Hitting their glasses together, the four of them smiled, taking a sip from their drinks. Standing in a circle in front of the Alpha's seat in the main hall, Alpha Maynard and Alpha Daemon along with their kids celebrated their win. They've successfully come together and taken down Darkwater and Blackclaw packs, capturing their Alpha's, Alpha Howard and Alpha Mason.
It wasn't as easy as taking down Alpha Ammon but because their two strong packs were allied, they couldn't be stopped. And now they had two Alphas at their disposal, with more than five hundred wolves to share between themselves and practically two towns worth of territory to divide also. It was an achievement worth celebrating though they had a bigger problem coming.
"I'm glad our alliance brought forth fruit. Now we each control a pack and territory times two of what we once had, except in your case it's times three" Alpha Daemon pointed out with a smirk.
"I suppose so" Alpha Maynard replied, taking another sip from his drink.
"So what do we do now?" Cassie asked, staring at Derek flirtatiously. Derek couldn't help but stare back.
"That's a good question, but first, I'd like to know what you plan to do with your prisoner, Alpha Mason" Said, Alpha Maynard looking curiously at Alpha Daemon.
"Well..." He smiled, "I think I like your idea of taking their powers for yourself"
"I guess that means we should be expecting one of the twins to be an Alpha very soon" The Alpha pressed on.
"Probably, if only the boy will grow some sense and return back home before the war starts" Alpha Daemon replied.
"Well the idea is good. We do need as many strong wolves as we can get. Having as much Alphas as they do or even more, will tip the scale in our favor and we'll stand a chance or dare I say, even have the upper hand" Alpha Maynard explained.
"Whatever we are doing we have to do it fast. With what we pulled last, I don't think they'll be taking their time anymore to attack us. They might already be marching toward us already" Derek stated.
"He's right" Cassie added
"Yes. Now that there is just two packs and not five, it is now easier to control. Our next move is grouping together, a merge. Our whole pack combined in a single location while we draw them to a battleground of our choosing" Alpha Maynard explained.
"I agree. I'll return home immediately and make that happen" Alpha Daemon agreed.
"Good. We will....." Alpha Maynard paused when the large steel door creaked loudly, opening. They all stared curiously and quietly at who the intruder might be.
She stepped in and they all saw her clearly. Cassie's eyes widened and shock came over her when she saw her twin lifeless on Vee's arms. Within the blink of an eye, she dashed over to where Vee was standing. "Nate!!!" She cried out, her voice filling the hall.
She grabbed him and took him away from Vee, laying him on the floor and cradling his head. "What did you do??" She barked at Vee amidst tears. Vee couldn't say anything but stood there, tears running down her cheeks also.
Alpha Maynard looked over at Alpha Daemon who hadn't moved an inch. His facial expression had become dead and his eyes twitching with rage. He said nothing nor did he move toward where they were to get a good look at his son. "I'm sorry for your loss" Alpha Maynard said to him calmly.
Immediately he heard that, the wine glass in his hand smashed in his rageful grip. "Who did this?" He finally questioned. Hearing his daughter cry tearfully over his dead son made his heart boil with anger.
"I don't know yet but if I have to guess....The Black Lotus and probably Tessa. We'll find out from her-" He looked over at Vee. "The one who was there with him" He replied
"I'm sorry Alpha Daemon" Derek added with a sympathetic look. Though he didn't really care about Nate, he cared for Cassie and the importance of Nate in their lives.
"Yo...you idiot" Cassie whispered to Nate, cleaning his face and hugging him. Her voice parched and squeaky from crying. As much as they quarreled and she teased him a lot, he was her twin, the person she loved most in the world and was closest to. He was a part of her, the half that completed her.
"YOU!" She turned her attention to Vee, looking up at her. "You said you wouldn't let anything happen to him and you'll bring him back in one piece" She blurted out.
Vee finally shifted her crying red eyes to Cassie's, staring at her with a sympathetic and pleading look. "I'm sorr..." She was cut off by Cassie's unexpected uppercut that landed on her chin., Sending her staggering back. Cassie rushed her, adding a left hook and right hook swiftly, not giving her a chance to find her balance.
"Cassie!" Derek called and was about to run to her to stop her when Alpha Maynard, grabbed his hand and held him back, stopping him.
"No....let her. Don't stop her, not yet" The Alpha said to his son, his eyes fixed on the girls and a little visible smirk on his lips.
Cassie, fueled by anger and a sense of betrayal, launches herself at Vee with a ferocious intensity. With her super strength and speed, the fight escalated quickly.
Cassie threw a lightning-fast punch towards Vee's jaw, her fist connecting with a resounding crack. Vee staggered backward, momentarily stunned by the force of the blow. But Cassie didn't let up, following up with a flurry of rapid kicks aimed at Vee's midsection.
Despite Vee's attempts to block the attacks, Cassie's strikes found their mark, each blow landed with incredible force. Cassie's rage fueled her movements, her punches and kicks raining down on Vee relentlessly.
In a desperate attempt to defend herself, Vee threw up her arms to shield her face, but Cassie's blows broke through her defenses. She grabbed hold of Vee's arm, using her wolf strength to effortlessly lift her off the ground and hurl her across the room, crashing into a wall with a thunderous impact.
Cassie's anger increased with every passing second. She charged towards Vee, delivering a powerful knee strike to her abdomen. The impact sent Vee sprawling to the floor, gasping for breath. Cassie continued her assault, pinning her to the floor and delivering a series of punishing blows, each one landing with bone-shaking force.
Despite the pain and punishment, Vee refused to fight back, accepting the consequences of her actions. She tried to block Cassie's attacks, but her efforts proved futile against Cassie's overwhelming strength and speed.
The room filled with the sound of grunts, crashes, and the echo of each strike. Cassie's anger drives her forward, her blows fueled by a desire for vengeance. Vee, battered and bruised, accepted her punishment, knowing she deserved it.
"Now" Alpha Maynard said to Derek. Hearing this, Derek rushed to them and tried breaking up the fight by pulling Cassie away.
Cassie wasn't ready to stop just yet. She kept struggling to get back to giving Vee the beat down of her life whilst screaming with anger and pain. "Enough Cassie!" Alpha Daemon finally ordered. Hearing her father's voice, she stopped struggling and broke down, burying her face in her palms. "Pick up his body let's go" He added, making his way to the entrance.
"I'll help you with him" Derek said to her and proceeded in picking up Nate's body. Cassie stood up when her father got to where she was. She wiped the tears off her face and followed him out the hall with Derek following behind with Nate's body. Alpha Daemon walked out the hall without so much as sparing a glance at Vee.
With everyone out and the door shut, Alpha Maynard sighed and then made his way over to where Vee was lying on the floor. He bent down next to her and watched her struggle to sit up. She managed to sit up on the floor, her back leaning against the wall behind her. Her face was bloodied and bruised while she held her bruised rib and abdomen.
Alpha Maynard stared at her in silence while she stared back with her slightly closed eyes. "Who did it?" He finally asked
Vee groaned from the pain, struggling to swallow. "The Black Lotus.....and....." She paused, looking away.
"And Tessa" He completed it and smiled. "I'm glad you all are starting to understand and experience what I've been saying. Experience really is the best teacher. The very bestfriend you sought out to find, abandoning everything else for, ended up betraying you. How does that make you feel?" He sighed, shaking his head, watching tears fall from her eyes.
"Everyone only cares for themselves and their interest Vee. In all your life you've been betrayed by the ones you love most. Your mother who left you to die at the age of ten, your first love who abused you physically and set you up with his friends who tried to rape you, and now your bestfriend Tessa who spat on your friendship for a clan she barely knows. All the times all of these happened, who came to save you?" He questioned calmly. "Who?" He asked more harshly when she said nothing.
"Y...you" Vee replied with a parched voice, holding back the tears.
"That's right, me. I found you when your mother abadoned you and brought you into the pack. I found you and saved you when you were about to be raped by your boyfriend's buddies. I killed them and killed him for you, saving you from his constant abuse. And now....you're back here with me after being betrayed by Tessa. Like it or not, I'm the only one who's never betrayed you and always truly cared for you. So tell me Vee...what do you want?"
Vee sobbed quietly, listening to all he said. She knew she should never trust Alpha Maynard, but he was right. He's saved her all her life and has been the only one who hasn't betrayed her directly. She didn't want to be one of his puppets but he seemed to be the only choice and way she has to get her revenge. The enemy of my enemy is my friend afterall. "I....I want to pay them back" She muttered.
"But you aren't strong enough. You're too weak to be able to do that, aren't you? If you go against any one of them as you are now, including Tessa, you'll end up dead...." He paused, moving her hair away from her eye and tucking it behind her ear. "Unless you become stronger. Unless you become an Alpha" He smiled.
"Wh...what?" She opened her eyes with a puzzled look, staring at him confused.
"I have been thinking about who to make an Alpha next at the expense of Alpha Mason....I guess you're in luck. I'll make you an Alpha on a condition that you kill Tessa" The Alpha stated
Vee became silent for a while and then replied. "How can I trust you?"
"Same reason I can trust you, we both want the same thing, plus....." He stood up and turned away from her. "You don't have a choice" He added and walked away.
***
Tessa stood beside Kreed and the others, facing the entrance to the underground bunker. They waited as Zamir unlocked the door to the bunker. He pulled the heavy, double steel door open. Kreed glanced at Tessa and nodded before stepping forward with the others following behind.
Kreed led them down the steps into the bunker. Tessa was taken aback by what she saw on getting to the floor of the bunker. It was an unusually large bunker, an empty one at that with no single property inside. It was empty, except that it was filled with werewolves. Angry ones filled with rage, male and female.
They should be nothing less than two thousand. They seemed to have just arrived there and have been waiting for their arrival. They all stood up, facing Kreed as soon as they entered. Tessa looked over at Kreed, wondering how long he's been building that army. She realized she still didn't know much about him.
Kreed stepped forward with the rest of the Black Lotus behind him. He took off his mask and hood. He looked around at all of them and exhaled sharply. "It is time!" He announced and the bunker erupted with cheers and battle cries from the wolves.