Panic began flowing through my veins at the realization that she wasn't upstairs. I would've heard my bedroom door open if she left the room. I sniffed, trying to pinpoint her location. My sense of smell was picking up another scent in the house beside the witches and my sister. It wasn't Crimson's, but I couldn't decipher who it was. I've smelled it before, but where?
'She's gone. We have to find her.' Leo said, the panic increasing. Where could she have gone? She didn't come downstairs. She had to go through the window, but why would she leave? Did the other scent belong to the person that could've taken her?
'Dammit! I shouldn't have left her alone.' I growled out.
"I guess if I hurt her little boy toy, she'll pop out." Tia brought both of her hands in front of her and my eyes widened as a huge orb formed in her hands. I could feel the heat emitting from it and it licked my skin in a taunt.
"Tia, as your Queen, I command for you to stand down or you will be executed promptly with no funeral or burial. Your remains will be food to the rodents." Geneva threatened. Tia scoffed, the orb only getting closer to my face.
"We'll see about that." She spat.
"How about we take the witchcraft outside?"
Everyone looked towards the door and to my relief, Crimson was there. She stood outside the house, tapping her foot on the wooden porch. Her head was tilted down, preventing anyone from seeing her face. She was still dressed in her old clothes and shoes, which could only mean that she left in a hurry.
"Crimson." I breathed out.
"I mean, you guys are trashing the house. Who is going to clean all of this up when you guys are dead? Hm?"
Tia moved away from me and tried to go towards the door. Geneva quickly moved her hands out in front of her, shouting in a language I'd never heard of. The rogue witch stopped in her tracks, dropping to her knees. The invisible force was gone and I sat up, standing from the couch.
I wiped the blood off my face with the back of my hand.
Tia grunted, trying to move. Her muscles visibly strained in her neck and her eyes seemed to glow a bright white.
"I asked a question." Crimson spat. She moved her head to look up and immediately, a sick feeling crept into my stomach. Geneva seemed to pale at the sight in front of her and she took a step back.
"Crimson," I repeated slowly.
Her eyes never wavered away from Geneva and there was a smirk on her face. Her eyes shined brightly and nothing but yellow could be seen in her orbs. She moved her neck to the side, a crack sounding.
"Be a doll and release Ophena so we can play." She teased. Geneva almost instantly dropped her hand, releasing Ophena from her hold. She coughed, falling to the ground.
"Crimson, calm down," I said louder. Her eyes flickered to me before quickly moving to Geneva.
"Oh, Paxton. I am calm. Very calm." She took a step forward and Geneva took one back. Her follower seemed to not understand what was going on for she tried to move out the door. Crimson's eyes moved to her and she stopped halfway over the threshold.
"Leaving so soon? We haven't been properly introduced yet." Crimson stepped closer to the witch, and she cowered away in fear. A smile lingered on her face and before anyone could stop her, her hand smashed into her body. The hood fell off from the impact and the witch flew back.
She landed in front of Geneva, her brown hair covering her face. Crimson was breathing heavily and her eyes seemed to glow even brighter.
'I need men at my cabin asap. There are three witches present and I would assume two hiding outside the border. Search the surrounding woods for them.' I said in the link.
"This cannot be a coincidence. I mean, first a note. Then a visit. Harold seems to be getting impatient." Crimson stepped into the house and everyone seemed to freeze. The fire in the fireplace flared violently and Ophena moved over to me.
"I need for you to stop, Crimson. You're not stable." I said. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Paxton, relax." The yellow flickered to brown then back so fast that if you weren't staring into her eyes, you would've missed it. I noticed her wince slightly, her bottom lip rolling underneath under teeth.
"I have this under control. It's all apart of my plan."
On cue, guards came through the door, filling the small living room. Geneva picked up her accomplice and drifted towards Tia. My sister growled at them, cornering them so they couldn't escape.
"I warned you, Thornhill. You're just going to cause more pain for your people." She spat. Crimson scoffed and pulled something out of her pocket.
"Well, until then, you can take a nap." A purple ruby glowed in her hand and she held it out in front of her. The fire and lights glistened off of the magical rock, causing it to shine brighter. Geneva glared heatedly at her.
"Where did you get that?" Her voice sounded strained and I could see the anger in her features. Crimson smirked.
"A little birdie slipped it to me as a present. Isn't that great?" She taunted. The witch took a tentative step forward, her hands shaking. She looked absolutely livid. While on the other hand, my mate seemed to be enjoying it.
"That doesn't belong to you!" She shouted angrily. Crimson scoffed.
"It's not technically yours either, now is it?" She shot back. Geneva hand quickly raised in the air and she tried to throw an orb of blue light at Crimson, but the witch wasn't fast enough.
"Veneficas, dormitabis profundum mente!" Crimson shouted loudly.
Light shot out from the ruby, flying to each of the three witches. Their bodies shook and one by one, they began falling to the ground. They laid on the floor, snores escaping their lips.
"How long will they stay asleep?" I asked. She shrugged, stuffing the ruby back into her pocket. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes.
'Another secret.' Leo spat. My men stood off to the side, eyeing Crimson with a wary look. I cleared my throat, gaining their attention.
"Lock them up in the dungeon. It would be best to keep them separated from our own. Make sure they have nothing on their bodies and strip them down to their undergarments." They began following my directions, heading towards their sleeping bodies.
'Alpha, we managed to catch one of the witches that were outside the perimeter. The other escaped. Used some sort of spell to disappear.' I gritted my teeth.
'Put her in the dungeon with the rest. I want extra men stationed at the patrol areas and regional clears. This is the second breach this week. This is not acceptable, and I want men searching for the other one.' I growled out.
'Yes, sir.'
"Paxton," I looked towards my sister. She pointed ahead of her and I saw that Crimson was sitting on the floor with her head against the wall. I rushed over to her and bent down. She looked exhausted and out of breath.
"What's wrong?" She shook her head, her eyes closing for a brief second before opening. Brown was the only thing staring back at me and I couldn't be any happier.
"That took a lot out of me. Not killing them, I mean." She breathed out. I went to pick her up, but she shook her head again. Ophena cleared her throat.
"I'm going to go make sure that they get locked up correctly. Don't want them getting out. Let me know when you're ready to go." She said as she headed towards the door. My eyebrows knitted together.
"Go? We're not going anywhere. Crimson is not in shape to be confronting Harold." I said, glancing up at her. Crimson waved a hand at my sister.
"We're going. I'm fine." I growled in annoyance and Ophena rolled her eyes, continuing out the door. My eyes landed on Crimson and I suppose she noticed the worried look on my face. Her hand moved mine away from hers.
"I'm fine, really. They just needed a scare." She chuckled, but I could only frown.
"That could've gone sideways, Crimson. You're not stable enough to be pulling tricks like that. Who knows what could've happened, and where did you get that ruby?" I scolded. She blew out a breath, moving to stand up. I tried to help her, but she shrugged me off.
"I have connecti— What is your problem? You should be thankful that I saved your ass. Not to mention your sister's too. So don't ask about how it was done." She spat angrily. I shot her a glare.
"You're the only one with the problem. You're parading around here, doing whatever that it is you do with your eyes! You know you're not in good condition to be playing around." I gritted out. She scoffed, walking pass me. Her shoulder bumped into me and a low growl rumbled my chest.
'Get it under control before I have to.' Leo snarled, not liking the disrespect.
"So what if I'm not in good condition? It's not like you would have trusted me more if I was." She entered the kitchen and I followed right behind her. She began opening cabinets and slamming them shut after searching them.
"I saw that look in your eye, Paxton. You thought I was going to lose it. You thought I was going to kill everybody in the room." She opened another cabinet and with a frustrated huff, slammed it shut.
"You're right. I did, and do you want to know why?"
"I already know--"
"It's because you're Crimson Alexander, killer of all. The Blood Queen or whatever other names people have given you. You kill for fun and for sheer enjoyment. I've seen that look in your eyes when you have someone's life in your hands." I snarled out. She turned to me, her eyes burning with rage.
"We're really going to go back over this again? You know who I am. Hell, everyone knows! Even people in actual Hell knows! I'm no saint, Paxton, and as I recall... You aren't one either." She sneered. I growled, my claws growing.
"I heard about you. About two siblings that climbed and climbed their way to the top in the fight for the regions. Woo! Yippee for them, but there's a catch. They won, but not fairly, no. You and your sister slaughtered innocents to be in control."
"Shut up," I growled out.
"Your sister didn't even want to go through with it. She wanted to play nicely, but the dear old brother couldn't stand that he could lose the region to some other creature!" She chuckled humorously and I could feel myself losing it.
"Stop, Crimson. You don't know what you're talking about." I warned.
She pulled open another cabinet and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel's. A satisfied looked graced her features and she slammed the cabinet, turning back to me. She screwed off the top.
"You killed hundreds of thousands of people to gain your title. Yet, you judge me. Oh, but I get it now."
"Do you? You wouldn't even be able to understand half of it." I spat. She took a sip of the alcohol, her face barely showing how bitter the drink really was.
"Oh, but I do. You won't admit to being a killer or how you put it, a monster because you believe you're being protective. That if, God forbid, word gets out that Paxton, Alpha of the region, killed all of those people, you would be hunted down like a dog. Figuratively speaking of course." I took a step towards her, my eyes flashing between my regular eye color and my wolf's.
"I'm warning you, Crimson. Just shut up." My nose flared as she tilted her head to the side.
"It makes you nothing but a coward. You won't even admit to being a killer, and you judge me because I do. Does that irk you? That I can waltz around if I want to, not worrying about the stares and the whispers that go on behind closed and open doors. You're afraid that if someone knows who you really are, they will kill everyone around you and most importantly, the people you love."
My body began moving on its own and she didn't move an inch. I towered over her, fuming, and gradually losing control of my temper. I desperately wanted to claw into her skull, but as she stared up at me and raised the bottle to drink, I realized something.
She wants me to get like this so she wouldn't have to talk about herself. She's using my past to cover up hers.
With a shake of my head, I stepped back. A flicker of surprise crossed her features and I blew out a breath. Leo tried to break through our link, but I blocked him. He'll just mess up what I'm about to do.
"Is that what happened to you?" I bit back. Her eyes filled with curiosity and confusion.
"Did what happen to me?"
"You can put on that fake mask that you don't care, but I know you do. You care about what everyone thinks of you." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"I really don't. You can't tell?" I nodded, smirking.
"I'll admit, you're good at pretending that you don't, but deep down somewhere you do. Children fear you and are told stories in order to keep them from leaving the house after dark. You're a nightmare to them, a monster. Tell me, not once do you care?" I asked. Her hand flexed around the bottle and her teasing attitude was gone.
"It's not my fault their parents like to discuss me. I don't tell them to reenact stories that most likely never happened." She gritted out.
"You were sweet before. You ran a diner with your grandmother," her eyes shifted down.
"She wouldn't approve of this." She sat the bottle on the counter hard, still holding it. I could see the restraint on her face as she settled her gaze on me.
"You don't know what she would approve of." Her voice wavered at the end and I tried my best to hide my smirk. Bingo.
"She approves of killing innocents? Of killing high leaders in a society that didn't even want anything to do with the humans? That her dear old Crimson, is a cold-blooded savage that has no boundaries? I'd have to say, I think she would be disappointed in you."
As the last word left my mouth, the bottle exploded into pieces. Her hand stayed closed, glass cutting into her skin. The alcohol spilled over the counter and some on the floor. She was breathing heavily and her foot was tapping in that same, weird rhythm. It dawned on me what I had said and I took a step towards her.
"Crimson, I didn't mean that," I said softly.
Her head shook and her shoulders sagged. She unclenched her hand and moved it around, the glass glistening in the light. I moved to help her, but she held up her other hand, causing me to stop.
Guilt began seeping into my system and I cursed myself.
"I—"
"Don't. You're right, Paxton. She is disappointed with me. She told me herself." She began pulling the glass out of her hand and she winced. My eyebrows knitted together and as if she could sense my confusion, she began explaining.
"I'm sure you've heard the stories of how I met Lucifer." She grunted as she pulled out a large piece. She placed it on the counter and I held back a whimper.
"I wasn't down there for a stroll. I had been tipped off that I could get information that might help me with my little situation. I had just killed Eleanor and after that, I couldn't control it. I didn't know what to do. So, I summoned him." She gritted out.
"Lucifer?" I asked. She glanced at me before looking back at her hand.
"No, Prospero." The name rang in my head and I began remembering where I heard it from. Turner mentioned him as the guy that could help take us to Harold. So, he is a demon.
"He told me that Lucifer was more than willing to help. That he actually was a fan of my work. So, I went. The demons wouldn't even come near me. Scared as if I was a tall glass of holy water." She chuckled out. The last piece fell out her hand and she sighed, squeezing her hand closed.
"I meet the guy and he's actually different than what people paint him as. You know, horns and tail. Pitchfork. He had on a freshly ironed suit and his hair was slicked back. He tells me he can make it stop. That all my worries can go away." Blood dripped out of her closed fist onto the counter and a look of fascination was on her face.
"He wanted me to be a permanent torturer in Hell. That way, my soul gets put to rest, but the evil side of me works for him. I wasn't up for dying so he took a different route. Said I could rule by his side. Killing would be like coloring, so easy and simple. I still can't believe I actually began believing the guy. Then it hits me."
Her cut hand slammed on the counter and a strangle breath left her lips. I stayed silent, not sure what to do.
"A beam of light shines down on me and suddenly I'm not there anymore. It's bright and white, clouds are all around me. Suddenly, I realize that I'm in Heaven." My eyes went wide.
"You've... You've been to Heaven?" I asked. She laughed, nodding.
"I know right. I couldn't believe it myself. An angel was sent to retrieve me, and do you know who sent him?" She paused, grunting. Her hand shook slightly.
"My grandmother. I had never cried harder in my life. It was like old times. She hugged me and stroked my hair, whispering sweet nothings in my ear. She still smelled like cookie batter and a hint of fresh roses. She looked younger and healthier." She whispered.
"Then she steps back and says, 'Crimson. God is very disappointed with you.' I mean, I already knew that I wasn't God's favorite, but to be in Heaven, it was so surreal. Then she says to me, 'I'm disappointed in you.'" Her hand slammed against the counter again, a crack going through the marble.
"She told me that I wouldn't be able to stay with her in Heaven because of what I did. I had to go back to Hell and spend the rest of eternity there. I cried for her to forgive me, explaining that it was not my fault. I cried for God to forgive me. So when the angel tried to take me back, I bent one of his wings in half, breaking it off his back and I pulled out his heart with my bare hands."
Her hand lifted and she turned it over. There were no more cuts, only blood. She rested her hand by her side and looked at me. My eyes were wide. Did she kill an actual angel?
"My own grandmother was so terrified of me. I had never seen that look on her face before. Pure horror and it was all because of me. I remember taking a step towards her and she staggered back away from me, almost as if she had been burned." A tear slipped from her eye down her cheek.
"God still sent me back and I fought my way out of Hell. Got scars that will forever be on my skin. After that, I just embraced what I was."
My eyes were glued on Crimson and my mind was still processing what she had just told me.
"That answers your question." She mumbled.
"What question?" I asked.
"If I care or not. I couldn't care less about how people view me or how children are afraid of me. How I've killed people for my own enjoyment or how everywhere I go, people cower away and whisper about how I slaughtered their families. Or how they judge me without even knowing me." She shook her head.
"I can't fathom up the feeling to care about them because my own grandmother judged me on something that was out of my control." She spat.
A knock grabbed my attention and I looked to the side, confused. A she-wolf stood outside the house on the porch, peering into where the front door would've been. She stood with her hands behind her back and a concerned look on her face. Her gaze settled on me and she blinked rapidly as if she had forgotten what she came here for.
"My apologies, Alpha, but the Elder is here." The she-wolf said. Her eyes glanced at Crimson for a second before looking back at me.
"Tell Shaw I'll call him later. Send him back home." Annoyance laced my voice. The she-wolf shook her head no and I narrowed my eyes at her.
"It's not Shaw, sir. It's Elder Louis and she's requested for the Luna." She said. I glanced over at Crimson and saw her glare at the girl.
"Great. Somebody else that can probe my personal life." Crimson joked. She walked past me towards the door.
"Crimson, wait." She ignored me, pushing past the she-wolf. She grunted, holding her shoulder. The she-wolf walked away, most likely heading back to the pack house. I sighed, rubbing my beard. I let up the block over my wolf and was greeted with ferocious snarling.
'You idiot! Do you know what you've just done?' He shouted.
'I didn't expect for it to get like that. It just brings me to more questions.' I said.
'She's been through a lot. Meeting Lucifer and killing an angel? To top that off, practically getting disowned by her grandmother. We didn't have to learn like this.' He said. I nodded, heading out the door.
'Louis is only going to cause more problems. Whatever she wants with Crimson, it can't be good.'
'I doubt Crimson will be open to cooperating. Especially not after what just happened.' He growled out. I sighed, nodding.
He's right. Crimson will most likely be more closed off than before. I probably messed up my chances of getting any more answers from her.