Another scream interrupted Clary’s thoughts as Finnick drained another white wolf. Small fireballs were hitting Clary's face but they didn’t hurt her. The wolf in her hands was weak. When the girl finally stopped moving, Clary released her and watched as she crumbled to the ground. Clary stared at the girl as she remembered what Finnick told her.
“I will only take what I need. When I’m at full strength, you will have an army and I will give it back.”
An army. That was all she wanted to protect them from anyone that wanted to harm them. Though as she looked at the lifeless body on the ground she wondered about the price she was paying. Clary fell to the ground. The power she felt from the crystal was overwhelming. She felt as if she could drown in it.
“You can feel it now. We are getting stronger,” Finnick said. “Maybe one more could put us right at the top.”
She looked at the other bodies lying on the floor. The moment they got there, Finnick had Malachi go and fetch the strongest white wolves. Each one he brought was asleep until Clary drained them. Their screams clouded her mind but she kept reminding herself, ‘It’s for a better future.’.
“If we keep draining them we will have no one left,” Clary said, not hiding her irritation. “Besides, you still haven’t shown me what you promised. You said you could bring them back, yet I haven’t seen you do it. Not once, and what’s the point of having these powers if we can’t use them? And where is Malac-”
“SILENCE!” Finnick’s voice boomed through her mind before appearing in front of her. “Your complaining is starting to annoy me.”
This was the first time Clary felt a bit of fear and his demonic glare didn’t help at all. She looked away, not wanting him to read her expression. She heard him sigh before feeling his ghostly fingers under her chin. She looked up at him stone-faced.
“It hurts that you doubt me so,” Finnick sighed.
"I don't doubt you. It's just time of the essence," Clary said through her teeth.
"Is it," Finnick asked with a hint of playfulness in his voice. Clary scoffed while Finnick laughed. "Relax, great-great-granddaughter. Everything is going according to plan. You will have your army to take down the Alpha King and I will take over everything.” He said the last part more to himself.
“What army? You’re draining everyone here,” Clary mumbled. She was worried. Malachi was still nowhere to be seen, she didn’t have the army she had been promised, and Zira and her gang could be there any minute.
Finnick turned to her with a smile. His eyes were bleeding black as the air in the room started to feel charged. Clary stepped back as Finnick spread his arms as menacing as ever. The power flowed through her body to her fingertips and she could feel something happening as her feet lifted from the ground. The power building up inside burst through the room, sending her back to the floor. It took her a moment to regain her footing, feeling drained.
“What the hell was that,” Clary asked through labored breath.
Finnick smiled and indicated behind her. She turned and gasped. Standing before her was every white wolf she drained, even Drake. Their eyes were lifeless but trained on her as if waiting for her command.
“You…you turned them into zombies,” she said with shaky breaths. “I…I didn’t want this. I wanted them to be alive.” She grabbed her hair in frustration before Finnick spoke to her.
“You wanted an army and that, my sweet granddaughter, is what you have.”
Clary looked at her fellow pack members with remorse and, for the first time, felt this might have gotten a bit out of control. “What’s the point of this if there are no white wolves left to rule?”
“The point is having the power to make sure no one ever treats us like garbage ever again. They,” Finnick hissed, pointing at the soulless creatures, “will help us cement the future we want, or has that changed for you?”
Clary didn’t speak, just stared at the empty vessels before her. It was funny, how she had all this power in her hands and somehow she felt powerless. Finnick felt the hesitation in her mind and appeared in front of her.
“I see the care you have for these wolves, so I'll tell you what. When we take down the Alpha King, once and for all, I will return their souls. They will be…brand new, sorta speak. OK?” Clary smiled slightly and nodded. “But for now we need more warriors. Ones that you're not so attached to. I have an idea. These grounds were a battlefield during my time, so let’s recreate that, shall we?”
He held his hand out for Clary to follow. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but what could she do now but obey? Finnick took over Clary’s body, moved towards the door and the soulless followed her. The moment she walked out the door, she sensed Malachi’s presence. “Excellent,” Finnick said. “Malachi is finally back from his mission.”
Clary frozen. What mission? She didn’t remember giving him a mission.
“That’s because I did,” Finnick said as she remembered if she wasn’t careful he could read all her thoughts. “Don’t worry. It’s a guarantee that the second part of my plan will work.”
Clary walked towards the library, sensing the other white wolves that had gone into hiding when they first arrived. She didn’t blame them. After seeing what Finnick could do she would’ve ran too, but they couldn’t get far. Finnick placed some kind of demon spell on all the doors and windows to keep all white wolves in. Clary opened the library and stopped in the doorway. Levitating in the middle of the room was a pulsating black ball.
"What the hell is that," she questioned Finnick, not remembering if she had something to do with it being there.
Finnick moved her to the ball and touched it. She saw mini white orbs move from the necklace to the balls and she knew it was the souls of the white wolves.
"We just need one more soul in particular and we will have control over all the wolves," he said to her.
Control over all the wolves, Clary wondered until it hit her. "The Alpha King," Clary said.
"Now you're getting it."
Clary scoffed at him. “So what? You're not actually thinking of raiding the Royal Palace.”
“Of course not, dear girl. He will come to us,” Finnick said with certainty, but Clary wasn’t convinced.
Just then, the door to the library opened and Malachi walked in with a woman in his arms. Clary couldn't hide the shocked expression on her face.
“As I said,” Finnick laughed inside her head. “He will come to us.”
*****
Mary and Celeste stood just outside the border of the Lunar Pride Pack. After dropping Arias off with Trixie, she immediately left for the Lunar Pride Pack. They wanted to try to save as many white wolves as they could. So here they were, with no backup and no plan. Luckily, they didn’t have trouble getting in, seeing that it looked deserted. Only the occasional scream could be heard in the area.
“I’m telling you, I can cause a distraction while you go in and grab as many white wolves as you can,” Celeste said, blowing a puff of smoke from her mouth.
Mary was nervous at first about it. Sure, she was used to being a wallflower, almost invisible, but this was different. The moment they crossed what felt like a border she felt something was off. She didn’t know what to expect going in there and these werewolves didn’t know her. She wasn’t sure what to say to convince them to come with her.
“I don’t know, Celeste. I mean, I’m down for some dragon action but we don’t know what we’re dealing with.”
“It’s just a wolf. How scary could she be?”
“A wolf with powers. Who knows? She might have the power to take down a dragon,” Mary warned her.
“I would like to see her try,” Celeste growled.
“Let me just try to get close enough to see what’s going on,” Mary said, rushing through the bushes before Celeste had a chance to say anything,
Mary stood in the shadows of the trees as she made her way closer to the castle. She watched from afar as a werewolf carried a pregnant she-wolf inside the castle. She started to follow when she heard another scream from around the corner. She followed it to a window and peeked inside.
Mary watched as a girl’s body crumbled to the floor to reveal another. This had to be Clary. Clary stood there looking at the bodies lying on the floor while having a conversation with a ghost. Not long after, Clary started to float in the air and a wave of power was released from her. In horror, Mary watched as the bodies on the floor rose. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening and didn’t have time when one of them popped up in front of her face.
Mary hightailed out of there. The eyes alone had her spooked. There was nothing there, expressionless. She made zombies, Mary thought, as she made her way back to Celeste.
“Celeste, Celeste! You won’t believe what I just saw-”
Mary stopped as Celeste held up her hands and she noticed they had company. Werewolves surrounded them as the Alpha King made his way through the line. The energy she felt from him made her whimper and bow down. He was pissed.
“Where is my mate,” the Alpha King growled, staring daggers at them.