~INTO YOU~

18. DESIRE

"What the actual fuck..."

Nestled inside the plateau surrounded by redwood pines and just below the cliff was a giant hole that was about two hundred and fifty across and a hundred and fifty feet deep or possibly more since no one had ever tried to venture forth into this part of the area. Raze looked down on the edge to what they had long identified as one of the holes at the end of their world with mixed emotions.

With a sudden burst of anger, his hand stretched and grabbed Lev by the collar of his shirt and demanded, "What the fuck did you do!? Did you look where you were going?"

Lev struggled and pried the hand that grabbed him. Freed from his grasp, he glared back. "How are we supposed to know when your Alpha started hounding us to the ends of the world!"

"Of course, he'd come after you! What do you expect? First, you stole one of his aero trucks and now you're trying to steal his specimen. You don't even understand how dangerous this creature is! Have you seen what it did to the lab?!"

"Well, what do we do now? Shouldn't we find a way or send troops to get them out of there?"

Raze narrowed his gaze and Lev took a step back in alarm. "Send troops down there? That hole down there is among the entrances to the deep! I'm guessing that the reason Vinzer chased you was because he saw you heading in the wrong direction, you imbeciles!"

"Fine! I guess we'll just have to bring our own troops since you couldn't care less about---"

"What nonsense are you sprouting? No one is leaving this place until my Alpha has returned!"

Lev and Sonya looked at each other panic-stricken. "My Alpha is in there too! You, selfish moronic prick! You can't hold us hostage---"

Raze smirked, baring his fangs. "Oh yes, I can and I will. You're not leaving."

"FUCKER! Rolan is waiting outside at the southern border crossing with a fucking army! He is Rumi's brother and an Elder! If we don't return on the agreed timeframe, he'll send the militia here, are you crazy?"

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! Tell him to send the whole army over if that's what he wants. No one is LEAVING this side until my brother comes back ALIVE or else, your entire horde is TOAST!"

The entrance of another Elder put their argument to a halt. Vasily strode between them dividing the crowd. He put a hand on Raze's chest, an act that had the effect of calming the rage of the Beta's nerves.

Once the fire was settled, Vasily turned his attention on the Silverfrost's Gamma. "I will talk to Rolan," he declared. "I think it would be better to both sides that you two stays here until we can retrieve Rumi from the crater too."

"But..."

"If you return empty-handed, it would seem as if our side did something to your Alpha. Stay here and we can figure out a way to get both of them together. Besides, this part of the area is still within our territory. We can't have you sending troops over to save your Alpha. Even if you meant no harm, our people won't feel safe."

Lev stared down at the edge of the cliff with wonder and uneasiness of a child. Ha paused a moment, looked at Sonya, and then looked back at Vasily. "All right...we will stay. But please, we want our Alpha back."

┈┈┈┈ ⋞ 〈☪〉 ⋟ ┈┈┈┈

Rumi fell into a deep sleep. It was a sleep filled with fleeting visions of strange places, filled with curious and wonderful things. In these dreams, what once was irregular was now ordinary and proper. Plants were living things with their own thoughts and feelings. All was in perfect harmony. Or so he thought. As he sunk deeper into the spell of the forest as he dreamed, a nightmare emerged in the form of a majestic creature with ruby-red eyes...