Chapter 51: Chapter 50 - Cody

Friday 25 December

~*Cody’s POV*~

“Takeshi is going to need to be brought in on this. It can’t wait. And seeing as Spence is not doing his fucking job…”

I was sitting on the sofa watching TV, waiting for Mum to finish her exam on Bells, when I heard the door to Nat’s bedroom open. Mum was talking to Nat as they shut the door and walked into the lounge room. I looked over my shoulder to see Mum pull out her mobile and start pacing. Nat came over and sat down next to me, curling her legs under her.

“Is he okay?” I asked Nat. I’d never seen Bells collapse like that before. He’d always been one of the best fighters in the sparring sessions at camp, and even during school, he’d been one of the best athletes. To see him so broken was an enormous shock to the system.

“Auden thinks he’s got a cracked cheekbone, but the rest is just severe bruising.” Nat leaned her much paler than normal cheek on her knee and watched me. I could tell that she was shaken, but she looked like she was holding together reasonably well. “Why didn’t either of you tell me about Tatum?”

“We didn’t want you to worry.” I looked down at my hands in my blanket-clad lap, my fingers fidgeting.

“Don’t you think I had a right to decide that for myself?” She didn’t sound angry, just resigned.

I sighed. “You already had so much going on with your memory. We didn’t want to add to your stress.”

Nat put her hand over my still fretting fingers to calm them. “I’m stronger than you think, Cody.” She leaned over on the couch and pulled me in for a hug, only drawing apart when Mum sat on the cushioned chair opposite.

“Takeshi is on his way down now.” She toyed with her phone, her elbows on both armrests. I could tell that she had gone into doctor mode: quiet, determined, steady, calm. She wasn’t Mum right now; she was Doctor Auden of the Matlock Pack and one of her charges had been hurt.

Our heads flicked over to Nat’s door when it opened, and Bells carefully shuffled out. I got up and let him have my seat on the couch and the blanket and went and sat on a barstool at the kitchen bench.

Bells had just got himself settled when there was a gentle knock on the door. Bells jumped, his eyes wide as saucers, until Nat calmed him down. “It’s just Takeshi. Auden called him down.” His attention turned to Mum, who nodded.

I got up to answer the door, but I asked who it was before I opened it.

A quiet voice answered: “Cody, it’s Takeshi. Auden asked me to come down?”

I heard Bells breathe a sigh of relief as I opened the door to reveal Takeshi leaning heavily on a cane. I moved to the side and ushered him in, before immediately closing the door and locking it again. Auden left her seat and came over to help him limp to it. He moved like he was eighty years old, leaning heavily on the cane, first as he walked, then as he lowered himself into the chair. It was beyond obvious that he was incredibly ill.

Mum had said that he would only be out for a few days, but I couldn’t see any way that he was going to be better that quickly. Standing off to the side near my bedroom door, I watched Mum hover next to him, saw the care that she took with him. I had always known that she held Takeshi in very high regard. Right now, I was realising how much she adored him and would do absolutely anything for him.

“Right,” Takeshi began. “Auden tells me that there’s something I need to see and listen to, and it couldn’t wait.” He looked at Mum with a curious expression.

Mum started pacing the lounge as she relayed what had happened over the past few hours. She covered everything she knew about what Tatum had been doing to Bells over the past couple of years; how I had been targeted; how she had confronted Tatum in the cafeteria earlier in the day, although I did note that she left out the minor fact about her eyes and voice changing; how Bells had brought me home then found Tatum waiting for him in their apartment; how she had found their apartment door wide open when she had gone looking for Tatum; how she had called Spence and how he had disregarded her concerns.

Takeshi remained quiet, listening to it all. When Mum had finished talking, he turned to Bells with a stony face. “What happened in the apartment?”

Bells talked about the fight that he had had with Tatum; how gleeful Tatum was to have been fighting; how Tatum had sung Christmas carols when he’d kicked him while he was on the floor; how turned-on Tatum had been by Bells’ pain; how he’d fled to the only place he knew that would be occupied, praying that Tatum wouldn’t follow him.

When Bells fell silent, Takeshi took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I can see the injuries on your face. How bad is it for the rest of your body?”

Bells lifted his shirt to show Takeshi the still deep red marks all over his torso. I lifted a hand to my mouth and swallowed heavily, trying desperately to keep calm. It was the first time I’d got a good look at Bells’ injuries, and there were welts everywhere. I noticed one particularly horrifying mark on the right side of his ribcage that looked remarkably like a boot print.

Takeshi clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. He turned to Mum. “And Spence did nothing? Even when he saw all of this?” He waved his hand towards Bells to point at what he was talking about.

“He said it was a brotherly squabble and that, as Alpha, he had other more important things to worry about.”

“Son of a bitch,” Takeshi muttered, shaking his head in disgust. He slowly leaned back in the chair. “Do we know where Tatum is now?”

We all shook our heads.

“He said he had plans with Zelda tonight.” Bells looked at me. “Have you–”

“Tried calling Zelda?” I cut him off. “Yup; she’s not picking up.”

“Would he return to your Mum’s?” Takeshi asked Bells.

“Probably not tonight,” said Bells. “Whenever he goes out with Zelda, their dates typically last all night.”

“How do you feel about going back to your Mum’s?”

The colour drained from Bells’ face. “Uh… I can’t… Uh…”

“Never mind; forget I asked.” Takeshi waved his hand in the air. “We will need to talk to your Mum about this though.”

Bells hung his head. “This is going to devastate her.” He raised his head and looked at me. “Crap. She needs her car back. It’s still probably sitting out front.”

“Give me the keys. Mum can follow me and drive me back.” I looked at Mum, who nodded in agreement. Bells sighed, then held out the keys to me.

“I can talk to her if you want me to, Takeshi.” Mum stood near me, looking at Takeshi. “It might make things easier coming from a medical standpoint, seeing as you’re out of action. I wouldn’t trust Spence with this.”

He nodded slowly. “Does anyone have any idea why this has happened? Is it actually medical? I’m assuming it has something to do with his wolf, Banji, judging by the timing?” He looked at Mum for confirmation.

“Tatum was never like this before Banji showed up,” said Bells quietly, not letting her respond. “It’s always felt like it was his wolf, never Tatum. Especially after we turned eighteen.”

Mum started pacing again. “It’s almost like Banji is taking control of Tatum somehow. Maybe if we could separate or remove Banji from Tatum…?”

“Auden…” Takeshi warned.

“I’m just thinking out loud, Takeshi.” Mum kept pacing, muttering to herself.

“Is that even possible?” I asked curiously. There were rare instances where children were born to werewolf parents who didn’t have their own wolf. Wolf spirits had occasionally been known to bloom late, so they always left it until a person’s seventeenth birthday to confirm that they had no wolf. Unlike in packs overseas, where wolf-less pack members were treated like slaves, in Australia they were always thought of as highly prized members of a pack, as they could be trained to become spies without revealing our secrets to the human world. But I’d never heard of an already established wolf being removed from a person before.

“It is, but it’s highly frowned upon and incredibly difficult to do. In some places, it’s even illegal…” Mum stopped her pacing and stared at Takeshi. “If we went down that route, your Bunyip friend would need to help. And, no offence, you’re not in any shape to be dealing with her again so soon.”

A small, wry grin graced Takeshi’s face. “Always on the lookout for me, aren’t you, Auden?”

“It’s my job, you old fool. It’d be easier if you didn’t fight me all the time on it.” She grinned at him.

He waved his hand in the air to dismiss her words. “Eh, you love it.”

Still grinning, she shook her head at him. “That’s the worst-case scenario, anyway. There are plenty of other things we can consider before we go down that path.” She started pacing again. “I assume sending him to Konstantine is out of the question?”

“He’s got enough on his plate right now. Plus, he’s already got Torin and Tarin to worry about. Adding this would probably kill him.” Takeshi shook his head slowly.

“Fair enough.” Mum frowned as she looked at the clock. “Cody and I should probably get a move on if I want to talk to Ash. How much do you want me to tell her?”

“Mum’s expecting me tomorrow night for dinner with Dad, River, and the terrors. We’re all supposed to be there. I just can’t… Can you please tell Mum not to expect me?” Bells shifted his gaze from Mum to Takeshi. “If there’s no luck finding him tonight or tomorrow, you might find him there.” He grasped Nat’s hand and turned his anxious attention to her. “Would you mind if I stayed here the next couple of nights?” He glanced nervously at the apartment door as he mumbled. “It’s just… Uh… I feel safe here… I know who’s here and who isn’t…”

“It’s okay with me, if it’s okay with Cody.” Nat looked over at me, silently begging me to say yes.

“Slumber party time! We can watch rom-com’s all night and throw popcorn at Nat when she complains about the plot-holes!” I grinned at them both, figuring I might as well try to make light of the situation we all found ourselves in.

“I’ll have you know, I’ve only done that one time…” Nat grumbled, while Bells grinned back at me and Takeshi laughed.

“Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s get this car back, Cody.” Mum clapped her hands and looked at Takeshi. “Are you staying here? Or heading back upstairs?”

“I’ll wait here. You can walk me up when you get back.” He raised an eyebrow at Mum, who nodded. I assumed that meant he still had things he needed to talk to Mum about without us listening in.

~~~

The verandah light was on as well as several inside lights, so we knew that someone was home when we arrived with Ash’s car.

Mum had thought that things might go easier if I waited outside while they talked. I saw her point of view and figured she was probably right, so here I sat in the passenger seat, watching Mum stand on the porch, while she waited for someone to answer the door.

I got my phone out to find something to watch while I waited, assuming that their chat was going to take a while. Movement on the porch caught my attention, and when I glanced up, I saw Mum walking into the house.

My attention returned to my phone, scrolling through my list of ‘to be watched’ shows to see if anything caught my fancy.

My scrolling slowed when a shadow was cast over my phone. I suddenly realised how dark it had become, and how alone I currently was. Without moving my head, I looked at the locks on both driver and passenger doors to make sure that they were engaged. I knew I couldn’t check on the back seats without making it obvious I was doing it, but I also knew that Mum didn’t have a habit of unlocking those unless she needed to. I was probably safe.

Probably.

“Cody, I know you know I’m here,” Tatum said through the window. “Stop pretending.”

“Roux? Can you get hold of Kenzie?”

“Already on it.”

I slowly raised my head to meet his. He knelt next to the car door, leaning his arms on the windowsill, and peered at me through the glass; the very picture of innocence.

“Why are you here, Cody?” He tapped on the glass with his knuckle repetitively.

“Returning the car, Tatum. Why are you here?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Didn’t you have a date planned with Zelda?”

“Oh, I did.” His tapping didn’t hesitate. “Someone sent me a message that I might be needed at home tonight, so I had to cut the date short. Zelda understood. With family, nothing is more important.” He tilted his head to one side like he was studying me. “She’s a good girl. Loyal. Not like some others.”

“Roux…”

“I know. I’m working on it. Keep him talking.”

“Why’d you do it, Tatum?”

“Why not?” He tilted his head to the other side, still tapping at the window. “It’s fun, Cody. All of this? It amuses me.” He stopped tapping and pointed at me, the tip of his finger pressed hard up against the glass. “You amuse me.”

I jumped when the tapping started again, but this time it came from behind me. I swivelled in my seat to see the torso of another figure at the driver’s side, tapping at the glass. Not with a knuckle, but with a fingernail.

An incredibly well-manicured fingernail.

“ROUX! Get Mum out here NOW!”

“She’s stuck. Spence is in there. KEEP THEM TALKING.”

“Hi Cody. Fancy meeting you here tonight.”

“Uh… Hi Zelda.” I swallowed nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know…” Zelda knelt in front of the driver’s window, much like Tatum had. “A little bit of this, a little bit of that…” She tapped out the same pattern, slowly and methodically. Her eyes glowed, letting me know her wolf, Keres, was fully present, and by the looks of things, completely okay with this turn of events.

“Roux? A little help here? What do I do?!”

“Keep them talking. I’m trying to get through to Keres, but she’s blocking me.”

My mind was in overdrive. Roux said to keep them talking. I could do that. I was a talker by nature. Talking is all I ever did. As long as they remained outside the car, I was safe. I just had to keep them talking until Mum could come back.

“Sounds like you’ve been busy.” I jumped again when Tatum resumed his tapping. I now had surround sound tapping. Brilliant. I glanced down at my phone.

“Don’t even think about it, Cody,” said Tatum. “There’s no need for anyone else to get involved in this friendly little chat.”

“Oh, but Tatum, isn’t the saying ‘the more, the merrier’?” I let my fingers play with my phone, but not unlock it. “I would have thought you’d be happy to have more people to talk to.”

“At any other time, I’d whole-heartedly agree with you…” Tatum looked past me to Zelda on the other side of the car.

“But we think it’s best just to keep it between us,” Zelda finished. “At least, for now.”

“Your Mum is coming. Just one more minute. Hang in there, Cody.”

“Why, Zelda?” I finally asked what had been plaguing me since I first saw her well-manicured finger tapping on the glass. “Do you know what Tatum did to Bells?”

“Of course,” said Zelda as she grinned at me and raised an eyebrow. “Who do you think encouraged it?”

The window that Tatum had been tapping on next to me exploded inwards, showering me with shards of glass. Tatum reached into the car and wrapped his large hand around my throat as I struggled to get away from the door.

“Roux! Help!”

Clawing at Tatum’s hand, I beat against his arm and let loose the loudest scream my voice could possibly project. I heard shrieks of manic laughter from the other side of the car as Tatum started squeezing.

“There’s nothing I can do, Cody. You haven’t shifted yet. Just fight!”

“What the fuck do you think I’m doing? Having a picnic with them?!”

As one of my hands battled to release my throat from Tatum’s clutches, the other went to town on his face. I gave him the dirtiest glare I could muster and decided to change tactics on him. Instead of leaning away from him like he expected, I leaned into him, pushing my chin down to my chest, and put all my energy into scratching at his face, clawing for his eyes, basically doing anything to prove to him I wasn’t going to simply let him strangle me to death.

He held onto the roof of the car with his free hand to keep himself steady, before swinging my head forward, trying to bash my head against the passenger console. I brought my knees up to force myself back into the seat and lock myself in place so he couldn’t try it again. I felt like I was getting pushed around like a rag-doll, but the fact that I could hear his grunts meant he wasn’t having as easy a time as he thought he would with me.

Good.

I redoubled my efforts. If he wanted to take me down, I was going to make him fucking work for it.

Just as quickly as it started, it finished. Tatum’s hand disappeared from my throat, and I was left panting in the passenger seat, trying to regain my equilibrium. I put my hands on the dashboard in front of me, gulping as much air back into my lungs as I could.

“CODY!” I heard Mum yelling as she ran for my door. It flung open, and she hauled me out of the car. My legs gave out from under me, and I collapsed onto the footpath. I leaned to the side and threw up, heaving until my stomach ran empty. Mum’s hands were all over me, getting rid of the glass shards from my clothes, holding my hair back, trying everything she could to make it easier for me.

I never cried.

The shock might have had a lot to do with my tear ducts remaining dry, but as soon as my emotions came roaring back, I went straight from numb to royally pissed.

How dare he? How dare they?

We had all been friends since first grade! We were going to be flatmates next year at Uni! How the hell had I missed all of this?!

What in the actual fuck had just happened??

Mum’s voice coaxed me out of my daze, yelling across Ash’s front lawn. “Don’t you see what’s happening? How can you choose to ignore this?!”

The verandah light that had been on when we arrived went out, leaving Mum and I crouched next to her car in almost total darkness.

The only thing lighting us was the almost full moon making its way slowly across the night sky.