Page 33 of The Wolf's Secret Baby

“You might think you know it but… it’s hard to explain… you and your brothers can be and do whatever you want. You’re free to explore the world and… oh… this isn’t going to make any sense to you right now,” I said. It seemed hopeless. He stared at me with that vacant expression. His mind was filled with nothing but his programming and I wasn’t sure how to break it.

“What are my orders?” he asked again.

I took a breath to compose myself as an idea flashed in my mind. “Your orders are to listen. This war has been compromised and you are no longer needed for your initialpurpose. Instead, you can develop a new purpose. Your orders are to become aware of the world and develop a sense of purpose. Your mission is one that can be created by yourself. There are others like you, two men who can help you accomplish this. They are fighting on your behalf as we speak.”

“We should be fighting. Where is the enemy?”

“That is… hard to explain. Just… just trust me. My name is Ambrosia Hart and I’m here to help you. I know this is confusing and overwhelming, but you need to listen to my voice and trust me. You’re safe, and you’re protected. What’s most important is that you don’t need to fight.”

“But I was born to fight.”

“No, no you’re not. You don’t understand yet, but you don’t have to let others define your purpose for you. I’m going to help you see that this life is yours for the taking and that you don’t have to follow the programming in your mind. It’s going to take some time but eventually you’ll see that I’m right. I promise.”

He considered the matter for a moment and then he began moving from behind the glass. As he did so, he sniffed the air, and suddenly his demeanor changed. “You are not wolves. You are the enemy,” his nostrils flared and the air shimmered around him as he began to shift. Vali and his men immediately fired their arrows. One of them hit him in the shoulder. The other caught him in the thigh. He staggered to his knees and blood stained his body. I cried out. It wasn’t his fault that he came towards us. He was a slave to his programming and there had to be a way to break it. Vali was ready to kill him, but I held him back. I told him to bind this soldier and take him back to his position. Once there, we fastened the mask to his face and I put him to sleep again.

It wasn’t such an easy thing to break through his programming.

“What if we can never reason with them?” Vali asked, concerned.

“I don’t believe it’s impossible. It just takes time. What they need is someone they can trust. When Typhon and Kull return it will be easier to talk to them.”

“Then let us pray that they come back soon,” Vali said. There was a grim tone to his voice and I shared his misgivings. My heart trembled with fear at the thought that they might already be dead. I supposed we would know soon enough. Either they would come to find us, or Vance would send other wolves to check on his outposts. At least we had done what we came here to do though. We had control of Vance’s weapon and while that was the case, his chances of spreading destruction across the world were less.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kull

My heart was in my mouth as the dust settled. There was a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach as I stared at the sight before me. Vance stood tall, blood smeared along his jaws, raising his hands triumphantly. My brother was on the ground, a bloody mess, unmoving, with a chunk taken out of his flank, his body marked and torn with scars. Vance limped away from him. He was covered with wounds as well and I was proud of Typhon for dealing so much damage. It was the closest anyone had ever come to defeating Vance for some time, perhaps ever but it hadn’t been close enough. I would have to deal with my grief later. Right now, anger swelled inside me, as fervent as a writhing storm. The rage was so powerful it boiled my blood. This was my brother. Losing him was like losing a part of me.

Vance was the one who had taken him away.

All eyes turned towards me now, the other aberration. I wasn’t about to let them get the better of me. There was no point turning back to Ambrosia even though I wanted to, because these wolves would have hunted me down before I even left the vicinity of the stronghold. Anyway, vengeance gripped my heart and I wanted to make them pay for all they had done to us, and all they had done to Typhon.

“I challenge you, Vance!” I roared, the words echoing into the air. Perhaps I could succeed where Typhon had failed. Vance had been weakened after all. However, Vance spat out a glob of blood and shook his head as he changed back from a wolf to a man. He wagged his finger in the air.

“No, no that’s not going to happen. I already indulged one of your challenges today and that is the result. There is noquestion that I am the superior wolf, as though it was ever in doubt. You can be angry if you want but I am not going to give you the chance to be lucky. Your brother was fortunate enough to wound me. Take pride in this, because it is the last thing you will ever feel. It’s time for you to join him. I am tired of you tainting this pack with your presence. You have been nothing but trouble since the day you were created. I should have dealt with you a long time ago but I thought you might provide us with some amusement. I was wrong. You have no place in this pack. You have no place in this world. I ordered your creation and now I shall order your destruction as well.”

He signaled to a couple of wolves near me. They rushed to my side and grabbed my arms before I could do anything to react. I tried to wrest myself free from their grip but they had a firm hold of me and it was impossible to release myself. I felt a knee being pressed into my back and I was forced to the ground. A hand wrapped around my throat, making sure that my head was tilted back to look at Vance. He leaned down close. Blood was still trickling down his throat.

“You could have been so much better than this. Instead you have turned your back on me and the pack. You made this happen and now you have to suffer the consequences for it.”

He reared back and got ready to strike the killing blow. I breathed heavily, feeling hopeless. All of my dreams were about to be taken away from me. I had already lost my brother and now I was about to lose Ambrosia as well. I would never be able to have a family. So many things in this world had been denied to me but at least I would have a dignified death. I was not going to shy away from it. I was not going to be a coward.

Vance held out a hand and began to shift again. He was going to slit my throat with his claws and drag my bleeding body to lie beside my brother and the entire pack was going to rejoice at my demise.

“I’m not finished yet, Vance,” the defiant voice came from behind Vance, much to the surprise of everyone, including me. Vance twisted his body, moving aside as he did so, revealing Typhon. My brother was pushing himself back to his feet. I couldn’t believe it. His fatal wound was knitting itself together again before my eyes.

“No… no this is impossible,” Vance muttered.

“I think you gave us more gifts than you realized. I refuse to yield, Vance. You haven’t defeated me yet. My challenge is not over,” Typhon spoke, marching towards Vance. When he finished speaking he turned into a wolf again, his expression fixed in a mean look, every aspect of his being focused on one thing and one thing only, taking on Vance.

I roared with triumph as Typhon lunged towards Vance, this time becoming the aggressor. Vance braced himself but he was still in the process of shifting as Typhon charged. I hoped that this surprise might have allowed me the chance to escape but the grip was still tight on my wrists. I had to watch, cheering on my brother. He had a renewed vigor and drew on previously untapped reserves of strength. The momentum of the fight was with him and he wasn’t about to let Vance reclaim it. His claws were a blur as he swiped through the air. He left deep gashes in Vance’s broad body. Vance was clawing at the ground, trying to find a moment to gather himself but Typhon was unrelenting. Vance’s body was shredded and blood oozed out, forming a puddle in front of him. The other wolves were shocked. I don’t know if they didn’t help their Alpha because they were stunned, or because they respected the process of the duel but either way they were rooted to the spot.

Typhon snarled and growled and released all of his anger. I rooted him on. There was only one thing these wolves understood, and that was pure, unbridled violence. If we were going to give them a message then it had to be one of death.Vance had grown limp. His limbs were unmoving and his eyes were glazed over. There were wolves in the crowd who were shouting for Typhon to stop, especially Hana. I finally managed to wrest myself away and I charged into the arena to address them.

“You want mercy? When did you ever show us mercy? This is the world you want. This is the way you have always wanted to live. Do you only find it bitter to the taste now that your Alpha is suffering? You all made us what we are today and if you are unhappy then it is because you have held us under your heel. All our lives we have been told that we do not belong here, that we are not true wolves. Well, if that’s the case then your Alpha has been undone by something other than a wolf. It’s time to show you that we can be more than you ever thought,” I said, nodding towards Typhon. He clamped his jaw around Vance’s throat and then yanked his head back, tearing Vance’s throat out. A spray of blood shot into the air and Vance was left in a mess. There was no coming back for him.

“It’s over. This whole thing is over. Typhon has won the challenge and now you have a choice, if you want to respect everything you and Vance have ever stood for. You can accept him as your new Alpha and follow our orders, or you can allow us to leave without any hostile action and you will forget about all thoughts of war.”

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