Chapter 24: Anything Is Better Than This

Valene:

It was the day before Harlyn’s birthday before I was able to actually free to assist as Master Wade had requested. Upon leaving his office two days prior, he found that Harlyn was staying with a friend for a few days to figure out some party ideas. I, no doubt, knew that this was just a ploy for her to meet up with Master Talon; something that she did often when she was in high-stress situations. I had no doubts that she’d revert to party planning afterward, however.

To be honest, I was glad to be given a little more time away from the “party planning scene.” Although Master Wade found my skill in planning a gift, it did not mean that I liked doing it. I’d much rather be at a hearing of judgment for whatever actions that I was now being accused of by nurse Betty.

“The-the gopher was in the Alpha’s room acting completely ununiformed! It was disgraceful!” Nurse Betty exclaimed in a shrill voice.

I did not budge from Master Wade’s side as everyone stood around waiting for her to finish accusing me of insubordination. This was already strike two against me as far as everyone else was concerned.

With my gaze straightforward and averted from all of my superiors’, I heard Master Wade groan under his breath. He was bored. “And what is it that she did that was so out of uniform, Betty? “ Master Wade asked.

“It-it was in the corner acting inappropriately! That’s what it was doing!” It, she was using the word quite venemously.

“You cannot even explain what she was doing to provoke you so?” Master Wade hissed.

“Wh-well what does it matter!?” Nurse Betty finally snapped. “I-the gopher was not standing in the corner like it was supposed to! That is what their job is for goddess’ sake! And you!” She snapped. I knew that she was talking to me at this point in her diatribe as her the sound of her voice carried over into my direction. “Look at you,” she snidely growled as from my peripheral, I saw her approach and then she was suddenly right in my face. Still, I did not make eye contact, however. I did notice, however, that Master Wade quickly moved forward to intervene, when I suddenly sighed and turned my head to the side slightly, hoping that Master Wade would catch my subtle gesture. I didn’t want him to intervene.

“You’re treading thin, Betty.” Master Wade said but nurse Betty ignored him.

“Standing there…with your head boldly held high…as if you’re better than anyone else.”

Naturally, I wanted to clarify that my “bold head stance” was based on tactic rather than pride. Could I correct this misinformed assumption, however? Of course not. Not without further accusation of dishonor. So, I stood there in silence and took the verbal beating.

“You’ve already displayed shameful behavior toward your Keepers once! Arguing with Harlyn Wade in front of a room of your superiors! Now you haphazardly entertain yourself while you were tasked to watch over a prominent member of the Inhuman community! You…are all of what’s wrong with the world.”

“I beg to differ,” the husky voice of Master Barbosa finally interjected into the conversation.

Nurse Betty’s aggravated gaze turned toward the one who put her down in the first place. And…remarkably enough, she still was desperate to make him understand that he was wrong for what he had done-that she had more than enough justifiable reason to try and attack me as she did.

“But…you didn’t see, Alpha Barbosa! You didn’t see what it was doing! What this drudge did was entirely disrespectful and surely this…this thing should pay with its life!”

“Well, if it pleases Alpha Wade,” Master Barbosa addressed my Keeper. “I’d like to hear your vassal’s side of things.”

“But Alpha-”

“This is a gathering to judge a vassal accused of insubordination. In such situations, is not the vassal allowed to share their side of things before they are judged? Sure,” he scoffed. “This is under the guise of fairness as they are usually judged based on emotion versus truth. However, I have a feeling that maybe this crowd will be more sensitive to both sides than-”

“With all due respect, Alpha,” Betty cut off Master Barbosa. “I’m already starting to feel a sense of bias.” she said. “You’ve already seemed to assume that this vassal has something useful to add to this conversation outside of what I have to say.”

“First…of all,” Master Barbosa waited for her to finish before he spoke again and when he did, his voice was dangerously low and threatening. “I don’t know if you understand this, nurse…Betty but it is possible for inhumans to be insubordinate as well as humans and you…have definitely been toeing the line.”

“And second,” Master Wade stood from where he sat. “It is your hysterical demeanor that forces me to believe that maybe Valene does have something important to add to this situation.”

“You would say that!” Nurse Betty quipped, steadily digging a deeper hole for herself. “She is your vassal, and you did not even punish her for what she did to your daughter!”

“You are out of line!” Master Slaughter snapped.

“She was sent to the stables for her insubordination and nearly killed while there,” Master Minken surprised me when he actually defended me. “How much more punishment did you expect?”

I didn’t see Master Wade’s expression when the nurse made her accusation but I did hear him laugh. “Valene, let us hear your side of the tale.” I was reluctant to respond at first. I don’t know why. “Go on.” Master Wade pressed.

“On the night in question, Master Barbosa was still weak from the amount of blood lost as well as the poison that nearly took his heart.” I went on to say. “He was resting, and I was anxious so I…I started to train.”

“Train?” Another member of the meeting asked. I wasn’t sure who or what species he was or even who asked as I could not clearly see his face. The only thing that mattered, however, was that he asked the question and that I was tasked to answer.

“Yes, Master. Train.” I replied. “Exercise in forms that train my strength and speed so that I may utitlize these skills when my Keepers are in need of them.”

“Oh please!” Nurse Betty hissed. I didn’t have a direct line to her facial expression but I could hear the eye roll from where I stood.

“But I was very diligent of his surroundings while he was impaired.”

“Then why didn’t you stop what you were doing before I entered the room!?”

“Because I was not aware that what I was doing was wrong, Mistress.” I replied.

“Oh please! Just another excuse to-”

“Enough!” Master Wade growled. “I’ve heard enough of this!” He stood from where he sat. “The truth of the matter is, nurse Betty, I have full entail on what happened that night, and so does Alpha Barbosa. Valene saved his life and she diligently looked after him until he awakened. You, however, as well asthe staff were given a direct order to leave my vassal be and you did the exact opposite. By rights you should be the one under judgment.”

“But, Alpha! I-”

“I’ve heard enough from you, Betty Honer.” He said. “Take her.” As soon as Master Wade made the command, his pack members grabbed her.

“But-but-I’m an Inhuman! Like you! That-that gopher is a filthy human! How could you-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Master Wade whipped past me and suddenly nurse Betty’s choking sounds filled the meeting room.

“Do you really think that our shared species exempts you from being judged for your wrong doing?”

“Bu-but-”

“Let me be clear!” His voice boomed, suddenly in sync with his wolf. “This does not go for just Betty, but everyone in this room and across Shadow Veil! Vassals are human servants and are meant to act as such. I have no rights to how you treat your humans, but I do believe that every creature deserves some semblance of respect if it is owed to them. My vassal, her name is Valene, and she has been a loyal human to my family for many years. Only a fool would disregard her on the word of a bitter she-wolf.”

“I can-I can’t believe this! I can’t believe that you will not even allow me to prove my worth to you! Please! Please let me prove my worth-”

“And how do you expect to do that?” he asked her with clear amusement in his voice.

“You…you say that your human is valuable…let…let her prove it!” she quipped. “Let us see if she really is as useful as you say! If this-this so-called training has paid off!”

“I can tell you with certainty that it has.” Master Wade replied.

“Well then let us see it for ourselves!” she pressed. She was trying to appeal to those around her. Who wouldn’t want to see a human put down by an inhuman after all? And immediately after she said this, the mutterings started echoing around the room. They wanted to see proof of my skill as well.

“You do realize that murmurings will not pursuade me one way or another.”

“Then what proof do we have that this vassal is who you say it is-”

She hardly finished her sentence before Master Wade turned to me. “Valene, this is your decision.” he said.

He should have known my answer before he asked. I bowed to him. “It is your decision, Master Wade, not mine,” I respectfully insisted.

“Well,” Master Barbosa intervened before Master Wade could respond to me. “I’d love to see what it is that this little human can do.”

Master Wade turned his back on me. “Of course, you would, Ares,” he muttered.

“Are you afraid, little gopher?!” Nurse Betty desperately tried to taunt me. “Answer me!” She growled. Master Wade struck her so hard, all mutterings and side conversation stopped.

Master Wade bent down and looked at her. “You are very…disrespectful and I am so tired of it. You are the perfect example of how lax I have become with you all.” He said. It was then that she became docile and finally closed her mouth. “Valene, I’ve decided to allow Betty to prove herself to me. Would you oblige?”

Without hesitation, I bowed. “Yes, Master.” I’d faced far worse than an angered she-wolf before. So, it did not bother me too much in finding that I’d have to defend myself against her. I was concerned about one thing, though.

Before I could step forward, I heard Master Slaughter say to Master Wade. “Are you sure this is a good idea? The she-wolf will most assuredly aim to kill. She draws blood in a crowded room full of carnivores-”

“Tor, I doubt that Betty has the capacity to land a punch, let alone draw blood.” He said. “Let her up, boys,” he announced to those who had Betty restrained.

As soon as they let her go, she sprung up, bruised jaw and all, prepared to come at me. Suddenly, I wished that I was out picking out shimmering lights with Mistress Harlyn and her sociopathic friend.

“How would you have me engage, Master?” I asked mechanically. I needed to center myself if I was to defend against this volatile she-wolf. Even more so if I had to engage without weaponry.

“Without, Valene,” he said, and immediately, I cursed in my mind but I did not display my distaste for the disadvantage.

“She is a little human, Alastair,” Master Barbosa said to my Keeper. “Surely, against even an ill-trained she-wolf she should have a weapon.”

I wasn’t about to readily agree with the Alpha who wasn’t my Keeper. Instead of waiting for Master Wade to ask if I wanted a weapon, I removed my black jacket and stepped forward to prepare for a fight against the angry she-wolf.

Betty laughed-cackled is more like it. Her eyes began to dilate and her fangs began to grow from her gums. “You afraid, gopher?!” She snarled as she began to encircle me like the predator that she was.

“Yes, Mistress.” I readily admitted. There was a triumphant grin on her face when I said this. “Not for the reason that you may think.”

“Hmph!” this wiped the smile off of her face. “Since your Master won’t put you out of your misery, I will do him a favor and do it myself.” I wish she hadn’t said that. She was only making things worse for herself.

Without another word, she swung at me with a speed that I barely missed. When I stood again she attempted to land another blow but her stance was sloppy. I swiftly twisted to the side, balled my hand, and back-fisted her in the face with all of the strength that I had. She stumbled to the side and as she did, I ducked, leg swiping her and knocking her flat on the ground. Before she could get up I grabbed her strong arm and immediately snapped it in two places before following with her fingers next. She would heal but it would take a little more time to heal multiple broken bones. Especially, for one who hardly ever had to use their healing factor.

“Aaagh!” She screamed in pain and she tried to get up, I quickly switched to her other arm and hand, breaking it as well. It might have been her weaker side but it was still significantly stronger than me. Again, she screamed out in pain.

It was after this that I backed away from her. It was only my place to fight her, not end her, and had I gone any further, I would have. “Master,” I called to him for further guidance.

“Alright, that’s enough.” He said, and I was thankful that he did. I didn’t like this.

I stepped back, thankful that he had stopped this further. Whether she wanted me dead or not, I still wanted no part in executing her judgment.

“I’m sure you see now, she-wolf, why my vassal is useful to me.”

Shakily, she attempted to stand as her arms and fingers began to heal themselves. Her glossed-over glare was cornered on me as tears fell from her eyes. She was embarrassed and enraged.

“I…will…kill you!” She growled and immediately pounced, her body shifting as she descended.

A second later, Master Wade was in front of me, guarding me against the she-wolf. With his large hand, he back-handed her so hard that nurse Betty cratered a wall on the other side of the room when she made impact, her body crumbling to the ground.

“It appears that I have gone soft.” Master Wade said with anger boiling in his voice. It was calm, his tone, but…there was suddenly something frightening about it. “It is the only reason that I could possibly think of as to why you have been so blatantly disrespectful,” he growled, Aziz, once again, awakened through Master Wade’s voice. “I do not mind, constructive criticism. In fact, I welcome it, but this-” he gestured toward Betty, who now was in her human form again and completely naked. “Is complete disregard of authority. It’s because of this,” he peered down at her, “that your life will be forfeit.”

She gasped, visibly shocked along with every other inhuman in the room. “You seek to end her life because of a human?” A fellow inhuman asked, though her tone was checked.

“No,” Master Wade replied. Suddenly I was fearful for the female inhuman who asked this question.

Master Wade was a fair and generous Alpha to those of Shadow Veil, but there were times-rare as they may be when the true animal nature displayed itself. He could be as ruthless and cruel as kind. And the sudden coldness in his dilated and hardened gaze was evidence of this.

“I seek to forfeit your life because you all have forgotten,” he growled aggressively, turning to face everyone. “Who runs this territory!”

Suddenly my eyes fell to the floor, and my heart began to race as his dominants began to physically frighten me. I knew for a fact that I wasn’t the only one who felt the heavy weight of his rage.

Nervously, I looked around and noticed that there were eyes on me. Initially, I assumed that it was the newfound enemies that I had accrued just by simply doing what my Master commanded of me. But it wasn’t. It was a moment before I caught myself and quickly averted my gaze before subtly looking away. Fortunately, everyone was too afraid to look anywhere else but at Master Wade to notice my dishonorable gesture.

“Valene.” I heard Master Wade call to me. He pulled me off to the side.

“Yes…Master,”

He approached me and stood right next to me. “Ona dostavit nepriyatnosti,” he said to me. She will cause problems, Master Wade reassured me.

Master Wade only spoke Russian to me when he wanted no one else to know what he had said. Those who did come over from London were few and far between while others were from Southern France. None, however, were fluent in Russian. To be honest, I was surprised when I found that Master Wade was fluent. It was while he taught me the language that he confessed that a woman from his past taught it to him.

“Yest lee u nee semya, uchitel?” I asked, wondering if she had a family. “Oni zakhotyat otomstite.” I knew that if she did, they’d no doubt want revenge.

“Net semyi,” he muttered. “So?” I knew what he was asking me to do and, I…

“Ya — net... ya nay khochu, uchitel.”

“Unfortunately, you must.” he said. “my nay proyavlyayem miloserdiya k tem, kto nichego nay proyavlyayet.”

We must not show mercy to those who show none, that was what he said to me and then I knew that I had no choice. “Yes, Master.” I submitted.

For some reason, something in me could not refrain from shifting my gaze into the distance. There he was, staring at me once again. I looked away and stepped forward. With my blades in my hand, I approached her.

“Izvinite, pojaluista,” I’m sorry, I apologized, holding in the tears as I swiftly slid my blade across her neck and plunged it into her heart.

Yes, I have killed in the name of my master. I was no stranger to it but never had I murdered an Inhuman like this-a she-wolf who was simply a bitter inhuman. She was no threat to no one truly but me.

I asserted a certain dominance over a species of superiority, and I knew that in my doing this in front of the Inhuman faction leaders, it would change my life forever.

As her face paled and her eyes widened, I saw the life leave them, and immediately, unable to stomach it, I looked away and stepped back.

“Take her away.” I heard Master Wade command his pack. “I don’t want to have to go through this again,” he said to everyone. “Disperse.”

Everyone quickly left and after they did, so did Master Wade and me. “Valene,” he called to me. I was too upset to speak. “Are you alright?”

I shook my head, no and continued to walk.

“She would have caused an uprising, Valene, and-”

“How do you know that?” I asked with frustration. “How could you have possibly known that?”

“Two sources,” he said to me. “Both of whom I trust implicitly.”

“So I had to be the one to end her?” I hissed through tears. “I-”

“Yes,” he simply retorted. “One day you’ll understand. You cannot show weakness to those who seek to exploit it.”

“That’s just it, Master Wade!” I snapped turning to face him. “I am supposed to be weak! I am meant to be exploited! I am exploited every day by just…being! And I…I am alright with that-I…I can live with that, but…I do not want to be your executioner in such matters as your own people.”

“I understand.” he simply said. “You feel sorry for the she-wolf who was sook to end your life by any means.” Master Wade took a step closer. “Do you like life, Valene?”

“Yes,”

“So did she. Everyone knows the value of a life-especially their own. Sometimes taking life is necessary, but when one decides to take a life simply because they can…well, that is when the mistake is made. Once you are prepared to cross that line then your morality is forfeit. Today’s actions were a testament to my feelings on the matter. It had to be your hand because yours was the life that she thought she was superior to.”

“That may be logical in your eyes, Master Wade,” I said to him. “But…I cannot help but think…how can you punish a person…who was conditioned to think that way?”

I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. At this point, I just wanted to get away. Suddenly, I would have given anything to be with Harlyn and Penny on their tiresome party-planning excursion. Anything…was better than this.