31. Mistakes

**Denis**

Hot body fluid invaded his mouth and dripped down to his jaws. Denis thought it would try to wiggle free, so he bit down harder when he felt it bend its body around his torso.

The glykon was unable to snap at him but it made up for it by attempting to break his rib cage. Zharon withdrew his teeth only to get a firm grip. The glykon applied more pressure. How many times Zharon clawed at it didn't seem to matter.

Denis commanded Zharon to tear its flesh. When he did, a horrifying noise erupted from its nasty mouth.

Yet it wasn't enough. The glykon managed to get Zharon off his feet. He ended up on his back, eyes on the same level as the grass. Blood immediately started to rush to his head. With the impact his wolf made with the ground, Denis was sure one of his ribs broke.

That was a good thing. "Now, Zharon!" Denis yelled. Obediently, his wolf extracted a large part of the reptile with his teeth. Dark red blood soaked his fur. It fought and hissed, but in the end, it took its last breath and fell to the earth. No longer a terror to the people.

Zharon released himself from its limp body and Beta breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know what he would tell his Alpha if he allowed his son to sustain serious injuries after dealing with such a big glykon alone.

Zharon growled at its corpse and shook off some of the blood that matted his fur. With a small howl, he shifted back into human form, allowing a naked Denis to take control.

Denis stared down everyone present. "Is that all of them?"

One of the werewolves, Ray, nodded. "Yes, Alp- I mean, Denis."

"How many are injured?" The same female greta from before handed Denis some clothes while staring right at him. He didn't mind, though.

Beta was the one to speak up. "Thankfully, not a lot. But there are two of our own who lost a lot of blood. I suspect that's where the one you dealt with got its substinance from." He stared at the dead glykon with distain.

"Where are they now?" Denis placed one foot into the pants, not minding that he didn't receive underwear.

"On their way to the infirmary."

"Dr. Nelson."

Upon hearing her name, Dr. Nelson gave the child to another wolf and hurried over to him.

"Make sure those people are well taken care of." He deliberated between wearing the red plaid shirt or staying shirtless. He chose the former. "Same goes for anyone else affected by what happened."

"Ye-yes. Of course!" Off she went to the infirmary. Denis checked his wounds. They were healing nicely, but the memory of its taunting fangs remained.

Beta came up to Denis and sighed, hands on his hips. "We're going to have to find another place to keep them while the engineers install the backup cage."

"Have they taken out the broken one yet?"

"No, they planned to get the new one before-"

"Great. I need to check that room out for myself, so tell them to take their time," Denis instructed.

He left Beta to it before running into the forrest. He didn't stop until he arrived at the old shed that hid the prison underneath.

Denis ignored the growls from prisoners the warriors captured while on duty. Zharon wanted to growl back at them, but despite his agitation, Denis held him back.

"Rotten Alpha pup!" A prisoner in their human form snarled as Denis passed by. His dirty hands were wrapped around the bar cells.

Denis paused. He slowly turned his head to face him. His amber eyes that stayed with him even after shifting back swept up the rogue from his toes to his face.

Denis smirked. "At least I still have all my teeth."

That earned a pissed off growl from the prisoner.

"Don't think you're so special!" The prisoner spat. "You think just because you're in this pack, that you're safe? I know your secrets, Alpha pup! It won't be long now before everything you love crumbles. I know the moon goddess doesn't favor your pathetic pack anymore. You're losing your vitality, aren't ya'? The other packs will notice too. Oh, what a glorious day it will be to see the mightiest stuck-up pack fall!" He laughed. In the middle of his speech, Denis had already started walking. No point in engaging in conversation when that's not what he came for.

The room that the glykons escaped from was lit up by blue flames provided by the mystical torches attached to the walls.

As Denis entered, he took in the damage. The cage's lid laid on the floor with hard-to-notice shards of glass littering the floor. He located the can of anesthetic beside the sink and made a beeline for it.

One sniff was all it took to confirm his fears. His father was right. It was sugar. And he couldn't pick up a scent from anyone else.

Denis shook his head, thinking about the possibilities.

Same red wrapping without a label. The ventilation machine smelt like sugar. No way. He remembered taking care of it before driving Rosé to her house.

Did... did he really make a mistake?

But how? He was so careful from the moment the alpha gifted the glykons to him at seventeen.

Other than the boys, pack duties, and school, they were a great distraction and a way to prove how responsible he could be.

So how could he screw it up so badly?

Denis stepped backwards until his bottom hit a wall. He slumped to the floor, knees drawn to his chest. The bruises on his skin didn't hurt as much as the guilt eating him from inside did.

Because of his carelessness, many of his pack members had to deal with his mess. While it was true much damage wasn't done, it could have ended up being much worse. Not everyone on pack land were designed for fights.

What if one of the children had been sucked dry?

Denis sighed and laid his head on his arms, eyes squeezed so tight they started to hurt. His dad will never let this die down.

Syll materialised over his sullen form. She placed her hands on either side of his head, and unlocked her jaws.

A purple, smoke-like substance that Denis couldn't see rose from his body and into her mouth.