33| Against All Odds

DOMINUS MARUTO 

If those shit-faced twins hadn’t interrupted the blood ritual, it would have been completed before Deklan stormed in to snatch Cedar. Their roar had triggered something in her, provoking her inner strength to slip free. That's why I made a last minute decision to accomplish my mission by another means.

I don’t know if I can trust Sammy, not after her betrayal. I haven’t even earned the right to use her. Not that I’ve ever earned anything from anyone. Everything I take, I take because I can. If she paid me back in my own coin, I wouldn’t even be surprised.

Still, she’s a mother hen. She’ll do anything to protect her chick. I don’t feel guilty pressing that button against her, forcing her hand, because I still need another way to draw Cedar out of whatever hole Deklan is hiding her in.

And now it was time. Time to unleash my anger on Crystal Moon Pack, just as I’d planned from the very beginning. If I couldn’t possess power through the ritual, then I’d claim it by bloodshed. I didn’t care how many fell in the process. All that mattered was my goal: defeat every pack, take them under my rule, and rise as the Alpha of Alphas.

Crystal Moon had always stood in my way. Their current Alphas are weak, living only on past victories, boasting of glories earned by the former Alpha and his Beta. Both are long gone, taken down by the people they trust. The pack is ripe for the taking. I’ve been preparing for this moment for years, ever since I claimed Oakwood.

I’ve waited too long. Now I’d kill two birds with one stone. Thanks to Helena’s years of loyalty and Jeremy’s ruthless devotion, the pieces had finally fallen into place.

And now, here I stood, with Adonai. The so-called mighty Alpha who doesn't hesitate to swear that he’d drive a blade through my skull, kneeling before me, wrists broken, nose shattered and blood poured down his face. His mother trembled beneath my boots too, her body weak as she also bled, and shaking as she gasped for air. That was where they belonged: beneath me.

Only one king would rise from this battlefield. And that king was me.

“You’ll never succeed! You’re just scared because you know you’re a failure!” Adonai spat blood, his voice hoarse but defiant.

“You’ll die by my hand,” I told him, my voice calm and deliberate, “and Crystal Moon will fall to its knees, worshiping me as their god. You’ll watch it all happen before I finally send you to your father.”

I signaled to Cena, who moved to fetch the other brother. “You must miss him,” I added with a chuckle.

“You want me? You’ve got me! Let my people go, Dominus! Leave my mother out of this, she—”

“You think this is about you?” I barked out a laugh, so sharp and sudden that birds scattered into the gray clouds overhead. A storm was coming; I could feel it. “You were never the problem. I was simply waiting for the perfect time to strike. Have you ever wondered what truly happened to your father? Who killed him?”

Adonai froze. He tried to twist his head, to meet my gaze, to measure whether I was bluffing or dead serious. But the chains held him fast, locking his neck, shoulders, and arms into place. The metal wound around his chest and back, anchored tightly to the jeep so he couldn’t break free, even if he transformed.

“No… no, you didn’t.” His voice faltered. He fought against the bindings, muscles straining, thrashing wildly. The chains tightened cruelly around his throat.

“Of course I didn’t.” I clicked my tongue, shaking my head with mock pity. “Your—”

“No!” Vendetta’s scream tore through the air, desperate and raw. I couldn’t tell if it was rage, guilt, or terror driving it. “Don’t listen to him, Adonai! Please. I’ve made mistakes, mistakes I regret, but you can't let him use them against you.” Her tears spilled freely as she pleaded.

Cena returned then, bowing his head. “Alpha, he’s coming. The pack’s Beta has been notified.”

“You’ve done well, Cena.” I patted his shoulder as I dismounted my horse. “You’ll be rewarded for your loyalty. You deserve it.”

I strode toward the jeep where Adonai writhed in agony, blood dripping from his face onto the windshield. His fury only entertained me.

“You’ve got no one, Adonai. You deluded yourself into thinking you commanded loyalty, but in truth, they all work for me.” My voice cut through him like steel. “I don’t waste time with friendships, debates, or fragile alliances. I take what I want, whether with money, leverage, or by holding someone they love as ransom. That’s power.”

Adonai’s lips peeled back in a bloody snarl. “That’s what makes us different. You’re a monster. No one respects you, they never will. They already know what you are. A beast.”

His spit struck my cheek, red streaking across my skin and sliding down into my white shirt. The sight thrilled me. Blood was always my favorite color.

“For that,” I whispered, drawing a blade from my pocket, running it against my nail with deliberate slowness, “I’ll make your death so agonizing you’ll beg for it. I’ll break you, Adonai. I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”

It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.

“Dominus!”

The shout cut through the air like thunder. My head snapped up. Adonis sat astride his warhorse, raising his sword high so that the sun glinted off the steel. Behind him, his army formed up in ranks, shields gleamed as they tightened their stance and prepared to strike at the slightest command.

“Release my family or face my wrath!” he bellowed, his voice carrying over the murmuring tension of his soldiers.

“Don’t mistake my intentions, young Alpha.” I spread my arms wide, savoring the moment. “I’m not here to negotiate. You had your chance when I made you an offer. You rejected it, just like your father did.”

His grip on the sword faltered at the mention of his father. My laughter boomed across the field. 

“What have you done, Dominus?” His voice dropped low, heavy with fury.

“You should be asking what your mother has done.” I pointed at her with the tip of my blade.

“Stop this madness, please!” Vendetta’s cries shattered the last of her composure. She collapsed to her knees, tears flooded down her face, her eyes blood-red from hours of weeping. “I beg you, stop!”

Her words meant nothing. It's already too late to turn back now.

“Oakwood, charge!”