The Alpha's Mutt
Time to Choose

At nine o’clock, Farris and I were sitting together in the office waiting for the others to arrive. We did not have to wait long as there was a knock at the door before the longer hand on the clock was able to come back around to reach the one. And after Farris permitted them entrance to the room, Relic, the twins, and Hugo all entered together.

“Please, everyone, take a seat.” Farris bid as he gestured towards the sofa and chair set.

The twins and Hugo shared the couch while Relic took one of the chairs. Farris sat down on the other while I settled myself onto the arm rest of his seat. Once everyone was set, Relic looked to Farris and me for confirmation, I nodded my head in return, giving him permission to lead the discussion. Relic may have been a full-blooded witch, but it was obvious that he had been living amongst wolves for a long time. He knew our customs well.

“Hugo, I am certain that you are wondering why we brought you here tonight.” Relic began.

“I’ll admit, I am a bit curious as to why the witches seem so interested in me.” Hugo replied.

“Well, I am afraid that we need to discuss a matter of grave importance with you, Hugo.” Relic admitted, as he jumped right on in. “You see, long ago, wolves and vampires were at war with each other. The two species hunted each other down, the battles were vicious and brutal. The casualties were numerous. Until one day, both sides had finally had enough of the fighting. They worked with a coven of witches and were able to form an uneasy truce. Each side agreed to do their best to simply steer clear of the other. Most vampires blended into the cities to live amongst the humans, their favorite meals. While the wolves would maintain a more rural life in the natural setting they preferred. Over time, the past was left behind and the two species all but forgot the other.

However, now it seems that this Master Belial wishes to reignite those hatreds of the past and even take it a step further by wiping out the wolves altogether. This cannot come to pass, Hugo. I am certain that you can understand that. The annihilation of the wolves would have disastrous consequences in the balance of the universe. Lives completely destroyed. Wiped out of existence without a single thought. Can you imagine what would happen to the friends that you have made here? Or to the pups that you have seen playing outside?”

“No.” Hugo interjected. “I don’t want to imagine anything that horrible. I don’t want to see another wolf harmed ever again.”

Lucy reached over and wrapped her arm around Hugo. Offering him some friendly comfort and this seemed to help relax him some.

“I am happy to hear that you feel that way, Hugo.” Relic continued. “And this is why Master Belial must be stopped. He and his clan cannot be allowed to continue their senseless slaughter.”

“So…you are going to attack Master Belial’s clan?” Hugo questioned, the words coming out slowly as if he were trying to understand what he was saying as he said it.

“I’m afraid that we don’t feel that he has given us much choice.” I admitted. “But I can promise that we seek to do as little damage to the actual clan as possible. We’re hopeful that if we can take down Master Belial that his followers will give up the fight.”

“Kind of like cutting the head off a snake.” Farris added.

“That might work.” Hugo admitted. “Master Belial is the real driving force behind this mission to send the wolves to extinction. But it will not be easy. They will not let you near Master Belial without a fight. The entire clan will be on top of you as quickly as they will be able to arrive. And even if you get near the Master, he is a strong and ancient vampire. He will not be easy to kill. There will be loss on both sides.”

“We understand that risk, Hugo. But we feel that it is necessary. If Master Belial is allowed to continue what he is doing, who knows how long it will be before he begins to succeed in his mission. You were raised with his teachings; can you honestly say that there is even the slightest chance that he may give up on his goals?” I asked, wanting Hugo to take a moment and consider my words sincerely.

He contemplated my words for a minute and then nodded in understanding.

“No, Master Belial will never give up. He will just keep replaceing another way and the clan will continue to follow him. If you truly wanted to end this, then Master Belial will have to be killed.” He sighed. “I don’t like it because it means more violence. But it is the only way.”

“I am sorry, Hugo. And I am even more sorry that we are going to have to ask you to choose.” I paused for a moment before continuing. “You do not have to participate in the actual battle if you do not wish to. We can all understand why that would be difficult. But we do need to ask for your help in other ways if you are willing.”

“If you don’t need me to fight. Then what can I possible do?” Hugo queried; a curious eyebrow raised.

“In order to catch the vampires off guard and have a chance at gaining access to Master Belial, we will need to formulate a surprise attack. However, without the location of Master Belial, the plan falls short. That is where you come in.” Farris explained.

“But I already told you that I don’t know for certain where Master Belial actually is. There are many clan houses spread out miles from each other in some cases. He could be in any one of them.” Hugo responded.

“We know. Therefore, we will need to do a locator spell. But in order to do that we must have something that personally belonged to Master Belial.” Relic jumped back in.

“Like me? Because I was one of his followers?”

“Sort of. We will need…some of your blood.”

“My blood?!”

“Not a lot, I assure you! Only a drop or two should be necessary.” Relic promised.

“But why do you need my blood?”

“You were given Master Belial’s blood when you joined his clan, binding you to him. His blood flows in your veins along with your own. We should be able to use our magic to tap into the essence of him which remains and utilize that to locate him.”

Hugo grew quiet suddenly and you could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He was clearly feeling mixed emotions about this most recent information. I understood his apprehension. That clan was the closest thing that he had to a family, and he would be essentially leading us right to them.

“Do not feel as though you have to do this if you do not want to, Hugo.” I spoke up, hoping to ease his mind some. “We do need your help, and this would save us a lot of time. But I know that this must be a difficult choice for you to make. Just know that if you truly feel like you cannot do this, you will still be welcome here with the packs. Nothing has to change. Your acceptance here is not contingent on your cooperation.”

“Maybe. But the packs will not look at me the same if they know that I could help but I didn’t.”

“That is not true. And even if it were, that is not an issue. No one knows that we need your blood. Only those of us in this room, the other witches, and our Betas, know anything about any of this. And it will stay that way if that is how you want it to be. No one needs to know about any of this unless you want them to, whether we perform the spell or not.”

“You promise? No matter what...I will still be welcome?”

“Absolutely.” Farris answered for the both of us.

Hugo paused for a moment, before saying…

“Okay, then…I will do it.”

“You will?!” I responded; a bit taken by surprise.

“Of course. I meant what I said earlier. Your kind has embraced me more than my own ever has. And you are right that we need to bring Master Belial to an end sooner rather than later. He is dangerous and hell bent on revenge. If we can end this before it gets any worse, then that is what we need to do.” Hugo confirmed.

“Thank you, Hugo. I cannot begin to explain how much this means to us. How much it means to all of wolf-kind.” I offered knowing that a mere “thank you” would never be enough.

“Now that this is settled. I believe that we should act quickly. We will need to gather a few items for the ritual, but I think that we should perform it in the next few days.”

“Agreed.” Farris said with a nod.

“But understand very clearly…once the spell is performed, we will need to be prepared to enact our plan immediately within the following day or so. We do not know if Master Belial will stay in one location for long and we do not want to have to perform the spell multiple times. So, once we have our location, we need to act on it.”

“Well, if that is the case, then we have a busy next few days ahead of us. I suggest that we all get some rest tonight and be ready to start final preparations tomorrow.” Farris instructed.

“Yes, Alpha.” The twins responded promptly before jumping up and heading towards the door.

“Good night, Alphas.” Relic added as he followed his children.

“Good night.” I bid as they left the room.

Only Hugo remained as he sat on the sofa. There was clearly more on his mind.

“Are you alright, Hugo?” I asked, softly.

“I was just curious about something…” Hugo began before trailing off.

“What is it?” I pressed.

“Did you only befriend me because you needed my blood?”

I paused before answering, feeling a little taken aback by the question. For some reason, I had not really expected this. Farris and I looked at each other, exchanging uncertain glances. Before I took a deep breath and decided that honesty was probably going to be the best policy here.

“We are not going to lie to you, Hugo. When we first started coming to talk to you in your cell, it was about trying to get you to offer your blood.” I admitted.

I watched as his shoulders dropped and sadness took over his features. I was immediately overcome with guilt.

“But it quickly became about more than that.” I added. “We started to learn what a great person that you are and how difficult your circumstances had been. It was very easy to build a friendship with you just because of who you are. As I said before, if you decided not to give us your blood, you would still be welcomed here, and I meant it. If it was still only about your blood, then, surely, that would not have been an option.”

I saw my words sink in as his shoulders slowly began to lift and the sadness in his eyes faded away. I was relieved that I was able to make him feel better about the situation.

“Thank you, Alpha. You’re right. It does not matter how it started, only that we are here now. And I appreciate that you gave me a choice in the blood matter. Master Belial would not have been so considerate.”

“Just one of the many ways that we are different than Master Belial.” I joked.

“That is for sure.” Hugo chuckled.

After Hugo felt more at ease, he bid us good night and headed out for the greenhouse. I stood from my spot on the arm of the chair and took a moment to stretch out. I suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around my waist as Farris pulled me against his body.

“Looks like we will be going to war very soon.” He sighed as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

“I know.” I responded with a sigh of my own as I placed my hands over his, interlocking our fingers.

“Nervous?” He questioned, his own nerves evident in his voice.

“Not as long as I know that you are there and have my back.” I stated confidently, hoping that would help him to feel a bit better.

“Always.” He promised before placing a soft kiss on the nape of my neck, causing a pleasurable shiver to run through to my core.

I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek, turning his face towards me as I craned my neck to look him in the eyes.

“I love you, Farris. No matter what happens. No matter where we end up. Know that I love you.” I whispered.

“I love you, too, Mysti. More than you will ever know.” Farris replied, before leaning in and placing a kiss on my lips.