The Alpha's Mutt

Belial quickly ignored me and turned his attentions towards Hugo as his empty, white eyes narrowed in on him, his smirk turning to a look of disgust.

“You have been more resourceful than I would have suspected, Hugo.” He sneered. “I would have thought you long dead by now, torn limb from limb. But I see that you’re willing to sink so low as to suckle at the teat of a savage in order to save your sorry skin.”

“The wolves are not savages.” Hugo snapped back. “Not as you made us believe them to be. They are good, kind creatures that only want to be allowed to live their lives in peace. Which is a lot more than I could say for you.”

Belial merely grunted in response. Clearly unimpressed by Hugo’s words.

“I see that they have brainwashed you.” Belial responded dismissively.

Hugo was about to argue back, but Belial did not give him the chance. Instead, he continued with his rant…

“No matter. That can all be fixed with time. I must admit that I am impressed by your ability to survive, Hugo. If you turn on the wolves and rejoin me NOW, then your sins will be forgiven. I will even reward you for your service here today if you help me to kill this insolent female who fancies herself an Alpha.”

I grumbled under my breath, but it was Hugo who came to my defense...

“She is an Alpha!” Hugo countered. “She is a good Alpha and a strong one! And you will pay for your disrespect.”

“I will take that as a ‘no’ then. What a pity.” Belial tsked. “Well…it is a good thing that I brought reinforcements, just in case.”

With a snap of his long, bony fingers the room suddenly felt smaller as a group of young women surrounded us stepping out from the darkness, almost seeming to have materialized out of thin air. They each wore a matching long, white nightgown that appeared to have come straight out of the Victorian era.

“I would like you to meet my witchpires.” Belial announced with an emotion almost akin to pride. “I am afraid that if you want to take me on. Then you will have to get past them first.”

The witchpires each raised a hand in unison and faced their palms in the direction of Master Belial. A shield of energy was immediately erected around him, and I knew that they were offering him protection. As long as that force field was there, I would be unable to lay a finger on him. I growled in discontent which only seemed to fill Belial with a kind of glee as he chuckled darkly. I sensed that he was a deeply unhappy individual, but for some reason, in this moment, he was the happiest that he had felt in decades. He truly believed that he would see me destroyed before his very eyes while he remained unharmed.

“You see what I have been saying. I have been saying it all along. Who other than an ANIMAL would growl in the face of their enemy?! Savages! Savages, all of them! This is why we need to wipe the earth clean of their influence. Purify the world against their disease. They who are a very affront to nature! Not quite man but not fully beast either! A curse on the universe!” Belial ranted maniacally. “And it is I, Belial the Executioner, who will set it all right again! Witches, you know what to do, and make it slow. I want to enjoy this.”

The witchpires each raised the hand that they were not using to protect Belial and faced their open palms in the direction of Hugo and myself. Instinctively, I stepped in front of Hugo in an effort to protect him. However, logically, I knew that to be a fruitless endeavor. We were surrounded. If the witchpires attacked, we were going to be hit from all sides at once. We were wearing the talismans that the twins had prepared to act as a form of protection. But I doubted that it had been charmed to safeguard against the direct attack of fourteen witches.

I could have kicked myself for not being better prepared for this situation. The twins had prepared other charms and potions to defend against these witches, yet, in my arrogance, I had failed to take any. I had focused my fight so hard on Belial that I had not considered the thought that I may find myself up against witches instead of just vampires. I knew that the witches were here but I, personally, had done nothing to prepare for them.

However, I knew that I could not give up now. No matter how bleak our circumstances looked. We were so close to our end goal. There were only a few feet separating me from Belial. I just had to find a way to cross them without getting killed before I could make certain to take him with me. I had to end this here and now. There were wolves outside fighting for their own lives and the lives of those that we left back home. My mate was outside fighting for our species, our packs, for me. I could not miss my chance.

“Don’t do this!” I suddenly blurted out in desperation as I spoke directly to the witchpires.

I was not sure where I was going with this, but I had gained their attention and slowed their attack. So that was a start.

“You don’t have to do this. If you leave this room now, then you can come with us. You don’t have to be his minions any longer. There are three wolf packs outside that will offer you sanctuary. We have witches out there as well. I’m sure that they could help you get back home. Just make the right choice now and do not do as he asks. We can get your lives back if you will spare ours.”

“You do not understand.” They all spoke in unison causing, both, Hugo and myself to jump in surprise. “We do not have a choice. We are bound by his will on this matter.”

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“We cannot drop the shield protecting him without his permission to do so. And even if he were to allow this to happen, the moment that you advance towards him, we will be forced to begin attacking you.”

“Forced?”

“Yes. We were made to create a potion, one which spelled us to defend him, and he made us put in certain protective measures before we were obligated to drink it. One of those protections says that we cannot drop the force field without his say so. The other says that once you start an attack, we cannot stop ours until you are eliminated.”

“Eliminated, huh? Well, that complicates things.” I remarked, sarcastically.

I stood quietly for a moment and considered my options, not that there were many. I was low on time and had little to defend myself with. My only solace lay in the fact that I may move a little faster than the witchpires will anticipate as long as they do not realize that I am a blessed wolf. They will prepare their attack believing that I will move at an average wolf’s speed. That may give me an advantage, at least for a moment. I figured that they would be able to compensate for my increased speed fairly rapidly. But I knew that if I could make the most out of those moments that they were taken by surprise, then perhaps I could reach Belial before too much damage was done. Though that still left the shield of magic which protected him in my way and that was a seemingly impossible task.

“Okay…” I began, more or less thinking out loud. “If I advance towards Belial, you will begin to attack. If I reach the force field, is there any possible way, any kind of loophole that we could use, so that I could get past it and actually reach Belial?”

“No!” Belial yelled in anger. “There is nothing that you can do!”

But the witchpires grew quiet for a moment, contemplative. I could not be certain, but it seemed that they were actually considering my suggestion. Perhaps they really did not want to see Belial live any more than we did. Maybe there was even less loyalty here than we thought.

“You cannot actually be considering this?!” Belial spoke up again, sounding a bit more desperate now. “I created you! I gave you eternal life! I gave you the power that you now possess by building this little coven for you! You owe everything to me!”

The witchpires did not seem effected by his words as they ignored Belial and kept their focus on each other and me.

“We…may…have found a way.” They finally answered hesitantly. “But you will not like it...”

“Okay. What is it? I will do anything.” I pressed. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

“You need to attack Master Belial.”

“What?” I replied a little surprised by their answer, admittedly, I had been hoping for more.

“If you make an aggression against the Master then we will be forced to retaliate. The talisman that you wear should offer enough protection for you to reach the barrier with minimal damage. Once you have reached the shield, our magic will do damage to this as well. It should weaken it just enough for you to enter. Once you are inside, we will be forced to drop the protection in favor of the goal of elimination. The protection spell can be stopped by Master Belial. However, the attack spell can only be ended by your death. Therefore, the Master cannot stop us, and neither can his protective measures save him from you.”

Belial stared on, blinking rapidly. I do not believe that he could truly comprehend how quickly the tide was turning against him.

“So…I am going to die.” I sighed, letting the reality sink in.

“Yes…we are afraid that once this begins, it cannot be stopped until you have been ended.” The witchpires confirmed.

“Alpha…you don’t have to do this.” Hugo suddenly interjected, worry evident in his voice. “We will find another way. There has to be another way.”

“There is no other way, Hugo.” I responded, shaking my head. “The wolves and witches out there are fighting for all of our lives. I cannot let them down. This has to be done and it has to be done now.”

“But…Alpha…” Hugo tried to argue.

“No, Hugo. This is how it has to be. Just promise me that you will make it out of here. Join the pack like you dream to and live a long, happy life.”

“I promise, Alpha.” Hugo replied, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

“And, Hugo, please tell Farris that I am sorry and that I love him more than words could ever express. I want him to find his happiness as well. Do not allow my death to destroy him, Hugo. Help him to live without me.”

“I will, Alpha. I promise.”

“Thank you, Hugo. Goodbye, my friend.”

The tears flowed freely down Hugo’s cheeks now as I pulled him in and offered him a quick hug. I turned to face Belial and shook out my limbs to prepare to run like I never had before. I stared straight into Belial’s eyes and focused on the fear that I saw beginning to grow there. He had spent the last several minutes yelling at the witchpires to no avail. He knew that he was about to meet his end and there was nothing that he could do to stop it now.

“Let’s do this!” I roared as I took off in a full sprint, my muscles pumping me forward with every ounce of strength they possessed.

Hugo dropped to the floor and covered his head as soon as I took off, to keep himself from being hit by the witchpires attacks. And the witches immediately began shooting bolts of brightly colored lightning in my direction.

However, as I had predicted, they were prepared for the speed of an average wolf. They had not anticipated my blessed nature. So, for several moments I was able to remain ahead of their attacks as I propelled myself across the floor barreling towards Belial.

Even as their attacks began to catch up with me, my enhanced eyesight helped me to dodge several of the shots aimed for me. But soon after, my luck began to run out as the hits began to land more directly. I was grateful for the talisman as it helped to subdue the initial forces, but I knew that this would only help me for so long.

As I reached the force field, I was hit in the back several times causing me to fall forward into the energy barrier as I went. I was flat against it, unable to move forward, but with no way to retreat either. Though this seemed to be as the witchpires had anticipated as their attacks began to land on the shield just around where I lay against it. And the more direct hits were radiating outward releasing into the barrier as well.

I was in immense pain. Every inch of my body was on fire as magic tore through my flesh and attacked every inch of my being making its way towards my vital organs, making them squeeze and pulsate, twisting them in unnatural ways. It felt like my body was building towards some kind of explosive force. I could hear someone screaming in agony and it took a moment before I realized that it was me. But then…another sound…one more sinister than my own deathly screams made its way to my ears. It started low and the began to grow. It was a grating sort of sound, and it infuriated me to no end.

It was the sound of Master Belial’s laughter.

He was laughing at my torment. He was enjoying my pain. He thought that this was the end. He thought that I would give in, and he believed that he was still going to win somehow. But how wrong he was. I was fighting for love while he was fighting for hate. And I was going to prove that love was stronger.

I forced myself through the thin barrier that remained. I could feel that my flesh was being torn from my body and I felt the blood beginning to pour down my form. Though that did little to stop me. Even as the witchpires collapsed the shield and their onslaught continued, I kept moving at a steady pace. Unfaltering as I made my way towards my prize. Belial’s death was in my grasp. I just needed to make it happen now.

Once I was close enough, I lurched forward and grasped Belial on his shoulders. Before he could attempt to fight me off, I extended my fangs and ripped into the side of his neck. He screamed out in pain and flailed around in my arms attempting to get away, but I held on. However, Belial was old, and I knew that my bite would not be enough to kill him. Plus, we might as well put these witches’ efforts to kill me to good use.

“This is for the wolves.” I snarled in his face as I turned him around and held him in place.

The witches’ onslaught did not stop now that I was using Belial as a shield against them. If anything, their attacks only seemed to get more aggressive. The lightning bolts smacked into Belial, but their explosive energy crackled through him and straight into me. The energy within us beginning to build as I stared into the void of his eyes...

“We win.” I cackled, getting in one final laugh before the both of us imploded, together.

Disappearing into nothingness.