The Alpha Wants Everything Book 1 The King's Queen

Unsure of what to do at first when they entered town hall, Marco and Dax stood off to the side and just watched the others for a bit. Some people were crying or offering condolences to the grieving widow and her son, while others were talking quietly amongst themselves.

“Forse andiamo in giro? (Maybe we walk around?)” Marco suggested,

“Yeah, maybe,” Dax agreed. They made it past a few groups hearing bits and pieces of conversations.

“He was such a nice man”

“I know, always smiling”

“He didn’t deserve what happened to him”

“How could someone do something like that?”

“Mrs. Morganson, must be so devastated”

Both Marco and Dax looked in her direction, much like the day they showed up at her house, she was put together and very presentable. Not a wrinkle in her dress, not a hair out of place.

“La signora Morganson è un fottuto robot senza emozioni! (Mrs. Morganson is a fucking emotionless robot!)” Marco whispered, Dax pressed her lips together trying to cover her laughter. But she did nod her head in agreement. Again if it were Kane she would be a crumpled mess. Continuing their walk around, they overheard more and more of the same conversations.

“I’m not saying the guy got what he deserved, nobody deserves to be bludgeoned to death. But Karma bit his ass.” They overheard someone saying. Both Marco and Dax stopped in their tracks and continued listening to the hushed conversation.

“He wasn’t the nice guy everyone thought he was that’s for sure”

“No shit! The guy could be a fucking dick. Donny sure got the brunt of his anger a lot. I remember once they got into a yelling match in the sporting goods store. Kent told him he was a useless idiot and how he was still breathing was beyond him.”

“I thought their relationship got better though”

“The last year yeah, seemed to have done a turn around” Dax and Marco shared a look. That coincided with what she thought as well. They moved onto listening to more people talk. Before they got pulled into a conversation.

“Dax, is it true that you were the one that found Kent?” Someone asked her. What the fuck kinda question is that? Nyx finally made her presence known, she was quiet for the memorial and the burial at the cemetery, but she was talking now.

“Um….yes. It’s not something I really want to talk about and I don’t think it’s respectful at this time” She replied as politely as she could.

“That must have been horrible to see. What did you do? What were you doing there? Did you get questioned by the police?” They continued to ask her questions and more people were crowding around them. She could feel Marco’s grip on her arm tighten a bit as it was becoming a bit overwhelming for him. The more people that crowded around him the more anxious he started feeling about the whole situation. He couldn’t keep his attention on all of them at the same time, there were too many. Perché si affollano tutti intorno a noi? Sono troppo vicini, perché sono tutti così vicini? (Why are they all crowding around us? They are too close, why are they all so close?) Alejandro was growing agitated in his head, something was very, very wrong. Get her to safety! The voice came out of nowhere, but he knew to listen.

****

He tried pushing her in the direction of less people, but more showed up. It is time to go, get her to safety now before it’s too late. She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, but it did little to alleviate what he was feeling. He had to get them out of there. Perché siamo anche qui? Non è sicuro, Luna non è al sicuro qui! Chi cazzo sono tutte queste persone? (Why are we even here? It’s not safe, Luna is not safe here! Who the fuck are all these people?)

****

“We’re here to pay respects to the man and to his family. I suggest you do that, instead of asking me questions about finding him” Dax again tried to politely skirt around answering any questions about finding Kent.

“Were you questioned by the police? Did you see the body?” Some other girl asked. These people are fucked!

“Listen you fucking vultures. I am not answering your questions, so back the fuck off and show some fucking respect to the family.” Dax snapped at them. Marco tried to gently guide her away from the crowd before she really lost her temper.

“We were just asking, you don’t have to be such a bitch about it. Geez, Justine was….” Dax’s fist shot out making a connection, the girl gurgled and dropped to the floor clutching her throat.

“Anyone else just asking?” Dax asked, there was a round of no’s and head shakes “No, then show some fucking respect and back the fuck off” she added as Marco escorted her away. Little hypocritical don’t you think? You be quiet! Just saying! Well don’t!

“Tesoro….” Marco began, his expression was unreadable before he brought his gaze around the room to all the people. A concerned expression crossed his face, something was off but he didn’t know what it was. It didn’t feel right, and they were no longer safe. His guard was completely up, as he kept her partially behind him, scanning the crowd of people in Town Hall. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but something was wrong and they needed to leave now.

“I know Marco, a bit hypocritical of me, considering I fell asleep in the church and we played 1000 ways to die in the cemetery with Mrs. Morganson as the target, but they weren’t getting it. And we don’t have to tell Kane. He said don’t push Mrs. Morganson in the grave and we didn’t. He said nothing about that” Dax cut him off.

“No tesoro, dobbiamo partire! Non so perché siamo qui, ma dobbiamo andarcene, tornare a casa. Non è sicuro qui. (No tesoro, we have to leave! I don’t know why we’re here, but we have to leave, go home. Not safe here.)” Dax looked at Marco, his guard was up and he was on alert.

“Marco….what’s wrong?” She asked,

“N-not….safe! We go….Adesso….Now!” She nodded and looked around. What does he mean not safe? I don’t know!

“Ok, Mrs. Morganson is by the door, we’ll give our condolences and head to the diner.” She said. Boulder head said don’t argue!

“No tesoro, la casa, è al sicuro lì (the house, it’s safe there)” she nodded again, hearing Kane’s warning in her head about not arguing. If she didn’t argue she wouldn’t end up in the trunk. She would call Kane on the way back to the house.

****

He was enraged as more and more people crowded round his angel, making it more difficult for him to get to her. He heard her telling people to be respectful and stop asking her questions. He heard them continuing to ignore her. This too made him angry, his angel was trying to be respectful to him, she wanted others to be respectful as well but they weren’t listening to her. They were being rude, and it was making her upset. The more upset she became, the more upset he became. He could also hear a hint of something else in her voice. What was it? Was it fear, was she still afraid after she made the discovery of Kent in the box? This upset him even more. It scared her and he didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He would never hurt her, he could never hurt her, she was his angel. She was his to protect and to keep safe. How was he supposed to keep her safe if he was the thing she was afraid of? He kept pushing past the people but it became more and more crowded around her. When he heard the vile girl call her a bitch and then say that the two bit whore was right, his blood boiled, but what he witnessed when he finally got near the front overwhelmed him with pride, his heart burst with the words she spoke. His angel defended herself and him by laying the wretched girl out and putting the others in their place.

****

They were now walking towards Erin, her bodyguard was watching the others in the room carefully and he was on high alert. Did something happen that he didn’t see? The way he kept his body in between hers and everyone else told him something did. Someone did something to his angel. He moved quickly as he could in her direction. He had to get to her to make sure she was ok, but people kept stopping him offering their sympathy for what he and his mother were going through. None of the vile people meant their condolences, they were all liars trying to justify their morbid curiosity at the fate that had befallen Kent and it had all fallen on his deaf ears. These diseased people did not care for the pain he was feeling.The woman that dared to call herself a mother, did not care for him. She thought he was his idiot brother, what kind of mother does not know her own child? What kind of mother did not see him for who he truly was? The only one that truly cared for him was his angel, she proved that with her actions and he was now watching her as she was about to walk out the door. His chance to talk to her slipping out of his fingers every minute he was held up by someone else.

“Mrs. Morganson, the service was lovely, it truly honoured the memory of Mr. Morganson. He was such a pillar of this town and he will be deeply missed.” Dax was doing her best to not gag on her words as they came out of her mouth.

“Thank you dear, that is kind of you to say.” Mrs. Morganson replied back. “Was there an altercation over there?” She asked as she watched two people pick the girl up off the floor.

“Some people were being disrespectful” Dax replied, not going into any further detail about what happened. A lot of people!

“I see” She said, the look of disdain that crossed the woman’s face had Dax backing up a little bit. The cold feeling that was surrounding her was sinking deeper and she fought off a shiver. Picking up on her discomfort, Marco moved slightly closer to her. Hurry up, you need to leave. The voice in his head was persistent and the feeling he had was beginning to intensify.

“Mrs. Morganson, we are again sorry for your loss, and please know that in your time of grief if you need anything, let us know. Thank you for inviting us and giving us the opportunity to say goodbye” Dax said, trying to keep her head up under the woman’s scrutinizing stare.

“Thank you both for coming,” Mrs. Morganson replied. Marco just nodded, keeping his focus on the others in the room, he escorted Dax from the building, staying close to her.

****

He was stopped again on his way out the door. The fucking Mayor was droning on how Kent was the pillar of the town and what happened to him was not right. They would find the one responsible and bring them to justice. He didn’t care what happened to Kent, he was what happened to Kent. He went on about his pain and the great loss the town suffered. He went as far to say that he would get in contact with the town founder to see if he could do something to aid in the process of locating the one responsible for this travesty. He didn’t care about the town’s loss, they didn’t know who Kent really was. They only knew him as the pillar, not the sadistic animal that brought hell into his angel’s life. He wondered what this pathetic town would think if they knew all the nasty things Kent was capable of. When he brought up his wretched mother, he fought the grimace that threatened to consume him. He didn’t care about the pain Erin was feeling, he wanted her to feel pain, he wanted her to feel more pain. He was going to kill his brother and really make her hurt. His angel’s bodyguard’s depressing past inspired him to make Erin’s equally as depressing. Kent’s death was no accident, his brother’s would not be either. It would be savage and brutal and that would torture Erin. Maybe he would mail Donny’s head to her, oh he would want to be there when she opened that box. She would crumble and the thought brought him a glimmer of happiness. She would know then who he really was. He would stop having to pretend. She treated him like a monster, could she really blame him when he became one?

****

“Are you ok Marco?” She asked when they stepped outside and headed for the truck.

“I-I-I non lo so. Chi erano tutte quelle persone? Non avremmo dovuto esserci, perché eravamo lì? (I do not know. Who were all those people? We shouldn’t have been there, why were we there?)” Marco asked, moving faster towards the vehicle. Dax was running to keep up with him. He would check over his shoulder, mutter something in Italian, look again, then bring his focus back to where they were headed. Something didn’t sit right with him, he just couldn’t place it, they weren’t safe and they needed to get back to the pack house.

“It was the funeral of Kent Morganson today. We were expected to be there.” Dax replied, her legs moved faster as she tried to keep up with him, but running in heels is difficult. Boulder head has some explaining to do! Nyx was puzzled by his behaviour as well. He sure does!

“It n-not….safe, non avresti dovuto essere lì. Sei importante per il piano di Fate, non avresti dovuto esserci. (you shouldn’t have been there. You’re important to Fate’s plan, you shouldn’t have been there.)” Marco said, the stronger the feeling became the more agitated he became.

“Marco….Marco….you need to slow down, I can’t keep up” Dax was saying to him, but it was like he couldn’t hear her. He couldn’t hear anything just what was going on in his head.

“Sei un’Anima Predestinata e hai bisogno di essere protetta, sei importante! (You are a Fated Soul and you need to be protected, you are important!)” He was slightly angry when they reached the truck, she should not have been there. She should not be out in the open like she was. He didn’t know why she was there, he couldn’t remember, but she shouldn’t have been. Opening the back passenger door, Marco picked her up and dumped her in the back seat.

“MARCO!” She yelled,

“Sei un’Anima Predestinata e hai bisogno di essere protetta, sei importante! (You are a Fated Soul and you need to be protected, you are important!)” That was the only thing he said before he closed the door on her face. She stared after him, her mouth opened as he walked quickly around to the driver side. One more look around he climbed in. Starting the vehicle, he backed out of the parking spot as Donny ran from the building trying to catch up to her. Throwing the truck into drive Marco stepped on the gas and peeled out of the parking lot. What the fuck? Kane has some big fucking explaining to do!

Pulling out her phone Dax called Kane as she watched Marco wearily in the front seat.

“Hey baby!” He picked up on the first ring.

“Don’t you hey baby me! Did you forget to tell me something?” She barked at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked,

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? You’re a jackass and forgot to tell me something” She hissed.

“Ok baby, why am I a jackass? What happened? You need to give me something more than I forgot to tell you something.” Kane was getting concerned now.

“He threw me in the back of the truck” Dax replied, she was trying to keep control, but the words Marco spoke to her and the look on his face had her fear starting to spike. Then there was whatever he said in Italian.

“What? Who?” Kane asked,

“What do you mean who? Marco, that’s who? He said we needed to go and I didn’t argue I said ok. He dragged me across the parking lot at warp speed. I was pretty much running. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do that in heels?” Dax was saying,

“Ok, did he say why you needed to go?” Kane asked, his concern spiking even more.

“He said it wasn’t safe and we had to go. He said we had to get back to the house and a bunch of stuff in Italian. Then he threw me in the back of the truck.” She replied, the more she spoke his words the more her hands started to shake.

“You’re heading back to the house?” Kane asked, quite alarmed by what she just said. They weren’t safe, why weren’t they safe? Ky was on high alert when he heard that.

“Did you even hear me? He threw me in the back of the truck”

“I heard you baby, I did, but you know what, as long as you’re safe he could have stuck you in the trunk. I will talk to you when you get home safely.” He called for Damon and Johnny as he hung up the phone.

That son of a bitch hung up on me! That fucker! I’m gonna hit him! Really fucking hard! She slumped into the back seat and sat the rest of the ride home in silence.

“What’s going on?” Damon asked as he and Johnny entered the office, Kane shushed them, he was on the phone.

“I don’t know Kenneth. He threw her in the back of the truck. Said it wasn’t safe and they needed to go. Think has he ever said that before. When he locked you in the trunk did he tell you it wasn’t safe. He said they weren’t safe and they needed to get back to the house. Carter said what? Both of them were there? Is he sure? Fuck! Tell Carter to step on it” Kane disconnected the call. FUCK!

“Did Marco throw her in the trunk?” Johnny asked. She must be fucking livid! He thought.

“No he threw her in the backseat, she didn’t argue with him, but she couldn’t exactly keep up as he hauled her across the parking lot. She said he was adamant that they weren’t safe and they needed to get back to the house. Kenneth said he’s never said anything like that before. Carter caught both scents at the cemetery, but couldn’t locate the other one in the woods.” Kane explained,

“They both attended the funeral, maybe Marco picked up on something.” Johnny guessed.

“It couldn’t have been at the funeral. They were playing 1000 ways to die with Mrs. Morganson as the target” Kane replied,

“Yeah that doesn’t make sense. If he picked up on something at the funeral. Marco wouldn’t have cared if they were standing in the middle of the graveyard, if it was time to go it would be time to go, he wouldn’t have waited till Town Hall to demand they leave.” Damon agreed.

“Ok, then what happened at Town Hall?” Johnny asked,

“I don’t know, but we’re about to find out,” Kane answered when he heard vehicle doors slam shut.

“NON CALMARMI. Fottuto stupido idiota. (Don’t calm me down. You fucking stupid idiot.)” They could hear Marco yelling at someone outside.

“Please tell me he’s not yelling that at feisty pants” Johnny said, a look of concern crossing his face. They all looked at each other before they ran out of the office.

“Non avrebbe dovuto essere lì. Sapevi che non era sicuro (She shouldn’t have been there. You knew it wasn’t safe)” Marco yelled again.

“MARCO! Smettila! You need to stop, and calm down” Kenneth was yelling back.

“Non era al sicuro, la metteva in pericolo. Fottuto idiota! (She wasn’t safe, it put her in danger. You fucking idiot!)” Marco hissed back. Kane and the others hit outside in time to see Marco lunge and collide with Kenneth taking him to the ground. Growls and snarls rang out as the two men clashed on the ground.

Carter was standing in front of one of the back passenger doors, with Dax banging on the other side trying to get out.

“Carter what’s going on?” Kane demanded,

“I don’t know! Marco saw Kenneth and just lost it.” Carter replied, not taking his eyes off the two men fighting on the ground.

“Damon, Johnny get in there break that up” Kane ordered as he moved to the other side of the truck to let her out. Damon tried to grab a hold of Marco, as he planted both feet into Johnny’s chest and kicked him back into Kenneth. Carter grabbed a hold of Marco’s legs before he kicked anybody else.

“Lasciarsi andare, fottuto idiota, lasciarsi andare, (Let go, fuking idiot, let go)” Marco struggled under Damon and Carter’s grasp, but he didn’t stop fighting.

“Settle down Marco, before I put you down” Damon grumbled as he fought to hold on to him.

Kenneth stood up bawling, his fist he connected with the side of Marco’s jaw.

“CALM DOWN!” He hollered. Marco stopped struggling and shook his head to clear it.

“Per che cazzo mi hai picchiato? Fottuto idiota! Cosa c’è che non va in te? (What the fuck did you hit me for? You fucking idiot! What’s wrong with you?)” Marco huffed at him.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Damon asked, still holding on to him.

“I just got kicked in the chest, hit him again” Johnny huffed as well

“Fanculo quella merda! Nessuno mi sta picchiando di nuovo, cazzo. Che diavolo c’è di sbagliato in tutti voi? Vattene da me! (Fuck that shit! Nobody’s fucking hitting me again. What the hell is wrong with all of you? Get away from me!)” Marco snapped, starting to struggle again.

“MARCO!” Kenneth yelled,

“CHE COSA?” He yelled back, huffing. Che cazzo era un loro problema? (The fuck was their problem?)

“Calmati, cazzo! Calm the fuck down, you little shit before I hit you again.” Kenneth growled at him.

“Certo, tutto fottutamente duro quando sono bloccato. Lasciami andare, vediamo quanto cazzo sei duro (Sure all fucking tough when I’m pinned. Let me go, let’s see how fucking tough you are)” Marco growled back.

“Hit him again” Johnny barked,

“ENOUGH!” Kane roared, they all turned to look at him. “Nobody is hitting anybody,” he added as he opened the passenger door. CRACK!

“That’s for forgetting to tell me something” Dax snapped at him, he stumbled back rubbing the side of his jaw, staring at her wide eyed. Ky howled in his head. That’ll teach you to leave her in the dark!

“Si è dimenticato di dire a tesoro che non colpiamo più. (He forgot to tell tesoro we’re not hitting any more)” Marco commented.

“Yeah!” Johnny had to turn away to stop from laughing.

“I’ll deal with you later.” Kane glared at her. “Now what the fuck happened?” He asked.

“We were being questioned by some people. You found the body? Did you see the body? Were you questioned? Over and over they didn’t seem to get it, we didn’t want to talk about it” Dax said as she climbed out of the truck.

“C’erano troppe persone….too….many. Continuavano ad affollarsi, continuavano ad arrivare (They kept crowding, kept coming)” Marco struggled under Damon’s grasp, they could see him starting to get agitated again as he thought about it.

“Let him go Damon” Kenneth said,

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He asked looking at Kenneth,

“Let him go” Kane said, Damon and Carter hesitantly released Marco from their hold and backed up quickly trying to avoid any retaliation from him.

“Concentrati amico mio, concentrati su di me. Focus Marco. Tell me what happened!” Kenneth said,

“Non lo so….I….don’t. C’erano troppe persone…. Non riuscivo a ricordare perché eravamo lì…. Non riuscivo a ricordare. (There were too many people ... I couldn’t remember why we were there ... I couldn’t remember.)” Marco ran his hands through his hair. Small snarls slipped through as he spoke.

“Mantieni la calma e concentrati (Keep calm and focus)” Kenneth kept trying to keep Marco calm, but the more he thought about what happened the more worked up he got.

“He goes bat crap crazy again, I’m putting him down.” Damon remarked.

“I….don’t, Non lo so. C’era troppa gente. Questa sensazione mi travolse e continuò a diventare più forte. (There were too many people. This feeling wash over me and kept getting stronger.)” Marco shook his head as more low snarls escaped him. He was fighting against Alejandro who was trying to be heard as well.

“Poi una voce mi parlò. (Then a voice spoke to me.)” Marco said.

“A voice, what voice? What did it say?” Kenneth asked, Marco released a growl. “Questo è importante. What did the voice say?”

“Non era al sicuro,ha detto che non era sicuro! Lei non era al sicuro e dovevamo partire prima che fosse troppo tardi. (She wasn’t safe, it said she wasn’t safe! She wasn’t safe and we had to leave before it was too late.)” Marco stated, Alejandro was fighting more to come forward, his eyes would flash amber then fade then flash amber again.

Damon started getting antsy, Marco was losing control, the more they questioned him, the more agitated he became.

“Have you heard this voice before?” Kane asked, Marco shook his head as a snarl released from him.

“It said it wasn’t safe?” Kane fired another question at him. Grabbing at his head, Marco fell to his knees shaking it from side to side.

“ALEJANDRO!” Kane roared, Amber eyes snapped towards the azure blue eyes of Ky. The intense stare between the two went on for several minutes, before it ended in Alejandro casting his eyes to the ground.

“Thank you Alejandro. Tell Marco to go sleep it off” Kane spoke, the others just looked at him. “Let’s finish this in the office” Taking her by the arm he walked back into the house.

“Stop pulling me. You all need to stop pulling me” Dax protested as she disappeared inside.

“What the fuck just happened?” Damon asked.

“If you are not in that room when I get there and I am forced to hunt you down, hell is coming with me. Is that understood?” They overheard Kane’s warning. Dax was standing on the bottom stair looking down at the floor, she felt his anger radiating off of him. She looked like a small child getting scolded. Maybe we shouldn’t have hit him! Nope!

“Yes!” She mumbled,

“Look at me and try that again” though he was calm his voice held an edge to it. He was in no mood to deal with her right now, his patience was thin, he was angry and his jaw fucking hurt.

“DAX!” He raised his voice, she flinched, and her body went rigid. What the fuck? Don’t do that to her! Ky snarled in his head. You stay out of this! Fuck you asshole, she’s my mate too! When he went to reach for her she retreated further up the stairs.

“I won’t leave the room” fighting to keep control of everything she was feeling at that moment she kept her focus on the floor refusing to bring her eyes to meet him. Before he could say anymore she bolted up the stairs to get away.

“DAX!” He called after her. Good job dumb dumb! Fuck you mongrel! Don’t get pissed at me, you’re the one that scared her! I didn’t scare her! You didn’t not scare her! FUCK!

“How’s your jaw?” Johnny asked, trying not to laugh.

“It fucking hurts. She hits hard” Kane replied, rubbing it again.

“I’m surprised she didn’t hit you again” Damon added coldly, Kane looked at him, he could see the displeased look on Damon’s face and knew he heard the way he spoke to her. Hell he hated the way he spoke to her.

“Little surprised myself,” Kane replied. She’ll never not fear a raised voice, she’ll never not fear anger, she’ll never not fear. No matter what he does he’ll never be able to break those walls down and she’ll never be free. The thought sent a ripple of despair through him.

“What the fuck was that with Alejandro?” Damon asked.

“He had something he wanted to say. But it appears the more confused Marco becomes the more he fights him. Marco might not remember things too well but Alejandro does, he also speaks English. The feeling they had at the house when they offered their condolences the first time. Marco went through it at Town Hall” Kane replied,

“The dark feeling? What did they call it….?” Johnny asked,

“A dark presence! We felt the same one when we were in the house. Maybe not at the intensity that they did, but it was there” Damon interjected.

“Alejandro said he felt it again, but on a more extreme level and it was before the voice spoke to him. Between all the people crowding around them, and that feeling, he got overwhelmed and it caused him to forget what they were doing. All they knew was something was wrong, and they had to get her out of there immediately.” Kane went on explaining what he and Alejandro spoke about.

“You should remember that the next time he locks you in the trunk.” Damon said to Kenneth.

“Fuck you Damon!” Kenneth nodded, then started laughing.

“Wish I could have seen the look on her face when he threw her in the backseat of the truck” Damon cracked up laughing,

“Judging by the tone of her voice when she called me, she was fucking pissed, and she’s probably hungry” Kane to broke out laughing.

“I think I liked the look on your face when she slugged you as soon as you opened the door” Johnny howled,

“If I knew for a second she was gonna do that I wouldn’t have opened the fucking door. She hits really hard for something so tiny” Kane again rubbed his jaw, causing them to laugh more.

“Bet it matched the look on Johnny’s face when Marco kicked him in the chest after Damon grabbed him.” Kenneth laughed harder when Johnny rubbed his chest.

“Don’t laugh Kenny boy, we saw the look on your face when he tackled you” Johnny shot back.

“How did you know hitting him was gonna straighten him out?” Damon asked,

“I didn’t. I just want to hit him for tackling me into the ground” Kenneth admitted. They all broke out laughing again.

The next hour was spent filling Kenneth in on what they uncovered at the Morganson house.

“So Mrs. Morganson is Carl’s sister, but Kent knew Carl from high school. Mrs. Morganson changed her last name when he was arrested for the attempted murder of Dax, but married Kent knowing he was still connected to her brother. Donny has a twin brother named Evan and we don’t know which one is running around town and which one is potentially dead in a box and hopefully in the ground.” Kenneth surmised,

“Pretty much!” Kane replied,

“Good times!” Kenneth said,

“Well hold on to your fancy suit, its about to get a fuck of a lot better” Damon said, as he proceeded to tell him about Donny’s cabin.

“Her hats? He has her hats?” Kenneth asked,

“He took her hats, sweaters, whatever he could get his hands on,” Johnny replied.

“There were photos of her work, not just the finished projects either, stuff she was working on, like he was doing some sort of weird timeline of it. As well as pictures of her. But the pictures weren’t the same as the ones Magnus took. His seemed more….personal, more like something a loved one would take and less like a creepy stalker.” Kane added.

“He had a fucking shrine!” Damon said,

“What?” Kenneth looked at them all,

“There was a picture of her….I can’t even begin to describe it” Damon said as he pulled out his phone and showed it to him. It was a shrine all right. Her picture sat in front of a pair of angel wings with a halo above her head. Always my angel written across the bottom.

“I think we found Looney toons,” Kane stated.

Kenneth scrolled through the photos on Damon’s phone, trying to piece something together. He was collecting her stuff, but why? It didn’t make sense to him. He thought it was just a way for him to feel close to her at all times, but the more items of Dax’s he saw in the cabin the more it began to click. When he saw the closet full of clothes, that was the final piece for him.

“Santa merda!” He exclaimed,

“What?” Damon looked at him confusion crossing his face,

“Holy shit what?” Johnny asked,

“Brushing up on your Italian?” Kane asked his brow arched,

“Next time Marco swears at me I’d like to know what the little shit is saying” Johnny replied, with a shrug of his shoulders.

“He is gearing up for the end game” Kenneth showed them the photo of the closet. “That is why he is taking her stuff. We thought it was to be close to her, it’s not. He thinks if all her stuff is there, she will be more comfortable and inclined to stay with him.”

“He’s gonna take her?” Damon asked, eyes widening.

“He’s gonna try. It’s the final trial.” Kenneth said, looking back at the photos. “He has photos of Magnus too”

“So we were right? The showdown between the two nutcases is the final trial and the winner gets the girl.” Damon said.

“Why is he taking photos of Magnus?” Johnny asked,

“Watching his movements, keeping tabs on him. His comings and goings, who he’s talking to. It’s smart really, to know your enemy better than he knows you. It wouldn’t surprise me if “Donny” didn’t have Magnus under full time surveillance. He’s clearly smart enough to do it.” Kane replied,

“If he’s watching Magnus, there might be a chance he’s watching us as well.” Johnny said,

“I hope so. We can use that to our advantage. Step up patrol in the woods surrounding the house and the warehouse.” Kane said. “Tell me about the disturbance in the woods at the cemetery” He sat in his office chair.

“Groundskeeper. He was a little surprised when Carter jumped him and threw him deeper into the woods.” Kenneth replied,

“Carter jumped the groundskeeper?” Damon asked, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah! But he could still smell both of them there. We think Magnus was actually at the funeral, hidden amongst the other guests. Unless Carter went through the guests, which is what he wanted to do, our hands were tied” Kenneth explained.

“Fuck!” Kane slammed his fist onto his desk.

“Don’t you fucking break that desk!” Johnny warned him, earning him a glare from Kane.

“Who was Magnus there for? Does he have a good relationship with Kent or Mrs. Morganson?” Damon asked,

“Marco and Dax both said they called all the family. Would they consider Magnus family? He technically is Mrs. Morganson’s nephew, she could have called him.” Kenneth specutlated.

“They had to have called him. He would show up to make sure Kent was dead, to make sure White was dead. Marco and Dax were a last minute invite, he wouldn’t know they were coming. He was under the impression she was dead.” Kane said, biting back a growl. This was bad, he now knows she’s not dead and she’s back in his cross hairs.

“Which one killed Kent?” Johnny asked,

“$20 on Magnus” Damon made the bet,

“$50 on Donny” Kane countered. “If Magnus killed Kent, he wouldn’t have shown up at the funeral, he wouldn’t have to. He would know, but he showed up.”

“Meaning Donny had to be the one to kill him. They put time of death when again?” Johnny asked as he watched Damon hand Kane the money cursing under his breath.

“Dodger said the coroner put the time of death Thursday night between 10 and 11pm. Said the weapon was a bat” Damon replied, putting his wallet away.

“The same day Dax was hit by the car. Donny was there, he knew the car was meant for Damon. She was hit instead, Kent became a traitor and Donny beat him to death with a bat. Donny killed Kent.” Kane said.

“Wonder what Mrs. Morganson would say to that?” Kenneth asked.

A knock came to the door before anyone had a chance to speculate the answer.

“Come in,” Kane called. When Marco walked in he was holding his laptop. He placed it on the desk in front of Kane and showed him the email. “Son of a bitch” Kane growled out.

“What? Son of a bitch what?” Damon asked,

“Magnus just emailed Looney toons” Kane replied as he reread it.

“Liar, liar you’ll soon be on fire. She is not dead, like you had me believe. She will soon be mine and you will be kicking yourself. By taking out Kent you did me a favour. Who’s the simpleton now? Thanks for the opportunity….cousin! Condolences for your loss” Kane read the email to them, his jaw clenching tight when he was done.

“Magnus knows who Looney toons is?” Johnny asked wide eyed,

“That’s what it sounds like. The question is has he always known?” Damon asked.

….grrrRRRrRRrRRRRRrRRrRRRrrrr….

The growl rang out around the room, vibrating off the walls and rattling the window panes. Kane was not happy, Ky was not happy. Marco immediately snatched his laptop back before Kane brought his fist down onto the desk surface cracking the slate stone top.

“Feel better?” Damon asked, looking at the desk.

“No! I want them both dead. That fucking bitch. Her going to that fucking funeral, put her back in his sights. He’s going to step up his game trying to get to her now.” Kane growled out again.

“What about if you take her and get out of town?” Johnny asked,

“What?” Kane looked at him.

“The third trial is to overcome or prevent a tragedy by the Blue Moon right?” Johnny said, they all nodded. “If she’s not here, would that not classify as preventing a tragedy?”

“Would it be that simple? Could it be that simple?” Kane asked,

“We have till the Blue Moon, that’s only days away.” Damon added,

“The book never said how we had to prevent it, just prevent it. Her birthday is coming up, take her somewhere.” Johnny replied,

“It won’t work” Kenneth commented,

“Why the fuck not?” Johnny yelled, then apologized “Sorry Kenneth.” He ran his hands through his hair, this was stressing him out.

“It’s alright. It won’t work, because her not being here doesn’t prevent the tragedy, it just prolongs it. If they are not here….” Kenneth was saying,

“We’ll die!” Kane finished for him. It was a good idea and it gave them hope, even if it was fleeting. Kane stood from his desk and headed towards his office door, pulling it open he stopped.

“Do you want to know what will prevent the tragedy? Finding them first and ripping them limb from fucking limb.” With that said he disappeared out the door leaving his men standing in his office.

“Yeah that would do it” Damon said, nodding his head in agreement.