Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“What?” A random voice called from the crowd, causing Ilana to look up in search of the speaker.
“We were all human at one point in time. The root of us all, it is the same. We were all human, every shifter, every vampire, even the Fae and the magic users, they all have a base element in humanity. Can we not just focus on what makes us the same and not what makes us different?”
There were tears streaming down Ilana’s cheeks at that moment. She didn’t want them to be seen, but there was nothing that she could do about it now. She was crying and all of these people were watching her.
Even as Ilana fought the urge to blush at her tears, there was something that surprised her more than anything else could have. The humans that were watching all started to applaud and cheer her. They were all saying similar things as they called out in affirmation to her words.
“WE ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS!”
“WE MAY BE DIFFERENT, BUT WE ARE ALL THE SAME!”
“LOVE HEALS, HATE KILLS! THE SUPER NATURALS ARE JUST LIKE US!”
“UNITY NOT SEPARATION!”
All of the super naturals that were gathered had been shocked by this outburst. However, they were standing in a group of supporters, so it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise to them all. Ilana understood that the people that were here, the ones that had heard her speech, would do their best to spread this message to the others that weren’t here. They would help to spread the love, and that was what they needed. More understanding, more awareness.
Things started to settle not long after the speech that Ilana had given. The man that Rowan was sitting on told them that there were eighteen total DOE members that had come that day, but they had only captured thirteen. The rest of those that were in attendance were checked and searched, but none of them had a bomb in their possession, nor did they smell like the bombs either. The other five that had come to the convention had to have escaped when the attendees had started to panic. Either they lost their nerve, or they knew that they would be captured. Either way, they weren’t here at the moment.
The police had also arrived during the time that Ilana had been giving her speech. The entire situation inside of the stadium had taken less than ten minutes from start to finish, but it had felt like it had been hours since the commotion had started. Barricades had been set up surrounding the stadium as the authorities arrived. The local police and FBI were once again working together to deal with the situation that had started so suddenly. They had been prepared in advance, because of the warning from Carter.
The police had stopped as many witnesses from leaving as they were able to. With any luck, they would have been able to capture the other bombers that had fled the building. If they had ditched their bombs and tried to hide among the other attendees, they might think that they were able to get out of the situation without being detected.
Rawlynne and Jackson were in charge of the situation though, and they were going to make sure that the search and interrogations were thorough. And that meant that the first sense that the officers and agents went in with, almost all of which were super natural, was smell. The bombs had distinct odors that even alert humans could smell when they knew what to look for. None of these people were going to escape if they had anything to do with the attack.
Darius, who had not been sure if he had done the right thing by letting the twins stay, had started to feel much better about his decision after the speech that Ilana had made. Yes, he was likely to get in trouble, because he just knew that the videos the humans had taken of her speech were going to make it online in a matter of minutes, if they weren’t already there, but he thought that the words that she had said needed to be heard. She had said what they all needed to hear. She had spoken from the heart.
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Rawlynne
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The people that Riviana had sent undercover had reported back after their first week. They had told her that the DOE was planning an attack on a convention that was planned in the city. And ever since that warning came in, I had made it my mission to know everything that I could about that convention.
The Super Natural Appreciation Convention was to be held Saturday March the second. It was to start at noon and last until ten in the evening. The convention had wanted to start sooner, but they had to wait until all of the repairs from the attack on the stadium were finished before they were able to reserve their date.
Now, why was it that they were willing to wait longer to hold the convention that they were all eager to attend? That was simple and easily answered. They wanted the convention to be in the same place that Riviana and the others had announced the existence of our kind. They wanted to feel that connection to us because that was the place that we had been when the world was informed.
I think that, in a way, the humans thought that the stadium was a place of importance to our people, and that was not true at all. The stadium was just a convenient place for Riviana and Joaquin to use because it was easy for the media to set up and it was large enough to show the things that were necessary to convince the world that it was all true.
Now, diving deeper into the convention itself, I had learned that they were planning on costume contests, seminars, discussions, merchandise that people had made themselves, food, and so much more. It was like any other convention of its type, just all about the super naturals. That wasn’t that hard to fathom, but it was a little embarrassing. Thinking about what it was that these people were going to talk about, and how it pertained to my life personally.
I learned that the organizers of the event were local, and thrilled that the reveal had happened in their hometown. They felt more connected to the nonhumans of the world because the leaders were so geographically close to them. It was a little comical, but there were no ill intentions, so it didn’t bother me at all.
…..
In truth, there wasn’t much about the convention that gave me pause at all. It would go off without a hitch, if it wasn’t for the DOE and their intended attack. And knowing that they did intend to attack the place, I knew that I needed to do all that I could to protect those humans that attended the convention. And that led me to researching the stadium in great detail.
I needed to know every alley and street that led up to the stadium like they were the lines on the back of my hand. I needed to know how to contain the area if and when the attack actually started. I needed to know where every entrance and exit was. How many alarm systems there were. How the fire system worked. And the name of every employee that worked in the stadium.
I would cross reference the employees that worked in the stadium with the list of staff members for the convention. If there were any names that stood out, meaning that were on the convention list but not the stadium list, that person would be hauled in for questioning and grilled about why and how they were going to work the event.
Yes, there were vendors that would be involved in the situation that weren’t part of the stadium staff, but they weren’t excluded from scrutiny. I was going to be as thorough as I possibly could. No one was going to get in there if I could stop them. Well, no one from the DOE.
I had thought that this was the most likely way of stopping all the potential bombers. I had thought that they would want to be on the inside and plant the bombs before the convention started. Although that had not been the case. And Riviana had even made sure of that, by having the guards sweep the stadium for bombs before the convention started.
When the call finally came in later in the afternoon, I had already been pacing my office for several hours. We had not found a single DOE member in the preparation of the event, but I knew that they were going to make their appearance.
I had wanted to be at the stadium and prepared to stop them before the commotion had even started. That would likely put an end to all of this before anyone could get hurt. However, Riviana had forbidden it. She said that members of her castle guard would be more than sufficient.
As Riviana had put it, Jackson and I were too recognizable. We had been in the media with her. People associated us with her. And anyone that was obviously a cop would set off the DOE before they had been found out. The guards, who would be doing their best to look like attendees for the event, would stand out a little less. I knew that she was right, but it still hadn’t settled right with me.
The call that came in said that there had been people seen with bombs. It was the call that we had been waiting for and yet dreading at the same time. Still, there had not been a single call about an actual explosion, so that was good. So far, no one was hurt and there was no damage. If it could stay like that, then this whole situation would end as favorably as possible.
Jackson and I, along with everyone else that we had gathered for today, set out immediately. We were all set and ready to go in advance. All we needed to do was leave, and the same was true of the local police. That was how we had been able to start the roadblocks while we were still on our way to the stadium. No one was going to get away from us.
When we got to the stadium, or as close as we could get in the cars, I saw that there were thousands of people milling about outside of the building. The humans had fled the stadium, but they hadn’t gone far. It was that curious spectator disease that most people have. They wanted to see, so they weren’t leaving.
We started with the outside and made our way in. Dozens of FBI agents and police officers were dividing the people into groups and questioning them. Jackson and I, monitoring the situation and heading toward the heart of the crowd, listened to what was happening.
“What? No! Let go of me!” A man’s panicked voice called out from nearby. I turned and saw Agent Collins apprehending a man that was carrying a large backpack.
“You are under arrest.” Collins said to the man in a stern voice before starting to cite the offense and reading him his Miranda rights. That man was undoubtedly a member of the DOE and one of the possible bombers.