Aryn

❗This chapter contains dark themes, torture and other uncomfortable descriptions that some people may not be able to stomach. I advise that you skip the first half of this chapter, demarcated by a book divider, if you would be offended by the gore❗

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The dark beady eyes of the crow regarded me with suspicion and the low guttural hiss of the swarming vultures acknowledged my arrival as I neared their territory. The land was barren in this part of the pack and the putrid smell of decaying flesh, burnt skin, stale breath and uncleaned bodily excretions plagued the area and welcomed me into the dark hole of horrors, as the pack members had dubbed it.

The design of the dungeon was one of gothic elegance. Its walls were adorned with a series of grotesque gargoyle statues, some were poised with menacing smiles and rows of sharp fangs while others watched on with grim expressions. The whole area was in stark contrast to the sunny, light aesthetic of the pack. Here, depraved minds lurked and ravaged. While the haunted ghoulish spirits of old cracked up with sinister laughter as they fed off the anguish of the inhabitants of their hellish doom.

I followed the spiral stairs downwards into the deeper parts of the dungeon and as I drew nearer to the cells the stench wafted off the area in thick waves. However, it did little to repulse me as I inhaled it deeply with content. The prison guards were doing a great job.

The agonizing groans and tormented screams of the prisoners together with the occasional crack of the whip reverberated throughout the stone column dungeon. The echo was a sweet sacrificial offering to the monster that grew steadily within me. It relished darkly in the pain and hurt that danced about and with that I became more detached from the suffering that I was surrounded by.

I fail to understand where it all went wrong, Adolf grumbled, referring to my repressed turpitude which was amassing by the second.

This discipline and order is exactly what put our pack at the top so surely you must be mistaken, I jeered.

That's what you think, he muttered before shutting me out.

The dungeon was set apart from the pack, hidden in the thick woods that lay opposite the farm lands. Its insides were divided into small cubicles that housed traitors, criminals, wrongdoers, in short anyone who didn't abide with the set rules. However, the duration a prisoner would spend locked up and tortured here depended on the severity of his/her crimes.

Now traitors just happened to be the worst of the bunch, only second to rouges who came first on the rank of criminals. They were kept on the ground floor level of the dungeon, below the ground. Or maybe a little too low. For the temperatures were hotter down there with less oxygen for one wolf talkless of a whole pack of them. Essentially they had to battle for the air that they breathed in as they wrestled and struggled to hold on to the life that they held dear. Many didn't make it and their corpses littered the tiny cubicles which they once inhabited alive.

In one cubicle sat a wolf whose skin was starting to fall off. One eye was ruptured and the other was glued shut by the thick blood clot that hindered his sight. He was a mass of degrading flesh as his thin skin had parted, courtesy of the whips, to expose his bones and muscles. Next to him was his dead prison mate who had swollen, it was a clear sign of the bacterial actions that were taking place. Soon the body would burst open and out of it would crawl maggots, feeding fat on his remains.

The following cubicles were no different from the first. Broken limbs, decapitated bodies, insane wolves who had gone mad from pain as they laughed maniacally at their own jokes and degraded wolves who feasted on the flesh of their dead inmates. It was indeed a sight. One that was well-deserved.

I took a swig from the scotch bottle before I finally arrived at Kodiak's cubicle. Cayden and a group of prison guards sighted me from their seated position and they rose to bow in unison.

"Alpha what brings you here?" Cayden asked, genuinely repulsed that his Alpha was among such filth.

"Someone's been running his private commentary to the eager ears of his awaiting audience," I commented, chuckling dryly. "I guess he is not getting his just deserts if he still has time for chit-chats," I mused, moving to stand in front of Kodiak's cubicle.

"The bastard will still chirp off like a lunatic even when his feets are placed on hot coals," Cayden explained, deadpan. "He's a non-stop parrot even when he takes a dump," he sighed, irritatedly.

"Oh! What a lovely surprise," Kodiak cooed from inside his cubicle. "The almighty lycan came to see me. How delightful," he stated with a patronising tone before he gave into a vicious fit of coughs.

They racked his whole being without mercy and if not for his wrist and ankle restraints that trapped him to a high wooden chair he would have fallen down hard from the intensity.

I motioned to Cayden to open up his cell before I strolled into the dirty, bloodied cubicle. To the far left a few paces from Kodiak hung a she-wolf with her hands and legs fastened by iron restraints. Her dirty blonde hair was scattered about her head in bloodied bald patches and a once beautiful body had been disfigured with broken bones sticking out in odd places. It was Ashley Winters, the pack member who had made the mistake of betraying me.

"Alpha," she whimpered as she pleaded silently with me to end her suffering.

"Alpha?" Kodiak sputtered before he spat out a thick curdle of blood. "He's not your Alpha anymore sweetheart. Not since you betrayed him," he pointed out with a mocking laugh that bounced off the walls to taunt Ashely who sobbed silently. "So to what do I owe this visit?" he questioned with a saccharine smile. "Another scheduled jerk-off," he teased, eyeing me. "Because an Alpha without a Luna would usually result to sadistic acts for sexual pleasure,"

"How did the power box get to Greece?" I questioned, ignoring his taunts. I wasn't in the mood today.

"What power box?" He asked with a bored expression. "I have no idea what you mean,"

"The one you boasted about," I recalled before I walked back and forth, humming a sinister tune.

"If you missed me just say so," he chuckled. "Because making up stories is so unlike you," he grinned, exposing his rotting teeth. "I appreciate the effort to hide your feelings for me but you don't need to be shy, I accept you. Cold blue eyes and all," he announced as he stared intently at me with a smirk.

His once lean, healthy physique had been reduced to bones and his chiseled features had been messed up badly by the numerous beatings that he had received, however, his eyes still shone with valour and he hadn't lost that witty, annoying nature that ticked me off. It wasn't surprising that he was the second-in-command of the most ruthless rogue pack.

"I guess we have to do this the hard way," I muttered and stalked slowly towards him. I took his fingers in my hand and examined them closely. "So pinky finger is gone, so is the thumb, forefinger as well," I counted, stopping to draw out my pocket knife.

"Aww come on. I thought we had both reached a common ground," he whined.

"I thought so too," I replied nonchalantly before I brought the knife down onto his middle finger in one clean slice. His howl of pain was piercing and the blood oozed out from the wound in steady flows. He wriggled in his restraints and tears gathered in his eyes.

"I'll ask one last time. How did the power box get to Greece?" I demanded before taking a swig from the scotch bottle.

"Oh you foolish Alpha!" he snarled as spittle foamed at the corners of his mouth and dripped down his chin. "It was never there,"

"Go on," I urged, unbothered by the news. It was a theory I had thought of during the meeting of the Alpha's. All I needed now was further clarification as to the remaining speculations I harboured.

"What's in it for me?" He laughed dryly.

"Pain, pain and lot's of it," I noted with a menacing smile. "Would you love to get started? I have all day," I enquired with a roll of my sleeves.

He looked at me defiantly and I smiled widely. He was a tough one and I would have so much fun breaking him.

"Very well then," I laughed as I moved closer to him. "Good choice," I praised and I saw the fleeting look of dread that crossed his features as he realised that I was much more frightening than any horror he had ever encountered.

I angled the sharp pocket knife towards one of his eyeballs but he moved his head to the side rapidly. "Fine I'll tell you all I know. It's not my business anyway," he rambled on hurriedly.

I grabbed his head roughly and held it in place while I placed the tip of my knife to the side of his eyelid. "You had your chance," I pointed out, calmly. "But you wasted it so now it's my turn," I chuckled darkly.

I lodged the knife deeper into the surrounding skin and his eyeball was immediately covered in blood. He screamed out his pain and thrashed wildly against me but his strength was only mental as his ailing body had long deserted him. His eyeball finally dislodged from its nerve connectors and it popped out and unto the floor with a roll. Ashley whimpered in fear as she tried to scramble away from me and I saw the guards flinch away slightly from the gory scene.

But I wasn't even done yet. I tipped the remaining contents of the scotch bottle unto the open wound and when the alcohol came into contact with the blood it created a satisfying sizzle together with his agitated, gruesome screams. Ah! There was no finer music than this.

"Now let's start over," I said calmly as soon as he had quieted and was now moaning and groaning in pain. "Which Alpha's plan was it to make it seem like it had been found in Greece on an expedition?"

"Take a wild guess," he groaned with his head bent. This time I flicked a pen knife open content to repeat the surgical procedure over again when he added hurriedly. "It was a joint plan between the four Alpha's," he cried in agony. "They knew Marcus had the power box all along but they deliberately let you find it because you have the best mathematician in the whole clan," he explained in a rush and coughed up more blood. "Once you worked out where the white-wolves where our rouge clan would infiltrate your pack and get the power box to them all in exchange for half of your land,"

He couldn't talk any longer as the blood steadily rushed out from his eye and mouth. He wasn't going to last long. However, I had confirmed my suspicions.

I watched one last time as he bent his head backwards in an attempt to ward off the pain but that only caused him to choke on his blood. He coughed and continued to cough, trying to shake off the shackles but he only did more harm than good as his resistance quieted slowly till he was still.

I turned my back to him and walked out of the cell where Cayden handed me a towel which I accepted to clean my face of the blood splatters.

"Deliver his dismembered body to the Night Prowlers. I want my warning received loud and clear," I ordered and Cayden gave a firm nod.

Then I walked out of the dungeon and into the warm sunshine where I trudged home lightly. It was time.

☘︎

"The sneaky bastards had actually acted like they were unaware of the whole situation," Roy stared off with an astonished gaze before he turned to rummage through a growing pile of papers. "One would think they could never ever work together, but what do you know they've actually got some team spirit going on," he scoffed before snagging up a fruit mix which he sipped on.

I scrutinized my reflection in the mirror as I shaved off my moustache with meticulous concentration. Swerving right with the razor then left again in an attempt to attain the perfect cut as he kept rambling on to himself.

"So lemme get this straight," he started with a finger to his temple. "Linda Rodriguez and her crew had actually been to Greece on a mission to raid Alexander's tomb, however, it turns out that the white-wolf power box had always been with them," he looked towards me for confirmation as he gesticulated wildly with his hands.

The spun wool of deceit was beginning to unwind and he was probably going nuts as he tried to wrap his head around the twisted reality. Our twisted reality. The game of Alpha's was one for the books.

Not waiting for an answer he continued.

"Then a few chapters into this fractured fairytale and Narcissus and the crew roll along with huge wads of greenbacks. Marcus asks just how oscar award winning do you want this act to be? Then enter clueless French man and his side-kick right into their waiting trap and boom!" He exclaims theatrically, throwing up the pile of papers. "The Night Prowlers attack in an attempt to steal our gathered information..." he gaped, facepalming. "...and of course our territory as well," he added before slumping down heavily on the couch.

"I don't appreciate untidiness," I warned. "Especially if it's in my study," I pointed at the pile of rubbish before picking up a hot towel and placing it on my face.

"I'll clear it," he promised with a groan before lifting his head up slightly. "What's the occasion anyway?" He asked, eyeing my appearance sceptically.

I ignored him and walked towards the far corner of the study where a tee-shirt was folded and placed neatly on the couch.

Abruptly, Tina brisked in hurriedly with Fred hot on her heels. His pale face had reddened tremendously from the physical exertion and the heavy satchel which was strapped to his back weighed down his slight physique. He detested anything remotely close to exercise. Quite ironic for a lycanthrope.

"Alpha, the whole act had been a ploy to throw us off their real intentions," she stated hurriedly before stopping dead in her tracks as her gaze landed on my naked torso. The sound of her hitched breath was overshadowed slightly by Fred's laboured breathing as she drank in my broad chest and traced my tattoos unabashedly with her eyes.

"I know," I stated coolly before placing the shirt over my head.

"Earth to Tina!" Roy shouted, clicking his fingers. "Some of us would like to know the full story since Alpha here has been tight lipped on what he knows," he urged on, impatiently.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and fought to control the growing tinge of scarlet that steadily crept into her cheeks. "Well for one I've been on a wild goose chase, trailing after wolves whose intentions were to mislead," she explained moving to stand by my desk.

A few paces away from me and one that was highly needed if she was to reign in her emotions.

"A-a-and," Roy dragged out with an enthusiastic wave for her to continue.

"All those trips to the lower rank tomb raiders and acts of disagreement were as a result of an ingenious deliberation agreed on by the four clan rulers," she explained before spreading a road map with red line markings and stapled ID photographs of the Alphas down on the glass coffee table. "Alpha Leto has been a long time patroniser of the T.A.B.R's illegal sex slave auctions. One fateful day during an auction he sighted the power box,"

"No one had really seen the need for such a weird looking box and so it did rather poorly at most of their private showings," Fred chimed in with a flick of his long dark locks as he dabbed on his forehead with a handkerchief. "But knowing the real value of the antique box, Alpha Leto had sought to acquire it from Marcus but there was one little problem," he paused to drop his satchel unto the table before sitting next to Roy. "Our pack has Star and they don't," he announced with a smug smile.

"The pack has me as well," Roy grumbled, under his breath, with a haughty cross of his arms.

"Sure we do," Fred acknowledged with a chuckle before guzzling the fruit mix with a satisfied sigh much to Roy's annoyance. "But they knew that the only way to get it to Star without risking a blood bath was to deliberately allow Alpha Aryn to purchase the power box," he added, evading Roy's shove by moving to sit opposite him.

"Then they got the Night Prowlers to do their dirty bidding," Tina remarked. "Although, I'm still not sure how they managed to persuade them," she mused with a hand to her chin.

"Does half of the most fertile pack in the whole werewolf clan and my head on a golden platter, sound tempting to you?" I asked, deadpan with a raise of my eyebrow.

"Oh!" They chorused.

"But then whose plan was this anyway?" Roy all but rolled his eyes in frustration.

"Ahm Alpha Leto's," Fred's disdainful sigh signalled that it was obvious and Roy scowled in return.

Roy belonged in an IT room with computers and electronics. Throw him into the unwinding of a conspiracy theory and he's as lost as a newborn pup.

"I'm terribly sorry Alpha for letting you down with my substandard skills," Tina apologised with a bow of her head. "I should have been much more thorough,"

"They were able to mislead us to a certain extent," I acknowledged with a slight chuckle. "But the fatal folly to their plan was that they drew too much attention to the fact that they were deliberately trying to act oblivious to something they were very much aware of," I strolled calmly to the large mahogany table where an unfinished game of chess lay undisturbed. "So despite the fact that you both failed your assignment," I said, turning to address Roy and Tina with a stern look.

Tina casted her eyes downwards in submission and Roy cringed slightly at my disapproving look. He probably recalled the fancy theatrics I had to play out in front of Marcus. A plan for which he would be punished in due time.

"We still have the upper hand," I moved the black king chess piece to a position opposite the black bishop. The white king had been cornered and had nowhere to go. Checkmate. "The element of surprise," I smiled slightly and turned to Fred. "Do you have it?"

"Of course," he answered with a pat on the black satchel bag. "This baby is realer than the original," he assured with a smug smile.

"Then let's move our guests are waiting,"
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