Unknown Touch (27 page)

I brought up my idea of using a distraction once we had Stephen in our grips. If we could get his mental block to break down long enough for me to slip into his mind, I felt I had a much greater chance of succeeding. But, I didn't want to blow the element of surprise by having Stephen figure out ahead of time what we might use against him. We would have to be cautious and use methods of concealment until the time was right to throw the distraction at him in full force. To literally take his breath away. Daniel was not too sure about my idea, for fear of it backfiring, and Stephen's rage becoming uncontrollable and then hurting someone.

I said to Daniel, "Oh, come on. Between you and Isaac – two powerful werewolves holding Stephen down on the ground and Zac and Tessa pointing guns at him, I can't imagine him breaking free and being allowed to hurt anyone."

I'll admit, I was throwing them a challenge. Getting them psyched up for the hunt and take down. And I truly believed all of them could contain Stephen. I had complete faith in their abilities. Everyone, including Daniel, finally agreed to use the form of distraction I had in mind. We just had to keep it under cover.

We took two vehicles to accommodate everyone and drove to Simon's place. We tended to call it Simon's place because it consisted of his house and the woodworking business. Both structures were located on the same property, side by side. Since it was the other pack's home and business, it made more sense to refer to it as Simon's place.

We arrived at 8:30 in the morning. Simon sauntered out of his workshop to meet us. He appeared to be on high alert, concerned, alarmed with the number of individuals stepping out of the vehicles on to his property. Anyone would be nervous seeing our unified group walking towards them. Heck, I'd take off running for the hills. He contained his aggressive side quite well, though, since he had a pretty good clue why we were there. It wasn't for him. Still, being outnumbered, he was careful not to be backed into a corner or stuck in a building. Simon made sure he was out in the open. His wife, Lydia, and daughter, Rachel, boldly came outside and stood next to Simon.

Simon spoke first and politely asked, "Daniel, how can I help you?"

"Simon, it is good to see you. I'm sure you have figured out why we're here. It's for Stephen. Is he here now?" Daniel asked.

"No, he and David are out running and I assume hunting wildlife, again," Simon shook his head and glanced at Lydia and Rachel.

Daniel prompted, "Are you aware they are planning to sabotage my property?"

Simon looked stunned and stuttered, "I, I, heard them toying around with possibilities...I don't think they had definite plans yet. How did you know?"

"We have done our own surveillance. So, did you think to call me and warn me about this?" Daniel was really attempting to stay calm, but it was difficult.

"I guess I was trying to stay out of it. I don't know. I should have called. If they had said they were heading out to destroy something of yours, I would have called then." Simon clearly gave off feelings of guilt. As it was, he was looking in the eyes of the one person he had defected from. Left. Deserted.

Daniel explained to Simon, "We believe that you and the women are not the problem. We don't have any concerns or issues with the three of you. We're definitely going after Stephen and are suspicious about David's behavior. It should come as no surprise to anyone standing here, that Stephen's rage and actions have gone well beyond any acceptable behavior and can no longer be tolerated. We have to protect humans from any werewolves that have gone rogue and turned evil. And we have to keep our existence hidden. Stephen is drawing too much attention to this area, risking our exposure. We will capture Stephen, and David, if necessary, and use the psychics' skills to attempt manipulating their destructive emotions, thoughts and excessive aggression."

At that moment, Daniel gestured with his hand for me to come forward. "Simon, meet Kara. She has incredible telepathic power to soothe and calm the beast that resides in all of us. I can vouch from personal experience, as can most of the others with me, for her extreme capabilities. And, she is my girlfriend."

With that statement, no one moved a finger, no one breathed. It was rather shocking hearing those words. Girlfriend. Yet, I obviously knew it to be true. My entire team had witnessed the relationship progressing between Daniel and me. Recently, we had started to show our affection for each other in public. We no longer hid our feelings or pretended like nothing was going on behind closed doors. The shock of Daniel's statement was probably felt much more by Simon's pack. They knew, they could sense, I was not a werewolf, but a human being. It had been almost fifty years earlier that the latest werewolf had entered the pack. That was David. Rachel had changed him to have a lifelong companion. And now, here I stood, next to Daniel, with his arm possessively around my shoulders. I'm sure they were wondering what our future plans were. Was he going to turn me?

Simon broke the ice, stating, "Nice to meet you, Kara." Total awkwardness in his voice, but he went on, "Daniel, I want you to understand that Lydia, Rachel and I had no intentions of ever attacking you, any of your pack or your property. We don't believe in such things. We have no feelings of revenge like Stephen seems to carry within him. We thought splitting away from the main pack with Stephen would give him the opportunity to be an Alpha male. To feel he wasn't under anyone's control or influence. We didn't mean to reject you, Daniel. I was actually trying to avoid conflicts between all the werewolves so everyone could live in peace. And since I had my own little family circle, we had each other to rely upon. I figured we could handle moving fifteen minutes away from your area, in order to prevent an upcoming death match with you and Stephen fighting it out. That's why we agreed to go with Stephen. And I didn't want to tell you, since we all have that little mental link, I didn't want Stephen to pick up on my real reason for leaving you. I don't believe in his ways, his lifestyle. He has influenced David, too. But, David thinks this is just a game, and will back off when he recognizes this isn't all for fun. So, please, try not to attack David. We don't think he's dangerous."

Rachel stood next to her father, tears in her eyes. She said, "I'm coming with you on the hunt. I want to be there to help pull David back to me. He isn't lost to us, just confused because of Stephen's insane peer pressure and ridicule. If he is in wolf form, he will be very aggressive, and maybe if he sees my dedication to him, he'll chill out."

Simon said, "I know when Stephen and David took off early this morning, Stephen was exceptionally ticked off with us because we couldn't see things the way he does. He expected all of us to agree with his lifestyle, his way of living. He wanted our support on sabotaging your property, but we wouldn't acknowledge him or accept his plans. He feels that his pack is a failure as we aren't treating him with the respect an Alpha male deserves. I'm sorry, Daniel. You do deserve all the respect in the world. You always looked out for us and did your best with providing for the whole pack. I hope you forgive me, forgive us, for deserting you. We were only trying to resolve the issue with Stephen. It obviously hasn't worked out very well."

Simon bowed his head, as did Lydia and Rachel, in what would be considered submission. It was strange. There were strong sensations of guilt emitting from all three of them.

Daniel walked directly up to Simon, and held out his hand to shake, "Simon, you are a good man. We have been through so much over these last 300 plus years. You are forgiven and remain my friend."

Simon gave Daniel a pat on the arm, and Lydia and Rachel hugged him. Thank God we were all on good terms with these three now. Lydia felt the need to explain, "Daniel, we even bred and housed rabbits for the sole purpose of enticing Stephen into chasing after them when he chose his wolf form. We had hoped it would release his pent up, wild, animal side and keep him away from the larger prey, like the livestock he's gone after before. We tried to re-route his predator instincts by offering our own form of prey for him, but he complained that the rabbits were too small and didn't excite him like the cattle, wild turkey, deer, or elk could. And the rabbits didn't offer up much to feed on."

Daniel nodded in approval of what this little werewolf family had tried to do to prevent Stephen from making poor choices. They had tried to guide him and set him straight. He was totally blind to the fact that they were attempting to save him from the dark side. Of course, Stephen seeing them as fellow werewolves, couldn't understand why they didn't want to follow his lead. He took it as insubordination on their part or as his own incompetence in overseeing his pack.

"They will probably head to the old cabin," Simon suggested. "It's always a good resting place after they've been out running for a while. But, you could find them anywhere within a few mile radius between here and there."

After Daniel and Simon had resolved their misunderstood differences and renewed their friendship, I stepped back and rejoined the rest of the team. We basically stood still, watching the interactions and listening intently. It seemed the right thing to do. To keep quiet and respect their one-on-one conversation, instead of different people interrupting them.

As Daniel and Simon discussed Stephen's likely areas to roam, and the initial direction they took off that morning, Rachel kept glancing at me. Finally, she sighed with apprehension, then made her approach. I tried to do a quick mind read or at least absorb her emotions, but there wasn't much time. All I could pick up on were the mixed emotions of anxiety, fear, aggravation and curiosity.

"So, you are able to help us? By using mind control?" She questioned with an air of uncertainty.

Great. Now I had to deal with a non-believer. Or else one that felt threatened by my telepathic abilities. And there was that negative word of "control" used again. I really didn't like that word. It was time to put on a smile and try my best to win her over.

"Yes, I am able to help you. Honestly, now that I think about it, I've used my skills, in some form or fashion, on everyone in our group. And believe it or not, no one had any complaints. It's for real, what I can do. I'd hate to call it mind control, though. That sounds so negative. I've really helped relax, comfort and ease anger and rage with these guys. I can implant images, thoughts, ideas into the mind. I can help to create certain positive emotions in order to manipulate behaviors. None of them have bonked me over the head when I've entered their minds. So, I guess, I must have done something good. Feel free to ask them," I responded.

Rachel seemed pleased with my answer. She tentatively asked, "I know your main focus is Stephen, but maybe, you could try to work with David, too. Stephen has really messed with him, leading him down the wrong path."

I replied, "Rachel, I had planned on doing that already." I very gently touched her arm to suggest we walk a few feet away from the rest of the group. She thankfully moved with me without an argument.

I offered myself to her, "Can I help you right now with anything? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

I was unprepared when she grabbed my hands and said, "Just read my mind, please. You'll see why I'm so concerned about David."

Daniel cocked his head at me when he saw Rachel's look of exasperation and physically reaching out to me. He didn't know whether to be worried about her actions or not. I gave him a quick,
She wants me to read her mind. It's okay.

Rachel's hands were nice and warm on this winter day as I tenderly squeezed them. I gave her a heartfelt smile to convey that I was no threat. I'm not sure if I would have needed to touch Rachel in order to read her mind. I had been standing so near her during Daniel and Simon's conversation, I think I could have entered her thoughts just from the close proximity. Regardless, the physical contact and her willingness, her acceptance, in allowing me access to her mind made it effortless on my end.

Rachel? I'm here. I didn't want to startle you. You can think your words in your head and I can hear you. You can either speak to me or just let your mind flow about what's bothering you and I can pick it up.
I explained.

She chose to speak to me in her mind,
Kara, this is weird. I keep wanting to use my mouth to talk out loud. The telepathic powers of the werewolves are very limited. I'm not used to this.

It's okay. You're fine. The others will understand what we're doing, so don't worry about it if they look over here. They're probably thrilled you're opening up to me and letting me do this with you. And I do thank you for coming to me. Oh, I am aware of the limits to your psychic abilities, so I can imagine this is a new experience for you. Pretty cool, though, huh?
I added that last bit in to ease the tension.

Rachel nodded in agreement and then she grew serious again.
Kara, you've got to work your magic on David and get him to settle down. He is my husband, and I do love him, but if he follows in Stephen's footsteps, we're going to have problems in more ways than one. I'm pregnant.

Whoa. I was not expecting that one. I kept staring at her, as she gazed at me and then her eyes started to well up with tears. I started to realize the significance of this. Most of them had lived hundreds of years, and not many children were born to them during that enormous length of time. That was unusual, now that I thought about it. In fact, it might have been two hundred years since any children were actually born. I let these thoughts flow into Rachel's mind.

I will do what it takes to save him from turning to the dark side, Rachel. This is a monumental event. Oops-I forgot to say congratulations! But this is his baby, too, and you will need him to be in his right mind to share in raising this child. Does he know yet? Does anyone know? How far along are you?
I flooded her with questions.

I haven't told anyone yet, because I literally just discovered it myself. I wasn't sure if I was actually pregnant, but I'm starting to show just a tiny bit. No one has noticed yet with the clothes I've been wearing. I'm guessing I am about three months along. Keep in mind, it's not like werewolves go to see regular human doctors. I've fully intended to have a family meeting and tell them about my pregnancy. But, of course, that's when David will decide to act up or do something stupid with Stephen, then I get mad, and I don't feel like making that type of announcement.
Rachel had totally opened up her mind to me. She went from being skeptical and apprehensive when she first approached, to the complete opposite, of now believing in me and having confidence in my abilities.