Darcingtowne Wolves: The Misfits (Book 1)

Chapter Three: Territory

It was night when Penelope’s eyes fluttered open. Well, she thought it was night anyway, despite how bright it was. Despite the sun having fully settled beyond the horizon line and the moon hanging high in the velvety black sky, Penny’s eyes were being assaulted by lights of all kinds - from street lights, to the headlights of the innumerable cars around them, to the multicolored neon of the various signs and billboards that seemed to take up every available space that wasn’t occupied by buildings that rose impossibly high above them.

“Welcome to Darcingtowne, baby girl. Did you sleep good?” Mason rumbled, glancing at his daughter with his usual neutral expression.

“Yeah…” Penelope said, her soft voice tinged with awe as she turned her head back and forth, trying to take in their new surroundings.

Penelope pressed her nose to the window as she looked up, trying to see the top of the nearest building as the truck pulled to a sharp stop. The building was made of smooth black stone, and featured art deco lines that were both artful and imposing at once. Penelope smiled at the sight of it; it was gorgeous and so very different from anything else she’d ever seen before.

Although they were in the car, the smell of the city was also filtering into the cabin. The smells were not as awe-inspiring as the sights of the city, and she crinkled her nose a little as the car started moving again and they passed a particularly rancid alleyway which two bars backed on to. Her father may not have been exaggerating when he talked about the way Darcingtowne smelled.

But, she wasn’t going to let that ruin her first impression of the city. Darcingtowne was enormous; the biggest metropolis in the world. Surely, not all of it would smell like rank ass.

Mason chuckled a little at his daughter’s briefly sour expression, and said, “Don’t worry, it’ll smell a little better when we get closer to where we’re staying. The city spends a lot of money on upkeep around the Promenade.”

“Aren’t the hotels right on the Promenade really expensive?” Penny asked. She’d looked into it a bit when she was still planning on coming to the city on her own; when her father said he would be coming with her, she was happy to let him take over the planning for the big move.

“Mmm. I’m sure they are. But, we’re not staying at a hotel.” Mason rumbled, keeping his eyes studiously focused on the traffic ahead of him. Cars were weaving in and out, honking seemingly at random. People were even yelling and making rude gestures, but Penelope had eyes only for her father.

“Papa...you didn’t rent a house for us, did you? I told you, I want to find a place for me and my friends!” Penelope started to protest, but Mason raised his hand in warning - one finger sticking up.

“Ah, ah...just a minute, daughter mine.” Mason said, his eyes flickering slightly. For just a moment, Penelope thought she saw something raw in his expression; guilt, perhaps?

“I didn’t rent a house or book a hotel for us. I didn’t have to. I’ve already got a small apartment within the grounds of the Promenade, paid by the city and all - part of my compensation.” Mason said, his voice cool and even. “And you already have a house...a brownstone, actually. One that your mother left it for you. The place where you were born.”

Penelope’s eyes went wide at this, and all the retorts that she had been planning in the back of her mind suddenly vanished. She thought her father’s big secret was that he’d been planning to follow her to Darcingtowne, but it seemed that there was far more he’d been keeping from her. She had the sneaking suspicion that this was only the tip of the iceberg, but kept her tongue carefully tucked between her teeth. Her mind was racing, and she knew that if she spoke now she’d probably say something to set her father on edge, and she wouldn’t get anything else out of him for days.

So, they rode together in silence for the few hours it took to actually reach their destination. Even this late at night, or early in the morning since it was nearly dawn now, the traffic was intense. They approached the Darcingtowne Promenade in the faint half light that came just before sunrise. At first, she saw the manicured lawns and topiaries, sculptures and fountains that took up the west side of the park. Then, as they continued east,  Penelope saw the Bramble come into view. 

The Bramble took up almost the entire eastern half of the park, and though she could only make it out in silhouette as it was being backlit by the rising sun, she could tell that it was wild, beautiful...and magical. She could feel the untamed arcane energy billowing from the wood in waves, despite being blocks away and separated by the steel, plastic and glass of the truck. She took in a deep breath, and noticed her father doing the same.

By the time they pulled to a stop in front of one of the many stately brick townhomes that fronted onto the park with a direct view of the Bramble, Penelope could hardly contain all the questions that were bubbling up to her lips. The first of which was, “This is where I was born?!”

Mason chuckled, and shook his head a little. “You held on longer than I thought you would. I’m surprised steam didn’t start coming from your ears, pup.”

“If...if this is my home, how come we’ve never been here?” Penelope asked, unable to keep hold herself back any longer. “Dad, please...I need to know everything that you haven’t been telling me.”

“Let’s get inside first.” Mason said, his impassive expression not giving anything away. He exited the cab of his truck after hanging a placard on the rearview mirror. 

Penelope took this as her cue to unbuckle her seatbelt and hop out herself. Mason flipped off a passing car that honked angrily at him as he walked around the front of the truck, then motioned for Penny to follow him as he approached the brownstone with the numbers 17 in bright brass letters on the door.

As she passed the low bright and wrought iron fence bordering the small front garden of the brownstone, her brownstone she reminded herself, Penny felt a strange wash of energy flow over her. Once inside the invisible barrier, she recognized it for what it was; a territorial boundary. Penny stopped dead in the middle of the paved pathway that led to the door of her pack house, a hand clutched tight to her chest as she took in several deep breaths. When she looked up, she saw Mason smiling at her with an undisguised look of pride.

All of her senses were going haywire. Penny could feel every blade of grass as the faint breeze blew through it, a breeze that warned her of the nearby presence of other wolves. The sun was so bright that her eyes started tearing up, and she somehow knew exactly where the gaps in the security of the brownstone were without having set foot inside it - at least not that she could remember. Despite the overwhelming information flooding into her, Penelope couldn’t help but feel like she was breathing easy for the first time in her whole life. Just standing there, in front of the home she’d never known, Penelope felt strength surge through her being in a way that made her skin tingle from the tip of her nose to her little pinky toes.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Mason rumbled, his lips turning up on one side into a crooked smile that she rarely saw on his craggy, lined face.

“Dad...is this...what does this mean?” Penelope knew what it meant, but she needed to hear someone else say it.

“It means you’re an alpha female, baby girl. And this is your territory.” Mason said, his voice and expression turning uncharacteristically soft. “Come on, Princess.”