Shera shifted back to normal, Sherry on the floor with Maria panting. Gerard has been in and out of the apartment, leaving Shera to her own devices as he'd leave early and come back late. Out of boredom, Shera had challenged the two as they were the only two lycans she talked to in this pack. Someone began clapping from the other side of the room, drawing the three's attention. A large man slowly sauntered forward.
"Who knew," he mused, "That the outsider could beat the girls without breaking a sweat."
"I'm Shera," Shera stated. She didn't like the way he looked at her, his eyes hungry for something and his stance starting to seem larger.
"Lukas," he hummed. "I'll take you. The girls need a break." Shera looked to the girls as they got up, slowly nodding and looking back at him.
"That's fair," she gave a small smile, watching his movements as he shifted in front of her. It was a decent sized lycan form, one she'd have to use more force with, but he was thinner than the size suggested. He probably moved fast and that was proven correct when he lunged at her. Black fur collided with red and loud snarling filled the room. Shera flipped Lukas with her feet on his chest, rolling with the movement and slamming his head down.
She slammed him down a few more times, his claws releasing the grip they had around her as his head went a bit limp. Canines were known for their fragile heads so Shera kept her shaking as minimal as she could. She dropped him and stood up, letting out a breath and stretching.
"You okay, Lukas," she asked.
Sherry laughed from the other side of the room, "He's fine! He gets concussions all the time when he goes to work."
"That's not good," Shera covered her mouth, staring at Lukas as he got up from the floor. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, I see how you stood up to Gerard that first time," he chuckled. Shera sighed and rubbed her head.
"Why don't you come up for some ice? And maybe some food," Shera nodded.
"Oh, the lady knows how to cook," Maria perked up, licking her lips. "I'm game. I want some too!"
"You're so greedy Maria," Sherry snickered. Lukas quietly nodded as Shera led the three up to the apartment. The door was wide open, making Shera frown slightly. She hadn't left it open when she went down to the gym they had in the complex. She sniffed a bit, slowing herself as she walked in.
It smelled like someone else, the sounds of things falling to the floor reaching her ears as the other three stiffened. Shera shifted, quietly walking through the apartment. She stopped at the open office door, her lip rising at the sight of the two lycans sifting through the desk. Lukas snarled behind Shera, Sherry and Maria joining. The two looked up, growls escaping their mouths.
"Damn, it's that bitch," one snapped. Shera growled and slowly walked into the room, her fur rising. The darker furred one's lips looked misshaped and he was missing patches of fur along his neck. She remembered that attack and she remembered laughing as he ran with his tail tucked.
"I got rid of you a month ago. Your jaw still not healed," she snorted. He launched over the table at her, being stopped by Maria. Sherry and Lukas snapped towards the other one and Shera was left to watch. Worry suddenly struck her.
Gerard told her she had to kill and he wouldn't allow her not to. These three were raised with this pack and watching them fight, she saw the intent to kill in their eyes. Her mind reeled at the thought as she took in the destruction around the office. They were purposely searching for something, papers scattered around the room and book pages torn from their spines. If they killed them, Gerard wouldn't be able to get any answers, names or locations and she wouldn't be able to live with herself.
She moved, sliding between Maria and the one with the messed up lip. Her hand gripped around his snout as her momentum ended up pulling her around. She wrapped her legs around his waist, leaning back and flipping him head first into the floor as hard as she could. There was no movement after that, his body shifting into an older man with smile lines and crows feet. Maria shifted back and stepped away as Lukas was thrown between the women.
Shera lunged before Sherry was thrown, grabbing his hand and twisting it. He let go, howling as she kicked his knees from under him and forcing his head down. "Get restraints. Tie them up and put them in one of the empty rooms," Shera ordered.
"They need to die," Lukas snarled.
"And we need to know who they work for," Shera snapped back. "Use your head. They wanted something and this wasn't just a theft." The three looked to each other before Sherry bolted, coming back with rope. Lukas has his phone put, talking in a hushed voice to someone. Gerard was here mere moments when Lukas hung up and he glared at the men tied up on the floor.
"What happened?"
"Intruders," Sherry replied.
"Why aren't they dead," Gerard directed his gaze at Shera, a shiver crawling down her spine.
"Information," Shera replied. Gerard looked around the room before walking to the conscious man on his knees. He sniffed at him before looking up to Shera and grinning malevolently.
"Get the information then, foxy. I don't have time to do it and this might be a sensitive case," Shera Hughes herself, unable to hide how unnerved the words and his expression made her. If she refused, it was obvious what he would do. His hand had rested on the man's throat and there was a cold sweat on the man's skin.
"Cut it out Gerard," Shera sighed. "Just- Just go back to what you were doing. I'll take care of it." Gerard stood and started walking past her, stopping and pulling her close to him in a way that looked intimate.
"When they give you the information, kill them," he whispered. Shera slowly nodded and felt his lips graze her neck, making her shiver. "Good girl, foxy." He walked down the hall, the other three coming to the door and walking past her. She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding, turning her attention to the two on the floor. The unconscious one had begun to stir and she felt guilty.
She shut the door, keeping her eyes on the two, "Tell me the information I want to know so no one has to get hurt."
"Screw you," the other sat up, using his head to prop himself up. Shera took a deep breath, shifting as she tried to bury the heavy feeling in her chest down. The screaming in her ears made her want to stop, it made her want to throw up. She did get names though, and even addresses. She grit her teeth, staring at the tools set aside and the blood on the floor around the two.
"I'm very," she choked, clearing her throat, "I'm very sorry, you two."
"The hell are you going to do," she stared at the one with the scarred lip and rubbed her arms. If she didn't, he'd make her. Knowing how Gerard was he meant what he said and she didn't want to go against him, instincts uninvolved. If they were humans, he would still have something over her. He was too powerful not to, too intimidating and influential to deny.
"I'm really sorry," she shifted, leaning down and running a claw across each of their throats. She quickly stood and walked out, shutting the door. Her back slid against the wood as she rubbed her face, tears at the corners of her eyes. She felt sick, the two inside giving gargled whimpers and growls from the other side. She covered her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut, not paying attention to how long she had been in that position.
A hand pet her head, making her flinch and look up to see Gerard's face. He wasn't cold, there was nothing sinister in his eyes and his mouth was angled a bit down. He took her hands and began to wipe her hands, taking the red that stained Shera's skin in her mind's eyes.
"Shera, it's hard the first time," he said softly, "It gets easier. I promise." She smacked his shoulders quickly, the tears finally falling down her cheeks.
"We don't kill our own! There's already so few of us," she hiccuped. He let her continue her worthless smacking, his hands settling at her elbows while watching her. The code was the reason her pack had so many; they never killed one of their own, even when it was a valid punishment. Lycans cast out had heard and come, seeking what them the purpose of serving in a pack.
Gerard leaned forward and hugged Shera, picking her up and walking. "Put me down. Leave me alone!"
"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "You're going to be fine." He rubbed at her back as she struggled, sitting on the couch and keeping her firmly against him. It was a few moments before Shera calmed down, crying and leaning into the man who held her. Why was he being nice now?
He was the one that told her to do it, had the intent to make her do it. Did he have to act like he had a heart now? "What did they have to say?" It shut down the crying into weak jerks of her chest. Of course he only wanted the information she got but thinking about it made her replay what she had done in her head.
"Dad has- he's taken another pack. They're a few- few cities away," she slowly moved away from him, moving as far as she possibly could on the couch. "They allied with- with a few other packs but the intent is still unknown. We are still in the- in the dark."
"Shera, come here," he grabbed her ankle with one hand, reaching between her and the couch to grab her waist. He pulled her into his side with a sigh, putting his arm around her shoulders. "They can't relay that we got that information now. They would have run back and told their pack members. You did what had to be done."
Shera growled, Gerard growling back, "Breath, foxy."
"I'm not your foxy," she snarled. He snorted a bit and pulled her chin up so she'd look him in the eye.
"You're my foxy. My mate and you're going to be my heart eventually," he hummed. "I can't have my heart being too squishy, can I? You can't be too sweet." She rubbed at her eyes and he kissed her forehead.
"I didn't have to kill them," she muttered. "I shouldn't have."
"Honestly, I would have asked Ferdinand had you just come to me," Gerard sighed. She leaned back quickly, her eyes wide as Gerard grabbed a remote and turned the television on. "I know you've never killed our own species. You never even tortured someone. I was going to get you through baby steps, not straight to killing. I'm proud of you though; it was a clean kill."
"They choked," she cried.
"It was peaceful. You didn't prolong it unnecessarily," he stated. He stared at her as she didn't reply, his shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd actually do it and I misjudged you. I'm proud of you and I couldn't ask for more."
Shera sniffled softly, shaking her head as Gerard set the remote down finally. He pulled her into his lap and held her close, sighing quietly.
"Don't believe me," he asked. "That's not fair, foxy."
"Why should I? You're using force," she tried moving off of him. Gerard didn't let her go as he sighed, his head falling back on the couch in exasperation.
"Because you don't listen otherwise. Instead you'd rather believe I go over the top," he groaned. He thought for a moment before he straightened his head, a bright smile on his face. "You're coming to work with me tomorrow."
"No I'm not," Shera sniffed.
"No, you're coming. You need to see what I think they were trying to find," Gerard pulled her down and kissed her head. "You did help with it after all. I'd have shown you first anyways."