Hell's Paradise

The 'Blood Crest pack' is a pack feared amongst all were-creatures, humans, witches and vampires because of their strength, wealth and influence. POV: Alpha Calix Years ago, when my pack was under attack by witches who made use of dark magic, we fought them with immense strength and bravery, but we couldn't overpower them because of their use of dark magic. After several months of unending war, they cast a spell on us to keep us tamed, but the spell was too strong that it turned into a curse which made us ruthless beasts instead of taming us. Several years passed, yet we still struggle with this curse with no hope of redemption. The curse made us mindless beasts during the full moon. At times, we end up killing ourselves during this period. Sometimes, when the curse has taken over our sanity for a long time, we end up losing to it and becoming permanent beasts, which was the case of my younger brother. To many younger wolves, it's just a bedtime story or a myth, but to me, it's the reason my father is not alive today, it is also the reason my mother's eyes never regained its color. I remembered all this while staring at a scar on my body which should never have been there. After remembering all the warriors, we lost to this curse, including my father, and my younger brother, Kaelen, who is at the verge of losing his sanity, due to the effect of the curse on him as part of the Alpha's direct bloodline. I felt the storm of rage in me as my claws sharpened, and my body trembled with immense rage. I was at the verge of transforming when Alex, my most trusted Beta and best friend, came in. I was so consumed with my rage that I didn't feel his presence when he stepped in. Alex, noticing my rage, called out to me, "Calix, what are you doing? I know you are angry about the curse, but you need to snap out of it and put yourself together first. You are our Alpha for crying out loud. You can't lead the pack if you are so consumed by your own rage, we need to think strategically about a way to tackle this problem rather than allowing it to consume you. I turned to him, my eyes still blackish-red and thundered, "What exactly would you have me do? We have been searching for a solution to this painful predicament ever since my brother came of age and yet no breakthrough. He is on the verge of losing himself to this curse. What exactly would you have me do?" Alex stared at me for what felt like an eternity and finally said, "The elders are waiting for you in the council room. Let's hear what they have to say concerning this, then we will decide on our next line of action." He reached out to the door and said without looking me in the eye, "Quickly come downstairs, they are already waiting" and with that, he left the room. I could feel the frustration and rage crashing down on me at the same time, but I knew I needed to be calm, at least to meet with the elders, so I went into the shower, reflecting on what Alex had said, I told myself, "Let's meet with the elders first. They might have found something useful." ***************************** POV: Beta Alex After I left Calix's room, I stood outside the door for some time, my brain replaying the look on his face while he spoke. He looked hurt, scared and angry all at the same time. I could sense the rush of different emotions running through him. I couldn't stay in the same room with him at that moment, not with him looking so devastated. I had never seen him like that, not even when his father passed on. I guess the thought of losing his younger brother to this curse scares him. After much thought, I made my way to the council room to get the agenda for the meeting ready. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the council room, which was already filled with elders who were awaiting his arrival. His presence, as domineering as ever, coupled with his black-coloured Alpha regalia (a gown-like outfit worn by Alphas of Blood Crest pack) giving away the dark authority only he knows how to possess fully. As he stepped in, we all rose to greet him. After a few minutes of settling down, the meeting commenced. I decided to start by announcing the agenda of the meeting, but I was cut off by his roaring question, "I want to understand why we still haven't found any remedy for this curse yet, or are we now comfortable with it tormenting and afflicting us with cruel pain every full moon?" He growled. "The full moon is supposed to be a celebration for werewolves, but in this pack it's a dreaded and dangerous time of the month, yet no one is trying to find a solution to this calamity we are facing," he yelled. "We have lost wolves to this curse. We are losing wolves, and we will still lose more if drastic action is not taken." Calix can be terrifying when he is angry. Even the elders usually get tensed up when he gets angry. He was about to yell at them again when, suddenly, Elder Mosai, the elder in charge of external affairs, stood up and said, "We found a solution". Calix turned to him, his voice filled with fury, he said, "What did you just say? You found a remedy and didn't think you needed to tell me immediately?" Elder Mosai shakily took a step forward and said, "We got to know about the remedy yesterday, but we were pondering over it and decided it might not be a good idea to tell you about it, but now that you brought up the topic, I decided to tell you about it and allow you make your own decision and not us making it for you". Calix stared at Elder Mosai for quite a while, then he said authoritatively, "What's with the long sermon? If you know a remedy or solution, spill it. Don't test my patience". With a trembling voice, Elder Mosai said, "The remedy involves an heir with a contradicting blood,.... the mixture of an Alpha's blood and..... that of a..... Night-walker. A Vampire. ****************************** POV: Alpha Calix The silence which followed Elder Mosai's statement was deafening. I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. Beside me, Alex's grip on the cushion tightened so hard that the leather groaned. "A vampire?" My voice echoing through the room like thunder. "You want me to taint my pack's legacy with the blood of a corpse? This is not a remedy, this is an abomination. We've hunted those parasites for centuries! Their blood is poison to us! They are impure!" I snapped. "Normally, yes," Elder Mosai said, stepping forward, "A werewolf's blood is hot while a vampire's blood is ice-cold......." But I cut him off with my thundering growl. Elder Mosai looked to the ground, trembling with fear. After a brief silence, Elder Silas, the elder in charge of war, stood up and said, "I know this sounds absurd but try listening to us first and then make the decision." I felt suffocated, the thought of my brother's redemption depending on a parasitic creature was really disheartening, but I had no other option, so I waved my hand for them to continue. Elder Mosai came forward, this time with boldness and said, "This curse is a storm of uncontrolled transformation, a vampire's blood is frozen in time, it doesn't change, it doesn't age, it doesn't shift." He continued, "If we can find a vampire of pure lineage and bloodline, her presence and blood can stand as an anchor. It can break the pattern and 'lock' the curse, stopping the ruthless beast from taking over." I felt drained, it took a lot of strength to just sit down and listen to all he had said, but after listening I didn't feel convinced enough to partake in this 'remedy'. There was a long silence before I remembered something and then asked, "You said the remedy involves an heir who has a mixture of an Alpha's blood and a vampire's blood. So you are saying that I am to get intimate with her?" There was a brief deafening silence before Elder Mosai shakily said, "Yes....., you are to... produce an heir with her." I stood up and repeated, "I am to mate with her?" The words tasted like ash in my mouth. I stepped down from my sit, My alpha regalia trailing behind me like a darker shadow. Approaching him, I said, "Are you trying to mock my bloodline? You want me to stain my lineage with the blood of a corpse? You want me to literally defile all the traditions of this great pack, all in the name of redemption!!" Before I could get to him, Alex rose and swiftly held me back. He looked at me to calm down before turning to the elders, "Is there no other way around this? It really is more of an abomination than a redemption. Please, is there any other solution?" he asked calmly. Alex really knows how to maintain his cool even in tough and heated situations, I must say. Elder Silas stood up and said, "There is no other solution, the heir is the permanent solution, but we know the moon is rising soon, and Prince Kaelen doesn't have years but numbered days, so we found a way to temporarily lock the curse without a child .....yet." Alex replied, "Let's hear it". It seemed like Elder Silas was resistant to speak, so I commanded, "Speak!" My patience was running out, Elder Silas whispered in a pleading manner, "Her blood is a natural antidote to the curse. In the night of the full moon, a drop of her blood must be added to the pack's meal, it will act as an anchor keeping their minds from slipping into the realm of beasts. I felt a wave of disgust, but it was nothing compared to what Elder Silas said next. "But for you the alpha, the connection must be absolute, because the curse is stronger in your veins, you can't just eat a meal blessed by her blood, you must drink directly from her, from the source." The room went dead silent, my fists tightened, Alex's grip on me loosened, his jaw clenched, then he said, "What do you mean by that, you want the alpha to feed like a common parasite?" "No," Elder Silas said sharply, "He is to stay with her, throughout the time of the full moon, the Alpha and the vampire must be inseparable, he must stay under her cold aura, drinking her blood as the moon shines in its fullness. Her cold presence will act as a cage for his rage. If he leaves her side for even a moment, the curse will snap back twice as hard." I felt a kind of rage that I couldn't express because I knew the moon was truly rising quickly, but the thought was too repulsive, depending on a night creature for my own sanity. "I am to be chained to a corpse?" I asked in a half whisper, half growl. "Not a corpse, Alpha, a princess who possesses a pure bloodline." Elder Mosai replied. "How do you suggest we find such a vampire who is willing to bleed for a werewolf? They'd rather see us perish than lift a finger to save us? They hate us as much as we loathe them," I said. "The primal frost," Elder Mosai said, smiling. "What do you mean?" I asked, my left brow forming an arc, "They are one of the covens in the shadowed peaks, they are old, their blood is potent and their princess, Amber, has the purest blood we have tracked so far, it might not be easy taking her, but we need to act fast." He continued, "If you take her, you won't only save the pack, yourself and your brother, you will also take the power of the night-walkers through this alliance. We can strengthen our stance in the were-world and become stronger". "Then so be it, but if this fails in any way, I will give you all to the witches myself," I said dangerously cold and authoritative, with no room for arguments. They knew it wasn't a just a threat, it was a warning. ****************************** I stood in the cold infirmary, looking at my brother, Kaelen. He was now a shadow of the bright and happy boy I once knew, the black vein of the curse was now at his jawline, about reaching his head; meaning he had little time left. He was breathing heavily, the gnashing of his teeth echoing through the room. He raised his head, looking at me exhaustedly, "Calix....." he groaned, his eyes red with pain. "The moon.... it's calling. Don't... don't let it take me, don't let...... me turn into that thing." I gripped the bars of his cell, my knuckles turning white. "I won't Kaelen, I am going to bring back our remedy, so just hold on a little longer." I reached out my thumb, tracing the line of his jaw where the dark magic stopped. I had no choice, I would not let my brother lose his sanity over a curse he knew nothing about. I turned to Alex who was waiting by the door, his face grim. "Ready the elite warriors," I commanded, my voice hardening. "And the princess?" Alex asked. "The princess," I repeated without any emotion. Princess Amber Valerius, the Elders said her name like a prayer and a curse. A girl with an eye colour of trapped sunlight and liquid ice. They said her blood was so pure that wherever she passed the air grew brittle, turning the very air in your lungs to frost. I looked at the silver chain on the wall which was meant for my brother. Now, they will have a different use. "We take her tonight," I gripped my blade, "It's time the Night-walkers learned that even their princess can be made to serve the moon. Let the hunt begin." With that we marched out.