TITLE: Icarus Manor, chapter 17 AUTHOR: lillywhite1, but you can call me Casey. SUMMARY: In a mysterious mansion in a secluded part of North America, a man discovers that he is far from alone in the world. Here at Icarus Manor several species of non-human description live together to survive in a world that does not know they exist. LAST CHAPTER: Dominic must leave to right the wrongs of the family. William doesn’t deal well. THIS CHAPTER: Dominic returns to the pack to find it in ruin. PAIRING: DM/BB, hints of EW/SA RATING: R FEEDBACK: is my neutella on a spoon that makes me go all gooey and melty and mmmmm... A/N: Text in asterisks (*) represents italics or general emphasis. This is a book and a work in progress. Be gentle. Comments to cswann1@gmail.com. Chapter 17 Elijah sat on the first few steps of the main staircase and stared at nothing. His fingers bound together as if trying to trap greased grains of sand, to will them back into his grasp. His brow was furrowed with inexplicable worry. His electric blue eyes focused on some unseen point most likely insubstantial as his fingers continued their knotting and slipping dance. Orlando returned from the kitchen to sit beside him and share his worry. “Orli, I can’t seem to shake this feeling.” “Like he’s not coming back?” Elijah nodded slightly, “I could feel it in him when he touched me. It was like he knew it already but couldn’t bear to tell us.” “And you know, the one question I never got to ask him?” “What?” “If it ever worked out with that bloke from the club.” Then there was an explosion from upstairs. ~ The trailer park rose up into view like an ugly boil. The packed dirt road was little more than a pathway through the several trailers parked messily askew in their measured lots. Make your home as nice as you like, the outside would always be barren and unaesthetic. This had never been part of Dominic’s glorious American plan. This was worse than the hell they had escaped. “Astrid, where are we?” The bare cinderblocks and abandoned toys in what couldn’t properly be called a front yard leant to an atmosphere of abandonment and squalor. This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be where they were living. “I told you to brace yourself, Dom.” Cracked paint peeled from window sills covered in clear plastic to keep out the rain. They billowed and hollowed in the wind like ghostly ship sails. Tape held the small homes together from every end. Scattered, rusted machine parts littered the paths with various other debris and refuse. It was hideous. And the smell was the worst. Was this the best Richard could do? “Dom,” Astrid called for his attention, “this way.” She lead him to a little blue trailer with laundry on the line outside. Dominic could see one of his mom’s old dresses flapping in the foul breeze, waving at him like a specter from the past. The inside of the trailer was cheerful but crowded. Pictures of friends and family lined the walls under blue linen curtains with daisy patterns. A crucifix hung direct center of the “living room.” It had been their mother’s. It *was* their mother’s. Various kinds of ceramic kittens lined any flat space available. He examined one in his hand. “I think Mom likes them. She thinks they’re funny.” Dominic smiled to himself. “Do you want to see her?” Dominic sniffed the air. He could smell her and it was awful. It was the same lavender- vanilla-mint smell that he had come to associate with “mother.” The one that suckled him; the one that picked him up when he fell off his bike; the one that kissed his forehead and took him to the comic book store when the newest editions came out. She was the best. But now her scent was stagnant, unmoving, stale and overpowering. The life had gone out of her and the shell existed behind the door with his sister’s hand on the knob. “Astrid, I need to take this a little slower.” Her hand retracted from the doorknob as if it were hot to the touch. “Of course, of course,” she all but apologized, “Do you want something from the kitchen? I’ve got sodas. A beer maybe?” “No, Sissy, I’m fine. I think I’ll step outside a sec.” “Sure. I’m going to just look in on her, and then I’ll be out.” Dominic plodded down the front three steps with heavy feet. He brought his hand to his eyes. It was getting late and he could see the full moon rising just as much as he could feel it. He was anxious, but really quite tired. He had worked most of the day before he was taken on a six hour road trip. It may have been his exhaustion or his shock at seeing the trailer park or it could have been the lack of practice that kept him from hearing the 300 lbs of werewolf hurtling towards him at approximately seven hundred miles per hour. Whatever the reason, he didn’t hear anything and after the brief moment of realization when said object was upon him, he hit the dirt hard. “DOMBOMB!” “DomBOMB!” “BOMB DOM!” The words echoed several times from far away as more and more layers of rambunctious werewolf piled on top of him. He struggled to make himself heard. “What?” “I said, ‘Get off me you sons of bitches!’” “Careful, you. That’s our family you’re insulting.” Said the first one on top of him. “Yeah, it’s not nearly harsh enough.” “D’you think we’re pussy-cats?” Those would be the twins. “How about *bastard* sons of bitches?” And Tommy. “*Fucking* bastard sons of bitches.” They continued to argue still in pile formation on top of Dom. “You fucking bastard sons of bitches, get your hairy, human-loving, arsehole-sniffing, tree-marking arses off of me!!!” “THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!” It was a call in unison. There were several grunts and curses and protestations of a very colorful nature as the three thousand pounds of weight was slowly lifted off of Dominic’s chest. “Oi, you gonna lie there all day?” “Just until my soul returns to my body. It’s currently floating above your sister in the shower.” There was a good-hearted laugh and a couple of hands pulled him from the dirt. They were exactly as he remembered them. “Hey, Dom,” he was thoroughly embraced, “how’ve you been?” This was Jackson, the big bear. He was the biggest son of a bitch of the crew, but one of the most sentimental. Dom whiffed sassafras and moss. “Lay off him, Jackie-boy.” “He’s home now. Nothing left to worry about.” The twins pulled him into a half-double hug with typical synchronicity. Dom titled his head a little more towards Topher than Toby as his head was immersed in two thick black mops. *Crushed pine needles and hemlock and that Toby smell that made him shiver a little* “Sod it. C’mere you right bastard.” Tommy flicked his brown hair from his eyes and gave Dom a brief hug. He was slightly uncomfortable. He pulled away, his long, bony face smiling to soothe. *Burnt ash and elm leaves* “Guess that just leaves me.” And finally Bryant, Dom’s unrecognized half-brother. Their father had sired Bryant with a woman werewolf during a Howl. It wasn’t uncommon for pups to be conceived out of acknowledged pack marriages. It was usually the legitimate mate of the wandering partner who made the decision to accept the child – which in this case, would be Dom’s mother – but Dom’s father had refused to formally recognize Bryant as his pup, which Dom could see why. There was something *off* about Bryant, but Dom had never let all of this history keep him from including Bryant in his life. Bryant shifted awkwardly until Dom grabbed him first. “I thought we’d broke you.” Jackson said with relief and slapped him on the back. Dominic winced. “You still could.” “Hey, I got a great idea.” Bryant piped up, like always. “Mmm-hmm.” Tommy barely feigned interest. “Why don’t we blow off the Howl tonight, and rip through town? Get smashed. Fuck with people. Good stuff.” “Original.” “Really.” Chimed the twins in sarcasm. “Not that either of you twats have an idea.” Bryant all but whimpered. “We could hit up the arcade.” Jackson searched his pockets for any left-over coins. “I got a better idea.” Tommy sparked up a cigarette. “How about we cut the shit? Dom, how up do you feel to the Howl tonight? Not that I would usually care, but they’re expecting you, mate, like the goddamn guest of honor.” Dominic inwardly groaned. Howls only happened on full-moons, which meant it wasn’t nice to skip if you were visiting during one. Howls were usually fun if enough people showed. The crew had made a habit of not attending. “I hear there’s going to be a bitchfight.” Tommy offered. The crew perked up their ears. “Yeah, Mrs. Avery claims Bernadette stole a dress of hers off the wash line. Could be entertaining.” Dominic looked around at the faces of his friends. “Fuck it. I’m up.” ~ Dominic and his crew walked through the woods towards the Gathering Clearing. At any other time they would have been cracking jokes and fucking around, but this night was too atypical to scoff at. Dominic felt a happy, anxious energy wrap around him twice, three times over. It was one thing to have great new friends, and it was entirely another to be stalking through a thick forest flanked by your own kind, slowly changing; becoming. They didn’t know the beauty of the change; what it was like to feel yourself shift into the ultimate; be that much closer to God. Dominic’s ears stretched to pointed instruments of precision. His eyes blurred momentarily as his lenses focused and refocused sharper. Skin shivered as hair sprouted to cover him in this form that required no clothes. He tore off his shirt to preemptively stop the itching. Dominic turned his head to see his crew developing just as he had begun. Jackson was naked already and lumbering awkwardly on half-transformed limbs. His body was covered in brown fur. The twins always sprouted tails first, and then popping noises ricocheted off tree as ribs extended to make the body taller, leaner, meaner. Bryant’s knee joints had snapped back and loped behind them, blonde hair shivering down his body as he stripped. Tommy was for the most part unchanged besides his long muscle, still smoking. Dominic felt invincible with his own pack at his side. The Howl had already begun. Nearly all of the pack was there watching as the two bitches faced off in a ring of noisy, rooting wolves. Bernadette, being the younger had a great advantage on Doris Avery. She snapped her jaws in fearful defense, but she put up much less of a fight than was required to win. Bernadette lunged and caught the older bitch off guard, knocking her to the dirt hard. There were several howls, but the fight was far from over. The crew claimed a spot nearer one of the torches where the light was better. Dominic’s eyes took in the crowd. He saw Mr. Andrews, his at-home tutor and his dad’s best friend. His ears had changed and his chest was bare save his pelt of red. He sat next to his long time lover, Kent who was cousin to the twins. They shared the thick black hair, but not much else. The relationship was not looked down upon, per se, but it wasn’t talked about much either. Dominic saw his sister’s old boyfriend from high school and his crew of three. All of them were partially changed. It was just more fun that way. Dr. Stevens was draped over his second wife, Carmine. Their son of fifteen was not present, of course. You had to be seventeen or specially inducted to attend Howls. Many of his old friends were laughing and howling at the bitchfight. He saw Randy Howard and even Cody Grace had made the drive down. Richard, the cock of the fucking walk, the pseudo-Alpha of the pack was lounging in their dad’s favorite spot in the circle. His sniveling girlfriend, Alexis, was flicking her tail happily beside him. His sister, Astrid, sat to the other side of him, calm, quiet, and tense as ever. Richard had his own look of distracted boredom playing over his face. The flames of the torches cast light over that face he had so recently loved and made it seem evil. He didn’t know if he could ever forgive his brother, but he certainly didn’t think he could ever kill him in a fight. He hoped it wouldn’t get that serious. Richard was smart. If the pack truly didn’t appreciate his rule, he would step down. “Hey there, stranger.” That was an dreaded familiar voice. Lilly Cable draped herself over a strategically placed log just a little too close to Dominic. Her ears poked their round tips out of her curled auburn hair which had traveled down her naked chest and covered her round, young breasts. She pushed her chest out to bring more notice to her near nudity and smiled with the cunning of a female. “You haven’t been around for damn near five months, now. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.” “I haven’t necessarily returned home, Lilly. I have a duty to uphold.” This was one of the things Dominic hated about Howls. The women were always so horny. He wouldn’t have minded getting laid that Howl, but he would have to be truly hard up for a mate if he was going to make it with Lilly Cable. She pursed her lips in sly disbelief and shook her shoulders a little. It wasn’t that Lilly wasn’t attractive; she was just troublesome, high-maintenance, and probably his half- sister. It was mostly the last reason that Dominic didn’t bend her over something proximal and put an end to her teasing. “Right. You only came back, on the night of a Howl, to do your duty to the pack and help us choose a leader. You didn’t come here to check up on me.” “Not at all, little sister.” She frowned, “I hate it when you bring up that old rumor.” Her hazel eyes flickered with anger briefly before retraining their lustful stare on him, “I was hoping your little vacation had removed that stick from your ass, and you would finally admit that I’m the hottest fucking thing in the pack and you want me.” Her rough nails lightly touched on his thigh. “Oh ho no.” Dominic put all of his resolve towards ending this before it started. “You’re just pissed because I never showed interest in you and your looks are the only thing you’ve got going for you. I wouldn’t touch you if you were the only bitch at the Howl.” “Then don’t watch this.” She snarled and popped the button fly of her jeans open. Dominic obediently turned his head as he heard the fabric slide from her naked body. She snorted indignantly in his direction before he turned to see her walking away with her jeans tossed over her shoulder shaking her hips to taunt him with her bare behind. His welcome home was going smoother than he had ever thought possible. ~ Please email comments to cswann1@gmail.com.