LONDON CALLING

"You're welcome," he gave her a slight smile. "Edward's right there," Angus pointed at two figures just inside the large leaded glass front doors. Khaat and Brian arrived, and Angus motioned to everyone. "Show time," Angus told Ruby, and they led the way into the foyer. As they were looking around, Khaat shivered, and Brian took her hand.

"Edward, could I ask you something?" Khaat asked.

"Of course. Anything," Edward replied.

"When you went out by yourself, what did you take with you?"

"A pistol and an axe. Why?" he asked.

"Could I see the axe?" she asked.

"Certainly," he said. "It's in the office. Come along." He motioned everyone to follow, and he took them through the foyer and down a short hallway to his home office. There, along one wall was a locked weapons case. "It's there. On the second shelf."

Khaat looked at the weapons case and the glistening silver axe. It was a single bladed battle axe that had certainly seen its share. Khaat could feel the energy coming off it even as it rested in the glass weapons case. She reached out and laid her hand on the glass.

"What are you sensing?" Edward asked her.

"Unlock the case?" she asked. He came over and unlocked the case and opened it. She laid her hand on the handle of the axe, and Brian reached out and touched her hand.

"Careful," he told her quietly. "That looks damned sharp."

"It will cut like a razor before you could even feel it," Edward told him seriously. She picked it up and held it up to the last little rays of daylight coming in through the office windows, and the blade sparkled in her hand. For a second, Brian thought he saw a glimmer of green from her necklace.

"Take it with you," she told Edward, handing it to him. Simone was looking around the room with a little bit of discomfort, feeling some negative energies in the house. She couldn't pinpoint where they were coming from, but something in her felt that Khaat was on the right track.

"Why?" he frowned, not seeing a use for it in his own home.

"Take it," she repeated. He closed the case and locked it but he kept the axe in his hand.

"I smelled cigar smoke in the hall," Angus said. "I think he's in the billiards room."

"We need to be on alert," Khaat told them quietly. She didn't want to tell Edward that this beautiful home was creepy tonight but it made the blood in her veins turn to ice.

"This way," Edward said, stepping out into the hall. They followed him down to a large, impressively carved wooden door at the end of the hall. Edward opened it to a luxurious billiards room. The room was all paneled in Oak, with parquet floors, leather furniture, elegant lighting, a built in bar, a sophisticated system that was belting out old blues music, and the smell of fine cuban cigars filled the air. Somewhere in the cloud of cigar smoke, men were laughing and talking rather roughly.

"Benjamin," Edward said in a commanding tone. "The party's over." He flicked his wand and dissipated the cigar smoke. Then they could plainly see eight other men there and five women. Standing at the billiards table with a cue in one hand and a cigar in the other was Benjamin.

"Well, well, I didn't expect to be seeing you tonight. Finally decided to come home, did you?" Benjamin said to Edward. He gestured to a man to his left. "This is Dr. Pilcher. He's prepared to make sure you finally get the care you nee..."

"I'm sure he would," Edward cut him off, not wanting to hear anything Benjamin had to say. "We need to talk."

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say it in front of my associates," Benjamin said. As Khaat listened, she felt her own heart start to race for some unknown reason, and she began to feel panicky. She didn't know why. She stepped closer to Brian automatically. And the stone in her necklace began to shimmer very softly. Brian was now much more alerted, seeing the necklace was now also alerting them.

Angus cast a very quick glance to the necklace, and he saw for himself it was glowing. that made no sense though. Jack and Jessie weren't threats, and they had had their wolfsbane tonight. Even though it was a full moon, they weren't going to be transforming now with their potion in their system.

"Look at yourself," Benjamin said to Edward. "You're pitiful. You say you want to talk and you bring an axe to do it? You really have lost your little old mind, haven't you? And who's the woman?.."

On impulse, Angus stepped up right in front of Benjamin and got right in his face, unafraid. Everything within Khaat was now screaming about danger.

"Her?" Angus said, deliberately baiting his father. "She's his wife. I introduced them. They got married a few days ago. I was his best man...."

"I'll kill you," Benjamin seemed to go completely berserk, and he grabbed Angus by the throat with both hands. One of the women threw open the drapes and the bright light of the full moon streamed into the room. Suddenly, there was growling and screaming, and Khaat watched in horror as Benjamin and all of his associates started to turn to werewolves. The danger now was fully upon them.

For his part, Edward stepped up in front of the team, between them and Benjamin and his men, his axe ready to strike.

"Jack," Edward said calmly as he watched Benjamin and all 8 men and 5 women transformed in front of their eyes. "You and Jessie get Angus away from Benjamin if you can. And then follow my lead. We'll be alright." Edward Donohue knew his job, and he knew the beings in front of them weren't human anymore.

"Steady, All," Brian told them in a steady tone, remembering he had seen what he had thought was an error on Khaat's part when she had loaded all the guns with silver bullets. "Your pistols. All pistols at the ready, safety off and ready to fire. Don't fire until Angus is out if you can. Wait for Edward's order."

"Ruby, they're not human," Khaat said. "They can't understand you now."

Angus fell away when Jessie released Benjamin's claws.

"Angus, down!" Edward shouted to Angus, but Angus was off balance anyway because of the temporary loss of oxygen, and he fell to the floor at the beast's feet, everything spinning and starting to fade.

Edward never had a second thought. This monster was not his son anymore. He didn't know where Benjamin had gone wrong, but Edward wasn't owning any part of that. It wasn't the boy he raised to know right from wrong. What he did know was that the monster was intent on killing Angus--the boy he loved more than his own life. He didn't hesitate. He didn't need to. An eerie calm rolled through him, and, he raised the axe and made the kill strike in one smooth, efficient motion.

Benjamin's blood cascaded down on Angus, and Angus truly felt sickened. He didn't move. One part of Benjamin landed right beside him, and the rest of it landed with a massive weight, right on top of him.

Edward froze in place, looking at the beasts around him, waiting to see if the rest were going to follow pack rules or challenge him. With Benjamin gone, Edward had no problem getting rid of the rest of them.

Brian raised his pistol and aimed, pulling back the hammer until it clicked. He heard some others following his lead, and saw Khaat and Simone with their pistols aimed as well, all ready to fire.

Edward knew the pack rules and the right of dominance. He was just waiting to see how the others would react. The other werewolves seemed to freeze, and, finally, tired of waiting, Edward raised his axe and walked along them, one by one, his axe raised, ready to take out who wasn't going to submit. And one by one, they submitted, but not before he stood in front of them ready to strike them down as he had struck down Benjamin. He used an alohamora spell to open the floor to ceiling window.

"If you want to live, you'll get out of my house," he told them. "If you ever come back, you will be killed before you can get anywhere near any of my family again. If you decide to stay here, you will be dead within the next minute. You have one minute to leave my house and my property. Anyone left here after that is mine. Your time starts now."

He watched them panicking and racing to the window to leave on the run. He never moved, never lowered his axe, stood solid, ready to strike anyone left. He glanced to Angus on the floor.

"Get up," he told him steadily. He wanted to, but he was soaking wet in Benjamin's blood, and it was slippery. And when he tried to get up, his bad shoulder wouldn't hold him to help him get up. His mind was numb, and he wasn't sure why.

It was Marcus and Brian who went over and helped him to his feet. Marcus turned Angus's face to look him in the eye.

"You're alright," Marcus told him, starting to check the mark around Angus's neck. "No broken skin that I can see. You're one tough bloke, you know that? Not many can go toe to toe with a werewolf and live. Well done. You'll feel better with a shower and some clean clothes." Angus nodded, trying to pull himself together.

When all the werewolves had gone, Edward stepped over the mess and closed the window and latched it and discarded the bloody axe on the billards table. Then he went over to Angus and wrapped him in a huge, iron strong hug.

"If I hadn't..." Angus began.

"No regrets," Edward cut him off. "He wasn't human. I don't know when it happened, but he lost everything that it means to be human, and I'm not talking just about the werewolf within. He was a monster through and through. I did what had to be done, flat out. Look at me." He looked at Angus in the face. "What matters to me is you. Nothing else matters. Just you. All of the rest of it can burn to ash or wash out to sea. You're all I care about. Understand me?" Angus nodded and found himself hanging onto Edward for a long moment in the silence.