Chương 21: Unease

Lucas looked thoughtful at the card in his hand, thinking what to do next. Then he took his phone and called someone. After speaking for twenty minutes, he hung up. The person he called was someone from a construction company, specialized in reinforcing homes. He saw their ad on the internet the night before. As for the reason why he would do this? Simple, he has an armory full of weapons in his basement, and all the stuff that is of use against shapeshifters.

He needs to have the house secure, at least against normal humans. As for supernatural beings… he naturally thought of a solution. Lucas then dressed and went out. After a couple of minutes he arrived at a store. There he paid for the service of having his house fully installed with security cameras and all the equipment necessary. He looked at the receipt in his hand. He paid 11, 000$. He never thought that just this step could cost so much.

He shook his head helplessly, then he headed to his next location, a wood deposit. Soon enough he arrived. He parked his car and entered the office building. He began telling the man his requirements. The man looked at him with a puzzled expression and spoke.

"So let me get this straight, you want about a dozen Rowan trees, but you want us to burn them for you and transport the ashes to your house?" Lucas nodded. He knew that it was a weird request, but he didn't want to waste time finding and cutting the trees himself. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"And I want thin, large layers of Rowan trees cut, enough to encircle a house." He then began telling the house details. The man was still hesitant at his request, but then he heard a heavenly sound.

"If you finish all of this by today, I will give an extra 1, 000$." The man's eyes sparkled at his generous offer.

"Don't worry sir, soon we will deliver the materials." Lucas nodded, then left. After some time he arrived back home. Not even half an hour later, the man tasked with the camera installation arrived. Lucas then began to show him the spots to install the cameras, even in the basement except the hidden room. After he left him to his job, 2 hours passed. Now it was 9 o'clock. The man finished all the camera installations and the computer setup. Soon after the man left, the people from the construction company arrived.

He saw about twenty men arriving one after the other. The reason they arrived so quickly and in such numbers was simple: money. He paid extra so that the work would begin and finish quickly. His nerves couldn't relax at all. His eyes were tired. He was in constant paranoia about the fact that something could attack him at any moment. Lucas then suppressed his emotions and discussed his plan for the house reinforcement.

He planned to coat all the outside surrounding surfaces of the house in mountain ash wood, and make a space for a circle around the house, one that would not be visible or touchable to other people. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he could even activate the mountain ash barrier, not to mention if he could ignore its effects. But the fact is that he doesn't want to die in his sleep, so he must try to do this.

As for the other things that need to be done to the house, they include changing all the doors with reinforced ones, especially to the basement. Because in there is where all the most important stuff is placed. Just in time, as he finished speaking his requirements to the project manager, the wood materials arrived, including the mountain ash. Lucas then instructed the driver to put the wood in front of the house and the mountain ash in the backyard.

Soon all the men started working, while Lucas was standing in front of a black pile of mountain ash. Looking at this black ash, he sighed emotionally, praying that his plan could work. Though he knew there's someone in town who could make a barrier, Lucas hoped that he would not need to rely on others. After looking a few more times, he then took a bag and filled it with mountain ash. His instincts were telling him that it wasn't Peter after him. Besides, Peter doesn't really have a reason to kill him for now.

He knew that although he has wolfsbane, it doesn't work on all shapeshifters, so his next best choice is mountain ash. Taking the chance that no one was working in the house yet, he made his way to the hidden room. Lucas put the bag filled with mountain ash on the table and reached for a case of bullets.