d..、，.. #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT d..、，..
Happen 33
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Tragedy Falls
Sub Theme : A Mad Alpha
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The rest of the night was heartbreakingly silent. Alpha Brett had taken one look at Anne’s body before all emotion was wiped clean from his face. He had carried her body to his house and had not emerged since. At others’ urging, I had returned home to change clothes and shower, although I
scarcely remembered doing so. I was standing outside the infirmary now, staring into the distance as sunrise approached. I felt like my life was in
shambles.
I needed Gabriel.
My packmates were looking at me with emotions ranging from pity to fury. I knew some of them blamed me, but I didn’t care. I blamed myself too,
although the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that Cain would have killed her either way. Jack came by at one point and got the
entire story from me and I told him everything from the letter to the events in the clearing. A grief-stricken Maria had wandered over eventually,
looking lost. I had pulled her to me and refused to let her go, and we cried together as the first rays of the sun began to light up the sky. I couldn’t
imagine what she was going through; she was a lot closer to Anne than I was.
Sometime later, I noticed a commotion nearby. A large group was
approaching the infirmary, and I heard angry shouting. Alpha Brett was at the forefront of the group, Jack beside him, appearing as if he was trying to
reason with him. I caught the end of his words as they approached, “Brett, think about what you’re doing! You-”
“Shut up!” Alpha Brett snapped. Maria and I stood up, concerned. I had never heard Alpha Brett speak to his Beta like that.
Alpha Brett was practically sprinting towards us and I felt a spike of nervousness as I saw what his eyes were fixated on: me.
We walked out to meet them halfway. “Alpha, what’s going on?” Maria asked, sorrow laced in her tone.
I opened my mouth to say something but I never got the chance. Alpha
Brett lunged at me in a blur of motion, striking me on the side of the face
with his fist. I was thrown backwards like a rag doll and I collided with the
ground about ten feet away. Wincing at the explosion of pain in my cheek, I attempted to roll to absorb the main impact, throwing up dust all around
me. I struggled to my feet, clutching my cheek as the pain spread.
“What the HELL, Brett? Are you crazy?” Jack snapped, looking at me with a horrified expression. My eyes met Alpha Brett’s and I was frightened at
what I saw there: raw, burning fury, mixed with pain that ran deeper than I could ever imagine.
“ …You,” he spit out, ignoring his Beta completely.
I stared at him, opening and closing my mouth. What was I supposed to say?
“This is all your fault. We were fine until YOU came back!”
“Brett, it isn’t Skylar, it’s the vampires-“
“Silence! Stop arguing!” The Alpha roared at his Beta, putting a Command in his tone.
“Alpha Brett, I….” I trailed off, completely lost. It was my fault, wasn’t it? I couldn’t defend myself.
“What, Skylar? What pathetic excuse do you have now?” He was almost
sneering cruelly at this point. “My daughter is dead. DEAD! Because you led those f**king bloodsuckers right to us! And you willingly did what they told you to do in that stupid letter!”
“They were going to kill her if I didn’t-”
“Yeah, well she’s dead now!” He roared, and his voice nearly broke. The pain on Alpha Brett’s face was palpable. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through, what my father would do if he were in Alpha Brett’s
situation.
“I’m sorry… .”
“Sorry does not f**king cut it. You are going to tell me everything Skylar, or I will exile you right here and now!”
The werewolves around us gasped. I could sense more and more of them approaching to see what was going on.
I looked down at the ground, trying to fight my rising emotion. What could I tell him? I couldn’t tell him that Gabriel was part Angel, he probably
wouldn’t believe me anyways, and I had promised Raziel. But I couldn’t lie to my pack after everything that had just happened … .
“Why are the vampires here? What do they want? TELL ME THE TRUTH!” He roared, using the Command.
“They want Gabriel’s blood,” I blurt out, unable to fight the Command. I
frantically thought for words to say that wouldn’t reveal my Mate’s heritage. “They need his blood to become invincible, and they were going after his
mother but she got away from them, so now Cain has a personal vendetta against Gabriel.” All of that was true, I thought, hopefully it was enough.
“So you’retelling me that my daughter DIED because the vampires are
going after YOUR MATE, our WORST ENEMY?” He accented the words with hand gestures, his face a mask of fury. I tried not to cower under his wrath. “Yes,” I whispered, unable to lie to him.
“Has he known about this? That they need an Alpha’s blood?” He was shaking.
“Yes.”
A furious snarl escaped from Alpha Brett’s chest. His eyes were pitch black now and I knew he was fighting the Shift; all of the grief and stress made him, like any Alpha, volatile.
“I’ll f**king kill him,” he hissed, shaking. I blinked at him, horrified, hoping I heard wrong.
“No you can’t-“
“YES I DAMN WELL CAN! Because of THAT BASTARD, our pack is getting
attacked, my own daughter was killed and your father is in a coma!” Spittle was flying out of his mouth, he looked insane. “I have dealt with his cruelty, his pack’s oppression, for years and years now without fighting! I have
hated every second of it but I’ve done it, but I’m not going to anymore. My little girl is dead because of him. Because of your. Fucking. Mate.”
The grief had caused him to snap, to lose all sense of reason. Jack looked like he was mentally pleading with him, but due to the Command, he
couldn’t argue.
“If you challenge him, he’ll kill you!” I pled desperately, ignoring the fact
that several of the wolves around us were agreeing with Alpha Brett’s
words. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to protect my Mate…the fact was, he was stronger than Alpha Brett, and I knew it. If an Alpha trespassed on Gabriel’s territory he would kill without a second thought. It was allowed under
werewolf law, and Gabriel was proud and ruthless.
“Not if I kill him first. I suggest you shut your mouth Skylar, you’ve caused enough damage.” He shot me a look filled with so much hatred I winced and backed away.
“Jack, stay here. You three, with me.” Using his Command, Alpha Brett
indicated the three wolves nearest him. Without another word they turned and began to leave, Maria, Jack and I standing there in horror.
Alpha Brett was using his anger as fuel, thinking he was invincible, grieving so badly that he did not care about the consequences, which I knew would be severe. As the group began to head off, I heard Alpha Brett give a
furious howl, along with the words,
“We are going to challenge this bastard and get him out of this territory once and for all. For Anne.”
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I stood there in shock for several long, drawn out seconds, trying to absorb exactly what was happening. With everything that had occurred in the last few days my mind was overwhelmed, and the cowardly part of me just
wanted to shut everything down, return to my house, and sleep.
But I couldn’t.
My Wolf jerked me out of my moment of self-pity when she snarled, loud and clear, in the back of my mind, Our Mate! Go to our Mate!
Maria had made her way over to me and was staring at the swelling lump on my face with an expression akin to horror. “Skylar…I can’t believe he hit you….” She turned to her father. “What are we going to do?”
I didn’t hear what Jack said as I felt the blood rushing through my veins and my head started pounding. My Wolf wanted to take over sowe could Shift and run towards the Black Mountains Pack territory as fast as we possibly
could. I fought her down, gritting my teeth at the effort it took to control her.
WE HAVE TO GO THERE NOW! She snapped furiously. He’s going to try to kill Gabriel! I sensed the worry and concern in her voice, and shaking my numbness off, I snapped into action. I shoved through the crowd of
werewolves still gathered nearby, ignoring whatever Beta Jack was saying.
Maybe Alpha Brett was going to his house first and I could catch him there before he took off. Some part of me, though, seriously doubted that. I had seen the madness glinting in his eyes. He had suffered an overwhelming
loss and he was responding with anger. I understood, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him start a war between our packs.
I took off at a quick pace towards the Alpha’s house, knowing I couldn’t
afford to waste time. I heard footsteps behind me as Jack and Maria jogged after me.
“Are you going to save Gabriel?” Maria asked, and I turned over my shoulder as I continued my pace. Her expression was unreadable.
While I felt a twinge as I heard Gabriel’s name and I resented the fact that
my own Alpha was going after my Mate, I realized it wasn’t Gabriel’s safety I was worried about. I knew how powerful and relentless he was.
“Actually, no. I’m going to try to save Alpha Brett.”
Jack caught up to me, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Skylar, I
know your Mate is strong, but Alpha Brett’s rage is fueling him. Right now he feels like he has nothing left to lose. He might-“
“Trust me, guys,” I broke in, cutting the Beta off bluntly. “Gabriel is too
strong. Alpha Brett won’t stand a chance.” As I spoke the words I knew they were true. Gabriel would kill Alpha Brett without thinking, and while I
thought Brett was making some very rash decisions, I didn’t want him dead. It would only throw our pack into more chaos. The packs needed to work
together until the vampires were gone, not tear each other apart.
We reached the Alpha’s house. To my disappointment, I didn’t catch Brett’s fresh scent there. So he had decided to go straight to enemy territory, then. I had to go now or I wouldn’t catch up to them in time.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
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“I have to go after him.” I turned to face Jack as if I were pleading for
permission, but I didn’t plan on letting anyone stop me. Not this time. “I know you may not believe me, but Alpha Brett is in over his head. And we can’t afford confrontation with werewolves while we have worse enemies around.” My eyes fell on Maria as I silently pleaded with her.
Jack ran a hand through his short hair in agitation. “Skylar, I just don’t think it’s-”
“I have to go!” I responded desperately, shifting from foot to foot in
anticipation. I couldn’t waste any more time. My Wolf still wanted to claw her way out. “You honestly think I don’t know I’ll be putting myself in a
dangerous situation? My father’s in a coma for crying out loud and I’m
leaving him for this. We can’t afford a war on our hands and Alpha Brett is too blind to see that!”
I began to back away after Jack didn’t respond. Maria stepped forward. “Skylar, I could go with you, you don’t have to go alone …”
“No, this is my fault. I can’t put anyone else in danger.”
Jack cut in. “Your parents?”
“My mother will keep in contact with me. Just tell her I have to do this. I won’t be in danger from the Black Mountains Pack. They won’t hurt me.” My Wolf whined urgently, forcing me onwards. I turned away from Maria and Jack and began to jog towards the trees in preparation to Shift.
The conviction in my voice definitely assured Maria, but I caught a dubious look on Jack’s face as I turned away. I didn’t care. I had only myself to
blame for this mess and I sure as Hell was going to solve it…Ijust didn’t know how yet.
“Stay alert Skylar!” Jack shouted after me, and I was relieved he wasn’t
arguing anymore. Probably because he knew I was right; it was all my fault. I Shifted as quickly as possible after tying my clothes to my ankle. I had still been feeling feverish and twitchy, although less so after Anne’s death, but the sensations thankfully subsided to a bearable level after I changed into my Wolf. I did not want to deal with all of that right now.
My Wolf yipped in agitation and we took off in the general direction of the
Black Mountain Pack’s territory. I felt a stab of guilt for not explaining
everything to my mother, but surely she’d understand. I knew I was
disregarding my own safety and my respect for Alpha Brett but if I could help my pack, I would.
It felt good to stretch my muscles again but, as I dodged thick tree trunks and leapt over fallen logs, I could feel the exhaustion that had come on
from the lack of sleep. If I were human I wouldn’t have been able to stay awake for so long. I could only hope I would have enough energy to get there.
A couple minutes into my run I sensed another presence, fast approaching me, a grey blur through the vivid green of the forest. I skidded to a halt, my giant paws scrabbling on the ground, so the gigantic wolf narrowly avoided me. He whizzed within inches of me, the distilled air from his barreling run stirring my fur. He came to a stuttering halt and spun to face me, snarling. I recognized the wolf as Mikey, a decent warrior that was a large size, but
slower than I. My fur bristled as I returned his growl, glaring at him.
What the Hell are you doing? I snapped through the mind-link.
Alpha Brett told me that I couldn’t let you follow them, he replied in his
deep, guttural voice. I growled louder, the sound reverberating from deep within my chest.
I’m trying to HELP Alpha Brett! He’s going to get himself killed!
He Commanded me, and I obey my Alpha’s orders, he replied coolly,
although I saw wariness presiding deep in his yellow eyes. Mikey didn’t want to attack me but he had no choice if I tried to follow the Alpha.
I mentally cursed as my Wolf continued to growl at his. I could not afford to waste this precious time! I glanced around quickly. I didn’t want to fight my
own packmate. Could I escape?
Don’t eventry it, he snapped.
Without another word Mikey rushed at me, tensing before bringing his
gigantic body into a powerful leap. I quickly rolled out of the way, growling in frustration.
He lunged at me again but I neatly dodged, taking a lunging snap at his
haunch but narrowly missing as he twisted around. I decided to use my
agility as an advantage and feinted to Mikey’s left side. He turned to face me and I spun quickly to the other side, taking another snap and getting a mouthful of fur.
This was a waste of time. Worse, if I received an injury, there was no chance I could make it. I had to outrun Mikey before it was too late.
We circled each other for a brief moment, both growling deep within our chests. Mikey lunged yet again but I sidestepped and an idea came to me. Why not use his momentum against him?
Without further ado I took off in the same direction as before, hearing him quickly take up pursuit. His paws thundered against the ground as he
followed hot on my heels, and I slowed my pace slightly so he would begin to catch up. I had to trick him into thinking he would catch me so I
maintained the slower pace, hearing his steps increase in frequency as he
sped up. Within seconds I felt warm breath on my back legs and heard his deep pants immediately behind me. I had to give him credit, for his size
Mikey was almost impossibly fast, which was likely why Alpha Brett thought he’d be able to detain me. He was wrong.
I trained my ears on Mikey’s movements, speeding up ever-so-slightly so he wouldn’t realize I was deliberately slowing down. I knew he would lunge
soon and try to pin me to the ground with his massive stature. Sure
enough, mere heartbeats later I heard a break in his thundering steps as he tensed and then lunged. I felt the air stir above me and, in the last possible second, I abruptly stopped and rolled to the side in one swift movement. I returned to my feet as Mikey landed heavily and stumbled.
That was my chance. As he teetered to one side, putting all of the weight on two feet while he tried to regain his balance, I lunged and ensnared his front leg in my jaws. I bit down, hard, feeling a surge of guilt as the bone
crunched under my powerful jaws. I released his leg before he could counterattack, hearing his furious snarl.
And again I took off, not giving him even a single second to recover. I knew it was a low blow, crushing his leg like that and running, and not a tactic I
would have used in any sort of training maneuver but I had no choice. He couldn’t follow me. But still, I could not help the prevalent sense of guilt I felt as I heard his pained, furious howl erupt far behind me.
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I ran after Alpha Brett and the wolves he was bringing with him, following their scent as soon as I came to it. I knew I was half an hour behind, and I was a lot slower than Alpha Brett to begin with, but I hoped since he was bringing a few others with him he would be forced to slow his pace.
Birds erupted from the trees and animals scurried out of my way as my
paws thudded on the ground and I continued my breakneck pace. I had to stop Alpha Brett before he could make such a stupid decision. I knew he
was stressed, and I knew he was in incredible pain. I couldn’t imagine losing a family member. He had likely retreated to the back of his consciousness
while his Wolf took over, driving him to go kill who he perceived as the
“enemy”. But eventhough part of me understood him, I couldn’t let him do this. I had stood by for far too long.
Anne deserved a funeral, like every werewolf had. She deserved to be
recognized, despite the differences I’d had with her before. Normally the family would be preparing the funeral now. Alpha Brett would regret this later, I knew. If he wasn’t dead. And if he died, his poor Mate and young son would never recover. Anne’s brother would be Alpha in several years once he came of age. He needed his father to watch over him and guide him.
*
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
*
Underneath everything, I couldn’t lie to myself. While I was going to help
Alpha Brett and my pack, a very large part of me wanted to see Gabriel
again. I missed him desperately and with everything going on I hadn’t been able to sort everything through yet. I knew he’d be upset to see me when I hadn’t made my choice, but despite all of that, I couldn’t deny the fact that I wanted to see him with my own eyes and make sure everything was okay. Had anyone else in his pack been hurt? Had Raziel found what he was
looking for? My Wolf longed for him with a feverish desperation and I
couldn’t deny the jolt I felt everytime I pictured his dark eyes and the way he’d looked at me when we last parted.
I could only hope I was not too late, and that Alpha Brett had not caused irreparable damage to both of our packs.
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#Tobecontinued…