The binds around my wrists felt as though they were tightening as the minutes dragged on while we waited for an answer from the Alpha. I attempted to loosen them a little, circling my wrists in order to keep the blood flow as normal as possible, but the aching that had grown within my joints in the time I had been strung up against the railings was too much. Hissing in pain, I gave up and instead turned to scowl at the Alpha.

He seemed unaffected by any of the negative vibes being hurled his way by the Winchesters. He simply paced slowly back and forth in front of his throne-like chair, tapping his chin idly as he waited for the right words to come to him.

Finally he stilled. "Your choice of words is intriguing, Miss Hailee." He turned to look at me, thoughtfulness clouding his otherwise piercing eyes. "Mutants, you say?"

I nodded vehemently.

"Now, what on earth would make you so sure?"

I took in a shaky breath as he stepped towards me, his eyes never leaving my face. "Whatever they are, they are no longer what they used to be. I saw that first hand. My family were human. But when they died, they were no longer. Whatever had take a hold of their blood, it mutated them beyond belief." I cast my eyes to the floor, begging the verging tears to stay behind my lids. "I wouldn't have believed it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

I closed my eyes, once again clinging onto my grief in a desperate hope to keep it inside.

"Don't you touch her!" Dean yelled, seconds before I felt the Alpha's long, sharp nail skim its way down my jaw. I jerked back to find his face inches from mine.

"Perhaps you misunderstood the situation," he murmured. "Perhaps the 'mutation' was for the best; making them stronger, better beings."

Tears flooded my vision as I looked back at him. "No," I answered, my voice breaking. "It killed the best parts of them; it took away their humanity."

Anger sieged across the Alpha's face. He raised his hand in a flash and,for a split second, I was sure that he was about to strike me. Sam and Dean obviously believed the same because their yells and the protestations of their bindings filled the room as they attempted to defend me. But I could not move my gaze from the Alpha's, fear flooding through me.

After a moment, the Alpha lowered his hand, gripping the side of my head instead. "How dare you attempt to look down on my kind, little girl. We are by far superior. Have I not outlived every single one of your messiahs? Have I not survived every single one of your apocalypses? Will I not continue to do so until the end of time?" He moved back, scoring his talons through the skin of my neck and cheek, smirking a little at the blood that rushed through the lesions. "Humanity, and the the mortality that it entails, are overrated." He slowly raised his hand, moving his fingertips to his lips, and tasting the droplets of my blood that rested there. "Though, of course," he said, quirking an eyebrow, "there are certain aspects that appeal."

I felt sick to my stomach. Hanging there, bound to the wall, I allowed the weight of my body to sink into the bindings. Hanging my head, I swallowed, forcing back the bile that was steadily climbing up my throat.

Finally Sam spoke. "Are you going to answer her question or not?"

The Alpha paused yet again. "Yes. The creatures that you have been coming across; they are, in a way, my doing." Dean hissed out a disgusted sound. "It has been hard to secure the futures of my children as of late. What with abominations like yourselves careering around, ending their precious lives." He murmured a soft laugh, "Or after lives, depending on how you look at it."

The Alpha took a seat, arranging himself in the chair so that his elbow rested on the arm and his talons stroked their way into the carvings at the end of it. "It has taken a great amount of deliberation to find a way to dumbfound the threats. As you know, my children are not the only ones that were once human but came back with a - how shall I say? - an appetite for their former selves?"

Dean growled low in his throat. "I'm glad you take so much joy out of taking away others lives."

The Alpha snapped his head towards Dean, baring his fangs. "Do not speak out of turn with me, boy. Unlike your companion here, I would have no remorse in tearing your throat out in a second." He turned back to me, his eyes constricting a little in thought. "I believe you have run into the walking dead in your time?"

"Zombies?" I asked hesitantly. I hated them, possibly even more than vampires.

"If that is what you so wish to call them," the Alpha shrugged nonchalantly. "I have been instructing a handful of my children to conduct a few experiments: allowing themselves to be bitten. A second rebirth, if you will. The results have varied." He raised his finger to his lip, tapping it against the skin. "Unfortunately, not too long ago, we had a break out of a few of the most affected."

"You don't seem too concerned." I stated, my voice shaking as I took in all that he had just said.

Yet again, he shrugged one shoulder. "I believe my most reliable children will have it under control in next to no time. No need for you to further your investigation into the situation."

"No need?!" I spluttered. "The disease that you created took my family from me. It is still raging through the country, and I will be damned if I allow any others to suffer at its hands." I threw my shoulders back in defiance. "I demand that you include me in your nullification of the outbreak."

The Alpha smiled. "There's your spark again, child. I shall consider your request. But for the meantime, I demand that you all take a step back until further notice." He nodded minutely at the guards who stood behind his chair, waving them forwards towards us. We were gagged and blindfolded. I felt slight pressure on my neck, where the cuts lay, but in my struggle to release myself from the hands that held me, I hit my head and the curtain went down.