hombre muerto andando

A significant amount of rage – the rage of his childhood – threatens to flare to the surface seeing Dante here, in his place of work. Stalking back in like he had any right to be here. At the Last Drop. In Blackrock. In Elyas’s life. “You don’t know a lot of things.” It’s short and childish, but in this moment he feels seventeen again. 

(He still remembers Will’s hand on his shoulder in the Packhouse living room telling him: “He’s gone,” a gentle squees. “And he’s not coming back.”

It was the first time he’d ever cried in front of her.)

“A while, huh?” Because if he’s already come out swinging it’s only fair to keep it going. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

"Won’t argue with you there.”

Dante had known that this conversation was coming, he had just hoped that he would be the one to initiate it. That he could prepare himself, the best he could. This is more fair though, he figures. This way they’re both caught off guard.

“Could call it a lifetime ago, but that seems like it’d be a little too on the nose... I won’t pretend to understand how you must feel. Won’t pretend I don’t deserve any negative regards or emotions.  It is good to see you, though. You and Will, you were family. Which I imagine just made it worse... makes me an even bigger asshole.

Because of what he was, Dante said. How the fuck had she missed it? What was he? What had she overlooked? Her mind said organized crime, but.. that didn’t quite fit the bill, either. But she needed to know. And she needed to text Sam, let him know where she’d gone–

but there they were, at the motel, its blinking sign all-too-familiar in the winter dark. Ten minutes or ten years; she wasn’t sure how long it had been. None of it felt… real. Dante was alive. Was beside her, breathing and walking and explicitly living. 

It was just that he’d been dead for almost nine years.

What the fuck.

She let him take lead; followed his steps, tried not to lose herself in the utter clusterfuck of the fact that he was alive. Forgot to text anyone.

His motel room didn’t look all that different from the ones she’d frequented prior. Which– she had to tell him that, too. That she’d.. that she’d found someone else. That she’d moved on. Eight years, but she felt guilty. Hadn’t expected to ever see him again, and yet shame still tore away at her, now.

How was she supposed to–

“I, uh. I’m seeing someone. Someone else.” Mar cleared her throat.

“I feel like that’s.. I should tell you.”

Okay, this was happening. An explanation... a demonstration. Hopefully it would work. Dante hadn’t actually tested it, which perhaps wasn’t the smartest decision. Not that he had been smart in how he handled any of this, so why start now? He could have tried it out with Elyas, or Will... but he wasn’t quite sure where he stood with either of them right now. Plus, with Will now as the leader of a pack... even if she understood, this could cause problems for her. Outing the existence of wolves, even if he didn’t disclose any identities.

Ice water would hopefully do the trick, and as for the change back... lock himself in the sauna. Would forcing the changes in such rapid succession take it’s toll on him? Potentially, but there didn’t seem to be any other option.

“It’s triggered by drastic changes in temperature. I’d say what it is, but it has to be seen to be believed.” Making his way to the ice machine, he tried not to falter as Mar cleared her throat. He knew what was coming... had a good idea at least...

theo narrowed her eyes. to say that she was wildly confused would be a vast understatement. “who is they?” she asked, awed by what she was hearing. frankly, it was an unbelievable story. then again, most people would think hers was as well. “why were they hunting you?” were these question inappropriate to ask someone you just met? absolutely, but he kept answering them so theo kept asking. “you couldn’t leave a note? I mean, I’m sure you couldn’t. it’s just such a shock. what are you going to do? does she know you’re here? does she know you’re alive?” it was so much to process. if mar knew, she must be reeling. theo shook her head. “it doesn’t sound melodramatic. it sounds traumatic. here.” theo held out a hand to him. “my name is theodora quinn. please call me theo. it’s nice to meet you.” a wide smile spread across her face. “dead people can’t make new friends, right? consider it a new start.”

how to explain without incriminating himself if she wasn’t like him? even if she was, it was a confusing tale to follow. if anything, this served to prove that he would have to tell mar the truth if he was to seek her out. prove the truth, as unbelievable as it was. “I guess you could consider it... bigotry, a type of it.” dante didn’t feel comfortable putting it in those terms, as technically accurate as they were, but it would have to suffice for now. “I initially panicked, decided to leave no trail... no contact, no reason they’d think she was aiding me or giving them any reason to use her as bait. I wanted to keep her out of it, keep her safe. It was a misguided attempt at chivalry that ended up being disrespectful more than anything... I should have told her the truth from the start, but I didn’t think she’d believe me. She’d think I was crazy, or... she’d be afraid. I didn’t give her enough credit.”

grimacing, he hung his head, the truth here would be another tell of sorts. “I planned on coming back for her when I lost them, when it was safe, but eventually I kept getting driven further north and...” he let the sentence hang there, lifting his head. “by the time I was in a position to reach out, she thought I was dead. she had mourned me, she had moved on. she doesn’t know, no... not yet. I didn’t want to taint her memories of me, or shatter her world... again. I didn’t want to, selfishly... cowardly... but it’s inevitable at this point. I came back to Blackrock, not considering the fact that the house I inherited from my mother, mar inherited from me. I had no idea she was in town, but I’ve run into too many people at this point... I can’t just disappear. Again. I’ll have to face the music, I owe her that.” giving a weak smile in return, he shook her hand with a grateful nod. “nice to meet you too, theo. i’m sorry for dumping all this on you, but uh, thanks... for listening.”

Everything that comes from Dante’s mouth sounds far away. Hell, at the level that he can’t pay attention to the other’s words, Sam tries to remember if he’d remembered to take his meds that morning. He had, but if that was the case, why was he so unable to stop the train of thought that made circles around his head? 

Did Mar fucking lie to me? No. God, no. He’d seen the police report. He’d read the obituary. Right? Blackrock never forgot one of their own, especially not when they passed on. 

I’m fucking your wife. I. Am. Fucking. Your. Wife. Is she still your wife? How long have you been walking around? How long have you been breathing? What kind of a sick joke—

“You think?” He can’t help but say after he pulled himself together enough to catch the question. He takes a step back. “Dante— What the fuck.” It’s not a question, but it is. It’s the only way his mouth can manage to process what’s happening. 

This was karma. For not telling Mar sooner, for giving Sam such a hard time in high school. He deserved this. Sam didn’t, though.

“Mar didn’t know. Some folks wanted me dead, I left to protect her. Yes, I realize how stupid and ‘man-painy’ that sounds.” I love her, but I left. I can’t fault her for moving on. Her loving again, being happy, it’s preferable to her spending the rest of her life feeling lonely. I wouldn’t fault her for not taking me back, nor do I expect her to. You’re a good man, Sam. If you’re happy together, I’m happy for you... if this causes problems for you, I truly am sorry.  That you’re caught up in this, if you get hurt. If she decides she wants me in her life, though... if she decides...

He couldn’t be mad. He had no right to be mad. They had thought him dead... and Mar was free to sleep with whomever she wished. She was always free to sleep with whomever she wished, her body, her choice. Yes they had been married and committed to each other and monogamous but it was all... none of his business.

Her vow had been ‘til death do us part’, and she believed him dead.

He didn’t fault her at all for what had happened. Again, he didn’t have the right to fault anyone. It wasn’t his business to fault anyone.

Will, though. Will had thought him dead too... and Mar was, in fairness, the most beautiful individual on the planet...

Still. Mar Sandoval. Sandoval. She had to know, right? Was it a one night stand? Did she not know her full name? Again, none of his business. Was it because they bonded over missing him, or was that arrogant to consider? Was it simply because they were both two attractive ladies?

He and Will weren’t related by blood, but that didn’t matter. She was his family. She was his little sister.

A ‘sister’ who slept with her ‘brother’’s widow.

One would have thought, that out of respect for his memory... she would not attempt to put the moves on someone who for all intents and purposes, was basically her in-law. One would have thought she would not allow said basically in-law to put the moves on her.

Granted, if Mar was going to move on with anyone, Will at least was the best person he knew... aside from her. They weren’t in a relationship though, and Dante didn’t think (again, it wasn’t his business) they had even dated. That it could have been called a fling. Twas just casual sex.

Casual sex. With your dead best friend slash surrogate brother’s widow.

She had, hadn’t she? Moved on. 

It felt like a knife to the gut now that he was standing there in front of her. Years spent telling herself she wasn’t allowed to, that it would ruin what they’d shared – and then, bit by bit, day by day, she’d let herself piece her life back together into something new. Grief wouldn’t bring him back. And yet here he fucking was. The irony stung.

“I…” Mar blinked away tears, brows still knit into a frown. “I– yeah, okay.” She licked her lips, tried to wrap her mind around it – tried to find whatever thread of reason and logic she could, and failed. She let go, hands still hovering by his arms, like she couldn’t even believe he was really there – really real.

“Okay. Uh– yeah. Show me.” What the fuck could it be? What had he gotten himself involved in? What had.. what had done this? To him? To them? None of it felt real. Distinctly, she felt like if she pinched herself hard enough – or just ran – she might wake up.

Taking a deep breath, Dante forced himself to give a reassuring smile. “...thank you. I owe you this, but you don’t owe me this... you don’t owe me anything, at this point...”

Okay, so this was happening. Someone would have to fill her in once he was... wolfy. “People wanted to kill me... because of what I am, and what I can do. I thought I threw them off my trail around the time we met. As for why I ran, didn’t come back for you... it’ll al become clear...”

Hopefully. He didn’t want to ‘out’ any of the others, though. Who would help explain? Help get him back to himself. Will was the first person to come to mind, but now that she was the pack leader... could he do that to her? Put her in that position? How would all the others react to her revealing, if not their identities, the fact they existed.

It was triggered by extreme changes in temperature...  but he had never attempted anything like this before. Intentionally trigger the change, try to go back and forth. So close to Winter, too. This was probably the smartest idea, but.

The motel had a cheap sauna. Hopefully that would get him back to himself. As for how to lower his temperature? That would be trickier. An ice bath might do the trick, but then how to get him inside the sauna? ...And to ensure he wouldn’t escape? He was confident he wouldn’t hurt her, but all the same, she should have the means to protect herself. Just in case.

"...that’s poetic.” A twist of the knife, but not undeserved.

is that what it would take to get theo to leave town? she certainly hoped not, but that certainly appeared to be the way things were shaping up in her life. theo’s mouth stayed agape for several moments. “uh. what?” she asked, not because she hadn’t heard what dante said, but because she simply couldn’t process what he was telling her. “I’m confused. did you die?”

"I didn’t die, but they wanted me dead.” Dante had no idea as to whether or not Theo herself was a wolf; taking a breath he considered his words. Vague enough where she wouldn’t question it if she wasn’t part of the pack, but enough clues for her to pick up on in the case that she was. “These bad people... they hunted me down, eventually caught up to me. I wanted to keep Mar out of harm’s way, so... I ran. There was no chance to explain.” Running a hand through his hair, he grimaced. “...or that’s what I told myself. I managed to lose them up North.” Dante figured some of them had infiltrated the police, and staged the death... be it prematurely, or perhaps they killed a wolf they thought had been him. Maybe they thought it would be a good way cover it all up, solve the disappearance before it garnered too much attention and attracted scrutiny. “...now, I guess, I’m just... it sounds mellow-dramatic, but I haven’t really felt alive since.”