The King's Claim

s e v e n - pool for six?✔️

"Belle, you look tired."

"You don't even have your glasses on Dex, I look fine."

"I'm wearing contacts, the doesn't change the fact that you didn't get any sleep last night." I turn to Dexter.

"I didn't know you wear contacts." I go up close to him, trying to see if he was telling the truth.

"T-They're clear." He blushes furiously.

"Ohhhh, why the change?" I ask, heating up the Bunsen burner to get the X-Bane to melt.

"I just wore them because we were going to be testing today and I didn't want to wear goggles on top of my glasses, I know they look silly." He looks down, I turn to him, keeping the test tube full of X-bane burning over the Bunsen.

"Did someone say that to you? Was it Mitch?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter, you can't fix all my problems for me Belle." I lift the tube up slightly higher as the solids begin to start melting.

"I'm not trying to Dex but you shouldn't let yourself be bullied like that. If I remember correctly every single one of those guys applied to take this internship at the lab but you were the only one that got it." I remind him, those guys may be cruel to him but it's only because Dexter has succeeded in things they could only hope to.

"They only applied so they could get out of school early." I roll my eyes at that, they may be the same age as me but my god they acted like seven year olds.

"Just forget them and get the mouse Dex, The X-Bane's almost completely melted." I instruct.

I quickly take the test tube off the heat and pour it carefully into the syringe. I just need 0.002ml for this mouse to experience the full effects. Dex brings the mouse into the metal container where I hold it down and inject it with the chemical, call me heartless but we were ordered to perform these experiments on inmates at one point.

The mouse begins to mutate, transforming into a creature three times as big, it's veins become extremely prominent as it's eyes turn black. The creature begins to maul at the dead corpse of it's former cell mate, foaming at the mouth.

"Okay, hand me the syringe of chemical A1. " I order. Chemical A1 has been our work in progress. It's the first in long line of potential cures we've been testing.

I put on some thick leather gloves that reach all the way to my shoulders and through two small holes in the roof, I put my arms in. I use all my power to hold the mouse down, it was stronger than me now but I wasn't planning on holding it down for long, I just needed to shock it enough that I could inject the liquid into it.

I inject it with chemical A1 and quickly remove my hands. Watching carefully with a camera on the subject and a writing pad to note down any observations.

The mouse begins to calm down, I feel myself get excited. But something feels wrong, it's acting too calm.

"Dex, poke it with a stick." I pass him a wooden splint and carry on writing my observations, he looks practically horrified but never the less does as I tell him.

And just as I feared, the mouse wasn't moving.

"Alright so that shouldn't be happening." I note, feeling defeated.

"There's still 102 more potential vials." Dexter reassures.

...

And 102 vials later, we are back to square one. I crumple into a ball on the ground, running my hands through my hair.

"It's okay Belle, we did make a bit of a breakthrough, Vial T3 didn't kill the mouse and calmed it down too."

"It also put it into a coma Dex." I point out.

"How about we go downstairs and keep our minds off work for a bit?" Dexter suggests, I needed to work on collecting the Ormesta ingredients but I didn't want Dexter to get suspicious.

"Fine, I can't stand being here any longer."

We walk down to the ground floor of the castle, this is where the majority of the pack slept and just lived their lives. It was the cosiest floor of the whole castle, filled with socialising space, a grand kitchen and a giant hall filled with Frisbee tables, TV's, gaming consoles and a bunch of bean chairs.

"What do you want to do Dex?" I ask as we reach the hall.

"The pool table is free, you down?"

"Always." We make our way to the table and set it up.

Half way into our game, I have 2 balls left to pot and Dex has 6.

"Come on Dex, you said you practised." I tease.

"I did!" He defends himself, clearly flustered. Through the corner of my eye I see a group of boys headed towards our direction, before I can turn to see who it is, I hear the annoying voice of Mitch Carter.

"Hey Dex," He turns to me and winks, "Belle, you guys have room for four more?"

"Clearly not Mitch, we're in the middle of a game. Wait till we're finished." I huff out, knowing he's not looking to play but to irritate us.

"But here's the thing, I'm not a patient man." Mitch grabs my cue before I can make another shot, he quickly positions himself between the table and I.

"What the fuck do you want Mitch? Stop looking for a fight." I snap, pushing him with all my might.

"Belle." Dex warns, trying to calm me down, "They're not worth it."

Mitch looks puzzled as he takes a step towards me.

"For a wolf, you have a weak ass push." His little group laughs but Mitch looks at me like he wasn't trying to insult me - as if he was shocked himself.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you, maybe being a healer got the best of me." I divert, my palms suddenly sweating.

"Oh really?" Mitch presses.

"Really." I say with as much confidence as I can muster.

"Then push me." Mitch says, "Push me like a wolf."

"I don't want to." I feel my heart start beating faster.

"Don't want to or can't?" He whispers, so quiet that no one else could hear.

All other noises are muzzled by the beating of my own heart, I can hear it in my ears. My legs begin to shake, I should never have come down here. How am I suppose to get out of thi-

"What's going on here guys?" I whip my head back and see Beta Marcus standing to my right.

"Nothing Beta Marcus." Mitch says, suddenly shy and meek.

"Come on now guys, we're all a pack," He smiles at everyone and eyes me for second longer, "We shouldn't have any ill will towards anyone, this pack is a family. I would hate to think anyone in my pack isn't getting along." He pats Mitch on the back and laughs.

"Yes Beta Marcus." They all say in unison.

"Come along guys, the cooks are making homemade ice cream in the kitchen, it'll be sure to cool you hot headed kids up." Mitch and his little posse thank the Beta and run along to the kitchen. He turns to me and give me a warm smile and a squeeze on my shoulders.

"I hope they didn't cause you any trouble - " He pauses, waiting for me to say my name. I narrow my eyes ever so slightly, he was putting on a show in front of the whole pack. They were watching us and seeing their caring Beta come to the aid of a poor little girl.

"It's Belle, thank you Beta Marcus." I say through gritted teeth, he laughs even though I didn't say anything funny. He moves closer to me and whispers in my ear.

"The clock's ticking and I'm not a patient man either." He smiles at me and moves back, walking away and leaving me in disarray.