Cynetic Wolf
A WORK OF ART

I didn’t believe in god, but this man exceeded even the most sadistic of demons.

The posh well-lit bedroom looked straight out of Dante’s Inferno, a bloody mosaic covering the king sized bed where a beautiful pale woman lay lifeless. Her throat was slit, a gory kitchen knife to one side. There was blood everywhere; rich crimson splattering the milky carpet below, and a bloodstained message on the walls: You did this. This is ALL your fault!

I bent, retching. It was more than I could take.

Backing out of the room, I called Henk. The smell was putrid, burnt flesh and blood-soaked fibers mixing with the explosive exhaust fumes.

After a quick check of the apartment revealed nothing else, I stumbled out the door and downstairs, ears ringing. Ten more dead. Waves of guilt.

“Really?” he asked in disgusted disbelief.

I nodded, unable to speak and climbed in.

He stifled a grimace and took off. We were sixty seconds from being debris ourselves.

Henk took us through some crazy maneuvers on the ride back. We were worried about tails, but twenty minutes later, we were back at the farmhouse without incident.

Zedda and Caell ran to meet us. Without speaking, we trudged upstairs, everyone silent, processing what happened.

They’d all be questioning my leadership, questioning my morality, questioning me. And they were right. Who was I anyway? Why’d I think I could do this, take on Calter? It was one failure after another. Hopeless, I sank into the chair next to Ganla. No one said anything. The tension was palpable, everything left unsaid. And it was all my fault...

The rest of the afternoon was awful, and Calter had Frankis and Zedric.

Zedda found me not long after. “Wanna talk about it?” she asked, face somber but eyes kind.

I shook my head, but that didn’t help. Everything came pouring out. I couldn’t help it. Feeling like an impostor, letting Fitz and Lars down, failing as a leader, being a fraud... All my doubts and fears flowed out, wave after hopeless wave.

She said nothing, waiting until I finished before putting her arms around me. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, holding me tight. “I love you, Raek.”

Wrapping my arms around her, I held on for dear life. She was the one thing grounding me, my rock, and I was crumbling. Tears came and I let them. Rubbing bleary eyes, I murmured, “I love you too!” Staring into her eyes, alone and desperate beyond belief, I knew without a shade of a doubt, it was true.

She smiled, and I felt a bit better. That small gesture, that little reassurance… it meant the world.

Then the call came in. I hurried downstairs. It was time.

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