Chapter 152

CLAUDIA.

The tip of the needle is pressing against my skin, and I can feel it very nearly slipping in. One wrong breath and I would have a whole syringe of the potion that turns people into Rogues right into my bloodstream. One wrong flinch, and I would turn into something different. More like Tristan, like he said. Part Rogue, part Siren Wolf.

"Have you ever considered the possibilities?" Tristan whispers to me, his lips dangerously close to my ear. "Have you ever thought of the power you would have? This wonderful elixir could make you withstand just about anything. It's honestly exhilarating. The others love it as well."

He motions to the Rogues in front of me. They're sniffing at me like bloodhounds ready for a meal. They're bigger than actual Wolves, and their features seem to be a little deformed. I can see hints of humanity on their faces and that makes them more scary.

The fact that he has different kinds of Rogues, ranging from the fragile ones that everyone grew to fear from the war two years ago to the ones that are now made from the actual people, is sickening.

What's more sickening is the fact that he discards different models when they're no longer useful to them.

Still holding me by the neck, he motions to his creations. "They're perfect, aren't they? They're just like the ones who used to roam the earth before the old Alpha King Lysander decided that we're pests and had us all killed. Well, not all. My father did survive."

My eyes go wide. "Your father is a Rogue...."

"Why, yes." He laughs in my ear. "Half and half. Half almost divinity, half perfect savage. Sad to say, my father wasn't much in the old hierarchy of the Rogues that existed. He didn't have ranks, but he did want power. I guess he could also sense that he was the one destined to have a powerful child who would rule the entire land. And that's me."

My head spins because of the information. So he was spawned by a leftover Rogue who somehow survived the purge and the Siren Wolf who left home.

"I bet they would be really proud of me," he says, but there's no hint of wistfulness in his voice that usually comes with these kinds of statements. He only sounds aggressive and arrogant.

I don't know what came over me. Maybe it's all the hate culminating into something that is completely out of my control.

Whatever it is, I find myself saying with my entire chest, even with the needle still dangerously close to my neck.

"You're not as powerful as you think you are if you still need to take me to do your bidding," I hiss at him.

Something about his demeanor changes. The temporary satisfaction that came from saying those words immediately dissipates. He grabs my neck harder until I'm gasping for air, poking the needle against my skin until I feel the sting of its penetration.

I raise my hands in surrender. Tristan stops burrowing the syringe into me. My body is shockingly still even though my nerves are frayed. I can feel Tristan's breath against my neck. I can almost see him smiling as he senses my fear.

"I'm not going to attack you anymore," I whisper. "I'm going to be good. Just... don't do that. At least, not right now."

He lets out a laugh. "See, that is the attitude that I want. That is the attitude I want to see. I like it when you're submissive...."

He trails a hand over my neck, gently lowering the syringe. I take a deep breath of relief, but that doesn't make him let me go. In fact, he pulls me even closer to him. My skin crawls in disgust. Every single cell in my body is telling me to fight, and I agree. I want to fight him, and the bad thing is, I know that given the chance, I can absolutely end him right now. But with the threat of being turned into one of his experiments looming over me like that, my chances are limited.

The only weapon I have right now is being meek. Submissive like he said. I need to make him like me enough so that he won't hurt me or my child. I need to gain some baseline affection outside of his obsession with power and survive long enough to think of a different plan.

Tristan lets his hand wander from my neck, between my breasts, and finally on my belly. "Just one thing stands in our way."

My heart starts to beat fast. I know he can feel the jolt of dread that just went through me, and I can feel his dark satisfaction. All my plans to shut my mouth and take what he dishes out flies out of my head in an instant.

"What are you going to do?" I ask in a shaky voice. "You can't take my son out. You can't do that. You seriously don't think you can pull off such a thing and not face my wrath."

He moves in front of me, finally letting me go. His eyes are still transfixed on my belly.

"It's not like you can do anything about it," he whispers.

"But you can," I say, swallowing hard. "Think about it. This boy is half a Siren Wolf and half Alpha. He's going to be powerful."

I hate that I have to sound like I'm selling out my son, but then again, if this is the only way we can get out of here alive, I would do it.

I can see Tristan considering it. "You're right. But you can't make sure he will pledge allegiance to me."

"I will see to it," I promise him. "I... just let me keep him."

"Very well," he says after a long pause, but the smirk on his face tells me that he's thinking about something else. As though to prove me right, he grabs my arms and pins them on my back. "But that would mean I would not have you around until you give birth to that thing."

He pushes me to my knees, and I barely prevent him from shoving my face right onto the ground. Fuck it, I almost think. I very nearly drop the nice girl act and try to take him on right then and there even with his mutants around, but he just lifts me back to my feet and pushes me around until I find myself facing a cave at the side of the mountain.

The smell coming from it makes me feel like I'm about to get eaten by a gigantic monster. It feels like I'm staring at a big hungry mouth. I can hear people rattling on the metal braces, whimpering and calling for help. He must have kept so many people here captive, ready to be turned into Rogues....

My heart breaks. "What have you done, Tristan? You have to know that this is not right. You're tampering with nature...."

"As if Achilles and his family hasn't done that before," he scoffs, opening one of the cells and throwing me inside. Then he flashes me a smile. "You might find someone you know in there. Make nice."

"Tristan!" I yell at him but he just closes the cell and locks it.

I want to ram it all down and get out when I see something strange inside. A heap of something in the corner, wrapped in blankets that are soaked in blood and what looks like pus.

The smell is offensive. It nearly reminds me of the smell of rot and decay that the gigantic beast emanated from its collage of a body. I cover my nose, pressing myself against the corner when the heap moves.

And that's when the person under the messy covers sits up. It looks around, and my breath gets hitched in my throat when I see who it is.

I almost didn't recognize him....

"Kiernan," I whisper. "You're alive."