Darness in Seattle

Anton

Sending her address to Max, the tech man of the pack, Anton sat back to wait for the information on his mate. Impatiently, he drummed his fingers on the table. He stood to get dressed, when a notification alert sounded on his computer. He swung back around, sat, and opened the file and began to read the information on his mate. Her name was Carla. Carla Danson. She was a nurse at the local hospital in downtown Seattle and worked in the NICU.

She liked babies.... perfect, he thought.

He scrolled down and found a picture of her parents and her together. He noticed that they were an older couple, and white for that matter. Maybe she was adopted, he wondered. His eyes shifted to her in the picture that was taken when she was 17. He mentally added up her age and came out with 26 years old. All her features were the same, the curly, honey colored hair, and the plush lips. But now he finally had a good look at her eyes, they were large and expressive, shining bright as she smiled for the photo. He peered closer and sucked in a breath.

Christ. She has two different colored eyes. One green, one brown.

How much more beautiful and unique could she be, he wondered. He scrolled the document down to keep reading, and noticed it wouldn't scroll anymore. Was this all the information that Max could find? It couldn't be, he always found hundreds of pages of information on people that the clan researched. He picked up his phone and dialed Max.

"What can I do for you Alpha?"

"Is this all the information you could find on the woman?"

"Yes sir, I myself was surprised with how little she had to show."

Anton sighed and hummed his agreement. This meant he wouldn't have much to go on and would have to be clever when it came time to approach her. He thanked Max and hung up the phone. Running a hand down his face, he groaned. It had been a long day, and he was tired. He shut the laptop, and unwrapped the towel from around his waist then tossed it in the bathroom floor. Climbing into his bed naked, he sunk in between the warm sheets and relished the feeling, wishing Carla were there with him to fall asleep with.

He went over his schedule for tomorrow in his head. He had a meeting in the morning with the Seattle clan alpha about a few rouges that have been causing problems in the area. Anton was best known all over the world for how well he handled rouge problems. Therefore, he was always called out to ensure that pack code was being enforced properly. Once the meeting was over, he would go for a run with the clan and get an idea of what the territorial issues were and then he would find a way to take care of the issues that the Seattle clan was facing. When everything was taken care of for tomorrow, he would head back to the hotel to wash up and change. Then he would head to the hospital to see Carla in person again, and maybe even talk to her.

He closed his eyes, succumbing to sleep, and he dreamed of mismatched eyes and curly hair.

Carla

Blasting some of her trap music, Clara rapped and danced like she was in her favorite downtown club as she showered for her next shift. Hey, classy and little trashy, right? She was a girl who had a playlist for every type of music on Spotify, but in the mornings when she took a shower and got ready, Rap/R&B was her favorite. It pumped her up for the long shift and hard work awaiting her. She finished showering and stepped out to dry off. She was drying her hair and getting ready to pull it all up into a bun when her music stopped and was replaced with her ringtone. She looked over at the front of her cell and saw it was her mom. She turned her dryer off and answered the phone.

"Hey momma, you doing ok?"

"Of course baby, I was calling to see if you could make time after your shift to come over and eat dinner with your father and I."

Clara went over her schedule in her head, making sure she could make it. Her shift ended at 7 today, so she should be able to. Her mother probably wondered at her silence and said,

"Honey, it's perfectly fine if you can't, may- "

"No no no mom, it's cool, I'll definitely be there. I just had to think about my schedule today. I get off at 7, so I'll bring some clothes over to your house and shower there before dinner. Is that ok?"

"Absolutely sweetie, I can wait to see you!"

"Neither can I mom, love you!"

"Love you too baby, kiss Milo for me."

Laughing, Clara agreed and hung her phone up. She called Milo's name and heard feet scratching the hallway tile as he charged toward the bathroom door. She opened it and let her chubby little pug trot into the bathroom. She picked him up and kissed him on the head,

"Grammy said to give you a kiss you spoiled little turd."

Milo sneezed in her face and she set him back in the floor. Laughing, she used her foot to nudge him out the door, and when he wouldn't budge, she turned on her dryer again and he darted out, hating the sound of the dryer. She washed her face again since Milo had decided to sneeze all over her, and continued to get ready for work. Once she had gotten dressed, put a little makeup on, and packed a bag to go over to her moms, she set out Milo's food and water and gave him a pat on the rump.

"See you late tonight sweet pea."

When she arrived to work, the NICU wards was abuzz with excitement. She approached Janet and Franny, two of her friends, and when they saw her, turned to tell her the news. Franny informed Carla that last night, a woman delivered quintuplets. All the babies were delivered two weeks early, so they would be spending a little time in the NICU. For all the women, this was the first time they worked with a delivery so large. Her, Janet, Franny, and another older nurse were assigned to the five new babies. She read up on the file to get a general idea on the 3 girls and 2 boys.

It was feeding time and she approached one of the cribs that held one of the baby girls. She gently picked the baby up and cradled it in her arms. Peeling the soft blanket away, she looked into the heavy lidded eyes of the little miracle. She sat in one of the electric rocking chairs and as she gently rocked back and forth, she fed the little baby.

Throughout the day, her and the other nurses fed, changed, assessed, and made sure the all the babies had clear vitals. It was a tough shift, but she loved it and she looked forward to the day that she could have children of her own. She looked up at the clock on the wall, it was 5:00 pm. Two more hours to go.

Anton

He woke early in the morning and went to meet with the pack leaders of the Seattle clan. When he approached the settlement, he was received with warmth from Greyson Felton, the young alpha of the Seattle pack. At only 243 years old, Greyson had already gained alpha status in his family and had found his mate, Lily, early on. He had three sons with his mate. Anton would have felt a little jealous in the past, but now he felt optimistic. He hoped he could have this with Clara when he finally won her over.

"Anton, it's good to see you as always."

"Likewise Greyson."

They clasped hands and hugged. They had met a little over a century ago when Greyson accompanied his father, the former alpha of the Seattle clan, to the Ukraine too meet with Anton. They went over trade agreements and finance reports with one another. When Anton met Greyson, they became friends, keeping in contact with one another ever since. Anton had even come back for Greyson's wedding with Lily and for the birth of their first son. Although he couldn't make it to the last two, he still sent gifts to them. With their relationship, there was no question as to why Greyson called Anton for help when rouge attacks began to pop up around his settlement.

"I hate to call you all the way out here Anton, but the situation has just gotten so out of hand."

"I understand, let us go inside and discuss this further".

Greyson nodded his head in agreement and they went into the large pack house. When they entered, Lily was waiting in the foyer to greet Anton. He bowed his head in respect and gave her a small smile.

"It's nice to see you again Lily. You are as beautiful as ever."

She blushed and laughed, "Still as charming as ever Anton."

He turned to the three boys and opening his hand, reached down and shook each one of their hands.

"Boys, you all look very good and healthy. Has your father begun teaching you how to fight?"

The eldest son, Robby, nodded his head fast and began to describe all the new things he was learning. His mother hushed him when he began talking so fast that he couldn't catch a breath. Anton laughed and looked at the other two boys who shyly shook their heads.

"They are still a bit too young to learn", Greyson said.

Greyson shuffled Robby's hair and told him to go play with his brothers and they all raced to the backdoor to romp around in the fields. Anton said his goodbyes to Lily and followed Greyson to his office along with three of Greyson's higher ranking men. Throughout the meeting, Greyson described his pack problems. It all started with a surprise attack on the edge of pack lands. A male and his mate were swimming in one of the lakes during the day when a group of rouges had attacked and killed them. When other pack members found the bodies, they saw that the female had been raped and killed, and her mate died immediately after she was murdered.

The pack had put a watch out to search for the rouges, but there was not a shred of evidence left behind. A little over a year had passed with no signs, so the pack began to let down their guard. A few weeks after strict security, another attack occurred. This time, a young male had his throat slashed and was found hanging upside down from a tree deep in the forest. From that point on, groups had been placed on all edges of the territory, but the rouges still got through and found ways to startle and unhinge the pack. It was all very shocking and puzzling to Greyson since no traces were left behind and there was no way of finding the rouges responsible. So he called Anton.

Once Greyson informed Anton of all that had happened, they went to the back field to go on a run. Stripping off their clothes, they both forced the shift and changed. Anton's wolf was massive and black, whereas Greyson was blonde.

We will go to the lake first, then around property lines,

Greyson said to Anton. Anton gave a nod and they took off into the forest to inspect the territory.

For almost 4 hours they ran, every now and then, Anton would stop when he caught an unfamiliar scent. But when they arrived back to the pack house, Anton hadn't found anything that could give him a clue as to how the rouges picked spots to attack and how they slipped through the cracks. There was no way rouges could be this sneaky by chance, they had to have someone on this inside. Anton kept this thought to himself however, he didn't want to put that idea in Greyson's head until he had hard evidence.

When they had finished up business, Anton agreed to stay in the area for a while in case another attack happened. That would give him time to figure this mess out . He said his goodbyes to Greyson and his family and went back to his hotel. When he arrived, opened up his laptop to type up all the information Greyson had given him so he could form a report to add to the files back home. Leaning back in his chair, he went over all of what Greyson had told him about the attacks. As far as he could remember, rouge wolves attacked when somethings didn't go their way. Greyson had no interactions with rouges before the attacks, however, so the reason why these men were attacking baffled Anton. He had never come across a case like this. These could be simple threats of some sort, or maybe they wanted something that the pack had. Running his ideas through his mind, he decided to get ready to go to the hospital.

After washing up, he pulled on a dark pair of jeans, a gray sweater, and a black leather coat. Sliding his boots on, he checked the time again. 5 pm. He wondered when her shift ended today, hopefully not too soon. He grabbed his keys and wallet and left the hotel.

When he arrived at the hospital, he pulled into the same parking garage and found a parking space down a few cars from hers. He got out and approached the elevator and stepped in. Noticing a guide inside the elevator, it said NICU was on floor 7. He pushed the floor number and rode upwards. Stepping out of the elevator, he immediately noticed how quiet and how warm it was on the floor. Maybe for the babies' sake, he mused. He strolled down the hall slowly, looking around. As he passed the nurses, he failed to see how they would turn and give him second and third glances. When he had walked in a big circle with no luck of finding Clara, he sighed and was about to leave when he turned his head to the left, and through glass sliding doors, he saw her. She sat in a chair that moved back and forth on its own and she was cradling a baby. He looked left and right to make sure he wasn't an eye sore or bringing any attention on himself then moved closer to the wall and peered at her again. She was facing him in this chair, looking down at a little bundle of blankets that was swaddling a pink faced baby. She had a small smile on her face as she looked down adoringly at it and ran the tip of her pinky over its eyebrows, lulling it to sleep. He palmed his aching chest, wishing that was their child she was holding and gazing at. Christ, he thought, every time he was around her, his chest ached.

He was still standing there when his phone buzzed in his pocket, it was his second hand man Tolvek back in the Ukraine who was left in charge anytime Anton had to leave. Speaking in his native language, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Alpha, I was calling to check up on you to make sure you were all right."

"I have to stay longer than I thought Tolvek. This is a tough case. I'll call you back when I return to the hotel."

"Where are you now alpha?"

"At the hospital. Tolvek...", Anton paused and took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, "I found her."

Anton had been looking at the floor as he talked to his second. When his eyes shifted back up, they collided with Clara's. Her mismatched eyes were wide and her lips were parted slightly, forming a little O. Her chair was still rocking on its own, but her eyes remained steady on his as she shifted back and forth. Faintly, he heard Tolvek talking to him.

"I'll call you back Tolvek."

Not taking his eyes off hers, he hung the phone up and put it into his pocket. Why was he just standing there? He should say hi. He cocked one side of his mouth up into a small smile and nodded at her. As if his smile slapped sense into her, she fiercely blushed, and stood up with the baby in her arms, moving away from the glass and his sight. Cursing, he tried to raise his hand to ask her to stop, but she kept walking away. He waited to see if she would reappear, but after about 10 minutes, he figured she was too shy to approach him or look at him again. He turned and headed toward the elevator to return back to the hotel. Tomorrow, he decided he would come back during lunch time and maybe he could catch her and have a real conversation.

Clara

Clara was shook. Maybe she was dead. Because there was no way that earth could have people as beautiful as the man she just saw walking around on it. Pinching herself, she made sure she was alive. Yup, he was real. She was holding the baby, rocking it after it had just eaten, and looked up to see a wet dream standing on the other side of the glass of the sliding doors. Like a fool, she was staring at him and didn't stop, even when he looked up and caught her. He had the darkest eyes she had ever seen, as well as the sexiest shadow of a beard. She loved a dark man with a dark beard. And then he smiled at her with a cocky half grin moving over his full lips and he nodded his head at her. That was when she realized she was staring like a moron, and standing up, she escaped like a shy teenager to the back rooms. She gently put the baby back in the crib and pressed her back to a wall and took a deep breath. She moved her head around the corner of the door to see if he was still standing there. He was still in the hallway craning his neck to see if she was there, but why? Was he looking for her?

Janet called her over for some help getting a blood pressure on one of the other babies and by the time she was done, he was gone. She puzzled over the interaction through the rest of her shift and as she drove to her parents for dinner. Who was he?