The Misadventures of Kade and Celine

Kade was seeing red. Acting petty was one thing, but invading his house and attacking Celine was another. Maybe they thought the "dirty couple" was too weak and scared to do anything, but Kade had other plans. Celine was following him as he went to the closet and started digging through it.

"Kade, it's fine," she protested. "What are you going to do?"

"It's not fine," he said. "We tried things your way, now we're doing it my way."

"And your way involves a bat?!"

Kade looked at the wooden bat he was holding.

"We're not going to play baseball," he said.

She was still trying to stop him as he headed towards the door. Jinxie perched on the windowsill, watching the hectic scene.

"What's that about a bat?" he asked.

"Jinxie, good," Kade sighed. "I need you to go find Silas Cowan. He's staying in the Sundown District. Tell him Celine needs someone to stay with her while I take care of things. Try to be quick, the sun will be up soon."

Celine started to protest, but Jinxie had already left. Eventually Kade just grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down into an armchair. While he didn't hurt her, the assertive gesture still seemed to catch her off guard. Kade had never been anything but delicate with her.

"I don't want them to hurt you," she said.

"They won't," Kade said. "They think we're going to hide and cry in the shadows. Don't open the door for anyone until your father gets here."

Finally, she stopped fighting him on it and sank nervously in the armchair. Kade held the wooden bat at his side as he trekked up the hill and to the Styx mansion. He pounded on the door several times before the maid answered with a sort of disgusted look on her face.

"I'm afraid the Styx family are away at the moment," she said.

"That's too bad," Kade said. "Mind if I wait for them in the parlor, then?"

Kade pushed past her and she started to protest, but then noticed the bat in his hand and went silent. She watched with wide eyes as Kade walked into the middle of the foyer and called out, his voice echoing through the massive house.

"Lawson!" he called. "I just want to talk!"

A moment later Sydell Styx came out, shocked at what he was seeing. Eleonore came out shortly after him, golden eyes wide.

"What on earth do you think you're doing, you filthy dog?!" Sydell snapped.

"Redecorating."

Kade adjusted his grip on the bat and smashed a large ornate vase near him. Porcelain shards flew everywhere and Eleonore screamed.

"That was an antique!" she shrieked.

"That's so funny," Kade chuckled. "So was the one in our house. The one your brother smashed my wife's face into?"

To make his point, he smashed another vase and a glass table. Eleonore screamed again and hid behind Sydell, but he just grabbed her and moved her in front of him like a shield. They kept calling him a mutt, but Kade couldn't care less at this point. He was absolutely feral.

"I'll ask again," he said, "Where is Lawson?"

"Why would we tell you?" Eleonore sneered.

"Because if you don't," he said, "I'm going to smash your skull in the way I did that ugly vase."

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh I would," Kade chuckled. "You should know. You're the one who keeps calling me uncivilized vermin."

Kade caught a glimpse of something shiny in Sydell's hand and grabbed his wrist. It was a dagger, made of silver. Kade should have expected as much. He wrenched the dagger out of his hand and threw it to the side, ignoring the burning in his palm when he touched it. He then grabbed Sydell's head and slammed it into the wall.

The elf cried out and crumpled to the floor, holding his bloody nose. Kade made his point even clearer by giving him a kick to the ribs. Eleonore dropped down next to him, but Kade realized that now she was the one using him as a shield. True love. Kade knelt down next to Sydell, who was sobbing now.

"Oh, shut up," Kade said with a low growl. "I barely even touched you, you big baby. Tell me where Lawson is."

"You're unhinged," Eleonore spat. "There's a full moon tomorrow and you have no control over yourself. That's why I set those traps."

"Trust me, this is controlled," he said. "It's worse in my wolf form. But thank you for letting me know that you were the one who set the traps."

Without thinking much of it, Kade found that he had shifted. It was quick this time, with no nausea. Celine was right. It was a much better feeling when he didn't fight it. When this was over, he would have to tell her that. For now, he was feasting on the terrified expression on Eleonore's face when she saw him in his shifted form.

Clearly, neither of them knew just how big a mutt could be. They must have assumed he was no bigger than a lap dog, but Kade was about twice the size of a normal wolf with much sharper teeth and claws. Eleonore tried to kick him in the face with the heel of her shoe, and Kade grabbed onto her leg with his teeth. She screamed as he dragged her by the leg, threatening to tear it clean off like she had tried with her traps.

Kade suddenly felt another presence in the room and spun around with a tense growl. Silas stood there, mildly impressed with his hands up to show he meant no harm. Kade snorted and huffed. He was supposed to be with Celine.

"I know why I was called here," Silas said, practically reading Kade's mind. "She's not there. The house is empty."

Kade turned back into his human form, eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" he said. "She's gone? She said she would stay put."

"I don't think she went willingly," Silas said. "You did well to call me, but I'm afraid I can't track her. Not with the sun beginning to rise."

Kade looked out the window and saw that the sun was just starting to peek out from over the horizon. Silas was in no position to be exploring. He'd probably have to hide out in Celine and Kade's basement until nightfall.

Kade turned back to where Eleonore was lying on the floor, whimpering over her injured leg. She flinched when Kade kneeled down next to her.

"It's become clear that Lawson has Celine," Kade said. "I'll ask one last time where he is."

"Styx Manor, in the Waterside Point," she said quickly. "It's the old family house. Just outside the city."

"Good."

Kade stood up and smoothed out his hair and blood-covered clothes, making his way to an ornate telephone sitting on the table. The maid was cowering under the table, but Kade had no issues with her. He offered her a polite smile.

"Mind if I make use of your phone?" he asked.

She scrambled out from under the table and ran up the stairs. Kade shrugged and started to dial, waiting impatiently until Bobby picked up.

"Kade?" Bobby said on the other side. "Where have you been? We've been calling the house but no one is answering."

"Yeah, I've been a little busy," he said, looking down at Sydell and Eleonore's pathetic forms on the ground.

"I'm here with Leroy," he said. "We both got these nasty threats in our mail to stay away from your neighborhood. We thought you should know, too."

"I'm a little past threats at this point," Kade told him, before explaining everything.

Bobby was silent on the other end for a moment, then spoke up in a confident tone Kade had never heard from him.

"We can meet you at Styx Manor," he said. "Leroy and I, anyways. We haven't been able to get a hold of Bayley."

"You don't have to put yourself in harms way for us," Kade told him.

"We want to help," Bobby insisted. "You're our alpha."

Kade was a bit startled by what Bobby had said, but he stopped fighting it. Never had Kade wanted a pack, let alone to be an alpha in one, but somehow this felt right. He had a pack who would die for him, and despite what Kade was telling himself, he was willing to die for his pack too. Kade agreed to meet them at Styx Manor, then hung up and turned back to Silas. The old vampire was smiling.

"You're a good kid," he said. "Go get my daughter. She's waiting for you, alpha."

Kade was a little embarrassed when Silas said it, but nodded and headed towards the door. Sydell was still whimpering on the floor, but grabbed Kade's bloody pant leg as he walked by.

"You're not going to kill us?" he said.

"Me? No, I have to get going. But I can't speak for my father in law. He runs his own show."

Kade shifted back into his wolf form to run as fast as he could to the hilly and forested outskirts of the city, where Styx Manor was. As he ran, he could hear more screaming coming from Eleonore and Sydell. Silas definitely had plans of his own.