Chapter 116 : The creator

THEO.

The first thing that registers in my head is panic, followed quickly by the realization that there is only darkness in here. Wind is whipping all around me, smelling more like actual decay and death, of something more extreme like feces and blood mixed with something else that I don’t even want to think about.

It gets worse the farther down I fall. Smaller rocks start to rain down my head and body, leaving marks of pain on my skin. My eyes soon adjust to the darkness enough to see a pit that gets narrower and narrower the further it goes down, littered with strange shapes hanging on the walls. I notice that they’re rock formations, but there are also red and brown splotches that look suspiciously like flesh.

It occurs to me that I’m not the only one who was ever sent to this fate.

For some reason, that makes me snap back into my senses. Instead of free-falling into the unknown below, I shift midair, changing the direction of my weight until I fall onto one of the protruding rocks.

I shift back into my Human form as soon as I land, balancing precariously on the jagged tip. I’m very close to the bottom, where the stink and the moisture are concentrated, and as I look down, I realize I’m not alone.

Waiting below, not very far from me, is about three dozen Werewolves.

All of them have matted fur, yellowing teeth and nails, and bright red eyes.

The mutants. The experiments.

“My creations,” the Alpha Supreme calls out from somewhere above, sounding like a proud father introducing his son to a potential bride. “If my plans with Draco don’t work out… well, they are here to make all my aspirations come true anyway. It is only well and good that I kept them and made more of them. It’s also good that you finally have the chance to meet them.”

As though on cue, the Werewolves look at me, their ruby eyes shining in the darkness like lasers. I back against the slimy wall, trying to control my breathing in the hopes that they would ignore me.

But they don’t.

As the Alpha Supreme predicted, they all attack.

So I shift into my Werewolf form, blocking every blow, every attempted bite. I leap through their ranks, slicing at them and pouncing on them, cutting off a specific part in their necks that would make them bleed out. But the more I take down, the more seem to appear.

Exhaustion starts to steal over me, perhaps from the lack of air. Perhaps it’s the hopelessness of it all. Either way, even though I wounded nearly all of them, they seem able to outlive me, to overpower me.

The only thing I can do to save myself from now is to leap up to one of the higher levels in the dark cave, where they can’t get to me.

At least not yet.

I look above, at the tiny sliver of lights poking through the darkness, and all I can think about is Maxine.

* * *

MAXINE.

“The palace is nearly under our control,” Bianca explains to me as Vivienne and other Unclaimed carry Ajax away into safety. “The guards are still fighting back, and the Alpha Supreme is yet to surrender—”

“He would never do that,” I say as Ajax and the others disappear. The noises from above seem to settle, but now that I know the Unclaimed are in charge of everything happening above, I can’t help but feel a new level of fear. I don’t think I can bear to see another one getting hurt. Seeing Ajax almost lifeless is hard enough. But not knowing where Theo is and what might have happened to him is complete and utter torture. “So the other Alphas are against him now? Because of the Beta and Jonathan? Why are they not helping here then if that is the case?”

“They’re scared,” Bianca says. “It seems that something in here is making them apprehensive. And we are yet to find out what it is.”

I open my mouth to tell her that we should both search, but then a slight stab of pain in my chest appears. The first thing that comes to mind is Theo.

Theo is in trouble.

“Where are you going?” Bianca asks. “Maxine, are you okay?”

“You need to go,” I mutter, and as though calling for her, an explosion sets off from somewhere above and she’s forced to leave.

I delve deeper into the tunnels, led only by that strong feeling of need. I stumble into smaller hallways, each leading to even smaller rooms. I feel like a rat in an experiment, but I keep going until the smell of something decaying becomes stronger and stronger.

And that’s when I burst into an even bigger cavern than where Ajax was left.

The Alpha Supreme is standing at the edge of a huge hole in the ground, yawning against the inky black ceiling like a hungry mouth. The smell coming from it is almost visible, hanging in the air like a pungent shadow.

Somehow, I know who’s in there. Theo.

I can feel his presence, stronger than when I felt Jonathan’s. There’s desperation in the air. Fear.

But there is also power, and it’s coming from the man who is now turning around to look at me.

There is leisure in his movements, like he can’t be bothered. He even flashes me a smile as I step closer to him, but the instability of the ground makes me stop.

“I see that Draco didn’t do what I asked him to do,” is the only thing he says as he eyes me up and down. “I laid everything down for that boy. It’s a shame he didn’t complete the task—”

“He’s dead,” I declare. “I killed him. Broke him into pieces right in my hands.”

I exhale, and the coldness from my breath spreads all over the cavern. My anger is fueling it, doubling my power until my skin starts to glow. But the Alpha Supreme stands unfazed, even though I caught him looking at the frost forming on the walls.

He must be angry, I think to myself. I just told him I killed his son. But no. He just tilts his head like he doesn’t get it.

“I don’t know why you’d bother,” he mutters. “It’s not like he was of any use to me.”

Even though I despise Draco with all my heart and I have no regrets crushing him, I can’t help but feel a pang of sadness. This is what he wasted his life for. This is what Ajax and Theo must consider as their dad. Completely heartless. He never loved them. He would never ever feel any kind of love for them.

“So that’s the only thing you can say about your loyal son, who just wanted your approval even in the end?” I ask. “What do you even want? What is it that you’re fighting for?”

The Alpha Supreme just stares back at me, and the answer is right in his eyes. Power. Death. Domination. All in the name of nothing.

I would have accepted if he was actually fighting for something, even if he was avenging someone. But no. There is nothing in him.

And the world would be better off without him in it.

Without hesitation, I run towards him, shifting into my wolf form and covering the ground in ice so that the rocks would stick together and not give way when I move. My claws are gleaming silver midair as I raise them over my head, ready to strike him with it, but he takes advantage of my trick and also shifts to his wolf form.

Now I know why Theo’s form is mistaken as his. They’re very nearly the same. The Alpha Supreme is just bigger, more taut with muscle.

But what strikes me is his eyes. Red, not yellow.

There’s no mercy in his attacks. He bites at me, quick as a viper, and the tip of his teeth grazes my arm. If I didn’t manage to swerve fast, he would have taken a good chunk right out of me, and still he doesn’t stop. A scratch, another bite, then a wild swipe. His nails dig right into my sides, and I can feel the flow of blood.

He’s backing me into the corner, close to where the gaping hole is. His plan becomes obvious, and his speed and strength sustains him. I would not win against him like this alone.

“Fight, Maxine Kane,” he taunts me as he delivers blow after blow, disappearing into streaks with his speed.

I can barely keep up. I admit that I have never fought with anyone like this before, and even with my powers I feel useless. I jump over the hole and I barely land on my four legs, but he leaps with ease and lands on top of me.

My head hits a rock, and slowly I shrink into my Human form. He does the same, but he keeps his teeth and nails on him, and his eyes….

He breathes deep, smelling me. His saliva drips right to my face as he stares at the unhealed cut on my neck.

“I can have your power, you know,” he coos. “One bite and my venom will become even stronger than yours.”

With that, the Alpha Supreme opens his mouth wide, his jaw dislodging. He’s not just going to take my blood; he’s going to eat me.

A scream builds up in my throat, but I keep it in. My wits kick into overdrive, and I take his brief moment of distracted hunger as my chance.

I raise my hands and push his face, his canine piercing right through my palm, and with every bit of strength I have left, I shove him right into the hole.

The weight of his body and surprise are on my side. The Alpha Supreme keeps barreling down, falling like a huge chunk of rock down below. I scramble to my feet, peeking from the opening, and there I see him landing like a gnat on the ground. There are Werewolves there too, all bleeding with red eyes, sniffing the air and backing away as another addition lands in front of them.

Theo is there, pressed against the rocky wall, watching in horror as the Werewolves sniff out the Alpha Supreme.

And little by little, they begin to eat.

The creations feasting on their creator.