5. Warwick

Chapter 5

"What are the chances we can enter that place and get to the coven master?" Atticus asked as we were standing across the street from the office building I'd tracked Dominic to. I snorted at his question.

"You aren't serious, are you?"

"I sort of was. But Brice would probably have my ass if I attempted it." I snorted again. Atticus looked at me and shook his head. "Shut up. Fine. So we can't go in there and look for the coven master."

I rolled my eyes. "Since when did two hellhounds ever enter into an unknown situation once we were all working for the council?"

"Valid point. It wasn't unheard of for one of us to leap first into an unknown situation before coming to this realm though."

That was true. All of us had been like that. If not, we were simply removed from existence. I wasn't sure why we had been sent here, but I guess I was happy rather than having been killed like so many others. Perhaps our creator simply wished for us to be banished here so we would cause so much havoc on his sister's paranormals. Who knew except him?

"So what is the plan?" I asked Atticus.

"Well, we're here to talk to Dominic and then take him back to Treasure Ridge. Master Edison will be watching over him closely. The coven here isn't registered, which is going to make things more difficult. But Salvatore and his team are going to be looking into everything related to RC Transport. If your guy Dominic isn't overly useful with information, we'll have to figure out how else to get it. But I have faith in Salvatore. He managed to stay ahead of Orson and Marvin for years. I'm sure he can dig up more about Master Conti than the coven master expects."

I thought about it a moment before nodding. Atticus tilted his head again, and we started walking away from the building. "Dominic said he was in marketing. I'm not sure what all he'll have information-wise."

"That's fine. Any set of names he can provide will help."

"True."

"We need to make sure his family is relocated."

I made eye contact with someone as they walked by, but when I pushed out, they didn't give off any sort of paranormal aura. But when you were as tall and large as I was, it wasn't unusual for me to draw attention. "He said he's an only child, and his parents are gone. He's not a young warlock."

"No extended family?"

"He didn't say. If so, I get the feeling he's not close to them." We walked a few more steps and then turned down an alleyway. "He mentioned that those that tried to leave the coven weren't allowed. Some were forcefully brought back, while others never returned. I have a feeling it's not because they were able to get away." This coven sounded like bad news all around. I wasn't sure exactly how Master Edison planned on addressing things, but I really wanted to be there if he was the one who confronted the coven master. He had a certain way about him, and, well, he was the created warlock.

"Do you have his address?"

"Whose?"

Atticus rolled his eyes at me. "Dominic's. Do you know where he lives?"

"Oh. Yeah, give me a sec." I pulled out my phone and opened the notes app. I quickly found Dominic's home address. He lived in an apartment, but it seemed as if most people did. He had a bit of a commute between home and work, and I had to wonder if that was because he wanted to be away from work or if it was because he lived in a coven house.

"Second floor. Well, even if there isn't an elevator, at least the stairs won't be too many." Atticus sighed. "It could always be worse. He could live on the thirty-eighth floor in a high-rise in New York and the elevator broke."

I chuckled. "You sound as if you are speaking from experience. But there are taller buildings."

Atticus snorted. "I am, and that wasn't even halfway up. But there was the sweetest older lady that lived down the hallway, and she was so upset that the elevator wasn't working. I was on my way there for a hookup, and she happened to be there. I carried her up thirty-eight flights. It wasn't an issue for me, but it changed my mood after, and I was no longer interested in hooking up. The guy didn't take too kindly to that, so I dumped him and left. A week later, I moved to Montana and started working for Alpha War as a sheriff's deputy."

I'd say that was fate working in an oddball roundabout way for certain. I'd seen how Atticus was before he was with Brice and how much he'd rounded him out. They were good for each other. I would like a mate of my own, but I knew it would take a very special someone to be able to put up with my grumpy ass. And, well, I wasn't exactly as good-looking as the other hellhounds. I was overly large, had a naturally resting grump face, and looked like a beast. My hair was unruly, as was my beard. In short, I wasn't much to look at, and I knew it. I had just always chalked it up to our master having had a bad day when he created me.

"All right," Atticus said, pulling me out of my own head. "Let's head over to his place and gather some things for him. If his coven is what it sounds like it is, he's not going back, so we need to put everything in storage. We'll gather up a few bags of things to make him comfortable, but otherwise, we should put everything into storage in Montana.

I nodded. There was a secure place for such things that Master Edison had ensured that no trackers could penetrate. Everything would be gone through and cleared, and if such devices were found, they would be destroyed. This wasn't the first time we'd had to bring large amounts of things from one place to another.

Atticus and I both looked around the alleyway, and when it was clear, we popped close to the address. It was a charming building, like many were, and had a canal as well as several gondolas and other types of boats docked out front. I shook my head, wondering if they actually used that as a means to get from place to place.

When we entered the building, the box on the wall let us know it only houses eight apartments—so two per floor.

"What's his number?" Atticus asked again.

I glanced at my phone. "2B."

We took the stairs several at a time, and when we were on the second floor, apartment B was to our left. We heard loud noises coming from it before we even got to the door. Atticus and I looked at each other, both knowing what it meant.

"We're too late. How quick do you think they got here?" he asked.

"Probably right after Dominic left with me." I grinned. "Feel like having a little showdown and getting some warlocks to question about certain activities?"

Atticus's grin was malicious. "Oh yeah. Shift once we're inside."

I chuckled, more than ready for this. Atticus tried the door, but it was locked. That was soon resolved, and once we were inside, I shifted. My beast was huge, and in this form, my head came up to Atticus's, which is most likely why he asked me to shift. My beast was incredibly happy to be out, and it only took seconds for us to locate where the noise was coming from. The living space in front of us was already disheveled, everything having been turned over and most of it destroyed. I followed Atticus, and once we were inside the doorway to the right, we encountered four warlocks.

"Do you really need to destroy everything?" Atticus asked.

One had noticed as we entered the doorway, but at the sight of me, his eyes rounded, and he froze. The other three turned at the sound of Atticus's voice. Two were smart and mirrored the first's reaction to seeing my beast with flaming eyes staring at them, while the last apparently was dumb. He tried to throw a magic ball at us, but when it suddenly bounced and flew back to hit him, he hit the floor.

"The council would like to question the three of you," Atticus said.

Eyes widened, and I growled when one's hand started to glow purple. Immediately, the color disappeared, and Atticus shook his head. He raised his own hand, and for dramatics, he snapped his fingers. All three were suddenly gone, and I didn't have to ask where they'd been sent.

I shifted and walked over to the last warlock and sighed. "He's dead."

"That's his own fault. It was his magic ball that killed him. He was trying to kill us, so he got what he deserved."

I didn't disagree. It just sucked because our luck would be that he was the one we most likely needed to talk to about things. Oh well.

"Shall we send his body to the council?" I asked. When I looked back at Atticus, he had his phone out. I waited as he typed on it.

"No. Master Edison said to get Dominic's clothes. He's asked for his books that are on the small shelf in his bedroom, as well as the box hidden in the wall in his closet. Other than that, he doesn't want or need anything else."

I shrugged. We were in the bedroom. I found the bookshelf, and although it had been tipped forward, it didn't appear that they'd destroyed anything in it. I quickly righted it, putting the books back, and sent it and the books to the secure storage the council had. Atticus had several bags suddenly packed on the bed and was shaking his head.

"What?"

"Do you think it's all warlocks and vampires with the suits? Or just some?" he asked and then pointed to the bags. "Three of those are suits."

I snorted. There were only five bags on the bed. Three were obviously garment bags, and that would be where the suits were. "Master Edison is always in a suit. Same as Master Ambrosius. You'd have to ask them if it's a requirement or something."

Atticus gave me a look as if I had lost my mind. I shrugged before moving to the closet, which was now empty. "Where do you think this box is?"

Atticus joined me. "The message said it's hidden in the wall on the right side."

I gestured to the closet and stepped back. There was no way I was going to be able to fit my massive frame in the closet, so I let Atticus step in. I was glancing at the bags on the bed, wondering how he'd gotten all of those clothes in the closet, when Atticus stepped out and held out a box.

"What's in it?"

"Not sure. It's sealed with his magic. I don't detect any sort of tracker, but he could be blocking that. I'll let him open it in front of Master Edison at the storage facility." Atticus tossed the box toward the bed, and it disappeared before it landed on the luggage. "You ready?" he asked. "Sorry to say your vacation is going to be readjusted. You'll need to go back to the council for a day before you can continue on with your time off."

I glared at Atticus. "I'm done with vacation. I want on this assignment. I was the one who happened onto it. I should be assigned to it."

Atticus nodded. "I'll mention it to Master Edison." Atticus didn't pick our assignment rotation, but I knew he understood my statement. This was most likely going to be a large assignment and would require several enforcers. There was a lot to unpack, and it was going to take some time. I glanced around the room again. Time didn't seem as if it were something we had a lot of.

"What about him?" I asked.

"We're to leave him. The coven will most likely send others here when those four don't return and don't check in. The coven will find him dead and the others missing. Master Edison wants to see how the coven master reacts." Atticus held up his phone. "Back to your room, and once you're packed, we can head back to Montana."

I nodded before I left Dominic's apartment and then reappeared in my hotel room. It was empty except for my things, which were still mostly packed. I hadn't unpacked much, and with a little magic, that was taken care of, and then I left my key card on the dresser and thought about home. I was instantly standing in my place behind the council building, and after dropping my bag, I popped over to the council building's entrance.

"Slater," I said as I entered. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"I thought you were on vacation?"

"I was. Things changed. Is Atticus around?"

Slater shook his head. "Haven't seen him. Was he supposed to be here?"

I didn't know for certain. I couldn't believe I'd beat him back. Unless he'd not come back to the council building. It was possible he had gone to the storage facility.

"Thanks," I told him before I turned and walked back out of the building. Once outside, I pulled out my phone and texted Atticus.

Me: Did you make it back?

Seconds later, I got my reply.

Atticus: Yes. I'm with Master Edison and the others. You are to take the rest of the day off.

My beast and I were irritated when I read that reply.

Atticus: You're not being excluded. You just need to wait. I'll come by later. But you weren't supposed to be working.

Even more irritation. It was starting to border into anger.

Atticus: Master Edison said you will be able to work this assignment. Just tomorrow after a plan has been formulated.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I could live with that. I wasn't being excluded, which made my beast happy. I would be able to help with this assignment, which I assumed would be several weeks at minimum. That was exactly what I was looking for. I needed to be busy, and a longer assignment would work perfectly.

Since I was home early and didn't have anything to do until I could be caught up tomorrow, I decided to go for a run. I glanced at my place as I walked through and shook my head. I hadn't forgotten that I was going to make it nicer. I would do that after a long run. I knew how to decorate. Sort of. But I'd just never bothered because… I stopped with my hand on the back doorknob. Why hadn't I decorated? I always enjoyed things when I visited others, so why hadn't I put in the effort to make my place nice?

I didn't have an answer, and that had me thinking. I shook my head, and after stepping outside, I knelt down and shifted. I shook out my fur and took off, immediately sprinting toward Dragon Falls. I wasn't planning on going to the falls though, just in that general direction.

My mind was usually clearer when I was in my beast form, but today, it seemed just as jumbled as it was when I was in my human form. There was a lot going on, and my beast wasn't sure which to tackle first. The upcoming assignment, helping Dominic if at all possible, decorating my place and trying to be more approachable to not only my packmates but other enforcers, or my beast's unusual draw toward the omega clinic.

I knew no pregnant omegas. I was sure there was a mate somewhere that was pregnant, but nobody in our pack had a pregnant mate. They were all alphas. Damien and Atticus were both mated, but their mates weren't omegas. I was too antisocial to talk to most other enforcers, so I couldn't say who had kids or didn't, who had a pregnant mate and who didn't. It wasn't something that had been important to me. But then why was my beast drawn to the omega clinic?

I slid to a stop, a thought crossing my mind. I'd been around Dr. King many times, but the warlock hadn't shown interest in me. I shook my head, and my beast took that opportunity to do another full-body shake. I was certain the doctor wasn't my mate. He was a warlock. If he'd known I was his mate, he would have said something. So why, then? Perhaps it simply boiled down to the fact that there were omegas there, and I was an enforcer, and it was my job to keep them safe.

With that thought in mind, I started running again. I made it to the small clearing where I'd seen the teenage polar bear last week and turned in the direction I'd seen him go. I knew that would lead me toward a few of the created ones' houses, but I had no plans on invading anyone's privacy by getting too close. I simply wanted to head toward the gorge and then magically pop myself down to the bottom of the ravine so I could run.

I heard a noise a few minutes later, though, that drew my attention. I zeroed in on it and quietly followed the sounds coming from a cluster of trees. When I saw who I assumed was that same teenager growling and clawing at a tree, then growling and pushing on it, I realized he was most likely having a temper tantrum. I hadn't looked into any polar bears in the council. I knew there were some, obviously, but I didn't know who this kid belonged to.

He growled again, scratched at the ground, and then charged the tree. He pushed on it with his feet and then scratched the bark. I felt bad for the tree, but the damage had already been done. Sure, I could magically fix it once he was finished, but I didn't know who he was or what his issue was.

When he sat back, huffed, and then made a mournful sound, I became worried, as did my beast. He was pushing me to make my presence known. I wasn't sure how I could help the kid, but if nothing else, maybe I could somehow get him to someone that could help.

I stepped out of the spot I'd been in behind some trees, and immediately, the young cub stood and spun around growling. He stopped when he saw me. I moved closer, and when we were a few feet apart, I shifted. "Do you need help?" I asked. "I can talk to someone if you'd like. Are you having problems at home or something?" The cub raised his nose, sniffing the air. He froze, and I held up my hands, hoping to calm him. "I won't hurt you. I'm an enforcer, but you should know that if you're here on the mountain. Who can I contact to help you?" I pointed toward the tree. "I understand frustration. Trust me, I truly do."

I watched as he started to shift, and seconds later, he was crouched on the ground in front of me. When he glanced up, I realized I'd seen him around before, only not up close. But I'd seen him talking with Dr. King. I tilted my head to the side. As I studied him, I realized he wasn't a teenager at all. He was an omega though, and that most likely attributed to his small size when shifted, not that he was overly large in his human form. He was cute though.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Warwick," I told him. "I work for the council." I waited for him to share his own name. He looked at me expectantly, but I wasn't sure what he wanted or needed beyond my name.

He sighed and then plopped down onto the forest floor. I cringed at the thought of all of the dirt and pine needles on his bare behind, so I used some magic to give him at least a pair of sweats. He gasped as he glanced down at himself before groaning.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked as I moved closer and sat in front of him.

Brown eyes met mine and simply stared.