Unholy War

Unholy War 2

Chapter 2: Yas

We see a boy leaving. The wolf inside me stands away from the Island home near a bushel of tropical trees in the distance. The trees don't give very good hiding. The red wolf that I become doesn't like this weather. It's too warm. I'm panting heavily. I wouldn't have taken my wolf form if I didn't have to. Being a wolf was the best way to overhear the conversation. I watch the boy on his phone.

"I'd like to change my flight. Yeah. I want to change it from Los Angeles to New York."

New York. This wasn't good news. Just a few hours ago I was spying on this boy and he was in a room with the Red Monster Genesis. If he was going to New York that meant that he would be joining the war.

I jet across the back alleys in an attempt to get to the boy. The boy is about to hop in a car. He gets in the car just as I approach. It pulls off before I am able to pounce on him.

A girl screams.

She sees me chase the cab for almost a block. She is a stranger. One of the locals on the islands that managed to get in my way just in time.

"Oh my god," she says.

"It's OK ma'am...that's my dog," a familiar face comes over and attempts to calm the stranger down.

"Dog? That's a...that's a wolf!"

The woman is looking at me. She stares at me. I think she knows like I do that I am no dog. I have keen senses, large canine teeth, powerful jaws and the ability to pursue prey at 50 miles a hour. I was no dog. I was no wolf. I was something much, much more powerful.

"It's Ok," the familiar face I know says to the girl.

He's handsome. She seems surprised when she sees him approach. Maybe she is surprised that he is so comfortable around a wild animal like me. Maybe she is more surprised by how handsome he is. He's tall. About 6'2". He wears a full suit even though the tropical weather on Moreen Island brings the temperature to about 100 degrees. The full white suit matches his clean shaven appearance. He has a small goatee and these piercing green eyes that are like emeralds. The girl seems so mesmerized by his eyes that she dares to take her eyes off me.

"You know it?" The girl asks the clean shaven man.

The man looks at me. He smiles. It's warm and welcoming. He walks up to me and pets me! He fucking pets me! He rubs his fingers through my red fur and plays with the brown parts on my muzzle.

I jerk away and growl as ferociously. I show teeth that I never knew I even had. I'm pretty fucking pissed. He doesn't pull away. For some reason it doesn't even make him nervous. Instead he smiles, amused.

The girl doesn't have the same reaction to my growl. She takes off down the block running as fast as she can.

When we are alone on the strange street he stares back at me.

"Was that necessary Yas?" he asks me.

I begin to change. My slim body begins to transform into something much more human. My bushy 40 inch tail disappears into a tail bone right above my small little ass. My fur becomes smooth skin. My muzzle becomes soft, gentle lips and my body changes slightly into something not too soft but just feminine enough to seem ambigious. However with all my soft features I know that I am still a man once my dingaling grows between my legs. Soon enough I'm naked in the middle of the street.

"Don't ever pet me again Dakota," I warn him.

Dakota.

"You were scaring the locals. This is a tropical island," he reminds me, "Wolves don't come here. Especially werewolves. Here. Cover up..."

Dakota was always the gentleman. Ever since the first day that I found out I was a werewolf he had been my keeper. He had been with me through it all. He had been with me when I found out that I was a beta wolf. He had been with me when I competed against other Beta wolves and won the affection of an Alpha. I was the second most important person in the pack and one day...that all ended. One day I lost my Alpha. I lost my pack. I lost everything that meant anything to me.

I lost everything but Dakota. He was still here. Still being a gentleman. Still making sure that I was the best werewolf I can be.

"The red monster is recruiting," I warn him.

"More?" Dakota asks.

He's bothered. The Red Monster's name was Genesis. I had stopped using his name for years now. It was easier to just call him the Red Monster. That was what he was. He was a demon from hell and he was a demon that knew how to do things. He knew how to do horrible things. I'd seen them first hand.

"I just saw a boy. He was at the event we saw the Red Monster at. Now he's heading to New York. We should pursue the boy and stop him from going to NYC. We can run down the cab if we both change into wolves."

"And do what? Kill him..." Dakota asks.

"If we have to."

Genesis was building an army. we had to stop him.

Dakota shakes his head.

"No."

I sigh. Dakota is so restrained. When the Red Monster took my life away from me I almost lost my mind. If it wasn't for Dakota I would have attacked him a long time ago. Dakota tells me to be patient though. Patient? Really? I've spent the last three years pursuing him. Three years of spying on him. Three years of watching him recruit and build his power. Three years of waiting and watching.

"I'm not afraid of the Red Monster."

"This isn't about fear," Dakota explains to me, "I have a better plan."

~

It's morning time when Dakota and I knock on the door. We don't want to scare them at night time. It's best to do it now and seem less threatening.

I knock again, harder this time. So hard that I am about to break down the door. Dakota gives me a hard look. He knows this isn't me to be so aggressive. Beta wolves like me were rarely aggressive. We were supposed to leave that to the Alpha wolves. The problem is my Alpha wolf was no longer in the picture.

"I'll do the talking," Dakota warns me.

I shrug, "Fine."

He doesn't trust me. I can see it. Maybe he thinks that I am getting antsy because we were so close to finding out where the Red Monster was hiding out all the time. Maybe he's right. I just need to make things right.

The man I loved was waiting for me to make things right.

"May I help you?"

A man walks to the door. He's in his 30's. He has big eyes and a welcoming smile when he answers the door. I wasn't expecting that. I'd seen this same boy just the night before. He was in the same room as the Red Monster. It made me wonder if this man was as innocent as he looked.

"My name is Dakota and this is my friend Yas. We are in a little bit of trouble and we heard that you can help us. We heard that you can do...things..."

Magic. That's what Dakota was referring to. He is saying it in a soft way. Dakota had a charm that I'd never seen from any werewolf. We were a strong and vicious species. We were everything that Dakota wasn't. He was the most polite werewolf I'd ever known. Sometimes I wonder how to react to him when he is such a gentleman.

I'm surprised when the man smiles, "You're looking for a witchdoctor?"

"Yes."

"Come on in."

We enter the house. It looks like a normal house. I wasn't expecting this. I was expecting skulls and goat's blood. I was expecting snakes and maybe even strong scents that keep spirits away. I'm not expecting what I find in that house. I find a normal home. Family portraits are on the walls. The house smells like fresh linen and coffee. The witchdoctor takes us into his house and offers us some coffee. Dakota takes it but I refuse. I just look around. Dakota sits in a stool over the island in the kitchen but I lurk a little behind him.

How Dakota can be comfortable around these people is something I didn't understand. The Red Monster was a witchdoctor. Witchdoctors were daangerous.

"My name is Micko," the witchdoctor says, "Hope you don't mind us speaking a little low. My family is asleep for the most part. Usually I send requests over to Angelica's but you boys do seem quite desperate to travel all this way."

"You know how far we travelled?" Dakota asks Micko.

Micko smiles.

"Just from the way you are dressed. Your aura. I have always been able to read auras. I can see your friend is a little uncomfortable. Would you like something else besides coffee? Maybe tea? Maybe raw meat?"

Dakota and I get silent. We share glances with one another. Neither of us were expecting it. All of a sudden this Micko person doesn't seem so innocent after all.

"You knew we weren't human?" I ask.

Micko smiles, "I read a lot in my spare time. Don't worry. We supernaturals need to stick together. So tell me. Werewolves. How is it that I can help you?"

"We are in trouble," Dakota says.

Dakota is beating around the bush. I know that he hesitated to tell the story of the Red Monster. Those were some trying times in our lives. It wasn't something easy to repeat but if we were going to ask for Micko's help he deserved to know what kind of trouble we were in.

Micko catches on to our hesitancy, "I figured that much. So what can I do you for? Would you like to be blessed? Or would you like to have someone cursed?"

"I don't think a curse would work on this problem," Dakota states.

"Must be a really bad problem."

"The worst."

"Tell me."

Dakota looks over at me. It was my story to tell. He wasn't going to tell my story for me. I cross my arms. I don't trust Micko or any other witchdoctor for that matter. I had seen from the Red Monster what messing around with magic could do.

"Years ago, my Alpha and I had a pack, but something went wrong."

"Your alpha?" Micko asks.

"It's the leader of a werewolf pack," Dakota explains, "His name is Walid."

"Where is Walid?"

"He's out looking for his pack," Dakota explains.

Micko takes a long sip of the coffee. He seems very interested in our story already. We'd missed the biggest part.

"What happened to Walid's wolf pack?" Micko asks.

I can feel Dakota looking at me wondering how much I was going to share with Micko and how much I was going to keep to myself. I let a few seconds pass wondering what would be relevant to tell the witchdoctor without him judging me.

"As Walid's Beta I was at his side. However, a stranger came and took the pack away. Now my Alpha is out looking for is pack. As his Beta. I need to help him find it."

I don't mention the fact that when the Red Monster took my pack away it was my fault. I had made a deal with the Red Monster. I was afraid of the Red Monster then. "Take the pack and leave." That is what I said. All I cared about was the love of my life. No one else mattered. All I cared about was the Alpha. I had no idea back then that the Alpha's role was to protect the pack no matter what. Walid would never stop looking for them.

Walid would never give up until he found his pack. As his Beta I could never give up until I helped him find it somehow.

"So you need to find your pack?" Micko says.

We both nod.

"We know they are in New York somewhere but we aren't sure where," Dakota says.

Micko nods. He takes a moment. He closes his eyes. When he opens them he stares over at me, "What do you love the most?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. What do you love the most?"

I don't need to think about it.

"Walid."

Walid was the love of my life. He was my alpha. I am afraid Micko would be wondering why I was here with Dakota instead of the love of my life. I'd have to tell him that I was the reason the Red Monster got away with my pack. I had to tell him that I was the reason this happened.

"Do you have something of Walid's? Anything?"

I take out a necklace, "I keep this to remind me of him."

Dakota looks at me. I don't think Dakota even knew I had Walid's necklace. He probably would have been annoyed if he knew that was the case. For the last two of the three years where Dakota has stuck by my side he has attempted to make me give up this cause of looking for Walid's pack.

"You'll have to sacrifice it."

"What do you mean?"

"The kind of magic required to do what you want me to do is blood magic," Micko explains, "It requires a sacrifice. You have to destroy the necklace. I don't do blood magic often but for a locator spell it is necessary."

"I'll do it."

"Fine. Give me a few seconds. I need some things."

Micko disappears. I can see Dakota looking at me when he disappears. I know what Dakota is thinking before he says anything.

"You've been carrying around Walid's necklace for three years?" Dakota asks me.

I don't reply. I look pathetic. I haven't seen Walid since he found out I made a deal with the Red Monster. I had told the Red Monster that he can take Walid's pack as long as he left me and Walid in peace. I had done it for Walid. I had done it for love. Walid didn't think of it that way though. Walid felt like I betrayed him.

MIcko returns with all these items and a cauldron. He gives Dakota a sandlewood incense and tells him to light it. Then he turns to me.

"As I name the items put them in the bowl. The entire time keep in mind what you want to find," Micko says.

"Ok."

"Coriander. Bay Leaf. A hint of basil."

"Check, check, and check."

"Snake skin."

"Check."

"Spotted owl feather."

"Check."

"Something of the one you love."

"Check."

"Something of someone who loves you," Micko states.

"I don't have anything else from Walid," I tell Micko.

"You need it to complete the spell..."

"Here," Dakota says.

Out of no were Dakota takes off his watch. He throws his watch into the bowl. At first I'm confused. Micko asked for something from someone who loved me. Dakota doesn't look back at me when I stare at him at that moment. He just stares away trying not to make a big deal out of this. This was a big deal.

Years ago I would have jumped at the chance of Dakota finding me attractive but now...things were different. For the past three years all I cared about was making things right with Walid.

"Your blood is the last thing necessary," Micko says.

He hands me a knife. I look at the knife.

"Blood magic," I state holding the knife up to my finger, "The Red Monster uses it. I never thought I'd be on the other side of it."

"Come again?" Micko states.

"The Red Monster. The one who took Walid's pack from him."

"Your monster uses blood magic?" Micko asks.

"Yes."

Micko gets quiet. He gets very quiet. That welcoming smile that he has starts to fade. Right now I see a witchdoctor instead of a middle-aged stay at home dad. This man's eyes tilt furiously. They darken as though haunted by shadows.

"Genesis."

Just at that moment another man enters the kitchen. The man is attractive. I can't help but to stare hard at him as he comes downstairs shirtless. He is one of those guys who doesn't even need to work at being perfect. He walks behind Micko and grabs him from behind. It is kind of clear that this is Micko's lover. Seeing a gay couple makes me wonder how it would have been if Walid and I had settled down. This couple looked like they belonged together a little bit more than me and Walid. Walid's huge body would have domed over me. If Walid never found out I made a deal with the Red Monster that could have been us.

"Who are these people?" Micko's husband asks.

Micko's face is no longer welcoming. His eyes are bothered. Dark. Scary.

"Genesis has their friends. They want help finding them."

Micko's husband who was looking rather sleepy from probably just waking up now seems very alert. Genesis. The Red Monster. Whatever name he went by seemed to have an effect on these witchdoctors.

"I think it's time you go," Micko's husband tells us.

Micko grabs the knife away from me. He doesn't just grab it away. He snatches it before I can finish the spell.

"What the hell?" I ask.

"If this is involving Genesis. I won't have anything to do with it," Micko responds.

"Please. We need your help," Dakota states.

"Genesis is a member of our coven," Micko tells us bluntly, "I've known him for a very long time. You want my help? Sure. I have some advice; If Genesis has already has your friends then there is nothing you can do."

Micko's husband grabs me by my collar, "It's time to go. Now!"

"Get your fucking hands off him. We're leaving," Dakota says.

Dakota slap's his hand away from me. I swear Dakota looks so pissed right now that he forgets his perfect manners and looks like he is about to go full blown werewolf on these witchdoctors. A part of me wanted to see it. I wanted to know if they would be able to call on their spirits when there was a pissed off werewolf gnawing at their throats.

Luckily enough for them Dakota manages to maintain his composure. He helps me out of my seat and we start walking towards the door. I am about to leave when I just stop.

I see a photo picture. I recognize the son in the picture. The son was the same boy who I had seen earlier.

"You think he just has our friends?" I ask, "Where is your son?"

Micko and his husband look at one another. Micko's husband is the one who storms upstairs. Micko just seems all of a sudden like a deer stuck in headlights. He seems paralyzed and unable to move. I kind of feel bad for him that I had to break the news to him like this. I feel bad that he had to learn through me.

He picks up his phone and dials a number. He does it again and again and again. By the fourth time dialing his husband returns.

"He's gone," Micko's husband states.

"Oh fuck. OH FUCK!" Micko states.

Micko is crying. His husband has a different reaction. His husband looks pissed. He walks over to the wall and punches it.

"That kid is going to be the fucking death of me!" Micko's husband says, "What the fuck? He meets Genesis and within the hour he throws away his entire fucking life to go fight some fantasy war? What the FUCK is wrong with Innocent?"

"Mason, it's Genesis. You know it and I know it."

"Innocent is a grown man now. He can make his own fucking decisions," Micko's husband Mason argues, "That kid has been nothing but trouble. EVEN IN the womb and you know it. Stop defending him."

It's getting heated between the two. I feel bad for standing in on this family argument but I think it's necessary.

"Like father like son, I guess," Micko states.

The awkwardness is getting thick. I feel like whatever Micko meant by his comment stabs his husband deep. I literally see his husband's face spoil like milk left out in the heat for too long. His expression dries up and the anger makes this rather attractive looking guy seem to become one of the least attractive people.

"What the fuck was that supposed to mean?" Micko's husband asks him.

"You are judging Innocent because he is infatuated with Genesis the first day he met him. How many times did it take you to fuck Genesis before you realized you were sleeping with a snake?"

My mouth drops. I am all Team Micko right now. I'm shocked he is calling out his husband like this in front of strangers but they seem have forgotten we were there. The fact that Mason actually slept with Genesis blew my mind too. Don't get me wrong. The Red Monster was attractive in his own away. He wasn't overly masculine like Walid and he didn't have femininity like me. Genesis had this eerie confidence about him that I could see how people could find attractive. He wasn't bad looking. He wasn't a commercial beauty that would be globally attractive like Micko's husband. Genesis had that model beauty. Some people would find his features too striking and unattractive while others would think he was the most beautiful person in the world.

"You going to throw my history with Genesis in my face right now?" Mason asks, "Really? You know what Genesis and I had was more than sex..."

"Even worse. You fell in love with a snake."

My mouth drops again. Micko is going in right now and I'm not ready for any of this. I'm so shocked that I don't realize Mason's eyes getting red. Blood is pouring from the corner of his eyes. The lights are flickering.

Micko's husband is causing this.

"Maybe we should leave," Dakota whispers to me.

He's referring to the lights. It snaps me into reality. Mason is so upset by what Micko is saying that he is doing blood magic. The anger is filling him and it seems like we are not the only ones in the room right now. It feels like we are surrounded by spirits.

Spirits that Mason called to him.

"We can help you," I tell them, "We can bring back your son."

Micko gives me one look, "You should leave. Now..."

Micko has a knife in his hand. I was confused on what was about to go down. It seemed like some sort of magical domestic violence that I didn't understand.

Truthfully Dakota had it right.

Now was about the time to leave.

~

The hotel room is warm.

"We were so close," I state, "So fucking close. Maybe we should go back tomorrow."

"The guy Mason seems like he doesn't want to help us. Neither did Micko for that matter once he found out we are at odds with Genesis."

We are drinking on the patio of a cheap local hotel. I can't get my mind off how close I was to finding out where Walid's pack was.

"Our plane leaves first thing in the morning to go back to New York."

With that Dakota walks back into the room. Usually we get a two bed but today there is only one. He doesn't tell me but I'm thinking it's because money is getting dry. Dakota has taken out a loan to help me. We are struggling financially attempting to find Walid's pack.

I'm surprised when I walk back inside and Dakota takes off his shirt. This isn't Dakota at all. He usually is the kind of guy to wear like three undershirts and stay modest. Maybe Micko's husband rubbed off on him a little bit. Maybe he realized that showing skin wasn't always the worst thing in the world especially when you had a body like Dakota's.

I'm not expecting to see Dakota shirtless. I have the same gawking reaction I had to Micko's husband. He is slim and tall and tight. He lays on the bed and looks up at the ceiling.

I lay next to him.

"New York is a big place," I respond, "We'll never find Genesis."

"We finally agree on something," Dakota states not even looking back at me, "Maybe it's about time we give up. You've tried. For three years you and I have tried to find the lost wolves. Genesis wants them for his war. Maybe when his war is over...he'll let them go."

Dakota sounds so dismissive.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No. We are wasting our lives. You haven't seen Walid in three years. He's been searching for his pack. That's the only thing he cares about. He has avoided you. You think finding his pack will make him all of a sudden love you again?"

The words hiss at me. They are strong.

"You don't have to be here," I tell Dakota, "You could have left a long time ago!"

"No I couldn't have."

"Why the fuck not!"

"Because I love you!"

Dakota's words are strong. They are stronger than I could have imagined. The words just pierce into my soul. I let them linger at that moment and take over my mind. I remember Micko's spell. I remember how Micko needed something from someone who was in love with me.

That person was Dakota.

He begins kissing me. His tongue goes down my throat. He climbs on top of me straddling me. His dick is hard. I kiss him back. I mean Dakota was beautiful. He presses his muscular chest up against my chest. Our bodies seem to almost merge into one another.

His pants come off. My pants come off.

My underwear comes off.

His dick pops out of his boxers. He presses the head of his dick up against my ass. I let out a deep excited moan as he slowly starts to play around the hole. There is no lube but the pressure of his dick up against my hole is making me wet. His kisses are making me wet as well. Soon my hole is loosening letting him slowly get deeper and deeper.

His head enters me. It goes so deep that I let out a moan. He strokes once hard and then twice but I quickly push him back out.

"I can't..."

"I know. Walid is your heart. Walid is your soul. Walid is your Alpha," he says shaking his head.

Dakota taught me how to be a wolf. He knew the rules. I was a beta and Walid was my Alpha. I was bound to Walid forever. This was a stronger bond than marriage. The bond between a Beta and an Alpha was the foundation of a wolf pack. I couldn't just love Dakota. I couldn't just pretend like I wanted something more when I didn't.

"I'm sorry," I state.

Dakota sighs.

"No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the thing about Walid staying away. I know he cares about you. I just get frustrated at times because you've spent three years trying to make him happy. You've spent three years trying to fix things with him. If you gave me a fraction of the devotion that you give to him. Man. Oh man."

Dakota opens the blinds. He's completely naked. I must be crazy turning him down when I see that sexy body. The moon goes into the room. Supposedly werewolves are stronger when there is a full moon. There is only a half moon tonight though.

I don't feel strong.

I feel so weak.

~

I sleep and I dream about Walid. I dreamed about how aggressive he was. No one crossed him. Walid was the definition of masculinity and strength. He wasn't a gentleman like Dakota. He wasn't all sexy like Mason. Walid was this rough, around the edges beast that would come up from behind you and take what he wanted.

I can see him now. I can see the tattoos. My favorite is the one on his neck. I can see his bronze Native American skin tone. He never wears a shirt. It isn't because he thinks he's sexy without one but it's because he doesn't want to be restrained by it.

Walid.

Walid...my alpha.

I promise you. I'll find your pack.

I can almost feel him right now on me. Climbing on top of me.

That's when I hear a scream! It's not mine!

"What the hell?" I ask waking up.

It's Dakota.

"Stay still. Very still," Dakota says warning me.

I'm shocked when I realize the situation I'm in. I'm in the bed with Dakota still but we aren't alone in the bed. Sure enough there was something crawling on me. It wasn't Walid, though. It wasn't Walid's strong muscles stroking me. This was something else. This was something terrifying.

Snakes!

Not just 1 snake. Dozens. Cobras, sea snaked, pit vipers, cottonmouths, copperheads, rattlesnakes and saw-scaled vipers have completely surrounded our bodies. Our bed is covered in them!

I hold my breath.

I stop moving. Tears stream down my face. I was horrified of snakes!

I am having a panic attack. My mouth opens but shuts quickly when I realize a snake could crawl into it.

"Oh my god. Dakota oh fuck!"

"Don't move. They are venomous."

Just at that moment I realize we aren't in the hotel room alone. Someone walks over and flicks the light on. I see the person sitting there.

The Red Monster.

Genesis.

"Don't move," Dakota repeats to me.

I'm having a panic attack but I'm trying my hardest not to run.

"Did you know the decapitated head of a dead snake can still bite hours after death. Because dead snakes can't regulate how much venom they inject, such bites can often contain large amounts of venom," he asks that, "Did you know that Yaser?"

I think about changing to a wolf. I'd never been this close to the Red Monster. I would be able to kill him I was a wolf or at least force him to tell us where the pack was.

"Jesus Christ..."

"He can't save you now. See the issue that we had between us was dead. However like a dead snake you wanted to continue to inject venom. That's not good. You realize you aren't the only one with venom, right?"

The snakes twist around my legs. The scaly skin grinds up against my skin. They are everywhere! EVERYWHERE!

"I'm not afraid."

What kind of blood magic was this powerful to bring snakes to our bed?

Genesis doesn't look over at me, "I never wanted fear. I wanted trust. We had a deal. I take the pack and you get Walid. I wanted trust. Why'd you break your promise?"

A rattlesnake crawls over the other snakes up my side. The rattle makes noise. It makes it's way to my face. It faces me! The venom leaks from it's fangs onto my chest.

What if today was the day I died?

I'm so terrified even though I don't admit it to Genesis.

That's when I notice Dakota move. Dakota the same person who told me not to move has moved. He looks dead in my eyes as though staring into my soul. He's moved just to make sure I was OK.

"How'd you find us?" Dakota asks.

"I know when spells are being cast on me," Genesis states, "And I don't like it."

We didn't finish the spell. Micko or his husband must have finished it.

"We just want the pack."

Genesis crosses his arms.

"Yaser. You've been chasing me for quite some time now. I gave you so many opportunities to just leave me alone. I could have done this years ago. But you keep coming back. Over. And over. And over. Do I look like a joke to you, Yaser?"

"No."

"Then why didn't you stick to my offer?"

He wouldn't understand.

I was doing this for love.

"I'm not going to beg you for my life," I explain.

"You wolves love your pride..."

"Please don't hurt him," Dakota states, "I was the one. I was the one who forced him to follow you all these years."

"We both know that is a lie," Genesis tells Dakota, "I won't hurt you Dakota. You'll be free to go after this. I didn't have a deal with you. You weren't the one who broke your promise. Yaser and I were the ones with a deal."

Dakota's eyes turn to me. He knows what Genesis is saying. I know as well.

"Please," Dakota is begging him.

I look over at Genesis. He isn't the type to be swayed by pity. He never has been. He is the red monster. That is who he is. That is who he always would have been.

"Do your worst."

"Fine," Genesis says, "Make me the bad guy again. I wanted trust between us. We had a deal. You follow me. You attempt to sabotage my war. You go to my coven and you have them cast spells on me. Were you that desperate to make me your enemy Yaser? What did you have to fear from me?"

"Nothing. I don't fear you. I hate you."

"Well then," Genesis nods, "Since we can't have trust. I'll have to settle with fear."

Just at that moment the snakes STRIKE!

Not one snake.

Not two snakes.

All of them are striking over and over and over. There fangs dig deep inside of me. They fill me with their venom. Almost immediately I can feel my body start to turn over. I can feel death coming along. The only thing that I have to comfort me is Dakota.

His hand folds over mine. The snaked ignore Dakota completely. They are just biting me. Dakota is crying. He's daring to move even with all those snakes. He just wants to be there for me as I feel my body fill with venom.

I look over at Genesis.

My throat is closing.

"Walid will revenge me. He will get back his pack and he will kill you."

My chest is collapsing. My vital organs are crashing. Spit has formed in my mouth. I can no longer talk now even if I wanted to.

"Walid?" Genesis asks, "This Walid?"

Genesis walks over to the door and opens it. I'm shocked when Walid comes into the room. At first I think it can't be real when I just see the figure. Genesis is playing some sort of joke on me. This can't be real, but when he gets closer I realize I've been the joke all along.

At this point I can't talk. My body is dying and my mind is going behind it in a matter of moments. I can see Dakota crying.

I should have loved Dakota.

I realize that now.

It's far too late though.

Dakota looks over at Walid, "What are you doing? What the hell are you doing? He loved you. He went up against the Witchdoctor for you. What the hell are you doing?"

Walid looks down on me. There are no emotions.

"I'm joining the winning team."

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