Nathan stalks onto the prison grounds still in his wolf form. The beast is constantly growling, wanting to rip apart everyone that looks at him. His instinct is to run flying, tracing Audrey's scent until he hunts down those who has her, kills them and then gets her back into his arms. His mind is filled with blue eyes, her sweet voice and it feels like it's been too long since he's kissed her. The need to taste her, to feel her and to be surrounded with her scent is overwhelming and he wonders how Leon has managed to last all these years.
The wolf in his jaws twitch and Nathan tightens his grip as he drags the pup across the ground. Ahead of him, the prison guards straighten and whimper lowly. They all feel his rage and his Kappa force is making it difficult for them to stay standing. They've seen him angry before and it's never frightened them. But now is different. Now, his rage is black and the sight of their Alpha covered in blood, dragging a half dead body while his black eyes stare emptily pass them, terrifies them. And for the first time, they realize what it means to be on the brink of insanity.
Leon's wolf appears. He takes in the guards and growls at them, reminding them why this is happening. Instantly, their anger comes back and Nathan knows that his entire pack will do anything to get their Luna and Iota home safely. Leon shifts back into his human form and one of the guards throws him some clothes.
"The Iota's trail?" Leon asks calmly as Nathan drops the pup and shifts into his form. He takes a pair of shorts from Leon and looks down at the pup.
"The blood trail ended and her scent is mixed with someone else." He growls out and Leon watches as his eyes shift between his normal brown and his wolf's black. "This bastard comes out and tries to attack me. Carter went ahead while I questioned him."
Nathan stares at the pup who slowly shifts back into his human form. He's shaking uncontrollably, bruised black and blue and while his wounds have closed up, there's still blood all over him. Nathan didn't hold back.
"Get him inside." Nathan orders, heading into one of the prison buildings where he knows the other intruder is.
The prison buildings were built the same but the interiors hold different things. The main room has only four cells, two on each side while the middle is an opened area with records and a desk. It's the holding facility where new prisoners are being processed in. Nathan normally wouldn't care about who comes and how long they're there for but it makes things easier when trying to track down facts. Prisoners would be processed here before being moved to one of the other buildings where they either would be chained and tortured for interrogations, used as puppets to manipulate other prisoners into talking or they would be placed where light does not shine and the notion of time is hard to figure out. Either way, the Moore prisons were designed for every occasion.
Audrey had been here once. That thought alone makes him think back to those days where his only problem were Sullivan wolves blocking his path to more territory. At least he knew now that she wouldn't die that day but he can't see the future and has no idea if she will last past this. He was angry back then but it was the kind of angry that he could vent out. This anger is relentless. It's numbing. There's only one cure to it and until he gets it, this anger will consume him.
The intruder had been in the fourth prison building. There, light had been cut out and the prison cells were designed to be so small that prisoners could only sit or stand. No one went in to give them food or water until the sun was down and every now and then, a sound of metal scratching against metal would echo just to mess with their mentality. Tonight, the intruder has been moved from there to the third building which was placed close enough that prisoners in the fourth building could hear the echoes of their screams.
Audrey had been there. She was the one he had hung from the ceiling with chains, laced with aconite while captured Sullivan wolves were trapped in cells surrounding her. The purpose was to torture their own while they stood and watched and listen, unable to do anything but break and spill any secrets they might have. Most of Audrey's scars come from that experience and as he enters the room, he feels himself growing darker and darker, getting lost from all that is good. Audrey is part of that and without her, nothing good exists in him.
Swinging from chains, the intruder has an expression of pain on his face while he struggles to break free. The chains are covered in aconite and it's slowly dripping down onto the wolf's face and arms, sliding down towards his bare chest. One of the prison guards, Colt, is standing close by, sitting on a table with his foot up, kicking the wolf whenever he swings close enough. His eyes find Nathan's and he straightens, bowing his head with respect. Behind him, Leon comes in, dragging the other wolf by his hair.
"He hasn't said anything yet, sir." Colt reports, watching warily as Leon throws the other wolf by the hanging intruder's feet.
"Wes!" The intruder grunts out. The wolf beneath him flinches, slowly rolling over.
"Good. So he spoke the truth." Nathan crosses his arms, watching as the wolf tries to push himself up.
"What did you do to my brother?" The intruder growls out and struggles more to break free.
"Nothing he didn't deserve." Nathan replies calmly. From the corner of his eyes, he can see both Leon and Colt back away slowly. Nathan is angry and that fact isn't surprising. But this is beyond anger and it's more deadly than anything else. He's no longer just a werewolf or an Alpha or a Kappa. He's a demon.
He takes a step closer, placing his foot on the intruder's brother's ribs. "Tell me where she is."
"How long has it been?"
Nathan snarls but Leon answers for him. "Forty minutes."
Colt kicks the intruder on his hip hard, making him wince as he swings more violently. The chains around his wrists tighten with every movement and Nathan focuses on his face. He's thinking, judging the situation and trying to buy more time. Nathan stomps on the wolf's ribs and the pup screams out as each rib break from the pressure.
"Tell me now." Nathan demands, his fists shaking at his sides.
"If she's not dead," The wolf gulps as Nathan's Kappa force pours out, making Leon and Colt back towards the entrance with cautious eyes. "They're taking her to R! He wants her!"
"Who the fuck is R?!" Nathan snarls, breaking the wolf's arm and making the intruder shaking. He's trying to shift into his wolf but the aconite is blocking his connection.
"Some sick bastard who took over the Helsing pack!" The intruder answers and as Nathan moves to break another bone, he cries out. "Please! He's my only family! I'll answer everything!"
The wolf on the ground is whimpering, mumbling incoherently as he tries to crawl away, reaching out for the swinging intruder. Nathan barely recognizes the words stop and please but the meaning doesn't register. He kicks the wolf and glares at the other.
Leon and Colt watch with dark expressions. Nathan can tell that both of them want in on the action. Their anger pushes them forward as they listen, letting out growls here and there but Nathan's Kappa force keeps them at bay, leaving all of the torturing to him.
"Give me a name." Nathan demands, his Kappa force making both of the prisoners wince.
"No one knows his name." The prisoner argues. "He calls himself R and no one knows where he's really from. He took over the Helsing pack a year ago and he's been looking for Audrey Hastings since."
"Why?" Leon questions. "Why Audrey?"
"He knew she's royalty. He said she was promised to him." Nathan snarls, punching the wolf across the face. He coughs and then splits out some blood. "Fuck! I didn't say it! R did!"
"No one is fucking promised to her." Nathan paces, his wolf speaking through him. He turns to Colt. "Get Ralph Hastings over here."
Colt, knowing that Nathan's wolf is the one speaking, bows his head, revealing his neck and quickly leaves. Leon closes in on the swinging prisoner.
"How did he know she's royalty?"
The prisoner shrugs, his eyes looking over his comrade who managed to make it to the wall and sit up. He heaves, looking back at the swinging prisoner and opens his mouth. "...He...Knox..."
Leon leans closer, getting him to repeat it. Slowly he mumbles into the beta's ears and its so quiet that even with Nathan's heightened senses, he doesn't know what he says until Leon repeats it louder.
"R's from the Knox clan and was promised Audrey as a war bride. But then something happened internally and R was thought to be dead. He must've survived long enough to figure out that she's alive before he took over the Helsing." Leon conjectures, standing back up.
Nathan continues his pacing, waiting for Colt to return while keeping his wolf from ripping the prisoners apart. His mind is running with thoughts.
The Holt clan protected the monarchy, saving Kappa Eli and Iota Makenna as well as their heirs. Audrey told him her grandparents passed away happily before she and her family were hunted down by the Knox and Helsing clans. Her parents were murdered but Ralph managed to get her away where they lived in secret until the Holt clan found them again. He knew that's where Roman came in and after that, they were hunted down again but John Sullivan killed them and they joined the Sullivan pack.
So where did R come in at? Was he apart of the original Knox nobles hunting them down? Or did he come in later?
His wolf growls, scolding Nathan and he's right. None of this matters. What matters is that somehow, the enemy broke into his territories and managed to reach the pack house and now Audrey is gone. All that matters is killing the enemy and getting his mate back.
Ralph enters the room. His expression is dark and Nathan can see the other royal's wolf breaking out. His features are slowly converting. His eyes are yellow and his teeth are elongated. Much like Nathan, he is pissed.
Behind him, Roman comes in with a blank, cold expression. He takes in the scene quickly and inches towards the wolf sitting against the wall while Ralph looks over Nathan.
"Are they talking?" His voice comes out with power that equally matches Nathan's and again, the Moore beta is edging away, giving the two pissed off royals their space.
"R wants Audrey. He says R was promised her."
"R?" Ralph snarls. "This rogue bastard is really starting to piss me off. The only one who has ever been promised Audrey was him."
Roman straightens when Ralph gestures to him and folds his arms over his chest before walking towards the wolf who's chained. "Is that aconite?" He smirks. "I'm impressed."
Nathan doesn't reply and keeps his attention on his technical brother-in-law. "He's originally from the Knox clan. Have you heard anything?"
"No, but I've rechecked the borders. Fucking ex-Crowe pups didn't take their responsibilities seriously. I've taken them under my wing for now in one of the Sullivan prisons. You can visit them later."
The swinging wolf watches the two carefully and cautiously speaks up. "You're Ralph Hastings, her brother."
Ralph ignores the prisoner and continues. "No one's alive from previous attacks. This is probably revenge although it failed in weakening the army."
"R has a message for you." The prisoner continues, capturing their attention. Ralph snarls and punches him in the gut. He coughs, wheezing for a good few minutes while Nathan and Ralph wait. His companion coughs behind him.
"He...just sent it..." He explains weakly, gripping his broken ribs. Nathan, with his heightened sense, can hear them slowly healing, cracking back into place and he knows its painful. It makes him smirk with dark delight.
"What is it?" Ralph demands. The swinging wolf hesitates, his eyes blinking from Ralph to Nathan with fear and dread. Both of the alphas and Kappa force holders snarl. Their force hits him so hard, he whimpers like a pup.
"He says..." He swallows. "By the time this storm passes...the bitch will be mine and I will be the true Kappa."
Nathan, Ralph, Leon and Roman all snarl but its Nathan who reaches out and grabs the aconite coated chains with his bare hands, holding the wolf in place. He doesn't flinch even though the skin on his hands are burning layer by layer, healing up again only to be burned off. His rage is so strong, even Ralph flinches behind him.
"I'll kill him."
Hitting the wolf so hard that his jaw breaks and he's knocked unconscious, Nathan stomps out of the prison room, shouting an order for Colt and Leon. Ralph and Roman follow him as they head back to the pack house.
"Crowe pups allowed this to happen?" He checks and Ralph nods next to him with a growl. "I want them."
Ralph looks at Roman who nods and shifts into his black wolf, taking off through the woods. "Asides from the two prisoners, there aren't any survivors among the enemies and there's only a few Moore wolves with grave wounds. Your pack is a great army."
"Not great enough. I want you and Zachary to start a new training regime. Go your hardest. Murder them if you have to. I don't fucking care so long as they know to do their job." Nathan snaps and Ralph growls. Reaching out, he grabs Nathan's shoulder and pulls him to a stop.
"You need to reign in your control. If your pack sees you like this, they're going to be terrified." Ralph scolds.
"I don't fucking care if they're scared. As long as they do what they're supposed to-"
Ralph punches him. He hits him so hard that Nathan stumbles back. He wipes the blood from his mouth and turns back to Ralph who stares at him blankly.
"Rule one, from one royal to the next: Image is everything." Ralph explains. "You and I aren't good at it. We both know that. But Audrey isn't here to settle your pack. They're angry and they know you're angry but if you let the beast you control you when you're around them, they'll have a hard time trusting you."
Nathan snarls but he knows Ralph is right. Audrey is great with the pack, projecting a trustworthy monarch that would listen to their complains. Nathan is more war oriented. He's darker and in times like this, he is focused on protecting, fighting and winning. Most importantly, he's focused on finding his mate and bringing her back while murdering everything that stands in his way.
"I need her back." Nathan growls out, shaking as he stares back at the woods. "I don't fucking care what it takes. I will kill everyone that stands in my way."
Ralph smirks darkly. "I'll gladly join you. I'll give you R if you give me his army."
Nathan snorts. "I don't plan on killing R right away. I plan on torturing him slowly, over a long period of time. I plan on making him scream for everyone to hear and then I'm going to send parts of his body to everyone who thinks they can take away my mate or my title from me."
Ralph, for only the second time, recognizes him for what he is: a true wolf. John Sullivan was the first and that man was a leader, a true alpha. But Nathan is a Kappa and a true Kappa at that. He's dark and deadly but he's admirable, a good leader and worth following. And Ralph realizes that he hadn't really accepted Nathan as a Kappa or his sister's mate until this moment.
"Call the alphas." Nathan orders. "I want them here in three hours, ready with all of their sources. I want my army ready by then."
Ralph nods. "I'll contact Simon. Now, go back to your pack and check on things. I'll be back with the Crowe pups for you."
"Bring them straight to me. I want them-"
Nathan stops. His heart starts to beat for the first time since Audrey left and his anger instantly depletes to relief and fear as her sweet voice fills his head. It's like seeing her for the first time all over again and it throws him into an emotional wreck.
Audrey.