Rex Pov
I sat on the floor of my new room in the Alpha wing and stared at the silver dagger lying on my desk. I had moved it from under my mattress because the mattress now had a huge burn hole in it from the constant heat the dagger gave off.
The dagger was not burning right now, though. It just sat there looking like a normal weapon. Like it was not the thing that was going to make me kill my best friend in front of the entire pack.
I had been sitting here for two hours just staring at it. Trying to figure out if there was any way to destroy it, or hide it, or get rid of it permanently. But I already knew there was not. I had tried everything, and Yolande always brought it back.
"Pick it up," Yolande whispered in my head.
"No," I said out loud, even though nobody else was in the room to hear me.
"Pick it up, Rex," she said again. This time her voice was harder and more commanding. "I am not asking."
My hand moved on its own. I watched my fingers reach out and wrap around the leather handle. The dagger felt heavy and cold in my palm. I tried to drop it, but my fingers would not open.
"Good boy," Yolande said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Now bring it to your left arm. We are going to practice."
"Practice what?" I asked even though I did not want to know the answer.
"Practice the movements," Yolande said. "I need your hands to be comfortable with the blade. When the time comes, there can be no hesitation or mistakes. Everything must be perfect."
My hand brought the dagger up to my left arm. The blade touched my skin, and I felt how sharp it was. One wrong move and it would cut me open, but Yolande had perfect control. She made my hand move the blade across my skin in smooth patterns.
Lines and swirls and shapes I did not recognize. The blade never cut me, but it came so close I could feel the cold metal dragging across my skin. It was like she was drawing on me with the knife.
"Please stop," I begged. "Please just leave me alone for one night. Just one night where you let me rest."
"I will never leave you alone," Yolande said. "You are mine until the debt is paid in full. Your body belongs to me, your hands belong to me. Soon your mind will belong to me too, and then you will stop fighting."
"I will never stop fighting you," I said.
"We will see," Yolande said. "But since you asked so nicely, let me show you something special."
Everything went dark. I was in a vision again, and I knew what was coming. She had shown me versions of this before, but this one felt different. Like I was actually there instead of just watching.
I was standing in the mating circle with the whole pack gathered around me. Everyone was dressed in ceremonial clothes. The women wore long flowing dresses, and the men wore traditional robes. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and celebrating.
The full moon was huge and bright overhead. So bright it almost looked like daylight. I could see every face in the crowd clearly. I could see their joy and their excitement, and their complete trust that nothing bad was going to happen.
Urdon stood in the center of the circle wearing the traditional Alpha robes. They were dark red with gold symbols stitched into the fabric. He looked happy and relaxed. He had no idea what was about to happen. No idea that his best friend was about to destroy him.
I watched myself walk toward him through the crowd. Everyone moved aside to let me pass. Some of them clapped me on the shoulder as I walked by. They were celebrating me, too, because I was the Beta, and tonight was about celebrating bonds and loyalty.
Vision me was smiling. A big, genuine smile like I was excited and honored to be part of this ceremony. Urdon saw me coming, and his face lit up. He opened his arms for a hug.
"Brother," Vision Urdon said. His voice was warm and full of affection. "Come stand with me."
Vision me walked right into his arms and hugged him tight. For a second, everything seemed normal. Two friends embracing during a ceremony.
Then I watched my hand reach into my robes and pull out the silver dagger. The blade flashed in the moonlight as I raised it up. Urdon still had his arms around me; he still trusted me completely.
I stabbed him in the back while we were still embracing. The blade went deep between his ribs, and I felt it find his heart. Urdon's body went stiff, and his arms dropped from around me.
His eyes went wide with shock and pain. He looked down at the blade sticking out of his chest and then back up at my face. "Rex," he whispered. "Why?"
But Vision me just smiled wider. Then I pulled the dagger out and stabbed him again. Blood poured out of him and covered my hands and my clothes. He fell to his knees and tried to say something, but only blood came out of his mouth.
The whole pack was screaming now. Some people were trying to run, others were frozen in shock. But nobody could stop what was happening because it was already done.
I held the bloody dagger high above my head so everyone could see it. "The curse is fulfilled," I heard myself say in a voice that did not sound like mine. "The debt is paid."
Then Urdon fell forward onto the ground and stopped moving. My best friend was dead, and I had killed him.
The vision ended, and I was back in my room. I threw the dagger as hard as I could across the room. It flew through the air and stuck deep into the wooden wall with a loud thunk. The blade vibrated and hummed like it was laughing at me.
"No," I screamed. "I will not do that. I will never do that to him."