Abandoned Distillery, Beacon Hills Preserve
Mason
"So…" I draw out to break the silence between me and Quinn now that we're alone. "Who gets to end the Big Bad Prey's misery?"
"We're alone for the first time since we met a month ago and that's what you want to talk about?" Asks Quinn, folding her arms.
"In case you've forgotten," I start, annoyed. "And as much as I enjoy watching the man who almost killed my mother suffer, we have a decision to make, and we don't have all night to make it. He's bleeding out."
"He's an Alpha," responds a stubborn Quinn, "he can hang on to life a little longer, and you can stop ignoring me."
Oh, here we go. Or not yet, if I can help it.
"You do remember that he has a pack of Alphas, don't you?" I inquire and remind. "And they can be here at any moment."
"We both know that they are waiting for Derek Hale at his loft and are nowhere near the Preserve," counters the stubborn white girl, unfolding her arms. "And my pack is patrolling the Preserve to ensure that we don't get any surprises. Stop looking for excuses to avoid acknowledging the fact that I'm your mate, Mason!"
"I wish I could avoid acknowledging any of this," I say honestly, but making the effort to be the calmer one between us. I seem to surprise her by admitting it out loud, but she asked for it. "But I can't. It's been mate this, mate that, and trying to find my place in your pack for an entire moon cycle because the pack thrives when everyone knows their place in the pack, especially if they've earned it.
"Sorry I've been too busy carving my place in your pack, so I can fit in without any of my pack and friends around! You want my full attention? Fine! You got it, princess! Let's sit down and bond over how unfair all this is and ignore the reason you met my mother, and we ended up as mates while the bastard bleeds out!"
Getting this off my chest feels cathartic, but not so much to Quinn, who is looking at me with shock in her eyes mixed with hurt. I feel a little bad because without her, my mother would likely be dead right now, but…
"Let's bond over killing him then," replies Quinn quietly, surprising me.
"Ah, what?" I ask, confused.
I thought her retort would be argumentative, not this. Definitely not a way forward without a fight.
"Let's use killing the Alpha of the Alpha Pack together as our first bonding experience," she says louder, walking over to the other side of our prey, gaining some confidence. "If you don't want us to bond over how unfair our arranged mating is, let's bond over something empowering: killing Deucalion the Alpha of Alphas together."
That… sounds like a good idea, and I'm impressed she suggested it considering she has never killed anyone before. Whereas I had to hunt and kill a human as my rite of passage on my first full moon after my werewolf gene activated, she only had to hunt and kill a deer.
Hence, I ask, "are you sure?"
"Would you rather we go with your suggestion?" Asks Quinn, standing straighter, chest out and chin up with a pointed raised eyebrow.
"I've killed before, you haven't," I point out, resisting smiling at her bravado, which falters a little.
"I know," she acknowledges freely, to my surprise, but she has been spending a lot of time with Mother and the entire moon cycle was dedicated to learning about each pack's traditions, so of course she knows about our traditions and rite of passage ritual and that I know about her pack's. "And I expect you to treat me like your mate because - whether you like it or not - I am your mate, and you are mine.
"I understand what you're going through better than anyone because I'm going through it too."
"I know," I sigh my acknowledgement. " And-and I'm sorry for not getting to know you the entire cycle."
"I get it," says Quinn, relaxing a little. "You were busy making the environment less hostile and more hospitable for you in the long run, but everyone likes you, and we're officially mates now. Time to focus on us, and…"
"End this already," a pained hushed voice suddenly interrupts, and we jump away from its source, Deucalion; the Big Bad Prey. Well, he wasn't big and bad anymore, just a mess of blood and bones, but it seems Quinn was right about the heavily wounded Alpha hanging on to life a little longer. "I… I have two Alpha sparks in me… my own and Ennis'.
"You want them? Take my pain… all of it… and then some more. Take… Take until there's nothing left to take. Don't stop until you feel my life in your grasp, and then take it as well. Pain… life… power, that's how you become the Apex of Apex Predators. Take until you find the spark of power, and take it too."
"Why should we believe anything you say?" Asks Quinn, suspicious of Deucalion.
Yes. Deucalion. This is the man I can see as Deucalion even in his current state: all bones shattered in three limbs, multiple claw wounds on his abdomen and broken ribs and rib cage, not to mention severe internal bleeding. His physical state didn't make him Deucalion; his cunning even at death's door did.
"Your mother-in-law left my right arm intact," answers Deucalion, flexing the arm a little despite the obvious pain he is in. "I… I could have siphoned enough of your pack-linked Beta spark to kill your mate and then finished you off, but I've seen the rise of a True Alpha with my own eyes. Unfortunately, he's all bark and no bite. He sees the world in black and white."
"Funny," I say, chuckle and point at me and Quinn respectively. "We're black and white."
Neither Quinn nor Deucalion get it.
"Tough crowd," I comment, and walk around Deucalion to join Quinn on the other side. "If you want us to end your misery, you're gonna have to give us more than that. Like your penthouse password, or - I don't know - access to your bank accounts." I link one of my hands with Quinn's and bring it to my lips for a kiss, ignoring her surprise. "You see, we're starting a new life together, and we could use our own money."
Deucalion smiles through his pain, revealing a bloody mouth, and says, "you're going to kill me anyway. I don't have to do anything to convince you to do it. I just offered a less traumatic way for your mate to have her first kill."
"Except feeling someone's life in my grasp feels more traumatic and personal," comments Quinn.
"It isn't," replies Deucalion. "It's rather peaceful and empowering."
"Peaceful for you," I point out. "Since we will be siphoning your pain. We're not idiots. You gave my mother a badass scar across her throat, I'm not going to give you a peaceful death. You're wasting our time."
"His voice is getting stronger, he's buying time," Quinn notes, and I trust her analysis.
Hence, I take out - from my waistband - the handgun Mother gave me for my sixteenth birthday and point it at Deucalion.
"So eager to kill," says Deucalion. "You don't even ask if your mate wants to be the one to do it."
"Do it," Quinn gives me permission, and I point the gun right at Deucalion's heart.
"The rest of your pack is next," I say, but change target when I squeeze the trigger to shoot at Deucalion's right shoulder socket once, twice, thrice, and he roars in pain. I know Quinn is covering her ears, but I explain. "I want to try out his way just to see if it works! If it doesn't, I'll return his pain and kill him the old- fashioned way! If you're in, go to the other side and let's bond over killing Deucalion the Alpha of Alphas!"
NWO: P
Quinn
Deucalion is right, Mason is eager to kill, but I am eager to finally connect with him, so I move to the other side, and together, Mason and I kneel and he leads by burying his claws into Deucalion's bloody gut without delay or hesitation, to his added pain. I choose a cleaner part, Deucalion's throat, to also keep him quieter and secure so that he doesn't try something, and share a look with Mason before we begin siphoning Deucalion's pain.
I gasp at the pain that shoots up my arm within the first second and let go.
"Peaceful, you said!" Growls Mason through clenched fangs, before he digs his claws deeper into Deucalion's gut with a sneer.
Deucalion's eyes open wide, a silent scream painted on his face as his eyes glow Alpha red. Mason's scream of pain reminds me that I'm the one who suggested we kill Deucalion together, so I place my hands around the old Alpha's neck and begin siphoning his pain. This time, I don't let go, but I can't close my eyes, so I stare into Deucalion's pained red eyes, tears falling down my cheeks.
With every second that passes, the red fades, but so does the pain on Deucalion's face, and vice versa for me. Soon, though, I feel something odd, but I don't stop siphoning, I can't. The pain turns to something cool.
"Thank you," whispers Deucalion, a moment before my eyes burn and an empowering warmth spreads all over my body.
Something within me clicks, and I know without a shadow of doubt that I'm an Alpha. I turn to look at Mason, and find him looking right back at me with wide Alpha red eyes.
"Whoa! This feels great!" He exclaims with a deeper voice, then surprise paints his face. "You did it?"
I guess he saw me let go of Deucalion's neck, so I nod.
"I did it," I confirm, noticing my voice is deeper too, and he smiles, and it's the most beautiful smile in the world right now because I am the reason it exists.
"We're Alphas," says Mason, getting to his feet. Before I know it, he jumps over Deucalion's body and then pulls me to my feet, and repeats, "we're Alphas, Quinn!"
I freeze, because I think this is the first time he calls me by name. He didn't call me his mate, but he kissed my hand and called me by name, which is more than he has done in a moon cycle. Progress, progress, but…
"What's wrong?" Asks Mason, probably noticing how still I am.
"Nothing," I quickly respond.
Maybe too quick because Mason looks at me like he doesn't believe me.
"Is lying your way of bonding?" He asks.
Oh, he wants the truth? I will give him the truth then.
"You just called me by name, and this is the first time," I tell him.
"No, it's not," he denies, and I raise an eyebrow in challenge.
"Really?" I fold my arms. "When have you ever called me by name?"
"Ah…" thinks Mason, brushing his sideburns.
"That's what I thought," I interrupt his thought process, knowing that he'll come up blank.
"I've been a shitty mate, haven't I?" He acknowledges, and then adds after a pause, "Qu- Quinn?"
"Don't do it because I pointed it out," I respond with a scowl, turning my back on him. "Let's go, our parents are waiting for us."
"Come on, Quinn," Mason stops me from leaving by getting hold of my hand. This time, his use of my name sounds natural, and I like how he says it, but I can't let him see that, so I don't turn back around. "I'm sorry, OK? We're supposed to be bonding here, and celebrating, not walking away. We're both Alphas!"
"I don't care about being an Alpha, Mason!" I yell, turning around to face him, although I make sure not to let go of his hand. "I've known that I have to get a mate outside my pack all my life, and though I didn't get to choose for myself like I was supposed to, I thought… I don't know what I thought, but the one time you call me by name is when you are happy that you're an Alpha and…"
"It's not just about me being an Alpha, though," denies Mason. "Do you know how rare it is for mates to be Alphas? Especially this young? I'm just excited that we did this (he points at our new Alpha red eyes) together. This is our first bonding experience, it's the result of us working together, and I gotta say, it feels good.
"These are proof that we can count on each other. Our trust in each other is earned. Doesn't this mean something to you?!"
Okay… I see his point. He did say something about earning a place in a pack, and he definitely earned his place in my pack, and it's respect. It seems he's all about working for his keep, and the racists in my pack thought his parents only wanted us to be mates, so they could get their hands on our money, the money that we barely use because most of us live in the woods with the barest minimum human comforts.
"Fine, it means something," I say, and allow myself to smile. "That you're finally ready to invest in us."
"I'll take that, and I am," replies Mason, smiling as well, but he whispers (not much of a whisper for beings like us,) "I think."
"Great," I widen my smile. "We need to discuss how we're going to present ourselves at school on Monday."
"I need to retrieve my bullets from Deucalion's shoulder and the shells," my mate, who is supposedly ready to invest in us, deflects, already moving towards Deucalion's body, but I know that he really has to retrieve his things like Braeden did with hers. "Search the druid for anything useful. I'll do the same to Deucalion."
"I'm not stealing from a dead person, Mason," I respond, folding my arms.
When I thought about my future mate all these years, I never imagined he would suggest such a thing, let alone think that I would help him kill someone so that he can try out a new way of killing. I never thought that he would be black either, did I? How could I, when my entire pack is white and the surrounding areas are predominantly white?
But here I am, an Alpha because my black mate wanted to try out Deucalion the Demon Wolf's preferred way to be killed on him. And now he's suggesting we steal from corpses. There's no wonder I didn't imagine this happening.
"They're dead, we're alive and may have use for what they used to own," says Mason, digging his claws into Deucalion's shoulder and taking out the three bullets, which he puts in his pocket before searching Deucalion's pockets. "It's another form of the cycle of life that the Primal Pack follows to a T, and nothing is ever wasted because of it."
He's… not wrong, and I killed a man a few moments ago, and said man thanked me. Stealing doesn't sound so bad now that I think about it, especially compared to killing someone.
"You're a bad influence on me," I tell Mason, walking over to the now dead English teacher, and begin my search.
"Be a good influence on me, then," he responds.
"Not yet," I say, finding Miss Blake's phone. "I've been lying low for far too long, but no more. Beacon Hills High needs a serious shake up and a new power couple with actual power, and I want us to be it. Are you in?"
I want to close with 'dear mate,' but I keep it to myself, for now.
"Sounds interesting."