Ezra POV

I snap my jaws. I'm pissed. The tree pinning me is not letting up. My side burns and thrums as my body bucks, trying to dislodge the unexpected weapon the Red Alpha wields against me.

She stands nearby, focusing on me as her hands remain outward, pointed at me. The flame like substance encases her whole hands and forearms. The magic even flits along her long sleeves. Her eyes are full of humor. She is enjoying my pain. She loves observing on the sidelines as I squirm in discomfort.

I let out a frustrated bark, wiggling and struggling with no success. I'm not getting free any time soon unless she lets up. Somehow I doubt that will ever happen.

The Red Alpha lets out an insane cackle. She's enjoying this, that is until Alpha Veiler comes charging towards her. Her flame engulfed hands go back to normal, all traces of magic gone in a snap. She dodges Veiler quickly, barely avoiding him, and I'm able to get the tree off of me.

Freedom feels good.

Once my body is back on it's 4 paws, I shake out my coat and take a fighting stance. My gaze fixates on her once she steps out into the open once more. The devil is in her eyes, a glare now stuck on her pretty face. She uses her powers to lift Veiler in the air ever so precisely.

His thick, black body rises, its whole surface engulfed in sparks. It looks like they're setting him on fire. The allusion of flames is magnificent and deadly to watch. It's so strange to see fire without the burning. There's no smoke, no ash, no scorching. It's just pure energy.

Suddenly, after a smirk and a whirl from the Red Alpha, Veiler is flying away until he hits a tree. I wince at the sound of the impact. The dull thud echoes through the woods and settles in my belly like a punch to the gut. The King lets out a grunt and unease slips through me like a snake.

This isn't going to be easy.

I growl low in my throat as the Red Alpha watches me, her appearance seeming familiar to me, and yet I know I've never met her before. Her long, ginger tendrils ruffle in the light breeze. The low light of the setting sun casts a shadow on her face, highlighting her flawless skin. Those yellow eyes are all too familiar.

Because I've seen them in the mirror everyday for decades.

"You look just like him, you know. It makes me hate you even more." She murmurs, her lips once again twisting into a sultry smile. It's anything but attractive. She oozes evil from every pore on her body. "Expect those pretty eyes of course."

I numbly wonder who "he" actually was. This lycan female is psychotic, and probably delusional. There is no way I am believing a word out of her wicked mouth. I shake my head in one rough motion and tell myself not to put anything into what she says.

She's crazy. Crazier than crazy. Insane.

She whizzes towards me and I try to get out of the way, but pretty soon she's on me. Her hands spit out the red flames once again as she tries to get a hit on me and barely failing. Each shot is closer to my hide than the last. I am definitely trying my luck.

My paws automatically hit the ground running to avoid her grasp. I barely make it out of the way.

I can hear her heart pounding, ready for violence and some sort of sick revenge. The Red Alpha sighs in exasperation when she's still unable to hit me.

"Hold still, mutt!" She screams. Her hot breath creating a cloud in the cold air.

She whirls around on me, shooting a stream of her aura towards me. It flies directly at my face but somehow it misses me once again. My paw pads sink into the unforgiving ground when I run at her, my body low to the ground

Time is running out. She needs to go down now, or it will be too late. The Guard has spent centuries trying to pin her down. Get rid of her. Exterminate her.

She is deadly and nearly unstoppable.

I can do this. I've always known I could do this. There is no way that I am holding myself back now, certainly not after I've come this far.

I am going in for the death kill.

It seems she isn't expecting this. My approach catches her by surprise. Her mouth forms a small circle of horror when I get close to her with my jaws open, ready to snap her in half with ease. These could very well be her final moments.

I scoop the Red Alpha up into my mouth. Her cloak tugs on my teeth when I close my maw, or at least try to. Her hands splay out on the roof of my mouth. Her strength is unexpected, her determination admirable if not annoying. I can feel her high heeled shoes digging into the surface of my tongue, cutting the skin.

I am close, so entirely close to ending this. The Red Alpha is literally between my teeth. My jaws slowly ease towards each other in an attempt to snap shut. I have her on the ropes, but she is determined. I push and push, trying with all my might to close my mouth on her.

She is not letting that happen.

A small tickle arises in the very back of my throat and my gag reflex kicks in. I realize too late she must have used her powers to spark something at that sensitive area, because suddenly I'm gagging so hard I can hardly stand it. I fight back against the bile that surges up my throat, trying to escape.

The Red Alpha topples out of my hold and into the snow with one, smooth roll. Her clothes are drenched in my drool.

I continue to hack and cough. I shudder in revolution at the bite of stomach acid remnants in my mouth. The taste is not something to worry about right now. I have to figure out how to get out of this mess.

She isn't going down that easy.

"Meet your fate, Ezra!"

I still at that once again. How does she know my name? It's a good question, but there is no time for getting the answers I want.

I drag my face over at her, trying to snap at her and get her in one fell swoop again. Of course she levitates backwards and zaps me in the face with some sort of string of sparks.

Howling, I jump back and rub at my eyes with my paws. It's a dumb move on my part, because as soon as I let down my guard she comes for me again.

This time the strands of lightening touch my skin in a crash of disaster.

My whole body shakes with the electricity, each muscle tenses and hardens and my spine stiffens like a steel pole attracting the voltage. I can't move, can't see. The only sensation I have a grip on is the pain. It's the type of pain that stays with you all your life. The searing, controlling pain that you'll do anything to stop for even just a second.

And it does stop.

As soon as it starts it's over with, and I hit the ground shoulder first. My limbs seize under my thick fur as I lay there in the snow. The aftershocks of the attack wrack my whole existence in waves. I can barely open my eyes. The little control I still have over my body is useless.

I'm tired. So tired and lethargic. The thought of standing rolls my stomach. I recoil, trying my hardest now to throw up. That would be the cherry on top of all of this, wouldn't it?

A light whimper escapes my throat and I curse myself for it. It's a sign of weakness, and the Red Alpha recognizes that.

I know she heard it when she begins laughing. Even though I can't visibly see her, I envision her pointing a manicured finger at me while she cackles to herself.

"How amusing. I've spent years tracking you down. Once I found you, I assumed you would be a tough nut to crack." My eyes roll around in my head as I try to see her. She sounds close, but where is she?

Her body comes into view finally as she rounds my head and leans over my snout. Her vibrant, yellow eyes crackle with hatred. Her fingers curl around flames while a slow grin spreads across her face.

"Imagine my disappointment to find how weak you really are." She spits, each syllable chalk full of venom. The closer she gets the more it sinks in that this could be it for me.

Each shuddery breath I draw into my lungs could be my last.

I never thought I would die this early, or at all. As a lycan I can live forever. I could spend an eternity without getting so much as a scratch on me. And yet, here I lay with the possibility of death hanging over me like a storm cloud.

Any second now the Red Alpha could pull a silver knife out and sink it into my heart. She could eliminate me from this world, killing me without ever knowing letting me know who she is or what she wants. I could leave this planet never knowing how she knows my name. That single thought infuriates me.

I want to ask her who she is. What happened to her. Why she's doing this.

"You'll die just like he will. Slowly. He'll see that you're dead and know that I'm coming for him." She hisses, her head right above my eye as I continue to lay there motionless.

It's a leisurely process gaining my strength back, but I feel it tingle through my bones. I am coming back from the injury. I remain still as to not alert her to my mending body. I let her go on her tangent.

All I can hope is that the Red Alpha keep talking long enough.

"You have no idea how much you disgust me. I've waited years to get my vengeance, and it's finally in my grasp. It's mine for the taking!" She begins cackling like a hyena.

In her mad state she reminds me of the Red Queen from that book that Klepto likes so much. Alice in Wonderland.

She looks sort of like her too. Her long red locks flying around her face, lips painted in something that resembles blood. I wouldn't be surprised if it is blood.

The Red Alpha exudes madness.

"I'll dance on your bones! I'll dance on your grave!" She calls in a singsong voice, she does a little twirl and laughs to herself.

She turns back to me just in time for the moonlight to glint across something in her hand. Something silver.

In her hands she holds a blade that is taller than she is. The handle seems to burn from her powers taking hold, taking control.

"I wish you could have your last words, but unfortunately we don't have time for that. I really hoped I'd be able to hear what you wanted to say before I put an end to you." She grins, white teeth flashing at me through the dark like a row of LED lights. "It's nothing personal, Ezra, honest. Just gotta end a bloodline."

That last sentence floors me. She knows my blood line? Where I come from?

A few things in my brain click together slowly and I feel like the world's biggest idiot. The Red hair, the freaky yellow gaze. We're related. Somehow. Some way.

How did she find me? How did she know about me? Why is she coming to kill me?

They are all valid questions that I can only dream will be answered eventually. That is if I'm still alive.

Everything seems to happen in slow motion as she raises the glorious sword above her red head. Her sleeves fall down to her elbows, revealing her pale skin. The gleam of destruction crowds her gaze as she rushes to my side. She's ready to kill me.

Out of the corner of my eye a black blur makes its move. I know that this is the final chance I have to make something happen. I can't just sit around and let myself be killed. Not today.

I remember Klepto. I remember her beautiful face as she made her way towards me at our interrupted ceremony. I recall the way her shorter hair lifted in the breeze. The way she kissed me. The way she told me she loved me breathlessly when I taught her stubborn ass how to drive.

In that moment, I want to get back to her more than anything else. I will live. I will live for her.

Just when the Red Alpha begins swinging her weapon towards my heart, she's thrown out of the way. The King has arrived. His truck sized head smashes into her side. She goes careening through the snow. Sparks and ice go flying in the air along with her.

The long sword she nearly murdered me with catches the moonlight. It collapses in the snow, sinking slowly into the white surface.

It's now or never.

I wrench myself up, climbing to my feet as quickly as I can before I can lose another precious second. I bend down until my snout touches the ground. The wet snow sticks to my fur while I fish for something in the mounds of white.

My teeth connect with cold metal and I bite down.

I grab the sword and lift it in my jaws. My gaze frantically travels over the scene looking, searching, praying.

She lays against a tree, her head leaning back, eyes clouded and confused. She hasn't recovered from the surprise attack. Now is the chance to end this once and for all.

Even though I've been shot down by my superiors countless times, here I am. I'm about to kill one of the most notorious villains of our generation. No one believed in me. No one thought I had it in me.

I'm going to do this. I'm going to kill the Red Alpha.

I pass Alpha Veiler who still stands there watching me. Even though he desperately wanted his revenge before, it's as if he knows that something has changed and that this is my fight. He gave me the aid that I needed in order to do this, and I will thank him later.

My paws push me faster through the thick snow. My heart thunders loudly in my chest. My feet connect with the forest floor in harsh beats. My senses heightened, my body ready.

It appears as if the Red Alpha only just now realizes that I'm about to sentence her to her death. She raises her hands in one final attempt to defend herself. The telltale red inferno lights up her fingers. As I get closer I can sense the boundary they try to push. She is trying desperately to prevent me from reaching her. Her powers are working hard to push me away.

With the determination I have now, that is not going to work.

With pure force of will, I force my way through the foggy, wine colored haze. She is not stopping this. She won't end what she started. The world isn't safe with her in it.

My journey is a slow one. The sensation is like walking through water. Achingly sluggish. Every step is a challenge, a fight. I won't give up. I grip the sword a little tighter between my canines.

"No! No! No!" She shouts. Her eyes are wide and her nostrils flare. She's panicking.

The Red Alpha has to sit and watch as death comes closer and closer. She's too weak now. I don't know how, but I can tell that her magic is drained from all the stunts she's pulled. What she has left won't be enough to rescue her hide.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I repeat the words in my head as I finally reach her. The silver blade points outward, sticking straight out of my mouth like an enormous tooth.

I'm still a few simple feet away from her. This is the final stretch. I push and shove until I'm right in front of her. The sword touches her chest. I can hear her heart rocketing under the cloak and skin shielding it.

I press closer. I never break eye contact with the beast as the weapon embeds slowly into her body. Our eyes continue to touch, yellow on yellow.

The silver sinks into her with a harsh sizzles. It burns her skin as it slides deeper and deeper. She doesn't cry out, she doesn't move. Her flames engulf each of us all the while, a beautiful display of her now useless power.

And then, the moment comes when it nicks her heart. I can heart the terminal sound of the tip piercing her weak spot. As soon as it happens, everything changes.

A burst of her magic blinds me like an explosive going off. The only thing I'm aware of is that I'm on my back. I've been tossed backwards and have landed hard. The sword is still in my mouth. The cold handle feeling foreign on my swollen tongue.

I roll over. My head goes up and I look to where the Red Alpha is crouched by the tree. She's hunched over. Her hand pressing against her chest in a weak display of pain. Her lower lip trembles before she clenches her jaw. When her hand pulls away I can't see even a sliver of her skin.

There's so much blood. It's everywhere. It dumps out of her clothes and onto the snowy ground in heaps.

A grin curls her lips. Her lips that are already painted red open to reveal more red staining her teeth and blood escaping her mouth. The mahogany liquid dribbles down her chin.

"I was not expecting that." She muses, her words are gargled and messy.

The Red Alpha is dying, but she's still amused.

She takes one step back. Her now infamous flame of magic once again comes into play, the fire wrapping around her like a blanket.

I stand up as I continue to watch her relentlessly. My jaw slackens and the sword falls out of my mouth and lands with a wet thump.

The Red Alpha stares at me with her wicked smile before tilting her head. The flames increase until she's completely surrounded in them.

"Good one . . . little brother."

With that, she's gone. Her own aura engulfs her whole body, and in one burst of light she disappears. Somehow she's managed to transport herself with her last bit of magic.

All that's left is the blood slicked sword. The sword that's sharp tip is chipped off, the last inch of the blade completely missing.

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If you're reading this, I love you:)