Chapter 21: Gus and his dilenma
Gabriel
The house is dimly lit, and I feel chills as I walk in. I know this scent.
Death looms inside the home of this man.
The child pulls Gus towards a room at the end of the corridor. As they walk, the stench of death becomes stronger. My heart sinks as we enter the room and I see an old man lying on a bed, his breathing shallow and labored.
Gus kneels besides the bed and takes the old man's hand. "Dad, can you hear me?" he whispers.
The pain in his voice makes me think that maybe--just maybe, he is not the person I am looking for. Gus seems like he doesn't want to do whatever it is the other man wants him to do, but it also seems like he has no choice.
The old man's eyes flutter open, and he looks at Gus weakly, "Son, is that you?" he rasps.
Gus nods, "I'm here Dad, I'm here. What do you need, papa?" he manages weakly.
The old man coughs, "I don't have much time left, son. I feel myself getting closer and closer to the end.''
"Don't say that Papa, I am working on something. I will get the potion, I will save you."
His fathers coughs again, "I don't want you to do anything stupid. You have to stay strong for your brother," his father turns to the younger boy and manages a faint smile.
It seems like it is hard for him to even move.
My heart sinks as the realization hits me. Gus, the owner of the shirt, is in a desperate situation. He needs money and is being forced to do something that he might now want to, in order to save his father's life. The scent of death is all around us, and it is clear that Gus's father is not going to make it without the potion, that his son is trying to acquire.
Before anything else can be revealed, the scene shifts again. This time, it is night, and they are in the forest. It looks familiar, so familiar that it could be our pack's territory.
I am in the memory of the night of the attack.
"Come on bro, you don't have anything to worry about," One of the men taps Gus's shoulder, in a way to comfort him.
"I am scared. I don't want to hurt anyone."
I look around and there are a total of six people here. "It won't come to that, all we have to do is get the stone and get out. Barry and his crew are the ones that are going to be facing patrollers. Don't worry, think about your father and how this will save him."
Gus lets out a heavy sigh, but slowly, he nods his head.
As they walk deeper into the woods, everything is more familiar.
They get to the border, the one between my pack and Blackwood's.
There are men there, patrollers on both ends.
"Stick to the plan, everyone. We have to make it look like our targets are the Crescent moon pack. No one can find out that we are going into the shadow pack.
I watch them split into two groups, and I know that Gus wasn't part of the people that attacked my men. He was part of the group that went into Lucas's territory.
Fuck.
I don't know what stone they are talking about but I am pretty sure that Lucas will have an idea. Whatever the Nightshade Syndicate wanted was in his home. They walk away from the main gates of the Shadowclaw pack, and I watch them as they walk to the other side of the fence. A man walks out of a little gate--one that i never even noticed before. I know who this man is. I have seen this man a couple of times with Lucas.
"No one can know I let you in," the man looks around, almost like he is afraid of getting caught.
Gus nods, "We just need to get in and get out. Everyone is at the summit, so they will not suspect anything."
So that was the plan.
All along it was about Lucas and his pack. I watch as they sneak into the compound, moving like shadows in the night. The Nightshade Syndicate members are well-trained , and they move with the precision of well-oiled machines. Gus seems to be the only one nervous, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger.
As they move deeper into the compound, they come across a guard. The guard is quick to react, and he doesn't hesitate as he tries to create awareness, but before he can, one of the men with Gus jumps on him and knocks him out cold.
"Shit," Gus exclaims from the shock of being caught.
"We have to kill him," One of them men says.
Gus shakes his head. "Kill him," he orders Gus.
"We were not meant to kill anyone. I didn't sign up for murdering people."
The man glares at Gus, "Kill him now. He saw our faces."
"If we kill him, someone will know we came in here," Gus is trying to rationalize. He is trying to be reasonable. A way to avoid killing the man.
"We will not leave his body. He will just disappear. Lucas Blackwood is not one to care about his pack. He will not even notice that his man is gone."
They are saying all these things about Lucas, and it is not a lie. Blackwood is the most self-absorbed person I have ever met, and it will not surprise me if he never even noticed that this man was killed and is missing.
Gus shakes his head, "I am not killing him… I can't."
Barry walks up to him, "Gus, you have to. If Elliot tells the leaders that you refused, they will kill you."
The situation is dire, and I can feel the weight of the impending doom. Gus has been put in a tough position and I can see the panic in his eyes. He is struggling between his morals and his desire to save his father.
It's not fair that he has been forced into this situation.
The man lying on the ground groans, and my heart sinks even lower. He doesn't deserve to die for something he has no part in.
But the men with Gus are growing impatient, and I can see the anger in their eyes.
"Do it now," the man--tells him glaringly.
Gus takes a step back, and I watch as realization hits him. "No."
I feel him as he turns into his wolf form and starts to run in the opposite direction.
"Barry, fix this shit. Kill him if you have to" Elliot tells him as Gus continues to run. Gus's wolf form is fast and agile. From the way he feels, I can already tell that he is an Alpha, but I can also smell the fear and desperation. I know that he is running for his life. Barry is supposed to be his friend. He is probably the one that made him join the group, and now he is the one that is going to kill him.
He gets out of Blackwood's compound and out to the forest. His friend--Barry howls to stop him, but he doesn't deter.
Barry is fast, so fast that he catches up to him. "Stop," Barry growls as he tackles Gus to the ground.
Gus fight back, biting and clawing at Barry, but he is no match for him. Barry is stronger, and he seems more experienced in wolf form.
As Barry gains the upper hand, I can feel the fear and desperation emanating from Gus. He knows that this is it, and he is going to die. I can feel his pain and his sorrow, and it is too much to bear.
"Please Barry, don't do this," Gus pleads, his human voice merging with the animal growls.
But Barry doesn't listen. He pins Gus down and raises his par to strike the fatal blow.
I take a deep breath as I try to channel my wolf back to reality.
If Barry kills Gus and I am still in his mind, I will end up trapped.
Fuck.
Cal, wake me the fuck up.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone