"What are we gonna do?" Maria asked Dustin as she rocked back in her chair.

"I'm fucked if I know. Though, I do know Kelvin isn’t going to take anything lying down. You know he's a cheeky, clever thing, so one whiff of escape and he's gonna be off like a shot."

"I hope to God that you're right."

Dustin cocked his head at an angle. "Gabriel’s back."

He was right. Five minutes later, Gabriel walked through the office door. He dropped his helmet onto the couch and sat next to it. He had a strange expression Dustin noticed, half perplexed and half happy.

"You have an eventful day?"

"You could say that. I got to Noelle's parents, and they have no idea where they could have taken Kelvin. If it isn't the old industrial park, they don't know of anywhere that’s safe."

"Why do you have a grin on your face then?"

"I bumped into an old friend, she… she was at the end of Garrett's driveway when I was leaving.

"Don't you think that's a bit of a coincidence?" Dustin asked.

"Megan, it was only Megan!"

"Ah! Noelle's cousin. She used to be a hunter," Maria explained to Dustin. "Gab and she had a bit of a thing going on, back in the day."

"What about Tanya?"

"Anyway, never mind, she’s coming around tomorrow. I need some consoling," Gabriel replied.

"Consoling, my ass, you’re going for a sympathy fu—”

Maria shoved her fingers in her ears and belted out la, la, la so she wouldn’t hear the rest of Dustin’s words.

"So! You’re changing your desired alpha mate candidate, just as simple as that?"

"Hell no! Megan is human. She’s like me, so we’re a little more compatible at the moment, or at least until I get the chance to change back."

Maria gathered that they had finished the talk of a new bedmate for Gabriel. She pulled her fingers from her ears and joined back into the conversation.

"You never mentioned Megan in your list of crushes?" she probed. "It was Tanya, Jemma… and me."

Dustin snapped his head in Maria's direction. Gabriel coughed and hid half of his face behind the back of his hand. "Megan was a long time ago. You know that. And you also know she was a real handful."

"She was narcissistic. I remember when she came walking into the bedroom one time."

Dustin turned to each in turn. His finger first pointed at Gabriel, and then he looked at Maria. "You mean you two… did the deed?" he asked.

"I had reasons," Maria replied, "and it wasn't for his charm."

"What do you mean you had reasons?" Dustin and Gabriel asked together in unison.

"Quiet. That’s my secret. The less said about that, the better."

Dustin sat there with an image in his mind. It wasn't the best of images, because he’d looked at Maria as a daughter. Gabriel had taken his daughter and ravaged her weak body. Hang on, Maria isn't weak, and she said she had reasons. Declan must have had something to do with this.

"I'm going up to check on Kat.” Dustin stood and put his hand on the door handle. “Seeing as Kelvin is MIA."

He opened the door and stepped into the lobby. It felt silent, and he was finally away from the sexual energy that was filling the office. He poked his head back inside as he started to close the door.

"Hey! Make sure you two keep your hands off each other." He grinned and closed the door.

"He has morals," Gabriel said.

"Dustin… morals. You don't know the half of it!"

"We could, you know, for old time’s sake," Gabriel said.

"Phht! I think you better save your energy for Megan."

* * *

Even though Kelvin turned into his wolf. It was dark. He couldn’t focus on anything, and everything was wet and muddy. He sloshed through puddles as he ran away from the building that fell behind him. He pushed his body hard against the old truck as he watched the building doors open. There were a handful of vlads who poured into the night after him. He saw through the darkness he was exposed. There were no trees, and he had no idea which way to run. Smell, smell, smell. They will smell me. He peered from behind the massive tire. He saw the bodies searching around the building. He looked down and threw his body into the puddle where he stood. His fingers dug into the soft mud as he covered his body with the thickness of the sludge. The water chilled him to the bone as it soaked his clothes.

I feel like Arnie in that alien movie.

He chuckled to himself.

If it worked for him, it'd work for me.

He stood and looked a second time. The vlads were now approaching his location. He needed to move. He noticed another small building. It looked like a wooden shed as it sat in the dark, all alone. He lifted his nose and sniffed the air as he watched the clouds move slowly, going effortlessly by in the sky.

The moon was being covered by the clouds. He waited, watched, and listened.

It went dark. He crouched on all fours and ran. He looked where his paws hit the ground. Shit. Paw prints.

Puddles. I need puddles.

Kelvin stopped. He stood in a puddle and looked for the nearest one that was closest to where he stood. He leaped. His paws splashed into the murky water as he landed. He looked over his shoulder. Good. The vlads hadn't heard him. The moon cleared the cloud. The silver light fell on the next pool of water. He leaped again.

Kelvin hopped, skipped, and jumped like a frog until he neared the wooden shack. He turned his head again. They walked. He saw the line of flashlights checking the ground. They’d see his paw prints in-between puddles. He smiled to himself as he looked back at the shack. He knew he couldn't go inside. They would check. He stepped onto a stack of boards and peered at the rear of the building.

A dumpster. But it's gonna stink...

Kelvin opened the door to the shed. His wolf eyes focused. An eerie green glow filled his vision. A hose sat on the bench. He grabbed hold and blew in the end. I can use that to breathe. Now… for the face.

Kelvin checked the bench. He saw nothing to cover his face until he stepped back through the open door. His eyes caught sight of a welding machine. A mask sat across the top.

He picked it up. He looked back into the open area and saw that they were very close. He jumped to a puddle and lifted the lid to the dumpster. He pulled the mask over his head and climbed into the disgusting mess. The stench filled his nose. He tore a piece of his shirt and ripped it in two. With a bit up each nostril, he pulled the mask over his face and buried himself in the rotted waste. The hose tasted of rubber as he breathed slowly.

He waited.

Kelvin could not hear a thing. All he saw was black glass.

He waited longer.

* * *

After what felt like forever, the dumpster moved. The dark became glass-lit, just slightly, and as moonlight filled the side of the dumpster, he held his breath. Dark shadows peered over the edge of the bin. He counted three, but it was hard to tell for certain.

All went dark as they closed the lid. He lifted his head. He heard the voices as slime dribbled from inside his ears. "He has vanished into thin air," he heard.

"Impossible, where can he vanish to?" a second voice said.

"Recheck the dumpster. Poke around in there."

Kelvin laid back and pulled garbage over his head. The dumpster rocked. He felt something as it slid down his side. It snagged his shirt. It pulled back.

Fuck! That was close.

He felt a pain on the side of his stomach as something pierced his skin. He gritted his teeth as he felt the long metallic object twist and turn inside his stomach. He pulled his lips and his eyes tighter, to a close. He waited.

The metal object rested on his side, although, it had stopped moving. He waited again. He pulled his head from under the garbage and lifted the mask. He could see a metal rod. He clamped hold of it and pulled. Pain flashed through his side as he pulled it from his skin.

Now that really hurts.

He dropped the mask into the darkness. Kelvin pushed the dumpster lid with his head. His eyes peered into the night. Beams from the flashlights bounced around the ground, and up the sides of the slope.

Where the hell am I?

Kelvin watched until the flashlights vanished. He slipped from inside the dumpster and pulled the torn shirt from his nose. He retched as the stench flooded up his nose. He chose not to look at what he was covered in, because it didn't smell like rotten vegetables. Not at all.

He pushed his body back into the shadows. He lifted his shirt and splashed his side with water from a puddle. He watched the wound close as the pain reduced.

He peered into the dark.

He waited.

"All animals are equal, yet some are more equal than others.”