Grabbing both their necks simultaneously and swiftly, Kreed slammed both of them against the wall so hard and held them in place. Everyone could see the anger in his eyes. Anger that was slowly turning into rage. No one dared to interfere on his assault against Conan and Zamir.
Choking them hard whilst still pinning them against the wall, Conan and Zamir were struggling to breathe. "Why the hell would you let her leave after I specifically instructed you not to let that happen?" He barked angrily at them.
They've never seen him so enraged so it scared them because they didn't know what to expect. "This is all your fault. You let her go and then failed to protect her also" He added, tightening his grip around their necks.
"W...we never...an..ticipated...fighting... against.. someone so strong" Conan tried explaining as best as he could with his voice being restricted.
"How many wolves did you have to fight that both of you lost?" Adan questioned from where he stood behind Kreed.
Everyone else watched in silence the scene playing before them. Nate and Vee had remained silent the whole time, not wanting to interfere. The other members stood around, not wanting to interfere also. "Just....one" Zamir replied
They both saw the confused look on all their faces as they tried to understand what they just heard. "What?" Kreed and Adan said simultaneously. "You both fought against just one wolf and lost?" Silas asked with furrowed brows.
"How's that possible?" Kreed questioned.
"He wasn't...just any...wolf. He was like us....an Alpha....from our...clan also" Zamir explained. The grip around their necks weren't losing.
"Damien!" Conan announced and immediately, Kreed's grip around their necks loosened and he stepped back away from them with a puzzled expression. One could tell he was shocked by what Conan just said.
"What...what did you just say?" Kreed inquired
"Damien. That was what we heard he was called. The man said you'd know who he was once we mention his name to you" Conan explained
"Do you know him?" Adan asked, shifting his attention to Kreed.
"Yes. He was the first member of the Black Lotus and my close friend, more like my brother" He explained, staring down and trying to figure out what was going on.
"Well he was freakishly strong. So strong that we both couldn't take him down" Conan stated.
"How's that possible? He's suppose to be dead. He died years ago at the hands of...." He paused, thinking about what trick Maynard could have pulled then.
"Did you ever see his body?" Silas asked
Kreed thought about it and realized he never actually confirmed Damien was dead. He was knocked out and by the time he came to, they were all gone and there wasn't a single body left behind. "No...no I never saw his body"
"Okay but if he truly is a member of your clan, a former member of Black Lotus and your close friend, why would he side with Maynard and fight his own people?" Vee questioned, speaking up for the first time.
"Unless he doesn't know he's fighting against his own people?" Adan suggested. "How was he looking when you fought him?"
"Like a zombie" Conan blurted out
"A machine that had one order and was all about carrying it out. Plus his eyes were constantly glowing red, even before we fought" Zamir added
"Then he's being...."
"Controlled" Kreed completed Adan's statement.
"How do you mean?" Silas asked with a curious look.
"There's a process I heard about long time ago. A way in which you could control any wolf and turn them into your puppet that will obey your orders. But the process is not an easy one, it takes a long time and a lot of patience" Adan explained
"How is it done?" Kreed asked
"By injecting the right dosage of monkshood, a type of wolfsbane into the wolf daily and isolating the wolf in a way that the only face they see is yours. By the end of the process, they would have no recollection of anything, like every part of their memory is locked and the only person they now recognize, is the face they've been seeing all the time while being injected"
"So you think that's what has been done to him?" Zamir asked
"Yes. The side effect of this treatment is the victim's eyes constantly glowing. So you saying his eyes were constantly glowing confirms that it must be it" Adan replied
"So how do we break it and get him back to normal?" Kreed asked
"I don't think we can. The only way I know we could have done it is if we had a wolf that has the ability to take away a wolf's powers temporarily with a bite. There was only one wolf I knew then with that ability.....my sister....she's gone now thanks to the cleansing that wiped away our clan" Said, Adan with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"So what are we going to do now?" Zamir asked
"Nothing...not until Tessa is awake. She lost the child, so right now no one can tell how that would affect her till she wakes up. Once she's awake and I've confirmed she's alright, then we are taking the war to them" Kreed stated
"Who are you? You never introduced yourself" Silas shifted his attention to Nate.
Nate looked around and all eyes where on him. He glanced at Vee who nodded for him to go on. "I'm Nate, Nate Daemon. Son of Alpha Daemon of Redmoon pack" He introduced.
As soon as they heard that, a frown took over their expressions and they all turned their attention to Conan. Conan's expressionless face quickly turned into anger and hate. He felt this sudden rage in him, his wolf restless as he heard the name of the man that caused his traumatic experience. The man who's death has been his lifetime mission.
"Not now Conan" Kreed said to him.
"What? What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Nate asked, looking at all of them confused. But no one said anything, they all just turned and walked away to different directions. Nate then exchanged glances with Vee who was as puzzled as he was.
***
"Slow down" Vee whispered to Nate as he kept dragging her to a secluded place outside the cabin with a look of urgency. He seemed worried and restless. "What is going on?" She asked when they finally came to a halt.
"Something is not right here. Ever since I introduced myself they've been looking at me weird, with disdain. Especially the blonde one" He aired his concern.
"You're just being paranoid Nate. It's been almost six hours since you introduced yourself and nothing has happened. I don't think anyone is after you, we are here helping them afterall, aren't we?" She explained
"I still don't feel comfortable"
"Don't worry, we'll leave as soon as I've made sure Tessa is okay. I can't leave her now. She hasn't woken up since they brought her back and we all know the heartbreak, trauma and pain that awaits her when she wakes up. I can't leave her all by herself right now" Vee pointed out.
"Fine but we have to be careful around them" Said, Nate.
"Of course. Don't worry, Tessa wouldn't let them hurt me or you and I also promised your sister that I'll bring you back in one piece" She said and then moved closer to him, planting a deep kiss on his lips which he happily accepted. After a while she broke the kiss, flashed him a smile and then took his hand in hers, leading him back to the cabin.
***
Tessa stirred lightly on her bed as her eyes slowly willed open. Her sight was initially blurry but with each passing second, it became clearer. At first she couldn't process anything, where she was, what happened and all. But then like a lightening strike, it all hit her at once.
Her eyes widened and she gasped, swiftly sitting up and looking down at her stomach, touching and feeling it. Tears immediately clouded her eyes as she realized she had lost the baby. She couldn't feel it in her anymore. She broke down in tears, burying her face in her palms.
The door creaked open with Vee walking in. "You're awake!" She announced excitedly, running up to her. She joined Tessa on the bed and quickly pulled her into a hug from the side and trying to calm her down. "You're alright, you're fine" She said, rubbing her back.
Tessa pulled away from the hug and looked at her friend with furrowed brows, surprised to see her there and wondering how she found them. "Vee?'" She called amidst sobs.
"Yeah I'm right here with you sis. I'm right here with you" Vee replied.
"I lost it, they took my baby from me" She broke down more, burying her face into Vee's shoulder and sobbing uncontrollably.
"I know...it's going to be alright"
"W...what am I going to do now? They've taken everything from me"
"Not true. You still have me and you still have Kieran" Vee reminded her.
Tessa pulled away from her again and sniffled, staring at Vee with a curious look. "Kieran....does he...does he know?" She questioned with a worried look.
"Yes, yes he does. He knows about the baby and everything"
"Oh my God. How am I suppose to face him? I lost his child because of my stubborness. It's all my fault" She began sobbing again.
"No it's not. It's not your fault. And Kieran won't blame it on you either, he'll understand. I'm sure of it. You just have to pull yourself together. This isn't the time to breakdown, there's a war coming and fast" Vee advised
The door opened wider and the three men walked in, Kreed, Silas and Adan. "You're awake" Kreed pointed out, making his way to her.
"Are you okay?" Silas asked with a worried look. He's been blaming himself the whole time, that he was unable to protect his baby sister again and let her go through another traumatic experience.
Tessa sniffled, wiping the tears off her face, and looking down at her fingers. She couldn't bring herself to look Kieran in the eyes. She felt like she had betrayed and hurt him. Though she didn't know exactly all that he was feeling yet but she could tell he wasn't feeling good and was filled with anger due to their mate bond. "I'm not okay Silas" She replied, trying to hold back the tears but was failing miserably.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you, what you had to go through...but now you see that you can't trust anyone. No one is good enough for you to want to save them. Those who try to be good always end up losing" Adan pointed out as calmly as possible.
Tessa didn't say anything but listened. She was beginning to understand his points. She was learning the hard way. She felt hate and anger steadily growing inside of her and overshadowing her sadness. She waited for Kieran to say something though she was still avoiding his eyes.
"You all should give us a minute" Kreed instructed.
Vee squeezed Tessa's hand in hers, smiled warmly at her and then stood up and joined the others in exiting the room. She came out last and made sure to shut the door after her. Tessa waited for a while for him to say something, his silence was killing her. When he didn't say anything still, she decided to start. "Kieran I...."
"Why didn't you tell me?" He cut her off
"What?" She asked, almost whispering.
"Why didn't you tell me you were with our child? Why did you hide it from me?" He reiterated
"I wasn't hiding it from you...I was just looking for the right time to tell you and no time seemed like the right time with everything going on" She explained, still looking down.
"Look at me" He instructed calmly. "Look at me Tessa"
Reluctantly, she slowly looked up at him. As soon as their eyes jammed, she immediately felt this strong pain flow through her. It was the pain he was feeling. Tessa was taken aback by this. There was pain in his eyes contrary to what she was expecting. And staring into his eyes, she could feel his emotions clearly and it was a sad one. Heartbreak mixed with sadness, pain, anger and hate.
Tears rolled down her cheeks whilst she was still staring directly into his eyes. To her amazement, he closed the distance between them, bent down and pulled her into a hug softly. Tessa's eyes widened and she immediately let the waterfall out. She quickly wrapped her arms around him, holding him tighter. It was all she wanted at that moment and was relieved when he gave it to her.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all these alone" He whispered to her.
"It's my fault Kieran, I killed our baby" She cried.
"No you didn't. We know who did and it's time to pay them back" He stated. "I'm going to need you to stay strong. This will be the last tear you'll shed. We have war in front of us and only the strong will survive. So I need you to turn your pain, sadness into anger, make it your weapon" He said to her calmly but firmly.
Tessa, still in his embrace nodded her head repeatedly, listening to all he was saying. She figured it was time to listen to her mate. If she had done that earlier, she wouldn't have lost their baby. Now she was determined to, determined to stay strong just until the war is over, just until she's paid Alpha Maynard back for what he did to her.
"For now, rest some more while I put things in order" Kreed stated, breaking the hug. "Wipe your tears"
She nodded and wiped her tears off with her hands. He stood up and left the room. As soon as he left, Tessa laid back down, cradling her pillow and sniffling while she was constantly fighting back the tears.
(24 Hours Later)
Sitting on her bed with her back against the wall, Tessa kept staring into space, her face devoid of grief but housed anger and hate instead. Over the last 24 hours she had managed to focus all her emotions into hating Alpha Maynard and Derek. Her hate and anger had overshadowed her sadness. She still felt pain but she felt more anger, anger that was turning into rage.
She hadn't stepped out of the room since she woke up. She was constantly creating different scenarios in her head on how she was going to avenge her baby. All that she wanted now was vengeance, killing Alpha Maynard.
She had realized one way or the other, he's been the cause of all her pain and suffering. She had been too blind to see it and now she could see it clearly. Anyone who had a hand in forcefully taking her baby from her was on her list. Filling them in on the new development of Alpha Maynard and Derek now becoming an Alpha, Kreed also in turn filled her in on who Damien was and what they know.
Tessa crawled out of bed and made her way to the window, staring out into the woods. She had lost her smile since they returned and she didn't think she'll be able to get it back, not until Alpha Maynard is dead. Loud noises and wolves howling drew her attention. It was coming from outside the cabin but she wasn't feeling motivated to step out of the room yet.
She sighed and was about returning back to her bed when she heard loud footsteps approaching and seconds later, her door flung open with Vee running in. "Tessa you have to help me please, you have to stop them" She cried out, grabbing Tessa's hand and dragging her out of the room hurriedly.
Vee led Tessa outside the cabin where the others where gathered. "What's going on?" She asked, stopping next to Kreed by the entrance.
"They are going to kill him, please tell them to stop!" Vee pointed at Nate who was some metres away from them, surrounded by wolves and Conan standing in front of him, looking down at him with anger, his eyes glowing red. "He didn't do anything wrong. He's not his father and doesn't deserve this" Vee added.
Nate was on the floor, bleeding from his mouth and his rib. His shirt torn on him. He was trying to move away from Conan who he had fought but lost to. But Conan and his wolves weren't giving him a chance to crawl away.
Vee was about to run to him to help him but Kreed swiftly caught her and pulled her to him and then holding her in place. She struggled to be free but wasn't strong enough to break free from Kreed. She then looked over at Tessa who stood silent, staring at the scene. "Tessa please stop them, you know Nate is innocent. Please!" She pleaded, crying heavily.
"He's one of them Vee" Tessa replied coldly.
"What?" Vee immediately stopped struggling to stare clearly at her friend and listen carefully to make sure she heard right.
"I'm sorry" Tessa said and then turned back and went back into the cabin, leaving them there.
"Tessa! Come back please! Don't do this to me. TESS!!!" She called after her but no response.
Conan looked back at Kreed, seeking permission. Vee looked up at Kreed and her heart sank, skipping a beat when he nodded for him to go ahead. "No!!!" She cried.
"Vee!" Nate called her, staring at her sympathetically. She could see the fear in his eyes. He forced a smile at her just before Conan gave the orders and his wolves pounced on him, ripping him to shreds.
"NO!!!!" Vee yelled, watching the man she was beginning to love being torn apart.
Kreed let her go and she crashed to the floor, staring into space as though she was lost. Her broken heart was into a million pieces. Kreed walked over to where Nate was and ordered Conan to call his wolves back which he did. He then proceeded to bend down next to Nate who was still barely alive.
Kreed glanced over at Vee and then back at Nate. He grabbed him, pulled him up and snapped his neck, putting him out of his misery. He didn't want him to suffer first before he dies because of Vee. Seeing as it had ended, all of them walked away, leaving Vee there with Nate's body.
***
Tessa sat on the edge of her bed, deep in thoughts. She was expecting Vee, she knew she was going to come confront her at any moment. As much as she would like not to admit it, it broke her heart a little. She felt no remorse for Nate but felt it for her friend. Seeing Vee hurt shook her but she concluded it had to be done.
She was still in thoughts when the door flung open and Vee stormed in just as expected. Tessa didn't look away from the space she was staring into. She didn't want to look into her friend's eyes that would definitely be holding pain and grief.
"What the hell are you?" Vee questioned "You're not the Tessa I knew. You betrayed me. I have given my life to you, putting you before myself always. Risking my life to make sure you're safe and always making sure I was there for you through whatever it was you were going through and this is how you repay me??" She quarreled but Tessa said nothing.
"I guess you really are one of them, heartless, murdering wolves. You might have gained them but you've lost me. You're not the good friend I thought you were. I guess your circumstances have brought out your true color" Vee stated with anger and disdain in her voice.
Hearing those words from her, Tessa immediately remembered what Alpha Maynard said to her. 'There's no good wolf in existence Tessa, including you. You haven't shown your true colors yet because you haven't been pushed to your limit and broken' His word played in her head as she realized he was right afterall.
"You're my enemy. You killed the man I love, so right now I promise you, I'm going to pay you back and kill the man you love even if I have to die trying or cut through you" She concluded and stormed out. She took whatever little things she had, took Nate's body and drove away, heading back home.
Tessa remained silent even after Vee left. She wasn't delusional to not admit that she had indeed betrayed her friend. Hearing her say she was in love with him did something else to her. But when she remembered her predicament, her hate and anger immediately overshadowed her guilt.
She knew Vee was one to keep her promise, especially one made when she's hurt and heartbroken. Knowing that and knowing her, Tessa knew she was going to keep her promise and try to come after the man she loves, Kieran. But Tessa also knew that she wouldn't let the only person in her life whom she love and was her mate to be taken away from her. She was going to protect him with her life, even if it meant killing her bestfriend.