Chapter 35 - fight
2580 Words
Chapter 35 - Fight
Alex POV
- later that evening -
I knew better than to involve the boys. So later that evening, I was walking to our meetup, alone. It took a lot of convincing for Dameon to allow me to stay the night in the hospital with Austin. He didn't budge, until I suggested Max should stay, too.
I picked Max because I knew he won't stay long, he'll be too busy flirting with the night shift nurse before long. When Dameon and Justin finally left, I told Austin I was just going out for a bit, to meet a friend; Lola, who also happens to be the captain of Dameon's elite fighters. Surely I will be well protected. Of course, I omitted the fact that we were getting into a brawl, not going out for coffee.
I felt bad lying to everyone but I needed to finally set this Lola thing straight. And I needed to do it myself.
As I turn into the alley, I was struck with a sense of deja vu.
Haven't I been here before?
Lola was nowhere to be seen. Seriously, did she just pull a prank on me?
“Lola?” I call out when I was deeper into the alley.
“You made it.” She was behind me, right by the alley entrance. The street light backlit her, causing an eerie glow around her, and her long shadow cast darkness on me.
She walked into the alley slowly. Was she going to attack me now or wait until we were deeper into the alley? I kept my eye on her the entire time, matching her step forward with a step back. She won't be getting in a sucker punch in this fight.
A glass shard crunched under my foot.
“What the f**k?” Startled, I look under my sneaker and I notice a hint of red.
Is this blood?
“Why are we here Lola? I'm starting to think you didn’t bring me here to fight you.” I turn my attention to her.
“About a week ago two men were murdered on the very same spot you are standing on now.”
It hit me like a ton of bricks. My heart pounded in my chest. In a sickening realization, I understood what she meant.
She continues, “On the spot you're standing on, one of them had his throat slit and he choked on his own blood. The other had his head smashed in with a broken bottle. This entire alley was practically covered in blood. And even with how heightened our sense of smell is, we couldn't catch the scent of anyone else here except three men.
“Three?” I spoke low to hide the tremble in my voice.
“Oh, yes. There was another. Didn’t I say earlier? Oh dear, I must have forgotten. The third one was lucky. Unlike his two friends, he got away scot-free. He told me he looked at his friends' killer straight in the eye before he was set free.
My mind was racing. It wasn’t a dream. I wasn't hallucinating. I killed those men, and Lola has figure it out. And judging by how she's carefully watching me fall apart I look guilty as hell.
“It took me days to find the third man. I narrowed it down by tracking which bars you can buy the whiskey he drinks, asking around who smoked the cigarette brand that he smokes, finding his wife from her cheap perfume that was stuck on him. I had a lot misses, but when you catch the smell of a person, you can't be mistaken when you smell it again. You can never really hide someone from a werewolf." The corner of her lips curled up as she stared me down.
"When I found him, he was about to bolt town. He was so terrified with what he saw that it scared him shitless. Or rather, should I say, he was scared of you. He was so scared that he lied about being there. But I have my ways—let's just say I had to be a little more persuasive."
"Don't worry, I didn't hurt him. Much. It was too bad that I had to. Because he was singing like a bird when he found out his friends' killer and the person I had a hard on to get back at—are one and the same."
I open my mouth but close it again, wondering where Lola was headed with this. Why was she revealing everything to me, when she should have presented this to Dameon? What was her agenda?
“Why?” was all I managed to say.
She looked at me head to toe and mused, before answering, “Why do i think it’s you? I would have never considered you. Maybe your Alpha, Xavier, but never you. I only had my sights set on you when you crushed my hand in that sparring match."
“Werewolves are built like bricks, honey. Even the weakest in our pack can easily throw down ten full-grown human males. Our bones don't break as easily as humans do. Crushing my hand was impossible for a human girl.”
“I can see the gears ticking in your head, little human. You must be wondering why I haven’t told Dameon yet. Believe me, I wanted to. I immediately went when I was sure. But when I got there, you were too busy f*****g him." She snickered mockingly.
“What are you then?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I answer.
“I mean what the f**k are you? You clearly aren’t human. You can crush a werewolf's hand, and you can manage to be in two places at once. You had your drama moment at the start when you first arrived, but you clearly seem to be taking finding out about werewolves too well. I've had to kill to keep our secret before, but you? You just waltzed into our pack like you belong. It all just doesn't add up. So I have to ask you again, do I have to spell it out? What—the—f**k—are—you?"
“I don’t understand what you're saying." I felt cornered and didn't know what I could say to get out of this.
“Do you deny killing those men?” she pressed on.
I thought about it for a moment. She clearly already knows so much. Perhaps more than me. Should I tell her my doubts? About my dreams? About not knowing how all of this is happening?
“I don’t understand it myself.” I whisper.
She looks at me for a second I see a glimpse of compassion in her eyes. With their heightened senses it's probably easy for werewolves to know when somebody's lying. I clearly wasn't. But the glimpse was gone just as quick as it appeared.
"Don't you f*****g lie to me. She warned me you would try to trick me into thinking you don't know anything. All I know is when you showed up in our pack, things went to s**t. All you've ever done since then is harm my pack, and confuse my Alpha." Her eyes change color and she collapses to all fours. Hairs start to come out of her skin.
"Wait, Lola! Who is 'she'? I swear to you, I don't know how all of this is happening. If you want, we can go to Dameon together. It's not totally clear to me when it happened—but I can tell what him what I do know. I'll gladly surrender myself to the sheriff, to prevent this from happening again. But please, Lola—I just want to understand it all too. Before it's too late." I plead.
Still on all fours, she answers, “What’s the point in that? So Dameon would turn on me for accusing his precious mate? You think Justin won't just dismiss me and protect you like he always has since you arrived? You got our Alpha and our Beta thinking you're this sweet, innocent human. How the f**k is the rest of the pack supposed to compete? I'm the only one who knows the truth. You're nothing but a lying—f*****g—w***e. And I would gladly end your life now. I would rather deal with the consequences of your death at my hands than letting you live."
“Lola—” I wave my hands, trying to stop her from completing her transformation. Whatever bravado I had this morning was gone. Seeing her shift into a wolf brought back my senses, on overdrive.
What the f**k was I thinking, challenging a werewolf?
I froze as I watch Lola’s body break apart. I could hear snapping sounds as her bones readjust and realign as they get longer. Her skin makes ripping sounds as it stretches to accommodate her engorging muscles. In place of her face, a long whiskered, furry muzzle with dagger-length fangs. She's much smaller than Dameon or Xavier, but still more bear-sized than wolf.
“Lola, no!” I scream again, but it was too late.
She immediately lunges for me. By instinct, I raise an arm to protect my face. She catches it in her jaws and we tumble to the ground. She tightens her bite while she stands over me. I scream in pain as we struggle, a mix of warm blood and drool weeping down to my elbows.
With my other hand I scramble to hold on to anything, and manage to touch the shard of glass I stepped on earlier. I grip the shard, not minding as it cut into my palms, and stab, hard. It manages to find its target, I was aiming for the neck but it ended up on her back, just behind her forelimb.
It only enraged her more. With my arm still in her jaws, she lifts me off the ground and throws me across the alley towards the concrete high fence.
My pelvis hits the wall first, with the back of my head following suit. I collapse to the ground, pain all over, my bitten arm all numb.
This is it Alex, you're going to die.
I struggle to prop myself up to face my killer. I nearly make it to my knees but when I see my mangled arm pain shoots from it and my whole body turns to jelly. I fall face forward into a pool of my own blood.
I could hear Lola snarling a few feet away from me.
My eyelids flutter weakly as I struggle to keep conscious. I breathe in blood instead of air. Darkness starts to set in.
You don't have to hide anymore. Now you show them who you are.
A man's voice was in my head. It wasn't Xavier. It was the same menacing voice I hear in my dreams.
The alley becomes darker as a mist collects around where I am. It was not vapor from the cold air.
The last image I see before the dark clouds engulf me was a woman across the alley, her features cloaked in the darkness.
I don’t remember getting up but when I opened my eyes again, I was looking down on Lola's wolf form. I found it amusing that werewolves showed surprise in their eyes, regardless of their form.
“Are you done, b***h?” The sound of the voice that escapes me is now familiar. I realize, it is me.
Lola bares her teeth, and growls before lunging at me. At the last moment I sidestep, and she misses completely.
She has a go at it again, lunging straight at me, jumping higher, jaws intended to close around my throat.
I raise a hand and clamp it around her neck, and I wrap my other arm around her body.
I squeeze tightly; my arm until I hear her rib cage start to c***k, and my hand until I crush her windpipe.
She whimpers in her wolf form, eyes bloodshot in shock at the sudden turn of events.
When her body limps I let her fall to the ground. She tries to stand but her body was already broken.
“Lola, Lola, Lola. You should have accepted my offer earlier. Too bad your jealousy has clouded your judgement.” As I spoke these words I look up and see the woman I saw earlier across the alley from me. She was trembling, her breath was staggered and she was watching me with her hands clasped over her mouth.
I don't remember getting up but when I opened my eyes again, the dark mist has engulfed Lola's werewolf form.
"Are you done, b***h?" The sound of the voice was familiar. It sounded like it came from the mist.
Lola attacks but misses.
On her second attack the dark mist clears, and a woman emerges from the mist, catching the lunging werewolf in the throat and crushing its body around her other arm.
She drops the limp body of the wolf to the ground. The wolf tries to stand up but its body was already broken.
I was trembling, my breath was staggered, and the woman who held the wolf turns her attention towards me. I clasped my hands over my mouth in horror as I begin to realize something.
“Lola, Lola, Lola. You should have accepted my offer earlier. Too bad your jealousy has clouded your judgement.” Her low, raspy voice echoes in the alley walls, and serves to further taunt her prey sprawled on the ground.
The woman clenches her fist and throws a heavy punch across Lola's muzzle. She lifts the limp wolf by the neck, her fingers digging deep into wolf flesh, and with her other hand rips out the wolf's jugular vein.
She looks up, straight into my eyes. I couldn't feel the breath in my lungs, and my knees buckled under my weight. I fall back on my rear, all the time my eyes still locked onto hers.
She dragged the wolf behind her as she walked towards me. I am trembling and shaking when she finally stood over me. I couldn't see the ground around me, it was covered by her shadow.
Lola's dead wolf form drops beside me.
"No." is all I could whisper.
My other voice answers back, "It’s time for you to know who you are."
How’s was it possible that I just watched myself attack Lola? How was it possible that at the same time I was crushing Lola's wolf form, I was also just standing there, watching in disbelief? I shake my head and ask in my regular voice, "What are you?"
I muster enough courage to lift my head and face it.
The figure with my face leans down, cradles my chin in her fingers, and speaks.
“I AM you."
Me, the other me—bursts into a dark cloud of smoke, and swirls around me. I arch my back and throw my arms to the side as I scream sharply. I feel my skin burn all over my body as the smoke enters every pore of my skin. My insides boiled once the smoke gets past my skin. My vision turns dark, the colors of the world turn upside down, dark becomes light, light becomes dark, then it pinnacles in a blinding flash.
An overwhelming sense of loss, guilt, fear, and pain consumes me. But at the same time I felt powerful. No words escape me but just I shriek in agony. Or was it joy?
Alexandra!
Alexandra!
I could hear Xavier's voice amidst the shrieking and blinding pain.
It’s time. Accept me, accept what is rightfully yours.
That other man's voice from my dreams was fighting to be heard in my head.
Alexandra... you're stronger. Fight it.
Xavier always believed in me. But my head is a mess, and my body is in agony.
“Make it stop, please! its so painful, please make it stop!” I cry out to no one. There was nobody anywhere.
Once you accept it, it will go away. The voice was soothing. I welcome it and my body enters a state of euphoria.
- Writer
