The Alpha Wants Everything Book 1 The King's Queen

Dax paced the room for a bit, she was mad. He sent her to their room like a child. He told her to stay put. What was she, a dog? You did hit him! You agreed with me! Clearly you shouldn’t have listened! Clearly! She was tired, scared, mad, stressed. All these emotions were swirling around her. Everything she fought to control on the stairs when he was talking to her poured from her the second she closed the bedroom door. Everything Marco said at Town Hall, everything in the parking lot. He was like a wild man when he threw her in the truck, which apparently didn’t classify as touching Luna in a disrespectful manner. She had no idea what Marco was going on about in Italian. She only understood the word important, but that was all. Why was she important? What was she important for? She had no idea, but Marco was angry about it. Was he angry that she was important? That doesn’t make sense why would he be angry about that? I don’t know! Maybe because you’re important and it wasn’t safe for you? Maybe, that makes a little more sense! He wouldn’t have been so protective otherwise! Why are we important? Cause we’re awesome! Not helping! I don’t know why we’re important, but we are! Her head hurt, she was getting a headache. Her fist hurt as well. Boulder head has a hard face! Yes he does! She shook her hand and stretched it out only to do it again. He had a really hard face. Maybe a bath! He did say don’t leave the room! Bring one of the books, put on some music. Our day sucked and we could use some relaxation!

Kane climbed the last of the stairs to the fifth floor. He was not looking forward to the conversation he needed to have with her. Last time he raised his voice to her, she told him to go away and leave her alone. Shouldn’t have yelled at her! I know! She’s scared! I know! There wasn’t really anything Ky could say to him that he didn’t already know at this point. She was scared, she was left in the dark about Marco and he shouldn’t have done that. She listened to him, didn’t argue, she just couldn’t keep up with him. She shouldn’t be left in the dark about any of this! I know! You need to tell her what is going on! I know! Their time was running out, they had an idea of what the third trial might be, but was it just speculation? They didn’t have time to figure it out. They had to find Donny and Magnus and deal with them. They deserve to die horribly! Violently! Kane agreed. What about the bitch? What about her? Was she in on this? I don’t know! Can we kill her anyway? Why? Why not? What would killing Mrs. Morgenson do? Make us feel better! The bitch did deserve to die, not even Kane could deny that. That whole family deserved to die, he would really be doing the world a favour if he killed them all. He would focus on the approaching Blue Moon then figure the rest out.

Opening the door to their room, he didn’t see her, she wasn’t on the couch or curled up in the bed. The bathroom door was closed, and he could smell the faintest scent of magnolia and lavender wafting from the crack under the door. Crossing the room he knocked on the door, when she didn’t reply he tried again.

“Baby!” He called out to her

“Baby, we need to talk” He heard a slight movement on the other side, but still she said nothing.

“Baby I’m coming in” Please say she didn’t lock the door! Johnny will love it if you break the door again! Turning the knob it was to his relief that it twisted freely and the door popped open. Her scent mixed in with whatever she used flooded him. When he opened the door she looked up at him from the bubble filled tub.

“You were taking too long” She said, her voice was small and choked he could hear the pain in her words. Could see that she had been chewing her bottom lip. The tears welling in her eyes.

“Baby, I’m sorry!” Kane crossed over to her, gathering her into his arms. He didn’t care that she was wet, he didn’t care that she was covered in bubbles. He just wanted to hold her, it was the only thing he wanted to do the second he found the gun case in Kent Morganson’s sock drawer. Dax buried her face in his neck, the tears streamed down her cheeks as she clung to him. It was the only thing she wanted to do when she heard Marco utter that they weren’t safe. She wanted to hide in his arms and hear him tell her everything was going to be fine. Wanted him to tell her it was just another nightmare and it would be over soon and they could start their happily ever after. But it’s not, it’s not just another nightmare. Everything was not going to be fine, it was not going to be over soon and if she understood what she read in the book about what Marco said, they were not going to get happy ever after.

They stayed like that for the longest time, just holding each other, her gentle sobs had given way to small sniffles.

“What’s a Fated Soul? And why did Marco call me that?” She broke the silence first.

“What?” Kane pulled back from her so he could see her face.

“What’s a Fated Soul?” She repeated,

“It’s a werewolf legend about two souls created by Fate. Written in the stars destined for eternity if they could prove they were worthy of it.” Kane told her.

“Why did Marco call me that?” She asked,

“He called you that?” Kane closed his eyes, raising his head to the ceiling. Cursing everything in his head, he didn’t want her to find out like this.

“He said something to me in Italian. The translation app on my phone runs in the background, Marco sometimes says stuff. When I went to turn some music on I saw what he said to me. One of the books Damon gave to me mentioned something about it. No more secrets Kane” He looked down at her, she knew. Tell her! Ky urged. She needs to know!

“One born of light with untold power. One born of darkness from untold pain. Mates are given to us by the Moon Goddess. She was blessed with this power from Fate. It is up to Fate when we meet our mates, but Fate also wanted to create a match. One to rule them all. The pair have to face three trials in order to prove their worth of this honour. The first trial designed for the soul of light. It’s to find their match, accept their darkness. The second trial designed for the soul of darkness. Reciprocate love, accept their light. The third trial is in fate’s hands, to overcome, conquer or prevent a great tragedy. Something from the past that never got a chance to happen. This needs to be completed by midnight the night of the Blue Moon. No pair has ever made it.” She took a shaky breath and clung tighter to him.

“I’m sorry baby!” He held her in his arms, pressed her tighter to him as he sat on the bathroom floor.

“When is the Blue Moon?” Her voice hitched,

“Aug 27” She squeezed him tighter as a strangled sob escaped her.

“I’m so sorry baby, I am so very sorry” Tears slid down his cheeks as he told her over and over how sorry he was.

“So what do we know for sure?” Johnny asked as they looked over the white board in the office.

“Magnus knows she’s alive” Damon said,

“Donny or his brother is Looney toons” Kenneth added,

“Their both nuts about her, one is nuts nuts, and the other thinks she’s his gift” Damon continued,

“The Blue Moon is days away, their both hiding in the shadows biding their time. The funeral and Town Hall were the closest either of them had gotten to her. If it wasn’t for Marco would one of them have made their move?” Johnny asked.

“Si!” Marco said as he turned his laptop to face them.

“You are still the simpleton Magnus. Kent was a loose end that needed to be cleaned up, and I am not done yet, two more to go. She will be mine, I will take her away from here, and you will suffer a bloody violent death for what you have done to my angel. My condolences on the loss of your father and….mother” Johnny read the email out loud for the others to hear.

“What the fuck?” Damon asked,

“Did he do something to Marie?” Kenneth asked, Marco was already typing away onto his laptop. Looking for any information on what might have happened to Marie.

Another chime from the computer caught their attention. Marco opened the attachment and there was a picture of Magnus at the diner, taken earlier today.

“Supports Kane’s theory that he has Magnus under surveillance.” Johnny said

“I see you cousin, but you don’t see me”

“He’s watching his every move!” Damon said

“Johnny!” Marco said, catching his attention, as he once more turned his laptop towards him.

“Marie Whitekar was found dead in her home last night after a neighbour heard a disturbance and alerted the police. Cause of death was blunt force trauma she sustained to the back of her head after she fell down the stairs. High levels of zolpidem, a sedative commonly found in the drug Ambien, was discovered in her system after an autopsy was performed. Her death was ruled an accidental overdose.” Johnny read. Marco’s laptop chimed again and both he and Marco looked at each other. Opening the attachment this time it was a video clip. Johnny stood back from the laptop allowing the others to see. They watched as an unidentified someone held the camera and looked around Magnus’s childhood home. At the photos of him as a boy on the wall, his smiling mother. The camera moved through the house quietly taking the stairs till they reached the top. The door to one room was opened and the camera walked in. The posters on the wall, the stuffed animal on the bed, the clothes still neatly folded in the drawer.

“She said she was waiting for her happy little boy to come home” Johnny said as they continued to watch the clip play. The camera moved down the hall towards a partially open room. They could see a light on as the camera entered the room quietly. They watched as a hand poured a crushed powder into a glass of water on the bed side table and gave it a mix. Slowly the camera backed out of the room but did not once pan from the glass on the table. They watched as Marie came into view she placed something into her mouth and grabbed the glass to swallow whatever it was she took down.

“Don’t drink it!” Damon yelled at the laptop. Kenneth and Johnny both just looked at him.

“What?” He said as he looked back at both of them. They turned back to the clip and kept watching, at first nothing happened, then everything happened in a flurry of movement. Marie was stumbling from her room. Her legs were wobbly and she was falling. She managed to get herself to the stairs and she stood there. The same hand came into view again and Damon was fighting back the urge to yell at her to turn around. When the hand pushed her forward. The camera showed her hitting every step on the way down until she came to rest at the bottom of the stairs. The camera followed down till it was focused over top of her zooming in. They watched the life drain from her eyes, they watched her gasp her last breath of air, they watched her die. The last thing was the hand picking up Marie’s and waving bye to the camera then it faded to black.

They stood quietly in the office for a few minutes just staring at the blank screen in front of them.

“Don’t drink it?” Johnny asked and looked at Damon again.

“Yeah!” He couldn’t even defend himself. He yelled at a video clip showing the death of Marie Whitekar, after they read an article saying she was dead.

“At least I didn’t yell at her to turn around when she was on the stairs.” Was all he could think to say.

“Good thing!” Johnny replied,

“Wouldn’t the autopsy show she was pushed?” Kenneth finally asked something.

“It didn’t look like he had to push her hard enough to cause the fall and she hit every step on the way down. The damage done to her body would cover any bruise he left on her.” Johnny said.

“Who else is Donny planning on killing….besides Magnus?” Damon asked. They all looked at each other and no one had the answer to that question. The second person could be anyone.

Kane and Dax were laying in their bed wrapped in each other’s arms. He had finished telling her everything, he left nothing out. Tears spilled from both their eyes several times. She begged him to tell her it was all a lie and they would get their happy ever after, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t tell her that and he wanted to.

“You fight, I fight!” She whispered,

“You fight, I fight!” He repeated and held her tighter to him. The Blue Moon was days away and they still had a chance. They still had a chance to finish this and come out on top.

“We’re missing something,” she said.

“What are we missing?” Kane asked her.

“The trials had to be completed in order?” She asked

“Yes!” He answered

“You found me, you accepted my demons my darkness the day I showed you the room” She looked at him,

“I did!” It wasn’t even a tough choice for him, she was his, demons and all.

“I said I loved you the first time when I was brought here” She didn’t even hesitate when she said it out loud.

“Ok!” He felt it in the kitchen

“We’re missing something. The third trial should have been complete, when you killed the guy that attacked me in the loft and again when you went to New York and killed Carl before he got out”

“Right!” He nodded his head

“This should have been over, but it’s not, we missed something, a step, an important step” she again looked at him.

“We need to see that book” Dax nodded her head and they both scrambled from the bed to find clothes and get to the office.

“Where’s the book?” Kane asked as soon as he walked into the office. They all stared wide eyed at Dax as she stood behind him.

“What book?” Damon asked, not sure what to do exactly.

“She knows everything, now where’s the book? We missed something, a step, something important” Kane said.

“You….t-tell….her?” Marco asked from behind Kane’s desk, he was now standing.

“No, you did!” Kane replied, looking at him.

“Me?” Marco asked, his face scrunching he was utterly confused.

“When you threw me in the back seat” Dax replied, “You said something in Italian and the translation app on my phone runs in the background. When I went to turn some music on I saw what you said to me.” She added

“Tesoro….”

“It’s ok Marco. But we need the book.” She said, looking at him. Damon gave the book to Kane who gave the book to her and she started reading it.

“There’s something you need to see,” Johnny whispered to Kane. They showed him the emails from Donny to Magnus including the video clip.

“He killed her?” Kane asked after watching the video.

“Her death was ruled an accidental overdose, the cause being blunt force trauma to the back of her head as she hit every step on the way down.” Johnny replied.

“Why did he kill her?” Kane asked,

“We don’t know. Maybe to prove to Magnus he can get to anyone.” Kenneth speculated,

“No, because of feisty pants. Marie said it herself she took the wrong child that day. If Marie would have taken her, she would have got a better life than what she did. Donny blames Marie for the life Dax got, just like he blamed the incubator for rejecting her. He was punishing them, righting wrongs. You said it yourself, he thinks he’s her mate and the things we do for our mates….” Damon said. They all just looked at each other. Kane tore her nightmare head off, Johnny declared war on a pack….the things they did indeed do for their mates.

“He says he has two more to take out, we know one is Magnus, but we can’t figure out who the second is. The list is long, and it includes you” Johnny said.

“No Magnus isn’t one, he’s not a loose end he’s the obstacle. He has two more planned, but I don’t think he’s focused on them right now, he’s looking at the end game. He wants the obstacle out of the way. He’s taunting Magnus in hopes that it draws his focus off of her and on to him. Magnus will go after him and he’ll take out the threat.” Kane said, they all looked over at her. Her face was scrunched as she was writing like crazy on a pad of paper.

“I think she found something,” Damon remarked as they watched on.

“Baby! Did you find something?” Kane asked her as he crossed over to her.

“Yes, no, maybe, I don’t know….I think so” She replied,

“What did you find?” He asked, looking at her notes. Except they weren’t notes, it was a circle with five pillars.

“What’s a fated circle?” She asked, “it’s mentioned a few times, but I can’t find where it tells what it is exactly. It just says carved from their actions the deserted, the disparaged, the desolate, the disconnected and the degraded form the five pillars needed to create the fated circle around the souls. When this circle is complete the third trial begins.”

“Fated circle?” Damon repeated, they looked at Kenneth, he had the most knowledge amongst them.

“Don’t look at me, never heard of it. No two souls that my family knows about made it past the second trial. This is the farthest any pair has come” Kenneth replied.

She kept reading the book, there had to be something in it that explained what it was, gave them some clue, anything. Problem was half the book wasn’t even in English, she didn’t know what language it was in. Slow down and breathe! Her wolf cautioned. I can’t Nyx this is important! I know that’s why you need to slow down, look again! Look at what? I don’t know, something! Nyx? Something looks….I don’t know! Ok, slow down, look again! Dax took deep breaths as she looked again through the book, but came up empty. While she was reading she kept drawing the pillared circle over and over again.

“She’s gonna fill this whole room with that circle. Maybe someone should take her pencil away.” Damon suggested.

“No, let her draw it. It’s important and it’s keeping her mind from pulling her in too many directions.” Kane said as they turned back to the timeline they had drawn.

“So what are we going to do?” Kenneth asked,

“We have to draw them out, make them come to us” Kane replied,

“How?” Damon inquired,

“The Art Festival!” Johnny replied.

“What?” Kane looked at him,

“The Art Festival, if she helps with the Art Festival it puts her out in the open. Makes her more accessible. Right now we are playing hide the Dax, they can’t find her, this goes on. She’s out in the open like she was at the funeral today, they would make a move.” Johnny explained,

“You want me to use her as bait?” Kane asked looking at Johnny like he lost his fucking mind.

“We don’t have a choice” Johnny said, they again all looked at her.

“What’s stopping fate from interfering again?” Kane asked,

“Exactly, why did fate interfere? If the fight scene for the girl is the final trial, why did fate interfere and stop it?” Johnny asked,

“Maybe because it was just Marco and he got overwhelmed with the crowd, so she wasn’t safe or maybe the third trial is something you and her have to go through together and you weren’t there” Damon guessed.

“She helps host the Art Festival, we can put werewolves everywhere” Johnny said.

“Fuck!” They all turned to look at her as she was trying to clean up the mess she made when she knocked a glass of water over. THUMP! Cringing as they watched her smack her head off the bottom of the coffee table, and biting back their laughter when she started swearing at it for being a jerk.

“Baby, are you ok?” Kane asked, trying not to break out laughing as she continued to glare at the table.

“No, that stupid thing bit me” She replied as she rubbed the back of her head where she hit. Kane crossed the office to help her up and examine the back of her head.

“Ow!” She winced when he pressed gently on the injured site.

“Sorry baby!” He replied,

“Ow!” She said again, when he pressed again.

“Sorry!”He repeated.

“If you were sorry you would stop fucking touching it” She mumbled under her breath. The round of snickers told her she wasn’t quiet enough.

“You’re not as quiet as you think you are” He muttered back to her. She stole a glance at him, carrying a sheepish expression. You have got to learn inside voice! Nyx howled in her head.

“Baby, why did you write words on the pillars you drew?” Her face crinkled in confusion as she looked from him to all the circles she drew. The water had caused the ink to blur and written on one pillar from each drawing was a word. She looked back up at him, confusion all over her face, she had no idea why she did that. She had no memory of even doing it.

“Kenneth!” Marco called him and showed him something on his laptop.

“What have you done cousin? Why would you do that? She had done nothing to you, her death served no purpose. Killing her was pure malicious hatred. How about I turn the tables on you and kill yours?” Kenneth read the email from Magnus to Donny.

“I don’t understand something, why does Magnus keep calling Donny cousin if he knows who he is?” Damon asked,

“He does but he doesn’t. Don’t forget Donny could be either Donny or his brother….Evan. Magnus knows he’s his cousin, just doesn’t know which one.” Kenneth replied. “Donny replied back though”

“What do I care if you kill Erin? Cleaning up that loose end would be doing me a favour, she’s outlived her usefulness just like her halfwit of a husband. So with my heartiest blessing by all means end her dreadful life in the most disturbing way possible. It would be interesting to see if a simpleton like you could come up with something more creative than bashing someone’s head in with a rock”

“He was there the day Magnus tried to kill Carl?” Johnny asked as they all shared a look.

“Nyx said there were four shadows that day, she just couldn’t see who the fourth belonged to.” Kane replied.

“He sent a photo!” Kenneth turned the laptop to show them. Mrs. Morganson packing the trunk or her car with a target locked on her back and a message at the bottom.

“Go get her Magnus. She’ll be leaving for the cabin soon and your chance will slip through your fingers”

“If he keeps taunting him like that Magnus is going to snap” Damon said,

“I think that’s the idea, Magnus will go after him instead of Dax” Kane replied.

“So Mrs. Morganson is one of his loose ends, whose the other one?” Damon asked,

“The brother!” They all turned to look at her. “Mrs. Morganson cast him aside and fussed over his brother, making him a pariah. He’ll kill his brother before he kills his mother. She clearly loved him more and his death will destroy her.”

CHIME!

“What’s he saying now?” Damon asked as they turned back to the laptop.

“From Magnus this time: There is clearly something wrong with you cousin! What happened in your pathetic little life to make you so hostile? Mommy didn’t love you enough? The pillar of the community didn’t give you enough attention? Or maybe it’s realizing you are losing this game we are playing? While you were stuck being the dutiful little boy, I could have walked off with her at Town Hall. I was that close, she has the most flawless skin I have ever seen and….I am going to stop reading right there” Kenneth said as a low snarl escaped from him.

“I’m gonna take it by that, the rest of what he said wasn’t good” Damon quipped, Kenneth could only nod his head. Pillar! What? Pillar! Yup, a big stone column used to keep things up! No, pillar of the community….people can be pillars! Dax looked back at the table to her drawings of the circle and then picked up the book to where she read about it. Carved from action….people can be carved from actions! It’s not a structure? No, it’s a circle of people! Which people? Dax looked up at the others in the room. She looked at Damon. The deserted! Johnny. The degraded! Kenneth and Marco. The desolate and the disconnected! Who’s the fifth? Carter….the disparaged! Holy fuck….did we do it? Did we figure it out? I think we did!

Dax moved to the white board and started drawing the circle again this time she wrote the five pillars and put their names beside them. Using lines she connected each one to their action that made them a pillar to begin with.

“Someone has an obsession with that circle” Damon commented as they all watched her curiously.

“I think she figured it out,” Kane said, stepping closer to the board to see what she was doing.

“You’re the pillars. You create the circle, every event that happened was just one more pillar carved from action. Damon and the man in the woods he’s the deserted, Kenneth and Marco were Carl the desolate and the disconnected, Johnny was the scan the degraded and Carter, he’s the disparaged, but the circle didn’t complete until he got his rank,” Dax said when she stood back to look at it.

CHIME!

They all looked at each other then looked towards the laptop.

“And that dear cousin is what will always make you a simpleton. You wouldn’t get within 50 yards of her, before one of her grotesquely oversized bodyguards would have taken you down and if not one of them, then the vicious hounds from hell I have seen. The tall one keeps her surrounded by an army, but go ahead, give it a try. It would be entertaining to see how far you get. I might have been doing my good boy duties at Town Hall, but I know you were nowhere near her. The bodyguard she had with her didn’t allow anyone to get that close. And for the game I am not too worried, I am closer to winning it than you. You should concede now to prevent further embarrassment. How Carl could think you were deserving of such a perfect angel is beyond me? But he was an idiot and now he’s a dead idiot. Shame that bear got to him before I could, it would have been fun to make him scream, like your mother did….When. She. Fell! Hope nothing bad happened to the bear. I would wish you luck in the coming days, cousin, but that would be an exercise in futility and it would be utterly cruel to give false hope to the less fortunate. You should enjoy your last remaining moments, see a show, bang the bleached blonde slut some more, she seems more your type. The bluffs are quite lovely this time of year, maybe while you’re there you can hurl yourself off of them. It won’t be much of a loss, no one would mourn you. Goodbye cousin”

“Wow!” Was all Johnny could say.

“We’re not grotesquely oversized” Damon muttered as he looked down at himself.

“What did he mean hounds from hell?” Kane asked, they all looked at one another,

“The night I fell asleep at the warehouse. Dodger said he brought more warriors in, maybe some of them were in wolf form?” Dax offered,

“Then he was there that night as well” Kane said, he was thanking everything at this point that she called in a security detail and took the precautions she did.

“I’m never leaving the fucking house again” She replied, “He was there, he knew I was there, he knew I was alone and if it wasn’t for Dodger pulling in reinforcement….”

“Nothing was going to happen to you, the security detail and the precautions you took were more than enough to ensure your safety. You had men stationed at the doors, no one was getting in that building with you” Kane pulled her into his arms and she buried herself into him, he felt her body tremble against his. She was scared and there went Johnny’s plan of using her as bait to lure them out.

CHIME!

“Oh for fuck sake! Can’t those two just fuck off and die now. Can’t a lightning bolt just come down and fry them both? Is it too much to ask that the ground open up and swallow them….and Mrs. Morganson?” She huffed at the laptop.

“No baby, that’s not too much to ask!” Kane held her closer to him, he was fighting back his urge to laugh at her outburst. He looked at Johnny, his shoulders were shaking and his face was turning red with how hard he was fighting to hold back his laughter.

“Non è niente, avresti dovuto sentirla al cimitero. È stata molto creativa nell’uccidere la signora Morganson. Saresti orgoglioso! (That’s nothing, you should have heard her in the cemetery. She was very creative in killing Mrs. Morganson. You would be proud!)” Kenneth looked over at Marco and shook his head.

“I heard, she was very creative indeed” Kenneth agreed

“Tesoro….win!” Marco nodded. Johnny lost it at that, Marco sounded so proud of her.

“There is a reason Marco is not allowed to play that game” Kenneth repeated what he said to Kane on the phone.

“Perché sei un bambino grande!” Marco said to Kenneth “I….scare….him!” The office broke out laughing at that comment.

When the laughter died they turned back to the laptop one more time.

“SHE IS MINE, NOT YOURS! SHE WAS PROMISED TO ME, NOT YOU! I don’t need your luck, you keep it, you’ll need it more. When I find you I’ll kill you. You’ll be throwing yourself off the bluffs when I get to her first. Or maybe I should just kill the little bitch. That sounds like a great plan actually. I’ll take her, have my way with her, then I’ll just fucking kill her. Good talk cousin see you in hell!”

“Yup! Never leaving the house, ever again!” Dax said after Kenneth finished reading the last e-mail. Kane shot a look at Johnny and he already knew they had to come up with a better plan.

****

He sat in the WOLF PACK bar and watched his cousin, down drink after drink. The more he messaged him the angrier he saw him getting. The last message really did the trick. He was making this too easy. When he felt his phone vibrate a wicked smile spread across his face. Magnus was right where he wanted him, angry and completely unstable. More threats, that’s all Magnus did was threaten, he never actually did anything, he was just bluster. Stupid simpleton! He brought a shaky breath into his lungs when he read the last part. He will never get the chance to harm one hair on her head. He’ll make sure of it. He moved towards the bar and ordered another drink. With the bartender turned away he poured a powder in and swirled it around then proceeded to hide amongst the crowd and deliver his drink to his intended target. Say goodbye Magnus….hell waits for you! He thought his wicked grin spreading more across his face, snapping a photo as he watched his cousin down the drink.

****

CHIME!

They looked back towards the computer to see a picture of Magnus sitting at the bar in WOLF PACK. No one dared to say a word as they read the text under the photo.

“Careful what you drink, cousin….”

****

He watched as Magnus wobbled on the bar stool, trying to steady himself as he looked at his phone that slipped from his hand and clattered to the bar top. The bartender approached, said something to him, then his hand shot out to keep him stable.

“Think you’ve had enough friend, cab will be waiting out front”

“It’s ok, he’s my cousin. I got him.”

“Are you sure Donny? He’s fucking blitzed” the bartender arched his eyebrow in question.

“Yeah, it’s ok. He was at Kent’s funeral, he took it really hard” The bartender just nodded, giving a sympathetic smile.

“Sorry about your loss, but get him the fuck out of here” He pointed towards Magnus who was still weaving and wobbling on the stool, trying his hardest to keep his bearing about him.

“You got it. Come on cousin let’s get you home” Donny pulled Magnus to his feet, then grabbed his phone. Magnus tried to slur something.

“You’re not coming out clear cousin, I think you had a little too much.” He was trying not to enjoy this, but his blood was pumping with exhilaration. He caught his prey and now it was time for him to pay. Then he would claim his prize. Guiding Magnus out the bar door and into the darkness of the night. Visions of his angel danced in his head and a smile played upon his face. Soon!