The Alpha's Progeny [The Alpha's #3]
Chapter 31

MALIK VLADIMIR

“I’m feeling generous here, Malik so I’ll give you a choice here,” Orpheus chuckled as he snapped his fingers, almost as if he expected something to appear out of thin air. “You can save your mate from being offered as sacrifice to Lord Erebus when he rises.”

“What will that cost me?” Malik asked in a gravelly tone, not for once believing that his dad would do him any favours.

“Not much,” Orpheus grinned, even more so when two of his men returned, one holding a pink-bundled blanket in his arms and the other a blue one. “Pick one of these babies,” he instructed Malik, his men approaching him with both the sleeping babies. “If you pick the correct one, I’ll let your mate live. Pick the wrong one and well, nothing will change. She’ll be offered to Lord Erebus upon his arrival just as we had previously agreed.”

“How am I supposed to know which one is the correct one?” Malik growled. “And where did you even get these pups from?”

“Don’t worry your little head about that. Pick a pup and let’s replace out if your mate gets to live or not.”

Malik gulped as he stared between the two pups held in front of them. They were both asleep. One was fair with soft blonde wisps of hair, a little girl. The boy was darker in complexion, sported a full head of dark, curly hair and rather delicate features. Like all babies, they were both precious in their own way.

How was he supposed to pick one? Which baby would save his mate? Neither had all that much in common with Trinity when it came to features so for that reason, he picked the little girl, hopeful that the both of them being of the same gender would be good enough to spare her life.

“The girl. I pick the girl,” Malik spoke loud and clear even though on the inside, he was absolutely terrified. How could he not when his mate’s life hung in balance like this?

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Orpheus chuckled as the men retracted the pups and returned to flanking him. “I actually had the little boy in mind. Oh, well.”

“Do you know how sick you are?” Malik spat at his father, disgusting to be associated with the man. “How could you do this? How could you do all of this? Sacrificing pups to raise a God that’s been locked away for good reason.”

“I always hoped that we would be on the same side,” Orpheus sighed, a forlorn expression on his face. “I always hoped that you would grow up with the same morals and values as me but alas, you’re just like your mother. Weak,” he spat that last part back at Malik. “Just imagine how great it would have been if you were here right now, by my side, sacrificing these pups with me and feeling the power of Lord Erebus as he rises? It would be a feeling like no other but unfortunately, my dear son, you’ve made your bed and now you’ve got to lie in it.”

And with that, Orpheus extended his arms to take the little boy. Almost as if the pup could sense that he was in the arms of someone evil, his little hands began flailing around as he cried out loud. The shrill sound of his cry woke up the second baby and within seconds, the forest came alive.

“How do you shut these things up?” Orpheus murmured under his breath but before anyone could reply, he extended a claw and slashed the pup’s neck; effectively cutting off the sound forever. “Well, that was one way of shutting him up. I just wish it wasn’t so messy.”

Malik didn’t even have the energy to gasp or look away. All he could do was think back to when he had done the same as his dad. Sacrifice an innocent pup in the name of Lord Erebus. He had been forced into the corner, going through with the sacrifice of such an innocent life because he needed his dad to trust him, to not suspect him only to hear that he had never been trusted in the first place.

Just as the life of that pup had been stolen from him, the life of this pup was stolen. He was breathing, happy and content one second and the next, his fate had been sealed when he had been taken away from his parents; from those that loved and cared about him.

Malik was forced to snap out of the daze when the familiar crack of thunder sounded aloud, rendering the forest alive once again. Just like last time, they were blinded by the thunder and when he opened his eyes next, the dead pup was gone.

The pup was that fortunate enough still be alive had quietened down to small whimpers – whimpers that broke his heart even more.

It was only when he felt the salty taste in his mouth that he realised he was crying.

“I can feel him so much more now,” Orpheus grinned, a mesmerised look about his face. “We’re so close. We’re nearly there!” Orpheus and his men cheered. “This is the last one. I can feel it.”

“Let me do it!” Malik announced. When all pairs of eyes in the clearing turned to him, he bent down to press his lips to Trinity’s forehead before gently placing her head on the ground. Rising up to his feet, Malik locked eyes with his dad. “I’ll sacrifice the last pup.”

“And why would you want to do that?” Orpheus snorted in question. “Why would I be stupid enough to fall for that again?”

“I’m not lying this time,” he gulped. “You forget that I’m an Alpha which means that I can feel his power, too.” This part he wasn’t lying about. But instead of rejoicing at the feel of it like his dad and twisted followers, Malik feared that this would be the end. “That amount of power is paralysing. I’d have to be stupid to ignore it.”

A brief moment of silence passed between them as they stared back at one another. The whole time, Malik tried to look as convincing as possible, desperate to save this innocent life.

“I’m glad that you’re finally speaking sense, son,” Orpheus hummed after a few moments. Despite his words, he didn’t look all that convinced. “But as I started all of this, I think it’s only fair that I put an end to it as well.”

Malik opened his mouth to protest but it was no use. In what felt like less than a millisecond, Orpheus had the pup in his arms and his claws extended, a sadistic grin on his face.

“Dad, no!” the words poured out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Let me! Please!”

“Just like I said, weak like your mother,” Orpheus scoffed before he lowered his hands and slashed the neck of this baby.

Malik moved to rush forward but he was flanked by several wolves, using all of their might to hold him back. He tried to struggle and fight them off but it was hard to do so when he couldn’t take his eyes off his dad and the now dead pup in his arms.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment,” Orpheus growled as forced the pup’s head back and dipped his fingers in her blood, enough to coat his whole hand. Mating his grin, a sadistic growl escaped him as he dropped to the ground and began to draw the same symbol on the ground as he had already done to her forehead.

“Don’t do this, dad!” Malik called out to his father even though deep down, he knew it was no use. Deep down, he knew nothing could be done. All of this was way too far gone already and there was nothing that he could do. Not in the last fifteen seconds when all of this should have been sorted out fifteen years ago after his mother’s death.

“Silence!” Orpheus growled out, the sound more feral and fearsome than Malik had ever heard before.

Malik watched in immense fear as his dad dropped to the pup to the ground. Instead of stepping back, Orpheus leaned over the baby and squeezed his eyes shut as he began the enchantments. Malik began sweating and prayed to whoever was listening that help would come soon, that Lord Erebus couldn’t be resurrected now…that there was something that could still be done to stop this but nothing.

He didn’t even have time to finish that thought before the thunder dropped down from the sky by instead of just crackling loudly, it cracked open the ground.

It felt like the ground beneath them was shaking as the crack got larger and swallowed the pup.

From Orpheus’ position where he was leaned over the baby, it was expected that he would suffer the same fate but instead, Orpheus remained hovering in the air.

Even though it was the middle of the day, the sky darkened until neither the sun nor the moon could be seen. If it wasn’t for the ball of dark light that he knew was his father, they would have been engulfed in completely darkness.

All of this time when his father and his men had spoken about Lord Erebus rising, Malik hadn’t realised that they had been speaking literally. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the ground splitting open and the evil God rising from the Earth’s core – no doubt where the Moon Goddess had trapped him all these centuries – and possessing his father’s body.

And he certainly hadn’t anticipated for it to happen this soon.

It was too late. He was too late. It was all over now.

There was nothing more he could do.

-

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Layla Knight

29.08.2021