The Thing That Shouldn’t Exist

The Thing That Shouldn’t Exist
  To think, mere weeks ago, my biggest problem was sitting at a corner in my favorite coffee shop trying to meet my best friend while also trying to avoid the high school mean girl.
  Now it was an entity with unparalleled power and  it had the ability to eat an entire town of wolves and humans for more. And there I was holding the residue of my wound that left a pale purple discoloration by my ribs.
  I puffed out a short gasp of breath as more moonstone werewolves poured into the coffee shop. Tyler's white buzzcut stuck out the most in the middle of the room as he went about our dilemma with the twins. They weren't pleased about me going off with Higan either.
  We were currently waiting for every muscle left in town to reach us. The Melbringer's had begrudgingly utilized the same sorcery they used to demand my presence to call for allies and Ethan's people had spread out to ensure those that couldn't fight reached the cave we had left.
  “Hear me out though,” Tyler continued to ramble, hovering by the busted coffee table Khalid and the rest of the gang sat by, “We're clueless on what being a lupomancer is. Then this dark Vader sorcerer poser gets a hit off her like a junkie and we have no idea what effect that had.”
  “But he should have just eaten her whole,” Khalid added morbidly from his hunched-over silhouette on the table. “His behavior was odd. We've seen greedy Melbringers dabble with unethical consumption of power. That didn't look like feeding. He was obviously sampling something he didn’t know how to process.”
  I felt the same way.
  Why else would he have taken the time to allow the space to fight Higan and use a blind spot to stab me and suck so little of my energy? Sure, Ethan had a hand in halting that, but something told me Vorare could have taken everything out of me at once.
  Yet he didn't.
  One of the Melbringers whom I'd picked up on as Cressa entered the conversation. Tall with ash-blonde braids and blood still crusted along her temple. Her tone was clipped with obvious disdain and apprehension. “Your lupomancer is a paradox. If he touched her and didn’t absorb anything desirable, he may have absorbed the opposite. Vorare thrives on pure sorcery. Death-rooted but pure nevertheless. Anything outside that might distort him.”
  What an underhanded way to call me impure.
  Abigail’s head turned sharply. “Distort? What a peculiar term.“
  Cressa proudly nodded once, throwing a glare my way. “It's a well-known theory. Lupomancers are unstable beings carrying two blessings that were never meant to meet. Best believe the combination of the two birthed a third, a curse on its own. She can't identify as food. Best case scenario, she poisoned him.”
  “If it's such a well-known theory, how come Becca had the bright idea of stealing my power like she had some way to escape that said poisoning?“ I threw the question at her, enjoying the way a frown teased her condescending-looking forehead.
  “Rebecca Eevecina, albeit heretical, has a gifted affinity for alchemy. She must have found a way to purify whatever you are,” she spat her gaze remaining on Khalid and the rest.
  “Still feels more complicated than that,” Khalid muttered under his breath.
  I groaned as I shifted upright to sit. “Either way it's a chance I'm willing to take. All I’m hearing is I have the most potential to stop him,” raggedly, the words came out to silence the room.
  “You’re not fighting anything right now,” Ethan interjected. To make a point, he pressed his bloody hands against my wound in protest.
  I understood so I didn't try to argue. But I reached for my necklace that was back on my collarbone for comfort. The surface warmed up in my palm. I let it hum into my chest.
  “The traitor would know,” two voices synced in one to whisper in my head. A beast and a Sorceress. I knew them both as I.
  “We need Becca,” I uttered out loud in momentary resignation.
  Everyone turned, and I really hated having to say that, but it was undeniable. Becca would know. This was all birthed by her.
  “She’s the only one who knows what he wants, what he’s capable of. After all, she spent how long in contact with him, making all those plans. She literally killed an entire pack to channel him,” I persisted. “Well, not the entire pack,” I retracted as my gaze landed on Ethan. “Nonetheless, she can help us put him down.”
  So I can finally put her down. I thought.
  As if summoned by my words, Lorcan's large frame stomped through the broken doorframe with a familiar body slung over his shoulder.
  Becca was still tied up in bloody ropes, arms tied to her back with knife wounds gushing from her arms in numbers. Her mouth was gagged this time, but her narrowed eyes and unimpressed expression told everyone she’d heard plenty on the way over.
  “My my my,” Becca drawled the moment the gag was yanked loose. “Dragged around like some cursed doll but I'm somehow having the better day.”
  “Spare us the 5th-grader commentary,” Abigail interjected with a bite.
  Becca’s eyes landed on her, then on me. “So. Did the pet monster like the taste?”
  “He didn’t get enough,” I answered flatly. “But we’re hoping it gave him indigestion.”
  That earned a cough of laughter from Tyler. However, the little light atmosphere died as Cressa and two other Melbringers moved toward Becca.
  “We don’t have time for this,” Cressa announced. “She’s exiled and by Melbringer law, we’re permitted to breach her memories forcefully as she poses a threat to Melbringers alike.”
  “And werewolves, but who's keeping track?” I scoffed.
  Becca's usually composed demeanor shattered plain as her eyes darted around. “You’ll burn your hands in my head.”
  “We’ll risk it,” Cressa said coolly like she'd enjoy it.
  For once, I could see myself tolerating the condescending Melbringer. “Do it,” I urged without hesitation.
  Ethan raised a brow. “You’re sure?”
  I could feel his concern but I ignored it. If I weren't killing her anytime soon, I'd love to enjoy the sight of her falling apart.
  “She’s not going to say anything useful willingly. But her mind will.” The Melbringers didn’t wait. They moved in quick sync. One of them, an older brunette, removed her gloves and pressed both palms to the side of Becca’s head. The contact glowed hot and Becca jolted back as if she was being punched in the skull.