Wolf Bite

Chapter One.

  The only reason Bane was awake by noon could have been for several reasons. Maybe a girl from the bar had stayed the night instead of slipping out and her head was currently in between his thighs. Maybe some fool had decided his shabby, little house was perfect to break into and he was gonna be able to let loose some pent up frustration. Maybe he had finally gotten enough sleep and his body had naturally woken up when it decided hibernation was finished. 

  However, he hadn't been at the bar last night. He had made it common place knowledge that the house at the end of the road was the worst location for a thief to enter. And, he hadn't even been sleeping last night. No, last night, he'd been running on four paws through Forest Park in Queens while covered in fur due to the calling of the moon. So, no girl, no thief, no sleep.

  So, what could be the only reason Bane was awake by noon the day after a full moon? It'd probably be because this was the seventeenth time his phone was blaring and vibrating across the wood floor where it lay after the seventh ring had prompted him to launch it across the room. And what could have possibly been so important that anyone with his number, which was an admittedly short list, would have woken him at this time? He'd find that out after he got through cussing out whoever was blaring their way through his coma.

  "Wha' in the hell do you want at this godforsaken hour on this damn day, you motherfucker? Do you not fuckin' understand the damn importance of not pissing off a lone Wolf the day after the full fuckin' moon, you twisted fucktard? Do you want me to hunt you the fuck down an' eat you an' your children whole?!" He snarl-slurred into the phone when he finally had stomped across the freezing cold room to retrieve the vibrating hunk of metal.

  "Boy, you couldn't even fit my dick into your mouth, let alone me and my children," a bored voice drawled back to him.

  "Well then, I guess I'd have to take bites," Bane retorted, already knowing the coming response.

  "Now that's just cruel," Alpha North Wildes groaned audibly over the phone. Bane could just picture him protectively cupping himself as he thought it over. North tended to get sympathy pains if a picture was graphic enough, physical, emotional, or mental. It wasn't the first time he'd used it in a banter with the Alpha.

  "I was serious, you know," Bane interrupted the man's complaining. "So, are you gonna tell me what you want or do I need to plan a one way visit to the Compound one of these days?"

  "Oh well, you should plan a visit anyway. Matty's been wondering when you're gonna come back. He really misses you. Just the other day, he announced that he was gonna send you a letter demanding you return or he was gonna march down there and shake you by the scruff before dragging you back."

  "Hah. I'd like to see the pup try," Bane snorted in bemusement as he went back to the bed and pulled his blanket around his shoulders like a cape. All he wanted was to go back to bed and slip back into a coma till work the next day. 

  "You know, you may be surprised!" North laughed proudly. "He's getting pretty strong. I was wrestling with him the other day and he almost ripped out my Achilles Heel, the bastard. Mavis told me that he's top of-"

  "North. I had a shit night and I'm dead tired. Why the hell did you wake me?" Bane interrupted.

  The Alpha on the line sighed. It was a heavy sigh that immediately alerted Bane to the fact something had happened. Something drastic and horrible.

  "We had another attack last night," he deadpanned quietly. Bane stilled.

  When Bane went still, he went still. Nothing in the room moved. His ears were on high alert for even the quietest sound; he could hear North pulling at a loose thread in his jeans. His nose went into overdrive and he could smell one of the allnighters Phil let stay in the bar stumble out in all his drunk human stench. Without turning his head, not even the dust settling on the spiderweb in the corner of the room escaped his gaze.

  "How many?" He whispered.

  North sighed heavily again. "Bane, you know I know it wasn't you, but I have to ask. The Council wants it on file. Where was your shift last night?"

  "Are-are you serious right now?" Bane snapped in shock.

  "You're the only known lone in New York City, boy. So, watch your tone and answer the damn question. Where was your damn shift and do you have evidence to corroborate it?" North snarled loudly.

  "Queens. Forest Park. You should be able to find footage of my car arriving and leaving," Bane replied. "And I registered it with the Council before I left in the afternoon."

  Bane just wanted to get answers, not deal with a twitchy Wolf. He tended to forget he wasn't the only one who had issues after a full moon. But even remembering that didn't deter him from what he wanted. "Now, how many?"

  "Three vics. Just outside Fort Tilden. It's a mess." North explained. His voice was still quiet but held a tone of respect for the dead. The joy and amusement that had tainted the tone of their banter was nonexistent, killed by a violent truth.

  "Who found it?"

  "One of Madd's patrols. Luke, one of the newbies, scented blood from over a mile away and led the unit there." A touch of impressment twisted North's voice for a moment before vanishing. "They reported it to Madd and he called me. I told him I'd call you if he called Wolfe. We're all supposed to convene in about two hours."

  Bane's face twisted. "I'm not pack. Go convene with them. I don't want anything to do with your damn politics." 

  North snarled into the phone; Bane could hear his grip tighten on it as the Alpha's eyes probably went silver. "You'll do as your told, boy. Or I'll rescind immunity." His voice was cold and low.

  Bane growled lowly. North growled back. Both of their growls grew steadily stronger and steadily louder. He didn't have to look in the mirror next to his bed to know that his eyes had gone golden as the beast that was always close to the surface of Bane's skin rose to the challenge. 

  Taking orders was not something either of them liked. Biologically, neither one was built for it. Both of them were Alphas, even if only one of them had a pack. Technically, that pack meant North ranked higher so Bane should've given in, even if there was a strong chance the other Wolf was stronger. But either way, neither was about to let the other try and pull rank.

  The sound of a click, and the following voice, as another phone joined the conversation snapped the two men from trying to jump at each others throats over the phone. North's teeth even audibly snapped together.

  "Boys, boys. You're both pretty," a woman's voice cut smoothly into their snarling with the practiced ease of a mother separating her children.

  "Mom, what're-"

  "North, be quiet," the woman interrupted the Alpha. Bane raised his eyebrow. North growled slightly but otherwise let her continue. "Now, now is not the time to be growling at each other like pups. We have a murder to clean up, a Rogue to catch, and a peace to restore. North, you go get Matty ready for daycare and then get your behind to the scene. Bane, your skills are needed and we're not bringing in someone else this late in the game. Keep the peace and get your behind there. Neither of you have a choice. Now get moving." This was promptly followed by another click as she hung up.

  "She's as dramatic as ever," Bane commented quietly, choosing to address her exit rather than anything else after a moment. This time he was examining his eyes in the mirror. Some liquid gold was still speckling the brown.

  North released a tense laugh. "Something like that." His own eyes probably still had some silver in them. But the fight had been successfully averted and the Alpha wasn't going to have issues with the lone Wolf.

  "I said to get moving!" The female voice returned dully over the Alpha's phone. The men laughed lightly.

  "See you soon?" North asked. Bane responded with a grunt before hanging up.

  Tossing his phone onto the bed, he flopped backwards and threw an arm over his eyes. Exhaustion threatened to take him again. "Ah, fuck me," he snarled quietly to himself before rolling off the bed and making his way to the bathroom.