Chapter 17

Gerard followed Lukas, fidgeting with his phone quietly as he waited for Shera to respond to his text. Hopefully she realized it was him and sent something back. He was a few states over, a meeting having been demanded by another pack that his was in alliance with. The man was older, broader, and it was surprising he was a bitten to most people. His dark skin did little to hide the bite marks on his arms but it added to the man in an exotic way.

"Young ones are so strange," Gerard could have turned gay for the accent and the tanner in the man's voice had he not confirmed he didn't swing that way. "If she was with you, you'd be less of a nervous wreck."

"I assure you, sir, she wouldn't be able to travel right now," Gerard nodded. The man nodded back, motioning for the younger lycan to follow. Gerard followed him into the mansion-like house, the man's pack inside going about their daily lives. This pack, Taj's pack, was one of the only packs to live under one roof. The practice had been lost to accommodate the individuality of a lycan but Taj was a man of deep tradition. His own culture had many people living under one roof where he was from.

"A young man finally settles down, hm? How does it feel," Taj asked with a chuckle. Gerard's back was patted roughly, making him cough.

"We haven't mated yet, old geezer. She's still uncomfortable," Gerard chuckled dryly. It made Taj frown slightly and Gerard sighed at the look he got. "It was an arranged marriage I suggested. Her father pushed it same night and that's how this all got uncovered. We're still unsure of the man's end goal but we're slowly gaining tracking ability on him." Gerard watched the smile fade from Taj's face, the man facing forward as they walked into a large, ornate dining room.Taj sat down at the head of the table, Gerard taking the seat to his left and pulling the bag from his shoulder to get what he needed.

"You're quite the ruthless alpha," Taj sighed, "Those marriages never worked."

"I'm not treating it as just a political move," Gerard nodded slowly. "There was no benefit for me." Taj became confused and he rubbed the side of his head, staring hard at Gerard who were the paperwork out.

"Gerard, a woman isn't an object," Taj started, "They're magical beings that make or break a man."

"And she will have the ability to break me," Gerard nodded. "I wanted to spend time with her. It was the only way considering how closed off her pack is." Gerard pushes a copy of the papers to Taj and the man took them, looking them over before smiling. It was a headache but Gerard had translated it into the man's original tongue as best he could, an accommodation he enjoyed.

"Always thoughtful," Taj nodded. "Just don't make moves that you'll regret later. Women can be delicate."

"I noticed," Gerard nodded. "So, I haven't heard anything from your people about any movement even after I asked if you'd seen anything." Taj laughed, placing the papers in front of him as he took a deep breath again. It wasn't uncommon for this sort of thing between the two; Taj struggled with English more than most.

"You know my policy. You know my pack and our laws, Gerard," he sniffed.

"I do," Gerard nodded, "This isn't just for my pack though. It's for the race. If Scott Pillar gets whatever it is he wants it could shed light on our parts of the world. You know that doorway better than anyone." Taj's face stiffened and became serious. Black eyes glanced to Gerard before they looked back to the papers.

Profiles of known associates and known pack's, a track record of where they had been and what they had been doing, and importantly the body counts and the cause of deaths. It was all there, Gerard had made sure of it. Taj had the best enforcers and knew the old laws better than anyone else. No matter how many times he sent Sherry to the old man, she came back with more questions than she had previously. There was always something new from Taj and it never ceased to keep anyone who knew him off their toes long enough to rest.

His input was necessary for Gerard, the man had taken on a fatherly role for him at a young age. It was often Taj who Gerard would run to when he couldn't take much of anything anymore. He was the one that talked to Gerard as if he had complete control over his life, giving Gerard the confidence he needed to survive. Those difficult conversations he should have had with his own father, with his mother, they were with Taj. The matter of Shera wasn't brought up with the older man and Gerard did feel a bit guilty as Taj gave his two pieces. That wasn't as detrimental as what Taj was looking at now though, and Taj knew that as well as Gerard did.

"We have organization and unity on our side. There's a common goal for more than our species," Taj nodded. "One being revealed will lead to all being revealed. It wouldn't be hard to get other species on our side if that's the case."

"That's if that is what Scott wants," Gerard sighed. "We still don't know what it is he wants. Why would he have to arm himself with silver dust?" Taj scrunched his face and tapped his foot on the ground as one of his members walked in with a tray of coffee and tea. Gerard nodded to the ebony woman as she smiled sweetly at him, placing his coffee in front of him.

Gerard felt her brush past him from behind and it was Taj who reacted, snarling at the woman.

"Tania, he's taken," Taj snapped. The footsteps were hurried and Taj stifled a laugh as Gerard chuckled. "She's new, she doesn't quite understand boundaries."

"I don't take offense. If Shera was here there would probably be a fight instead," Gerard hummed.

"Shera," Taj scowled and pulled out Scott's profile, his brow growing deeper. "Scott has three children. How come we haven't heard from the other two?"

"That's something else," Gerard sighed. "Their input would be great and it would help keep Shera out of trouble and the whole situation if I could contact them. It seems they went off the radar a few years ago and even their older sister doesn't know where they are."

"It's a possibility that they are already lost, little white," Taj chuckled sadly. "Either to death, their own whiles, or their father has a hand on their shoulders." Gerard grit his teeth as a few thoughts crossed his mind, his gaze falling to the papers. It was possible to check if they were dead but it was also possible to track them down. It would take more resources but would pull from the efforts against Scott. "You're thinking, child," Taj mused, "Tell the old man?"

"I could pull a few trackers from the Scott case and move them to find the two," Gerard stated. "I would lose ground in keeping track of the enemy though and we can't afford that until we know his end game."

"There is more than one way to track a man, Little white. We both know this as we've both done it," Taj nodded. Gerard stared and rubbed his head. He knew what Taj meant but that meant pulling Bernard for long periods of time. Tan placed the papers down and tapped at them, nodding. "You can scry. You've become very good at it when it comes to not having a part of the person; even more so when you do. I think it's time you learned a form of tracking I use when prey is illusive."

He stood from his seat and motioned Gerard to follow. Gerard gathered the papers. He trusted Taj's pack but this had sensitive material, things about his little foxy that not many knew about. He couldn't have the cloud over her head growing darker from mistrust with people she didn't know, people she would hopefully never meet. He followed Taj down the halls, his gaze falling to the pictures on the walls that were ever changing and ever present.

He was always in many of them, this pack practically adopting him in his earlier years as one of their. They were his happier years before the storm hit, the times he wished many times to go back to. Taj opened a door that looked old and out of place, stepping to the side to let Gerard through. The old room was covered in artifacts, herbs and plants lining walls and shelves. The space seemed a bit crowded but that was the organization of it all.

He missed the smell of this room, the old aesthetic that drew him into times before himself. Taj stepped past him, chuckling softly at the nostalgic look on Gerard's face, "You're still the same. Curious for knowledge that is difficult to grasp."

"I know I can grasp it with enough time," Gerard chuckled. "We both found that out, didn't we?"

"That we did, Little white," Taj walked to a wooden bowl, a stick inside tied to the base of it by old twine. "It points in the direction of what you wish to find most. It isn't too difficult to make but it is difficult to keep focus."

"Thanks to you, I believe that was the first thing I learned when it came to magic," Gerard chuckled.

"You wouldn't have the ability had you not had witch blood in you. It isn't rare for a witch to love a wolf from the pack that requests them but it is rare for a child to have both aspects," Taj chuckled. "You aren't as strong as your brother but you manage." Taj filled the bowl with water, tapping the stick as it float on the surface in place. "Something straight from nature, normally a common tree for a region."

"So I need to go hunt for some twigs," Gerard asked.

"Mistletoe must grow on the tree," Taj hummed. "And the tree must be old. The twine can be any string and the bowl needs to be made from the same fires that the stick in it burns with."

"Anything special about the water," Gerard asked.

"It has to be flowing when you gather it," Taj nodded. Gerard nodded and leaned on the surface the bowl sat on. "Pair it with scrying and you can tell where they are and see their surroundings."

"It's hard to believe you're a lycan, old man," Gerard chuckled. Taj had a sad expression on his face, his hand patting Gerard's back gently. Gerard didn't need him to say anything, he already knew and he felt bad for him. Taj was a witch, he served a pack loyally for years and one of the females had enough of him. That story, the woman trying to force him to love her, pained Gerard now in a different way.

Now that he thought about it, he was that woman with Shera. He was trying to make her love him, make her fall for him so he could keep her. It made him feel guilty over the arrangement. Taj's hand pulled the younger man from his mind, Gerard looking up at the wise black eyes.

"You know, if you love her back just as much as you want her to love you, it wouldn't be so bad," Taj smiled. "You're trying hard to protect her, even now, and she doesn't know, does she?"

Gerard stared for a moment, taking a breath and letting it out before staring into the water in the bowl, "She deserves a break and a distraction from pack life. She's never had any time to herself and it shows." Taj chuckled and nodded, turning and staring about the room.

"When a man takes care of his woman, the world seems to fall into place," Taj smiled widely and ruffled Gerard's hair. "My pack is at your disposal within reason, little white. Don't abuse that."

"You guys are family, I'd never abuse it," Gerard chuckled and playfully punched Taj's shoulder. "I'll bring foxy over, big blue. I think you'll like her."

"If she has you wrapped around her finger? I bet I would," Taj chuckled. "Now get going. I don't think female lycan like to wait too long right?"