DOMINIC
“AAARGH!”
The pain lances through me, sharp and brutal, making me rear out of bed and fall to the floor.
“What the hell-! Aaargh!”
Another one goes through me, leaving me gasping for breath.
What-
“Aaaargh!”
Another.
And another
And another.
Each one coming faster and more brutal than the last
What the fuck is going on?!
I manage to get to my feet and when another sharp lances through me, I still manage to stay there, standing.
The pain… the sharp, excruciating pain, continues as I make my way out of the room and towards the stairs.
“CA-! AAARGH! GODDAMNIT! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!”
The pain doesn’t dull.
Doesn’t recede.
Doesn’t even show any signs of stopping.
It just goes on and on.
“Calvin!” I scream, my hand on my chest, gripping it in pain.
By this time, my sight is already blurred and I can barely see what is in front of me.
It is why I don’t see the stairs on my next move.
The trip comes right in time with the next lance of pain so that when I tumble, I am nearly delirious and out of it.
External pain plus internal pain
I can see the roof, with the lights and I realize that I am flat on my back, after falling down the stairs.
I think… I am pretty sure that I am bleeding but I am so out of it that I don’t know which part it is.
“Alpha? Alpha!”
Those as well as the running feet are the last sounds I hear before I pass out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shit!
My head hurts.
It feels like there are a bunch of drummers banging around in a nonsensical tune up there.
“Ugh,” I groan as I blearily open my eyes to the sterile and unnecessarily bright light. “Where… where am I?” I mutter.
“Welcome back, alpha,” a man, Harry, I think says.
He is our head healer.
“Harry?”
“Yes, Alpha?”
“What happened?”
“Beta Calvin here found you unconscious at the foot of the stairs. Your head was bleeding and you were clutching your heart in pain. How do you feel?”
“Raw,” I answer after a few seconds. “I feel… raw. And empty. What happened?”
He and Calvin exchange worried glances which instantly pisses me off.
“Spit out man! Don’t waste my time.”
It is Calvin who steps up.
“You may excuse us, Harry,” he tells the healer and once the door closes behind him, he turns to face me.
“What happened?!” I demand as I sit up. The pain… while it has greatly reduced, is still there. P
Almost like a phantom pain.
“News of the Luna’s… death has spread throughout the pack. It had people worried and panicking.”
“And?”
“Most of them… decided to leave.”
“Leave?!” I ask, thoroughly confused. “Leave where?”
“Leave the pack, alpha. They left the pack. A lot of them, at night. By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late. Most of those who wanted to leave were gone. The others are being watched right now.”
“What do you mean they left?! How can they leave their pack?!”
“That is what they did. And judging from the scarring on your chest, they must have renounced their ties to the pack.”
“WHAT?!”
My roar is enough to send my whole body into fits of wracking cough, my whole body shaking with the strength of it.
“Calm down, alpha-”
“Call down?! Calm down?! You just told me that my own people have run, turned traitor and you are asking me to calm down?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“They are not your people anymore, they renounced their ties remember. And if it makes you feel better, I am sure they also felt the pain once they said the words.”
“It does not make me feel better! Go get them back!” I snarl.
“I can’t do that.”
“Calvin,” I growl, almost ready to rip his head off. “Don’t test me.”
“I can’t do that because I can’t get to where they are.”
“And here the fuck are they?!”
“In the Vale pack.”
Of fucking course!
Of course Viktor will take advantage of this situation.
“That bastard!” I snarl. “How the hell did he get them?!”
“They went there. Of their own volition. I believe it was because they knew you wouldn’t be able. to get to them there.”
“Those rats. Those ungrateful, wretched traitorous rats. I will kill them all. This can’t go on. This insult will not stand! Rally the wolves! We are going to war.”
He sighs before responding.
“We can’t d that either-”
“Why the hell not?!”
“Because!” He snaps back. “Out of six hundred and seventy two wolves in the pack, we have four hundred and sixty nine unaccounted for. We don’t have the manpower to protect the territory if another alpha chooses to attack, much less launch an attack of our own. We are in a bad place, Alpha and it is your fault!”
“You dare-!”
“Your fault! Bad decisions upon bad decisions and your temper and arrogance doesn’t help. Do you understand what you have done? What you are still doing?! You have ruined the prosperous pack your parents left you! And you still can’t see it is your fault!”
“How dare you talk to me like that?! I am your alpha!” I snap at him
“AND I AM YOUR FUCKING BETA!” He roars back at me, stunning me into silence.. “What are you going to do? Kill me? Or banish me? You have very few people on your side right now. I suggest you rein in your temper and learn some self control. And while you are doing that, think about how we are going to salvage this situation. If we are not able to get our wolves back before the news spreads across the packs -and I assure you, it will- we are going to need a strategy to get good wolves. And in case you haven’t noticed, we don’t exactly have a good image to do that. I will leave you to it now.”
I watch in stunned silence as he turns and walks away, not even with a bow.
I see.
He thinks because I am in such a weakened position that he can misbehave with me.
Looks like someone else is going to have to go.