Chapter 96 Chapter 96
Chapter 96 Chapter 96
It felt like claws inside her head, grazing against her mind, teasing and taunting before they would plunge in to rip her apart and take control. The back of her eyes throbbed and ached. She knew this feeling; she learnt about it growing up, but never witnessed it being used before.
She’d never felt it. No Alpha would dare use it if they respected their own people, not unless the situation demanded it.
It was abrupt. Painful. Aggressive.
An assault against free will.
“It-It’s not possible,” she whimpered, rubbing her head. “He’s not… He can’t…”
She felt sick in the pit of her stomach. He was in her head; she could feel it, but with no access to her wolf, it wasn’t hitting her like it was her mates.
The Alpha’s Roar.
Hadeon, the abomination werewolf, had stolen enough power from the witch and multiple werewolves to imitate the spiritual resemblance of a high-powered Alpha. Because of such blasphemy, he had the ability to control other werewolves. Like an Alpha – a false Alpha.
Though he wasn’t entirely sure he possessed this skill, there was a change in the air when they stopped moving. He could feel that they were still there.
“Show yourselves,” he demanded.
Brendan growled a groan, not wanting to do what Hadeon said, but the pain for disobeying an Alpha’s Roar was excruciating. It was impossible to attempt to fight against it unless you were an Alpha yourself.
“Brendan, don’t,” Suki sobbed. It hurt her even more not being able to hear his thoughts or communicate with him through the bond.
‘Fight it, we can fight it,’ Reynard tried to encourage him, whining in pain as he struggled to fight Hadeon’s grasp on his own mind.
‘I can’t… His hold is too strong.’ He hunched over in pain, struggling to fight the order and trying to endure the pain of disobeying. He held it for as long as he could, but he obeyed and removed the shadowy shield.
Hadeon laughed menacingly, “Well, well, well… Would you look at that. I can reach your minds better than I anticipated, even through your shadows, brother.”
Brendan snarled and barked at him.
Suki, still clutching Reynard’s fur, couldn’t tell whether she was frozen from Hadeon’s command or out of fear. “How is this happening?” she questioned, a single tear cascading down her face.
“I told you, Suki – I’m no slave to the Moon Goddess’s power, but it appears I can make her wolves slaves to me.”
Finally releasing her grip on Reynard, she patted his side, trying to snap him out of the captivity. “Rey? Rey, snap out of it.” She looked at Brendan. “Brendan?”
The two of them groaned and snarled, wanting to move forward, but forced to stay still.
“Drop her,” Hadeon smirked.
Reynard whimpered as he lost the last shred of control over his mind. He shrugged her off of his back, letting her thud to the ground.
Suki inhaled sharply and murmured in pain as she hit the ground. Tilting her head up, she was finally able to examine what surrounded the warehouse.
The entire base was gated all the way around. Reynard must have had a way of getting us out, she thought. He’s always thinking ahead. Scattered all across the grounds were various long-range acoustic devices.
Furrowing her brows, Suki wondered why there were so many. She doubted it was for announcements; surely Hadeon wanted to keep a low profile on the base, drawing no attention. All the devices were about 100 metres away from the gates.
Her heart sank when she realised – it wasn’t to share announcements for the workers. It was a tool to ensure the werewolves didn’t escape.
Another command came from Hadeon, “Both of you shift back into your human form.”
This time, they did as he commanded with no physical repulsion, but internally their minds were screaming to break free from his hold.
Hadeon leaned against the building, his arrogant aura growing. “Bring her to me.”
Reynard clenched his jaw. “Fuck…” He turned to face her, using all his might to hold himself back. “Suki…”
“…run,” Brendan added, edging closer to her, close to breaking.
Suki didn’t hesitate. She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the gate as fast as she could.
“I said…” Another dark and deep growl rumbled from Hadeon. “Bring. Her. To. Me.”
Reynard sped over to her, stopping right in front of her so fast that her body ran into his.
She gasped and stumbled back, but Brendan was behind her.
He gripped her shoulders tightly.
Suki’s eyes scanned Reynards face, which appeared flat, but the pain in his eyes was prominent. He had no control over himself, and he was forced to watch and suffer his own betrayal of his mate. Tears streamed down her face. “Please… don’t.”
“Ki…” Rey whispered, moving his hand to touch her face.
Hadeon growled.
The indirect command was enough to stop Reynard in his tracks and drop his arm. A single tear escaped his eye.
Heartache twisted in Suki’s chest.
Before she could move closer to him, Brendan hauled her up, threw her over his shoulder and moved back towards the warehouse.
“Brendan, no!” she cried, slamming her fists into his back, trying to break him free. She watched the distance between herself and Reynard, who just stood there and watched in pain, grow wider. She sobbed.
The closer he stepped towards Hadeon, the more he tried to slow down his steps, to pull himself back and retreat to save his mate, but Brendan’s mind was no longer his. He dropped Suki on the ground, right by Hadeon’s feet and stepped back.
Suki looked up at Hadeon in disgust.
Hadeon grabbed her arm and pulled her to stand. He shifted back into his human form and held her tightly against his body. “You’re still good at listening to orders, little brother. Thank you for bringing what belongs to me back.”
Brendan growled.
Sensing that their command through the Alpha’s Roar was fulfilled, Reynard sped towards them to attack Hadeon.
“Stop,” he said.
Immediately, Rey stopped beside Brendan and panted, annoyed.
Hadeon’s eyes shifted between the two men. “Since you’re both so eager to fight. Go ahead – fight each other.” He smirked, “Until one or both of you are dead.”