The man of the hour strutted out of the ruined pack house. The weathered planks under Alaric's boots creaked as he made his way down the steps. A slight breeze swept a few stands of silver locks out of the vampire's face. His once immaculate appearance plunged down the drain along with his sanity. Alaric's silver hair, which he tied into a neat man bun all the time, hung down over his shoulders. Alaric suffered the same fate as his vampire subordinates. Black veins ran along his forehead and pooled around his eyes. His sclerae were black, which made his red irises stand out against it.

Alaric grinned as his freaky set of eyes landed on Jason. His fangs had grown considerably, but not as severe as his underlings. "It's so wonderful to see you again, my pet." This earned a growl from Killian. Alaric's eyes snapped toward the king. "Well... It seems you brought the king of mutts with you. Brilliant! Now I don't have to raise Laios to the ground to kill him."

Jason clicked his tongue at Alaric's pet name. He was no one's pet. And if the vampire deluded himself into thinking that he was about to kill his mate, Alaric had a rude awakening coming for him with a chainsaw. He was ready to shove it up Alaric's undead ass. "Don't delude yourself, Alaric," Jason hissed out. "The only one who's dying here today is you. I've already ordered your casket."

"How wrong you are, Jason," Alaric replied. He took several steps forward, putting everyone on guard. The vampire snapped his fingers. Six tainted freaks stalked out from behind the derelict building, growling and snapping at their victims. "We'll see how many of your friends survive this little skirmish. But don't worry, my pet. I'll collar you soon enough and together we'll raise hell on the mutts until they're wiped off the face of the earth."

Jason scoffed, unleashing his aura. "Think again, Alaric. I'm no one's bitch."

Before Alaric had time to react, Jason hit him in the chest with a ball of miasma. The vampire crashed into the building, throwing plumes of snow and rotted wood in every direction. At once, the six tainted wolves attacked. Killian was the first one to reach them, slamming the wolf into the ground and breaking its skull. Off to the side, Astrid gracefully flew through the air and landed on the back of her enemy. She giggled as the wolf tried throwing her off them.

"Giddy up, fleabag," Astrid yelled out as she threw her left hand in the air. "You've got to try harder... or not." In an instant, her legs tightened around the bucking wolf, breaking its ribs. The tainted wolf yelped out but stopped when Astrid snapped its neck. The wolf collapsed to the floor.

Before Jason could assess the situation further, Alaric burst out of the building and kicked Jason into the nearest tree. Jason gasped as his ass landed on the frozen dirt. The rough bark of the tree bit into his back. Snow, falling from the branches above, pelted down on Jason. Cold! Cold! Cold! Before his brain could freeze, Jason shook off the fallen snow.

Before Jason could dust off the snow between his horns, Alaric charged at him again. He flicked his tail and sliced Alaric in the shoulder. He then side-stepped the vampire before grabbing onto Alaric's silver hair. With a harsh yank, Jason flung the fucker against the side of the building before tackling him through the wooden wall. They crashed into the old living room. Continuing his assault, Jason grabbed a piece of splintered wood and jammed it into Alaric's shoulder. Alaric hissed before head-butting Jason in the face. The hellhound stumbled backward, holding onto his broken nose. Warm blood trickled down his face and into his mouth.

Before Jason could fully register the pain throbbing through his skull, Alaric kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into the stone hearth. Jason came to a halt when his head hit the staircase in the hallway. He glared at Alaric through the hole the vampire kicked him through. Jason sneezed as the soot and dust settled around him.

Jason didn't have much time before Alaric appeared over his head and started raining punches down on him. "It's time you learned your place, mutt," Alaric hissed out as his fist found Jason's jaw. A sickening crunch rang out throughout the derelict house. "Well, this takes me back to old times."

Through a blurry gaze, Jason grabbed onto Alaric's arm and then raised both of his legs. With all of his strength, he kicked Alaric in the chest. The vampire shot through the ceiling and out of the crumbled building. Jason groaned out as he stumbled to his feet. He touched his jaw, flinching as a sharp pain flashed through his head.

"Get your ass in the game!" Cyron growled out. "We can't let the undead fuck kick us around like this!"

"You're right... My bad."

Jason straightened his aching spine before bolting after Alaric. As soon as he stepped out of the building, Jason witnessed Mallory and her mate slaughter several new arrivals in a deadly dance. They were in complete sync with one another. Ishmael and Killian had teamed up as well, taking down every single abomination in their sight.

He turned and ran to where he sensed Alaric. But before he could take a few steps toward his target, a flash of black and silver struck him in the face again. Alaric followed up by kicking his legs out beneath him. Jason grunted as he hit the ground. The melting snow crept into the fabric of his bloodied t-shirt. Another kick to the side of the ribcage sent him twirling into the air before he hit the ground again. Jason groan out as he staggered upright, biting down on his tongue as his healing kicked in, reducing the throbbing pain in his chest to a dull ache.

"The fucking vampire is too fast," Jason huffed out, searching for Alaric. "He's playing with us."

"Then slow him down!" Cyron roared out.

Black sludge burst from his hands and seeped into the snow, covering the surrounding area. When Alaric reappeared, flitting up to him, the sludge caught his feet and started creeping up his legs. Glowing red eyes cut into him as Alaric tried to free his footing, but to no avail. Jason retaliated. Punching and kicking the vampire mercilessly until Alaric crashed into a tree, splintering the bark.

Jason huffed out and said, "It's time to settle this. Don't you think, Alaric?"

He strutted up to the battered vampire, but before Jason could reach the fucker, Alaric pulled out a red glowing potion from his black, tattered robe. "Don't mind if we would." He winked at Jason before uncorking the bottle and gulping down the concoction.

Alaric threw away the empty bottle as he staggered to his feet. Slowly, before Jason's eyes, the vampire's features shifted into a nightmare. Large bat-like wings sprouted out of Alaric's back while the vampire grew a few inches. His skin turned gray as the potion mutated his body. His nose melted into his face, leaving two holes behind. The silver hair that graced Alaric's shoulders fell off his head and landed behind his feet. The vampire's fangs grew longer until they burst out of his lips. Drool leaked out from behind his jagged maw.

"Oh, fuck..." Cyron muttered. "He used our blood."

"You think?" Jason replied with a smattering of sarcasm laced in his voice. He thought he could end the battle quickly, but it seemed the vampire didn't want to go down without a thorough ass-kicking.

"My turn," Jason whispered out as he began transforming himself.

Jason disappeared behind a veil of black fire and appeared in his demon form. Jason rushed forward and slashed at Alaric, but the vampire swerved out of the way before his massive claws could tear through his flesh. With a single swipe, Jason gouged out an enormous chunk of bark out of the tree before him. The tree groaned before falling to the snow-covered ground. Jason twisted around and lunged at the vampire again. Each of them clawed at each other, delivering harsh blows. However, Jason had a better time at shrugging off Alaric's attack, especially when the fang face's punches met his hardened scales, which dulled Alaric's attacks.

"What's the matter, Alaric?" Jason sneered. "Too much to handle? You thought that my blood would give you an edge, but it seems you've only damned yourself. Without my blood, you'll fall into a spiral of madness before long."

Alaric hissed at him, flashing his large choppers at the hellhound. "Don't get cocky, you dumb shit." The vampire spread out his wings. With a single flap of his black wings, Alaric rose in the air, throwing up a dust storm of snow.

Alaric dove into an attack, slicing into Jason's chest with his claws before flying off toward the back of the derelict building. Jason, not wanting the fucker to escape, sucked a large quantity of air into his lungs. He pursed his lips over his jagged maw before blowing off a massive fireball, which caught one of Alaric's wings in mid-flight. With a shriek, Alaric plummeted into a small shack, collapsing the withered structure.

Jason strutted after Alaric. His massive paws melting into the snow with every step he took until he reached his enemy. He was actually relieved to see that his blood didn't give Alaric the power-boost the vampire so desperately wanted. As quickly as possible, Jason wanted the battle over and done with; they had already lost too many lives to the deranged vampire's madness. He looked forward to a quiet life alongside his mate without another power-hungry ass bursting out of the woodworks.

Speaking of woodworks... Alaric burst out of the shack, sending wooden planks flying through the air. Jason swatted a piece of wood out of the way with his tail before the shrapnel could hit him in the face. Alaric staggered out of the ruined shed, stepping over debris while dragging the only wing he had left behind him.

"You think this is over?" Alaric rasped out, clutching his broken arm. "Think again."

As if on cue, soft whispers filled the air. Jason's head snapped toward the three women who stepped out from behind the trees. Oh, fantastic! Bloody witches....