Disgraced: Twins of the Zodiac

An Incompetent Beta

    Who was she? Her essence was so familiar and her scent stuck with him for the remainder of his search of the safehouse that he had been looking for. Search! That’s right, he thought in urgent silence as he tried to get his mind back in the game of why he had to make the long trip to Luxeville in the first place.

    “I never did catch her name though.” He continuously thought to himself-this time aloud.

    This simple thought alone caused his mind to once again wander over to the thought of the girl that he had run into earlier that day.

    Azul was well over size and a half centuries but he still couldn’t help admiring such a beautiful girl as she. Besides, it wasn’t like he necessarily looked like an old man; he just looked more like, what he’d heard young girls call a DILF-only slightly younger in appearance. That aside, Azul couldn’t resist replaying the whole of her physical excellence in his mind as he made a steady pace down the darkening street of Bishop Avenue.

    Her features were young, and yet...there was a hint of something in her voice that spoke of someone that had seen the world and its seemingly never-ending problems a hundred times over.

    The mysterious young woman's eyes were large-almond-shaped, wielding a color of the purest and deepest amethyst; something that he thought abnormal for a human. Although, a part of his instinct was gradually making him think that maybe this girl was a little more than human after all. 

    And her gaze-her gaze, Azul smirked in amusement, recollecting how unimpressed they seemed to be; regardless of how mildly interested, she may have been in him.

    She had voluptuous curves and was not afraid in the least, to show them off. The thought alone brought back to mind her full and firm breasts, revealing only a teasing amount of her cleavage through her sports bra. Then there was that slightly toned stomach-nothing that a gym buff would have, but something impressive and fit nonetheless. Her hips were widened in perfect contrast to the thickness of her thighs-so thick, that the Capri leggings that she fashioned almost seemed stretched to their capacity.

    This girl was definitely a sight to behold, Azul thought; and apparently, so did his beast, Hazazel.

    Nevertheless, regardless of how devouringly jaw-dropping the girl was, there was something even more attention-grabbing than the extent of her beauty. And it plagued Azul’s thoughts from the moment he laid eyes on her till now. Her hair.

    She more than likely didn’t notice how his gaze would ever so often wander over to it. Or maybe she did; either way, Azul wasn’t sure and didn’t much care. One thing that he did realize as he kept down the street was that he just could not seem to bring himself to stop staring at it.

    It was dark, very dark-a black so deep, that the shine of her hair almost cast a hue of silver. And at the forefront of her hair was a panel in the middle of a frosted color, so crisp in its hue that it held a blue tint to it.

    A very recognizable birthmarked trait of the Arctic Pack. Not that it was a fact that was widely known outside of said Pack. In fact, no one knew. Who could, after all?

    The Arctic Wolf Pack was always a seeming myth to the world of Inhumans-known not to exist at all, partly due to the oddity that was their make-up. 

    They were always known to be uniquely made wolves in myth and legend but there was far more to the Arcttic beasts than that of the wolf gene. They were made of far more than such and considered themselves more as well. The goddess moon did not make them as they did the other inhumans, which was why while it was almost reflexive for others to call the mythed Arctic beasts wolves, the arctic themselves would not refer to themselves as such.

    Nevertheless, this physical trait alone was what made Azul wonder about the girl and who she really was. She was peculiar and stood out from everyone that surrounded her. It was almost as if she did not belong in such a world of normalcy and her scent did, even more, to back up his claim of such a thing.

    “We’re here,” Hazazel said in the back of Azul’s mind. “You might want to get our bearings together before we enter.”

    Hazazel brought Azul back to currents, reminding him of the mission at hand. It was at that moment that he finally came to a stop outside of a seemingly run-down two-story townhouse that stopped at the end of Bishop St. It was only one of many safehouses that his pack had all around the world. Though it had been decades since they were really put to good use

    As Azul took in the place and how lacking it was in care, he also realized how long it had been since he’d been there. Though, that realization was clued in when he didn’t even remember where Bishop Street was in the first place.

    He started to take a step toward the stairs when an odious scent stopped him in his tracks. It was that of an impure odor and quite overpowering. Something was definitely wrong.

    Azul prepared himself as he continued up the stairs of the safehouse again, a thought alerting him to the fact that it no longer was a safehouse.

    When he approached the door, he saw that it had already been ajar. Azul already prepared for the worse, taking in his surroundings and readying himself in defense before he slowly pushed open the door. It was then that he let out a short breath, surprised at what he’d laid eyes upon.

    The walls were strewn with blood spatter, and so were parts of the hardwood floors. Azul stepped over the blood spots, taking in the vicinity. It was evident then, that whoever was the cause of this was already gone. 

    Who did this? The question played over and over in Azul’s mind but both he and his beastly counterpart, Hazazel, had a feeling of who caused the c*****e.

    They continued to look around until they came across steady breathing coming from the hallway, leading up to the kitchen.

    “Took you long enough.”

    Azul paused for a moment and then followed the low voice that had just spoken at the end of the hallway. He stopped short of the kitchen archway when he saw a man sitting at the head of an old stained wooden table. 

    “Kendrick!” Azul rushed over to the haggard and wounded man that sat there at the table, barely able to hold his body upright it seemed as he held on to his side.

    Azul tended to the man as best he could, though, feeling the anger and frustration that seemed to be towards him, as he could barely look him in the eye. 

    “What happened?” Azul finally decided to ask, deciding to ignore the obvious discord that was emanating from the lad.

    "What do you think?" Kendricked exasperatedly replied. "She did this!" He coughed.

    "Who?!"  He pressed, preferring confirmation before assumptions.

    Kendrick’s gaze slowly turned its way to his Beta, a sneer on his pale expression as he spoke again. “You know...who.” He hissed.

    It didn’t take Azul long to figure out the answer to the young warrior's vague response. He cursed under his breath before he dared say the name aloud. “Bellarossa.” He hissed, averting his gaze in frustration. He cursed again, wondering how she found them in the first place when he turned to Kendrick. “And Leo?” He asked begrudgingly, though he suddenly carried the foreboding feeling that Leo’s fate was story of the blood spatter upstairs.

    Kendrick grimaced, both in pain and further irritation, still holding the slowly bandaged wound to his side. “Whose blood do you think is painting the walls?”

    He already knew the answer to his own question; Kendrick’s sarcastic reply only solidified the assumptions that Azul had. He quickly stood from where he was squatted to check out Kendrick’s wound more closely.

    “We need to get out of here.” Azul said. “Can you move?” He asked.

    Kendrick answered by standing up from his seat, his hand still holding to his side. “Yes.” He struggled to say, apparently too proud to ask for help.

    “Let’s go,” Azul said as he started out of the kitchen.

    Kendrick followed as he asked. “Aren’t you curious about the remains of Leo?”

    “Bellarossa does not leave remains.” Azul countered. “How did she find you anyway?”

    “I don’t-I didn’t ask such questions when she turned up, Azul.” Kendrick hissed. “I was more concerned with staying alive.” Azul heard Kendrick breathe hard before he spoke again. “Not that she would have answered anyway.”

    Azul hissed under his breath, frustrated with the elder vampire. “I just...don’t understand why she would attack her own son’s pack!” He muttered, trying to understand her reasoning.

    “The Alpha Rorick is dead!” Kendrick exclaimed. “She holds no allegiance to anyone now. No one is safe with that abominable wretch!” He scoffed. “Not even her own granddaughter.” He muttered.

    Azul paused, nearly causing Kendrick to bump into him, as Kendrick’s eyes were facing the floor when Azul turned to confront what he had just said.

    “Granddaughter?” A brow raised, he asked Kendrick; “What...granddaughter?” He asked. “Rorick didn’t have any children.”

    “Well, apparently, he did.” Kendrick hissed. “I’d think of all people, his Beta would know that.” He shoved past Azul and headed towards the door.

    Azul was tired of his blatant show of disrespect towards him, but he restrained himself in order to procure more answers from Kendrick.

    “What did she want with her?” He asked.

    Kendrick shrugged. “I’m not sure of the details, but it isn’t good.” He said. “Apparently, she is the key...to her power being restored.” He shook his head, pausing as he seemed to think about it. “I’d hate to see such a day.”

    As Kendrick kept to his wounded walk toward the front door, Azul bypassed him, suddenly lost in his thoughts of what was just spoken to him. 

    Bellarossa was in Luxeville! She must have been tracking her granddaughter, and if that is the case then...maybe...His thoughts veered off as he dared not think of such a ludicrous coincidence. 

    “But what if?” He heard Hazazel inquire in the back of his mind. 

    They both were thinking the same thing but Azul just could not seem to wrap his mind around the fact that it was plausible. Was it? 

    Regardless, of whether it was or wasn’t, Azul knew that he had to make sure. But first things first, he needed to get the wounded Kendrick back to the Pack to be treated.

    “Let's get out of here,” Azul ordered. “Then I will return and do recon.” 

    “Something that should have been done before you sent us on this mission!” Kendrick hissed.

    To this blatant outburst, Azul turned around. Azul patience had worn out with Kendrick's disregard for his authority as Beta. It seems that the foot soldier seemed to have forgotten his place. “Is there something that you wish to say, Kendrick?” Azul finally asked in frustration at the apparent show of disrespect for his superior.

    “You sent us in blind! This was a suicide mission! We have lost five of our comrades! Five! Since you’ve been acting leader of our pack! You never assess any situation and you send beasts in without them fully knowing what they are getting into! Why? Why were we sent here in the first place?”

    “You know why,” Azul growled in a low voice. “Two of our best are missing and no-”

    “Missing?” Kendrick sneered. “Missing? They are not missing, Azul! Azalea and Jurnigan deserted the pack! They left!” Kendrick scoffed, limping towards his Beta. “And you want to know why?” Azul still surprised at what Kendrick had said didn’t find the time to answer before he spoke again. “Because they could not serve under someone like you! They thought that you were too incompetent to be acting Alpha. And after what happened I am assured that you are.” He turned around and kept walking. “And when we return home, the pack will hear just how right they were.”

    Kendrick was near the door when Azul was suddenly in front of him, his hand to his throat, squeezing as anger began to rise up within him.

    “Incompetent? And who thinks that, exactly.”

    Kendrick glared at the Beta, too weak to counter him answered boldly. “Everyone.” He hoarsely spat.

    Azul, thinking about his words, couldn’t help but wonder whether they were true or not. Ever since Rorick was killed, he tried his best in taking the lead of the pack, under the assumption that there was no heir in existence to do so. And if he was being honest with himself, he liked the idea of being in charge. Being the Alpha. Though, he knew that it wasn’t that simple. 

    Azul was born as a Beta and he would always be a Beta; and while he wasn’t ashamed of his bloodline, he couldn’t deny that he always had the desire to be something more. He would never wish his best friend’s life to end the way that it had, but he also could not deny that it presented him with an opportunity to progress. Still, it seemed that everyone was not in agreement with this.

    Kendrick going home would only exacerbate the belief of those that did, that Azul was ill-equipped to lead them. He couldn’t allow this. He couldn’t!

    “I guess since everyone feels this way, then one less would actually do me a favor.” He said as he looked into Kendrick’s eyes.

    Kendrick seemed to search Azul’s gaze to understand what he meant by what he had said. It wasn’t until the Beta’s eyes were aglow that he realized. His eyes widened and his lips parted to plead mercy, but a word never escaped as the ice emanated from Azul’s hands and attached itself to Kendrick-starting at his neck; before enveloping his entire body.

    When his form was completely frozen, Azul squeezed and Kendrick’s body shattered into pieces onto the floor, shattered ice. He looked down at the dead comrade, not sparing a word for him before he turned away and walked off.

    “We need to find this granddaughter before Bellarossa does.”