting in. Authorization code, 668903."

Therman ?

"Report, Therman," a voice said, one he recognized instantly—it was Maverick.

They shared a look. Foxx was smiling, while his expression remained neutral… Mainly as he was still kind of baffled this all had fucking worked.

"They are all dead."

"WHAT?! Already?! How?! There's been no news except for a report of a measly six werewolves dying! There should have been over a hundred of them! There's no way hunters could have taken them all out in a few hours! There hasn't even been enough noise for them to have been called!"

"It appears those six were separated from the group at the time, but the rest had gathered together at their Alpha's mansion. Someone must have realized what was happening. I found them locked in… The beasts tore each other apart. It's a bloodbath inside."

"Fucking useless animals!" Maverick growled, his voice a deep rumble at the end. "Barely any effort was needed on their part, yet they couldn't even do the one task worth their measly existence right."

Therman didn't say anymore, he just kind of kept standing there staring blankly.

"Is there more?!" Maverick barked impatiently a few moments later.

Harlow, on realizing he hadn't told him to actually end the call with his previous thought, quickly pushed the man to say whatever he normally would before ending a call with Maverick, while staying appropriate for the situation.

"The task is complete, even if it was a failure. What would you have me do now?"

The other man sighed. "Nothing. Hide… We can't risk you being seen. You haven't been seen , have you?" Maverick asked harshly, his voice suspicious.

"No."

Harlow pushed the lie past the man's lips quickly. This mind control shit was harder than it looked. Like, the person wouldn't do much beyond what you specifically told them to do. Which meant no intuitive thinking of any kind was happening.

"Good. Keep it that way. Now leave, as soon as possible. The risk of them connecting those six wolves back to this pack is high. I'm sure it's only by God's will that they haven't already. I'll be in touch soon before the next phase is set to begin."

Luckily, he didn't need to make the man say anything else…as Maverick hung up.

Harlow grabbed the phone from Therman's hand. Making sure it actually was disconnected, he turned it off. "That was…interesting." He looked to Foxx, and then to the still dazed expression on the human's face. "Now what?"

Foxx hummed. "We could…chain him up in the cabin, check him for more poison, and then I suppose head to Doc's with it? It's not like we can take him to the Guild… We technically aren't even supposed to go near human cases. And he is human."

"Ah…I mean, that's for official cases. None of what we are doing is officially anything at the moment. In fact…as far as the government, and everyone outside our circle, is concerned…it never even happened. But why my cabin?"

"I mean…it's not like we can take him to Doc's… I'm pretty sure he'd die if we took him there, because of…"

"Santiago," Harlow finished for him. "Yeah, I imagine him, and whatever other wolves he has there, will want him dead. Ugh…another bastard in my cabin."

"Oh, no worries. I'm sure he will die at some point. I doubt Santiago will ultimately let him live, even if he backs off for now. Therman here is as good as dead, once he is no longer useful."

Harlow snorted. "Between the wolves and the government, he will die. The man is a terrorist. They brought back the death penalty country-wide after you all were revealed. And the language was not specific either. So, like you said, he's as good as dead."