A/N - I'm still making minor edits so please excuse any inconsistencies. Regardless, enjoy the chapter! 😁

Previously on "The Otherworlders":  Aidan, bound by zip ties in an abandoned warehouse, faces an unexpected encounter with Stephen, a seemingly unlikely ally. And despite Aidan's initial defiance, Stephen's gentle demeanor intrigues and calms him. After Stephen offers Aidan a glass of water, a bowl of fruit, and a hesitant apology, both Stephen and Aidan open up to each other.

As the conversation unfolds, Aidan uncovers his kidnapper's daring plan. Minuk intends to unleash the vengeful god Mai-coh so he can help him create a Skinwalker army to aid Minuk in his pursuit of a more viable "balance of power" between the major Otherworlder races.

Stephen then hints that if Aidan just does what Minuk is asking for, he might be able to help Aidan escape. And now, Aidan must decide whether to take a chance and summon this god, Mai-coh, possibly unleashing chaos on their realm, or cling to the hope that Patrick and Farid will eventually find him and come to his rescue.

**********

Maximus, Aidan's Gryphon, screeches as he circles high above the warehouse, his keen eyes searching for any sign of his master.

Patrick and Farid park the Prius in a shadowy corner of the empty parking lot directly across the street from the warehouse. As they step out of the car, their breaths visible in the cold night air, they exchange worried glances, their concern for Aidan growing with every minute that passes by.

They cross the street and approach the warehouse as quietly as they can, making their way around the imposing structure. They examine every locked door and every latched window with no luck.

"Damn it," Farid mutters, rattling the rusted door handle of the last door they find. The building seems impenetrable.

"There's got to be a way in," Patrick grumbles as he balls his fists at his sides. After a moment, he takes a few steps back from the building and cranes his neck to inspect a bank of narrow windows lining the upper part of the wall. The glass is filthy, but there just might be enough clear patches for it to work.

He turns to Farid. "What if I boosted you up." He points up at the bank of windows overhead. "Do you think you could reach one of those and, at least, get a peek inside?"

Farid looks up and, hands on his hips, shakes his head. "Nope. No way. Those windows are almost fifteen feet up there, Patrick. There's no way I could get a good look inside, much less climb through one of them if it's open."

Frustrated, Patrick chews his lip as his gaze scans the building, looking for any inspiration that might spark some out of the box thinking. He spots some discarded wooden pallets leaning against the warehouse wall, and at first he thinks they might be able to use those, but there aren't enough of them to give them the height they'd need to get up there. He runs a hand through his hair as his mind races.

And then he gets an idea.

"If you stand on my shoulders, and you stretch really hard, maybe you can pull yourself up high enough to see inside?" Patrick ventures.

Farid shoots him a dubious look, unconvinced. "Really, Patrick?" he says, eyeing the high windows skeptically. "Even with your help, I don't think I can reach that far."

But when he sees the dejected look on Patrick's face, Farid changes his mind. "You know what. There's no point speculating. Only one way to find out," he says.

Patrick flashes Farid a grateful grin. He leans back, spreads his legs, and braces himself against the wall, interlacing his fingers before him to create a foothold for Farid. He nods, letting Farid know that he's ready.

Farid hesitates for just a moment before nodding back and stepping into Patrick's cupped hands.

With a grunt, Patrick hoists Farid up towards the window where Farid steps onto Patrick's shoulders and reaches up to grip the grime-covered ledge with both hands, his fingers scrabbling for purchase.

But even standing on top of Patrick, Farid isn't tall enough. He can barely see over the windowsill into the cavernous space.

"You see anything?" Patrick groans, his muscles quivering beneath the strain of Farid's weight.

"No, man," Farid laments. "I'm still a few inches too short."

"Shit!" Patrick curses as he bends down and slowly and carefully lowers Farid to the ground.

Standing up, Patrick's frustration only grows. He lets out a deep guttural sigh as he drags his hands down the sides of his face. Looking back up at the window, he narrows his eyes, determined not to give up. He begins to pace, hands laced above his head as he racks his brain before the obvious suddenly hits him.

Patrick tosses his arms up in the air and chastises himself. "Gods!" he cries. "I'm such an idiot!" He spreads his hands and shakes his head woefully. Turning to Farid he says, "Okay, you need a few more inches? I can make that happen. Just step aside." He gently pushes Farid back a few feet. "I'm going to need a little room."

And with that, Patrick crouches to the ground and begins to shift. After a few deep breaths, he lets loose a growl as the old familiar warmth spreads through his body, his muscles tensing and expanding and his bones cracking as they elongate. His senses sharpen too as he takes on his massive Bear form.

Standing a few feet away, Farid's jaw drops as he watches in awe.

Now, as a fully formed Grizzly Bear, Patrick is at least two to three feet taller than before when he was in human form. He throws back his head and roars, but not in an aggressive way. Instead, he's indicating to Farid that he should climb up on his back.

Surprisingly, Farid understands Patrick's instructions and after a brief hesitation, he clambers up onto Patrick's broad back, gripping his coarse fur in clumps between his fingers for leverage.

Once he's situated, he pats Patrick on the side, letting Patrick know that he's good to go. At this, Patrick rocks back, lifts his front legs and leans against the building, now standing up only on his two hind legs.

Farid clings on for dear life but the maneuver goes more smoothly than expected and once Patrick is up on his feet, Farid is able to scurry up onto Patrick's shoulders.

Balancing precariously, Farid stands and grabs onto the window ledge for stability. But Patrick begins to teeter beneath him, causing Farid to sway, side to side, in order to keep his balance. "Oh, man!" he exclaims as he clings even more tightly to the window ledge. "This is so weird!" He laughs. "I feel like I'm in the circus!"

Patrick bobs his head and lets loose an irritated yawp, causing Farid to laugh even harder. "Sorry, dude..." he apologizes and then gets back to business.

Standing well above the windowsill this time, Farid leans forward and cups his hands around his eyes, straining to see through the dingy glass into the darkened warehouse. Squinting, he can just make out a dim glow, like from a lamp, coming from a room on the other side of the warehouse.

"Well, it looks like someone's here," Farid says as he cracks open the hinged window that, luckily, swings inward. But it's old and rusty, and it groans in protest as he slowly pushes it open.

Farid freezes a moment, holding his breath, waiting to see if anyone inside heard the noise. But after a moment, he senses they're in the clear and standing at his full height, he hauls himself up over the threshold, slips through the opening, and spills onto the floor on the other side of the warehouse wall.

In a matter of seconds, he's got the side door open so Patrick, having shifted back into human form and gotten dressed, can slip in through.

Inside the ware house, the interior is dimly lit but reveals a long corridor lined with doors on either side.

"Crap," Patrick says as he quietly brushes the dust off his hands. "Aidan could be in any one of these rooms. How are we going to find him?"

"Well, let's just start checking," Farid says as he silently leads Patrick down the eerie dark hallway.

As they pass by each closed door, they stealthily check to see if they're locked. Most of them are. After a few minutes and at least a dozen doors, the hallway finally ends and they're faced with a choice: right or left.

Patrick sniffs the air, trying to pick up on Aidan's scent, but he shakes his head. He can't pick up anything yet, so Farid cups his ear and with his heightened hearing, he's able to hear the sound of someone moving. He points to the right.

Hugging the wall, they make their way to the end of the hallway where there's an open space, terminating in some sort of loading dock.

There are two large garage doors surrounded by piles and piles of boxes, a few hand trolleys scattered around, and an abandoned forklift sitting in the corner.

On the other side of the loading dock, there's a makeshift office that's really just four plastered walls hinged together, a drop-ceiling, a small window, and a flimsy office door.

Crouching low to the ground, hiding behind a stack of empty pallets, Patrick and Farid can see movement inside the office. Patrick sniffs the air again. "Yep, Aidan's definitely in there," he whispers.

"Can you tell how many other guys are in there with him?" Farid asks quietly.

Patrick sniffs again. "I'm picking up one, no two, other scents besides Aidan's." He nods confidently. "Shifters... they're definitely Shifters," he says. "Wolf Shifters to be exact."

Farid nods as he considers their next steps.

Then suddenly, Patrick looks very confused. He tilts his head back and sniffs the air again as his eyes narrow. "I think there's a forth scent too."

"Oh, crap!" Farid exclaims. "So, there are three guys guarding Aidan then. Okay, well, while that's not great, but if we do this right, I still think we can take them on."

"No, it's not that." Patrick shakes his head. "It's... It's the scent..." his voice fades as he sits back on his heels, trying to make sense of what he's picking up. His brow creases in confusion. It's almost as if he's picking up... a memory.

But it can't be him... here.... It just can't.

"Patrick?" Farid leans forward and bends his head to try and catch Patrick's gaze. "Patrick, what is it? Is something wrong?" he asks.

"No." Patrick shakes his head vigorously in an attempt to get rid of this disconcerting feeling. He's got to focus!

"Nothing. It's nothing," he says.

"Are you sure?" Farid asks, with concern.

"Yeah." Patrick nods. "I must have been mistaken. I think there are only two guys there we have to worry about."

"Okay, cool. Then listen, if there are really only two of them in there," Farid says, "I think we can take them on."

"You do?" Patrick asks, then he nods slowly as a way of shoring up his confidence. "Yeah. Yeah, me too," he finally asserts.

"Great!," Farid acknowledges. "Then I think our best bet is to to try and catch them off guard, and to that end, I've got a plan. There's this thing we do--"

"Who's we?" Patrick interrupts, still trying to regain his focus.

"Vampyrs," Farid replies. "There's this thing we do where we're able to stun people, sort of make them black out and forget, like, the last 20 or 30 minutes."

"Wait! Whaaaat?!" Patrick responds, wide eyed.

"I know. Weird, right?" Farid chuckles. "It's a remnant of our evolution. Apparently, it used to help us during the hunt and--"

"Hold on!" Patrick raises a hand as he leans back, incredulous. "The Hunt?!"

Farid chuckles again. He didn't think it was possible for Patrick's eyes to get any wider. "Yeah, that one requires a lot more context than we have time for. Let's just focus on our immediate task, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Patrick says while giving Farid the side-eye.

"Anyway," Farid continues, "What I'm thinking is that if you can lure the Shifters out of the office and then go after one of them, I can get in close and take out the other one."

Patrick's brows scrunch up. "How are you gonna get in close if they're both coming out at the same time?"

Farid points up at the metal rafters above their heads and cracks a wide smile. "By using the element of surprise."

*********

A/N - Okay, I'm off to bed! Even though it's a little late, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! 😄

See you next week!

~ Paula ❤️