Chapter 101
Drake's POV
The storage room was dark. Cold. Damp as hell. I leaned against the stone wall, my shoulder burning like someone had shoved a hot poker through it. Fucking Casper. Fucking champagne glass.
Blood still oozed from the wound, slower now but steady. I pressed my other hand against it, felt the warm stickiness seeping between my fingers.
"You said that stuff would just suppress his wolf. Make him weak..." I stared at Jessica, my voice shaking. "Not turn him into a fucking killing machine!"
She stood by the door, peering through the crack into the hallway. Those amber eyes glowed in the darkness like some kind of predator. She didn't even look at me.
"Shut up, Drake." Her voice was low. Cold. "Someone's coming."
I heard footsteps in the corridor. Lots of them. People shouting. Running. The whole pack house had descended into chaos.
The air reeked of mold and dust and my blood. This place was too small. The walls felt like they were closing in. I couldn't breathe properly.
"You didn't even ask if I was hurt!" I said, louder now. "You only care if your damn plan worked!"
Jessica turned her head, gave me a single glance. That look... like I was an insect under her shoe.
"Want me to bandage your wound?" Her tone dripped with sarcasm. "Or make sure no one's coming to rip us apart? You should be grateful Casper didn't tear out your throat."
I clenched my jaw. She was right, but I'd be damned if I'd admit it.
"This was supposed to be like those teen movies," I said, trying to sound less terrified. "Spike the drink, make someone look bad... I just wanted him to embarrass himself in front of Elowen. Make her come back to me!"
Jessica's face twisted. She crossed the room, got right in my face. I could smell something chemical on her—not the natural wolf scent, but something else. Something wrong.
"I didn't see any movie where 'spiking drinks' turns an Alpha's son into a beast who nearly kills his own brother," she hissed, voice low but blazing with fury. "Who attacks his father. Thanks to your chaos, they'll probably blame him for the Alpha's death anyway."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"You heard me." Jessica stepped back. "Casper nearly killed Cassian. Attacked his own father. You know what that means for a wolf who loses control?"
I knew. Of course I knew. A wolf who loses control and harms pack members... that's a death sentence. Even for an Alpha's son.
"The drugs were YOUR idea!" I raised my voice, not caring if anyone outside heard. "You said this would bring Elowen back... you told me to do whatever it took to separate them!"
Jessica's hand shot out, wrapped around my throat. Her strength shocked me. She slammed me against the wall, and my shoulder hit the stone. I nearly screamed from the pain.
"You raise your voice one more time," she whispered in my ear, "and I'll end you myself."
She released me. I coughed, clutching my neck.
We stood in the darkness for a moment. The sounds outside faded.
Then the pain hit again. My shoulder... no, not just pain. Memory.
Elowen kneeling beside me. Her hands pressed against my wound. Those amber eyes filled with worry. Fear. But she chose to help me anyway.
Even after everything I'd done to her.
"She... she looked so beautiful then," I heard myself say. Voice soft, almost to myself. "Even in her fear, she still chose to save me."
"Now's not the time for your self-pity!" Jessica snapped.
But I shook my head. My eyes started burning.
"No..." I said. "I get it now. I always thought I just wanted to control her. Didn't want to lose her... but I was wrong."
Jessica stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
"I actually love her," I said, voice trembling. "I love Elowen. I just never knew how to love someone."
I buried my face in my hands. Tears fell. Yes, I was crying. Like a fucking coward.
"I could see it," I continued. "Casper and Cassian really love her. The way they look at her... that's something I never gave her."
Jessica laughed. It was cold.
"Now you realize?" she said. "Too late, Drake. Casper and Cassian are the ones who truly love her. You just refused to admit it."
"I know..." I whispered. "I know."
Then Jessica's expression changed. Became colder. More calculating.
"Your 'love' means nothing, Drake," she said. "You were my tool from start to finish."
I looked up, shocked.
"You... what do you mean?"
"You really thought I cared about your pathetic debts?" Jessica moved closer, her eyes glowing in the dark. "I used you to get close to Elowen. Used you to create chaos."
No. Impossible.
"You lied to me?" I backed up, hit the cold stone wall. "The debt promises were fake? You've been playing me this whole time?"
"I needed Thornwood Pack in conflict," Jessica said calmly. "And you, Drake, were the perfect pawn—arrogant, temperamental, desperate for control."
My hands balled into fists. Nails dug into my palms.
"Everything I did to Elowen..." My voice was barely audible. "Was all for your plan?"
"The harm you caused her was your own choice," Jessica said, contempt clear. "Don't pin that on me. I just gave you opportunities."
The room spun. I felt sick.
Everything... everything I thought I controlled... was her manipulation.
"I was supposed to be her salvation," I heard myself say, voice hollow and laced with self-loathing. "I thought possessing her would restore both our standings. That vision of control was so close... I was so lost in that fantasy of power, I thought it was victory."
I laughed. A desperate, broken sound.
"You're such a fool," Jessica said.
A voice came from the deepest shadows. Low. Unfamiliar.
"It's done, Hartley. He's dead."
My blood turned to ice.
A figure emerged from the darkest corner of the storage room. Tall. Unnatural. Like he was made of shadows himself.
He called her Hartley. Not Beta Jessica, just… her last name. No one in our pack would dare. The way he said it spoke of an intimacy—or an authority—that chilled me to the bone.
His scent... wrong. Not wolf. Metal. Incense. Blood.
"You... you outsourced to him?" I stared at Jessica, fear crawling up my spine. "Are you insane?"
The stranger glanced at me. Just once. But that look made me want to run.
"People like me don't leave loose ends," he said, voice like ice. "And don't need worthless pieces of shit like you demanding medals."
Jessica nodded, looking satisfied.
"Good," she said. "No one saw you?"
"I told you. No loose ends."
I tried to back away, but there was only wall. Nowhere to go.
Then the stranger turned his head to look at me.
His eyes...
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Red. Not normal red. Deep, wild, untameable red. Like hellfire.
I'd seen Leo's eyes. When Casper lost control, those golden wolf eyes.
But this... this was different. Deeper. More evil. More... ancient.
Images flashed through my mind. The ball. Leo tearing into Cassian. Blood. Screaming. The Alpha falling.
But this... this was worse.
"You... you're not a normal wolf," I said, voice shaking. "You're..."
The stranger's mouth curved into an eerie smile. Those red eyes brightened. Burned like twin flames in the darkness.
My legs gave out. I nearly collapsed to my knees.
"You're a demon..."
The word fell from my lips, soaked in despair. Terror.
The stranger didn't deny it. He just stood there, those red eyes fixed on me. Looking at prey.
Jessica watched me break down. Her face showed nothing. No sympathy. No explanation.
The storage room fell silent. Only my ragged breathing. And distant sounds of chaos from above.
Those red eyes never left me.