Ten years have passed since the demise of Banastre, and the Yuen Pack thrives under the leadership of the dictator's benevolent stepson, Oscar Yuen. With a flourishing community and accumulation of wealth, the Yuen Pack has become second only to the...
"Egon!" Cai roared as he shifted. He returned to his regular form and grabbed Ananya before she could fall. "Oscar?! Oscar?"
Ananya, who was dizzy from the ride, held onto Cai's wrist as she found her footing. Blearily, she caught the blazing gaze of her mate, and the murderous intensity in his eyes snapped her senses back into place. "What are..." she began to say, then she noticed that he was holding onto something - or rather - someone. The twig-like boy from earlier was shaking in his grasp, but his hollow eyes displayed no emotion.
"Oscar, let Egon go," Cai said. "Dude, chill out and let him go."
"Let a murderer go?" Oscar growled. "After he not only betrayed my trust but also endangered the lives of so many?"
"We need him alive to interrogate him," Cai said, attempting to remain calm. "You know that. Let him go and let the patrol apprehend him." He glanced at the five wolves behind Oscar, all of whom were peering nervously at the Beta.
"I don't feel generous tonight," Oscar responded and snarled. His fist tightened and he raised Egon higher above the ground. The boy gasped, his hollow sockets widening slightly, and then he spit on the ground.
"I don't answer to you," he said hoarsely. "You want to make peace with the humans? Make peace with them! Make peace with our enemies and watch them slaughter everyone, you coward."
"Don't test my patience right now, boy," Oscar snapped. "I'm not in the mood to toss you into a cell."
"Kill me then," Egon challenged. "Kill me and prove to everyone just how much of a menace you are. Kill me just like how your father killed Canon, a man distraught over his daughter's unfair death...her death at your hands."
"Banastre killed Sara, I didn't," Oscar said with a scowl. "I'm not like him."
"Are you, though?" Egon smirked, his thin, bony features widening. "You're bubbling with rage, Alpha. You're ready to kill me. Banastre was like that. Banastre was -!"
"Enough!" Oscar slammed Egon into a tree and the boy's bones audibly cracked. Egon howled and Oscar shifted, anger overwhelming his body. His eyes morphed into a dark black, matching the dullness of the sky, and he brought Egon to the ground, pummeling him with his large paws, and stabbing him with his claws.
"Oscar!" Ananya shouted. Her lungs trembled. "Oscar, stop!"
"Don't move." Cai held her back. "He's unstable right now. He won't recognize you."
"He will!" Ananya tried to release herself from Cai. "He will!"
"No, he won't!" Cai gripped her firmly. "Ananya - Oscar, stop!"
Egon was choking. His pale face was flushed a dark, angry red and his fangs were elongated, snapping at Oscar's arm. Oscar held him to the ground, as though he were intent on burying the boy. His hand was wrapped around Egon's neck, pressing his Adam's apple deeper into his throat.
"You...killer...." Egon rasped, and in a momentary burst of energy, he kicked Oscar in the stomach and leaped to his feet. He wiped his bloodied jaw, shifted, and pounced, knocking Oscar into a tree. The Alpha roared and swiped Egon's face with his claws, sending the younger wolf stumbling.
"Oscar..." Ananya felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. "Not now, alarm!" She hit her thigh to silence the device, and when she looked up again, she realized that she was facing the vicious golden eyes of Egon, whose muzzle dripped with sweat and drool.
"Mate...a mate..." he murmured. Oscar turned, and that proved to be his mistake. Egon kicked him between his legs, and when Oscar winced, his grip on Egon loosened, allowing the wolf to turn and pounce on Ananya. He tackled her to the ground and swiped her face, leaving three bloody marks on her skin. She cried out, but Egon had her arms pinned above her head, stretching them more than her tight muscles could bear. She thought her limbs would snap.
"Ananya!" Cai lurched to grab her, but Oscar was one step ahead of him. He ripped Egon from Ananya and slammed him to the ground.
"I...ouch..." Ananya winced, pain rattling her body. Cai dragged her into a group of bushes and helped her sit upright, using his arm to support her upper body weight. Her head rolled on his elbow and he cupped his hand behind her head to hold her head up.
"Cai...Oscar..." Ananya was engulfed in pain - pain that felt like shards of glass sinking into her body and piercing her organs. Her lungs pulsated with a painful throb and she gasped for breath. "Eugh..."
"Hold on...breathe..." Cai used his sleeve to wipe her bloody cheek, then leaped to his feet. He rushed back to Oscar and Egon and snapped his fingers. The five patrol wolves who had been watching the fight sprung into action and grabbed Egon, wrestling him away from Oscar. Cai, who had shifted, struggled to contain the Alpha, resorting to pushing him away from Egon.
"Oscar, enough!" Cai tried to get through to him. "Stop it, Oscar!" He dodged a swipe of the older wolf's claws. "Don't do this! You know you can't! Stop!"
"Get out of my way, Cai!" Oscar growled, his voice deep and wrought with fury. The rumble that came out of him sent a shiver down Ananya's shaking spine.
Is this Oscar...? She thought, fear strangling her.
That seemed to work. Oscar stopped struggling and his dark eyes swiveled to Ananya, thawing immediately. He stumbled, seeming to debate between staying where he was and rushing to her.
"Oscar..." Ananya hesitated, then reached out to him. "Oscar..."
"Monster." Egon cackled, then coughed, his face semi-planted in the dirt. "Just like his father, eh?"
Oscar said nothing, his head hung in shame. He was shaking with unbridled rage, though Ananya wasn't sure if it was directed toward Egon or himself.
"Get him out of my sight," Oscar finally spoke. He glared at the ground. "Put him in Cell 60."
"Lock me up. Torture me. No matter what you do, though, you won't escape the truth," Egon sneered. "June will succeed. She'll keep all of us wolves safe from the humans." His glare turned onto Ananya, then Oscar. "She'll keep us safe from you."
"Guys." Cai nodded, and the five patrol wolves held Egon, tying him up with a thick rope. They hoisted him onto their shoulders and carried him into the pack.
"Kill the messenger, huh," Cai mused. "June must have sent him to lower morale. That kid can't fight if his life depended on it, though."
Oscar was silent.
Ananya approached him, her feet shaking above the rocks and lumpy grass. "Oscar..."
"Ananya!" A shrill voice came from the darkness shrouding the trees.
Ananya winced and jerked. Hesitantly, she turned her head, regarding the darkness, and to her dismay, her assumption had been correct. The dark wisps parted like a portal and through the thickets came a flushed, quivering figure with skinny, balled fists and a flourishing velvet coat, like the entrance of a cinematic villain.
Ananya swallowed hard and a laugh came out of her chapped lips; a laugh that made her realize just how badly she had dug herself into the hole of punishment. "Hey...Mausi."
--()--()--()--
So...what Oscar was fearing came out. How will Ananya react? What will Rutuparna do to her for disobeying her?
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