Chapter 12: Wrath

Word Count: 6,611

NOTE: Okay so I realize that I called the other kingdom the 'United Kingdom' Believe it or not that was a complete accident. I did not mean to tie it to anything in the real world or Arthur. I asked my Mother at 3 in the morning for a good kingdom name and she said that and I thought it was the most brilliant original name ever...so um...yeah...oops.

Anyway, enjoy.


"I am surprised that you were alright with leaving Alfred alone," Francis commented.

"I know. I didn't want to," Matthew muttered, obviously upset."I do hope he is alright..." The younger looked back through the forest, as if he would still be able to see where Alfred was residing. Francis smiled, patting Matthew's shoulder.

"He will be alright. Ivan may be an idiot sometimes, but he means well...sometimes."

"You aren't helping."

"Do not worry, they will be fine!"

"I hope so," Matthew said, looking up at the full moon for awhile before looking back at Francis. "So you're a demon?" Francis shrugged and smiled weakly. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Well considering Arthur raised you, I knew you would have a certain...bias towards me."

"Well it explains why Arthur disliked you so much. Other than your personality."

"My dazzling personality."

"Uh-huh. But you shouldn't have kept it from me. I'm not upset about you being a demon."

"I am glad." Francis smiled. "But why aren't you?"

"Well you helped raise me, in a way." Considering that Arthur either couldn't see him or thought he was Alfred. And Francis always seemed to be there when he needed him. "As long as you don't kill anybody...you don't, do you?"

"Non, I only help spread love~! I am long past that killing stage."

"So you used to kill people."

"Oui, all demons do. We are not exactly sane when we are first created."

"...I guess, seeing as I probably wasn't even alive back then, I could look past that."

"You are so good Matthew," Francis said, hugging the other. Matthew smiled slightly, hugging him back. He felt a hand grope his ass however, and pushed the other off him, blushing.

"Don't do that!"

"I couldn't resist." Francis smiled.

"You're hopeless." Matthew muttered, starting to walk away again.


"Alfred? What happened?" Ivan asked, examining the shifter standing a few feet away from him.

"I-I..." Alfred licked his lips, wincing at the blood that was there and probably at the salty taste of it. He sounded so lost and confused that Ivan didn't even care about the blood that was dripping onto the floor or even be angry at the other for leaving. "I'm not really sure...I don't remember much." Considering his looks, from the rings under his eyes and the amount of blood, Alfred had woken up sometime in the middle of the night. He would have to thank Matthew for lying to him. Alfred was shaking a bit. Ivan stepped towards him slowly, like he was a wild animal.

"It's alright, that's not human blood on you. I can tell from the smell." He really couldn't but the look of relief that flashed through Alfred's eyes was worth the pointless lie, even if the relief faded a moment later.

"Ivan, I need you to chain me up."

"Alright," Ivan said, not in the least surprised by the request. He stepped towards the blond, reached into his jacket,and pulled out chains that had handcuffs and a nail to the end.

"Do you always carry those around?" Alfred asked, but his usual curiosity was lacking, his smile far too strained. Ivan didn't say anything, walking over to one of the walls and carefully put a nail in, pushing it easily into the wall. Alfred followed him over, holding his hands out, demanding. Ivan clasped the chains onto each of Alfred's wrists, starting to lock them, "Tighter," Alfred growled. Ivan rose an eyebrow, but tightened it against the tanned skin. Alfred winced slightly, and indeed it couldn't go tighter without seriously hurting Alfred, despite this the blond repeated himself, "Tighter." Blue eyes smoldered at him.

"Nyet, it is tight enough." Ivan said, locking it. Alfred growled deeply, "Do not be so grumpy."

"Fuck you. Chain me tightly, or I'll eat you next."

"Let us not fight. I am trying to save my energy." He knew fighting Alfred would definitely take up quite a bit of his strength. Then again, technically he was using some now, but the energy it took to make Alfred believe he was in chains was small. It wasn't like he really had any chains. Sure he had an iron maiden, but he'd never used it. The device had just always amused him. It was suppose to be a torture device, but it would kill far too quickly to really be one.

"That's right." Alfred snarled, his lip curling. "For your big fight with Arthur. You care more about him then me, and you hate him! I should tear your throat out." Ivan smile strained as he looked at Alfred, the other was acting somewhat like a newly created demon with all that savage rage. Especially since it sounded like he very much meant the last part.

"Your brother told me that you were emotional during this time." Alfred's eyes burned angrily.

"Oh, I see you two had a chat about me? Of course! He and Arthur always talked about me too-"

"Don't you compare me to Arthur," Ivan growled, feeling the air thicken around him, growing heavy. It was certainly a weak spot for him.

"Speaking of how I'm a monster, and smothering me. Stop smothering me." Alfred lunged forward. Ivan stepped back away from the blond and the wall reflexively as Alfred's mouth snapped at the air uselessly. Alfred growled angrily, eyes more insane then when he had first walked in. Ivan tsked slightly.

"Nobody is smothering you."

"Liar! I'm always smothered! This place is even worse than living at Arthur's!"

"Be careful what you say."

Alfred just banged his head in frustration against the wall in response, growling deeply, but seemed to be trying to get a hold of himself, rolling his head against the surface, gritting his teeth and eyes closing as if in physical pain.

Ivan shook his head, supposing that the blond should be left alone to ride through this. Though honestly, Ivan didn't really feel like sticking around while the other seemed to be in a mood that had him comparing him to Arthur. It was very annoying to hear the blond talking like that. He did hate Arthur, and he did not like the blond saying how he favored the other's treatment. Deciding against hitting the blond upside the head, Ivan turned away and started back underground. Might as well go and see if there were any new books to read. If Alfred got out he would pretty much know immediately, so he didn't have too much to worry about, especially since that wasn't likely to happen.


He supposed he could have gotten somebody else to do this for him, seeing as he practically owned everything and everyone. Turning a book over in his hand, reading the title he scanned his mental library, trying to remember if he'd read it and ignoring some of the looks he was getting. The bookstore man knew that he sometimes came by, but that didn't mean he was at ease around him, nor, for that matter, anybody else who happened to be in the store.

Of course the fear that came off of them was refreshing and he sighed at it, opening the book to read the first paragraph. No, this sounded familiar. Then again, it could be the predictability of the plot that made it seem that way. It was hard to find books that offered something new. Putting it back where he found it, he scanned the shelves of books that they had recently gotten. Considering nobody could leave except with Ivan's express permission, there wasn't much trading between his and other kingdoms. Of course, that meant that they often ran short on things, but it was better than the alternative. But it also meant that new books were rare.

Grabbing one, he looked at it. This one didn't look familiar. Perhaps it was somewhat new. Well, this seemed like a good book to read for the next few days. Looking around for another one he felt something, like a relaxing of his power. Ivan repressed a sigh. He hadn't expected Alfred to actually be able to escape, one rarely did from his illusions. Well, he better head over to inform the guards to be looking out for Alfred. Though he doubted they would be able to contain Alfred, they were probably in danger of dying themselves. Of course, the bookstore was in the shopping district which was far from the barracks. Putting the book back, he didn't say anything to the owner as he walked back down into the cellar, opening the door leading down before descending into it.

Deciding to check on the house first, Ivan walked towards his new destination. Sometimes he swore that the outer village where he lived was closer than the housing for the soldiers. He really needed to change that.


Ivan closed the door behind him and, considering how he heard a loud commotion happening from the living room, he could guess that somebody had tried stopping by to visit him. Walking down the hallway, he saw his entire living space destroyed; anything that had been there was shattered. Some of the more fortunate furniture was simply tossed to the side like old rags, cluttering the walls. Ivan stepped over some shattered pieces of wood that used to be who knew what that blocked the hallway entrance.

Of course, why wasn't he surprised that his sister had come along? Things were usually peaceful, but when they weren't, they really went to hell. And she was in her demon form, which nearly took up the entire living room. Standing almost ten feet tall, her head brushed the top of the ceiling. Her hair was long and thankfully covered most of her naked torso. Natalia's face was about the same, except for the two large teeth dripping poison that went past her chin that were.

Alfred growled, struggling in her coils before biting down; teeth, too large and sharp to look right in his mouth, pierced past the silver scales. And considering all the blood, this wasn't the first time. His sister screamed loudly, something he hadn't heard in a very long time. The sound of death and suffering of hundreds in a single scream. He was surprised that Alfred seemed unaffected by it. But considering the look on his face, he wasn't exactly in his right mind.

Ivan wondered how Alfred had survived this long, watching as the large coils tightened even further around the blond and his sister hissed, opening her mouth as she moved down, clearly ready to bite Alfred, perhaps tear his head off like she always seemed to favor. "Natalia!" he shouted. She froze, purple slitted eyes turning to face him. Alfred continued growling lowly, teeth still imbedded in his sister's skin.

"Brother~" She said, her voice more frightening than usual. Then again, he never liked her saying his name like that, in that sort of obsessed manner of hers. Instead of releasing Alfred, she tightened her grip further. The blond released his hold on her, throwing his head back and yelping out, obviously having trouble breathing. He thrashed around a moment before biting down into her again. She hissed out, but didn't take her eyes off of Ivan. With difficulty, he looked back at her. Never a fun thing to look into a giant snake's eyes, especially when they were his unbalanced sister's. It wasn't her fault, she had become a demon when she was younger than him; her immaturity and wrath was still with her.

"Natalia. Drop him."

She curled her lips back."Why do you care? He is nothing more than a filthy half-breed. Easy to kill, and worthless."

"I will not ask again." Even though her emotions were hard to see when she was like this, he could tell she was angry. But she slowly unwrapped from the blond, who let go of her in return, slumping to the floor and holding his ribs, ignoring where he was bleeding. He glared up at Natalia, who was turning back into her human form. She walked up and leaned against Ivan's chest, closing her eyes and holding the front of his jacket. Not moving, he tried to ignore the fact that she was naked, and clinging to him. It was hard to do, and he found himself wanting to barricade himself in his room more and more.

Alfred let out a very angry snarl before throwing himself at Natalia, which did actually tear his sister off of him. The claws that had sunk into his wounded sister nearly brushing against Ivan. Natalia hit Alfred upside the head right before the blond bit down into her shoulder. She screamed, kicking at him, "Alfred!" Alfred paused, growling quieting a bit, "Let her go. Now." For a moment it didn't seem like he would do it. But then Alfred opened his mouth, letting the bleeding shoulder go slowly. Natalia hit him in one of the wounds she had probably inflicted earlier in the gut. Alfred snarled, but jumped off, standing up on two feet, slouched a bit like part of him wanted to be on all fours again.

Natalia sat up, glaring hatefully at Alfred. They were both pretty beat up. But Ivan couldn't tell which of Alfred's wounds were fresh, since he had been covered in blood before all this. "Now both of you stop it, you are acting ridiculous."

"He attacked me brother! I just came to visit you, when this pet of yours lunged at me! He needs to learn his place." She growled and moved her hand to her bleeding shoulder as she moved to sit on her knees. She didn't have any knives on her, which Ivan was somewhat grateful for. Alfred probably would have died."And just now you saw what he did! He attacked me after I released him, just as you asked! Just because you were holding me." Ivan was pretty sure his hands made no move to hold his sister. Alfred snarled, snapping his teeth angrily at Natalia, almost in threat.

"Alfred," Ivan warned. The other just growled again. There really was no point in talking to him. Sighing, Ivan went to the closet and grabbed a coat, starting towards his sister. She had best be wearing something decent. And she needed medical attention to some of her cuts. As scary as she could be, she was still his sister. Her eyes lit up as he approached, but just before he could reach her Alfred stepped between them. Ivan paused, he hadn't really observed the other closely since he had come in. Alfred was panting heavily, his eyes dark and burning with rage. Ivan realized that part of the reason that the other was slouched over was because of a deep cut to his side. Probably from a knife - if it had been poisoned he would be dead by now. His ears were flat against his head and his tail was fluffed up in clear agitation. "Alfred, move." He could see his was sister ready to murder the young shifter, and Ivan himself was angry at the other.

But Alfred didn't move, just staring at Ivan. More like staring Ivan down. The other certainly wasn't lacking in guts; intelligence, on the other hand, might be put into question. Ivan stepped closed, glaring down at the other. "I said move." Alfred didn't listen. Ivan grabbed the front of the blond's shirt. "That is my sister that you just attacked, I would not be pushing my buttons right now." Alfred stared up into his eyes, clearly not going to budge willingly. Smiling a bit, Ivan tossed Alfred to the side, where he fell onto the floor and on pieces of the broken couch.

He knelt down by Natalia, who looked quite pleased. Ivan knelt down and put the coat around her shoulders. She accepted it gladly. "Natalia, there are some supplies in the bathroom that will help. Go bandage yourself, and do not move any of my stuff. I have something to deal with," he said darkly. She nodded, nuzzling into his hand before standing and starting up the stairs. Ivan looked towards Alfred who just got onto all fours, glaring at him. Ivan smirked a bit."Looks like we'll be fighting, da?" He wondered whether Alfred could even understand half of what he had said as the blond lunged towards him.

Ivan moved to his back, kicking his foot up to connect with the other's stomach and send him flying over his shoulder. That was easier than he had expected. Then again, he highly doubted Alfred was able to think of strategies at the moment. Getting back up, he turned around just in time for Alfred to crash into him. He hadn't been expecting the other to be so fast. Ivan growled as his head hit the ground under him, Alfred snarling over him, a clawed hand pressing down on his throat. If Alfred did anything to hurt his scarf, he wouldn't be able to move for a very long time. Ivan paused though, realizing the other wasn't really putting much pressure on his neck and wasn't attacking further.

Blue eyes glared down at him. Ivan narrowed his eyes, moving his hand to grip the blond's hair and switching their positions so Alfred was on the bottom. The other didn't seem to like this at all, kicking out and his claws digging angrily into each of Ivan's shoulders. That really hurt, but Ivan didn't show it. "Were you just trying to dominate me? I don't know much about wolves I admit. But I know some things about their chains of commands." Ivan smirked, yanking on the hair harder and watching as Alfred's eyes shut closed in pain, mouth curling into a snarl. "How cute that you think you could do that. I am not even trying hard. If I were, you would be chained up at the moment." Alfred shook his head, perhaps trying to get rid of the grip on his hair, or maybe just to try and disagree. The claws dug in deeper, making Ivan to wince.

Alfred moves his head up, jaws opening to probably try and bite his neck. Ivan tugged his hair down so that Alfred's head was closer to the ground. Snarling, the crazed blond tried to go back to thrashing, trying to struggle out of Ivan's grip. It was times like these that Ivan was glad he was so much heavier and stronger than most people, letting the other struggle under him, though he had some difficulty in keeping Alfred caged beneath him. After a moment, Alfred stopped in his struggling. Not trusting him, Ivan didn't let up. The blond wasn't looking at him anymore, his chin tilted up slightly to stare up at the ceiling, panting heavily.

Well, that had taken several minutes. Ivan slowly relaxed his grip on Alfred's head as his claws released their hold from his shoulders. The blond was shaking slightly, and he wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck, burying his head into the shoulder he had not too long ago been hurting. Ivan froze before relaxing slightly, wrapping an arm around Alfred's back. It seemed that the blond had calmed him down a little.

Ivan felt a soft lick to his cheek. He winced at the tongue moving over the injuries there, but didn't pull away. Alfred continued to lick at the wound he had not too long ago inflicted. Ivan smiled slightly. "It is alright Alfred. It is okay." He felt the grip around him tighten and the other nuzzle into him again. "Come on, you need to get bandaged yourself. And do not attack my sister again, alright?"

"I-I didn't do it." Alfred whimpered slightly."I swear I didn't."

"Come on," Ivan said, helping the other stand up. He decided not to comment on Alfred's words. The other didn't let go of his hand, standing close and looking at the ground. He was still obviously not in his right mind, his eyes were even dilated like he was on some sort of drug. Ivan started towards the stairs before thinking better of it and starting towards one of the guest bedrooms that were downstairs. Alfred didn't seem to notice the difference. Ivan stepped into the bathroom and led Alfred to the bathtub to sit down on the ledge of it."I will be right back alright? I will have to check on Natalia and get some bandages for you before you bleed out." Ivan turned to leave, but was stopped by the small tugging at his sleeve. He sighed, looking back at Alfred who seemed obsessed with staring at the floor for the moment.

"I will be right back, I promise. You should take your clothes off...they are ruined by now and you can take a shower if you want while I am gone. Just do not stay too long under the water." The water would make the blood flow smoother and easier, which was something Alfred didn't need. Even if the other was not in danger of dying any time soon, it was still a possibility. Ivan didn't know how long the fighting had been going on before he came or how long ago Alfred had gotten the wound, so he wanted to be careful. He would have liked to stay with Alfred, but then his sister would probably do something. Petting the blond's head slightly, he pulled his coat sleeve out of the grasp and walked out the door.

Alfred wrapped his arms around himself, his eyes following Ivan as he left, feeling his anger starting to rise again. He dug his sharpened nails into his arms, wanting something to hold him down to reality and hoping that the pain would help with that. It didn't. It never did, it just made his adrenaline spike and his internal instincts start to take over. He tried to reason with himself. Ivan would be back soon. Really soon, he was just getting some bandages. He would tell that bitch off and everything would be okay. Alfred leaned over so that his forehead rested between his knees, trying to ignore the pain in his side. How he wanted to kill that woman. Everything in him was screaming to do it. To rip her to shreds and listen to her screams as she died painfully.

Ivan would taste good to eat as well. Alfred tightened his grip on his arms, growling at the thought and shaking his head, gritting his teeth together painfully. He could taste the copper there that came with his teeth stretching his mouth too wide for too long. But he didn't care for that. He just had to get a hold of himself.

But did it really matter if he fought it? Ivan was just using him, the other didn't care about him at all. So what was the point of anything he did? Alfred grabbed his head, nails biting into the skull as he shook his head again. No, no, no. Shut up, go away. Stupid thoughts, they weren't right. Even if Ivan said so himself it just wasn't true. If it was he wouldn't be so nice. He would have tortured him by now and he wouldn't be getting bandages for him. He'd be plotting with his sister on how to kill him. Which he might just be doing-

No, that wasn't right either, because if he had wanted him dead, he would have let Natalia finish the job just a few minutes ago. But Ivan would still taste good, there was no doubt about that. Still, he wouldn't eat him, even so. He calmed his thoughts, trying to rid of all the conflict in him before grabbing his shirt and pulling it off. A shower might actually help.


"I could kill him for you, brother."

"That is not necessary." Ivan sighed, supposing he should have expected this conversation as he stood in the doorway to his bathroom, looking at the door frame across from him as his sister wrapped herself in bandages where she had been hurt. There were quite a few places.

"Why are you so attached to him?"

"Why does everybody keep saying that?" Ivan growled, "I am not attached to him any more or less then I have been to others in the past who have lived under me!" Natalia didn't say anything for several seconds, taking her time with bandaging herself.

"You always let me punish those who hurt me before. Even Toris, and you favored him quite a bit." Ivan didn't say anything. "So if he is the same, can I not punish him?"

"No. You can't. I am sorry Natalia, but I think he is wounded enough." And it wasn't like it was entirely Alfred's fault, he could understand the blinding rage to an extent. "Believe me when I say I will punish him for attacking you."

Natalia huffed, buttoning up the jacket he let her borrow. "Very well, I can wait." She stood at the door in front of him, "I will wait as long as I have to for you. That is how much I love you, brother."

"Natalia-" Ivan started, feeling more uncomfortable than before, as he always did when she started talking like that. But she moved past him.

"He will die like all the others," Ivan flinched at the words, but stopped himself from saying anything as she left. He sighed heavily before going into the bathroom and grabbing what he needed. She was right actually. Alfred would die long before Ivan could hardly blink.

Heading down the stairs, he walked into the bathroom, a bit glad to see that Alfred was in the shower, though the blond was staring blankly at the tile in front of him and there were goosebumps on his skin. Sighing, Ivan put the gaze, rubbing alcohol, and other such things that he was starting to run low on down on the counter. Grabbing a towel he opened the curtains that stopped the water from spilling everywhere. "Alfred." The blond looked at him darkly for a moment before turning sorrowful again. It was almost interesting how Alfred went from looking powerful and very dangerous to something lost and afraid. Ivan turned off the water when the other didn't move.

Putting the towel on Alfred's head, he started to dry off the almost catatonic blond. Moving the other to sit down at the bathtub's edge, he grabbed the supplies and started taking care of the most recent wound to Alfred's side, near his ribs, but not deep enough to hit anything important, luckily enough. At least the cut along his chest that had been there when he had first arrived looked to be healing well enough even with the recent fight. It didn't really need any attention. He wrapping the bandage along Alfred's chest, tapped it there after he was done, and looked the other over. He had bruises that were forming along his body and some scrapes, but nothing as serious as the wound Ivan had just finished was amazing how much blood was on him that wasn't his own.

"I will get you new clothes and tomorrow you can start helping me fix the mess you made in the living room. And I am going to have to punish you for hurting my sister." Alfred didn't say anything, looking away towards one of the walls. Ivan shook his head as he stood up. "Are you hungry? France left some food that may go to waste."

"No thanks...I'm not hungry."

Ivan frowned, not liking that answer, "Come on, you should get some clothes on." He grabbed the other's wrist and pulled him up before starting towards his room where he had previously put all of Alfred's clothes. Walking up the stairs was quiet and uneventful. Once they got to the room he saw Alfred make a face, probably still smelling his sister. Letting go of Alfred, Ivan went to the dresser and started pulling out some clothes. He turned around to see Alfred laying down on his stomach, arms folded under his chin and looking at the headboard.

Walking over and sitting on the bed, Ivan waited for the blond to sit up, but he did no such thing. "Alfred, you need clothes." Still nothing. He dropped the issue, supposing it wasn't really worth arguing at that point, especially seeing the dark and heavy rings under Alfred's eyes. When several minutes turned into hours and Alfred still hadn't fallen asleep, Ivan decided to talk. "I know it may not seem it, but I do understand a little about what you are going though. Remember, I told you when demons are young they are quite the little devils. We are quite savage then."

Alfred didn't say anything for a moment."What did you mean earlier when you said that you used to be innocent enough to enjoy the massacres? I don't understand."

"That is us. You are not like that. We have no morals when we are created, just revenge and complete want for destruction. I could not explain the feeling completely. But when we start to be split between wanting to kill without any mercy and not wanting to, then that is when a demon is known to lose its innocence. We are different creatures, though I am sure you are torn between wanting destruction and not wishing to harm anybody." Alfred nodded slowly. Ivan put his hand on Alfred's back, slowly rubbing small circles."Must be painful for you." Alfred closed his eyes slowly.

Ivan continued to trace his fingers along Alfred's spine, over the bandages that were there and stopping where it started curving back up to connect to the tailbone to start back up at Alfred's neck. Soon the blond fell into a light sleep, but Ivan continued the pattern slowly, wishing for the other to sleep as long as possible. He laid down next to the other, who twitched his ear at the movement, but didn't fully awaken. Ivan supposed he was more okay with Alfred being naked then he was with his sister because the Alfred was more comfortable like that. He had been practically naked for thousands of years. Which was probably why it was more difficult to get Alfred to sleep with pants on.

Watching the other sleep, Ivan knew it was sometime in the daytime. The other's schedule was apparently still messed up to match when he left for work. Petting Alfred's head slowly, he closed his eyes, figuring that he might as well fall asleep as well, considering that he would wake up if Alfred moved. He left his hand to rest on Alfred's head a moment before he felt the other move closer, cuddling into his side. Opening his eyes, Ivan looked down to see the blond curled up against him, appearing to be asleep. Shaking his head slightly, Ivan pulled a blanket over the blond so he was at least somewhat covered.

Ivan's eyes shot open as he felt something tightening around his neck. Choking a bit on the sensation, he reached behind him to try to grab at whatever or whoever was pulling on him. It pulled at him again making him growl and close his eyes. He opened them slowly as the pulling sensation stopped and there was a shift in the bed. Looking over to where Alfred was walking away he glared at the blue eyes that stared back. "I think I have been far too lenient with your punishments." Sitting up a bit and ignoring the slight pull of whatever was around his neck, he reached back to feel that it was the fabric of his scarf. Too bad, if it had been rope he could have torn it off easily. But his sister would have cried so much if he hurt it in any way.

Alfred didn't seem to listen to what he said or care, he grinned at Ivan, sharp and large teeth still out of place, fresh blood rolling off of them. The blond turned and walked out the door. Rage increasing quite a bit, Ivan growled, moving backward so his scarf wasn't straining his neck. Technically, he didn't need oxygen, but it brought up memories he wasn't too fond of being reminded of, especially in such a way as this.

Turning he saw that the ends were tied around the closer to it, he looked at the complex knot and frowned; when had Alfred learned to tie things like that? This was going to take a while to get out without damaging his scarf, he just knew it. But once he was free he was going to chain Alfred outside in the freezing snow for a long, long while. Until the other was in the middle stages of hypothermia sounded like a good idea.


Alfred held his side, shaking his head and looking up at the moon. His head tilted back and a mix of feelings washed through him. The moon was so beautiful. He remembered always going out and watching it with his mother when he was small, before he met Arthur and was locked away whenever it came closer. He was always locked up. Arthur said it was for the best, but it was aggravating. Ignoring the wind that stung his skin he refused the part of him that wanted to transform more.

Licking at his blood that slowly seeped out of his gums, he watched as the moon was disappearing in the light of day. It was upsetting, but at the same time he felt more calm. Laying down in the snow, he rested his head on his arm. His blood was still rushing and his thoughts were mixed and his hunger still unsatisfiable, but he had made it so far so he could make it these last few hours, they were the easiest. At least he didn't have to worry about Ivan at all. He sat up when he heard crunching of snow, turning around to face whatever was there.


Ivan finally got the scarf undone and went to grab a coat of his, anger still fresh and large. Pulling it on as he walked past the destroyed living room and down into the tunnel. When he got a hold of that shifter, he was going to do so many things to teach that annoyance a lesson. He really had been much too nice to Alfred since he had arrived. It would have made his life so much simpler if he had just thrown the other in a jail cell or killed him when they first met, but no, he had to find out what sort of secret Alfred was keeping. Come to think of it, he had never really found out what the secret was. Why had he been so distracted by Alfred to not even do something that simple?

Pushing the aggravating thoughts that were doing nothing other than making him angrier, Ivan climbed up the ladder and into the door of the jail's basement. It wasn't the best in terms of getting men out, but it was close and the message would get spread fast. Going upstairs and past doors that branched off into cells. Not like there was much criminal activity in his domain, most were smart enough to be too scared to break any rules, and that was fine by him.

Reaching the ground level, he found a guard there, who startled at the sight of him, fear skyrocketing. "You. I need somebody found."

"Y-Yes sir?"

"It is a shifter, about this tall, blond hair, blue eyed. A wolf shifter..." Ivan stopped in his description, noticing a flicker of recognition flash through the others face."You've seen him."

"N-No...I mean yes, he um..."

"Where is he?" Ivan growled, grabbing the person's throat and bringing him close. Another sharp spike in his fear level and Ivan could feel him trembling in his grip.

"He..."

"The truth or I will murder you. Do not test me." He was having a really bad day after all, it was more reason that these humans shouldn't push his buttons.

"W-we found him near the border," why wasn't that surprising?, "and arrested him.I-it wasn't easy and he hurt a couple guards...but we got him into a cell and-"

"Which one?" The man gulped.

"W-We were going to go and tell you so you could judge him as is normal...but s-some of the v-villagers saw him and with the blood they k-knew he was the one w-who mutilated a family a couple days ago and...they took him."

"Took him? Just like that? You have guns don't you? You shoot rioters!" Ivan growled, seriously considering just snapping the man's neck."This next answer will decide whether you live or die. Where did they take him?"

"T-they took him to the edge of town...they were heading n-northwest." Ivan furrowed his eyebrows, there was nothing that way but a barren snowy wasteland.

"And why would they do that?" Maybe they were trying to banish him or something.

"T-they plan to burn him."

Ivan's eyes widened, "What? Why would they? They aren't allowed to pass judgement like that, and they know that!"

"W-We t-thought y-you were a-alright with this!"

"What in this world would give you such an idea that such terrible use of free will that you do not have would be acceptable to me."

"A-A women that v-visited you j-just l-last night." Ivan dropped the man in disgust. He would have to have a serious talk with Natalia when all of this was said and done. The man fell to the ground, shaking legs not holding him up. "P-please sir, w-we were t-told it w-was by y-your doing."

"And that is the only reason you are still breathing. Now tell me. When did they leave?"

"T-twenty-three minutes ago." Ivan growled at the unsatisfying answer, going to the window of the place and looking outside. There was nothing out there. No network of tunnels that he had made, and really that would take too long. He couldn't go outside though...maybe if he ordered the guards to...? But there was no way that he could organize them in time. What was he going to do? Perhaps Alfred would die.

Ivan narrowed his eyes, feeling his rage hitting a very dangerously high level that he hadn't felt in quite a long while, and he knew just what to do with it.