Victuals & Vehemence - Septiplier

Chapter Forty Five

Jack stares at Mark with shock. The alpha has no weapons on him. They're all over in the saddlebag up on the hill, away from the river. The water rushes behind the three as Jack turns to look at Felix. The omega bites his lip and pulls one knife from the two. He walks over to Felix and crouches. Jack stares into the alpha's bright blue eyes, letting out a quiet, plaintive whine. He's incredibly conflicted about what to do, and Felix lets out a low, soothing rumble, a dark understanding in that familiar icy gaze. Jack leans forward and cuts the ropes from him, giving Felix the knife. While Felix stands, Jack steps away, turning and going to his mate. He stares up at Mark for a long moment, lifting his hands up to wrap around Mark's neck and pulling the alpha down into a deep kiss. Mark growls, hands moving to Jack's hips as the omega lets out a high whine between their lips before pulling away. Jack hands Mark a knife and steps back. He moves to stand away from the two alphas, standing in a triangle with them. Jack rolls the blade between his fingers as Felix climbs to his feet and stares at the two of them.

A silent understanding passes amongst the three. Whoever wins is who Jack will side with. He's played them both, pulling them into a mess that forces one victor over the other, all while protecting himself either way. If Mark dies, Jack's secret murder goes to the grave with him. If Felix dies, the accusations against Mark are drowned out. Jack wins either way. Mark's lips curl into a devilish grin as he turns to gaze at his mate.

"Darling, you have become a wonderful hunter," he praises the omega. Jack blushes, glad for the pounding, wet darkness that streams down upon them. Felix stares for a long moment before rushing forward at Mark, who runs in as well. The two alphas clash in a nasty tumble that sends them rolling into the rippling water, with Mark ending up on top. Jack sprints over and tackles Mark off before the alpha can stab Felix, allowing both to recover as he scrambles away from Mark, a vicious grin on the omega's lips that bares his small fangs to both alphas. Felix rushes forward again and slashes at Mark, getting a cut across his thigh that sends the doctor growling and back slashing across Felix's front, barely grazing his chest as the cowboy jerks back to dodge.

"You're a monster," Felix snarls, turning to lash for Mark's face. The doctor jerks his head back before stepping forward and swiping for Felix's side. He gets another graze, but he still hasn't gotten anything substantial.

"You're a fool," Mark replies, stepping back again to create some space between them. If they get too close, this will turn into a grappling match rather than a knife fight, and at the moment, Mark is at the more significant disadvantage with the thigh wound. Felix surges forward, beginning a series of stabs and attacks that Mark just barely manages to block from his torso before he misreads one of them. Felix stabs forward, grinning as he expects to make contact with Mark's gut, but he's shoved away and to the ground, Jack standing over him. Mark presses forward with the opportunity, lunging for Felix and managing to stab him in the left arm as the alpha attempts to roll and dodge the blade. He lets out a vicious snarl in reaction to the stab's burning pain but focuses on the task in front of him. As Mark rears back to stab Felix again, the cowboy knees him in the groin and shoves Mark away, scrambling to his feet again. He turns to Jack, brandishing his knife and prowling forward.

"What the fuck is going on, Sean?" he roars through the pouring rain, knife glinting with the lightning overhead. Jack takes a step back, moving to the rock in the stream that's now slippery and slowly disappearing beneath the rising water.

"I'm resolving a conflict of interest," Jack answers in a removed tone, spinning the knife in his hand as he watches the dark form of Felix prowl towards him before breaking into a sprint. Jack sidesteps Felix's torso but cannot avoid Felix's arm as it hooks around him and takes him to the ground. The omega lets out a loud whine of pain as he's slammed into the gravel bed of the water, and Felix stabs down into Jack's left shoulder, sending Jack screaming. He's fully submerged in this part of the water as he writhes beneath Felix, bubbles flying from his nose and mouth as he struggles to get Felix off of him, the knife shooting fire through his nerves. He manages to stab upward, burying to blade into Felix's hip in reaction.

Felix jolts back with a groan, and Jack shoves the alpha off, scrambling up and away as he gasps desperately for air, chest heaving and choking on the water all around him, soaked through his closes, pattering against his face, streaming down over his mouth. There's splashing behind him as Mark enters the fray again, coupled with vicious growls that are in an octave Jack could never reproduce. The omega takes a deep breath before realizing with a jolt that he left the knife in Felix's hip. The cowboy has two blades now. Jack whirls around just in time to see Felix stabbing forward with both hands, straight into Mark's gut.

His mate freezes, meeting Felix's gaze with pained shock as his hands weakly go to the other alpha's hands. Felix bares his teeth one final time before jerking the blades out and stepping away as Mark falls to his knees with a splash. Thunder booms overhead, and Jack lets out an unearthly wail, finally feeling something from Mark. He finally feels the real terror of his mate, and it breaks him.

The omega dives forward and tackles Felix before the alpha can react, shoulder alight with pain. With no weapons, he uses the only thing available, biting deep into Felix's throat. They land against the rock, and there's a sickening crack as Felix smacks his head against the stone, falling still beneath the omega as the taste of iron floods his mouth in a warm gush of blood. Jack pushes himself up into a sitting position with his functioning arm, chest heaving. His eyes are burning, but he can't tell the tears from the rain as he looks at the carnage around him.

Mark lays his right, breath rasping and gargling as he breathes in splashes of water and blood, hands desperately pressed to the wound, body trembling. He's shaking, with wide eyes staring up at the sky like he's already dead. Lightning flares above, and the dark, glassy glaze slipping over his eyes reflects it too well. Felix is beneath Jack, choking on blood and water, unconscious as the water rises and teases at the corners of his mouth on the rock.

Death chuckles in the gurgling water that rises ever higher.