The Mark Of The Beast

7. Sympathy 4 The Devil POV: Khyzer

I just rendered the dark Lord himself speechless. He narrowed his eyes at me and scoffed. "You know I hate being called by that dreadful name. I prefer to be called anything besides that name."

I sighed with raised eyebrows."You don't like to be called by your name?"

"I don't prefer my biblical name given to me by the father...that cast me out...No I don't prefer to seether every time Im spoken to, called upon, or referred to in conversation." Any minute now steam is going to come out of his ears. I fought the urge to laugh out loud. Don't want him getting too pissy now do I. He started fiddling with his hands, looking at his nails?, and smirking a little he lifted his eyes to meet mine and asked "Besides what's wrong with calling me Satan. That's what I am most commonly known as just ask anyone of the self-righteous faithless wastes wandering around the world of the living abusing and misusing incapable of giving a s**t to even attempt to follow 10 simple commandments or should I say 10 simple rule. Not that they care about who I am or the meaning of my existence at all but knowing that there is a book that says there is a God and a Devil also called Satan Is pretty standard knowledge nowadays. Since knowing what is written in a book doesn't mean it is believed." Forcing a smile across his face that didn't quite meet his eyes as they reflectively shunned the concept he just spoke of being deemed acceptable. While I find myself to have aplite in life where I can say the beings he loathes the most, the inhabitants meant for earth and slaves of their human nature aren't at the top of the food chain anymore.

I studied him smoothing out his pinstripe suit jacket for a moment before deciding I'd rather just cut to the f*****g chase already. "Alright, Satan. I don't have all night. What's on your mind? What's up to your sleeve? What do you want? Get to your point."I said with one raised eyebrow then with both eyebrows raised. Cracking my knuckles in the process.

With that s**t-eating grin back on his face. "You know Alpha Khyzer, I don't even expect the favorites of any deity to be any less exasperating, seems even the Moon Goddess has her chosen favorite with a bad habit of trying to push the buttons of a being that is more powerful beyond limit's."

He lifted his right hand and with a snap of his fingers a crystal whiskey glass appeared out of nowhere on my desk in front of me and another just like it appeared in his left hand. Both glasses were already filled with brown liquid on the rocks. Just from looking at the filled glass and breathing normally, I could smell the strong nostril burning aroma of alcohol coming from the glass.

I picked up the glass and studied it further. "What is it?"

Still grinning he said nonchalantly "Gentlemen's Jack, of course. What do you take me for?"

"Uhm." I downed every drop-in one gulp. I felt the whiskey burn a little when it hit the back of my throat. Unlike most whiskeys, the burn dissipated still at the back of my throat instead of lingering down the esophagus. "A smooth drinker, to answer your question." I looked him up and down blankly.

"Ah, yes." He said with a chuckle.

"Hopefully that helps take some edge off. I so want to keep things between us on a friendlier level than antagonizing me constantly in the wake of your presence. There is no need for things to have to get ugly, this is after all a business relationship."

I set the glass down and sat back propping my elbow on the arm of my chair." Let's get this straight. I don't really like you. we are not friendly and we don't have a relationship of any kind." breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly."And as it stands, I don't even believe you." The disdain radiating through my voice. Alpha's voice won't intimidate him so I held back using that amount of power as I spoke.

He gave me a big smile and clicked his tongue. His voice still calm and level."Ha-Ha. Yes, I'm aware you don't believe in me or him upstairs for that matter." He sipped from his whiskey a couple of times."But You know Khyzer it is rather ironic, isn't it? Your belief is in the Moon Goddess you so faithfully worship." He paused to sip his whiskey. I watched him without even blinking once. He better tread carefully with what he says next.

"You don't conform to Christianity at all. If you were a regular human being, you would be what they call an atheist. The irony is you don't believeth in even the concept of me but yet your sitting here talking to me, looking at me, and listening to me." His smile now stretching from ear to ear showing off that he has damn good dentist obviously as he clicked his tongue at me once before sipping more whiskey.

"Yes, it's f*****g ironic!" I retorted in a louder tone with a snicker. "Now are you done beating around the damn bush yet?" I deadpanned at him with a scowl.

He dropped his smile and his face went serious. His eyes darkened a little. In a huffed breath, he looked me right in my eyes and got straight to the damned point finally while rubbing the rim of the whiskey glass with his thumb.

"Dahlia is once again, here. On earth, walking amongst the living. Blazing hot problems will arise very soon if they haven't already. She is determined as ever about not returning to hell where she belongs. How long do you think it'll take before that temper of hers sets fire to half the f*****g world. Once she has regained her full strength?" The look on his face tells me he is pissed about his chaos demon skating from his clutches and right out of the gates to hell and right back here to earth.

Oh for the love of the Moon Goddess and the sake of Deja Vu. This is beginning to sound a little too familiar. I remember like it was yesterday. Selena was 3 so I was about 19. Yes, I was 16 when I became a father. No her mother and I are not mated, meant to be, not in love, hell Morgan and I aren't even good for each other. We are like poison to each other that kills each other slowly.

Well, my baby moma was killing me slowly for damn sure. All I can say is I was young, dumb, and full of c*m. Morgan was fine as hell and easy but I didn't know she intended to get pregnant on purpose because my dad was the Alpha so that made me future Alpha and that made Morgan an opportunist. My parents tried to warn me about them she-wolves like Morgan, always chasing the title and its status, but I didn't want to hear It.

There was no doubting who Selena belonged to. Morgan was smart enough that she wasn't going to risk getting knocked up by anybody but the future Alpha. I love Morgan because she gave me Selena. I was never in love with Morgan. Selena, I loved with everything in me from the moment I heard the words "I'm pregnant."

I tried for the first year of Selena's life to be a family. I tried to be a father, a husband, a family man, a future Alpha, a warrior, and so much more. I couldn't hack it at that husband s**t. Not with Morgan. She wanted to be a trophy wife more than she wanted to be a good Luna. Morgan was a material girl for a material world. Not to mention mean and scandalous.

Unfortunately, I can be meaner and the last time this root of all evil that sits across my desk from me now, decided to visit me because Dahlia escaped and he pretty much paid us to deliver her, was the final undoing of Morgan and I. I don't blame the Devil or his chaos demon. There isn't any blame to place anywhere.

When it's over and it's just over. When I was done I was done. When I say I've had enough then I have had enough. One thing you don't do is challenge the Alpha, nor do you want to talk back to the alpha. The Alpha and The luna don't put themselves before their pack and all Morgan cares about is herself. stick around and you will notice she isn't really around anymore. She's living her human life in the city. Her wolf has been dormant for a long while now because it was overruled by her human nature and I am still the Alpha and I still raise my pup. Pups need to be around their own kind. Need to be raised with their pack. Selena is no ordinary human being. She is right now but she's already slowly changing. Around her 18h birthday, her wolf will awaken completely and she will phase into her wolf the first time. Growing up in the city surrounded by humans east going to help matters as much as it would be a disaster waiting to happen. Besides the fact, nobody not even Selenas mother is going to take my pup anywhere unless it's over my dead body. I let Selena go stay with Morgan briefly over a year ago and it was a real brief stay for Selena since Morgan wasn't on top of her job as a parent. Selena being my daughter is already putting her in the line of fire so to speak and teenagers need supervision anyway. I'm don't leave anything to chance when it comes to Selena. So I brought her back home where she needs to be.

I cleared my throat before I spoke.

" So that's why your here to talk to me because you let Dahlia escape again. I seem to remember delivering Dahlia to you some years ago and here we are again. Don't you have your specialist to track down your escapees?" The tone of my voice must have sounded like felt, and I feel like this isn't my problem.

He snapped his fingers and the whiskey glasses disappeared. Then he heaved a sigh like he's somewhat inconvenienced. "Summoned!" he said raising his voice and wrinkling his brow.

Huh? I know I look confused. "What?" I said questioningly.

As he went from a comfortable sitting position to leaning forward with his elbows placed on his knees and rubbing his hands together. "Dahlia was summoned. She did not escape. She was summoned by summoners..." he shrugged his shoulders but continued his explanation. "I figured she was summoned by the father's most precious and beloved and so very medalsom disobedient ingrates, who just don't know when to leave well enough alone especially when it comes the powers that be, whom they don't know or understand just what forces they reckon with. Still and though it should go without saying as it is implied in some colorful tellings throughout that biblical book of nonsense. Summoning demons is very bad. I'm quite sure it is a sin but he gives them the free will to do so and less they be tempted and choose to do so of their own free will. Lack of divine intervention goes as far back as the Garden of Eden." He folds his hands together with his elbows still propped on his knees then propping up his head by placing his chin on his folded hands.

I chuckled and shook my head. He gave me a confused look. So I indulged him. "It seems to me like it's just general knowledge all around that goes without saying, summoning demons is bad but it's not a commandment or whatever, is it?" Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong Satan.

He raised his head and started twiddling his fingers. I could see the fire blazing in his eyes as they started glowing red. A forked tongue snaked from between his lips and flicked in the air before retreating back in his mouth.

"No there isn't a commandment that says thou shalt not summon demon creatures created by The Dark Lord in the lake of fire." Snakelike hisses are accenting his tone of voice now."But thou shalt not steal is one of the father's commandments, and when you summon demonic things from hell without my permission then I consider it the same as stealing because if you think about it that's exactly what summoners are doing. They are stealing from the devil himself." He let out a short outburst of an evil laugh. I sat still as a statue with my eyes glowing with the electrical baby blue current. Glowing brighter than the lighting of the room. Brighter than his blood-red eyes. Brighter than the moon outside. My wolf eyes stood out from everything in the room. I sat still except for my breathing and I watched closely and listened closely. The Beast Within snarling deep inside me ready to pounce violently but so far there is no need for such actions so I just resolved to pay attention to everything being said and every little movement even his facial expression. Studying the opposition closely is a werewolf thing. We were created to seek and destroy, Hunt and kill, Fight, and survive. Knowing your enemy is a big help with all the above.

He seems taken back by how unphased I am with the grotesque features he has started to show. The dark aura radiating all around him would make a human flinch but I haven't flinched. Haven't even cut my eyes to anything else. You could probably cut the tension in the room with a butter knife.

Finally, he gets down to the nut cutting of all this bullshit."Dahlia is mine. Dahlia belongs to me and I want what is mine, and I want Dahlia back where she belongs as soon as possible. As for the black magic thieves that stole my b***h because they did not know who they were f*****g with when they summoned my chaotic demonic entity to earth. I want them to be served alive to me on golden platters!" He slammed his fist on my desk when he finished yelling. Hell Nah!

"If I were you I'd sit the f**k down and calm the f**k down just a little before you really don't like me!" I shouted in my Alpha voice with my electric blue eyes glowing so fiercely they flicker now and then and if you look directly in my eyes closely you can see the reflection of The Beast Within.

The Devil slightly and the last time this root of all evil that sits across my desk from me now decided to visit me because obviously, he wasn't gonna be moved on this discussion, It's staying on the table because his only reply to me yelling in my Alpha voice was "So Alpha what will it be. Name The Arkanine's price. I don't care what it is or how much. I want Dahlia and the dumbass or dumbasses responsible for summoning my bitch." He kept poking my desk while he talked and it's

really bothering me.

"Didn't I already ask you? Don't you have your own specialist to bring Dahlia back to your hell and the satanist's that summoned Dahlia's chaotic pyromaniac ass?" I asked sharply& rudely.

He shook off the evil aura and devilish red eyes."Well, Bubba isn't great at discretion with these things. He is great at catching escapees before they make it out of the hell mouth, So he doesn't do much bounty hunting up here. He frankly doesn't give a damn who sees what happenings. He just gets the job done by any means. Even if there are casualties. Living things aren't as expendable as he thinks. Bubba would just make a mess up here and make more trouble, I'm sure Dahlia will cause enough troubles all by herself without the help of bubba trying to subdue her. Bubba would be no more than a wrecking ball to the natural balance if I cut him loose to fetch her in the physical world. The Arkanine successfully brought Dahlia back to me before, with the utmost discretion, minimal casualties, no messes because the retrieval was squeaky clean and after all, I sense she is somewhere close. The city is only a few hours out. It's heavily populated and Dahlia is a chaos demon. The city is plenty chaotic, just watch the local news at night. In a day there is more chaos for Dahlia to feed off than she can handle, she can build her strength there." The Devil paused and ran his hand through his hair and I took the opportunity to stick my nose in where I know it doesn't belong but I'm curious. "Bubba? Huh?" with one eyebrow raised and half-ass threw my hands in the air."Is Bubba actually a bloodhound from hell or what?" I said with a chuckle.

"I assure you, I am not amused," he said flatly with his arms crossed.

"And assure you, I was not trying to amuse you Mephisto. What happened to, you know who. The one and only infamous Mr. Crowley? I thought he was the go too and your right hand for such matters. Minus the last time, the Arkanine ran down Dahlia."

"I promoted Alistair." he sighed like he regrets that decision. I laughed involuntarily. I didn't want to break my serious demeanor but I couldn't help but LOL." What is so funny?" he spat.

"So you and Alistair Crowley are on a first-name basis now. Must have been a high-ranking promotion, and Bubba is the one filling Crowley's old position and you are hear talking to me." I smirked and laughed. He may not be amused but I am for the moment. "But with all seriousness, why don't you just go get her yourself and whoever performed the ritual to summon the great pain in the ass that you created and call by the name of Dahlia?"

He scoffed again."If it were something I could wrap up in a day I would but unfortunately, it will take some time and I don't care to spend that much time up here in this world crowded by his children made in his image and forgiven of all sins for just mere asking. I hate enduring any dealings with the self-serving imperfect maggots. I'd much rather just stay home and tend to the never-ending work to be done there. When I opted for this job that nobody wants to do, my only other option was living life as a human up here on the surface with all the other pathetic human wastes of space. With the privilege of knowing what all actually goes bump in the night which I would welcome over the despicable human beings, the father loves so much. Anyone else would have chosen human life but I find my position and location far more, appealing and less irritating despite how undesirable Hell really is in every way imaginable. I'd rather not spend any more time out if eternity feeling suffocated by people and their ignorance and blatant disrespect every time they just don't give a s**t to weigh ther own sins against forgiveness and punishment."

His expression screamed disgust. His voice came out sounding more like something left a bad taste in his mouth that he can't get rid of but that faded quickly and his tone returned to his let's make a deal voice." besides this rundown is in your back yard, you know your territory Alpha Khyzer. It is with all due respect that I have come to you and asked you to go get my ball that went over the fence into your backyard. Rather than just hoping for the fence and helping myself. I figure hiring you for the job would be the best option to keep you and the rest of The Arkanine happy as well as myself without stepping on toes. Just name your price." he said adamantly.

"Fine, I'll talk it over with Mad Max and Braidyn. Tracker too. Tomorrow night I will have your answer and our price." I said with finality and he gave me a toothy smile and a nod of approval. "Splendid!" he said cheerfully.

I grunted and stood from my chair. I am showing his ass to the door and he can kick rocks till we meet tomorrow. He took the hint and started following behind me as I walked out of my office, turning left out the door and back down the hall and around the staircase.

     "Mephisto, Do you have any idea how we are even to begin locating Dahlia? The city isn't small and the population might as well be a million+. Dahlia is a needle in a haystack since she is just blending right in and could be in anybody, all a vessel has to have is life for Dahlia to possess or I don't know what to call it since she more or less just moves in and starts time-sharing someone's body."

The doors are still standing open I sauntered right through not bothering to shut them this time either. I turned to look at him before I descended down the steps.

He was looking at me with an expression of curiosity. "What" I deadpanned at him.

"To possess or move in? You can't be serious?" The incredulity in his voice was noticeable. He looked and sounded perplexed.

"What the f**k ever you call it then. The technical lingo is not what I'm interested in. When Dahlia escaped there was something to work with like having a clue to what direction she was on the move to real quick like and in a hurry because you saw her escape and she was pretty reckless, being she needed a vessel pronto and had no choice but to enter the first person she found." Man, I don't want to rack my brain more than I have.

"Well, I don't have any idea I don't know who was her summoner. I know there is some ceremonial alter or something somewhere. I can help you out as I can sense her presence is close but not real close, not in the local vicinity, no, but she is within a good range of square miles is how I resolve she is somewhere in the city a few hours away. That's the closest area that can accommodate her greatly and easily. Not to mention the choice of selection if she should have to shop around and big city life is more chaotic than the quiet life out here with nature." he said as we walked down the steps reaching the bottom. I stepped out on the grass but he stayed on the sandstone path at the bottom of the steps. "I suggest you start keeping up with the news, Dahlia is also an arsonist if she gets pissed. There are bound to be plenty of places burned to the ground and people spontaneously combusting being reported by news reporters. That's where I would start but you gotta take it from there" He gave a wave and a nod before the air became too thick with fog to see then it was gone and so was Lucifer. I unbuttoned my pants and kicked them off like the flash and shifted. Time to run, I smell a b***h in heat and I'm going to find her. I howled to the moon and took off in the direction of the she-wolf scent.