Chapter 211 - Fate worse than death (1/2)
Bianca swallowed against Russ's tight grip. ”Fernando Boosilis! He knew where you were!” She tried to wiggle against Russ's tight grip as the heat from the wolf's hot breath sent chills down her spine.
Ry narrowed his eyes at her. ”You want us to believe the kid's own uncle called in the hit?”
She nodded furiously. ”Yes! I met with him in person. He deals with several vampires, almost daily!”
”Is that so?” Ry stroked his chin ignoring her gasps as Russ's claws sank deeper into her throat. ”Was Vivian DeMarco aware of your attack beforehand?” When she didn't answer, Ry added. ”You'd better not drag this out too long. You see my friend here can only control the wolf for so long, and you don't want to be in a cage with him when he loses control.”
Bianca's eyes met the heated, red glare of the man-beast before her. There was little left of the attractive young wolf that had walked into the room. The beast snarled up at her as she thought over her options. When his grip tightened more, sending razor-sharp claws deeper into the tender flesh of her throat, she gasped out. ”If I answer you this, I'm as good as dead.”
Ry smiled as he stepped closer. Leaning in and glancing pointedly from her to Russ, his smile widened. ”My dear, you are dying either way. I'm giving you the option of a quick death or a slow painful one. Which will it be?”
She swallowed hard against the tight grip around her throat. ”Yes.”
”Yes, what?” Ry taunted leaning even closer.
”Yes! She was the one who sent me to Fernando!” Her eyes widened when the wolf snarled centimeters from her face, the heat of his breath nearly scorching her skin.
Ry smiled as he leaned back. ”Told you.” He said to Russ. He watched as the last bit of control seeped away and the wolf sank its long canines into her throat and pulled back, ripping out a large chunk of flesh before dropping the vampire. ”Let's get out of here.” He said as he turned toward the door.
”Wait! You can't just leave me here like this! As you said, if Vivian finds out I spoke with you she'll kill me; and it will be slow!” Bianca whaled out as she clung to her bleeding throat.
Ry smiled back at her over his shoulder. ”Yeah, I know.” His smile widened to a toothy grin. ”Good luck with that.”
She snarled as she shot up from the floor, something shiny now in her hand. ”F.u.c.k you both!” She charged at Russ with the glistening shank in hand.
Ry's smile fell away. ”Well, hell…” He stepped between them, quickly grabbing and breaking the vampire's wrist causing the shank to hit the floor, before plunging the hilt of his palm forcefully against her chest. Watching the vampire crumple against the floor, he huffed out a sigh. ”Well, she'll not be healing from that as quickly. Let's go before we're caught.” He turned back to see Russ struggling to shift back. ”Come on, kid, you got this.” Wild, red eyes met his. He was panting heavily as he struggled to transform. ”Your adrenaline is still up too high. Take some long breaths.” He placed his hand on the center of Russ's back and guided the panting wolf from the cell and locked the door behind them. ”This way. We're going out the back.” He continued guiding Russ through the long corridor of cells. Many were occupied and curious eyes followed them. Ry threw one of the lab coats over Russ, trying his best to hide the kid's identity.
When they made it through the thick double-barred exit at the back of the hidden prison, Russ fell to the ground on his knees digging his claws into the hard soil. He groaned and growled loudly as he fought against the best. With a loud howl directed toward the heavens, he finally got the beast under control.
”You alright, kid?” Ry asked as he squatted down beside him and patted his back. Russ nodded but still didn't speak. ”You did well. We got the information we needed and got out in a timely fashion.” Ry patted his back as he looked around the wooded gardens surrounding the hidden back entrance. ”Come on, we don't have much time before we'll have to meet Andre. Trust me, kid. If you think standing up a woman is bad, DO NOT stand up a gay man!” He helped Russ up before pulling out his cell phone. ”I'm going to call dad and see if he's willing to help later.” He sent Russ's questioning expression a sly smile. ”We are going to drop in on your uncle unannounced.”
The ringing stopped as the call was answered. [What up, son. If you boys are wanting to come here, we could shift the kid into a goldfish this time.]
Ry sent Russ a thoughtful look, as he fought against a smile.”Yeah, I have places to be a little later; but how about later tonight? Then after, if you're up for a little adventure maybe you could pop over to the kid's island with us?”
Poseidon smiled, [Sounds fun. Shall I be going as a guest, or will there be a prospective claim? On second thought we can discuss it later. What time would you like me to snap you over?]
Ry thought about it for a few seconds. ”Give us about an hour, hour, and a half. We'll be at that high-end restaurant with the good sushi. I have a date I need to get out of.”
Poseidon chuckled. [Very well, give them a kiss for me! I'm sure it will be a fun one dragging the kid along with you. Are you sure you don't want me to pop in to babysit for you?] He teased.
...
They had all barely gotten settled when another knock sounded at the door. Before Arei could yell that it was open, the knob was turning, and the door was being pushed open. Poseidon stepped inside; a vanilla envelope in hand. ”The results just arrived. Should we try waking her first or be prepared with the knowledge beforehand?” Poseidon handed the vanilla envelope over to Jos. ”Either way, I imagine, if there is bad news contained inside, it would be you she would prefer to deliver it.” He nodded to Arei. ”If you'd like to give the girls some privacy, I have something to go over with you.”
Arei reluctantly released Jos and followed his father out of the room. Glancing back in concern to Jos, he said. ”I'll wait for you in the library. Come find me after you give her the news.” When Jos only nodded, he let the door shut quietly. Turning his attention to his father, he asked. ”What is it you need to speak to me about?”
Poseidon kept his focus on the hall in front of him as he made his way to his office. ”I spoke to your brother earlier. I'll be bringing him and the boy here for a few hours... more for the girl than anything. I suspect regardless of those results, she'll not likely be welcomed in wolf territory until the boy is in complete control of the area.”
”Alright, what do you need from me?” Arei asked as he followed his father into the office, letting the door close behind them.
Poseidon sat behind his desk before answering. ”It would be best if Jos wasn't around until the boy leaves. The two of you have made great progress recently. The boy will only set that progress back.”
Arei nodded in agreement. ”Easy enough, I'd like to work on flight travel with her some more anyways. It could come in handy. Is there anything else?” Arei said as he leaned back in the armchair opposite the desk.
Poseidon nodded. ”Your brother has asked me to help them. I'll leave out with them this evening once the boy has spent some time with his sister. I'll not lie to you, I plan on pressing for a claim there as well.” He shrugged. ”Which means the court will be a little awkward for Jos and the boy at first, but it is worth the aggravation in the long run.”
Arei shook his head. ”Is that all any of you ever think of? Power and claims?” Arei was about to push himself up from the seat when Poseidon asked.
”Do you honestly think I'm doing this strictly for my own gain?” He held his son's gaze. ”The wolf packs of the boy's kingdom are going to require a lot of backing. It will be a massive investment on my part and there's no way of knowing how it will pay off if it will... And as for Jos, there is no way of knowing if the Kraken can ever be fully controlled or if it will even be in existence once the curse is gone. She may very well be an ordinary girl after-”
”A powerful demi-goddess still afterward, you mean?” Arei interrupted. ”I've already told her, no matter what, I don't want children. I'll not have my children be used as I have been. As we all are still used.”