Chapter 242 - Two steps back (1/2)

”Dude, he gave me something... hurry...” Russ murmured into the phone as he struggled to make his way down the hall.

”Shit, I figured he'd try something shady!” Ry growled. ”Hang in there kid, we're on our way. Keep on the line until we reach you!” Ry said as he motioned to his father and ran from the room. He took the steps three at a time as he made it to the third floor. ”You still with me, kid?” He asked into the phone. He didn't need to hear the reply. Just at the top of the steps, Russ was standing against the wall. He ran toward him, taking the bag with one hand and pulling Russ's arm around his thick neck with the other. ”You need to shift before whatever he gave you takes full effect.”

Russ nodded as he stumbled against Ry's tight grip. ”Should I wait until we're in the room?”

Poseidon reached them just then and tossed Russ's other arm around his neck. ”There's a guard on his way up the back stairs. I'm going to say he's been sent to see Russ out of the palace and probably out of life. We need to get him back to his room as quickly as possible.”

Ry nodded his head. ”You really think Fern would be as daring as to do something here tonight?”

Poseidon's eyes widened. ”F.u.c.k yes he would. It would be the perfect timing. He could swear the kid never made it to the palace. I'm sure his shady dinner guest would go along with it, and he'd probably kill off any of the servants tonight who wouldn't.” He slapped Russ's face with his free hand. ”Come on, kid, stay with us.”

”Can't you shift him into something yourself?” Ry asked as Russ began falling in and out of consciousness.

Poseidon looked around the hall for anyone who could see them. Seeing no one, he quickly zapped them into Russ's room. Releasing Russ, both men stepped away. ”Alright, kid, you have to shift. Bring on the wolf!” Poseidon urged.

Russ nodded drowsily up at them. He began to force his body to shift, but whatever his uncle had given him was making it harder. With one loud, beastly growl Russ forced the alpha form to contort his body. The sound of ripping filled the room, but he didn't care as the thick fog of his brain began to lift. The beast's eyes narrowed on the door as it began to stalk toward it. When a guard carefully and quietly opened the door, the beast caught him by the throat and forced the stout man backward. Once out into the hall, the massive beast forced the guard farther back toward the railing of the beautiful staircase. With a demonic growl, the beast brought its sharp teeth down sinking into the man's throat before ripping quickly away causing blood to spray all around. The beast spat the large chunk of the other man's throat out onto the ground as he lifted the man over the railing and tossed the body to the polished granite tile below.

Three other guards stepped out from the shadows below to gaze in horror upwards. The crimson-stained beast called out in another loud blood-curdling howl before turning away from the railings.

Poseidon crossed his hands over his c.h.e.s.t as he leaned against the wall of the hallway. ”Well, that just happened... Talk about making an impression...” He said as the sound of several doors opening and loud gasps sounded from several floors up. ”I wonder if they signed up for dinner and a show?” Ry sent his dad a stunned laugh as he made his way toward Russ, but Poseidon shot an arm out to stop him. ”Lead him back to the room, I'll force a reversal in the shift once we are inside.”

Ry nodded as his gaze moved upward to the onlookers above them before moving to one set of glaring eyes coming from the third floor. Ry arched his brows as he lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers in a sarcastic wave to Fern. ”Deal with this mess ya bastard.” He mumbled under his breath as he turned his attention back to the beast. He nodded his head toward the bedrooms. ”Come on kid, let's get ya cleaned up.” He said in a low voice as the red eyes slowly began taking on a violet tint signifying Russ's cognitive return.

The beast shot a glare to the many eyes looking down from the open balconies above. He lifted his upper lips over his long canines and growled threateningly at them all before turning his focus back to Ry and following him to the bedroom.

Once inside the room, Poseidon pressed a hand to the beast's forehead. Russ cried out in pain as his body was forced back to normal. ”F.u.c.k that hurt!” He yelled out as Poseidon took a step back.

Poseidon shrugged with a smirk. ”Probably not as bad as having your throat ripped out and thrown over the balcony of the second floor...”

Russ's face fell into a frown. ”Shit...”

Ry walked past him toward the bottle of wine Poseidon had left on the dresser shaking his head as he went. ”You can say that again, but at least everyone here tonight has no doubt as to who the real alpha and rightful king is now. Wasn't exactly the way I'd hoped to bring that knowledge to the people... shit happens, I guess...”

”That bastard was coming to kill me. I could hear him talking to some of the other guards as he was coming down the hall right after I shifted.” Russ spat out.

Poseidon nodded, an impressed arch to his brows. ”So, the form comes with supercharged hearing, nice to know. Does your uncle know about the many abilities of the beast?”

Russ shrugged as he made his way over to the ensuite bathroom. He left the door open as he began running water in the sink. ”I'm sure he does if he was really the first in line to rule. He probably knows better than anyone all the things that he should have been able to do... though, I wouldn't think without actually shifting yourself, you'd know exactly what it was capable of... hell, I'm still not one hundred percent sure.”

”True that.” Ry said as he carried Russ's bag into the bathroom. He arched a brow as he took Russ's blood-soaked hair and clothes in. ”Man, you may be better off taking a full shower.” He lifted a chunk of flesh from his shoulder. ”You still have werewolf guard all over you.” He tossed the chunk into the open toilet with an exaggerated shudder of disgust.

Russ nodded as he frowned into the mirror over the sink. ”You're not wrong there.” He turned a concerned gaze to Ry. ”Will you still be here when I'm done?”

Ry nodded as he rested a palm against the doorframe. ”Yeah, kid, we'll both still be here. Take it easy and get cleaned up. In the meantime, dad and I will go through the papers and books we took from the office earlier.” He waited until Russ nodded, worry still evident on his youthful face, before closing the door behind him.

Russ emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. His body washed and clothes changed, but his face was much paler than when he'd gone inside. Ry arched a brow up at him from over the book he was flipping through. ”You alright kid?”

Russ nodded as he ran his hand through his wet hair. ”Just tired... and a little freaked out...”

Ry nodded his head knowingly. ”First kill? Don't worry it gets easier.”