"Can you sense him?" Lucio asked, getting impatient. The longer we took, the higher our odds of death rose. The only connection I've ever felt was with Luke. There was this vibration I could feel deep inside. I stepped closer to the glass, but I was afraid to even touch it. All these years, he was here. Asleep. "Focus." I didn't feel anything though. I had learned to sense people's presences, but I felt nothing from him. Did the rest of them feel anything?
"It may be because of how deep in his sleep he is. I can't even sense him at all." Eliza frowned uneasily.
"I was afraid of that." Lucio sighed. "Then Fay, prepare yourself." The witch clicked many buttons and the faint hum from the machines slowly faded as they powered down. The room never went completely silent. A crack appeared in the middle of the glass and it spread rapidly until the whole thing looked like shattered ice. It was as if everyone was holding their breath, the tension rising with each passing heart beat. There was a faint hum and a gravity seemed to build, drawing everything towards Alexander.
"Albescu...can you hear me?" Lucio didn't dare move. His words like delicate silk. No response came but then it felt as though the gravity that had collected itself dropped onto us like a sudden bomb. A power surge burst from Alexander sending shards of glass flying in every direction. Shawn, caught off guard, tumbled backwards whilst the rest of us struggled to stay put. The man now stood in his broken tank, his eyes still closed. "Albescu, do you remember me?" Lucio found his voice again, it was laced with urgency and concern. Not a moment later, his eyes snapped open revealing iridescent purple eyes, you couldn't even see his pupils. His lips curled into a vicious snarl and his claws gleamed. He was mad, in every sense of the word. Lucio looked at me to speak up but I couldn't find my words. The word "father" or "dad" refused to come out.
"Find the bond!" Daniel was already prepared to fight though he knew it would be meaningless. Alexander fixed his gaze on the beta and charged. His speed was incredible, Daniel only dodged by a hair. I searched, closing my eyes, it was impossible NOT to sense him now, but I couldn't connect with him. He wasn't letting himself.
"Alexandra!" Lucio shielded the others with his magic, which only added fuel to the flames. "Albescu your daughter is here!" He tried, but the attacks only seemed to enrage the beast further. "We're running out of time Fay!" Right! The alarm!
"Alexander...I am your daughter." I took a step towards him, trying desperately to force a connection with him. He turned towards me and push my mental link back.
"Your tricks quit working on me a long time ago you fools." He growled, fur began sprouting from his skin.
"Snap out of it!"
"How dare you try to impersonate my daughter!" He lunged at me with no restrictions. Was this how they tried getting information from him before?
"You idiot! You're going to get us all killed!" I snapped, dodging as best as I could.
"Fay complete yourself!" Lucio ordered. There really was no other way, was there? I pulled out the knife and pointed it at him. I could feel its power surging through me. My body felt whole and numb at the same time. It was as though everything about me was aligning itself. 'Finally! I am free!'
***Luke's POV***
"I am your blood!" She claimed with authority and pride. There was another blast of energy and with a blink, her eyes mirrored her fathers'. Their power seemed to clash, creating sparks in the air around us. This gravity was beyond intimidating. "I am your heir, Father. Do not mistake me for a fake."
"Don't let it overtake you, Fay!" Eliza warned from beside Lucio and her packmates.
"Fay, focus!" I stepped towards them, trying to bring the real Fay back to consciousness.
"Traitor!" Alexander snarled at me.
"Fay!" I realized too late that it was a mistake moving beyond Lucio's protection. Bracing myself, I called out all my strength to the surface.
***Fay's POV***
I could hear someone calling me and felt panic coming from them. Through my eyes I could faintly see them. A wolf attacking my mate. Mate? Luke? Luke! My body jolted as if I had been asleep and suddenly woke up. I charged, swinging the sword just in time to swat my father way with the flat side. I used it like a bat and like a bowling ball, he was knocked back only a little. The shock of it made him vulnerable for a split second, but that was more than enough.
'You abandoned me! I needed you! Mom needed you!' I tried sending mental pictures through our connection. 'I've grown up feeling like a freak. I learned what hate felt like because of you. I learned to feel that towards my own father.' I sent him everything and as I did, I felt our link grow stronger. The bullying, the fear, the exhaustion, and the rage. I showed him my life. The pain that seeped from him was overwhelming. Tears burned my eyes and my heart felt as if it were being ripped from my chest. The glow in his eyes faded, his claws retracted as did his fur and fangs.
'My daughter?' He asked in disbelief, but there was desperation.
"My name is Alexandra Fay Albescu." A single tear finally escaped down my cheek. My father looked down, his body shaking. I stood ready, not sure if he was about to lose it again. Instead, a sob broke the silence and his hand covered his face. Lucio wasn't sure if it was safe to move yet so he motioned me to hurry this along. I could feel my borrowed 'grace' returning back into my subconscious and as it did, my own awkward self was revived. I walked towards the Lord, trying to decide whether I should try and make a joke or just pat his shoulder.
"My daughter is alive." He whispered before looking up," I am truly sorry for all this pain that I've caused you." The guilt in his eyes sent bombs to my walls that were trying to rebuild themselves.
"As much as I'd love to see you both try the whole 'forgive-and-forget-mushy-catch-up' session, we need to get out of here or we can forget about life itself." Lucio cleared his throat. Alexander cleared his throat and straightened himself out. He was clearly embarrassed about being seen that way. My father turned his attention to the wolves who instantly dropped to their knees again.
"Assuming you're with my daughter, you couldn't possibly be from the traitorous families, correct?" There was a hidden threat in his words.
"I am Eliza Kertis, daughter of Victor Kertis, your loyal follower. My Lord, due to our lack of time, I suggest that we properly introduce ourselves elsewhere."
"Agreed. But first..." The Lord's presence grew heavy again as he drew out his strength. "I must exterminate these pests." His claws shredded through the machines like a hot knife
through butter. It didn't take long before the lab was completely trashed.
"Alexander, I get you want revenge, but we're kind of on a clock." I tapped my foot, and my body stiffened when the man looked my way as if I had just kicked his puppy. I could see his jaw working but he simply nodded. Shawn stared wide eyed, to which I simply raised an eyebrow. Yes I just called him by his name. Did they expect me to fall into a sappy mess now that I had made a connection with him? It would take more than an apology to move past this.
"Leisk? How ever did you manage to slither your way in here? As I recall, we denied you further access after your 'accident'." The man looked young, but his hair was already more gray than brown. His pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, even though he didn't really need to. It must be a habit.
"Oops! Did I get lost again?" Lucio grinned at Joshua who only smiled back at the witch.
"Now what have we here? Seeing as you haven't killed Alexander, you must be his brown-nosers." I growled at the insult, but more than that I was done with his arrogant attitude. "Welcome to paradise, pups." He brought a whistle-like object to his lips and blew. Daniel, Eliza, and Shawn covered their ears and dropped to their knees. They growled and yelped in pain. The high frequency it gave off was too much for delicate senses. "Now that I have your attention-" I swung my sword at him, nicking his cheek before he leap away.
"I don't have time to let more sewage spew from your mouth." I growled drawing out a little power. I couldn't use too much, I didn't know how to control it all yet.
"You mutt! I'll teach you obedience!" Joshua snarled and pulled out a whip. I raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
"Kinky..." I chuckled while Luke attacked from behind, but Joshua was prepared for him. My mate took a kick to the ribs but it had little affect on him. He was using his power masterfully, as if he hadn't turned just a few days ago. It took me quite some time to get used to my abilities, and even then I'm still trying to develop them all.
Alexander charged, the bloodlust in his eyes was ridiculously focused. Their battle was personal. Joshua cracked his whip, and only then did I notice all the little silver needles it was covered with. Lucio had ditched his coat and rolled up his sleeves. The tattoos that covered his arms began to glow red. What seemed to be a small portal opened up in front of him.
"Shit!" Joshua pulled out a small box and he positioned himself to block the blast that came from the portal. The blast itself dispersed into 5 separate fireballs that returned to surround the witch. "I'll make sure you burn with your own fire, witch!"
"Can't say I'll miss you." Lucio grinned as he closed the doors. Thanks to his attack we were able to climb into the elevator. Joshua was in no position to block our escape. "So that was unexpected." He chuckled to himself. We all stared and for once, I'm sure I wasn't the only one with the urge to punch him.
"How much time do we have left?" Eliza broke the awkward silence that was trying to stuff its way into the small crowded space.
"About 5 minutes." Lucio replied in a matter-of-fact kinda way.
"We won't make it in time then! The guards on the top floor will already be in position by every exit." Shawn tried to pace but a look from Daniel kept him still. The beta clearly didn't want his Lord to see his pack members as cowards.
"The elevator ends on the 3rd floor down from the surface of the warehouse. We just have to make it to the floor beneath the surface and we have a chance." Lucio explained his plan in case that was as far as we'd be able to make it. Alexander remained silent, his gaze fixed on the floor. I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. Bizarre didn't even begin to cover how I felt about this situation.
Ding!
All us wolves had our claws out including the Lord. Lucio's fireballs came out to play again, but he was mostly concerned on shielding us from the silver bullets that were coming at us in waves. 'No hesitation!' I reminded myself and we sliced our way up. 'No mercy.' Their bodies dropped with anguished cries; the sounds of gunshots were deafening. Alexander's aura itself made many simply stop in their tracks before they met their bloody fate.
"Almost there!" Luke hollered, climbing up the last flight of stairs. We were going to make it! That hope gave me another burst of adrenaline, rejuvenating my legs. The door was just ahead!
"Wait!" Alexander launched himself forward before Luke could even grasp the handle.
"Something's not right." Lucio agreed. This last hallway was completely empty, meaning whatever lay beyond that door may have the power to take care of us. "I don't know what they have, but it's got some heavy magic backing it up."
"Magic? Aren't these guys supposed to hate magic?"
"Those desperate hypocrites..." Alexander snarled, the more his rage bubbled up to the surface, the stronger his aura became.
"We'll have to get them from behind. The security systems are back up so my power isn't as it should be, but I can manage to get us through this." Lucio pointed up at the ceiling. He was going to teleport us to the surface. From the door, it should be a straight shot to the exit, so the guards would be positioned on the next two floors, giving them a clear shot at us all. "Fay, you'll need to call her out again, but remain in control." I nodded reaching for my sword again.
The weapon itself didn't make me nervous, it was the thing that it released that scares me. The power is blissful and addicting, making it ridiculously easy to succumb to it's lullaby. But I don't know Alexandra, I haven't "become one" with her as Lucio described. One mistake here at the finish line, and this all would have been for nothing. I gripped it tight and stared at Luke's eyes. Those emeralds, as hypnotic as they were, I relied on them to keep me grounded.
"I am in control." I whispered softly as the power of the Lord trickled into me. The beast was excited and its itch to fight made my skin vibrate with energy.
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Hey guys! For those of you who made it to this point in the story, I truly hope that you're enjoying it! Also a huge thank you for continuing to read it in the first place! I know I don't update as often as I'd like but I am doing my best to balance everything out. This book will be wrapping up soon and there will be a sequel! Hasta next time! ^.^)/