They have a couple of hours of peace and quiet. They hear the approach of the stranger before they see or hear them. The footfalls are controlled in the way only a disciplined, experienced warrior can be; very unlike their pack, or most of the humans in the area.

Jamie actually notices first, the idle curiosity and then mild-but-growing alarm winding its way into his emotional profile alerting Alex before he even hears the footfalls. 

...Confused? He offers his brother over their bond.

Uncertain, he gets back. 

Alex moves to get between him and the stranger, and Jamie pushes himself up into a position more suitable for defending himself or escaping. 

Now that they're paying attention, they notice the other oddity; the sound of something else striking the floor, just a bit before every step. They see him, then; the alpha of the visiting pack, his cane tapping the ground ahead of him.

"I hope I'm not intruding upon a private moment."

Alex just continues watching him warily for a moment, choosing not to give the obvious answer to that question. 

"What do you want?" He asks after a moment, tone not quite hostile but not exactly welcoming, either. 

"I found myself curious, Mr. Starr. Your pack doesn't seem to think highly of you, despite your unique talents."

"What gave it away?" He asks, a little sarcasm sneaking into his tone. Jamie starts directing some distracted concern at him, so he shifts a bit to ease the pressure on his still healing knee. "What do you mean, 'unique talents'?"

"You and your brother seem very close," he says, as though it's an answer. "It's an uncommon sort of bond, Mr. Starr. You can hardly expect to hide it from everyone."

...Well, that's some threatening yet ambiguous phrasing. Though, that being an answer to his question definitely suggests that he's talking about their packbond, not anything else. But how could he have noticed that in such a short time when they've managed to hide it from almost everyone else? 

"What do you want?" He repeats, hackles now firmly up. 

"Nothing you don't want yourself. The two of you have a rare gift, and I don't want your alpha wasting it."

"You want to help us," he says, suspicious. "Just because of our empathic bond?"

Jamie steps up a little closer to him, emotions turning more curious than wary. Alex's head turns towards him just the slightest bit, the question he'd ask in this situation coming to mind pretty easily. "What would you consider 'not wasting it'?" He adds for him.

"His plan seems to be allowing his talentness, slavering sycophants and psychopaths to wear you down until he decides he's bored with you. You'll find my proposal much more appealing. Tell me, what do you know of our pack?"

He's not wrong. 

Well, there's the obvious thing, which is just about all he knows: "You're all alphas." 

"We are," he acknowledges. "Are you the type to wonder about that? Do you ask questions, Mr. Starr? Do you imagine a world where you and your brother don't live under the thumb of a petty tyrant?"

"Of course I do. I'm not one of his broken toys." Not yet, anyway.

Jamie steps part of the way out of his shadow and squeezes his arm. "We'd never be able to kill him," he muses a little distantly, his words so quiet as to be almost inaudible. Not Davin, or any other alpha either. If they're all alphas, it stands to reason they'd need to be as well. 

"What if I could grant you the strength needed to break free? There's much more you can do, with the right teacher."

"The strength to defeat an alpha? That doesn't sound like something anyone would do for free. What would you want in return?" 

"Oh, I don't know, I think you boys can guess. What does any werewolf want?"

"...Most of the ones we know seem to want power," he says after a moment. "To be able to do whatever they want. Or at least enough to stop other werewolves from doing whatever they want to them." 

"An alpha draws power from his pack, Mr. Starr. And mine consists only of alphas."

"You make us alphas, and you have more alphas in your pack. Mutually beneficial." Jamie concludes, voice still quiet but more audible now. He doesn't really believe that's all, but it seems to be the answer the strange alpha is driving at. 

"Now you're learning. Are you willing to do what it takes to be rid of this millstone before it sinks the both of you?"

There's a pause as Alex considers his own and Jamie's feelings on the matter. Then he nods, slowly.

"What exactly would be needed?"

He lays out the plan. One of them will need to kill the alpha, of course. This one will then need to kill all of their betas, excepting the other twin. Then, with Deucalion's help, the alpha can transfer just enough of his power to his twin to make him his heir while retaining his own status.

"I'll leave the specifics up to you. Weighty decisions require time. Tomorrow, at midnight, we will meet here again, and I will begin your instruction, or accept your refusal. Don't dawdle, though. Discuss."

With that, he walks away.

...They discuss. 

Alex has... qualms. Alex has a lot of qualms. If it didn't have to be all the betas that would be one thing - plenty of them deserve it. Some of those would probably even consider it a relief. None of them are as bad as their alpha, but a lot of them try. 

It's a really big pack, though. A lot of the betas just try to do what they're told and keep their heads down. Just like the twins do, but... with considerably more success, without the alpha's eye on them. Some of them have offered a little help, here and there, when they thought they could get away with it. (Sometimes they were right. Often they were wrong.)

Jamie offers to do it. He doesn't have Alex's issues with this. Jamie would do worse than a spot of mass slaughter to get the two of them out of Davin's hands. 

No. Allowing Jamie to do this would be just as bad as doing it himself. Also... of the two of them, Alex is the one who's likeliest to be able to actually pull it off. He's a better fighter, has less long-term damage, and the alpha's less likely to decide to drag him off on a whim at any given moment. 

...That's true. 

"Doing this would hurt you," Jamie points out. "Really... really badly."

"Not doing this will hurt me, too," he points out in return.

"Maybe... we could just... say we'll do it."

"...You can't lie, Lex." Jamie can lie even to werewolf senses, if he frames the lie to himself correctly. Alex can't even lie to humans. Gullible ones. More to the point, Alex doesn't lie.

"I'll just do it," Jamie says, not leaving room for argument this time. "With training, and alpha power, I should be able to." So long as he's not wrecked at the time.

"Jay-"

"Mom told us to keep each other safe. This will keep you safe. You can hate me for it if you want, but I don't want you hurt anymore. I don't want to hurt anymore, either."

"...I won't hate you." He'll hate himself for not stopping him, more like. 

Jamie knows. Jamie will take 'Alex hating himself for not stopping him' over 'Alex broken by Davin' or 'Alex broken by killing innocents'. He's practical like that.

They're back in the clearing again the next night.

They detect the alphas before they arrive, of course-

-both of them.

He keeps one hand on the other alpha's arm. It could be a quelling or stabilizing gesture.

"Starrs. Do you have an answer for us?"

"Yeah. We'll do it." His voice is louder and steadier today, and all of his focus is on the two alphas. 

Somehow he wasn't expecting two of them, even knowing the pack is made up of multiple alphas. He watches them warily. 

At Deucalion's words his hands tighten into fists, the slightly-sharp tips of his nails digging into his palms. Still, he nods jerkily in time with Jamie's response.

"Brilliant. Let's start with introductions. Starrs, this is Ennis, a longtime friend and trusted enforcer. Ennis, these are the Starrs, whose unique gifts are being wasted by an alpha whose personal proclivities blind him to reality."

"I hear you're looking for an exit strategy. We can help."

"Blind to reality," Jamie considers this, eyes going distant for a moment before refocusing. "I s'pose so. At least... he lives in a different one than most people."

"Mm," he agrees witha sharp nod.

"Yeah, so he said," he says in response to Ennis' words, mouth twisting. "I'm Alex," he adds, "And my brother's James." 

"Let's begin with the strategy. This Davin seems to have three major factions within his pack: the sycophants, who believe he'll spare him, the sadists, who think they're like him, and the cowed, whose bravery and compassion have been ground out of them. We need to destroy all of them. Which of you can kill without compunction?"

"I can." 

Alex doesn't speak, but his nails actually start to break through the skin of his palms. 

"Are you certain? There's also the concern of playing to type. If your alpha is expecting you to be the twin he needs to watch more carefully..."

He turns to Alex.

"Have you ever killed before? There's no shame in it; most werewolves have killed at least one sick or dying human during lean times, and in a pack like yours, I can imagine far worse scenarios."

His face scrunches up a bit, "I've killed," he says shortly. 

"We both have. First when Davin took over all the packs around here, and they didn't expect a couple twelve-year-olds to be as vicious as we were, and some more over the past two years, usually when someone attacked us." He pauses. "We've both tried to fight him before, of course. We don't anymore, though. If we fight him too hard he'll take it out on the other one." He rocks back on his heels, thinking, "He expects either of us might try to kill him if we had an opening. He knows how fear works. He doesn't leave them, though, usually. Guards he knows won't turn on him when he sleeps, and he's too strong for us when he's awake."

"And he wouldn't expect either of us to try to kill the whole pack."

"Why do we need to kill all of them?" He asks abruptly, "The 'psychopaths', sure, and some of the 'sycophants', but the 'cowed' wouldn't hurt anyone if they could avoid it."

"You'll need the power. What do you think will happen when other packs hear there's a vacancy? Your alpha has built himself quite the empire here, keeping the whole place to himself. Nature abhors a vacuum. The power an alpha gains from destroying their pack, though...all three of us know what that feels like. It's what makes us superior."

"I don't want power that comes from the deaths of innocents."

"Lex, we already talked about this-" 

"No, Jay, you made a decision. I- I can't-" he shakes his head roughly, backing away, his eyes flashing gold and features starting to shift.

He steps between Deucalion and the beta.

"Watch yourself."

"Now, there's no call for that. If you think you can survive on your own, so be it. May the consequences to you and your brother be upon your head."

Jamie gives the alphas an assessing glance and then steps up to Alex and grabs his hands, catching his eyes with his own. 

"We won't survive on our own," he says, staring Alex down. "Lemme break this down. We refuse and stay: we almost certainly all die eventually anyway when Davin gets tired of his current material, goes looking for more, and attracts Hunters. If not, we all look forward to a lifetime of torture. We refuse and run: same thing for everyone else, and even if Davin doesn't catch us - which he probably will - we'll be omegas, and most Hunters consider that fair game. We accept: at least we live, and escape, even if no one else does. We can't help them, Alex, we can only help ourselves."

Hesitantly, he adds, "I know you don't weigh stuff like this, but can you say I'm wrong?"

"...No. But it's not right to make this decision for them."

"I don't care. You know I don't care." 

Reluctantly, a little guiltily, he adds, "You know you can stop me if you really want to. If you'd really rather we keep on like this..."  

They just stand there feeling mutually ashamed for a moment, if for different reasons. Then Alex nods and lets go, turning back to the alphas. "Okay," he swallows, "There's too many betas for one person to kill, even if he is an alpha. Too many for two people, even, especially if one of them is still a beta."

"We'll all do our part. This is about freedom, Alex. The only true freedom comes when your oppressors are dead."

They discuss the plan. Deucalion is not a trusted ally of Davin's, but he is a suitable distraction. A new player on the field, keeping Davin's attention off the twins and on the new threat. Deucalion is a tool to stoke Davin's interest and ensure complacency on other fronts. Ennis will insinuate himself among the betas; clumsily enough that Davin sees it as an attempt at diplomacy, and not a way to place one of their strongest assets during an all-out brawl. Jamie will kill the alpha, even if it takes a bit of help.

And Alex will guard him. Jamie will strike the final blow against the alpha, but there will be others with him - there always are. They fight better together than alone, anyway, and the point of this was to use their bond, wasn't it?

Indeed. Ideally, Ennis can convince some of the betas to go for a hunt with him, while he and Kali help the twins with the rest of the pack- and, if necessary, Davin. In the meantime, they need to cultivate trust.

"You know the man better than I. What is his greatest weakness?"

"Arrogance."

"He thinks he's perfect," Jamie clarifies. "He's good at reading people and at planning for all reasonable situations but... If he's really not expecting something, he'd panic. He doesn't expect anyone to out-think him, or really ever beat him." 

Nod.

"Ennis and Kali can play to their strengths. Ennis will play sympathetic and loyal ally to the betas, and Kali will play skeptical but reliable advisor to the alpha. Davin won't question them, because that's how they really feel- despite what they're willing to do. The real challenge, perhaps, is you, Alex. Davin will see through to your real intentions better than he can the rest of us. You're too simple- at your core, you're an honest man."

He looks to James.

"What does your brother need to perform this role?"

He tilts his head to the side, paying attention to Alex's emotions for a moment, and then thinking.

"His emotions are conflicted enough Davin might not be able to get an accurate read on what is being planned, but... he might be able to tell we're planning something with you based on how Alex looks at you. Or at least that there's been some sort of interaction he didn't know about." He hums, "I think you'll need to come up with a reason to spend time around him when Davin does know about it."

Nod.

"How likely is he to accept a somewhat prurient motive to avoid inquiring more specifically? Alternatively, Kali or Ennis can mention that he reminds me of myself, from a simpler time, which provides a convenient psychological explanation for my fixation, and might justify any unusual behavior on your brother's part."

"That could work, yeah." 

"I remind you of yourself." Alex repeats, disbelieving. 

"He was different, before."

"Dangerously naive, to the point where every alpha around me, every one of my betas, could see it. So few challenged me, of course, as long as I had the power. It was when I found myself vulnerable that I could finally see the world for what it is. I hope that you learn that lesson sooner than I did. You will, in order to earn your freedom."

...Alex has been pretty damn vulnerable in his life. Frankly, he's never had much power. He somehow doubts Deucalion has ever been as powerless as he and Jamie are right now.

And still, while he knows the world is shit, he also believes that most people deserve better. The world isn't fair, but it could be. 

Jamie hums, tasting his brother's continued disbelief, and then nods, "Yeah, that will definitely work." 

"I should make an appearance. Your alpha will likely be expecting us soon. I'll find time to speak with you both again, when it seems appropriate."

They go.

Tolerating this alpha is one of the most difficult things Ennis has ever been asked to do, but it's Deucalion asking; he does it without complaint.

He turns to look at Deucalion when they enter, the attention of the beta he was speaking with following his. 

"Deucalion," he greets. His eyes flick to the other alpha, "Ennis," he adds, before turning back to the leader of their pack, "I trust your visit has been pleasant?" 

"Yes, I must say that it has. It's so rare that we find a pack with such an established local presence. Well done."

He chuckles, "All it takes is a firm hand, clear lines, and the will to see it done. As I'm sure you know," his eyes alight on Ennis again - he's incredibly curious, but he doesn't ask. 

"We understand that. Isn't that right, Ennis?"

...nod.

His eyes are on Davin, but his body language suggests that he's entirely focused on Deucalion.

"Loyalty can be a tricky thing with betas. I've found a balance that works for us."

"Quite so." His gaze leaves Ennis, "You make me wish I'd heard of you before I absorbed all the packs in the area. If I'd known it was possible to lead other alphas... well, it seems a tragic waste, now." 

"Quite a shame. I would have liked to see what you would have done with us."

"I should be joining the betas."

The distrust and dislike of Davin are obvious in his face and his bearing.

"No objections from me. I was hoping for a more private conversation with their alpha."

"As you will," Davin nods at his beta, "You as well, Victor. We'll conclude our discussion later."

He watches Ennis as he and Victor leave, interest and a little admiration in his gaze. "You do good work," he tells Deucalion once they've left the room. "And with such interesting materials..." he trails off, setting the topic aside. "What did you wish to speak about?" 

"The length of our stay. We had planned only a day or so, but I find myself interested in watching the...progress...of your own projects. I think we both share an appreciation of art."

"Oh? I would be pleased to host you longer in that case. Which project caught your eye? Aside from the overarching one involving the whole pack, that is - I gather that's what drew your attention here in the first place." 

"Yes, your pack has been quite the conversation ender. We changed our course entirely when we started hearing the rumors. I'm specifically curious about those twins- one of them somewhat charming, the other more prickly?"

His gaze sharpens, "Ah, yes. James and Alexei Starr. My... pet project, you might call them. Well, the elder one, at any rate. James is interesting - his endurance started high and has only become greater with time, and his recovery rate is impressive, so long as he has his brother. It would be simple enough to break both if I started with the younger... but one does need to challenge oneself now and again." 

"Fascinating. I admit, I was drawn to Alexei myself. I suppose we do prefer slightly different materials, even if the final product is similar."

He doesn't glance at Ennis, as that wouldn't do him much good. Better not to let on how sharp his senses are. Besides, he's thinking of Kali; he wonders what Davin would make of that story.

"I suspect our favoured methods might differ as well," he agrees. "I would be interested to see what you would do with him. Unfortunately, any significant damage to the one is likely to greatly affect the other..." He trails off, considering this.

"I would prefer to keep things simple, for now. Just observation. I wouldn't want to interfere with your work on Jamie. If that ever changes, I will let you know."

Nod. "That solves that dilemma, then. You're welcome to stay longer, and to observe as much as you please. Please do let me know if anyone is... impolite." He is not deaf to the complaints some of his betas have been making, the past couple days. Their nerves are understandable... but he believes he has a good enough read on this alpha of alphas to feel comfortable with him in his territory, for now. It's so rare that he meets another master in the art he practices, after all. And one who is so interestingly fractured himself, at that...

"If anyone is impolite, I promise not to blame their misbehavior on you. Your work is much broader in scope, so I can forgive the lack of depth. I look forward to seeing what your more dedicated efforts look like."

And with that backhanded insult (for he can't help but compliment the other alpha, even when he's trying to seem dismissive), he takes his leave.

He's taken aback for a moment, the start of a frown visible on his face as Deucalion turns away, but by the time he's left the room he's started chuckling quietly. 

(If the way he looked at Ennis was a little admiring, he watches Deucalion leave in complete fascination.)

Meanwhile, Deucalion indulges his own fascination. Training Alexei is an exercise in patience. The boy's spirited determination and suspicious distrust of him make their work more challenging. Deucalion enjoys the tension, constantly brewing. When it's reached a fever pitch, come time to dump it on the unsuspecting pack, he suspects he'll enjoy the burns- metaphorically. Most of the deaths will be by claw.

It becomes clear fairly quickly that Alexei is better at this than James is. Despite their identical faces, the younger twin is taller, fitter, and better fed than the older, and more than that, he has a talent for combat, often understanding and incorporating new tactics into his fighting style on the fly. He clearly enjoys it, as well, much as he distrusts the instructor. 

Jamie's focus makes up for a lot of his lack of talent, in comparison to his brother. If he weren't learning alongside him, his progress might seem fairly impressive. As it is, he's clearly the weaker combatant. He does take in Deucalion's more questionable tactics more easily than Alex does, however, seemingly unbothered by the immorality of them. 

Working with James is easy. With him, he finds a sort of simple comfort that he hasn't felt in years; someone who understands him and who is working with him. It's almost like trust, if not for all the stark differences.

Alexei holds promise, but his quibbles about morals will need to go. Luckily, they have time.

Ennis befriends the betas. Most of them are interesting enough. He finds that he can get along with most people; he'll hate having to kill them, but he's killed people he likes before, in service of his pack.

Davin observes. It's clear that Alexei and Deucalion are interacting outside his view, but he's hardly surprised by that. The young beta's clear distrust is entertaining. He wonders if Deucalion intends to do anything to change it, or if he'll hold to his stated intentions.

The man did say he was staying to observe Davin's own projects, however, much as Alex is also clearly a draw. Eventually he turns from amusing himself with watching that situation play out, and back to his own work.

And thus, one afternoon, neither twin shows up at the clearing where they have been meeting. 

...well. He sends Kali to entertain Davin, as they usually do when he's with Alexei. Davin has long since puzzled that out, which will make it less suspicious when they finally move. Ennis is with the betas, as usual.

He looks for Alexei.

He's made some effort to be difficult to find, but Deucalion has some advantages most lack. He'll eventually come across him hidden curled up among the roots of a large tree not far from the clearing where he'd met them originally. He appears to be in a lot of pain, despite being physically unharmed. 

"Get up, Mr. Starr. We need to save your brother."

"-I. What?" He shoves himself up, staggering a bit when another wave of pain-terror-stifledpleading hits him from Jamie's side of the bond. 

"This nonsense with Davin has gone on long enough. We had planned for James to be the one to do this, but I can't leave him with that man any longer. I imagine you feel more strongly about that than I do. We should move now."

"I cant-" he stops, voice faltering as he tenses up with the next wave.

...He can't kill Davin because then he will have to kill the betas. But. Deucalion is right - he can't leave Jamie in there. Not now that he has the ability to help him. But the betas- but he was going to stand back and let Jamie kill them anyway- does he care more about not getting his hands dirty than he does about his brother- no, but maybe he should care more about dozens of lives-

His agonizing grinds to a halt as Jamie gives up suppressing the pleading and reaches out for him. He's said before not to listen to him when he's like this, but in the current situation- 

It tips the scales. 

Still gritting his teeth from the pain, he nods at Deucalion. "Plan?" Or is this more of a 'rush in and kill him before he kills me' sort of situation. Honestly, he'd be good with that.

"We won't need anything that sophisticated. I can grant you a share of my power- make you my heir. All you have to do is be worthy of that trust- in an even fight between you and Davin, I trust that you'll win. I'll be there if you need any help in those final moments."

"...Okay," his tone is very tense and clipped. He tries to push aside the distractions in his own head to focus. "How do you do that."

"Stand still. I'll scratch you lightly with my claws. You'll feel the pain for a second before I can take it away. You should feel a noticeable increase in your strength- and if we're quite lucky, in your side of the bond with your brother. You'll be better able to handle what comes from his mind to yours."

Hopefully. He doesn't need his newest recruit crippled instantly, before they've killed his slaver.

-he nods. After a moment, he holds his arm out in offering, clutching the branch he's using for support a little tighter with the other. 

He scratches his newest beta.

The pain is, as promised, light. The feeling of power coursing through him...that, unexpectedly, is intoxicating. Not enough to impair, but enough to distract.

Deucalion has no interest in compromising the boy's memory, but he likes knowing how easy it would be.

-the shift is involuntary. 

On the plus side, he's not being nearly overwhelmed by Jamie's emotions anymore. It's hard to tell if this is because of an increase of control of the bond, or if it's because of the surge of fury that overtakes him alongside the increase in power. 

...a surge of fury that Deucalion feels as well, echoing back at him over the new bond that just formed. Alex is too distracted to notice it, trying and failing to get a handle on himself, but it is very obvious on the other side.

What was his mantra- he can't remember it- 

The branch he's holding snaps as his hand tightens into a fist around it. He growls, going tense as a bowstring about to snap, all his mind occupied by the need to get to Davin and Jamie right now.

"Patience. Not long now. You will have your chance, Alexei. Let me bring him to you. A gift. You will finish him, and avenge his countless abuses against your brother. Not long now."

He adds just a bit of a growl to his voice. It's a challenge, from one alpha to another; the newest part of Alexei's mind will respond to that, looking to impress and intimidate him in return. Pointless posturing, but useful for control in this moment. Besides, he won't need control for long.

Patience does not come easily to Alex, even when he isn't struggling like this. An enemy alpha, one he hates and is disgusted by, has what is his. He doesn't want the man to be made a gift for him, he wants to deal with him himself. 

Deucalion is standing between him and the easiest path out of the corner he'd holed himself into earlier. He advances towards him, still growling.

"Get out of my way." 

He can work with this. Alexei will come to heel when he realizes what he's done. Deucalion will work on easing his path forward.

He leaves the alpha to his work.

-Deucalion and Alexei are coming towards the rest of the pack too quickly. Ennis works on getting the betas as far from Davin as possible.

Good. Once the other alpha is out of the way, he sets off through the woods at a run. 

Despite Ennis' work on getting the betas away from them, there's still a few around when he reaches the outskirts of the compound. Most of them are smart enough to recognize the difference in him and scatter out of the way. Some of them, however, are idiots, or let idiots do their thinking for them. 

"Well, if it isn't little Lexei," one of the more deranged ones coos as he makes for the house from which Davin rules. "We were just about to come looking for you. Have you finished cowering in your hole early today, puppydog?" 

He doesn't even look at her. "Where is my brother," He demands, his flat tone underlined by a growl. 

"Davin's got the little bitch in his rooms. Why, do you want to join him?" She stalks forwards towards him, a crazed, hungry look in her yellow eyes. "He doesn't like to be disturbed, you know," she giggles, knowing this from personal experience. "Why don't you stay with us, instead?"

"Why go all that way," a heavily scarred beta agrees, following on her heels. 

"-Carina, wait," interjects a slightly more observant sycophant, having noticed something off about Alex's eyes, "I think-"

His thoughts come too late. Scowling, Alex lunges at Carina, far, far faster than she had been expecting - she just barely manages to slip back from the swipe of his claws and avoid getting her throat entirely torn out, receiving only a single deep scratch on the underside of her chin instead. Now on the back foot, however, she isn't so lucky a second time - Alex's next swipe, aimed at her belly, carves right into it and sends her screeching to her knees. 

The more observant beta makes a run for it, but the scarred one makes to attack him, managing to leave a set of claw marks along the arm he raises to block. Alex snarls at him and slams a fist into the middle of his torso, sending him wheezing to the floor next to the other beta. Then, he keeps moving - they're out of the way, and thus no longer important compared to his actual objective. Into the house he goes. 

Ennis goes to town. Tearing through some of the more annoying loyalists and psycopaths is very cathartic. He can't wait to be done with this pack. Alexei and James deserve to be free of them. They're almost pack. He can feel it just like he can feel the blood dripping off his face.

Kali stays close to Alexei. Any betas that try to interfere past this point will fail to get past her.

With his recent increase in power, Deucalion is a hair behind Alexei.

That's not why he falls behind when the other alpha arrives. He wants to make sure the boy finishes this himself, or he'll lose his chance.

Davin arrives just as the party reaches the large, open room on the first floor, where large scale meetings take place. He's clearly just come from wherever he's keeping Jamie - he smells of blood and sex, his hands, arms, and bare chest splattered with blood, and his fingers coated with it. His eyes scrape over the three alphas waiting for him when he arrives, assessing. He makes a small, surprised noise.  

"-I should have expected this, shouldn't I," he realizes, his eyes landing on Deucalion. The trio of betas he'd collected on his way down make for Kali while he speaks, but he ignores them in favour of the other two.  

Alex doesn't wait for an answer, having already been moving to attack him when he'd started talking. 

Davin is older, calmer, and while not a gifted fighter like Alex is, he is an experienced one - enough so to hold Alex off while also keeping some of his attention on the other people in the room. He plays it very safe, for now, doing his very best to minimize the amount of energy he spends on the newly-made alpha, taking as few scratches as he can manage and aiming for blows that will wound but not kill his opponent, hoping to shut him down without killing him. 

"What have you done with him?" He directs at Deucalion after a few moments, a little breathless, "What alpha did he kill... unless, no, you did something else, didn't you?" 

"I'm tempted to draw this out. I almost admire you."

Every werewolf in the room except perhaps Alexei can detect the lie. He's not even trying to hide it how much he admires Davin.

"I am sorry, for what that's worth."

It's not his kill, but he's here. One wrong move from one of the betas or Davin, and he'll use his natural (earned, ill-gotten) abilities to squash any hope of survival.

Alex growls, pushing himself to raise the ferocity of his attacks, his vision going pin-pointed as he discards all the surrounding distractions to focus on his target. The ease with which he appears to be fending him off infuriates him, and he channels that rage into the fight. This has a more... obvious effect than it really ought to. As his anger grows, his movements start having effects on the environment, the concrete floor cracking under his feet. A single blow connects with Davin's arm while he's distracted by a sudden upswing in fascination due to Deucalion's transformation, producing a loud cracking noise as it breaks at the point of impact. 

Davin staggers back, sharply cutting off a howl of pain before it can go on too long. 

"You won't change your mind?" He calls to Deucalion as he dances out of the way of the follow-up blows, voice tight with agony, "Think of what we could do together, alpha of alphas! I offered you this one already, though the complications would need to be resolved-" he has to stop to focus fully on Alex at this point, as the tempo of the fight reaches a new level, the young alpha fuelling his attacks with his fury at being ignored. 

"Have you ever heard the fable of the scorpion and the frog? I know my mind, and my regrets are nothing compared to the swathe of destruction you would have wrought if I allowed you to come too close. Perhaps I'll show you."

It'll earn Alex a moment of reprieve and give him a few scratches that might not heal, but it's worth it.

He gives Davin everything-

-the youthful idealism that led him to trust a hunter, of all people, despite the warnings of cooler heads-

-the excruciating pain as his eyes were removed, and the dull throbbing that subsided weeks later-

-the hopeless, heartfelt moment of vulnerability at his beta's side before the betrayal, the attempt on his life-

-the rage, the fury, and the destruction of his entire pack at his own hand, only possible due to loyal Ennis, who was willing to do the same if it meant Deucalion's loyalty, which he could promise without having to give-

-the months of seduction and insinuation, manipulation and intimidation, until Kali finally admitted that she was afraid, more than anything else, that her credibility as an alpha would be lost the moment her relationship with her emissary came out and the thrill of joy he felt when he made her worst fears come true-

-he completely loses track of the fight, turning to stare at Deucalion with wide, enthralled eyes. If his goal was to be a distraction, that goal has been met. If his goal was to drive the man to actual tears- well. The sum of Deucalion's life experiences might be the most incredible gift he's ever been given. The man might as well be the walking, talking proof of Davin's ideals. Suffering so extensive it breaks the core of who you are, allowing power and greatness - true beauty - to shine through. 

"Beautiful," he breathes-

-and then Alex drives his claws into his back. 

He chokes, hand coming up to clutch at his heart. Alex jerks his hand up once, tearing him open further - he gasps, a spray of blood leaving his mouth - and then retracts his hand, stepping back to let him fall to the floor. 

It's beautiful. He shouldn't be admiring the way the man dies, he thinks. He should be grieving the loss of that potential, or preparing to comfort Alexei when the remorse hits, but...he watches the blood, and Davin's face.

Kali works to clean up the betas. She's hungry.

It's not a slow death. If it had been a beta who tore open his heart, it might have been, his healing attempting to repair the damage. The damage came from an alpha, however. His healing doesn't stand a chance. A few more seconds of life is all he has as he bleeds out on the ground.

...his eyes are on Deucalion when the light leaves them.

Alex stares down at his corpse, perfectly still, mind blank with shock, feeling empty as the vast majority of his anger deserts him, leaving only echoes. The room is silent, aside from the sounds coming from Kali's direction.

Kali leaves the bodies when she's hard her fill. There's one more thing to do.

"Do you care what he do with his eyes? I always take them."

She directs this to Alexei; Deucalion knows what she's planning on doing.

He jerks a bit when she speaks, his head snapping up to look at her. 

"...No, I don't care what you do with him." He pauses, head twitching in the direction of Davin's rooms, where Jamie most likely is. He grimaces, but- 

"...Leave his heart," he amends. What's left of it, anyway. He'd left it a bit shredded. 

"Just the eyes. There's what we do to survive, and what we do because it matters. I always take their eyes."

So she does. It's messy, and she supposes, sacrilegious, but that's why she picked her name. They taste awful, of course, they always do. It matters.

"Your brother, Alexei. Is he alright?"

His voice is gentler than it has any right to be.

He watches her, blank faced, only looking away when Deucalion speaks. 

-right. Is he? He- reaches out, over the bond, eyes going distant and unseeing - he couldn't do that before but it seems obvious now.

Jamie is... not actively worsening. His primary emotion right now seems to be confusion. The fury from Alex's side of the bond, Davin's urgent rush from the room, and now the feeling of his brother pressing against his mind had jolted him into tense awareness. Now that there's a lull the exhausted low-grade pain-fear-reaching is rising again, however. He reaches back to Alex's presence, though his 'grip' doesn't go beyond the confines of his own mind.

Alex turns his attention back to the room he's in, "He's alone," he reports. "Hurting." Obviously. "If anyone is guarding him they haven't entered the room." That could change, however. He shifts on his feet, and begins to make his way to the door leading farther into the building. 

"Do you want privacy, or do you need us to provide the exit strategy sooner rather than later?"

"I'll help Ennis with the betas. Good work, Alexei. I'm proud of you."

She slips out.

He stares after her, more than a little bewildered by the praise.

"-exit strategy," he repeats after a moment, "For Jamie? I want to- see how bad it is. But then, yeah. I want him out of here." He won't be leaving anytime soon, he knows. The next of Deucalion's demands dances on the edge of his mind, but he shies away from it mentally, focusing on Jamie for now. 

Davin's rooms are through that door and then up a short flight of stairs. Alex leads Deucalion through the apartment to the bedroom, stalling for a moment outside the door. He has less bad memories of this room than Jamie does, but that doesn't mean he has none. 

(Frankly, his instinctive reaction to it is a bit more pronounced than the memories account for.)

Deucalion taps the door with his cane forcefully enough that it opens. He stays back.

He twitches away from the cane when it passes him, startled. The door opening gives him the impetus to step inside, though - that and the scents coming out of the room. The same as the ones that were wafting off Davin when he'd come downstairs, along with a faint hint of ozone. 

Alex makes for the bed, stepping lightly. "...Jamie?" 

There's a lump on the bed. It shifts when he speaks, and alarm winds its way into the emotions Alex can sense from the other end of the bond. 

"...Lex?" Jamie's voice cracks on the name. "Shouldn't be here- will be mad-" his words definitely don't reflect his feelings, which might as well be crying out for Alex, begging him not to leave. 

Alex climbs up on the bed and reaches out to touch him. 

"...It's fine, he won't be coming," is all he says in response. 

He curls toward his hand immediately. It's difficult to make out in the dark room, but there's definitely a significant amount of damage, all of it healing very slowly. Still, he's conscious enough to squint up at Alex and realize something is- off. 

"What'd you... do?" He asks, apprehensive. 

He's not going to intrude. It does remind him of a moment just after he had gone blind, when he sought out comfort from someone he trusted- he suspects that Alexei won't learn his lesson here and now, though. This loyalty is unshakeable.

"...Killed him." And he doesn't regret that at all. 

It takes Jamie a moment to process that - and another, longer moment to connect the dots. He makes a small, wounded noise, "Alex-!" He glances past him, just making out Deucalion in the darkness, "You- I was going to-" he struggles up into a Half-upright position, ignoring the flare of PAIN all over his body as slowly healing bruises and burns protest and a number of cuts reopen, "This is just the same as any other time, I would've been fine!" Eventually. 

"There was something I could do to stop it, this time. I couldn't not take it." 

"But now- the betas, Alex." He's still looking at Deucalion. What will he do if Alex refuses? Nothing good, he's sure. 

He smiles slightly.

James is young yet, but he'll make a good alpha one day. He already has the instincts for it. It's only the loyalty to his brother that might need to be challenged- but they have time.

-yeah. Choices. They have very few, here. 

He looks back at his brother, "Alex."

He looks up - being confronted with the reality of the next step had hit him hard. He's not sure he even has that in him-

"All those betas- they did nothing. They stood back and watched while we suffered for years. Some of them even helped, took their fear out on you because they knew Davin wouldn't care-" 

Alex grits his teeth - he has a moment where he knows what Jamie is doing, on the precipice before his anger flares up again, and maybe he could stop it but-

He has two choices here: the betas lives, or his and his brother's. It's hardly a choice for Jamie - of course not, it never is, Jamie chooses them over everyone else every time. For Alex, though-

It's a question with no right answer. But even as he chooses not to stop Jamie from continuing to speak, fanning his anger at the betas' inaction, he knows he will regret this for the rest of his life.

Jamie curls his arms around Alex's neck and keeps whispering to him, listing out all the little moments when someone could have done something, anything- all the times they hurt them when Alex was vulnerable- all the people who turned their faces away from two kids out of fear. The betas they grew up with, their mother's friends, who won't even look at them anymore.

He keeps going for several minutes, carefully judging the emotions on the other side of the bond- and then he whispers one last name. A place to start. The coward who let the wolf in the Esche pack's door in the first place.

-Alex pulls away from him and strides purposefully out of the room.

Deucalion steps aside. Through their bond, he conveys his pride in Alexei.

He steps inside to tend to Jamie. He, like any alpha worth his salt, can do more than take away pain: he can heal.

He watches Deucalion approach, tired and more than a little hostile. He- can't keep it up, though. Literally, without Alex's support he sinks back down to the bed, shaking a little from the effort of holding himself up for so long, his eyes going half-lidded and the anger draining out. Alex has more than enough for both of them right now, a burning inferno on the other end of the bond.

"...This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I would have accepted it if it went the other way. He would have learned, eventually, how dangerous compassion and idealism can be. I am sorry it happened this way- his recovery will be slow, but he will heal."

If he's lying, James can't rely on his scent or heartbeat to find out. He'll just have to trust his instincts.

"I knew it was dangerous, letting him have that. That's Alex, though. Caring about people, wanting the world to be better- Davin took so much from us, I didn't want to let him take that, too. I thought, as long as he had me, I could do what he couldn't. That's the point of me."

"He needed to learn this lesson. I can promise you that he'll thank us for it in the long run. You know your brother, but I know what it feels like to have that worldview shattered- and I know how he can climb out of this pit of despair. I've done it myself."

"Don't want thanks," he mumbles, "Want him to be safe and strong and - free..." he trails off. He's so tired...

"Just rest now, Mr. Starr. You have a new pack now, and we plan to take much better care of you than your last one did."

He can probably pick him up, unless he resists. He moves slowly, giving James plenty of time to insist on walking if he'd rather cling to false pride.

If Jamie ever had any sort of 'pride', it's long left him by now. He doesn't make any attempt to walk, though he does tense more than a bit, watching Deucalion warily through slitted, bleary eyes. 

Not that there's anything he could do if he decided to hurt him, but...

He carries him. The remaining betas may try to attack, if they wish. He wouldn't advise it, but they won't be asking for his opinion.

The tenseness continues for a few moments... and then he relaxes, curling into Deucalion's arms and pressing his face against his shoulder. 

He rests. 

As he does, he dreams. 

He works his way through the - his? - betas in something of a fugue. His anger is so powerful he's passed fury to a state that has more in common with serenity than ire. He doesn't, actually, start with Archer - the man who sold them out to Davin. He runs into other betas while tracking him down, and, well, they're all fair game. 

He gets to him eventually, though. He, or one of the other two alphas working with him, get to all of them, eventually. 

Eventually, someone goes down, and he can't hear any other targets. He stands over the body, vibrating with energy, craning his ears and sniffing the air for any sign of anyone else. There's no one.

It's then that Ennis approaches. He smells different- but clearly like pack.

"Time to go, Starr."

-the betas smelled like pack, too. Sort of. There is something different about this one, though. He sniffs at the air again, making a low noise of confusion, and steps towards him. If Ennis lets him he's going to get right up in his space, actually. 

Pack- but not- pack means an alpha and betas, that's familiar. This is- something else. Still pack, but- not. Pack, but more. There's not the trust bound up in giving yourself over to control- that's what pack means- they're both alphas. The only trust here comes from this. The choice. The delicate balance of power, the familiarity with each other- knowing that they are traitors to their instincts, to their nature- Ennis smells wrong to him in the same way Deucalion and Kali do.

That's not a werewolf; that's something else. Something like him.

Like him. Oh. 

He looks around them, taking in the carnage, slowly coming back to himself. Oh. 

Oh god.

"I-" he stops. His eyes catch on a nearby body- Lyle Eaton, he remembers him beckoning them into his house, several times last year, before he was caught and the kindness stopped- he remembers killing him, remembers the way his flesh gave way to his claws when he teared into his chest with strength greater than even an alpha has right to-

He looks down at himself - he's covered in blood, hands and chest and throat, remains of his clothes splattered and soaked with it. His face feels sticky with it, and he's sure it's in his hair as well, and now that he's noticed it he can't smell anything but, he can taste it in his mouth-

He lets out a choked, horrified sound, staggering back from Ennis. He trips, losing his footing, and falls next to another body - he doesn't want to look but he can't stop himself, he doesn't know this one's name but he remembers her too, she never looked at them but she never hurt them, either, and he killed her- she was trying to run-

-here, a former Esche who couldn't bear to look at what had become of Lyra's sons, his throat torn open by Alex's teeth- 

-there, one of the betas who hunted Alex when Davin had Jamie, Alex hated him so much, thought he deserved death, but who is he to decide who deserves anything when he's killed so many who didn't-

-she gave Jamie a sketchpad once, in the early days, before she went a step too far out of line and Davin took her. She came out different, vicious, loyal to the one who broke and remade her, she'd gone for his throat when she saw the red in his eyes, so he'd returned the favour- Jamie still has that sketchpad, the drawing of Emilie's smiling face on the first page-

-he thinks of Jamie, thinks was it worth it?! Was it?! But how can he ask that, when the other choice was their lives, how could he even think that it would have been worth it to trade his brother's life for all of these- Jamie would never have hesitated, Jamie didn't hesitate when the choice was put before him, and he loves his brother just as much as his brother loves him, he knows, he has the bond as evidence, how could he have done anything less?

He's become a monster to save his brother, but it was worth it, right? It was. 

It has to have been. 

His pack is here for him.

He... appreciates it. 

"...Where's my brother," he asks distantly, voice quiet. 

"With Deucalion. Come. It's time to go."

He crouches on all fours, prepared to run. They have places to be.

...Alex follows. 

They regroup. It's not hard to find an elderly person living alone. They acquire the house.

Deucalion brings Jamie most of the way there himself, although he stops running as soon as he senses Ennis.

"Walk the rest of the way. You have not fully healed, so Kali will respect that. You want to court her respect rather than the alternative."

The change in Deucalion's movements had woken him, and he blinks around, disoriented, taking a long moment to process his words. Wasn't he just- was that a dream? Did he just dream Alex' memories? That's never happened before. And the contents - he'd known, intellectually, what he was doing, riling Alex up and sending him off like that, but actually seeing it- feeling what he'd felt- 

Jamie has a lot of practice at forcing himself to do things while in emotional turmoil and physical pain. Despite his whirling thoughts, the rising guilt, and his injuries, he slips out of Deucalion's arms and manages to stand fairly steadily. 

-Ennis and Alex arrive, at about this time. They're just a bit slower than Deucalion.

"Ennis, Alexei. Glad you could join us. Come along, all of you, inside. I'm proud of how well you comported yourselves today- especially you, Jamie."

He begins walking towards the house.

Jamie's only half listening. Most of his attention is on his brother, blood soaked and shell-shocked, staring at him in turn. He has enough attention to spare to hear the praise, though. He averts his eyes, then, avoiding Alex's gaze, torn between guilt and - tentative pleasure. 

Alex is moving to meet him before Deucalion even speaks. He registers those words halfway through- along with the guilt- 

He remembers, suddenly, the words Jamie whispered to him, carefully targeted, to remind him of all the worst aspects of the people he'd killed, to make him forget, in the moment, their reasons, the good they'd done when they could, the way they'd all had a knife held to their throats- 

Normally he'd be able to consider the circumstances surrounding Jamie's emotional manipulation.

Normally, all the fury at their treatment would not be enough to make him murder dozens of people. 

He growls, low in his throat, eyes on Jamie. 

"-Alex?" 

"Control yourself, Mr. Starr. You're a human, not merely an animal."

Is he, though?

(He disregards the order.)

"Alex. I-" he stops. "I messed with your head. I'm sorry. And..." he looks away, "I'm not sorry." Both are true. He's sorry that it was necessary, but... his brother needs to live. That's his first priority, because anything else he wants for him can only come if he's alive to have it.

...this does not help. He stalks forward, herding Jamie up against the wall of the house, pressing him against it with clawed hands - one at his shoulder, the other over his heart. He continues growling lowly, eyes intent on Jamie's face, the tips of his claws digging into his skin. "You manipulated me. You lied." 

He tenses up, eyes flicking to Deucalion- and then quickly away. This is his mess, he needs to deal with it. 

"...Yes." He closes his eyes, hiding the beta-blue, tipping his head back and relaxing under Alex's hands. "Nothing in the world matters as much as you being alive. I already said, you can hate me if you want. Kill me, if you want." 

The hand over his heart tightens, claws drawing blood. Jamie winces, just the slightest twitch, but he doesn't move. He means it.

"...do you really want to, though?" He whispers. 

...he presses his face into Jamie's throat, squeezing his eyes shut. No, he doesn't want to kill him. He doesn't need to kill him, either. He's just- so angry- 

He rips himself away, claws leaving bloody rents in Jamie's chest as he tears them loose, and stalks around the house and out of sight. 

That's fine. The pack can wait for Alexei to come back. Ennis knows exactly where to find him.

They work out sleeping arrangements: Kali and Ennis together, Deucalion alone, and...

"You're welcome to share either room, if you don't believe you and Alexei can spend the night together."

If the boy even comes home. His fit of idealism and self-hatred may last longer than one night; his certainly had.

He looks up from the still lightly bleeding claw marks in his chest - alpha wounds, probably going to scar in his experience - and shakes his head, "We can share." He'll want Jamie with him, if he comes back tonight.

He nods. They can make themselves scarce. Ennis will want his full attention for a few days, and he's happy to provide.