Betrayal

Xavier's POV.

Weaving through the traffic like an android, a cursing Ben gunned the engine as I turned from the seat, my alert eyes taking in the scene behind us. Flinching at the sound of gunshots, my heart nearly jumped through my gaping mouth as the rear window blasted into shards and one of the bullets flew right into my right shoulder.

“Fuck!” My shoulder jerked back to the impact as the lump of silver penetrated my skin. Slumping my back against the seat, my hand flew to my burning wound as I gritted my teeth in pain.

“HOLD ON..!” Ben glimpsed at my wounded state before he peered at the rear-view mirror, “They’re fucking dogging our asses!”

I closed my eyes, fighting back the throbbing waves that surged throughout my body. I could feel blood oozing, dripping through my fingers. All I had to do was to relax so that the poison doesn’t get far into my blood system. But that was hard considering the situation both of us were in.

The engine roared as the car veered when Ben made a hard right into a side street, away from the main road, losing a couple of our pursuers but as my eyes flew open, I could see at least two cars chasing us down the narrow street by the rearview mirror.

“TRY TO RELAX!!” he coached without tearing his eyes up front, “I’LL LOSE THEM!”

My life has always been threatened. I’ve never been nor felt safe, anywhere. If there wasn’t wolfsbane in my food on certain occasions, then I’d be attacked one way or the other. It has been over an hour since we tore off my pack’s boundaries, and I’m not surprised at what was awaiting us beyond the lines—only that this time, it seemed like they weren’t backing out empty-handed.

“Ben...” I grunted, for my pounding heartbeats were betraying me. I closed my eyes again, sliding even further down the seat. I had to control my adrenaline, and my emotions before things turn worse than they already were.

We had to get to Alpha Miguel, we had to.

*

Lilith’s POV

It was nearly midnight, and the night sky was picturesque. A black-to-navy gradient was the backdrop for a stunning crescent moon; the night sky so clear you could almost see every crater. I silently hiked through the trees I came across, surveying the rather quiet place. The forest was dark and still with an air of mystery awaiting to be unfolded. The chestnut trees were bygone and tall, but they couldn’t conceal the shimmering sky above with millions of stars twinkling the night away. My bare feet revelled at the feeling of warm moist soil beneath me, making me one with nature as I felt myself connect with everything around me. I could easily control the elements around me then, and I preferred everything to remain as they were, for there was nothing more serene to me than peace and quiet.

A sudden hiss brought me to a halt and I slightly turned to my left, right to the source and there it was, bitterly staring back at me with its cute cold eyes. “My, aren’t you a beauty?”

It arched its head to meet my gaze, flicking its tongue to get my scent. He was hungry and his sharp eyes related something only I could understand. I extended my hand, deciding to take him for a stroll, and watched him roll his smooth red body around my waiting hand. He roamed around me, in quest of finding a comfortable spot to rest his head and I patiently waited while petting his smooth scales.

Sweet vipers, always loving. Finally deciding to rest his head on my shoulder, I spun on my heels and paced forward. I could feel the air around me slowly shifting, and the branches around rustled with the passing breeze. The feeling of a familiar presence washed over me, but that wasn’t enough to gain my attention.

“You can’t always run away from what’s bound to happen.” A deep amused voice spoke from behind me.

I continued on my way, not bothering to look back.

“Lilith…” He softly called.

I heaved a sigh, halting in my tracks.

“Please look at me, just this once.” His voice, almost pleading, successfully reached for something within me. It always has.

I turned around, instantly meeting his vibrant green eyes. He stood tall, over six feet with his chestnut brown hair neatly slicked back. His chiselled torso was bare for me to see, and his hands immediately slipped from his dark pants and rested over his chest as he further puffed it out like an annoying proud bird.

“What is it that you want.” I couldn’t hold my mouth from asking what was obvious, or rather, what he would obviously answer.

He took a couple of steps closer until I could feel his hard body brushing mine. I could feel his eyes on me and I curiously looked up, locking my dark blues with his. “You know what I want, Nefesh te’oma.”

I swallowed down the desire that was building up inside me, the side that I refused to share with him. There was something about him that didn’t settle right with me; something felt awfully wrong and it annoyed me. He reached for my cheek and caressed it softly, his magnetic orbs piercing down at mine. His touch felt right, but wrong at the same time. He felt wrong, and it seriously confused me.

Why would anyone feel so with their beloved?

“Abaddon… stop” I took a step back, removing myself from his grasp.

He closed the space, towering over me yet again. He craned his neck and buried his nose behind my ear, inhaling deeply whilst his hands shot up to hold me in place. The red viper resting on the other side of my shoulder hissed, but he would have to do more than that to scare this demon away. “You’re not making it fair for me, Lilith. Give in; I know you want to...”

“Of course, I want to fuck you.” My hand travelled up to his hair, easily grabbing his locks and pulling him off me. I met his gaze and found myself so close to him, my lips almost brushing his, “So damn bad, but doing that would bring consequences I’m not quite ready to face yet.”

The proximity was choking me, taunting me into doing what I didn’t want to do; so I took a step back again just when he was about to capture my lips with his. His confident look briefly wavered and for a moment, disappointment was written all over his face. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because it feels like a mistake.” I confessed, “It doesn’t feel right when I’m with you.” I turned around and slowly started on my way. “It’s not you; it’s me.”

I could feel rage coming from him in waves as I sauntered in an opposite direction from him. I never cared to look back, and he didn’t stick around for long either. This was good for both of us, until I found out what was really my problem. He was good at waiting. He waited sixty years already. I’m sure he could wait a little bit longer. Moments later, I had the place all to myself again.

The forest was huge, covering a decent amount of land starting from the outskirts of the small desert-like place I popped at, stretching to a town miles away. There was a thin road piercing in between, separating it into two and that’s where my intended victims would be passing by. The urge to feed was so strong, and it got worse with the recent encounter. If I didn’t get a few horny souls on the way, then the town nearby would be a solution.

I had to feed.

After a short while of walking, I distantly sensed a car engine by the road nearby. I quickly walked to the edge of the trees and focused my eyes on the road just to spot a black car that was indeed approaching, and judging by its speed; the driver was about to pull over. A small smile graced my face as I softly patted my pet. His head was up as he also scented food nearby. I could feel his growing excitement and mine was picking up as well.

The car finally stopped. I focused on the driver as he stepped out and walked to the hood where he halted and turned to peer at a sleeping man in the passenger seat.

Two men; my smile widened. If it wasn’t fate, then I didn’t know what to call it.

Something about them was different. As I kept focusing on the dark man’s aura, it struck me and I almost laughed. I couldn’t remember the last time I crossed paths with his kind, but I do recall I didn’t need a soul for days. The negativity I sensed in the air made me doubt if their trip was all sunshine and rainbows. And the man outside didn’t strike me as friendly either. Something was up and I was happy to amuse myself.

Because I’m such a nosy person, I decided to peek into his brain. It’s not hard really, it’s rather a gift that comes with being what I am.

Getting to know this man made me understand why my kind hated mortals, or rather reminded me why mortals are so very much disliked in my world. The urge to call someone I know erupted, but that might deter me from fully feeding, for I didn’t like passive meals. We were such selfish beings that couldn’t be trusted at juicy times like these.

He was mine in all ways.

I remained hidden, blending beautifully with the darkness as I took in the scene before me, waiting for my perfect cue. Everything had its moment, and being a worthy predator took patience.

The man’s gaze dismissed the passenger as he turned around and leaned on the car’s hood. With a distant look in his eyes, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, shove it in his lips and lit it. He was good-looking, tall, and all with a dark brown complexion. His dark eyes stormed with anticipation as he waited for his friend to wake up. I smirked; that’s why I don’t keep friends—It’s foolish. I don’t even trust my very own parents sometimes, then again, to us, it’s purely our instincts playing tricks on our minds. It's something that makes us unsure, guarded and in other words—untrustworthy; all due to our selfish nature.

My little friend decided to hiss, gaining my attention. I peered down at him, “Too hungry aren’t we?”

As a response, his thick body tightened around my abdomen as he widely opened his jaw, baring his aching venomous fangs. Sighing, I turned in a direction where my ears easily picked up a couple of little steady heartbeats and decided to give him a treat. He was after all, aware of his preys’ existence the moment we reached the edge of the forest. With that, I abandoned my spot and sunk slightly deeper into the thick woods where I snuck him up on a particular tree and left him to his feast before taking a few steps back and shapeshifting into my favourite animal. I pushed my paws back to the edge of the forest and took in a scene unfolding before me.

I was right in time to find the passenger push open the car door and lazily hopping off. He paused to rub away sleep from his bleary eyes before briefly facing the direction I was in, scanning the area with a frown. Sighing, he looked forward and proceeded to walk towards his friend. I could easily make out blood on his shirt, particularly on his left shoulder and strangely I was disturbed by the sight.

He abruptly stopped in his tracks and scanned the area again and just for a moment, as his eyes swept the bush I stayed hidden in, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. I blinked twice, perhaps thrice, stunned, for I haven’t seen such a perfect specimen in my entire life.

He was quite a looker; about six foot two tall, deliciously broad with muscles at the right places. But that wasn’t all I saw—something flickered in his eyes, and it wasn’t just his eyes; his entire body was loomed with a strange energy that I immediately recognized.

‘No wonder…’ I thought to myself as I narrowed my eyes at him.

Unable to spot anything out of the ordinary, he shook his head with a frown still marring his face and tiredly made his way to a smoking man in front of the car. Finally halting beside him, he briefly studied his friend before he spoke up.

“Why did we stop?” He asked with a slight confused tone.

My, and here I was thinking Abaddon had the right chords!

The dark man shrugged and met the blond man’s gaze, “How’s your shoulder?”

The man briefly peered at his wound, “Thanks to you, it should heal soon.”

“It should have started by now since we removed it about two hours ago, don’t you think?”

The blond only nodded, before meeting the dark man’s gaze again. “Let’s get going. We can’t afford to waste anymore time.”

“There isn’t a place to go to”, The smoking man coldly responded. “Except to hell...” he mumbled to himself as he ignored the man beside him.

“What did you just say?”

“No hard feelings Xavier, but you are a shitty Alpha. Who in their right mind would stay loyal to such a disappointment? You are a failure, just like your good-for-nothing father.” The man muttered as he tossed away his cigarette.

The Alpha stepped back, gaping disbelievingly. And just like that, my heart picked up its pace. A scowl formed on my face as I felt something heavy in my chest, making it even harder to breathe. I couldn’t fathom why was I suddenly pissed, nor why did I suddenly feel concerned, but I was sure about one thing—I didn’t appreciate what was happening.

’What’s happening to me?!’

The man compose himself and closed the space between them. “How dare you?”

The dark man didn’t back down, “Don’t try anything funny, Xavier, you’ll hurt yourself. You’re too weak to fight me.” He confidently spat as he indifferently watched the Alpha’s stance slightly start to waver. “Daddy should have warned you to watch what you eat, pretty boy”. He mocked the swaying Alpha as he took out a gun from his pocket. I could scent a strange mix in the ammunition. It would surely kill the Alpha in seconds, considering his already weak and heavily drugged state.

That twat!

“I've just decided; I will not waste my life following a weak Alpha and protecting a weak pack while I can benefit from it. I will collect the bounty money after I’m done with you and find a worthy pack to join, where I’ll live the rest of my life without worrying about anything.” He said as he aimed his gun, ready to blow the Alpha’s head. The blond stared disbelievingly at the man he considered a friend, too shocked to say or do anything. The energy around him glowed, as if sucking his courage and leaving him fray, and the poison in his system was gaining momentum. He was dying either way.

But I wasn’t going to let that happen. I had to see his eyes one more time and find out what was it about him that drew me in so strongly.

My paws involuntarily started moving towards the men as I felt heat burn inside my chest. I silently approached the Beta’s back, now that he moved away from the hood, wholly facing the Alpha, giving me the best sneaking advantage whilst my eyes glared holes at the gun. I abruptly sensed a pair of curious eyes on me, and my eyes moved on their own and locked themselves into the most beautiful orbs I'd ever seen.

They had the lightest brown shade and they told many tales of sorrow and pain. Something about them made me freeze in my tracks and concentrate even more on them before it finally hit me. It all made sense now!

My eyes widened in disbelief. My beloved?!

Another one?!

Xavier’s POV

The person I regarded as loyal, who I thought supported me and recognised my struggle, thought nothing but the worst of me, who else would believe in me? If my own pack thought I was a worthless leader, then how would I confidently lead? Maybe he is right. I should let go of the rope and let him win.

I felt the world spin as he aimed his gun at me. My head pounded, and I could feel my heart rates go even slower. That was it, then. Perhaps after that, I’d sleep peacefully with nothing to stress me out any longer, nor heartbreaking betrayals.

I was about to tell him to press the trigger when my eyes caught a mysterious silhouette advancing towards us. Thanks to the poison I consumed, my vision was shit, but It looked like a wild animal, and as it slowly got closer, I recognised it to be a big cat—a black panther.

I tensed, trying to force my declining sight to focus on the creature. There was something about it that I couldn’t pinpoint.

That’s when it hit me, the most incredible, mouthwatering scent I’ve ever sensed. It was alluring, fresh and sweet that it partly made me forget about my current pitiful situation. Those eyes, heatedly glared at the gun before catching mine, and everything stopped. Time and gravity seemed to have no effect on me as I felt myself drowned in a pair of the most beautifully glowing eyes I’ve ever seen.

This wasn’t just a panther, no. She was a shapeshifter. My mate!

She briefly froze and stared deep into my eyes. I could see slight shock flashing through her predatory eyes, and my stomach churned. That’s when I couldn’t help it anymore. I let go of my self-control and felt tears brim in my eyes. How unlucky was I? Would she ever accept a weak Alpha like me? Would she ever respect me after what she just witnessed? There isn’t a male werewolf out there that would wish to meet with his mate in such a cross situation. What did I ever do in my past life to deserve this?

“Send my greeting to—ugh!” Ben abruptly cringed before dropping his gun like it was a lump of hot coal. His free hand came up to grab his trembling arm as red blisters formed all over it. He groaned in pain as confusion flashed on his face. All of a sudden, he began to squirm as his eyes abruptly widened, his hand let go of his blistering arm and grabbed his neck as if fighting an invisible force from strangling him whilst he made gagging sounds.

My eyes started to get heavy as the spinning worsened, and before I knew it, I was on the ground coughing out blood. That mother fucker must have made sure that If I didn’t die by his gun, then his poison would do the trick. Everything started to blur as the sounds felt remote as seconds passed. The last thing I remember was Ben’s screams accompanied by tearing of flesh. I wish I’d see his end, but the darkness had already started to embrace me.

Just like that, it all went pitch black.