Chapter 53: Desperate measures

The next day in Wolf Creed Pack, no one spoke with Sage or her sisters. They were all still cautious of them, and some were angry that Xavier was putting Sage before them. Sage didn’t notice this since she stayed in her room with Xavier.

When Sage woke up, Xavier gave her time to get herself ready before informing her of the training she would have to undergo before she could follow him out to experience the supernatural world again.

With Sage's last experience, she wasn’t excited about learning more about the supernatural world. She was scared that if she knew more, she might not like it at all. However, she agreed to the idea of training. The other day in the woods, she was not able to protect herself from danger, and Xavier ended up saving her. She didn’t want him to worry about her, so she was determined to learn how to defend herself and attack an enemy if need be.

'f only I was strong and not so helpless, maybe Ericka would still be alive, and Jane wouldn’t be in the situation she is in now,' Sage thought to herself.

“I’m ready, let's head out,” Sage said as she opened her door to meet Xavier.

Xavier had his hands in his pockets but took them out, placing one hand on the door to stop Sage from opening it more and placing his left hand on the door frame. With this position, he blocked Sage’s path completely. “We won’t be heading out,” Xavier stated as he leaned in, his face only inches from Sage’s.

Sage looked up at him. He was too close, so she had to be mindful of breathing too much, which she didn’t need to do. Unable to continue her shallow breathing, Sage took a step back, giving space for Xavier to come in and close the door behind him.

“Why?” Sage asked. “Won’t we be training again?”

“We will, but in here. You see, no one can know you’re the hybrid, and since you’re unable to control your energy yet, you’d be training in here.”

Sage didn’t like the idea of being indoors always just because of some identity she never asked to have. She was grateful that Penny had given her the bracelet; with it, she was able to live life like others. “Okay, I understand. So where do we start from?”

“Learning how to control your energy, then after that, you can learn how to defend yourself.”

“Great,” Sage smiled.

****

In the cell of the first castle, Morales' eyes flicked open. He had fallen into a slumber after being knocked out by a mere vampire guard. He was weak then, but now he had gained some energy. There was something urgent that he had to relay to Venzy, but how would he do that if he was locked in here?

His hands had been cuffed, and his legs shackled. There was no way he was breaking out of this cell. Morales heard footsteps approaching and raised his head as the steps stopped in front of his cell. Just outside the cell was a man with an eyepatch on his left eye, grey hair indicating his old age, even for a vampire.

The man wore an outfit similar to the guards Morales had encountered outside the gate, but his uniform had more details, showing his higher rank. “Do you know why you have been locked up?” the man asked.

Morales stared at the man without fear. He knew he had done nothing wrong, and the guards were wrong for putting him here. However, he wondered if the guards had lied about him.

“Well, you will find out soon,” the man said before walking away with a low laugh.

Morales didn’t know what these people would do to him or how long they would keep him here. Behind him, he heard the squeaking of a mouse in the cell with him. He turned his head to face the mouse and immediately got an idea.

He raised his hands to his mouth and used his fangs to make a tear in his palm. When he was done, he quietly moved close to the mouse. The mouse caught wind of what Morales was trying to do and tried running away, but Morales stretched his hand out and swiftly caught the small animal.

He held the neck tightly and used his pinch fingers to hold the mouth open while he squeezed his blood inside the mouth of the animal. When he was satisfied with the quantity he had forced down the mouse's throat, he let go of the animal, which fell stiff to the ground.

The lock to his cell door made a clang as someone opened it. Morales was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t notice someone was coming.

“I didn’t know that Soren’s soldiers ate rats, ha ha,” the soldier who had opened the door laughed before kicking the rat in front of Morales away. “Lord Baltimore now has time to question your worthless being,” the soldier spat.

Morales knew that those under Soren were ridiculed, but he didn’t think it was this bad. He had never experienced this kind of petty treatment from anyone before, and it enraged him. Now he was even more determined to deliver the information he had to Venzy. If they could get the hybrid and draw power from the creatures, not even Lord Baltimore would be on his level, Morales thought.

Just as they stepped out of the cell, the rat on the ground twitched. A few seconds later, it was up. The rat had died in Morales' hand, but Morales had a rare skill: controlling a being with his blood. This skill was not accepted in the vampire kingdom, so he kept it a secret. It wasn’t accepted because it was a trait a vampire close to being a demon possessed.

The demons could control beings when they possessed them, and it was the same with Morales, but with his blood instead. Now he was controlling the animal. This was the only way he could think of to get the information to Venzy. She wouldn’t like that such a skill was used, but desperate times called for desperate measures.