Discovery Led To Bloodlust I.

"What happened to her?" Casey voiced out the question they all wanted to ask as they hovered over Kristensen.

The lot of them were worried, mostly because he didn't know how he'd explain it to Ocean in Casey's case.

The pressure from him reminded Casey of Caston but more terrifying, and Ocean hadn't done anything but looked at him. If he did something, then wouldn't he die?

He cussed Kristensen a lot in his mind for acting recklessly. Just who did she think she was to barge in the middle of a ritual?

Vince threw Casey an annoyed glance. "Your negative energy won't make her wake up faster either. Why don't you go out if there's nothing helpful to say?"

Casey humphed but remained silent. It wasn't that he wasn't moved a little, but to him, the price she had to pay didn't seem worth it for people she didn't know yet again, he didn't Kristensen well.

"I wasn't being rhetorical. Move, give her space to breathe. Watch how far the ritual is." Snapped Vince when no one moved an inch.

The group moved moved away with embarrassed looks on their faces.

Trudy was the only one who'd watched the ritual's process after Kristensen fell and fainted, and she saw the ritual stop.

Her gaze on Kristensen was cautious and questioning as she hadn't thought Kristensen was powerful enough to break the connection of that many people to the pseudo alpha's symbol. Then, what did Kristensen see or do?

Trudy remained still, many questions running through her mind while the others fussed over Kristensen. Her eyes tracked the lines that had been lit when the ritual was going on and now dim, without their traces anywhere and grew worried.

Did Kristensen really break the connection of the pack? How was that possible?

That was what it was, wasn't it? The alpha's symbol, pseudo or not, was a symbol of an alpha with a pack. The wolves willingly gave themselves their powers to their alpha for the prosperity of the pack.

How was it easy to break that conviction?

It didn't matter if the wolves were deceived to join the pack. The point was that when they did, it became part of them - dying for their alpha was the least they would do.

Kristensen...

Trudy's eyes narrowed deep in thought. She walked the line where the invisible wall that had prevented them from getting closer to Kristensen before and used her wolf senses - her glowing eyes making her sight heighten and looked at the place again - nothing.!

She didn't see the lines that had connected to the pseudo alpha's symbol before. The underground chamber looked like an ordinary cave, yet how was that possible?

Exactly what was going on?

While Trudy was busy contemplating, Vince was watching her from the corner of his eyes, and he smiled. He thought to himself that Trudy wasn't bad for the mission of getting into House of Caston Maddison and poking around. She was vigilant enough.

House of Ryder Voss wasn't hopeless after all. There was a prospect powerhouse in front of him, unconscious as she was, and a prospect detective going to House of Caston Maddison. Vince felt lighter at that thought.

"I can't stand here waiting. I'm going up." Casey murmured and threw Tate and Winnie a look, indicating to follow him.

"You're not helping anyway." Said Vince with a snicker.

Casey paused in his steps but continued on his way. Tate and Winnie followed behind him timidly.

Vince sneered as he watched them leave, "Go, go, go. That's all your House of Caston is capable of anyway. Go..!"

Trudy laughed at his outburst and shook her head. It was good to see that Vince was still the same as she remembered.

Back then, when everyone turned on her and gave up on her because she failed the awakeing ceremony, he alone gave her a helping and direction. Only his temper... it needed a lot more trimming if he ever were going to have more power within the House of Ryder Voss.

"What do you think happened to her?" Trudy asked after some time.

"If I'm not wrong, the person conducting the ritual tried to forcefully make her join the ritual, making her turn forcefully but failed." Vince sighed.

He put his hand on Kristensen's forehead and felt reassured when her temperature wasn't too cold.

"She's only resting from the shock, thankfully. Otherwise... the consequences would be bad." Continued Vince. "She's quiet strong, your friend..."

And it was that strength that saved her. Both of them understood that point.

The alpha's symbol was both sacred and a curse. In the hands of a good alpha, it was a blessing that many wolves would willingly give their all to but in the hands of an ambitious person - reckless ambitious person - the results was what they saw in the mural.

A pity for something their ancestors left to become a double-edged sword.

Trudy cast a fleeting glance at Kristensen lying there with a peaceful expression on her face and withdrew her gaze just as quickly.

Strong, huh? She wondered if she had that kind of strength.

"Is she going to be fine?" Asked Trudy with an undertone to her voice.

Vince looked up at her, his gaze deep and intruding.

"What?" Prompted Trudy.

"Competitiveness is good, but don't let it consume you that you end up losing yourself." Vince said lightly. He looked down at Kristensen and continued meaningfully.

... Your starting point is already different, and your friend doesn't seem to be the type that would let themselves go."

Trudy stiffened for a moment but didn't respond. She understood what Vince meant and had known from the beginning. Kristensen and her... their starting point was different, as he said.

"It's weird... the ritual seems to have stopped." Trudy said as she changed the topic.

Vince shook his head slightly and said nothing. He looked up to where the pseudo alpha's symbol was floating before and only then realized it was gone.

What?! He stood up abruptly. He hadn't noticed it before. He was caught up mourning the state Kristensen was in, and he failed to notice the most important thing.

It stopped?

"Could it be... could it be her?" Trudy asked, her voice tinged with apprehension.

Vince's brows furrowed in deep contemplation as he scanned the chamber, searching for anything out of the ordinary. His instincts told him something might have happened in between, but for it to be Kristensen?

"I don't think it's her." he replied, his tone reflective. "Someone else might have, though."

And that someone was obviously way stronger than them if they could enter the chamber and leave without them knowing.

They began to scour the chamber for clues together, their countenance serious as they searched every nook and crook.

As they searched, going into different pits and missing each other in the combs, the silence in the underground chamber seemed to grow thicker, same as their nerves.

Suddenly, Trudy's sharp gaze caught sight of something glinting in the dim light, hidden in the cracks of the wall in one of the pits. With a gasp, she hurried forward and pried the object from the wall.

"Vince, look!" She exclaimed, dangling the object she discovered for him to see.

Vince came from the other pit hurriedly and joined her side, his eyes widening with surprise as he took the object and held it in his hands. It was a small, intricately carved plate, its surface etched with symbols.

"This is..." Vince began, his voice trailing off as he turned the plate over in his hands.

Before he could catch his thought, however, the plate suddenly pulsed with a faint glow, illuminating the chamber with a moonlight like light. With a start, Vince dropped the plate, and he and Trudy stepped back, their hearts racing with apprehension.

"What, what is it?" Trudy asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Vince shook his head, his mind racing. He felt as though he had seen it before but couldn't remember where.

It was too similar, too similar, too... Vince's face paled at the thought.

"The... the real..."

A growl interrupted him from behind, and they turned at the same time to the sound of that growl.

A big grey wolf with glowing crimson silver eyes stood, staring at them with immense killing intent.

The duo exchanged bewildered glances and turned their gazes at the snarling wolf.

"Kristensen?" Trudy said questioningly, her voice cautious.

"Her?" Vince asked as he looked to where he had left Kristensen and found an empty spot.

They grey wolf let out a growl as it bared its teeth. The look in its eyes didn't change but intensified. It made its intentions clear - kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill.

That was what was going on through Kristensen's head as she watched the two people in front her.

Her mind was filled with the blood moon and red everywhere. The sign of blood. The thirst for blood. The desire to shed blood.

And the smell on the two people in front of her was too pleasingly to her senses. They wouldn't die easily and were good game they smelled especially the male.

She didn't recognize them.

"Wha-what's wrong with her?" Trudy asked nervously as she retreated a step. Her senses were going haywire being in close proximity to the wolf.

She wasn't the only one, Vince no longer had his usual broody expression as he watched the wolf. He wanted to cuss.

"Bloodlust." He said, his eyes trained on Kristensen. "What timing. Damn House of Caston! How can they be this reckless?!"

"Bloodlust?!" Trudy's voice rose a little higher.

How in the world did Kristensen manage to find herself in situations that many people had only ever heard of?

It was both enviable and not. Enviable because after she overcame the situation, she would be stronger and not because if she couldn't overcome the situation, she might die.

"Then, what do we do?" Asked Trudy.

Bloodlust was a pain in the as* because the wolf wouldn't stop attacking no matter how badly it got hurt, and they would need an alpha strong enough to overpower Kristensen's willpower if they didn't want to kill her.

Was either of them strong enough to stop her? Trudy threw Vince a glance and felt uncomforted.

Even defending themselves was questionable. What were they going to do?

"Where did Casey go? Casey!!!" Vince shouted at the top of his lungs while keeping his eyes on the wolf.

He didn't want to call for help either, but it was better safe than sorry. Bad, bad luck.

Kristensen's forefeet and hindfeet steadied as she let out menacing growl.

"Kris..." Trudy's voice trailed, Kristensen sprinted forward.

Her fangs missed the side of Trudy's neck as she lunged, but her large paws caught some of Trudy's chest. 

Kristensen turned halfway and launched again, this time at Vince, who was rooted in place shocked, and he barely avoided the paws at his neck.

Her eyes glistened with excitement, and she surveyed the two people in front of her.

Her blood boiled, making her eyes glow brighter. They deserved to be her prey.

Trudy clutched her chest and brought her hand to her face. The little blood gave her a chill and woke her up from the shock.

Kristensen... she, she really attacked her?

But looking at the excited wolf in front of them, it didn't seem that was the end but the beginning?

Weren't she out a moment ago? What woken her up and triggered the bloodlust anyway?

Vince caught Trudy's gaze and shook his head. He didn't know either and was as surprised that Kristensen could wake up and turn - not only that, be in the bloodlust state and fine enough to attack them.

How strong was she for a wolf that had gone through their first transformation not long ago?

They were entirely focused on Kristensen they didn't realize, since she had appeared, the light illuminating from the plate was constantly focused on Kristensen.