Pack Mentality: Wild at Heart

Chapter 12

WARNING: Violence. Death.

The building didn't look imposing, but as soon as Seth stepped out of the van, he could feel a sense of power emanating from it. He also saw rather a lot of humans milling around the neighbourhood, walking dogs and drinking coffee and acting in general as if there weren't a werewolf hotspot in their midst. "The... trial isn't happening here, is it?" he asked as he watched Becky manoeuvre her wheelchair down the van's ramp. For being so new to the wheelchair, she was handling it pretty well. "I mean, I know hiding in plain sight is a thing, but this...." He gestured to the cafe on the corner, the public transit bus that had stopped across the street, the cluster of teens chatting mere metres away. "This is a little more than that."

Vida smiled easily. "Don't worry. We have exceptional security. You know what it's like when you're stuck indoors for too long, I assume. To have a trial in the open air, surrounded by trees—it would be cruel in one way and kind in another." Then she gestured to the front door. "I'll go open the door for you, Becky."

Becky glanced up at Seth, face pinched with concern. "They're just going to... kill someone in a building in the middle of a city street?"

It confused Seth too. It obviously wasn't a main street or in the best neighbourhood, but it looked like the kind of area that was attracting young hopefuls. In a year or two, there probably wouldn't be a Vacancy sign to be found for blocks. "I guess?" He fought the urge to walk behind Becky's chair and kept pace beside her instead until the walkway narrowed and he had to step aside to let her pass.

"The building is slated to be demolished in a few months, alas," Vida explained as they entered. "We've used it to shelter runaways, primarily, but now we have a better centre for that. If... a small fire were to break out, for example, no one would be too surprised. We'll try to destroy evidence in a more environmentally friendly way, of course, but it's always good to have options. This way."

The interior of the building didn't look that bad to Seth's untrained eye. He had seen both Black & Brave and 392 Davenport during their renovation phases and this building didn't look much different. Many doors were closed; the open ones looked in on barren rooms, stripped of anything of value right down to the light bulbs. Vida was waiting at an open elevator, though, so he didn't want to dawdle; Becky was already steering her chair onto the elevator. "Sorry. Just... curious."

"Understandable. The foundation itself is viable," Vida said, "but there are too many upgrades and repairs required to bring it up to modern standards. That's how we got it so cheaply. We intended to run it as a halfway house, but we found a better building elsewhere, so we're using this mostly for storage until it's torn down."

"And a trial location," Becky remarked, struggling to turn the chair around in the elevator. "Seth?"

"Got it." He grabbed the handles and turned the chair around to face the doors. "And you're sure Maggie won't be able to see us?" Seth was more worried about Maggie lashing out at Becky, spewing trash and trying to attack her again, but he didn't want to say that.

Vida nodded as she pressed the button for the lowest floor. "You'll be in a completely separate room, and pack representatives will be surrounding her. She'll never even know you're here."

Becky shivered a bit, and Seth was sure it wasn't because of the temperature. He squeezed her shoulder and was reassured in kind when she leaned in to his touch. Selfishly, one of his biggest worries after the attack had been that she wouldn't want anything to do with werewolves at all—including himself. "How long do trials like this normally last?" he asked.

"It depends on the amount of evidence. I don't foresee this one lasting particularly long, which is why I had offered to livestream it to you at the hospital," Vida replied, glancing at Becky when the elevator stopped. Vida held the door while Becky wheeled out. "If you just wanted an excursion and a chance to try out your chair, we could have taken you on a far more interesting field trip."