Chapter 7

Luke's Pov

She passed out after I beheaded her parents and this made me feel a sense of sovereignty. I'd been unable to establish my dominance in her mind but after this, I was certain the rule of the stick would change. She would fear me and stay in her place, wherever that was for her.

The bush by the side ruffled and I smelt it instantly. The disgusting scent of rot and famine.

I stared at the headless bodies that laid on the ground and a malicious thought flashed through my mind.

I intentionally reduced the intimidating aura emitting from me and said, "I know you're watching, come out now."

I sensed the hesitation but then, I heard him step forward and soon, he was in front of me. His big brown woven body looked deprived of clean water and his fur was thick and rusty. But what made him stand out was his unnaturally yellow eyes. 

"You're hungry, right?" I lurched my neck to the side and watched the rogue's ear and canines sharpen. I knew he was contemplating attacking me, and his eyes didn't miss Anna who was laying on the ground, unconscious. However, just as he made to try and attack, I released my intimidating aura and that was all it took for him to retreat with his head bowed. Knowing that I had him on a hook, I moved closer to him and ordered, "Shift."

The rogue backed down and shook his head, but after staring at my stern face. He did as I ordered.

After shifting, I realized that the wolf was very ordinary looking with dirty brown hair and fine lines and wrinkles on his face. He looked like a man that had seen life and aged quite quickly in an attempt to make ends meets in his life— Not like it would be easy because he was literally living in the wild where there was famine and lack of sources for nourishment. Of course, everyday's hunt for food and life would be a struggle. And this displacement of his was exactly what I needed in the clutch of my hands.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"David," he replied humbly.

"Do you have a group you rule over?"

He hesitated, and I knew I'd struck a gold mine. Or not.

I closed the distance between us and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Why, don't you want to eat good meat with your buddies? Huh?"

At the mention of food, he raised his head to look at me. "F-food?" He inquired with lustful eyes and I smiled as I patted his shoulder, knowing that I had struck the heart of his desire.

"Yes, food." I reply with the same amount of enthusiasm. "More food like…" my eyes wandered to the bodies of the late gammas.

David eyes brightened for a moment, but then he said, "What about whole-grains like rice, beans? Normal food?"

"Don't push your luck rogue," I bit back harshly, "Would you rather die out of starvation or keep killing your men to survive or, you can feed off of unfortunate werewolves like these?" I guestured to the bodies of the late gammas.

David bowed his head in submission.

"Good," I respond, "Now tell me how many men you have."

"One hundred… and twenty."

"You're lying. Give me the specific digits."

David lifted his head, and as we made eye contact, I sensed his fear, but I held back my smirk. Didn't want to scare off a good puppet now, did we?

"H-how d-did…" The poor man was scared to death that he couldn't even finish his statement. Or was it a question?

I tapped his shoulder and leisurely said, "I just know when someone lies to me, David. Trust me when I say I know how it will end, and the end is mostly not very favourable."

David got to his knees with widened eyes, "Please don't involve them, they're only children! The other rogues will listen to your orders when it comes to the dirty stuff but the children…" As he rambled on, I took every single piece of info in, and it all led me to one conclusion. The weakness of David was children. I could use that against him in the future.

"Don't worry, David." I lifted him with the bottom of his chin and he looked into my eyes, nothing but dread filling his yellow ones. "I won't do anything to the children as long as you give me the true numbers."

His eyes darted back and forth but then he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "One hundred and twenty… nine."

I let go off his chin and whispered, "Good."

David took the moment to breathe deeply while I said. "You can have the human meat for now. I'll find a way for you to get some grains for the children…" As I said that, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Werewolves were too easy. Give them a little bit of what they crave and pretend to protect what they protect and you'll have easy access to their worlds, and minds. You can then prey on it, use it, and destroy their psyche with what you've learned.

As a psychopath, this pattern was what was most evident to me, and I gained stimuli or shall i say… the same effect of orgasm when I control people?

It was also easy for me to play different characters to create a false sense of clarity in others, like I did to Haiden. Haiden… was my favorite puppet so far. He was intuitive and knew a lot of things without knowing, but somehow he always listened to me because he had trust issues that made him distrustful of even himself.

Me bringing back Anna and  making an excuse for that action or should I say suggestion, made Haiden feel like this was all his decision. Meanwhile, I was the one who made the decision. I was the true mastermind, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had that intuitive insight. Well, even if he did, he'd doubt it anyway!

"Sir, can I know your name?" David asked and it took a second for me to remember that I was indoctrinating a rogue to do my bidding.

"Just call me Black. I will be the one to reach you at all times."

"When sir? About the food—"

"—I just willingly let you have two human bodies and you're already insisting on more?!" I showed David my angry eye and he instantly cowered away.

"I-i apologize mister Black." 

I scoffed, and grabbed the sack in my pocket. I filled it with the past gammas heads and lifted Anna with a single arm and flung her over my shoulder.

Ah, she was such a lightweight.

I yawned in boredom, "Not a single scratch on her body, he said. How boring." I said as I walked in the direction of Blue Thunder.

Haiden's Pov

I paced back and forth in the entrance of the pack house, anticipating Luke's arrival. I couldn't help but think negatively as he wasn't here yet even though it was clearly passed midnight. What if they got attacked by rogues and Anna was killed before Luke got to her?

No, that wasn't possible. Her parents would be able to protect her. Even though I said that, I didn't believe it. I kept thinking of the worst possible scenario.

A member of the scout team that was keeping watch for the night walked over to me with a bowed head, "Alpha, what about you go to your room and take a rest? We're going to inform you when the Luna gets here."

"And who the hell told you that I'm worried about Anna?!" I snapped, grabbing the werewolf by the neck.

Maybe it was my ego speaking, but it seamlessly melted to nothing when a familiar refreshing scent filled my lungs.

I stared at Luke heading towards the pack house with Anna slung across his shoulder. A growl escaped my lips as I released the werewolf and sped towards Luke in seconds. I grabbed Anna off his shoulder in an instant and he bowed his head at me as I glanced at her resting face. My gaze drifted down to her body and I saw that she was wearing but a thin white fabric that didn't cover her body much.

I glanced up at Luke who kept his head bowed, "I neglected to take the appropriate dressing tools as I was in a hurry Alpha, please forgive me."

I choosed to repress my jealousy for Luke. After all, he was my Beta. He wouldn't dare to do anything appropriate.

I carried Anna bridal style and was about to head to the pack house when I heard him say. "Alpha, we have to show everyone your sovereignty especially now that Anna is back."

I glanced over my back, noticing the scent of blood in the sack Luke was holding. "What?" I said.

"Hang the traitors heads in the public poles as a reminder, to prevent a future occurrence like this one."

I hesitated for a moment because I knew Anna wouldn't like that. But I quickly reminded myself of my position and that it was necessary for me put a foot down to gain a threshold and the respect I deserved.

"Do as you like," I said as I headed in the direction of the packhouse.

I placed Anna on the bed and touched her forehead only to realize that it was burning with fever. I immediately demanded for the healer's presence and while I waited for her to arrive, I got a bowl of cool water and a soft cloth. I didn't know how it worked but I'd once seen a mother caress her sick son on the head, softly. So I mimicked what I'd seen and patted her forehead a few times while occasionally squeezing out the excess water.

"Mother… no…"

My gaze traveled to Anna's face as I heard her quivering voice. But I couldn't comfort her, knowing I was the reason for her nightmare.

"Dad," She said loudly, "Dad it's cold…"

I felt her heartbeat accelerating and I knew it wouldn't be too long before she woke up. I knew my presence may aggrevate her so I decided it was time to go.

I tugged Anna properly under the blankets and as I got up to leave, I heard a knock on the door.

"Alpha, the healer is here."

I let out a sigh of relief as I walked to the door before opening it. The woman In her early fifties bowed when she saw me, "Alpha."

"Susan," I acknowledged with a nod.

She was the pack's main healer and she lived in an isolated cottage near the pack house. It was a wonder that she came here not long after I called.

"My mate seems to her have a fever, please take care of her."

"I will, Alpha."

As I stepped out of the room and onto the passageway, Susan called me, "Alpha,"

I stopped in my tracks and said, "Yes?"

I was hoping she'd ask if I knew the history of Anna's old ailments, but the question she asked was one I was not expectant of at all.

"Why did you do it?"

I raised my head up and spoke in my Alpha tone, "Why did I do what?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Alpha."

"Healer—"

"—Alpha," she said, "You can't rip a person's heart apart and expect it to be fixed by a band-aid. What you've done may not heal, forever."

"Healer," I growled as I turned to face her in rage. "Your job is to see to it that my mate is well, you are not to lecture me!"

"But I'm just telling you that it's impossible to fix her with simple drugs, Alpha. The best medicine is always prevention before cure."

There was no use arguing with an old woman, especially when she had a point — Not that I would be willing to admit it.

"You can leave after you've treated my mate," With that, I disappeared around the corner of the hall.