Freedom & Poison

(Some Time Ago)

With his hands chained behind him and his eyes blindfolded, Damien kept following the lead of the wolf who was in charge of securing him. He had no idea where they were going or what was going to happen to him. He wasn't worried about that at that moment, what he was worried about is if Kreed was okay. Pushing him off the cliff, he hoped he didn't sustain any permanent injury.

Another thing that scared him was Kreed coming after him to look for and try to rescue him. He knew Kreed wouldn't give up until he has managed to rescue him, he was stubborn like that. Over the years they've been together, they had bonded so much that they felt like they were practically brothers. To him Kreed was the little brother he never had, the family he never had or experienced also. Which is why he willingly sacrificed himself for Kreed's safety.

Though he couldn't see where they were heading to, he could hear the heartbeats of all the wolves present around him and he could also pick up the smell of the area around him. The smell of freshly cut grass and soaked trees made him know they were still in the woods. "Where are you taking me?" He finally asked, hoping the Beta answered.

Beta Maynard said nothing but smiled crookedly. He had gotten what he wanted, though he would have appreciated it more if he had caught both of them. But he could also make use of one. With the description and information Alpha Bayron gave him, he knew he had caught the one called Damien. The one Alpha Bayron said was the strongest. Haven caught the strongest one, he was okay. With time he knew he would run into the second one that escaped and then he will either use him for his plans, or kill him, depending on his goal at that particular time.

"Answer me, you son of a bitch!" Damien blurted out angrily.

"You will do well to check your tone with me boy. You are under my mercy now and I can do whatever I want with you. All you should be doing now is pleading for your life that's about to come to an end, not trying to show how fearless and rude you are" Beta Maynard explained.

"I'm guessing you're taking me to your Alpha then,....then you all will carry out a biased trial just to fulfill all righteousness...and then you'll kill me. Am I right or right?" He asked, knowing that was exactly how it was going to play out if given to their Alpha.

"You might be right, you might be wrong. I'll leave you in that suspense with that anticipation" The Beta smiled, coming to a halt. He looked round at the Betas he had taken with him to go capture his prey. "I will take it from here now. You all should return to your respective posts. Those patrolling the borders, go back to secure the border and make sure no intruder can sneak in unnoticed. We don't know, but his friend that escaped might try to sneak back in with hopes of rescuing him" Beta Maynard pointed out.

The Betas were reluctant at first, not because they didn't trust him, but because they were worried for his safety. They didn't think it was a good idea to leave him alone with the abnormally strong freak. Beta Maynard noticed this and smiled. "I'm glad you all are worried for me...but I can handle myself. I am the right hand Beta of the pack after all. And besides he's chained and blindfolded"

The men glanced at each other, nodding at one another, deciding they should follow his orders and trust him. He was the strongest Beta in the pack afterall. Only the Alpha was stronger than him. So they took that into account, thinking he could really take care of himself. They bowed slightly at him and discharged themselves to different directions to go man their post or continue with their day.

Beta Maynard stood there for a while, holding Damien and making sure all the men were far gone before continuing on his journey, only this time, he switched directions. He had no plans of taking his priced possession to the Alpha. He knew the Alpha too well to know he would just free him, ordering him not to step foot in their town again. His need for peace was stupid to the Beta. Not that he didn't like the peace, but he was against living their lives like humans, not utilizing their powers and abilities. Only in chaos and troubles can they really feel alive, bonding with their wolf.

Damien remained silent, following the Beta who was dragging him. He immediately realized the plans of his captor. He wasn't going to deliver him to his Alpha, he had other plans for him. That immediately made Damien start to worry. Not knowing his fate was disturbing to him. "You're not taking me to your Alpha, are you? That is why you sent them all away, so they wouldn't know your plan"

"You are smart, I'll give you that. you caught on quickly. Yes you're right, I'm not taking you to the Alpha....that would be a waste of power and a potential soldier" He replied

"Soldier? What do you mean soldier?" Damien questioned with furrowed brows.

"You'll see... actually you won't after I'm done with you" He smiled and then stopped. "We are here" He announced and then proceeded to unlocking the bunker.

He pushed Damien inside and shut the door. With his blindfold still on, he kept pushing him further until he got to the last cell. He opened the steel door with his key and then pushed Damien inside. "Ouch" Damien groaned on hitting the wall, thanks to the Beta pushing him. He tried to guess where he was by sniffing and listening but to his surprise, he heared multiple heartbeats but they were faint, which meant that the sources of the heartbeats were a little far from him. "Hello!" He called when he didn't hear the Beta's voice anymore or feel his presence. "Where are you? You can't lock me up in here!" He called loudly.

Beta Maynard appeared again, this time holding a thicker and newer chain along with a abnormally large injection. He walked over to Damien who had no idea of what was coming. He stabbed the needle into his neck and emptied the content into him. Damien winced and grunted from the pain, stumbling back away from him. Immediately, he felt his strength waning as he was getting weaker quickly.

Beta Maynard took the chain, chained his legs and then chained his hands, bringing them in front of him. Satisfied with it, he reached out and took the blindfold off. "Welcome to your new home" He gave an evil smirk.

"Where the hell is this place and what did you do to me?" Damien asked worriedly as he began feeling dizzy and too weak to keep on standing.

"This is my personal bunker, where I store my toys. And I injected you with something that will help you calm down. I hope you're not afraid of needles, because you're going to be getting it everytime from now on till I achieve my goal" He explained and turned, leaving.

"Get back here! You can't leave me here!" He shouted angrily.

Beta Maynard ignored his worries and words. He stepped out of the cell and shut the door, locking it with the key. Damien kept struggling and shouting after him until he heard the main door open and closed. He then realized the Beta has left. He dropped to his knees, worried and confused, not knowing what to do.

(Some Months Later)

Pacing about in his cell, Damien kept grabbing and dragging it hard. He felt like he was losing his mind. He had lost count for how long he has been in there. He stopped counting after two months, when he gave up hope for anyone rescuing him. He had stayed restless trying to figure out why Alpha Bayron whom he trusted with his life betrayed him. It didn't make sense to him.

Now, months later he was not himself. He was losing his mind, literally. He knew it was the effect of what his captor was injecting him with. But still he didn't know what the endgame was, what the Beta's plan for him was. With how fast he was losing his mind, he could hardly remember anyone, not even Kreed. All he was seeing occasionally were glimpses of faces of whom he hardly recognized.

He leaned against the wall and slid down to sitting on the floor. He felt cold and hot at the same time. His eyes would on it's own start glowing and stop. Being deprived of water and proper food, he had no strength left in him. The Beta had made sure to dry him up. Still battling with his mind, he heard the door unlock and the Beta walked in with the same injection and an apple.

"How are you holding up Damien? Feeling loyal yet?" Beta Maynard asked, walking up to him. Damien remained silent. The Beta could see the pain and fear in his eyes. He knew just a little more and he'll break him completely. "You must be hungry....here you go" He dropped the apple he brought on the floor.

Damien immediately rushed after the fruit and began munching on it hungrily. Focused on the food, Beta Maynard crouched next to him and drove the needle into his neck, emptying the content inside him. He watched on as Damien dropped the apple, reacting to the serum. His eyes were glowing red, flicking. "Just a little more and you'll be fully ready. Definitely before chaos" He smiled and walked out of the cell, living Damien as he lay on the floor, battling with the effect of the injection.

(Present Time)

Pulling him up to his feet, Kreed began examining Damien to make sure he was fully alright. "How is this possible? I thought only a wolf with the ability to....." Kreed trailed off as it dawned on him. He shifted his gaze to the puzzled Tessa. "You bit him, didn't you?" He asked

Tessa nodded her yes. "I just thought to weaken him with my bite" She replied

"Show me your eyes" He instructed

Both men watched as Tessa's eyes began glowing red. Kreed scoffed, smiling excitement and pride. "You are an Alpha" Damien pointed out.

"Really?" Tessa's eyes widened with surprise, her heart racing with excitement.

"Yes. I think that blood rage finally activated it. You are an Alpha now and I think we know your special ability also....like Adan said, the only way to break what they did to you was if a wolf from our clan with the ability to take a wolf's powers temporarily, bite you. I guess that's your ability Tessa" Kreed explained

"I see"

"But I still have my powers" Damien pointed out, bringing out his claws and glowing eyes.

"I don't think that bite will particularly take your powers. I think it just got rid of whatever they did to you. Another bite will definitely take your powers temporarily" Said Kreed.

Damien nodded, staring at Kreed as a smile crept up on his lips. "You look different Kreed, you look.....grown"

"Well it's been years. I thought you were dead. We are trying to exert our revenge. If I knew you were still alive I would have focused on freeing you, earlier than now. I'm sorry for letting you down"

"You didn't let me down. I'm proud of what you've done, though we were initially aiming for peace, but it seemed we never had that luxury. I'm glad you're okay and we are reunited" Damien hugged him again with a smile.

"So this is the friend you said died huh?" Tessa asked

"Yes he is" Kreed nodded.

Damien turned to face Tessa with an apologetic look. All he remembered were his actions right from when Alpha Maynard freed him to that moment. "I'm sorry for attacking you Tessa. I wouldn't do that willingly" He pleaded

"I know that. I don't know you but Kieran does, any one he trusts and is friends with is a friend of mine" She smiled.

"I...." He paused. They both looked over at him with furrowed brows on seeing the look on his face.

"Kieran! Are you alright...." She gasped in shock when Kreed fell to his knees, coughing out blood. "What happened?" She ran to him worriedly.

"It's the poison" Damien replied, rushing to him also.

"Poison? What poison?" She asked, confusedly

"The one Alpha Maynard forced me to inject him with. I'm sorry Tessa, I'm sorry Kreed"

"What's the cure? Let's look for one. How can we stop it?" She questioned, her heart racing.

Damien shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry Tessa. It's a deadly poison, one with no cure. Even if it has, it'll be very rare and Kreed has less than three hours left" He explained

"What are you saying? That he's going to die?" Tears began rolling down her eyes. Fear in her eyes also.

"I'm afraid YES"