Cassandra and I were still sort of functioning as a team, but instead of being drawn together out of a desire to stand up for our enchanted plushies it was concern for our friends and the need to make sure they were safe that kept us in sync.
My anxiety was still there in the background, but rather than overwhelm either of us it helped to keep the two of us focused and alert. Cassandra's sense of calm was there too, but instead of relaxing us it helped offset the stress and fear, while her confidence ensured I wouldn't panic or get too scared or flustered to act.
And without a second thought the two of us bailed on a pair of goddesses in a pub in England, and appeared instead standing in the produce section of the grocery store where our two werewolf friends worked.
Cerys and Melanie were next to us, and they both startled slightly when they suddenly noticed us there with them.
"Woah!" the blonde wolfgirl gasped. "Cass! When did you get here?"
We replied, "Just now. Did the hunter follow you into the store? Or where did you see him last?"
"We saw him coming out of the cafe," Cerys replied. "We didn't stick around, knowing this guy's hunting folks like us we didn't think it was safe to risk getting too close."
She sounded almost embarrassed about it, and it was definitely a change from when she was eager to run headlong into the witch hunter's lair less than two years earlier.
We gave her a supportive smile and told her, "I'm glad you did. Better safe than sorry."
"I've just texted all the details to Belinda," Melanie announced quietly. "We can probably expect Jaden or Ryan sometime soon. And the rest of the club are on their way as well."
"Are you two ok to wait in here?" we asked. "I'd like to go have a look around out in the parking lot. Where did you spot the pick-up? While I'm looking I'll check that it's still there, or if not then maybe the guy's already left."
As we finished speaking Cassandra and I both noticed Mel was looking at us a little funny. It only took a moment to realize she was probably trying to figure out who we were. Like she was good at recognizing when we were the chaos goddess, and she obviously knew what normal demon-girl Cass was like. But with the two of us working together that probably came across as something new or different, and the wolfgirl was maybe a bit confused by that.
Meanwhile Cerys asked, "Are you sure you'll be safe going out there? This guy's dangerous, and he might have other tricks up his sleeve."
"I'll be fine," we replied with a little smile. "I just want to ensure you two are safe."
Melanie finally responded, "We should be ok in here, Cass...sandra?"
She obviously still wasn't sure who we were, but she was taking a guess.
Our smile got a little wider but we didn't confirm or deny anything. Instead we asked again, "Where did you spot the pick-up?"
"It was mid-way down the second row from the right," Cerys replied. "About half way between the grocery store and the cafe. Be careful."
"Don't worry about me," we replied. "You two stay here. You should be safe with so many people around, but definitely keep your eyes open just in case."
Both wolfgirls nodded, then we finally turned and headed towards the exit. We didn't run into any trouble on our way out of the store, and when we were out in the parking lot it only took us a minute or so to find the pick-up truck.
It was definitely the same one I saw when I was doing that scrying on Sunday. We were positive, and that meant the wolf hunter was still around here somewhere.
A little surge of subtle divine magic was all it took to drain the power from the truck's battery. We figured that would ensure he couldn't escape, not without getting a boost or having to call a tow truck. Then we started calmly wandering around the big parking lot as we looked for any sign of the guy.
We were confident we'd recognize him if we saw him, considering our vision of the pick-up was pretty much exact. Just in case, Cassandra used a bit of magic to enhance our vision. That made it even easier to spot details and see faces and stuff.
After another couple minutes we were looking around the south end of the plaza when our phone buzzed with another couple texts, so we took a moment to check.
"Belinda texted back," Melanie wrote. "Jaden Lindsay and Ryan are all on their way here. She says if we see the guy to stay away from him & let the wolfs handle it."
That was followed by a message from Kaylee, "Me and Sasha met up with Willow, all three of us are almost there. Just a couple minutes away."
Then Cerys texted, "Nina just got here. She's with us, we're all chilling in the produce section at work."
We smiled as we quickly tapped out a reply, "Good. Keep Nina there with you, she can handle the guy if he turns up in the store. I'm still checking things out in the plaza."
"Also I disabled his truck," we added. "So he's not going anywhere."
Our phone went back into our purse at that point, then we took another long careful look around the parking lot for any sign of the guy. The plaza was starting to get busier, and we weren't sure if that was a good thing or not. It was around five in the afternoon, so we knew people would be getting off work and maybe stopping for groceries on the way home or something like that.
It probably meant there'd be more opportunities for the wolf hunter to disappear in the crowd, but hopefully that also meant fewer chances for him to actually do anything without getting caught.
We continued to survey the entire plaza from where we were standing, and after another minute or so we both stated "There."
It was the werewolf hunter, and he was standing just a dozen or so meters from the entrance to the grocery store.
He looked exactly like we saw when I did the scrying, apart from his clothing. Today he was dressed in blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a loose jacket hung open over an off-white button-up shirt. One thing that stood out even from a distance was the faint purple glow of magic coming off his belt buckle. We couldn't tell what it did exactly, but we guessed that's what kept his scent hidden, so werewolfs couldn't track him.
We didn't see any weapons on him, but the loose jacket meant he probably had something concealed. Maybe a handgun loaded with more silver bullets, or something else he could use against werewolfs.
The wolf hunter stood there for a half minute, he seemed to be staring at the store. Like maybe he was debating whether or not to go inside. Then he turned and glanced around the parking lot, before he finally started moving.
He wasn't heading for the entrance though, he was moving towards the east side of the store. Then he disappeared around the corner of the building, like he was going to get in through the back instead of just walking in the front doors.
As soon as he was out of sight we began to move as well. We weren't running, but with some unnaturally fast walking we very quickly reached the front of the grocery store.
"This might be a trap," Cassandra commented quietly. "He probably knows he's being stalked."
I asked softly, "So what should we do?"
"Let's spring it and see what happens," my other self responded with a smile.
Walking at a calm deliberate pace we rounded the side of the building, then started moving along the access lane towards the back of the grocery store.
It really was an ideal spot for a trap, thanks to the way the building was positioned. To our left was the side of the grocery store, to our right was an empty lot overgrown with trees and things. Ahead of us towards the back of the building was another empty lot. The busy plaza and parking lot were all behind us, so we were out of view of most of the public back there.
We made a point of not trying to check behind the dumpster as we went past it, but nobody jumped out at us. We also didn't look at the inset in the wall where one of the fire exits was located, and sure enough that's where he was hiding.
Our pace remained calm and relaxed as we moved by the emergency exit, and a second later a man's hand clamped around our mouth from behind. Then we felt something poke us in the back, just to the left of our spine.
If I'd been by myself I might have panicked. I definitely would have freaked out. But I wasn't alone, Cassandra and I were working as a team. And her confidence made it easy for me to remember that our body was demonic. Compared to a human we were nearly indestructible. And beyond that, we were also a goddess, so even if he did manage to hurt us we were still immortal.
And sure enough whatever he jabbed in our back was about as gentle and harmless as a toddler's finger. It was almost laughable, really.
After a pause of about a second there was a second poke, just as soft and delicate as the first.
This time maybe two seconds passed before we were poked a third time, but on the right side of our back instead of the left.
By that point we were actually getting bored of the whole thing. We reached up and easily pulled the hand away from our mouth, then in the most casual unimpressed tone we could manage we asked "Are you quite finished?"
Our would-be assailant was not in fact finished. He wrenched his left hand free of ours and grabbed our left shoulder, then we felt something dull and soft trace across our throat. It was no more effective than the weak pokes in our back had been.
"Sorry," we all but yawned. "Was that supposed to hurt somehow?"
The man finally spoke, his voice came out in a soft growl but there was definitely an undertone of confusion too. Maybe even some fear.
"What the hell are you?" he demanded.
We calmly removed his hand from our shoulder, then turned and easily pushed him backwards until we had him pinned to the cinder-block wall of the grocery store. With just one hand resting in the middle of his chest we held him there so tightly he could only breathe in shallow gasps, while the long silver-bladed knife he'd been clutching fell from his right hand.
"I'm your worst nightmare Samuel," we replied quietly as we looked up into his eyes. "I am the goddess of chaos. And werewolfs are my friends."
His eyes widened as he continued to feebly struggle, but compared to our demonic strength and divine might he was as helpless as a newborn baby. And that's where the teamwork Cassandra and I had maintained for the previous hour or two finally started to break down. She had no qualms about simply killing the man on the spot, while I was still opposed to any kind of violence like that.
My other self kept him pinned against the wall while I sort of pulled back inside, away from what was happening. And with her and me being more separate again, the two of us ended up having a discussion about the wolf hunter's fate.
"What would you have us do Cass," not-me asked. "It's the same situation as with the council thugs. We can't release him, he's too dangerous."
She took a quick look inside his mind then added, "He's killed other werewolfs before. He hunts people Cass, he murders sentient supernaturals. He'd kill our friends if he got the chance, and he attempted to kill us. The man's a monster and he deserves to be put down."
I sighed, "I'm still not comfortable with violence. I don't want to be like that. Maybe we should wait until the wolfs get here? He attacked them, they can take care of him."
"You know they're going to kill him," she pointed out. "The only difference is if they do it you won't have to see it, you can pretend the problem just went away. If that's what you're worried about, you can take a time out right now. Sleep for an hour, it'll all be over and done with when you wake up."
Before I could respond she added, "You remember what our mum told us? Sometimes the best solution is to just end him. That can also be the most merciful, if it's done quickly and cleanly."
"I know what she said," I mumbled. "I'm still not comfortable with it. And I don't want us to play judge jury and executioner. I don't want the decision on my conscience."
Cassandra sighed, "Very well. We should let the others know regardless. We can let Cerys make the decision, since she's the club leader."
"Ok," I agreed. I knew that was just passing the responsibility on to someone else, and things might still end badly depending what Cerys decided.
With the decision made the two of us both focused on the wolf hunter again. And even though it felt like Cassandra and I had been talking to each other normally, I realized that the whole conversation must have taken place entirely within our own head. It only lasted a few seconds, and the wolf hunter didn't seem to realize we'd been debating what to do with him.
Not-me still had him pinned to the wall with our left hand, while she pulled our phone out with our other hand then sent off a text to group chat. "Caught the hunter, situation under control. We're in the access lane on the east side of the store near a fire exit."
It only took a minute or two before the rest of Club Luna arrived. They were all really wary as soon as they realized the hunter was still conscious and everything, but we were holding him pinned against the wall and despite the guy being twice as big he just didn't have a chance at budging us.
Then Kaylee gasped, "Cass! What happened to your blouse? There's holes in the back like... Are you ok? He didn't hurt you did he?"
"I'm fine," not-me replied calmly. "He tried to poke me with his fancy knife. I think I'm going to keep that as a souvenir by the way, as compensation for ruining my top."
Our small kitsune girlfriend grimaced as she crouched down and picked up the knife, "This looks vicious."
It had a long narrow silver blade that came to a fine point, and what looked like a sharp edge along one side. It also looked like an antique, and was probably worth quite a bit. Not that we cared about the money, but I figured Cassandra wanted it as a memento.
"So what are you going to do with him?" Willow asked.
Sasha smiled, "Perhaps she has some chaos in store for him?"
My other self shrugged then looked at Cerys, "It's up to you, you're our club leader."
The blonde wolfgirl grimaced, it was pretty obvious she didn't want that responsibility any more than I did. For a moment I thought she might suggest calling our parents, so we could let the adults decide. Instead she looked at Melanie, then made her decision.
"The Tate Wolfpack is on their way," she stated. "They're the ones he attacked, we'll turn him over to them."
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Cassandra and I were still sort of functioning as a team, but instead of being drawn together out of a desire to stand up for our enchanted plushies it was concern for our friends and the need to make sure they were safe that kept us in sync.
My anxiety was still there in the background, but rather than overwhelm either of us it helped to keep the two of us focused and alert. Cassandra's sense of calm was there too, but instead of relaxing us it helped offset the stress and fear, while her confidence ensured I wouldn't panic or get too scared or flustered to act.
And without a second thought the two of us bailed on a pair of goddesses in a pub in England, and appeared instead standing in the produce section of the grocery store where our two werewolf friends worked.
Cerys and Melanie were next to us, and they both startled slightly when they suddenly noticed us there with them.
"Woah!" the blonde wolfgirl gasped. "Cass! When did you get here?"
We replied, "Just now. Did the hunter follow you into the store? Or where did you see him last?"
"We saw him coming out of the cafe," Cerys replied. "We didn't stick around, knowing this guy's hunting folks like us we didn't think it was safe to risk getting too close."
She sounded almost embarrassed about it, and it was definitely a change from when she was eager to run headlong into the witch hunter's lair less than two years earlier.
We gave her a supportive smile and told her, "I'm glad you did. Better safe than sorry."
"I've just texted all the details to Belinda," Melanie announced quietly. "We can probably expect Jaden or Ryan sometime soon. And the rest of the club are on their way as well."
"Are you two ok to wait in here?" we asked. "I'd like to go have a look around out in the parking lot. Where did you spot the pick-up? While I'm looking I'll check that it's still there, or if not then maybe the guy's already left."
As we finished speaking Cassandra and I both noticed Mel was looking at us a little funny. It only took a moment to realize she was probably trying to figure out who we were. Like she was good at recognizing when we were the chaos goddess, and she obviously knew what normal demon-girl Cass was like. But with the two of us working together that probably came across as something new or different, and the wolfgirl was maybe a bit confused by that.
Meanwhile Cerys asked, "Are you sure you'll be safe going out there? This guy's dangerous, and he might have other tricks up his sleeve."
"I'll be fine," we replied with a little smile. "I just want to ensure you two are safe."
Melanie finally responded, "We should be ok in here, Cass...sandra?"
She obviously still wasn't sure who we were, but she was taking a guess.
Our smile got a little wider but we didn't confirm or deny anything. Instead we asked again, "Where did you spot the pick-up?"
"It was mid-way down the second row from the right," Cerys replied. "About half way between the grocery store and the cafe. Be careful."
"Don't worry about me," we replied. "You two stay here. You should be safe with so many people around, but definitely keep your eyes open just in case."
Both wolfgirls nodded, then we finally turned and headed towards the exit. We didn't run into any trouble on our way out of the store, and when we were out in the parking lot it only took us a minute or so to find the pick-up truck.
It was definitely the same one I saw when I was doing that scrying on Sunday. We were positive, and that meant the wolf hunter was still around here somewhere.
A little surge of subtle divine magic was all it took to drain the power from the truck's battery. We figured that would ensure he couldn't escape, not without getting a boost or having to call a tow truck. Then we started calmly wandering around the big parking lot as we looked for any sign of the guy.
We were confident we'd recognize him if we saw him, considering our vision of the pick-up was pretty much exact. Just in case, Cassandra used a bit of magic to enhance our vision. That made it even easier to spot details and see faces and stuff.
After another couple minutes we were looking around the south end of the plaza when our phone buzzed with another couple texts, so we took a moment to check.
"Belinda texted back," Melanie wrote. "Jaden Lindsay and Ryan are all on their way here. She says if we see the guy to stay away from him & let the wolfs handle it."
That was followed by a message from Kaylee, "Me and Sasha met up with Willow, all three of us are almost there. Just a couple minutes away."
Then Cerys texted, "Nina just got here. She's with us, we're all chilling in the produce section at work."
We smiled as we quickly tapped out a reply, "Good. Keep Nina there with you, she can handle the guy if he turns up in the store. I'm still checking things out in the plaza."
"Also I disabled his truck," we added. "So he's not going anywhere."
Our phone went back into our purse at that point, then we took another long careful look around the parking lot for any sign of the guy. The plaza was starting to get busier, and we weren't sure if that was a good thing or not. It was around five in the afternoon, so we knew people would be getting off work and maybe stopping for groceries on the way home or something like that.
It probably meant there'd be more opportunities for the wolf hunter to disappear in the crowd, but hopefully that also meant fewer chances for him to actually do anything without getting caught.
We continued to survey the entire plaza from where we were standing, and after another minute or so we both stated "There."
It was the werewolf hunter, and he was standing just a dozen or so meters from the entrance to the grocery store.
He looked exactly like we saw when I did the scrying, apart from his clothing. Today he was dressed in blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a loose jacket hung open over an off-white button-up shirt. One thing that stood out even from a distance was the faint purple glow of magic coming off his belt buckle. We couldn't tell what it did exactly, but we guessed that's what kept his scent hidden, so werewolfs couldn't track him.
We didn't see any weapons on him, but the loose jacket meant he probably had something concealed. Maybe a handgun loaded with more silver bullets, or something else he could use against werewolfs.
The wolf hunter stood there for a half minute, he seemed to be staring at the store. Like maybe he was debating whether or not to go inside. Then he turned and glanced around the parking lot, before he finally started moving.
He wasn't heading for the entrance though, he was moving towards the east side of the store. Then he disappeared around the corner of the building, like he was going to get in through the back instead of just walking in the front doors.
As soon as he was out of sight we began to move as well. We weren't running, but with some unnaturally fast walking we very quickly reached the front of the grocery store.
"This might be a trap," Cassandra commented quietly. "He probably knows he's being stalked."
I asked softly, "So what should we do?"
"Let's spring it and see what happens," my other self responded with a smile.
Walking at a calm deliberate pace we rounded the side of the building, then started moving along the access lane towards the back of the grocery store.
It really was an ideal spot for a trap, thanks to the way the building was positioned. To our left was the side of the grocery store, to our right was an empty lot overgrown with trees and things. Ahead of us towards the back of the building was another empty lot. The busy plaza and parking lot were all behind us, so we were out of view of most of the public back there.
We made a point of not trying to check behind the dumpster as we went past it, but nobody jumped out at us. We also didn't look at the inset in the wall where one of the fire exits was located, and sure enough that's where he was hiding.
Our pace remained calm and relaxed as we moved by the emergency exit, and a second later a man's hand clamped around our mouth from behind. Then we felt something poke us in the back, just to the left of our spine.
If I'd been by myself I might have panicked. I definitely would have freaked out. But I wasn't alone, Cassandra and I were working as a team. And her confidence made it easy for me to remember that our body was demonic. Compared to a human we were nearly indestructible. And beyond that, we were also a goddess, so even if he did manage to hurt us we were still immortal.
And sure enough whatever he jabbed in our back was about as gentle and harmless as a toddler's finger. It was almost laughable, really.
After a pause of about a second there was a second poke, just as soft and delicate as the first.
This time maybe two seconds passed before we were poked a third time, but on the right side of our back instead of the left.
By that point we were actually getting bored of the whole thing. We reached up and easily pulled the hand away from our mouth, then in the most casual unimpressed tone we could manage we asked "Are you quite finished?"
Our would-be assailant was not in fact finished. He wrenched his left hand free of ours and grabbed our left shoulder, then we felt something dull and soft trace across our throat. It was no more effective than the weak pokes in our back had been.
"Sorry," we all but yawned. "Was that supposed to hurt somehow?"
The man finally spoke, his voice came out in a soft growl but there was definitely an undertone of confusion too. Maybe even some fear.
"What the hell are you?" he demanded.
We calmly removed his hand from our shoulder, then turned and easily pushed him backwards until we had him pinned to the cinder-block wall of the grocery store. With just one hand resting in the middle of his chest we held him there so tightly he could only breathe in shallow gasps, while the long silver-bladed knife he'd been clutching fell from his right hand.
"I'm your worst nightmare Samuel," we replied quietly as we looked up into his eyes. "I am the goddess of chaos. And werewolfs are my friends."
His eyes widened as he continued to feebly struggle, but compared to our demonic strength and divine might he was as helpless as a newborn baby. And that's where the teamwork Cassandra and I had maintained for the previous hour or two finally started to break down. She had no qualms about simply killing the man on the spot, while I was still opposed to any kind of violence like that.
My other self kept him pinned against the wall while I sort of pulled back inside, away from what was happening. And with her and me being more separate again, the two of us ended up having a discussion about the wolf hunter's fate.
"What would you have us do Cass," not-me asked. "It's the same situation as with the council thugs. We can't release him, he's too dangerous."
She took a quick look inside his mind then added, "He's killed other werewolfs before. He hunts people Cass, he murders sentient supernaturals. He'd kill our friends if he got the chance, and he attempted to kill us. The man's a monster and he deserves to be put down."
I sighed, "I'm still not comfortable with violence. I don't want to be like that. Maybe we should wait until the wolfs get here? He attacked them, they can take care of him."
"You know they're going to kill him," she pointed out. "The only difference is if they do it you won't have to see it, you can pretend the problem just went away. If that's what you're worried about, you can take a time out right now. Sleep for an hour, it'll all be over and done with when you wake up."
Before I could respond she added, "You remember what our mum told us? Sometimes the best solution is to just end him. That can also be the most merciful, if it's done quickly and cleanly."
"I know what she said," I mumbled. "I'm still not comfortable with it. And I don't want us to play judge jury and executioner. I don't want the decision on my conscience."
Cassandra sighed, "Very well. We should let the others know regardless. We can let Cerys make the decision, since she's the club leader."
"Ok," I agreed. I knew that was just passing the responsibility on to someone else, and things might still end badly depending what Cerys decided.
With the decision made the two of us both focused on the wolf hunter again. And even though it felt like Cassandra and I had been talking to each other normally, I realized that the whole conversation must have taken place entirely within our own head. It only lasted a few seconds, and the wolf hunter didn't seem to realize we'd been debating what to do with him.
Not-me still had him pinned to the wall with our left hand, while she pulled our phone out with our other hand then sent off a text to group chat. "Caught the hunter, situation under control. We're in the access lane on the east side of the store near a fire exit."
It only took a minute or two before the rest of Club Luna arrived. They were all really wary as soon as they realized the hunter was still conscious and everything, but we were holding him pinned against the wall and despite the guy being twice as big he just didn't have a chance at budging us.
Then Kaylee gasped, "Cass! What happened to your blouse? There's holes in the back like... Are you ok? He didn't hurt you did he?"
"I'm fine," not-me replied calmly. "He tried to poke me with his fancy knife. I think I'm going to keep that as a souvenir by the way, as compensation for ruining my top."
Our small kitsune girlfriend grimaced as she crouched down and picked up the knife, "This looks vicious."
It had a long narrow silver blade that came to a fine point, and what looked like a sharp edge along one side. It also looked like an antique, and was probably worth quite a bit. Not that we cared about the money, but I figured Cassandra wanted it as a memento.
"So what are you going to do with him?" Willow asked.
Sasha smiled, "Perhaps she has some chaos in store for him?"
My other self shrugged then looked at Cerys, "It's up to you, you're our club leader."
The blonde wolfgirl grimaced, it was pretty obvious she didn't want that responsibility any more than I did. For a moment I thought she might suggest calling our parents, so we could let the adults decide. Instead she looked at Melanie, then made her decision.
"The Tate Wolfpack is on their way," she stated. "They're the ones he attacked, we'll turn him over to them."
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