Elias Irving

Victoria barely sensed Elias come in. Her whole body focused on the horrifying sensation of the bond breaking, and the rest of her wrapped in the emotion of losing Derrick to whatever horrible fire was raging outside. She neded to get up, needed to get out there, help. But she felt frozen and then – “fuck!” She cursed, loud and angry and pained the second salt hit her skin. Victoria shook it off, ignoring the small burns left in its wake on her back and shoulders. “You.” She doesn’t even have to think about it. It wasn’t fire. It was Elias. And that’s all the fury Victoria needs to snap out of her heartbroken emotions and into the worst version of them. 

She’s felt it before. When her father died, when her mother hurt Aurora – and she feels it now ten fold. Only this time, she doesn’t try to stop it. It comes out of her fists and her chest and her whole body with a fury so fast, that she has Elias on his knees before either of them can exchange another word. Four quick blows, from the ground to her feet. “You killed him – “ she shouts angrily, nearly growling the words through her teeth. “He was – he was mine and you killed him.”

He didn’t expect her to fight as fast as Derrick, as strong as a wolf, as wild with her anger as he felt. His knee burned and he landed fast, body slamming on the ground as she hit him.

Adrenaline turned the pain into something sour on his tongue, more distant than just hurting and his brain buzzed with the overload. His finger squeezed for the spray trigger of his bottle, aiming for face, arms, chest -- it didn’t matter. 

He was mine. And you killed him.

“You never should have tried to own a wolf, you little bitch,” he managed to bite out between blows, arms up to protect and reach for her hair, pulling to try and smash her head on the floor. His fingers scrambled for skin, nails digging. There was little focus to his movements, just pure instinct, anger.

[Private]

“No one else. The more people involved in a plan, the more likely they are to betray you. Derrick first, the witch bitches at the same time? Kill the little bitch fast, don’t draw it out. For the love of all that’s holy, don’t monologue. I may need your help with Brigid. She’s mean as a viper when she’s cornered, we all know that.” Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. This would have been so much easier if the pack wasn’t a bunch of whiny school children looking for approval. “We need to do this fast, while they’re still figuring shit out. Before some traitor or another puts them on their guard.”

[ PRIVATE ]

[Private]

Kyle thought for a moment and nodded. “The more chaos the better. Derrick will ‘die in the fire’ and they’ll probably call him a hero. Never abandoned his pack or some bullshit,” he said bitterly. “Can’t tell anyone. Not even Jordan, he’ll run straight to Eden.”

[ PRIVATE ]

[Private]

“Burn this place down,” Kyle agreed, looking around the barn. Chains and whips hung from the walls, it was a place meant for transformation and punishment, not living. Derrick banishing them here sealed his fate. “If they expect us to stay out here, then I don’t feel comfortable having whips hanging around. Especially ones with wolfsbane. I say we pile them up and burn them.”

[ PRIVATE ]

[Private]

“Of course I’m still in,” Kyle replied, rolling his eyes as he paced to the side of where Elias was throwing the ball. “I don’t give a shit that they’re not with us, they’ll still thank us once it’s done.” He was still furious at Derrick for throwing him out of the den when Presley was the one who started the fight. If the roles had been reversed, if he’d hit her and she hit him back Derrick would through her a goddamned parade and he’d still be out of the den. It was a double standard and he hated it. 

[ PRIVATE ]

“------Good,” he said, looking over at Kyle with a nod. “No one else I want to have to back. That cunt and her mini-me’ve got the others so fucking brainwashed that they’ll roll belly up for a night in some satin sheets.” He scoffed, lips curling. “They can thank us later.”

The anger left a vibration in his bones so strong that sitting still felt impossible. Even tossing a ball against the barn’s old walls barely kept him focused, but it was enough to think, to plan, to prepare.

“I think we move tonight,” he said, not bothering to look at Kyle as it he said it. “We’ll go out to the woods during remedial training, dig up the salt. Hit ‘em right after curfew when they think everything’s settled. You still in? I’ll understand if you want to back out.”

We haven’t lost our minds or our pride or anything else you want to pull out of your ass. And you can be done all you want, Elias. We are certainly done with you.

That’s…that’s not what happened. Miss Victoria did what she did because she cares about us, that’s what we need from a wolf-keeper. She and Derrick took care of things so that no more of us are getting hurt needlessly. We’re wolves, yes, but we’re on the same side as the witches, Elias. 

Exactly what I expected. You have nothing. And Kyle spent all yesterday telling us all how we were missing out on your big plan? You’re just going to get yourselves killed.

—-what are you going to do now?

Pack my shit. I’m not sleeping in the den while the rest of them suck witch tit. 

Eden didn’t betray anyone. She put the pack first. Before you. Maybe you should remind yourself of that. I’d like my painkillers back now. 

His jaw clenched until his teeth creaked.

“You want your pills back?” Reaching for his half-packed bag on his back, Elias riffled through his belongings until he grabbed the cleaned Old Spice container where he’d stashed the small bag of pills. Popping open the lid, he tipped the bag into his palm and tossed the plastic back onto the mess of his bed.

He spared no thought for exposing himself as he unbuttoned his pants and dropped his fly. Holding out the bag, he aimed a stream of piss right on the cotton until it was soaked, letting it pool on the floor between them.

He didn’t ask, she did it herself. For us. And it worked. And now the other witches know what is really going on around here and they’re going to do something about it with power that we don’t have. We are wolves. So how does that make it different? What exactly do you propose? You just keep talking and talking about how ineffective Derrick is and you don’t have a plan, a better way. You didn’t stand up as the Beta and stop Brigid from poisoning Amaya.

Tell me, Elias. What the hell is your grand magical scheme that is so much better? Because you don’t seem to actually have one.

Maybe the fact that you can’t see why Derrick is a good leader is exactly why no one trusted you to be one. This isn’t how a pack treats each other, Elias. 

You know, for once, you’re right. It’s not how a pack treats each other. So next time your girlfriend wants to go around betraying people, maybe you can remind her of that.

Derrick never asked me to do that, Elias. There was discontent in the pack. Wolves coming for my mother’s head. Wolves about to throw themselves in the line of fire to protect the pack. So I interfered, per the concerns of people I trusted who came to me in private. I’m sorry that it has come to this point or that you don’t think I would have you and the pack’s best interests at heart always. But I do. And I will. Then and now. I’m not going to let anything happen to any of you and neither is Derrick. 

..........This is what you’re willing to live with, then? An Alpha who asks his witch to pretty please poison herself so we don’t have to be? And you’re just gonna, what? Hope that works next time, too? That we don’t fucking die before he gets off his ass to do something? We are wolves. Have you lost your goddamn minds, as well as your pride???