Lycan Blood

Page 17

After carrying Raven to his house, Dasker laid her down on his bed. She had fallen asleep in his arms along the way. Afterwards, he hopped into the shower, washing Matt's blood off. As the water streamed down his hair and body, the image of Raven, tied down to a chair and her face bruised up, filled his mind. His fists clenched, and his jaw tightened. He took in a deep breath, calming himself down. He's dead, he thought to himself. The image of him squeezing Matt's heart whilst it was still in his chest took over. Before he ripped it out, Dasker sunk his fangs into Matt's neck viciously, draining his veins of blood. He shook away his thoughts and finished showering, drying himself off with a towel before changing into a new pair of clothes. When he re-entered the room, the sight of Raven sleeping comfortably in his bed, hugging the pillows, erased his mind of everything else. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the room. As much as he wanted to sleep in his bed beside her, he had business to attend to. He needed to figure out how uninvited vampires trespassed onto pack grounds, and how many more were wandering amongst the darkness. He called for a couple of his warriors to guard the house, and they were ordered to protect Raven at all costs. The pack doctor was sent along with them to check out Raven's condition.

Dasker left the house, making his way across town to meet Theo and a couple of lead warriors. They stood beside a staircase, leading down to a wide door. "How did they get past our border patrol?" Dasker barked, his annoyance evident in his tone. They all bowed their heads.

"We're not sure, alpha," One of the warriors replied confidently. "None of our wolves were aware of the vampires until they reached the ball." Dasker glared at each of them before gesturing at the door, signaling for them to open it. Once they pulled open the doors, he made his way into the dungeon, Theo following behind. He walked past a few empty cells before stopping. He turned to face the prisoner sitting on the ground with his leg chained to the concrete.

"Open the door." He commanded his warrior, who quickly obeyed. Dasker walked into the cell, examining the prisoner. Dried blood stained his face, and his shirt was mostly ripped, exposing his wounds. The prisoner kept his face down. Dasker sniffed the air, a particular scent from the prisoner's blood intriguing him. He let out a mirthless chuckle. "Verbena..."

Normally, vampires did not have the ability to compel other supernaturals- they were only able to compel humans. This, however, did not apply to hybrids. They could compel almost all supernatural creatures, including other vampires and werewolves, but there was one way to withstand compulsion: verbena. It was an herb that, when in someone's bloodstream, combatted the effects of a vampire's compulsion, rendering it useless. Of course, if it was in a vampire's bloodstream, it also rendered their own compulsion useless. "So you can't compel us." The prisoner refuted, still looking down. Dasker walked closer to the man, shaking his head slowly.

"I don't need to compel you to get answers," he whispered, "Get up." The man looked up at Dasker, fear evident in his eyes as he slowly pulled himself up from the ground. As soon as he was on his feet, Dasker grabbed the man by his neck, pulling him off of the ground. The man started struggling against his hold, choking for air. Dasker's eyes began swirling red, and his lips curved up slightly. "This is going to go one of two ways; either, I torture you in the worst ways imaginable, and we wait for the verbena to get out of your system..." The man's face started to go pale, "Or, you cooperate with me and get a quick, merciful death." He let go of the prisoner, who fell to his knees gasping for air. "Either way, I will get the information I want, and you will die. What happens in between is entirely up to you." Dasker walked out of the cell, the warriors closing the door behind him, and they began walking away.

"Wait!" The prisoner called out from the cell. Dasker walked back, watching the prisoner bring himself up to his feet. "I-I'll talk."

After ordering Theo and the warriors to step out of the dungeon, Dasker stood in front of the cell, observing the man. "If you lie to me," Dasker explained, "You will regret it." The prisoner nodded. "What do you know about the Lycan Prophecy?" Dasker knew the reason for the enemies' arrival; the only reason the vampires and werewolves would come together like this was for power. They wanted to kill Dasker and take control of his pack. Theo had mentioned to him that, before they raided the trespassing vampires' hideout, the warriors had heard them mention the Lycan Prophecy. It was believed that a lycan would arise one day and rule over all werewolves and all packs. A lycan was similar to a werewolf, but had much greater power and strength. In their transformation, they wouldn't change into a normal wolf, but a massive 'wolfwalker'. They were also rumored to have special abilities, but none knew what kind. It was obvious why the werewolves would speak of the prophecy, but why the vampires?

The man seemed surprised at the question, hesitating a little before answering. "A lycan is rumored to have risen, and as you know, that means they'll steal the power from all the alphas and become king of all packs."

"I find it intriguing how you know of this." Dasker stared at the man. "You're a vampire, so why are you interested in werewolf business?" The man stayed silent. "Answer me." Dasker stepped closer to the cell, making the man quickly scoot back in terror.

"The people who recruited us- they said that the lycan would use his power to eradicate all vampires." He explained.

"Who recruited you?" Dasker questioned further.

"I don't know! They told us to meet them at midnight at a set of coordinates. When we got there, we all had to put hoods over our heads before they came." He cowered as far back in the call as he could with his chain. "Please," he pleaded, "I don't want to die."

"Too bad. You surrendered your life as soon as you committed yourself to their cause." Dasker walked away, heading towards the door of the dungeon. Just as he placed his hand on the door, the prisoner's voice called out.

"Don't you want the lycan dead, too? He'll become the king, and you'll either end up a follower or dead!" Dasker ignored his words and pulled the door open, walking out to meet Theo. The warriors locked the door behind him.

"The vampires are convinced that the lycan will wipe them out, and the wolves standing by them probably don't want to surrender their positions to him, so they want to kill him." Dasker shook his head.

"That's a death wish." Theo replied, shocked that they would even think that a possibility.

"Inform the warriors that any rogue wolf or vampire that trespasses onto this territory is to be killed immediately. Increase border patrols, as well. If any pack member decides they want to help those idiots, throw them in the dungeon and I'll decide their fate." Dasker commanded, and Theo nodded in understanding.

"Yes alpha."