Lucius438Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9SFspuwXi
Paris, France
I always love seeing others in pain. It brings a rush of adrenaline through my body that I couldn't get with anything else.
I thrive off the pain of others; I'll even admit to being addicted to it.
Seeing them on their knees, begging for life...begging for forgiveness. That sight never fails to bring me to a new height of euphoria.
I revel in that pleasure.
I'm in love with it.
And it's no different this time.
The tears welling in the child's eyes, begging me not to hurt her with the iron pole in my left hand, brings me to new heights all over again. The power that I hold over her is overpowering, not exactly the same feeling I have when I'm with my princess, but a very close second.
The little girl in front of me was tied to a tree with ropes drenched in liquid silver. There was no hope for her to turn into a wolf, and even if she could, she wouldn't even stand a chance against me.
"Please don't hurt me," the child pleaded again, snot and drool running down her face. Her right side of her head was caked in blood, a result of the damage I did when I bashed her head in.
"Shut up," I warned softly, using the iron pole to trace the features on her face. She was pretty for a child, I suppose; her features itself were a bit plain but the exotic green eyes that all members of the royal werewolf family possessed, made up for it.
They were a bright green with a drop of gold in its centre. Very captivating to look at, but not as beautiful as my pet's heterochromia eyes. Everything is pale in comparison when my Ariel is in the equation. And that included Rosalie, a royal princess herself.
She was the youngest member of the Callister bloodline; a werewolf who still possessed the same blood as King Callister himself. The wretched bastard that drove all the Shards to extinction, excluding my father and myself.
"Why are you doing this to me?" The six year old princess whined in an atrocious voice. "I don't even know you, sir. Please let me go."
At least the little princess knew how to give respect to people with power.
"It's not you that I want, Rosalie." I can tell I terrified her even more with her use of her name. I stifled a grin at that, not wanting her to see an inch of amusement on my face. "It's your brother, Loker, that I'm looking for. Why don't you kindly tell me where to find him?"
Her eyes widened just an inch and she bit the side of her lip hard. A telling sign that the next words out of her pitiful mouth were going to be lies.
"I-I don't know," she wailed and then screamed when I slammed the iron rod into her stomach. A strange gurgling sound emerged from her mouth and I watched in delight, seeing the blood she was spitting out.
"You want to try answering that question again?" I asked the girl in a soft tone. I knew exactly how to intimidate a person. I've been practicing it with Ariel for a very long time now.
Intimidation at the finest; one of the best skills for a man to hone and possess.
"I don't know," she mumbled in a weak tone, after she finished coughing out her blood. She stared at me with those bright green eyes again, while biting down on her lip again. "Please, believe me. I don't know where my brother went."
Lies. All this girl can tell are pitiful, fucking lies.
"Listen carefully," I murmured, using the rod to trace the blood on her face. "As of right now, the only reason that you're still alive is that you have information that I need. If you continue to be difficult, make no mistake, I'll end you in a heartbeat."
The dangerous current in my voice must have struck a chord because the quiet whimpering she made before was now reduced to loud, disgusting sobs.
I sighed in bemusement, seeing her face flustered from all the tears that were dripping down her flushed cheeks. Deep sobs emerged from her chest, and I couldn't help but notice how unattractive and fake it looked.
When my princess cries, her tears are silent, and the traces that are left on her cheeks appear to make her face shinier and prettier to admire. The tears that come out of her is a sign that she loves me dearly. They were genuine, just like how her love for me is genuine.
And not at all like the tears that Rosalie was forcing out at the moment. Her face was messy and blotchy and I was sure that the damage I did to the side of head made no difference to the overall outcome of it all.
"Did you break her?" My father spoke out quietly, emerging from the deep shadows of the forest. He was very good at camouflaging in the forest, striking the enemy down when they least expect them to. It was how he managed to evade the pack boundaries and kidnap the Alphas and Ariel in the first place.
Rosalie screamed in response to the new figure that joined me in her torturing. It was amusing to see her fear reach a new peak and for once, I couldn't fault the brat.
My father might be wearing an impressive suit and tie, but that's where his professionalism came to an abrupt end.
Not only did the large scar on his face add more to his intimidating look, in his left hand was a large knife.
Red streaks of blood was dripping down the blade and even though the sight did nothing to faze me, our little captive was paralyzed and speechless from the fear of it.
"Not yet, but close." I murmured to him, bringing my attention back to Rosalie.
Her tears grew louder and she screamed loudly when my father appeared before her, using his height to frighten her into submission.
"No more tears, love," my father crooned in a silky sweet tone, that I knew was used to frighten her even more. "You see this here?" He asked, and lifted the knife so that it was an inch away from her face.
When the girl nodded frightfully, pushing her head back as far as she can go considering she was tied to a tree, my dad twirled the knife in his experienced hands, drawing out her fear even more. "I used this weapon to kill two of your guards today. Do you want to know how your guards fared against this weapon?"
The girl wailed in reply, and shook her head back and forth, careful to make sure that the knife was nowhere near her vicinity.
"Speak up child," my father said, in a harsh reprimand. "You have a mouth and I want you to use it already." I got to admit that seeing how the child released her bladder from hearing my father's order, almost made me feel sorry for her.
Almost, but not quite.
My father was a mastermind in intimidating people and getting what he wanted. A trait that I myself acquired over the years as well.
"No," the child yelled, her voice cracking in the middle. "I don't want to know, sir. Please let me go. My brother is not here. Please, please believe me. I don't know anything. I don't know anything." The girl repeated the same last lines over and over again, and I couldn't help but release a yawn from hearing her same mantra.
"This girl is useless," I told my father, digging the iron pole into the ground. "We're wasting time right now, father. We should've been done by now, and heading home already. Ariel is waiting for me at the mansion."
My father let out a snort and I narrowed my eyes at his action. "Something funny I should know about?"
He let out a loud chuckle and I gripped the iron pole harder in my hand. I don't appreciate being mocked at. Especially coming from my own flesh and blood.
"Calm down, son," my father said, with a teasing smile. "After what you put the poor girl through, I'm sure you being here and not there is a vacation of sorts for her. I don't think she's waiting for you at all."
I gritted the teeth, but managed to calm myself down at the last minute. "Ariel knows what I'm doing to her is for her own good. She loves me dearly, father. Just stay out of our relationship."
"Of course," my father teased and then nodded at Rosalie, who was watching us in horror. "The girl is telling the truth, actually."
My eyebrows snapped together. "Oh? Which part do you mean?" I looked back at the child and saw that her eyes were still captivated by the silver coated knife.
"Her brother is out of Paris right now," he answered, moving the knife back away from her face. "Training abroad in Japan from what I hear."
"Is that right?" I looked at my father, feeling anger burn within me. If he's about to tell me that we're returning home empty handed, then I'm going to be very angry.
We wasted a week here trying to sneak our way into the Werewolf Kingdom and the only thing that we accomplished to do was take a small wimpy child princess as hostage.
"Relax Lucius," my father said calmly, a glint in his eye. "We won't be going home without any progress. Not when we have leverage here." He stared pointedly at the little girl whose sobs were increasing by the second.
I stared at her too, understanding quickly what my father was getting at. "Instead of looking for the enemy, you want to lure the enemy here right?"
"Exactly son," my father beamed with pride, throwing the knife towards me. "And maybe we can use this opportunity to strike fear in the Werewolf Kingdom. Let the girl sing like a canary to her family so that they'll be more terrified of what awaits them on the outside walls of their precious kingdom."
I caught the silver coated knife in my right hand, ignoring the child's screams and wails. Sometimes my father had some of the most interesting ideas.
I observed Rosalie's face, seeing the emerald eyes beg for mercy and compassion. She was going to learn very soon that I'm not a man capable for either of those traits.
Watching the tears pool in her expressive eyes, I decided where I wanted to damage her the most. The brat didn't see it coming.
One minute she was crying for me to have leniency on her, and the next she was screaming for an entirely different reason. The beautiful emerald eyes that all descendants of King Callister had was a trait that they all were proud to possess.
It was only fitting that I stabbed the knife directly in her left eye, taking one beautiful eye away from this girl forever.
The girl screeched in terror and pain, while blood oozed out of her eye and coated the knife and my hand.
"I can't see!" She screamed, wailing like a banshee in the deep shrouds of the forest. "Why did you do this to me? Why?" Her screams frightened the crows in the forest to flee.
"It's quite simple dear," my father said, taking the knife away from my hand. He drew a handkerchief from his pocket before wiping the blood clean from the knife. "Your brother, Prince Loker, would no doubt come out of his hiding hearing what happened to his precious little sister."
"And when he does," I smirked, watching the blood roll down her cheek. "I'll end him and take over his throne."
"My brother is not hiding. He's training so that he can destroy monsters like you," the girl threatened, trying to sound tough to no avail. "Don't underestimate him. He's a prince and when he learns what you did to me, he'll hunt you down. You'll see!"
I chuckled, before slowly untying the ropes that were bounding her to the tree. She slumped down hard to the ground, moaning in pain and misery. She blinked up at me but I knew with the damage done to her eye, she probably couldn't see the victory dancing in my eyes.
"I'll be waiting," I smirked, stepping over her to walk away in the other direction.
*** 438Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDvVHQDDPu
Orion
"I have a question for you," I spoke to Arlo, while combing the tangles out of Ariel's hair with my hands.
She was sitting cross legged in front of me, her back to my front, as she let me comb the knots and twists out. The poor girl couldn't catch a break and with her not being able to sleep, I didn't know where her physical and mental state was at.
Fuck, how long can she go at this for.
I was extremely worried for her well being but I knew now wasn't the time to question her. Ever since she laid hands on the black book, she went silent as if she was locked in her own world.
I didn't know if it was the fact that she couldn't open the book that made her silent, but she wouldn't speak to anyone in the room. Even worse, she protested harshly whenever someone tried to pull the book away from her.
I don't know what happened to her when her eyes went blank, but whatever it was, scared her so badly that she was making up lies to us. I couldn't believe it myself but I knew immediately that she was lying when she told the group that nothing happened after her pupils disappeared.
The scream she emitted was something I'll never forget in my lifetime. But I knew something was wrong afterwards.
After living with her for several years in the basement, I knew Ariel like the back of my palm. And right now, our Angel was lying to us.
But about what, I had no clue.
"Shoot," Arlo muttered, leaning against the corner wall. His eyes look tired but they like most of us in the room, were fixated on Ariel's every move.
"When we blackmailed the brothers," I asked, shooting a curious gaze at Arlo's, "How did you know where Lucius and his father were? How did you know they were in Paris?"
"Ah that," Arlo said, dragging his eyes away Ariel's figure to stare at me. "I knew that because I'm an extremely intelligent individual."
"Jackass," I snorted, and divided Ariel's hair into three sections so that I can put in a braid. After taking care of Ariel's hair for a long time, braiding her hair was second nature to me. "But seriously. How the hell did you know that? Did you overhear it from the brothers beforehand?"
"No," he replied, scratching the back of his head, sounding more serious now. "It was more like an educated guess."
"Oh?" I asked, waiting for him to continue. I messed up her braid and started over, letting my fingers run through her hair again. "Educated guess based on what exactly?"
"On scar-man's past actually," he responded, leaning his head back on the wall. "I've been doing some thinking lately, well more than I usually do anyways, and realized that most of the Shards' hatred is directed towards the Werewolf Kingdom."
"No surprise there Sherlock. They're the ones who began it all a century ago," I muttered, satisfied by the result of her braid this time. I released her hair, turning my full attention to Arlo now. "Tell me something new."
Arlo ignored me and continued on a serious tone. "Well, then I started thinking that if the Werewolf Kingdom is the target of their anger, then I'm almost positive that they'll one day go back there to attack."
"I get that," I reasoned. "But why now? They're powerful people. For God's sake, they have powers that I never even knew existed before. Why would they wait this long before they attacked the kingdom?"
"I think I have an answer to that too," Arlo replied grimly and at my questioning glance, he sighed. "Well answer this question for me, Orion. How do you feel?"
My eyes snapped together. What an unusual question. "Umm...Hungry?"
“Very funny," he wryly said. "I meant how does your wolf feel?"
"I have no idea," I answered honestly, looking at him strangely. "He's been AWOL on me for a long time now."
"Exactly," he replied, only succeeding in making me more confused.
"I'm not following," I replied and he sighed in frustration.
"Why do you think our wolves are too weak to appear?" He asked before answering his own question a second later. "And it's not because of liquid silver."
"It's not?" I asked in doubt, wondering what else would cause our wolf to disappear.
"It's not," Arlo confirmed. "Unlike Ariel, we been barely exposed to it. Only actual contact with the stuff would impede our werewolf shift."
"Okay then," I said, thinking of the next logic answer. "Then I guess it's because we barely get to eat, drink, or even see the sun."
"I don't think it's that either," Arlo answered grimly, shaking his head.
"Then what?" There was a sad, agonizing look in Arlo's eyes and I knew that whatever he was thinking of was bad.
"I think something or someone in this house is draining our power and strength," he finally replied, looking down on the ground. "I think that's the reason why us Alphas, and the Vampire Prince were originally brought down here."
I was totally floored, never once thinking along these lines. "But what about Lucius' plan to get the werewolves and vampires to hate each other so that they can start a war? Are you saying that was a lie?"
"No, like I said, these are all just guesses I'm making," Arlo replied. "Maybe the supernatural creatures are at war with one another. Who knows?"
"But," I can tell that there was more to it than that.
"But...if that was actually the case then why are we still alive?" Arlo asked finally, bringing back points from a previous conversation he had with Lucius. "Ariel's alive because of Lucius’ delusional fantasies. But what about us? If Lucius and his father's true goal is to get the werewolves and vampires to be at war with another, it doesn't matter if we live or die. So my question is, why are we still alive?"
I stared in stunned silence,"You think it's not about a war after all?"
Arlo looked pained but slowly nodded. "I don't just think it. I'm almost sure of it. Lucius is draining our power somehow. Remember how Ariel once told us that something about this place is severing her bond with nature? I think she's right. Whatever is holding her back from connecting to the elements of nature, is not only blocking our werewolf shift, but it's also draining power from us as well."
" Christ," I whispered, finding an answer to my own previous question. "So the reason why after three years, Lucius and his father are brave enough now to enter the Werewolf Kingdom is because they're more powerful now."
"And it's all thanks to us," Arlo concluded grimly. "There are still so many unanswered questions that we're facing but for now I can only ask you this: How much more powerful can they get if they continue to drain our Alpha powers dry?"
"If they kept us here forever..."
"Then they'll be unstoppable," Ariel whispered at last, wrapping her knees together in her arms. She rested the side of her head on her bent knees but she didn't shut her eyes. Instead her eyes were solely focused on Trenton and like before, I did not like it one bit.
I especially did not like how her hand refused to drop the book down even for a second.
"Alright," I answered, tearing my eyes from Ariel's hunched form for the moment. "If what you're saying is true Arlo, what or who do you think is draining our power and making the two bastards more powerful?"
"That's a loaded question," Arlo sighed." It can range from anyone to anything. Lucius, his father, the house itself...hell it can even be non-existent for all I know. Does it really matter though? We're sitting ducks here. There's no one that can save us and now I can see that there's no thing that can save us either."
There was a long silence after that and I was surprised that it was our Angel who broke the tension in the room.
"And that's where you're wrong," Ariel spoke out clearly, standing up from her position in front of me. She swayed on the spot but this time, she didn't take my hand that I was offering her for support.
"What do you mean?" I asked, also standing up. Instead of the joy I should be feeling from her statement, all I felt was panic from her statement. It was that look in her eye again that made me feel anxious.
The look of someone possessed; not at all like the Ariel I knew her as.
"What are you talking about?" I asked again, so afraid for her next words.
But she didn't answer.
She regarded me with a blank look and I swore that for a moment, I saw a small flash of a smirk appear on her face.
A good several seconds of silence passed before she herself broke it...by fainting and plummeting head first into the ground.
The loud sound not only caught all the Alphas' and Leon's attention, but it also propelled the two Sherman brothers into action.
"Oh shit," someone muttered, as my mouth went dry from how everyone's nerves were skyrocketing to the roof in a millisecond.
Everything was going too fast and I didn't know which factor needed to be addressed first.
Ariel's well-being? The Sherman brothers? Trenton's life on the line?
It was all too much.
Some part of me tried to calm down, reiterating the fact that we can still blackmail the brothers to reconsider their action. But that part quickly died on me, seeing David pull out his deadly sword from the strap attached to his back.
There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, and I knew that words wouldn't change their action this time around. His eyes seemed possessed as if his body is being controlled by someone else. Someone evil.
Stepping in front of a shell shock Trenton, whose attention was still fixated on Ariel's form, I knew that this was going to turn into a bloodbath very soon.
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