Akrem
Arianell had a habit that if she knew what she was going to do that related to us she would open her mouth a little bit, smiled, and then started to speak. This time, a line that I had wanted to tell her or to hear from her,
"That I'll be your guardian Empath? Of course! I've been thinking about this as soon as I can read minds. I thought it was just yours, 'Krem. Then I started to read others' minds when they are close to me. The distance between the person that I read the mind and I, grows further every day... '
Amazed, Iron and I listened attentively to her explanation about how her mind's reader worked.
"I was just hoping that I could be as strong as my dad, that he only needed to be in the same room with the person then he could read his or her mind…"
But there was one thing that possibly feared me the most could Arianell choose the one that she needed the mind to read? Or everything was mixed up? I needed to be sure before I could use her help.
And just like that, she read my mind again,
"And yeah, 'Krem. I've been practicing. How I differ from one mind to another is that I only need to approach the person, and then I can read his or her mind without others disturbing…"
Getting curious, Iron asked even in more detail,
"Do the thoughts come in whispers of voices or images?"
Iron asked about the details that I didn't think about before. All I cared about was how Arianell would feel when she did all of that. I only worried she got hurt or too exhausted. Bear in my mind always that I had to protect her no matter what.
Just like that, she gladly explained. She was a strong one to embrace her new ability,
"Both 'Ron," she answered briefly. But I could see she was still a little bit confused about how to handle her new skill set. Well, as long as she didn't have to go to battle, I'd be calm. So I had a theory that I wanted to test, the one that I remembered how a mind reader could track the vampires who clearly couldn't be read because they didn't have brain waves just like a living normal human or werewolves.
Therefore, I asked Iron if he knew about this one mind reader fairy,
"Do you know about fairies that read minds? The way Anne accepts the information in voices and images, almost the same like how those particular fairies read mind…"
Enlightened with ideas, his face glowed,
"The mind reader creatures? Who could easily forget about them? Those kinds of creatures always fascinate many other beings including I am…"
He paused and grinned, but I read his mind blank. I didn't know he sealed that one particular mind. So I affirmed him,
"' Ron?" I asked with a quick glare of a demanding alpha. Then he obeyed,
"Ah ya… sorry. Yea, I guess the way 'Nell's mind reading works is almost the same. But you know the consequences that she can't read vampires' minds, right?"
On the same page, we were,
"Yup! That wouldn't be a problem if…" I hadn't finished my line when Arianell's anxiety attacked her. It was something new that I hadn't seen before.
"Wait what? How can I be your guardian Empath if I can't read vampires' minds?" I could see the horror written all over her face that I needed to calm her down.
"You don't have to read their minds, Anne. You only need to follow the bread crumbs." I gave her a piece of mind so she could think and she'd be distracted from her anxiety.
I saw Iron smirking a little bit because he knew what I was doing to calm her down.
Surely, she frowned. This was all new to her, to follow the tracks. Unlike us werewolves who had done it since the first time we first shifted to werewolves.
"Follow the lead by hearing voices and seeing images in their minds. If you hear or see something suspicious as people are missing or someone was dragged to an empty and dark alley with no one saying anything, then it might be the rogue vampires. A friend of the victim is usually afraid to tell others. They're afraid that they might be next to be murdered. Those are the minds that you need to read."
From the corner of my right eye, I saw Iron nod in agreement. My loyal wingman cared to stay behind the curtain and let me do the deduction.
Arianell finally showed a relieving smile. She finally got it. Then I needed to test one more thing that would make all of guardian Empath things work for my pack's hunting,
"Now can you read my mind?" I said something in my mind. I didn't care if she blushed because of something I said in my mind. The stronger the feeling I made her, the stronger the bond and she would be able to read me easily.
[You're my mate, my Luna. Soon marry me. I'll make you happy.]
As I thought, pinky rose to shimmer on her cheeks to her upper cheekbone lines.
"Krem!" She almost jumped out of her couch. Iron giggled and covered his mouth with both hands, or did he want to throw up?
I still put on my serious face,
"Don't say it out loud. Try to say it in your mind."
Spontaneously, she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.
[Let me be your wingman. I'll do the reading, you'll do the hunting. Let Iron be your fist.]
I ecstatically smiled so wide,
"That's great, 'Anne! You're more than that. I always think that you're my Luna."
Her blushing red cheeks were even more tangible forcing her to put her knuckles at the bottom of her button nose, inhaling the scent of her smooth skin. It calmed her from being embarrassed.
My last sentence was also a declaration to my pack, Iron as the beta was sufficient to be my witness of the Luna I picked, Arianell.
Still, there was one more thing I had to test if I wanted the pack to run well using the Guardian Empath's mind reading,
"Now can you do the same to Iron?"
[I'm here, 'Nell. Guide us, please.]
I could hear Iron's thoughts, but I was still waiting if Arianell could do the same.
"Have you said anything, 'Ron?" She looked frustrated.
"I did, you didn't hear it?" Iron looked puzzled, but I knew the reason why.
She just shook her head slowly, she felt hopeless. I could see the sign on her face. Then I was the hero, who came to rescue,
"That's probably because of the mate's bond. That's ok. We can still hunt using your guide, Anne. You tell me what you read, then I'll tell the pack what to do. It's easier to coordinate. Don't you think, 'Ron?"
With an expression of satisfaction written on his face, he nodded,
"Sire."
I became a complete alpha by his last remark.
Then I started my first order as an alpha,
"Tomorrow night we'll start the hunt."
And in synch, both Iron and Arianell shouted like the crews to their captain,
"Aye! Aye! Sir!"
Night had finally come. We were in a bar near the campus. We started from a not-too-crowded place so Arianell could take her time using her new ability.
A few times she passed the bar in the days, she picked up the voices and images of the owner and the bartender talking about missing people or people were in a rush getting into the bar and asked for the stronger booze.
Horror was written on their faces. Some were talking, some were just drowning themselves in the strongest liquor they could get to erase the trauma they had when they encountered their friends or colleagues dragged by the rogue vampires and never came back.
It was a good place to start.
The three of us were in the bar. Arianell would pick up an image or whispers of voices that told about the horrors made by the rogue vampires.
If something came up, Iron would be able to summon the pack outside the bar, and I'd make sure Arianell was safe enough to stay in the bar before I ran to join the lack.
After all, I was the alpha, I'd make sure everyone was safe and no one was left behind. Being the biggest and the fastest surely came in handy a lot.
Suddenly, aware was the expression I caught on Arianell's divine face. She was reading,
[Krem! Your 7 o'clock. The one on the outer side.]
I quickly told Iron in my mind,
[Your 11 o'clock, slowly… the one on the outer side, you know you can smell the rogue vampires on him.]
Iron replied,
[On him!]
Slowly he got up from our table and walked like a drunken man to the outer part of the bar table where there sat a cluttered man with messy hair and extreme anxiety smelled in the air for us werewolves. He tried to gobble many shots. If he could, he'd swallow the shot glass that never detached from his right hand as well.
Iron purposely leaned on him, smelled, and put the weight of his body on the man so he didn't realize something was taken from him.
A sound of a log falling was the sound made when Iron accidentally fell himself to the man,
"Oops! Sorry! Rough night! "Iron's voice was rough like he was completely drunk. I'd give him an Oscar for his fabulous acting. He must've done it thousand times when he worked with Arianell's mother.
The man helped him to sit on an empty bar stool next to him. His pale expression suddenly changed to an expression of caring for the poor man next to him, Iron.
Iron got more than we expected. The smell of the rogue vampires' trail and something to smell for the pack to follow the bread crumbs, the trail scattered on the road or every corner of the city to the bar that would lead to the rogue vampires that attacked him or his companion.
The man just shot a hint of a lazy smile, he too had a rough night. He nodded a bit and got up while grabbing some money from his pocket. Waved to the bartender and put some banknotes under his shot glass.
The three of us followed the man's figure until he was out of the bar. We made sure he wasn't drunk enough to drive or walk home alone.
But we knew we would divide the pack outside. Some two would follow the man home until he was safe. And the rest would hunt based on Iron's finding on the object that belonged to the man. A simple coin or a piece of paper from his jacket's pocket that is full of his scent could be used by us the supernatural wolves.
If you know how good a wolf can track a scent, our abilities as the supernatural werewolves were almost double a wolf's heightened sense.
As soon as the man was out of the bar, Iron stood up and walked past us without seeing us reducing the suspicion of the people around us at the bar.
[See you, 'Krem. Don't catch us too far.]
[Take care, 'Ron. I'll be right up after I make sure Arianell would be okay.]
[Yeah, I wouldn't worry. You're the fastest and the biggest among us, alpha.]
It was Iron's last line before he ran into the night with our pack divided one followed the poor man home, and the rest tracked his scent that lead to the rogue vampires, right after Iron let them smell the man's belonging.
I heard them shouting in my mind,
[A dime?! Supernatural we are!]
Iron's mischievous endeavor surely pissed the pack off sometimes. He was lucky he was the Beta with an iron fist. No one in the pack would want to fight him if he or she wasn't looking for a suicide mission in the hand of the iron fist.
Iron always had the devilish way to show wisdom and education for the pack to learn, including me. As expected from the alpha in the Gursala clan who held the iron fist, he was the best mentor for us and was a great teammate for Arianell's superb mom.
I smirked and hint a bit to Arianell about what they said in my mind,
"Funny, aren't they?" I grinned widely while talking to her.
"Indeed." She smiled even bigger almost giggled. Then I was grateful to see her face. The fact that I'd always see each time we hunted the rogue vampires.
Lovingly, I gazed at her calming face under the dim light of the bar. She was so perfect and I felt in hell to hold myself not touching her. She looked touchable and inviting,
"Will you wait for me? Or would you like to go home? I'll ask one of them to accompany you home… "
-to be continued-