My Werewolf System

Chapter 1807  The Choice of an Alpha

All three werewolves stood frozen, their eyes wide as they blinked several times in rapid succession. The reality of what they had just witnessed refused to settle into their minds. The medallion, the very thing that had been their only hope, only to be shattered moments ago, had been fixed right in front of them.

What was even more unbelievable to the pack was the fact that a vampire had been the one to do it. And not just any vampire, but Rowa, the one who had consistently been the most annoying and arrogant out of the three they had encountered.

Rowa didn't linger on the moment. With a casual flick of his wrist, he threw the medallion back through the air. Kai’s hand snapped up to catch it, his fingers immediately curling around the cool metal. He began inspecting the device with a scrutinizing eye, half-expecting it to be a clever trick or a temporary fix. But as he ran his fingers along the surface where the jagged fissure had been, he could feel no difference at all. There was no seam, no weakness, and no lingering illusion. It was as solid as the day they had first found it.

“I guess... this vampire pride actually worked out in our favor for once,” Kai mumbled, still looking at the metal disc with a mixture of relief and suspicion.

“Can you test to see if it actually works?” Gary asked, stepping closer, his voice urgent. “Don’t fully activate it yet, but maybe just see if the core responds to your touch.”

The first thing Kai did was grip the outer edge of the medallion and give it a sharp twist. This was the mechanical trigger, the way it had originally been used in the ancient past when facing off against the likes of Unzoku. The mechanism clicked into place with a satisfying, heavy thud. In theory, once this was set, it would be placed on an Alpha to attempt to sever their corrupted powers.

This mechanical part appeared to work perfectly. Next, Kai attempted to interface with it the same way he had when saving Midwak. He closed his eyes and channeled a small, controlled stream of his Qi into the item. The moment he felt the metal begin to thrum with a slight, resonant reaction, he quickly pulled his hand away. He was terrified that the relic was fragile and could break again at any second if pushed too far.

“It works,” Kai confirmed, a breath of air escaping his lungs. “It really is just like it was before.”

The grin that spread across Gary’s face was extremely large, a rare moment of genuine joy in the middle of this nightmare. Kai was smiling too, but what they didn't realize in that moment was that the two of them were smiling for entirely different reasons.

“This is it!” Gary suggested, his eyes bright with hope. “We can use this on the other Gluttons then. We can go through the city and turn them all back, just like we did with Midwak.”

“Wait, Gary,” Kai said, his smile fading as his tactical mind took over. “I don’t think we can do that.”

Gary’s expression faltered. “What do you mean? We just saw it work.”

“Using the medallion on Midwak was exactly what had broken it in the first place,” Kai explained, his voice turning somber. “The strain of the transformation was too much for the metal. If we were to use it again and again on every Glutton we find, there is a massive chance, a certainty, even, that it would break again. And this time, it might be beyond repair. We need to make sure we keep it functional so we can use it against the source. We need it for Unzoku. You understand that, right?”

A dreaded, cold thought hit Gary like a physical blow. He knew Kai was right. The logic was sound, but the implications were devastating. Did this mean there really wasn't any way of saving the strike force? What about the other Gluttons still out there fighting, or the Altered, or the innocent people who had been turned into mindless beasts against their will?

“Wait, but what about Rowa?” Gary asked, turning his gaze toward the vampire. “You can fix the item, right? So we use it on the Gluttons, and then you just have to fix the item each time it’s destroyed. We can save them all.”

“Even if I wanted to, that is not something I can do right now,” Rowa answered, his voice sounding thinner than before. He looked visibly drained, the crimson light in his eyes dimmed. “I used up a massive portion of my powers in the fight, and then spent the rest restoring that item just now. I would need a significant amount of time to recover my energy. And aren't we short on time?”

Rowa stepped forward, looking toward the horizon. “You said that this Unzoku, the one who caused all of this, might be heading for your city right now. If that is true, then it would be best if you headed there immediately. The most troublesome threat here has been dealt with. My kin and I can deal with the rest of the Gluttons and clear up this city as we originally planned to do.”

Gary began grinding his teeth so hard it made an audible sound in the quiet night. The thought of leaving his people to be "dealt with" by the vampires was sickening.

“There has to be another way!” Gary insisted. “Can’t we just beat the Gluttons and subdue them without killing them? Maybe we can lock them up with chains someplace safe. If we deal with Unzoku, it could lift this whole thing like it’s some type of curse on them. They might revert naturally!”

Once again, Gary felt a hand on his shoulder. This time, however, the hand didn't feel like a comfort; it felt heavy, a reminder of the burdens of leadership.

“Gary, I hate to say this, but the vampire is right,” Kai explained softly. “We came here as a small group. Trying to capture and imprison a city’s worth of werewolves... it would take far too much time. We would need to wait for reinforcements that aren't coming, and the clock is ticking.”

Kai turned Gary to face him. “If you really want to help everyone, if you want to save the most lives, then the best thing to do would be to help the vampires now to take out the Gluttons here. We have to ensure they won't cause any more harm to the people of this city. We have to make sure Unzoku can't use them against us as an army and continue to spread this damned madness.”

Kai’s voice was firm, cutting through Gary’s desperation. “We need to quickly head to Slough, see if it’s okay, and make a plan to deal with Unzoku there. We have to end this once and for all. We can't save everyone, Gary.”

He let the words hang in the air for a moment. “And in trying to save everyone, it might mean even more people die in the end. That is the price of the choice we have to make.”

****