Chapter 95: HCA- A Revenge Boy
Third person
Faye kept grunting in pain, the sound raw and jagged in the cramped, red-lit hallway. The sensation coursing through her body was unbearable, like every vein was being filled with liquid lead. She wasn’t the only one suffering. Sasha and Peamah were also on the ground, writhing in agony, their fingers clawing at the submerged carpet. Their condition looked even worse than hers, their bodies jerking as if they were being electrocuted.
"What are you doing to her? She’s in pain! Stop it right now!" Princess shouted. She was holding Faye’s head above the rising water, her knuckles white as she gripped Faye’s shoulders. She looked helpless, her Alpha composure cracking for the first time since the bus tires blew.
"They cheated my game," the voice replied, sounding cold and matter-of-fact.
"They didn’t cheat!" Malo snapped. He looked pale, clearly disturbed by the sight of Faye gasping for air. "Like she said, you never set any rules. You didn’t say we couldn’t use our powers. You’re the one cheating here. We played your games and now you’re angry because the purple hair won? You were-witches always want total control. You’ve proved your point. Just let her go."
"I am going to kill him when I see him," Princess said. Her voice was low and icy, a promise of violence that made the air feel even heavier.
"You can’t kill me," the voice giggled, sounding younger now, almost like a spoiled child. "My Abuelita Rosa will punish you if you do."
At the mention of Abuelita Rosa, Malo’s expression immediately changed. It was like a lightbulb went off behind his eyes and something finally clicked into place. He stopped shaking and leaned in.
"Maybe your Abuelita Rosa will be the one punishing you instead," Malo said quickly, his voice gaining a sudden confidence. "You’re trying to kill a pregnant woman, kid. She won’t be happy about that when she finds out."
He stepped closer to Princess and leaned down, whispering urgently into her ear so only she could hear.
"When I checked the hotel records on my phone earlier. The owner is Rosario De la Cruz. She has no family left except her grandson. Bruno Cruz. He’s 7 years old."
Princess’s eyes flickered with a sharp, dangerous understanding. She looked up at the ceiling, her gaze piercing through the red light.
"Hey... Mr. Gamer," Malo continued, raising his voice so it echoed down the hall. "I heard your Abuelita is a very kind woman. People say she helps everyone. She definitely won’t like what you’re doing to these innocent people... especially the little ones."
"My Abuelita Rosa loves me!" the boy snapped, his voice cracking with emotion. "She says I can do whatever I want in this hotel. She never lets me go outside anyway. She never lets me play with the other kids. It’s always stay in your room, Bruno, play with your toys. So now you all will play with me instead. We’ll play until I get bored."
Princess inhaled slowly, closing her eyes for a second to control her rising anger. When she spoke again, her voice was much more gentle, almost maternal.
"Listen, Bruno... I understand what it feels like to be lonely. I really do," she said. "But you don’t force people to play with you like this. You ask them. and if they don’t want to play... you have to let them go.... "
She paused, her voice tightening as Faye let out another low moan of pain.
"But right now, you really need to stop hurting her. She’s in so much pain, Bruno, and I won’t tolerate that. If you really want to hurt someone, then hurt me instead. Just leave my pups alone. Please."
"I’m just boiling her blood so they won’t cheat again," the boy replied stubbornly. "If I stop the pain, I don’t want them playing anymore."
"Okay, they won’t," Princess said immediately, her voice firm. "We will all play, no cheating. I promise you."
There was a long silence where the only sound was the splashing of the water against the walls.
"...And you won’t try to kill me when I let you all go?" the boy asked, his voice small.
"I won’t. You have my word."
"...And you won’t tell my Abuelita Rosa what I did?"
"We won’t."
There was another tense pause. Then, suddenly, Faye’s body went limp. Her muscles relaxed all at once, and the arched tension in her back disappeared. The burning sensation was gone.
"Omega... are you okay? Can you hear me?" Princess whispered urgently, pulling her closer.
Faye, weak and shaking from the shock, gave a small, tired nod. Relief flooded Princess’s face so fast it was almost startling. She pulled Faye into a tight, crushing embrace, tucking Faye’s head under her chin as if she never wanted to let go again.
Peamah looked completely drained as he sat up, barely steady on his feet. Sasha was still clutching her chest, struggling to regain her breath and her focus.
Then, chaos broke out again before anyone could even celebrate being alive.
The boy Peamah had nearly attacked earlier, the one who had been so quiet, suddenly lunged forward through the water. He grabbed Peamah by the hair and shoved his head deep underwater.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Nathaniel shouted, rushing forward.
"Stay away from me!" the boy yelled, his voice hysterical as he struggled to keep Peamah down. "He deserves it! Him, and his monster of a father!"
Nathaniel and another teammate quickly grabbed the boy by his arms, pulling him off Peamah and throwing him back against the wall. Peamah came up gasping, coughing out lungfuls of water, but he didn’t fight back.
"We get it, Patrick! You’re angry!" Nathaniel said firmly, standing between them. "But he didn’t kill you. Stop this right now. We need to focus on surviving this place, not killing each other in a hallway."
The boy staggered up, his wet hair plastered to his face. He was glaring at Peamah with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.
"It’s not about what happened earlier today," he said, his voice shaking with rage. "It’s about what he actually did. My uncle was just at the gas station... he was just minding his own business when he ripped him apart. Peamah Frost killed him. And then his father used his power as GPF Chief to bury the whole thing."
Silence fell over the hallway. Even the splashing sounds stopped.
"He just walks around like nothing ever happened," the boy continued bitterly, tears starting to track down his face. "Still in school. Still training for the championship, like nothing happened..... In Oakland there’s no justice. Because the powerful always protect their own."
Princess’s expression hardened as she listened, her eyes moving to Peamah, who was staring at the floor.
"The GPS handles justice," she said, her voice sounding cold. "You don’t need to stain your own hands with blood over this."
"I was going to kill him," the boy admitted, sounding broken. "I used every bit of the money they gave me to stay quiet. I hired bandits to ambush the bus on the way here. But the cowards ran the second they sensed an Alpha on board."
"Then you wasted your money," Nathaniel said bluntly. "Even without Princess being here, Peamah wouldn’t go down that easily. You picked the wrong fight."
"You definitely got scammed," Malo added, shaking his head.
"You have every right to be angry," Princess said, stepping forward slowly through the water. "Believe me, even I have my own issues with him. But right now? We’re all trapped in this nightmare because of your revenge. You put everyone in danger, including my mate."
She stopped just a few feet away from him, her eyes locked onto his.
"Don’t come any closer to me," he warned, stepping back until his shoulders hit the locked staircase door.
Then, suddenly, he looked down. He dipped his hand into the water and pulled out a glowing, light-blue fish that had been swimming near his feet. A strange, twisted smile spread across his face as the fish pulsed with a soft light.
"Looks like the Moon Goddess finally favors me today," he whispered.
Without a second of hesitation, he opened his mouth and swallowed the glowing fish whole.
