Crossing Paths With The White Wolf
Chapter 81

Kassie POV

"Welcome back to the world of the living Meryl," I said as I entered the cell with my little cart. I noticed whoever had guarded him put his shoes back on and sprayed some sort of scented deodorizer. I tapped his shoe and he screamed. "Oh, I'm sorry, is that the one that lost the little piglets?"

He wisely didn't answer or maybe it was the reverberating pain in his foot making him speechless. Not that it mattered. "Now, we were having a conversation before you so rudely went to sleep," I said and watched as he tried to glare at me between pants. I picked up a little knife. There's zero chance I'm going back to the feet. I'm trying to punish him, not me. "What did you do with my mother's blood?"

"f**k you, I'm not telling you anything anymore. You're going to kill me anyway. You can go to hell not knowing what's happening to you." I twirled the blade in my hands and shrugged, catching him off guard.

"Fine by me. I like hearing you scream." I smiled and tore his pants leg up to the hip on both sides.

"What are you doing?" Meryl asked nervously.

"Don't worry. I'll leave your virtue intact. No one wants to see that." I shuddered. "We're just going to do a little...." I tapped the tip of the knife to my chin to think of an appropriate phrase. "...landscaping? I think it is one of the preferred phrases. Or is it manscaping? Can it be called manscaping if I'm not touching his.....things" I motioned to his groin in disgust.

"I don't see why not. That's what they call it when men shave their legs too," Adrien answered from the other side of the cell.

"Perfect. Manscaping it is." I smiled at Meryl sweetly. I put on gloves because this man hasn't really showered in a week, and frankly, I don't want to touch him and the mess I'm about to make. "Last chance Meryl?"

"F**k you." He spat.

I nodded happily at his response and tightened the leg down more firmly. I took the tip of the knife and dug it a couple of centimeters into his skin until it reached the muscle. I scored the knife up his leg as his screams increased. I did the same a couple of inches to the right and then slowly wiggled the tip of the knife under his skin. Once I had loosened enough skin at the bottom of the to get a grip on the pierce of flesh, I flashed Meryl a smile. "Last chance old friend?" He was breathing hard but still looked pissed. The man hadn't figured out what I was doing yet. When he said nothing, I grabbed ahold of the piece of skin and pulled. Meryl's screams bounced off the walls before they stopped altogether. I looked up and sighed. The a*****e had passed out already. I dropped the long piece of flesh and when I turned back, I saw Theo getting ready with the hose. "Just hang on. Let him wake up a little faster than that."

I said as I put my knife on the other side of the bare muscle and ran it down again to the ankle. I wiggled the knife again and felt him twitch. Old Meryl was about to wake up. I grabbed onto the piece of flesh and ripped it off, smiling as his screams filled my ears again. "ahhh, good morning sweetheart." I winked at him as I disposed of the second piece of flesh. "Are you still not ready to talk?" I asked as I watched him calm down a little. His torn pant legs were saturated with blood.

"You think you're so tough, don't you little dove?" he said calmly a few minutes later, his brain having released enough endorphins to help him manage the pain. My step faltered as the memories threatened to flood my brain. That stupid name he liked to call me. It still disgusted me to no end. His smile widened as if he knew what it did to me. "You feel big torturing a man tied down? Why don't you untie me and we'll see who's got the power here?"

Gonzalo growled but Theo and Adrien laughed. I thought about it a little and decided he was right. It was time for him to know who had the power here. "Untie him, Gonzalo, then leave the cell please," I asked him.

"Kassie, I don't think that's a great idea," Gonzalo said.

"See little dove, even your wolfie mate knows who's got more power," he mocked.

"If you kill him, we won't get any answers." He said, ignoring Meryl.

"I won't kill him," I promised him, even though I wasn't sure I'd keep that promise. Still, I begged him with my eyes. Gonzalo sighed as he pulled a hand over his face and nodded. He removed all the restraints and left, leaving old Meryl on the slat as I picked my knife up waiting for him to get himself up. Poor a*****e was struggling. "Don't tell me you can't even get up by yourself?" I asked.

He winced a few times as he slid his feet to stand. I simply picked my nails while I waited.

"Am I supposed to attack someone with a weapon?" He sneered as he stood, almost slipping on the pool of blood on the floor.

I rolled my eyes and put the knife back on the tray and pushed it into the corner. He eyed it while I walked to the other end. I extended my hand and beckoned him to me. "Well come on. What's your excuse now? I promise I won't touch your leg or foot. Show me what ya got, old man."

His reaction was what I expected. He dove for the tray, grabbing a knife. I heard the others growl but I held up a hand. "Really, what happened to showing me your true power? How disappointing."

"You think I'm going to go one-on-one with a vampire? I know you can turn your fingernails into claws. Your teeth get longer to bite."

I gave him a disgusted look. "You think I want to bite you? I'll catch something. Gross." I pushed myself off the wall and began walking toward him. I let my eyes flash to scare him. "You think a simple knife will stop me? You think it will do anything to me?" I elongated my nails and dug them into my palm, letting the blood flow, and he watched as it closed faster than he'd ever seen. It's something I noticed while training after I marked Gonzalo. I have his healing speed on top of mine. I walked forward again and he scampered backward like a beetle. "You think I even need to touch you to hurt you?" I said as I let my power out and compelled him. I drew it back enough so he could react to what was happening without him being able to oppose me. "Kneel" I hissed. I felt him trying to fight off my light compel but he was so weak-minded. He knelt in front of me like a good little puppy. "Carve a K on your arm," I ordered.

His face changed as a look of horror overtook his features and his right hand began to carve his left arm. His screams grabbled as he tried to say no. "None of that. Don't scream." I told him. I could still hear him scream in my head as he fought me weakly. I tilted my head and looked at him again, "How about you remove another strip of flesh? Just keep going where I started." I instructed. His pleadings in my head got louder but I said nothing. I just waited. He couldn't resist my command. I saw as he began to strip pieces of his skin off with a shaky knife, often digging into the muscle. Suddenly, the pungent smell of bowl release hit my nose.

Kassie POV

"Stop. Seriously?" I said as I tried not to gag. My sense of smell had also been heightened since I marked Gonzalo.

I removed the compel and he didn't even try to stand. He just whimpered and begged for mercy. I was honestly disgusted at this point. This wasn't even worth my time.

"Look at you. You're covered in s**t and tears, begging for mercy when I haven't even warmed up. You really are a poor excuse for a human being trying to play god for decades to soothe your pathetic ego. You're an even worse villain. All these years, remembering the pain of the serum coursing through my veins. I thought you broke me. I thought I was weak because I was captured and used. I thought I was broken by a monster, but looking at you now, I see how small you are. You're not a monster, Meryl. You're the bully that tries to kill the ants with a magnifying glass because no one wanted to play with you at recess. You're not worth the rage I've had for you for over 20 years. You're not even worth killing."

I walked over to the tray of tools, feeling like something had been lifted inside me. Meryl had nothing for me. No answers I wanted, no vengeance worth my soul. I picked up a pair of shears. "All it's going to take to break you and make sure you're never able to play god anymore is a few..." I opened the shears "simple..." I closed the pliers to make sure that he heard the sharpened blades scrape against each other. "quick snips" I finished and grabbed his hands, careful not to step in his pool of blood and s**t sliding down his legs. I removed each finger to the knuckle until all that was left were stumps. I dropped him back on the ground and walked to the cell door.

"I'm done with you, Meryl. After I leave here tonight, you will be nothing more than a footnote in my past. You don't matter. You're not anything. It's time for you to get to know what an Aztec Jaguar Warrior can do to his enemies. I've heard they can be quite ingenious." I walked over to a chair and sat while Theo and Sebastian strapped him back onto the table, while Gonzalo hosed him down.

"Want to grab some air? We'll come back in a bit." Adrien asked. I nodded and walked over to Gonzalo. I kissed him and he nodded at me. Understanding that I needed a moment outside.

We walked over to the same bench Gonzalo and I had sat on just a couple of days ago. "Feel better?" He asked after a few minutes.

"I feel....free," I said. It was the best way to describe what I was feeling at that moment. I thought I would feel sick to my stomach for the things I did to him, but I didn't. He deserved it. Not only for me, but for every person he has made suffer and killed in the decades he's been working for the rogue. I no longer cared if we got answers. Something in my subconscious kept telling me it didn't matter what he said. It will all change after the full moon. It was time Meryl died so we could all move on to the actual monsters of this story. He was just a distraction.

"When do you start therapy?" Adrien asked.

"After the full moon" I answered him. We had already scheduled them with the psychologist.

"Same," he said, and I looked at him. He shrugged when he noticed my stare. "I figured it wouldn't hurt after my little number the other night. Time to work on our baggage because, baby, we are home." He sighed happily as he put his arm around me and we just sat there in silence for a while. We heard a roar from behind as the door opened and closed behind us. We turned and saw Elias coming out at a sprint. He looked and found us and ran forward faster.

"Kassie, you need to come with me." He said quickly.

"Did he say anything?" I asked him.

"Nothing useful, but he insinuated..." He looked uncomfortable. "He insinuated he raped you, and Gonzalo lost control. Helios is trying to calm him down but he's going to tear him apart." He said, and I understood the urgency.

"s**t. Meryl wants to die and he's going to get it. I won't let him die like that. He doesn't deserve that honor," I said as I used my speed to reach the holding cells again. I walked into pure chaos. Helios and Sebastian are holding Gonzalo back. Meryl is still strapped to the table but it's currently sideways on the floor. I pushed into the cell and stopped in front of Gonzalo. His eyes were black and brown. They were both present and they were pissed. "Lalo, Dario. Look at me." I put my face into his field of vision but it was as if he was looking through me.

"Let me go!" They growled at Helios.

"He didn't touch me that way. Lalo, please. Listen to me. He's lying to you. He beat me, he tortured me, he experimented on me, but he never touched me that way." I cooed. I kissed his face softly until he started to calm down slightly and then tried again. "He never touched me. He wants you to kill him. He is lying to you."

"He deserves to die. If Gonzalo doesn't do it, I will," Dario panted before he kissed me and receded.

"He needs to die." Gonzalo was still raging.

"Yes, but not on his terms. On ours," I said softly. Helios and Sebastian let him go and he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. He buried his face into my neck and inhaled deeply. I let him breathe his fill until I felt him relax a bit more.

"I'm sorry." He finally said as he hugged me tighter. "We're sorry."

"It's OK." I hugged him back.

"Alpha, can we have a quick conversation outside?" I asked. I was done with this.

"Of course," Helios said as Elias entered the cell to help Sebastian right Meryl's bed.

I grabbed Gonzalo's hand and took him with me. Once we were outside, I grabbed him, pulled him in and put my hands on his face, and kissed him hard. He responded by wrapping his strong arms around me and kissing me back, plunging his tongue into my mouth and growling appreciatively. I pulled back and he whimpered, making me chuckle. I turned to look at Helios, who had his back to us to give us some privacy.

"You can turn around now, Alpha," I said, only slightly embarrassed that I'd done it in front of an audience. Helios turned around and tried to hide a smile but failed miserably.

"What did you want to discuss?" He asked.

"I think it's time to stop playing with Meryl. He doesn't know anything. He's useless to us," I said simply.

"What about your seizures?" Gonzalo asked.

"He has no clue. Even if he tells us what's in the serum, it won't give us answers. I want to be done with this. I want to move on from it. We have bigger fish to fry. Gavin, Armand, and my mother," I explained.

Helios and Gonzalo think for a bit before Gonzalo sighs and puts his arms around me again. "If that's what you want, I will support this. But I want to have the last moment with him first. I don't want you to be the one to kill him." "But I don't want you to kill him," I insisted.

"No, it needs to be me." He shook his head at me.

"Guys..." Helios tried to cut in.

"I don't want you to deal with my problem. I can do it. I can handle it," I told him.

"Guys..." Helios tries again.

"I'm your mate. It's OUR prob-"

"GUYS!" Helios yells.

We both stop and look at Helios. I started blushing, realizing we were squabbling like an old married couple.

"Neither of you needs to kill him. I've some Gympie-Gympie. You can each choose the body part you like the most and it will take care of the rest."

Gonzalo's eyes lit up at the thought, but I was confused. "What's Gympie-Gympie?"

"I'll go get it. You explain." Helios said before he jumped away.

Gonzalo looks at me and grins, "You're going to get a kick out of this."