grave repercussions

Laziel Brahm

Dante Milburn was seething. 

I could feel it in the way he paced the scattered room, the clap of his footsteps loud on the dust-covered floor.

I was panting…the whiskey I’d been chugging earlier now souring the back of my throat.

“Tell me again, how this entire mess happened.” 

The dark-haired wolf barked, his piercing blue eyes sweeping over the room before coming to rest on me.

I had never seen him this enraged before…not since Leila’s betrayal and my heart skipped a beat when his footfalls fell into silence.

It was the third time I’d told the harrowing tale of bumping into the infected Caius and rushing out to Ronan’s stone fortress to find him.

It got harder and harder to repeat every time.

Dante crossed his hands over his expansive chest, tapping his foot impatiently.

Caius’ heaving wolf had crawled into the corner, hiding his mottled face between his legs and groaning every time the wiry doctor stabbed a new line into his vein.

A muscle ticked in his temples as the candor of my voice faded in the quiet room and the doctor scrubbed a hand over his face.

“So, you’re telling me you thought the Beta had been infected hours ago, and instead...let me get this right—” Dante hissed, letting out a harsh mirthless laugh that made his new Beta cringe reflexively as he motioned at me with his hands.

“Instead of alerting my royal chambers and reporting to me. You went all the way to Ronan’s stone towers to drag him here? What? To hide another body?” His sizzling remark burned into my brain like acid and I slowly raised my head to meet his, my body freezing.

He knew about Edward Finch…he knew…how did he know?

The Alpha’s chest rose and fell with thinly-concealed rage and for a desperate minute, I was sure he was about to set his guards on me and have me dragged to the royal dungeons.

“How?” Ronan’s hoarse voice was small…almost repentant, but he jerked back when Dante swivelled to face him, as if waiting for him to say something more so he could have him executed first.

“That would be me… where you dumped him in the dark woods…well…it wasn't a very good hiding place if I dared say so myself—” Doctor Strauss heaved and my jaw must have scraped the floor because I could no longer feel it holding my mouth together.

The freaking doctor was a plant? 

I had always imagined the brown-gaired gangly wolf as a bit of a shrood…an odd nerdy geek with his face buried between his herb books and blood vessels.

What the hell did he know about hiding bodies? 

Ronan seemed just as surprised as I was, and the way his jaw hardened told me he had very much taken the doctor’s comment as an insult on his competence.

“My apologies, I wasn't expecting anyone would be out in the poisoned mist looking for bodies like it was Blue’s clues or something,” He joked, but his monotone was dark and mirthless.

I hated to admit it, but the blond wolf would have been dead or irredeemable if Dante hadn't shown up with the doctor when he had.

The guards helped with holding him down while four eyes injected pint after pint of Dante’s blood into his body.

Blood that was blessed by the Moon Goddess had been way more effective than anything Ronan and I could have done.

“Not quite. I was already on my way as part of the reinforcement team, recognized the wounds as Infected frenzy…when the Alpha mentioned you’d been acting strangely before then, Sir Brahm, it wasn't hard to put it all together. You couldn't have gone anywhere in your condition, and since Ronan here used to be an executioner…well…” He breathed, shoving his glasses higher up on his hooked nose while I wondered how he would sound if my fists were to accidentally brush his jaw.

“Well. A damned Sherlock we have on our hands isn't he?” Ronan replied blandly, as if completely underwhelmed by the doctor’s deductions and even more irritated when Strauss only shrugged.

“Just a little bit of common sense and experience is all—”

“How is he?” Dante’s voice when it came again was tense and hard, as though he were completely uninterested in our history lesson.

Was he going to let me get away with it then?

I didn't like it when he was quiet like that…silent on things he should have spoken about.

I would have taken it all for him…public lashings at the square with my reddened ass bared for all the pretty ladies to see.

A hot iron spear to the forehead so that everyone knew I was a murderer…heck…I’d have made do with an eye patch even if he’d decided to pluck out one of the old boys.

But silence? 

It made me think he had far worse things in mind for me.

Other things that were going to hurt like a bitch in heat.

Caius groaned loudly, throwing his head back so that his yellowish -red eyes reflected pain that tore through us all.

“He would be stuck in his wolf form for a while…there’s no telling if he’ll shift back…we can only hope and hide him as long as we possibly can,” 

Strauss provided, swiping at the sheen of sweat gathered on the wrinkles of his pasty forehead.

The white coat hung off his bony shoulders, but something told me his bony was as sinewy as well strained wires beneath it.

Boy, would I hate to be on his bad side.

“How long until this…until,” Dante whispered, before flailing his hands impatiently, as if unable to bring himself to say the words.

I didn't blame him. I could barely look at Caius myself.

The pretty angelic look he had was gone now, and even when…if he healed, there was no telling if he would be fully there…if it would be good ‘ol cheery Caius still.

Or if he would have been corrupted.

“There’s no telling, Highness.” The doctor muttered before pausing, as though a thought had just occurred to him and I was taken aback when he whipped around to face me.

“I am curious, Sir Brahm, how is it that you stay out so long and not get singed like this? You were able to get yourself under control…it’s— forgive my French, but its damned near impossible!” 

I grinned down at the doctor to hide the bolt of panic that made my chest cave inward before fixing my hands on my hips and pretending to think about it.

I put a blank walk carefully behind my eyes when I looked back into his watery brown ones.

“Gee, I'm not sure doctor. I fear I was born corrupt, there really isn't anything worthy to feast on I reckon—” I huffed, trying my best to look bummed out when Strauss’ thin lips flattened and he plucked up another blood bag, the collapsed rubber of the empty ones lying neatly beside him on the tray.

“Yes…Yes I believe I understand,” He said finally and Dante rolled his eyes.

They didn't understand shit…but that was okay. That was good.

I could take care of myself. The only one who needed their help right now was huddled in the corner, where the halo from the overhead light didn't quite reach.

“Then you wouldn't mind him having your blood examined? I’m sure Caius will be needing whatever corrupt cells you’ve got,” Dante said even though he had meant it to sound like a question.

I could feel Ronan’s quiet stare burning into the side of my face but my voice had become deeper when I spoke again.

“No.”

“No, What?” Dante spat slowly, as if I was the invalid instead of his best man.

“No, I'm afraid I can't share my corrupt cells. Family secret.” I gritted through clenched teeth and watched his eyes for any sign of suspicion.

His face remained hard…implaccable, “We will pick this up some other time.” 

I exhaled a breathless sigh, threading my fingers through my hair and refusing to let them see how shaken up the short conversation had left me.

What the fuck was four eyes’ problem with me anyway?

Damn it all to hell! I didn't need the royal watchman on my tail! Not now!

“That would be all. Send some of Strauss’ nurses to take care of Miss Eldwood’s injuries and tighten security around her quarters,” The Alpha barked over his shoulder at the black-uniformed guards I had never seen before.

Infinity fortress was so big that I probably hadn't seen all of it, but secret soldiers…naughty, naughty Milburn.

His air of authority was palpable when the guards bowed, disappearing wordlessly.

That easy?

Heck, if it was that easy to have everyone do as I said I didn't know how I would act.

I’d definitely have been a diva, like Caius was… but not enough to be the cold, egotistical maniac good ‘ol Dante had become.

“Prepare the stone tower at the back of the fortress, and have the forgers hammer us a couple of blessed nails to keep him in place.” 

The Alpha ordered the guards over his shoulder before lowering himself to a squat in front of the blond wolf.

“Caius? Winters, can you hear me?” He breathed, his voice gentle despite the way Caius’ disoriented wolf snapped at him, baring saber-toothed fangs almost the same length as his face.

 “What in moon’s name did you just say? The stone tower? That dump hasn't been open to the fortress in years!” I exclaimed, picturing the small stone-walled room with only a single window that overlooked the entire pack.

It was the highest point in the fortress besides the Alpha’s chambers, heck, it was even higher than the freaking watch towers!

He could die of a cold or a freaking hard-on if he stayed there!

“Exactly…Its perfect.” Dante quipped, looking me over like I was the one chatting out of my arse.

Couldn't the dark wolf see our friend needed to be around us?

“Absolutely not. I will not allow it.”

My lips firmed around the words and his thickly lined brows arched before his perfect square teeth flashed in the now brightly lit room.

A distant owl hooted before the wall bells dinged again. It was almost morning.

The fortress would start waking around us soon, we needed to finish this once and for all.

For a moment, the room was deathly still, before the Alpha rose, like a dark panther.

“I must have confused you, Brahm. That was an order. Winters will stay in the stone tower, you cannot forbid it. You do not have a say. And you are lucky I'm not throwing you in the floor beneath his.” 

His smart tone made my jaw clench but I forced my fists to stay at my side.

I had never hit Dante before…even when we were little. Too much of a bloody grateful wuss to manage it…but now. 

Heck, now, we were the same size, and almost eye-level with each other.

I could throw him around now if I wanted to….I also imagined that would have been the last thought in the heads of everyone who had confronted him and lost fatally in the past.

Smart wolves would have bowed in obedience, but I never much had the head for books.

“I’m not going to let you abandon Winters to rot so you can remain perfect in front of your little fortress, Dante. I will die on your sword before i let you leave a man behind,” I deadpanned, and the temperature in the room rose until it was scalding hot, making the hairs on my arms and legs bristle and coil.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” Dante’s brows furrowed and he took a preemptive step forward, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

I tried to imagine what he was thinking…how he must see me.

‘Local drunk takes up arms to defend infected fiend…friend.’

No…no.

More like ‘pussy psycho of the century finally grows some hair on his balls,’

“Nobody’s abandoning him, Laziel, its just until he gets better…what happened with Mara—” Ronan stepped in, putting himself between me and the Alpha until my gaze narrowed on his face.