New Vessel, Dead Twin

Alpha Nath was not surprised that the Alpha King had arrived so quickly. It made his plans all the more inconvenient, but that did not stop him. He had come too far to be deterred by fear or common sense. He was careful in selecting maidens for the heart of Virgo, but it was becoming obvious that the heart demanded a specific vessel. He started to worry that it did not want a human girl or a werebitch, meaning he would have to find a witch. However, they were more elusive than a needle in a haystack. The more girls they used, the more disgruntled Logan became. Truth be told, even Alpha Nath was getting worried. In his bid to find a match before the Royal pack arrived, he had taken a good number of girls from the pack and had alerted the pack members and their Alpha, Kain. He walked into his new lodge, noticing Logan lounging on the bed. "Why are you always here? Don't you have your own quarters?" Alpha Nath remarked dryly. "Why? Someone needs to keep count of the innocent women you kill." "It, son! It kills them, not me!" Alpha Nath snarled. Logan shook his head. "This was not part of the plan." "Plans change. For the greater good, we have to be a little more ruthless." Alpha Nath walked to the bed, knelt down, and retrieved the bag with Virgo's heart from underneath a loose floorboard. Logan stared at him incredulously. "You're going to find another victim? The last one hasn't even turned cold in her fucking unmarked grave!" "Watch your tongue. I am still your Alpha!" Logan plopped down on his knees undignified. "You can't keep doing this," he squeezed out. Alpha Nath patted the bag slung over his shoulder. "That is why I am taking it with me. Perhaps I should let it choose this time." *** "Take this and this, oh plus that one. You know what? I'll just take it all. Any new purses? No? Urgh, what a dump. Swipe my card and have the rest of these delivered." Sue sashayed out of the mall. It was more of a mini-mart, but it was the best she could get. After the rise in feral attacks, pack members were not allowed to leave pack premises, so she could no longer shop in the human cities. Behind her, three girls struggled to keep up with her. They were each carrying several shopping bags and could barely see ahead of them. One girl with curly red hair stumbled, a small bag shook from the pile she was carrying and fell down. The sound of glass breaking made Sue turn around. "What the fuck?" Sue yelled. "That's the VL watch! It was the only fucking worthy thing that trashy shop had, and you broke it!" Khloe bent her head and bit her lips; her lowered eyes were red, but not because she felt aggrieved, but because it was all she could do to stop herself from landing a punch squarely on this proud bitch's face. She had bitten her lips so many times for restraint that they were about to become indented. This was all Sinbad's fault! He took her core and then went missing! She had been serving this bitch as a lackey for the past year because he threatened her with her core. "I'm sorry," she said as she bent down to pick the bag. Sue stepped on her hand. "Why bother! It's fucking broken. Can you afford to replace it? I should have you work as a maid for a few years to pay back! Why is nothing going my way these days!" "Sue, people are starting to gather. You should stop it," one of the girls said. Sue turned her venomous gaze on the girl. "Shut up, or I'll pull your tongue!" The girl stepped back in shock. Suddenly there was the sound of clear footsteps. The small crowd that was starting to gather made way for the person. Sue turned around to see who dared to interrupt her. The woman was dressed in a soft red dress that accentuated her curves. Her hair was curled and styled in a French plait; her cherry lips and provocative brows gave her an innocent yet mature look. She stood proud and tall in her heels, and the stone faced guards behind her gave her a touch of elegance. Sue recognized her as the Alpha King's escort. She had no respect for such women, but propriety demanded she play a farce. "My lady," she bowed. The woman came up to her but didn't respond to her greeting. "Leave us," she ordered. Sue's two friends looked around and scampered off; Khloe got up with difficulty, her hand hurt like hell. She noticed the woman looking at her. She picked up Sue's bags and left as well. Slowly, the area cleared up, leaving Sue alone with the escort and her guards. The woman looked at Sue from head to toe like she was meat on a slab. "Amazing," her tone was more relaxed than earlier, and her voice had a lazy lilt. "You're so young, and yet you've been under the blade so many times. I wonder if any part of your body is even real flesh... Can you even still shift?" Sue was dumbfounded at the sudden attack. She stared open-mouthed at the woman. She had never offended her, so what was with the verbal abuse? "Wh-what?" Sue stuttered foolishly. "Don't leave your jaw hanging like that; it'd be a shame if it comes off. From what I've seen, your dad's pretty rich; he must have ensured you got the best resources. So why is one boob bigger than the other? And your face, it's lifted in so many places; I'm surprised it doesn't kiss the heavens. And what's with that tacky dressing? I mean, cut that skirt any shorter, and it'd be a belt. And for all the top covers, you might as well have glued on tiny seashells and be the little mermaid." "That's enough!" Sue yelled; her face was red with anger, and she could hear snickering around her. For sure, the shoppers had not gone so far they couldn't hear the escort. "How dare you humiliate me! Do you know who I am?" Sue roared. "Don't look so ferocious; it doesn't suit you, and it might just become permanent." "You! I'll show you!" Sue was by no means weak; after all, she was a Beta's daughter, plus she had put herself through strict training as she considered herself the next Luna. So when she shifted, her dark brown wolf was two-third the Escort's height, twice her weight and radiated power. Sue opened her mouth, revealing razor-sharp teeth that could bite through stone. But no matter how strong Sue was, she could not compare to seasoned guards from the Royal pack. It didn't take two minutes, and she was beaten down. She was had shifted half naked and tried to cover up her body with her hands, her face had several cuts. The escort bent low to speak to her. "I hate bullies the most; every time I see you, I'll have the urge to hit you, so you better stay out of my sight these next few days, okay?" *** Khloe marched towards her shared cabin, fuming. How dare that prissy bitch humiliate her. If she had her core, she could easily decimate half this pack; instead, she had to spray on a heavy amount of scent concealer to hide her witch scent while bearing insults as well. She hated Sinbad at this moment. She turned a corner and walked headfirst into someone. The person caught her elbow before she fell. "Are you okay, little girl?" Khloe was ready to shake the hand off but found it difficult. She looked at the person and recognized Alpha Nath of Silver Moon pack. She lowered her head to greet him. "Good day...urgh." She felt a sharp pain, and the world went dark. *** Aria was in lala land when the box started shaking. It hit her in the head, and she jolted awake. It wasn't gentle either; it surged with magic, and soon everyone but Garsam had come out of their tent. Sue wanted to follow, but Aria pulled her back down to rest. Aria held out the box to the group. "Didn't your mom say the last core was seized from Garsam's friend? He's a werewolf, so why would he have a witch's core?" Ivy and mumbled "This...the magic feels familiar." "The only reason a witch's core would react like this is if the owner is in trouble and desperately trying to summon it back," Lev noted. Aria opened the box. For all its shaking and pulsing, Aria had expected the orb to fly off in search of its owner. Instead, it was strangely silent. Suddenly, the brightly lit orb started dimming like the light was being sucked away. "Looks like the owner won't make it," Lev commented. The orb was now dull. It looked like an ordinary stone. The magic that seeped from the orb floated above them, circled them, then suddenly rushed into Ivy. The group was surprised as Ivy knelt down with a heavy thump, and they gathered around her. Aria bent and held her shoulders. "Are you okay?" she asked. She felt Ivy shaking; her body rocked with sobs. "My sister, she... She's dead!" She cried.