A Pack of Misfits

Chapter Five - Madness, Magic, and Mistakes

I had made in the door just before the rain really broke loose.

Thunder, lightning, the works and more. The ground outside was quickly turning into a muddy nightmare, while the sky above released a storm of biblical proportions.

I was almost jealous of people who were watching this moon in distant lands – and even those that could see traces of it during the day – because simply being able witness this moon eclipse was certainly going to be a life achievement. And now there was no chance that I was going to get to see even a glimpse of it tonight.

Shaking off my damp jacket, I took off my shoes and headed past the living room, towards the set of stairs leading to the basement.

"Everything all right in here?" I asked, walking down the steps into the well-lit basement. First thing I saw was a grey floor, followed by the grey stone walls. Attached to those walls were silver infused chains – for the two werewolves. Thor was sat on one side of the room, silver clasps that were attached to those chains wrapped around her wrists. In addition, there was also a collar made of metal and silver around her neck, just for precautions. Jalex was sat against the far side of the room – Thor was to the right of the stairs, Jalex being directly opposite them – patiently waiting for Artemis to finish securing her restraints. I could see her eyes already going hazy and distant as she lost focus and became consumed by the burning in her blood.

I sat myself down three steps from the basement floor and crossed my arms over my knees. "Thor, how are you holding up?" I asked, observing the way Thor sat cross-legged, almost meditative.

Her curly brown hair bounced with the force which she looked up at me with. "Ah, doing just great, brother!" Was her reply. I smiled wryly back at her, knowing that it was a lie, but appreciating her bravery, nonetheless.

"You ready for tonight? You only need hang in there till morning. Unlike normal heats, this one is only influenced by the eclipse, so by the time the sun rises, this should all be behind us." Thor nodded back at me, knowing that I said that more for the benefit of my own nerves, although I hoped I at least provided comfort to her as well. "If you guys need anything, we'll be just upstairs, alright? We'll watch over you three."

"Yeah, if Alpha over here doesn't fall asleep on the couch or something stupid!" Artemis joked as she finished up with Jalex, walking over to the opposite side of the room to check on the completely improvised containment cell we had put together for Annabelle.

Annabelle's laughter could be heard from inside the box structure. Honestly, I had no idea what we were going for here, but it had been a brainchild of the vampire and the slayer, my only real involvement was production or procurement of the materials. Some whipped together box that should have been able to contain her for the night, with wood imbued with holy water – that particular ingredient had been provided by Artemis, and boy if it hadn't made Annabelle edge ever so slightly away from her.

Thor growled suddenly, body jerking towards us, chains snapping taught.

Unprepared, I jumped a little, and Artemis flinched and whipped around. Not that she would ever admit to flinching.

"Ok, Alpha, I think it's time to get out of here." Artemis hurried past me up the stairs as Jalex began to howl, animalistic noises tearing from her still-human throat. From within the box Annabelle was in, I could hear scratching and scraping and violent shuffling, and other-worldly noises that made the hair on my arms stand on end.

"Good luck you guys! Keep it together for us!" I yelled over their cries, as I too hightailed it up the stairs, shutting the basement door as soon as I was out. With a flick of my wrist, the door clicked and locked itself shut – while I had little faith it would do anything against three heat crazed beings with super-strength, it added a small measure of comfort. Not for my safety, but that if anything got past me and Artemis, they'd have to deal with a magically locked door too.