Bloodbound

16. White wolf

James Buchannan Barnes remembered the day he had died and reborn like it was yesterday. It wasn't a day one would forget. He was lying on the snow waiting for his inevitable death. His bones were broken and hypothermia was setting in. Blood pooled around his left arm but the ice froze the bleeding soon. But all he could think of was Steve not coming to save him. As time passed, he became weary and angry. A hooded figure approaching him and he thought it was a Good Samaritan. He was the one who changed Bucky into a vampire; fed him a burning liquid before leaving. Bucky didn't have much say in it. The vampire thought he was saving his life but Bucky felt it was a curse of the devil. He roamed the forests keeping away from human settlements.

When the war ended, he returned to America. But the council was already formed and they killed every other vampire not belonging to any clan. Bucky went into hiding to save himself. He met others just like himself, hiding from the council. They formed a group and helped each other. But no one could help when one turned into a feral. They had to kill them. Bucky hated that part. The solution came to him in the form of Hank Pym. A young man approached him one day. He didn't say much about himself. He said he just wanted to help and gave them the 'Draught of Frost Blood.' Bucky is grateful for him to this day.

As they met more and more vampires outside the clan, in the hiding, they started calling themselves clan-less. They moved away from the council and built a safe home for themselves. The Draught which originally Pym gave wasn't enough. Bucky contacted him. He agreed to make the clan-less an antidote derived from the draught. The clan-less along with Pym moved outside New York.

For the council, the name White Wolf is a ghost story. His name has been in the wind for really long time but no one knew even if he existed. He was a legendary story said over a bottle of drink. The truth is most of the stories are real and they circulated around the man James Buchanan Barnes. When he got the second chance in life, it took him some time to find footing but he soon rose to be the clan-less' leader. He felt it was his job to lead that diverse group.

.....

A year ago (The day before Wanda's interview)

Bucky and Sam were distributing blood to the group which they had got from blood bank. He heard someone running towards him and turned to see that it was Hope. She signalled Bucky that she wanted to speak privately.

Once they were out of ear shot from others Hope filled Bucky on what happened. "There's this boy who is waiting to see you. He seems to be around 15-16 years. He says that Stark sent him here because he knew you would protect him. He came all the way here from New York. He claims to be alone but I do have my suspicions. He is specifically asking you by your name, James."

"Let go and see him" Bucky said walking toward the hallway leading to entrance.

He walked through the small opening in the alcove. It led to a small room where Scott was talking to a young boy. The boy tensed seeing Bucky enter the room. Scott placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The boy was cleanly dressed but had dark circles underneath and looked tired. His eyes were of normal colour and his teeth were drawn back. He was safe for now. There was no symptom of him changing into a feral till now. And the boy was scared out of his shit, that Bucky knew for sure.

Bucky's eyes soften as he approaches him. He raised his hand in a gesture to show that he meant no harm. He asked him softly, "Who are you, kid? How did you come here? Who sent you?"

"Mr. Barnes, sir... I... Mr. Barnes" the boy stammered.

"Calm down. We will not harm you kid. Just tell us so we can help you out."

"Mr. Stark sent me. He said that I will be safe with you and New York is not safe for me. He told me how to find you."

"Howard Stark sent you?"

"No. Tony Stark" the kid stated. "He said that I had to leave New York for my own safety. I don't why he said that. He said something about council and everything."

"Did you come alone?"

The kid stood silently for some time weighing his options. Then he said, "No, Giyera drove me. He helped me find you. I swear he left"

"You both continue your post" he said to Hope and Scott. "And you kid, come with me" he said pointing to the kid. Bucky walked out of the room into the long hallway.

"What's your name?"

"Peter Parker, sir"

"No need to call me sir, Peter. Just Bu- James is fine"

Peter nodded. Bucky continued, "So, what happened? When did it happen? Give me the full story."

After hearing Peter's story Bucky was furious. He wanted to rip every council member's head. He was visibly trembling with anger. This a 15-year-old boy he thought. How could Tony just leave him to fend for himself. He could easily change into a feral. He sent him away as if it wasn't his responsibility. He was angry with every other clan leader who had turned blind eye to the problems of clan-less. They and their age-old principles trampled everyone and crushed them out. This has gone too far now he thought. He has to put an end to it.

Bucky called Sam. "Take him to Hank for the antidote and then show him his bunker. And Sam, we have a meeting." Sam nodded and left with Peter.

Bucky called for a meeting. He, Scott, Hope and Lincoln were waiting for Sam. An argument had already broken out. Bucky saw Sam silently entering the room. He leaned against the wall and listened to the ongoing discussion.

"Do we need to kill the council members? That does sound extreme" said Hope.

"We didn't start the war. They did. We have to fight back. They don't ever care about our existence" retorted Lincoln.

"I am with Hope on this one. I am sure there will be a peaceful way to solve" said Scott.

"What's your opinion Sam?" asked Bucky. "You're the only one who has been silent since the beginning of meeting"

"I'm worried. There is no way we can defeat the Council by ourselves. They are much more powerful than us. Natasha and Jiaying are thousands of years old. We won't even stand a chance, man. We need a plan. A plan they won't see coming."

"We will divide them and take them out" suggested Lincoln.

"Just for the record I'm totally not abord on this. There has to be a better way. We could demand a meeting. We can demand a seat in the council. A good deal."

"You don't understand Hope" said Lincoln through gritted teeth. "They will kill us without blinking an eye. I believe you didn't forget what happened to Ashley. They killed her without mercy for no fault of her own" he snapped.

"James, you need to reconsider this. We can't stoop to their level" Scott tried to reason with him.

"Hope and Scott, you both can stay out of the fight if you want. But we are going to fight them. We have to draw them out and bring them to justice."

Bucky walked out of the meeting and gathered the rest of the clan-less. "We are bringing down the council. The time has come for us. We will be free soon."

The crowd roared in unison. Everyone made noise to show their support for Bucky. They started chanting the two words over and over again.

"WHITE WOLF. WHITE WOLF. WHITE WOLF"

The whole hall was echoed with the sound of the clan-less.

The same night clan-less decided to return to New York. They moved in huge mass in the night and took cover in the day. After a long journey they arrived in the city. For long, they have been trampled by the council and they were determined to change it. They were ready to claim back their power and their rights and their freedom.

*****

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