"If it weren't for your alliance with the damn Hunters, they wouldn't have to come here in the first place!" Amdis snapped.
Ethan's head snapped toward Amdis, shock rippling through him. The Hunters? What did Amdis' father have to do with them? Thoughts raced through his mind. Had this man, once a powerful Vampire Lord, been the cause for all this mess.
"It was the best decision for our people," Draven argued.
"It turned us into slaves to those putrid human fanatics," Amdis retorted.
"You don't understand having something taken from you and the threat of that looming to repeat itself," Draven said.
"You made sure that I experienced it by taking away Devanna, didn't you?" Amdis hissed, causing Draven to frown at Amdis.
"It was for your own good," Draven said firmly.
"No. You went against the Moon Goddess by defying her blessing," Amdis hissed.
"She is not my goddess," Draven replied.
"You continue with you blasphemous actions. How low do you need to be brought before you realize that you are mistaken about everything?" Amdis snapped, his frustration evident.
"I feel we're missing some important context here," Garrett told Ethan telepathically.
Ethan cleared his throat and said, "I hate to interrupt this family squabble, but we do have pressing matters."
"Was anyone speaking to you, you mangy mutt? I should've ripped your throat out when I had the chance," Draven hissed.
"What are you talking about, you insane fool?" Ethan asked. He had never met Draven personally. Why was he talking to him as if he knew him?
Draven sneered, "You think you're so important, don't you? I remember you well enough, you were just a runt."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Stop trying to distract us from what we came here to do. This isn't about me. It's about what you've done and what you're hiding."
"Ethan," Amdis warned, his tone sharp. "Father, shut up."
"I should've finished the job if I knew what a problem you would've become. How does it feel that your tragedy upbringing was caused by me? You could say I helped you become what you are today," Draven sneered.
"What did you say to me, you piece of shit?" Ethan snarled as he stepped closer. Amdis stepped in front of Ethan to keep him from getting closer.
"Calm down," Amdis instructed, his voice strained.
"You know what he's talking about, don't you?" Ethan snarled. "Get out of my way Amdis."
"Yes, tell him Amdis. Tell him the truth," Draven goaded.
"Your tricks will not work, father," Amdis said, "You stop these games, or I will drag you out to meet the sun."
"Calm down. You do not need this stress. Remember what happened before," Garrett warned telepathically. "We don't know if high emotions will trigger the curse. Try to calm down."
"How pathetic that you would stoop so low," Garrett intervened. "I thought better of you as the former vampire lord."
Draven glared at Garrett, realizing that his taunts were not going to make the situation volatile. He walked back from the bars and sat down on the bench. "What do you want me to tell you to get your filth out of my presence?"
"I need you to tell me about your dealings with the Hunters," Amdis said.
"No. There is information that could compromise the safety of our people," Draven replied.
"You already did that by selling us out to the Hunters. Revealing that information to the Alpha King is inconsequential at this point," Amdis scoffed.
"Fine," Draven spat, his tone dripping with venom.
"Then, let's not waste any time. Who is your contact?" Amdis asked.
"Victor King," Draven answered. Only the twitch of Amdis' eye gave away his true response. Victor King was the leader of the Hunters. Anyone that was not human that encountered him ended up dead. "He entered my room with the use of magic I have never seen before. He gave me an ultimatum- provide subjects for his experiments, or they would take from us."
"So, you chose to hunt down my kind instead," Ethan said in disgust.
"It was the logical step. It was fitting for you animals," Draven hissed.
"There was no way you could've managed that on your own," Ethan said, ignoring Draven's comment. "Who helped you?"
"The Rogue King, Kenneth, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Draven continued. "He was all too willing to help. All those smaller packs were easy pickings."
"Of course it was that bastard," Garrett growled.
"You can only blame yourself. You should've given the she-wolf to him when he had the chance. Perhaps he wouldn't have betrayed his own kind," Draven continued.
"What were the experiments? Why did he need the wolves for?" Amdis urged, his voice barely concealing his disgust.
"To bridge the gap," Draven answered, his speech becoming slurred and disjointed. "He wanted...the blood...hunters were..."
"Spit it out!" Garrett snapped, his impatience getting the better of him.
"Victor King had a vision," Draven muttered, struggling to form words. "He wanted to create... a new breed of... beings. Humans with all the strengths of a wolf. Powerful, unbreakable."
"So, he wanted to create his own super soldiers," Ethan demanded. "Artificial strength would have changed nothing."
"Except it worked," Draven said, "They were mindless beasts, but the experiments were a success."
Ethan hid his shock by turning away. This meant that Kasia was not the first to be turned by the pills. That meant there were other unstable werewolves or lycans running around causing trouble.
"That's insane," Amdis said. "He's creating abominations. Those turned humans will not understand their instincts. This will cause more harm than the good they think they are accomplishing."
"Yes," Draven said, his face contorting in pain. "But he figured out the key to control. Their blood... the magic needed..."
"What magic are you talking about?" Amdis asked.
Draven didn't respond. He stared at Amdis blankly, his face turning red as he began to cough. "Father?" Amdis said in concern.
Draven's body began to convulse violently. Amdis immediately unlocked the cell and threw the door open. He dropped to his knees beside his father, trying desperately to hold him steady.
"Roll him on his side. He's choking," Ethan ordered as he kneeled next to Amdis, attempting to help roll him over on his side.
"No, he's not," Amdis said. He used his nail to pierce his father's skin. The blood that emerged from the wound was an odd green. "Damn it. He's been poisoned. We need to…"
Then, Amdis cried out, gripping his head. Garrett placed a hand on Amdis' shoulder. "What's going on?"
"He's screaming. I can't understand what he's trying to tell me!" Amdis managed to say as he gripped his head painfully.
"Come on, you vile ol' man. You're not going to die on us like this," Ethan said as he brought his wrist to Draven's mouth. "Feed. Purge the poison."
With each shake, Draven's skin seemed to wither and darken, his eyes rolling back in his head. Foam bubbled up from his mouth, blood dripping from his eyes and nose, spilling down his chin as his body continued its horrific transformation.
"Get back!" Amdis shouted, jerking away from Garrett. He pushed Ethan away just as his father's convulsions reached a fever pitch. Ethan stumbled backward as Amdis stumbled away from his father's body.
In a final, gut-wrenching yell, Draven disintegrated into nothing but a pile of ash.