Survival of The Cursed: The Moon Cursed Chronicles 2

Chapter 6

Kaida POV 

    I sat with my legs and arms crossed, inhaling deeply as the gentle aroma of pine needles soaked from the night rain wafted up from the forest floor, calming my ever-fraying nerves. Just how, in the name of the Goddess, had I managed to find myself in this predicament again? Slowly, I opened my eyes, half hoping the man before me would simply disappear, along with his pathetic whimpers that kept testing the limits of my patience. But there he was, tied up and gagged, blood running down his forehead from where one of the overly zealous warriors had hit him with some blunt object. Eyes begging me to save him from his predicament. I could have just kept on walking, turning my head and looking away, pretending like I hadn’t seen anything at all, but no. Of course not. Not me.  

    “Great” I grumbled out, pinching the bridge of my nose as I let out an exasperated sigh “Just great”  

    A tear ran down the man's face as he continued to whimper and moan under the gag, in what I could only presume were pleas for help.  

    “So, what exactly is it that you want from this creature?” I questioned Markus, never once lifting my gaze from the wolf he had tied up and half beaten to death. 

    “We caught him lurking just outside pack perimeter, sniffing around where he shouldn’t be” Markus growled “My warriors tried to get some answers from him, but all he’s done is b***h and moan like that” the stand in Alpha growled as he knife handed in the pathetic creature's direction, the muscles from his shoulders bulging from the intense anger he felt, fueling the little vein that pulsed furiously on his temple. Such a hot head.  

    “Well, it’s no surprise you couldn’t get anything out of him” I sighed in annoyance, whispering “amateurs” under my breath. But judging by how Markus bristled and crossed his arms over his chest, turning his anger in my direction, the stand in had heard the insult.  

    “Care to run that by me again” he growled out, ticking his index finger on his bicep. Even if he was just a stand in, he should learn to control, or at least hide his emotions a little better than this...  “Amateur” I spoke louder this time, turning my fierce gaze to challenge his own and earning myself a guttural growl from the Hot Headed Alpha. I quickly rose to my feet, letting out a growl of my own and releasing a fraction of my power out, just enough so he would understand that this fight wouldn’t be worth it. I paid careful attention to match my own strength to his. I didn’t want to alert him to the vast difference in our capabilities, but I also didn’t want him to keep thinking he was somehow above me, simply for being Alpha to a bigger pack than my own.  

    Stop holding me back!  

    Nikita snarled in my head, digging her claws in deeply as she tried to force her way through. I bit down on my lips, tasting the salty sweet metallic taste of my own blood run down my tongue as I fought with my Lycan, forcing her back down. Slowly, I raised my shaky hands up to my eyes that were watering from the searing migraine now pulsing through my temples, furious she couldn’t learn some simple self-control.  

    Markus eyed me curiously throughout all of this, seemingly taken aback by this embarrassing display. The stand in released his arms from where they had been so tightly crossed. His eyebrows, scrunched for a second, narrowing his eyes at me suspiciously. Maybe matching his strength had been a mistake, but with the way he had been behaving, short of a straight out fight for dominance, nothing else would have gotten him to shut up and grant me some semblance of respect.  

    “Your warriors went too far, too fast” I grumbled out, hoping to distract him “You have to build up to this, play around with them some even. Mental games work far better than just straight up brute force. It’s the very basics” I stared at the alpha, hoping to get my point across. 

     “Your warriors are worse than Dom ever was” I grumbled out as I eyed the man they had bound, his eyes fading in and out as he tried to focus on his surroundings “Look” I pointed out with raised eyebrows “how do you expect to get any answers out of someone who probably can’t even string two thoughts together right now. You need to keep them in pain, but alert, build up the pain, slowly, with promise of worse”  

    I snapped my finger in Xander’s direction, whom had been trying his best to fade into the shadows of the tent and go unnoticed “paper and pen. Now” I snapped out at the wolf, who scampered off and returned moments later with what I had requested. I yanked the paper and pen from his trembling hands, smirking.  

    Markus, didn’t fail to notice the exchange either, and raised a brow in question, obviously confused how the wolf he had assigned to keep an eye on me had turned into my little errand boy. 

    “What did you do to my warrior” Markus questioned, his eyes turning to me demandingly  

    “This” I pointed to his warrior “is how efficient mild torture can be, if performed correctly” I smirked, sending a wink in Xander’s direction before returning to scribbling on the paper he had so kindly precured for me.  

    Markus let out a low drawn-out snarl, enraged for his warrior’s sake “You did what” his voice rumbled out, causing the posts of the tent to tremble under the pressure of his anger. 

    “Oh, relax, I didn’t actually torture one of your pack mates” I mocked, never lifting my gaze from the paper, trying to make sure I got everything written down correctly and clearly. Satisfied, I lifted my gaze and snapped my fingers in Xander’s direction again. The warrior ran to my side and took the paper in my hand, then ran out again, more than eager to escape the tension now rising in the tent. 

    “Then how do you explain that” Markus roared  

    “You left a warrior to watch over and alpha for the past few weeks. A bored, annoyed, and frustrated Alpha, who had some grievances to air with said warrior. What did you think was going to happen?” I chuckled out mockingly, a smirk creeping on my face provokingly, a mannerism I had picked up from all the time spent with Kane. I understood now, more than ever, as I watched the Alpha’s take my smirk in, why Kane always smirked at people like that. It was amusing to watch the varying range of frustration twist and contort on the recipient's face.  

    Markus pursed his lips together, undoubtedly biting back a plethora of words he wished to shout in my face. Apparently, this little hot head did have some semblance of restraint, which is more than I can say for Nikita.  

    “You are a guest in my pack, don’t over step your boundaries” he warned through gritted teeth just as Xander came running back, arms overflowing with the equipment I had requested he go fetch for me.  

    “And the herbs?” I questioned the little trembling warrior who refused to raise his gaze to meet my own. He fumbled around in the small satchel at his side, pulling out a few small jars with the herbs I had requested, handing them off to me as if they were on fire and scalding his hands. The little pup went to leave, but I grabbed his arms, dragging him back down to kneel by my side, handing a mortar and pestle. 

    “Grind this up for me” I commanded him, not lifting my gaze from my own work, but when the wolf hesitated, glancing up toward his Alpha for direction, I let my next words rumble with the undertone of a threatening growl “or are you too incompetent to grind some herbs up for me?” 

    “You are not his Alpha” Markus snarled out, standing up for his warrior “you do not command him, not on my land, not in my presence.”  

    Slowly, I placed what I had been working on down. Closing my eyes and inhaling deeply as I fought back my own anger. Controlling Nikita was hard enough when I was level headed, but it became exponentially harder when we were both in agreement and trying to hold back. Despite the blackness from where my eyes were closed, I could still see a mild tent of red, gently reminding me that I still hadn’t brought my emotions back under check. And so I waited, as patiently as I could, until it faded completely, before opening my mouth to speak with this impetuous Alpha.  

    “Fine” I finally got out, plastering a bright smile as I lifted my gaze from where I had been sitting, facing the Alpha with my eyes still closed.  

    “I won’t help you out with your prisoner” Smile never faltering, as I pushed myself to standing “I’ll just return to my tent and wait for Casey’s return” 

     Despite myself, I couldn’t fully control the rage that was still storming beneath the surface and failed to draw it all in. It wasn’t until I opened my eyes, bright smile still plastered on my face, and noticed Xander trembling on the ground submissively whimpering, with a concerned Markus staring at me from where he knelt on the ground with hackles raised, did I realize just how miserably I had failed in controlling my own emotions.  

    “What the hell are you?” the Alpha snarled out cautiously, claws and canines elongating as he prepared to shift and defend himself and his pack.