Rogue Eight

Sacrifice

Chapter Eleven:  Sacrifice

ALPHA ROMAN

I stormed into Kristoff’s room in the infirmary, sending the doors flying until they smashed into the walls behind them. 

Dr. Rancroft was finishing the packed bandages on Kristoff’s neck before he whipped around upon my entrance, “A-Alpha R-Roman, I—” 

“LEAVE!” I bellowed into the room, cutting off his words which was instantly followed by the doctor’s hasty exit.  “Close the door behind you,” I growled, hearing the doors shut as quickly as I commanded. 

“Alpha, I—” Kristoff began before he found himself unable to speak, my hand gripping around the sides of his injured neck, cutting off his ability to talk or breathe. 

“My instructions were clear,” I angrily seethed, my deep wrinkled steely grey eyes flashing wildly in my fury, “Kill the two pathetic newly acquired warriors, as well as the Crescent Moon Beta.  Stage the ambush to make it appear that the Rogue 8 were the perpetrators.  Force the Rogue 8 to appear, finding them if you had to, and bring them here with no choice but to join forces with me!  You have failed me, Kristoff!  And as you well know, there are consequences for failing me!”

“B-But,” Kristoff attempted to choke out, gasping for breath.

“But what, hmmm?” I angrily purred out, lowering my face within inches of his as I spat, “What possible excuse could you give that would provoke me to forgive the sloppy m******e you have left me to clean up?”

“A-Alpha,” Kristoff forcefully exhaled out in a broken strangled whisper.  The muscles and joints in his arms were beginning to instinctively and consistently tense and release in their attempt for regained oxygen, which I was continuing to deprive.   

“Five men, Kristoff!” I slowly breathed out in my fury, “Five of my men were slaughtered today instead of two!  Including Stefan, one of my favorite dedicated warriors!  And according to Loa, by a she-wolf no less!  A fact I will make sure is met with slow consequences of my own!” 

My mouth twisted in a pleasured mischievous grin, “You know how much I love playing with misguided strong-willed she-wolves.”

A strained gurgle passed through Kristoff’s throat as my long, aged fingers further deepened my hold, “As it stands, what should have been clearly laid out as an ambush by the Rogue 8, now appears to be an attack set forth by me, leaving me very few alternatives to handle the mess my former Beta has created.  And then there is of course, the massive adjustments I am going to have to make on my plans in the process.  Such a shame that by the time I face The Leadership Council, I will have lost six men…”   I sighed heavily before continuing, “Ahh, poor Caleb, his injuries were just too extensive to save him!  Yet another casualty of your tragic betrayal.  I’m afraid The Council will have an incredibly harsh sentence for you.  If you are fortunate enough to live after Nicholas’ arrival that is.”

Kristoff’s eyes widened in horror as I gave my informative speech.  His head shook violently from side to side as my last words were spoken.  I could feel the last ounce of his determined strength beneath my fingertips as he forcefully stifled out, “W-WITCH!”

My eyes narrowed as I heard Kristoff’s urgent strangulated attempt to save himself, although at this point, there was nothing to be done to save him.  I eased my grip, allowing just enough air to enter his lungs again to allow him to speak.  “What do you mean, witch?” I ranted, as Kristoff violently gasped and coughed, inhaling heavily for much-needed oxygen, “Loa never mentioned a witch being present in her vision as she explained your failure today.”

“S-She…s-shifted…us,” Kristoff brokenly gagged out, “from…our…w-wolves.”

I released by hold across his windpipe, intrigued by this surprising news as I slowly inquired, “Tell me more…now before I change my mind!”

I gave Kristoff a moment to regain enough strength until he could speak a little more clearly.  Soon, his ability to be more articulate and clearer gave me additional knowledge as he cleared his painful throat and began, “I was fighting Gavin to insure his death,” his eyes flashed in defensive rage, “which I did as per my Alpha’s orders!  Caleb was fighting some male auburn wolf that came out of nowhere to help Gavin.  The damn thing tore off Jackson’s head as he barreled into our battle!  Two others joined him.  There was some other grey she-wolf battling the newbie and then there was the white she-wolf—that one who killed Stefan—she was quicker and more cunning than I have ever seen! Had him on the ground and took his throat out in mere minutes!  It had to be Rogue 8 in that clearing!” 

“I am well aware of those events and who was present, Kristoff,” I stated with an icy warning, “Tell me about the witch.  What did she look like? What happened in that clearing?”

Kristoff winced as he anxiously cleared his injured throat, “I-I don’t know what she looked like.  She stayed hidden.”  He paused, running his hand over his long black hair before slowly recollecting hoarsely, “All I know is…one second, I was a wolf.  The next…I was forcefully shifted back again.  I’ve never seen anything like it!  I’ve seen shields and spells thrown to knock wolves out a fight plenty, but this?  No, this was a powerful witch, Alpha!  The force that ran through my body as I shifted…felt like a hundred bolts of lightning crashing into my body…”

“I see,” I drawled out in concentration, “Funny that Loa failed to mention that little tidbit.  Surely it wouldn’t have escaped her vision.”

“Not defending Loa, Alpha,” Kristoff replied, “Hell, I don’t even like her, but from what I experienced, I wouldn’t put it past that witch in the clearing to have power to do just that!”

I smiled, my eyes dancing in mischief, my tone letting out a slow humored cadence, “Well, perhaps you have shown me you can still be useful!”

“I-I am useful, Alpha,” Kristoff began to plead, “I have pledged my life, my dedication, and my loyalty to your cause!  I killed the Crescent Moon Beta, Gavin!  He’s dead!  And the Rogue 8 have been warned to be at our borders by noon tomorrow or they will hunted-down by Alpha Nicholas and The Council and killed!”

The mischief was gone, replaced by refueled fury as I spat, “You were doing so well until you reminded me of your greatest failure in all of this!”  I reached back out, taking control once more of this bandaged throat, as I dangerously growled, “I just received word from Alpha Lorenzo at The Council.  It seems that the Crescent Moon’s Beta has disappeared from the clearing.  There is great hope that he is indeed alive…and if the powers of this witch are as you say, I would dare to say that she is the one behind his disappearance and could very well save him!  Your assumption that the Rogue 8 will be at my border tomorrow only proves your insolence and your incompetency!  My realization of this appears to be long overdue!”

A satisfied snarl slowly flowed across my lips, “Following their investigation of the battleground, his brother, Alpha Nicholas is desperately searching for Gavin as we speak.  If he is found dead…I’m afraid your death will soon follow as all evidence now points to you as the instigator of this treachery.  If he is found alive, I would imagine there are still plans for you to meet the same fate, but it won’t be The Leadership Council bestowing the sentence.”

Sweat formed across Kristoff’s brow as his jaw clenched in nervous anticipation, choking out, “So now what?”

Another low murderous growl passed from deep within my chest, “As I said, Kristoff, you are well aware there are consequences to failing me.” 

I picked Kristoff up by the neck before slamming him hard back onto the bed, yelling out, “NOW!”

Eight of my men charged through the doors as Kristoff furiously screamed, “NO!” and attempted to jump off the bed to shift.  His attempt failed, however, as four of the large warriors pushed him back onto the mattress while the other four quickly positioned themselves on either side of Kristoff to take a hold of his hands and feet.  Within moments, my magical shackles—created by Loa of course—had been placed on his long extremities and he was being dragged towards the door.  He could no longer shift and thanks to the wolfsbane that would be infiltrating his system, his first punishment should prove quite convincing with The Leadership Council.  I turned to leave the room with a wide smile that crinkled the edges of my aged eyes.

“You can’t sacrifice me!” Kristoff frantically howled out, “After everything I have done!  With everything that I know!”

I stopped mid-step, turning back to glare at him in his brave, but foolish move.  I motioned for the men to place him at my feet.  Kristoff fell on his knees before me, but soon found himself back in my chokehold around his neck, lifting him high in the air.   My steely grey eyes fiercely connected with his now petrified gaze, my voice filled with the lethal venom that was coursing through my veins, “If you want any chance to live, Kristoff, you will do as I say and say only what I tell you to, do you understand?”  His head jerked a nod under my powerful grip as I continued, “Good, good.  You will be taken to The Leadership Council in the morning to confess that you went rogue on your Alpha and unbeknownst to me, caused the chaos in the clearing.  I will be by our dungeons to discuss the specifics later this evening.  If you do as I say, you may have a slight chance to live and your mate and young son will be protected, although once she is outcast, I will have to find a safe place for her to reside.”

I brought his face close to mine once more as I warned, “Fail me again, Kristoff, and I will not have to use quite as much effort…you will die and your family will be tossed into the dark forest to begin their battle for survival as rogues!”

Flinging his body vigorously against the wall, I departed the room with my head held high, my authoritative grin in place, and my hands brushing against each other in front of me to try and rid myself of any trace of Kristoff’s sweat contained in them.

My warriors carried Kristoff, who continued with his incessant kicking and screaming, out the door and towards my torture dungeons.  I looked over at the two large strapping men patiently waiting for me, just as I had instructed them to do. 

“It appears congratulations are in order, Lucious,” I said, flashing a devilish smile at my former Delta.  His salt and pepper hair tousled hair giving off the appearance of rugged masculinity combined with his massive bulk of muscle and brawn was impressive to say the least, “You are now my Beta!  I would advise you to perform your duties with more intellect, patience, and vigor than your predecessor.”

As I have appreciated for some time with my new Beta, Lucious instantly and gruffly stated in a determined and definite tone, “Yes, Alpha.  Thank you for your confidence in my abilities.  I will not fail you.”

“Good, Lucious,” I appreciatively replied, clapping my hand together, “very good.” 

Turning my gaze to the sandy haired, tall and stout man beside him, I continued my promotions with pleased enthusiasm, “As for you, Arturo, you will be replacing Lucious as my Delta.  I have seen many good things from you.  I trust that under Lucious’ guidance, I will see even greater accomplishments.”

Arturo flashed an excited wicked grin, “Yes, Alpha.  Thank you as well for your confidence in me.  I will continue to work hard to be of service to you and our pack.”

“Yes,” I murmured, “I’m sure you will.”  I did appreciate what Arturo brought to the table as Delta.  If Lucious proved inadequate, I was confident that Arturo would be very well suited to my needs.  There was something about the way Arturo carried himself—and his duties—that intrigued me.  However, Lucious was also very valuable and had worked tirelessly and efficiently to do my bidding.  He had been under my command longer than Arturo, so I knew this was the appropriate decision. 

“Well, I’m afraid there is no time for any ceremonial celebrations,” I decisively stated, “We have a great deal of things to accomplish in a very short time, starting with Kristoff.  I need him to have a certain look at The Leadership Council meeting tomorrow.   In order for them to believe my version of events, they would expect me to administer my own punishment before turning him in.  Start taking care of that for me and I will be along shortly.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Lucious and Arturo stated in unified agreement.

Meanwhile, I needed to quickly send Caleb to his fatal death and make my way back to Loa.  She definitely had some explaining to do.  And then there was a Rogue 8 and their powerful witch…my plans had shifted where they were concerned as well.