The Banished Sigma

Chapter 21

Akel opened the lab's door and walked inside. He looked around but no one was there. He strolled to the table where the serum was made, brushing his fingers gently on the set of tubes with bubbling liquid. The whole set was his precious treasure, and touching it sparked joy inside him. He cannot help but smile and wonder if Dale could finish the serum on time.

The deadline he gave Dale was tomorrow. His heart grew with excitement, cannot wait for the result. He would give maybe an additional day or two if necessary, but he wouldn't say that. He'd rather stress Dale to make it faster, knowing that it was possible. Hard, but doable. Dale hadn't been sleeping for two days, and the progress was steady, so most likely it would be on time.

A grin formed on Akel's face. He stepped backwards to admire the view, and closed his eyes to indulge himself in the sound of the liquid moving through the tubes. He leaned to the desk behind him, and accidentally dropped Dale's notes that were on the table. Papers fluttered to the floor and some of it slipped under the drawers

He sighed, annoyed that it disturbed his moment. He glanced at the spread out papers and bent down to pick one of them. His hips bumped the desk and his keen hearing caught on a faint clinking sound inside the drawer.

His eyes snapped to the drawer and his brows furrowed. He reached for the handle and pulled it. To his surprise, it cannot be opened easily. The drawer didn't have a keyhole, so it wasn't locked. He looked at it closely, and sniffed the edges. It smelled of dried glue.

Why is a drawer glued shut? Curiosity and suspicion surged him.

He extended his claws and carefully scraped on the edges of the drawer. His sharp nails easily chipped the hardened glue, but the process took too long and Akel was not a patient man. He grunted and cursed before he slipped his claws on the edges and pulled it hard, no longer worrying about breaking whatever was inside.

The glue ripped and the drawers banged to the floor, along with the increasing clinking sound. The drawer was filled with more papers, but sneaked in between the papers was a vial with golden colored thick liquid.

Akel carefully secured the glass vial and took it close to his face. At a glance he knew it was the serum he asked to be made, but he didn't know why it was inside a sealed drawer.

He eliminated the possibility of Dale wanting to turn strong too, because Dale was a weak werewolf that even if he turned himself, Akel knew that he could take him down easily. Besides, Dale was not a power driven werewolf. He was full of brain and that was it.

So the only reason left was the vial contained the perfect serum and Dale didn't want Akel to know that it was done.

Akel growled at his own thoughts. He trusted Dale, and the odds of being betrayed by him was somehow disappointing. He couldn't understand why Dale wouldn't want him to find out that the serum was done, after everything they both had done together to make it.

The door opened and Akel stood still, knowing who was coming.

Dale was frozen at the sight of Akel's back, the scattered papers, and the broken drawer. His eyes darted to the shimmering vial in Akel's hand and his heart dropped to the floor. The cold room felt like an ice piercing through his skin, but sweats were forming on his forehead. His heartbeat hammered inside his chest, knowing his life was in danger.

"Tell me, is the serum in my hand the perfect one?" Akel's calm question stabbed Dale's heart.

"Alpha Akel, I... I can-"

"Is it?"

"It's... Uh..."

Akel sighed and slowly turned and stared at Dale's pale face. He walked past Dale to close and locked the door behind him. He then popped open the vial and watched Dale's face getting even paler.