General Sterling

Twenty

    There's a sense of hope in all the men that are left. There are four alphas left and we need to get them all. We need to clear a path. This place is swarming with newly infected wolves that have no control. There are a few pack wolves in the mix but for the most part, they're all hiding among the newly infected. The General must have pushed them to turn the villages in a haste. 

    "This is crazy," I shook my head looking over the maps. 

    "What do you think about this?" he asked taping the center. "That's where the oldest alpha is," 

    "f**k that guy. We need to hit the other three corners of their defense before nightfall. I can take the old dog in the morning. We need to split up. Why don't you take two squads with you here? Alex, you take two more here. Charlie, take the last marker," 

    "What about you?" Alex asked. 

    "Her majesty is on her way. I need to be here to greet her. Once I'm done with her, I'm going to take the center with my guys. Head out, as soon as she gets here, I'll give the signal," 

    "What's the signal?" Charlie asked. I released a tiny explosion in the palm of my hand. They all smiled. 

    "General, since you are the furthest. Go now," 

    "You all really saved my ass," he looked us over. "Thank you," 

    "She shouldn't have done this. She acted like a child. I'm sorry I left you alone to deal with all of this. I didn't know," 

    "It's not your fault," Alex placed his hand over mine. "What matters is that we're together again. We've got this," 

    "Let's go get her another victory," the General nodded. He kissed the top of my head and rounded up his men.

    "You gave us all a scare," Alex admitted. "It's not just emotional, you get that right? It's a lot of pressure but we're betting a lot on you," 

    "I am aware. The compulsions stuck. They wouldn't break until my soul departed. Until my flame ran out. It's not a flame anymore. A little water isn't going to put it out. I'm not going anywhere," I reassured him. 

    "Good," he ruffled my hair. I smacked his hand away. Charlie laughed and wrapped her arms around me before the two of them split up. The Queen is going to be pissed. 

    "Major General? Are we headed out?" Josue, one of the guys that stayed with me walked over with a few others. 

    "We are. As soon as the Queen gets here, I'm going to signal for the others to attack. When the captors get here, we're taking the center to get to the last alpha," I informed them. They smiled nodding. "You all have a moment to gather your heads. Get a little blood in you. Make sure you're ready," 

    "My lady," they all bowed and walked away. 

    "Adaliegh," I jumped at the sound of her voice. I turned around to see her standing at the top of the hill surrounded by captors. Lots of them. There are other soldiers from the other houses with her as well. 

    "My Queen," I took a knee and bowed as she marched over to me. Her hand met the side of my face. My entire body whipped around. I had to steady myself to keep myself from falling face-first into the mud. 

    "Do you know what you've put me through?" she growled. 

    Never in my entire existence have I been hit this hard before. Not by my dad and not by a single person trying to kill me. I shook my head trying to shake the dizziness that followed. I spat the blood filling my mouth out along with my left fang. She definitely cracked a few things in there. 

    "f**k,"  I panted as I took a knee in front of her again. "Forgive me, my lady. My transition took a little longer than expected," 

    "Look at me," she demanded. I've never been scared like this before. I caught my breath before looking up at her. There are tears in her eyes. My entire demeanor fell apart in seeing her this way. It looks like she's been crying for a while. "You can never do that to me again, Adaleigh," she cried gripping my face in her tiny hands. "Get up," 

    "Yes, My Queen," I stood up with my head bowed. 

    "Are you f*****g kidding me? Did you get bigger?" she growled motioning my body. 

    "I did, My Queen," I nodded feeling the aftermath of her slap aching. She grabbed the front piece of my armor and pulled me down so we're at eye level. 

    "Are you okay?" she asked looking me over. 

    "Better than okay," I confirmed. She let out a sigh of relief before resting her tiny forehead against mine. 

    "She's okay," she pulled away and let me go. She looked at the others behind her as laughed maniacally.  "She's okay," she shouted. "She's f*****g okay," 

    "My Queen, the General, and the others are waiting for orders," I reminded her. 

    "You almost f*****g died and you came back here giving orders?" she asked. 

    "No, I came straight here to see how things were and-" 

    "It all went to s**t without you, didn't it?" she asked, I didn't meet her eyes. 

    "I don't mean to be disrespectful but what you did was to spite something I had no control of," I looked her dead in the eyes feeling the rage boil in my blood. 

    "And?" she asked growling at me. "You think I give a f**k about what you think? The world is not going to stop moving forward if you die. They backed out and I did what I had to drive those alphas into a corner. Don't lecture me about what's happened. I know what's happened, Adaleigh. Now do your f*****g job and fix it," 

    "Yes, My Queen," I bowed my head. 

    "Bring me those f*****g dogs," she screamed at the top of her lungs. The captors all disappeared except for three of them.  I raised my hand pushing flames up and fired a fireball. When it was high enough I expanded it creating a loud explosion that lit the sky up to let them know they should begin. 

    "My Queen," I bowed respectfully to excuse myself. I turned away to gather my men. 

    "Ada," she called after me. I stopped and turned to look at her. She stands out so much against the dark colors around her. Her silver hair, her fair skin, she's painfully beautiful. "I'm sorry. People are dying. Things have to move forward even when the odds are against us. I couldn't risk them coming inside of the barriers. Innocent people would have died," 

    "I understand, My Queen. Forgive me for speaking out of context. I know how hard it is to make these choices. It'll never happen again. I promise as long as I draw breath. I will do everything in my power to succeed in every task you give me," 

    "I know you will," she nodded and turned away. 

    "You should get some rest, My Queen. I've got it from here," I assured her. She glanced back, smiled, and nodded. "Demetrian," I called out. She came over to me. "Make sure the Queen gets back safely. We'll see you in a few," 

    "Yes, my lady," she bowed her head a little disappointed. "My Queen," 

    "I just need a minute," the Queen swayed. Demetrian caught her. 

    "Carry her back. Make sure she's fed," I instructed. 

    "My lady," she bowed and picked her up. They disappeared into the darkness. 

    "f*****g handful," I shook my head. My men laughed behind me. "Alright, this is an assist job. Gather as many new infected as you can and get them to the captors. I need an opening to the alpha. Do not wait for me. I am daylight resistant. You aren't. Understood?" 

    "Yes, mistress," they all growled. A captor came over to us and handed me a satchel with the crests we used to gather males back at the capitol. Inside are a bunch of small pouches filled with them. 

    "Let's go. Cover the captors. Make sure you kill the pack dogs. They'll survive without their alpha," I handed them out. 

    I took lead gripping my daggers tightly. The pack wolves took lead to show the newly infected how to take one of us down. Captors are some of the best trained and most undermined vampires we have. None of them have the same aristocratic privileges we do. None of them have special powers. In fact, the only thing they have going for them is the fact that they're vampires. They don't come from prestigious breeds like I do but they're vicious cold-blooded assassins nonetheless.

    Where they lack special abilities, they make up for them with their keen senses. It's nearly impossible to sneak up on one of them. They train from a young age as the rest of us and unlike us high ranks, they don't have to go into the arenas or the camps. It wouldn't be fair for us to go up against them in numbers. They catch the things we have to kill and easily I might add. It's a game to them. They love it. 

    They work well with others. They're actually a lot friendlier than most vampires are. They don't care about ranks and money. So as long as they have fun and no one takes anything from them they do whatever the queen asks of them. The males and the females alike. 

    It was captors who found the Queen after the former Queen and King were murdered. She was sixteen at the time and mortal for the most part. They protected her until the Incubus king killed his way to her. She favors them. Gives them whatever they want. They all live very extravagant and docile lives. 

    "We got them," one of the captors growled. "Go get him," 

    They pointed at the tent. I'm covered in the blood of the pack wolves who tried to come at me. I heated my armor drying the blood needing to be less slippery. They went over to the tent and pulled it right off the ground. The massive wolf is standing in front of a woman, a little girl who can't be older than four, and a boy who hasn't shifted yet six or seven years old. The luna and his pups. 

    "Please," the luna stood up pulling the children near her. "Let them go," 

    "Not going to happen," I shook my head. 

    "Please, they're my pups," she begged. 

    "Sebastian," I called out. 

    "My lady," he bowed stepping forward. 

    "Suns coming out. Take everyone back with you. I'll be in a bit," 

    "My lady, we can take care of the woman and pups for you," 

    "No, Sebastian. This is personal," 

    "Mistress," he bowed low and gave the order. I motioned the Captors to go with them. They looked between us and followed. 

    "You're not going to touch my pups," the woman growled. 

    I placed my hand on the ground and pushed the flames out creating a circle of lava around us. Big enough to have room to fight. I pulled the heat upward creating flames hot enough to trap them all here. The children began to cry and while I'm not one to hurt kids I can't let them out of here. 

    "I'm not letting you into the city. Whoever it is that you sent you made a mistake. You should not have come here. You should not have brought them here with you. My people are more important to me than my morals. I promise you, they will not suffer," I bowed my head. 

    The alpha rushed towards me. He's big meaning he was born to be exactly what he is. I let go of my daggers and caught his mouth in both my hands. His weight pushed us both back. His claws wrapped around me and his hind legs tried to break through my armor. He cried out when his bare paws pressed against the hot metal of my chest piece. 

    "Elias," she cried out. I twist my body pulling him off of me and slammed him on the floor without letting go of his teeth.

    "You kill so many of my men," I growled forcing his mouth open inch by inch. "I'm not going to kill you just yet," 

    I pulled his mouth open breaking his jaw, He let out a pain-filled shriek as I tossed him aside. I marched right up to him and stomped down on his back disabling him. He instantly turned back into his skin. 

    "Magda, no," he cried out. 

    I spun around swinging my arm as the she-wolf came at me the same way he had. The back of my fist connected with her face and she went flying. she didn't hesitate to get back up and rush me again. This time, she met the sole of my boot. I roundhouse kicked her hard enough to disorient her. She shifted back into her skin in a bit of a daze but was still determined to save the pups. What the hell are they even doing here?

    "Please, please, please," she crawled over to me gripping my legs. I grabbed her by her hair and dragged her over to the children who are crying. The boy is holding the little girl in his arms, rocking her back and forth. "Please, don't do this. They're babies," 

    "All the people who died, those people you hunted down and left out for the sun to take were someone's babies," I cried pulling her to me so she can see that I have no choice. 

    "This war," the alpha tried to crawl over to us. "You don't get to pick and choose," 

    "Exactly," I nodded putting my fingers in his mate's mouth. "You don't get to pick and choose. You chose this life. I chose this life and I stand by it," 

    "Let them go," he pulled himself closer. "You already won," 

    "Oh, no. I'm just getting started," 

    "Forgive me, Magda," he cried. I forced the fire into her mouth. She didn't even scream. The little girl and the little boy did. They cried out for their mother as she burned from the inside out. 

    "You have no one else to blame but yourself," I looked down at the little girl. I took her from the boy. He began to hit me as I pulled her into my embrace. 

    "Please," he shook his head. With one quick squeeze, she stopped thrashing. I gently lied her down next to her mother, her tiny body instantly caught on fire. I grabbed the boy. He's his favorite. The one who was going to inherit the legacy he would have left behind tonight. "No, no," he shook his head trying to get closer. His nails have broken off. There is blood coming out of his fingers tips as he drags his body closer and closer until he reached us. He tried to take the boy from me. I ripped the boy's head clean off his shoulders. "No," he howled as the blood of his innocent son spray us both. "You f*****g monster!" 

    "You had to have known that you wouldn't be successful," I knelt down next to him as he cried. "You weren't sent here to conquer, alpha Elias. You were sent here to die. I am but a speck of the real monsters hiding behind these barriers. I'm the Major General of one branch in an armada of Darknessians all over the world," 

    "One day, you're going to feel this pain," he cried. I laughed. 

    "Oh, no. I already have you clueless little dog," I pulled the flames back to me getting a hold of myself. I stepped away from him. 

    "Kill me," he shouted as I began to walk towards the things that were inside of the tent. "Kill me you f*****g leech. KILL ME!" 

    "No," I turned back to look at him. I found the stick to signal where they are to the others. "You're going to give them a message from my queen and all of those you butchered," I went back to him and handed him the flare. "Tell them, the Marchioness of Aleksander is coming for them," 

    "Are you her?" he choked out. "Are you the Marchioness?" 

    "That's right," I confirmed. 

    "What's your name?" 

    "What do you need it for?" 

    "Every werewolf ever is going to know it. You will never be able to set foot in front of a wolf without being in danger," 

    "Really?" I grinned. "In that case, it would be rude of me to keep to myself. My name is Adaleigh Darius. Daughter of the Bloodhound of Darkness. Leader of the Darius covens here in Aleksander. The Flame of the Dragon. I'm not bragging, Elias. I just want all of you to get it right. I want you to know who I am exactly. Let's hope your King puts you out of your misery. You will never shift again. You will never walk again. You're not an alpha anymore. The best thing for you can only be death," 

    "f**k you," he cried as I walked away. 

    I picked up my daggers and looked back when he released the flare. The flare is something witches created not that long ago. This means the wolves have witches on their side. The walk back to the castle was a little longer than I expected it to be but I needed to get myself together. I sat down on the steps and began to remove my armor. 

    "Ada?" I looked back to see the General standing at the top of the stairs in the shade provided by the pillars. I got up and went over to him. 

    "Are you alright?" I asked looking his chest over. There are wolf marks all over him. Deep ones. 

    "You?" he asked looking at the blood. 

    "No," I shook my head. "I killed two kids today," 

    "The alpha's pups were there?" he asked. I nodded. "They would have grown up to retaliate. Wolves are-"

    "Don't try making me feel better about this, Armad. I know why I killed them. I know," I sighed. "I deserve to feel all of this. Don't make it better," 

    "Ada," he sighed coming after me as I went up to my chambers. I wiped my face only smear the blood on my hands over my face. 

    "f*****g perfect," I sighed. The metal tub in my room was already filled. I removed the rest of my clothes and got in. The water turned red almost instantly. It's boiling now. 

    "Your power is a little unstable," he pointed out. 

    "I am aware. It's going to be like this for a while," he placed his hand in the boiling water and it instantly began to cool down. 

    "I'm as cold as I am hot," he shrugged and climbed in with me. Ice formed around us to keep the water from spilling out. "New trick," 

    "You learned to control the temperature of your powers," I nodded impressed. "How long did that take you?" 

    "I haven't stopped training," he admitted. "There is no way in hell I am going to let you surpass me. I'm the General and will be the King. f**k you, Adaleigh Darius, the flame of the dragon," 

    "Now?" I asked. He looked me over and laughed. 

    "As much as I want you in this very moment, I'm afraid you might burn my d**k off," 

    "Probably," I nodded. "And then some," 

    "I missed you, you raging b***h," he splashed me. "I f*****g thought you were dead," 

    "I'm starving. I ate before I left but I am hungry," I admitted. 

    "Me too. I usually am after a fight like that. I thought I was dead," he pushed his hair out of his face. 

    "You thought I was dead and then you thought you were dead? I don't think you know what dead means," I laughed. He looked at me and grinned. 

    "What happened to your face? Are you missing a fang?" 

    "I am," I laughed a little hard. "Millie slapped me into the next f*****g century," 

    "Really?" he chuckled. 

    "Yes, she is unbelievably strong from someone whose head I can rest my t**s on," we both burst into laughter. 

    "She would f*****g kill you for saying that out loud," he wheezed. "I have not laughed this hard in a long time," 

    "I'm going to miss Hellbourne," I admitted. "I could have used him right now. He was an amazing teacher. Better than my old man ever was," 

    "Mine too," he admitted. "We should get cleaned up. I need you to take your kid back," 

    "Charlie is a handful, huh?" I smirked. 

    "I can feel her inside of me. Not like the other formers either," 

    "Because you're emotionally attached to her. Note to self. Love them but not too much," I reached for the milk bar. 

    "You plan on blooding humans?" he smiled. "That makes me happy," 

    "Why?" I asked looking up at him as I got the blood out of my hair. 

    "Because you'll have protection. I know you don't need it but a lot of people are going to want you dead, Ada. I'm kind of jealous," 

    "Why?" I laughed. 

    "Because I'm not the only one who wants to get their f*****g hands on you," he shrugged. "I don't really like tall girls but you, you with a little Nyphm on the side. I'd kill for,"