I'm hopeful that Tonic's nose is at least half as good as Alpha's, though I'm not sure how all that genuinely works.

We walk down the familiar hallways. It saddens me to see the halls so bare; I try to remember what was there and what it all looked like. It is strange how one can know one's home so well until familiar things vanish.

It's surprisingly hard to recall whose face hung in remembrance on our walls, only to be forgotten once it was out of sight. We had spent weeks on those paintings, standing and posing so each of us could be immortalized in vibrant oil colors. I could have sworn I knew this place inside and out; now, it feels like it belonged entirely to someone else.

But I suppose this place stopped being my home when I was forced out of those doors.

We seem to be walking for almost an hour; the halls smell unused; the lycans don't venture this far into it, and I can't blame them. "We should tell everyone they're welcome to use these guest rooms. They might as well; they are just growing dust. "

Tonic shrugs. "We like sleeping outside; we feel safer. It's too easy to become trapped in here. Most lycans were kidnapped from their homes, so they don't feel comfortable in tight spaces."

The sentiment brings back haunting memories; he suddenly freezes and inhales slowly. I had to make this right, even if that only included Tonic; I felt inclined to try, at least. Maybe not all lycans deserve to meet their fate through these steps.

"I think I found something." He sounds unsure as he walks and pauses before a giant stone statue on a pedestal is inserted into the wall. I reach out to touch it, trying to feel if anything remarkable stands out, but nothing reveals itself.

Glancing at Tonic, maybe I overestimated the ease of tracking.

"It's here, the same smell, only much stronger. Older." Suddenly, Tonic takes a step back. "Nicolas, I don't think you should go in there. "

I raise an eyebrow, and now I'm intrigued. In where?

Footsteps echo down the hall, and I curse; their hearing could be good enough that they heard us walking and decided to investigate.

I do not doubt that there is a hidden room behind the statue. Finding it will be much easier than entering it, and the thought of what awaits me gives me an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

My father, surely, would have set up traps to prevent too much investigation. Nothing with that man would ever be so simple, though none of his children would have been equipped to move this case, perhaps not even me.

We would have to come back later.

When I turn on my heel, my stomach twists into a knot when I see Beta standing before us, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he strolls toward us, the warden collecting his escapees. 

Tilting my head up, I clear my throat, refusing to let on just how unnerved I was as Tonic drops into a kneel. "Beta." I greet.

The man is before me, and before I can blink, he snatches my jaw to jerk my head to the side. Beta might have only been an inch or two taller than me, yet his width was considerably wider than mine. The way his sleeves wrapped around his arms and how he filled out his clothes, he took a lot of pride in the shape of his body. 

"Wow.. surprisingly fast healing, huh? Did you have any help?"

Scowling, I smack his hand away, charging my fingertips and stepping back to gain distance. "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

"I left some bruises on that pretty neck; they're gone." He grins at me, wicked as ever. "I said, did you have some help?" Tonic glances up at me, and Beta snarls at him, flashing his teeth in an animalistic fashion. "I wasn't speaking to you, worm." 

I was familiar with dark arts and entities, and this man had something within him that I couldn't quite put my finger on—a black aura emanating from his body in a haze of doom and dread. This man was, in fact, a killer. A hunter. A predator. 

"You'll have to spell it out for me; I'm afraid English isn't my first language."

"For fucks sake.." Beta grips my wrist, and in movement, he takes out his knife, slashing my palm. I yelp at the assault, panting in shock as Tonic trembles at my feet. The dark-haired man lifts my hand, running his tongue slowly over the cut with a chuckle as those golden eyes lock onto mine; they resemble molten metal. 

While I'm sure he intended this maneuver to be a display of power, nothing in it did anything for me other than make me sick to my core.

To my shock, my hand heals, and I quickly yank it out of his grasp. 

"So.. how did you heal your neck? What lycan did you let get that close after we came in here and slaughtered your family?" Beta asks casually, licking the remainder of my blood off his blade. "You magic users always taste terrible... but royalty does have a specific flavor I have grown fond of."

Beta didn't know? 

I examine my palm, prodding the healed injury before glowering at the lycan before me. "Wouldn't you like to know? Why does it have anything to do with you? Do you control your men's cocks as well?"

With a scoff, he cracks out a laugh, wide-eyed, as he examines me with the look of a man who might not be entirely sane. There had been rumors that the curse had broken men; perhaps this was one of them. "Cocks! From the lips of a Prince!" Muttering to himself in a language I don't understand, he paces and strokes his chin almost thoughtfully. 

"I'm afraid everything has to do with me; I'm the Alpha's right-hand man.. and you watch me a hell of a lot of someone who should have his head down and his eyes averted. So that leaves two options, you are fucking someone who is giving you the confidence to strut around here like you aren't on borrowed time, or... you are looking to get your face broken, which can easily be arranged. I suppose I just wanted to confirm which one of these options you'd chosen." 

Once more, that harsh gaze sizes me up, squaring his shoulders as one of his fists clenches around the hilt of the knife. 

I truly did have two options: I could play the meek Prince and appeal to whatever humanity was left in this creature, or I could lash out and call his bluff. I'm sure Tonic was hoping for a third option, but I was all too aware that if he intended to hurt me, he would have done it already. 

 Crossing my arms over my chest, I pick option two. "Well, Beta, if you intended to harm me, you wouldn't have bothered with the formalities. So, to that end, I'm calling your bluff. I saw you march off with your tail between your legs-" Hesitating, I consider his ending statement. 

"...my turn?"

"You came to see if I was fucking your boyfriend?"

Beta flinches, gritting his teeth; I feel the surge of heat radiating off of him, and Tonic grips my pant leg. 

"Nicolas," Tonic whispers, pleading with me before looking up at the man who takes a significant step toward us. Reluctantly, Tonic stands, guarding me with a tremble clear in his body. "Beta, stop!"

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." He spits, fangs exposed, a harsh snarl curling into his broad chest. The jingle of his multiple earings takes some of the bite out of his presence, besides the fact that Tonic was as tall as Alpha, and the height difference on such a menacing man was comical to me. 

"Alpha will skin you alive if you touch him." Tonic stammers out. "Stand down, Beta."

Belting out a vocal roar that in no way sounds human, I resist the urge to cover my ears as the golden eyes land on me. Finally, after an eternity, he averts his eyes and slams his fist into the wall, pulverizing a massive chunk of the stone. Chest heaving, shoulders rolling as he pants, holding back the shift, he starts to chuckle once more. "That's ok.. hide behind that runt. You do have his protection right now, and it's true; I'd pay for it if I hurt you."

Dragging his tongue between his teeth, he allows me one final glower. "Go ahead and let him fuck you! Go ahead and add yourself to that bastard son's ever-expanding list! Fuck the man who ripped a piece of your father's throat out and ate it. We are all barbarians, sweet Prince! Can you make peace with your god for taking the cock of the man who is responsible for all of this?!" Gesturing to our surroundings, to the barren walls, he chuckles once more, practically hysterical. 

"Alpha! Fucking a man!" He giggles, shaking his head, running his fingers through his hair, and fisting his hands as he snarls and lashes out at nothing, fighting to keep the wolf back. "Damn it! Damn him!" Punching the wall again, his fist buries in the stone, and I grip the back of Tonic's shirt as we collectively tremble. I'd put up a barrier if I didn't think it would trigger him into attacking us. 

Beta's hands wrapped around his own throat as if it was suddenly hard to breathe, his cheeks reddened, his body glistening with sweat. "Do you even know how long I...?" He chokes, and all at once, I feel an ounce of what has made him so violently angry. 

"He's.. just your friend." I summarize.

Tonic grips his arm as he attempts to reach past him, keeping him from getting to me. Furious, he snarls through his teeth as he punches Tonic in the stomach, dropping him to his knees. My poor bodyguard spits up a mouth full of blood on the floor, coughing and sputtering. 

"I will feast on your body; I will bathe in your blood and make a fucking latrine from your remains. I...." Pulling his lips into a thin line, his fingers ball up into fists again, and he shakes his head. "Enjoy this day, for they are quickly becoming numbered. He does not think of you beyond the bedroom, and you are a distraction that is going to get us all killed. I choose our pack-" He spits on the ground before Tonic, tempted to kick him but he turns on his heel instead. "There will be no peace; there will only be scorched earth when I am done, and I'll make sure you're alive to see it."

As Beta storms down the hall, his back disappearing around the bend, I slip down to my knees and place my hands on Tonic's back, murmuring the healing spell that I hope does more help than harm. 

Tonic shoves me away, falling onto his hip as I nearly topple backward from the force of his hand. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I.. I don't know. I.. I panicked. I didn't think he would attack..."

"So you piss him off? Beta is the second in command, and if he were to kill you, Alpha would not have the support to punish him! Even if he did, you would still be dead, Nicolas! Fuck... you just had to bring up-" Trailing off, he runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. "I didn't need to know-"

"I'm sorry." I breathe. "He just came down here and threatened me for something so wildly not pertaining to him. I almost would feel bad if he wasn't such a complete jerk. I just... I have my own sore spots, Tonic. I can't take it.. it's not what I'm bred for or built for, and I've been kicked enough in my life not to let someone like that scream in my face when they're quite obviously bluffing. I'm sorry... I'm mostly sorry that he hit you, but I am sorry."

"Are you?!" He shouts, and I cringe in response. Finally, Tonic takes a long, slow breath, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I think you really pissed him off. But.. I think you also shocked the hell out of him. It was nice to see Beta lose his cool."

I cock an eyebrow, "Is Beta not one to have a temper?" My throat would beg to differ...

"Oh, he does, but all his actions are decided upon and executed. He was out of control just now; it was... strange. If we could get him to do that publically a few more times, maybe we could unseat him."

By some strange turn of events, it would appear I'd managed to get Tonic firmly on my side, at least as far as Beta was concerned. "Thank you.. for defending me."

Reluctantly, my bodyguard stands, dusting himself off with a groan as he clutches his ribs. "Mention it. Tell Alpha. That bastard needs to get kicked in the teeth for that."

______________________________________________________

Feeling stir crazy, I coax the timid lycan outside to do some work on the weather. It prompts me to feel good enough to manage some cloud control and, at the very least, redirect the rain to move out of the city instead of looming over it.

It feels good to use, to feel it course through my veins as if it were the most potent of drugs. I feel alive; my body drinks up the familiar electricity as if it is my lifeblood.

At my school, they had such high expectations of us. At the drop of a hat, we could be forced to go somewhere, prevent something, or create something while being hunted by bloodthirsty beasts. Solomonari's magic can only be triggered by extreme stress, and they had perfected the art of mental suffering.

The rain rumbled out of sight and over the horizon. I made up my mind; I must warn the rebellion that Alpha was well aware that more men than my own resided there. I have a duty to myself and my people to uphold, but I also wanted to strengthen the bond of a new ally. Haryek needed to trust me, and if Beta were to be a part of any of these meetings, we would have our hands full as far as an alliance. 

To be a second in command, I had to assume Beta's opinion held a great deal of influence, and Alpha would undoubtedly take his, now extremely biased, assessment into consideration. Beta had promised me scorched earth, which meant my alliance with Alpha could be compromised. 

Everyone is riled up. The cold air has them all in good spirits, and the rain was a relief from the heat we have been experiencing lately. The misty haze would hopefully shield my scent, preventing my ever-prevalent captor from immediately knowing my weariness. Though admittedly, I had no idea how tracking worked. My family was not one to hunt anything but large game and trophy hunts, and that was in a very controlled setting.

It would give me time to warn Haryek if nothing else.

"Tonic, I want to go to the city. I have to talk to the rebellion—to Haryek. If there's reason to question whether Alpha will honor his agreement to hear them out, they must be warned to be on their guard. After what just happened, Beta could easily flip the tables on me."

Tonic looks at me long and hard, mixed with disappointment and disbelief. "Alpha gave you his word that he would listen, did he not? You would be dead right now if he took any direction from Beta. Nicolas, I think this is a mistake. We need to stay here, especially after what just happened..."

"Tonic, I'm not asking," I tell him sternly. "I'm telling you that if you want to avoid war, the best bet is for both sides to be prepared. If we can give them a heads up, they won't come in with a show of bravado that triggers him to-"

"To what? Slaughter them all..? Alpha isn't a killer."

I begged to differ.

We walk in silence for most of the way; I can feel his tension at my quick pace. 

Tonic slows, and I wonder what threats would motivate him to at least walk at the same speed as me, "What? Why are we slowing down?" I wheel around to face him, and he looks concerned. "Tonic!" I snap, annoyed with him.

Then I see what has genuinely caused his hesitation.

Beta.