66: Trigger

Rick Hudson walked towards each spot of interest looking for Sophie with an eerie calmness. Even the profusely bleeding arm didn't make him look in pain. Aaron tried his best to get up and chase him but the blows from Hudson had taken every last speck of energy out of him. Rick abruptly stopped walking and looked to his side. He stared into the direction for a while before heading there. It was obvious to Aaron that Sophie had blown her cover. Rick strolled to a table. Aaron prayed that the vampire’s assumption was wrong. Rick pulled off the table cloth and Sophie spontaneously let out a scream. Rick didn't waste a moment to show his satisfaction with what he saw. He gripped her from her hair and dragged her out from under the table.

“No! Please!”, Aaron managed a shout. Rick enjoyed the Alpha’s pain. Sophie struggled to slip out of the vampire’s grasp. She wasn't able to move her injured arm. Rick held her head firmly and effortlessly shook her to flaunt his control on the situation to Aaron. Sophie squirmed with pain. It took Aaron a moment to realize what the vampire intended to do. The way he was holding her, he was getting her in the optimal position to snap her neck. The realization ran a shiver through Aaron. He closed his eyes and saw the image of the dismembered corpse of Mr. Lawson lying in Sophie’s office. He tried to shake off the gruesome image but the image of Sam creepily smirking on his face flashed in front of him. The ever-smiling face of Manjeet was next. Aaron’s head was starting to spin. He was pulling his hair trying to erase the memories from his head. His brain was exploding with the crying of the baby from his next door at Manjeet’s place. Rick saw him struggling with his eyes tightly shut.

“Look at what you've done, you coward! Open your eyes and witness the consequences of your actions. Look at her!”, Rick shouted as he held Sophie with her hair. Aaron was on the ground trying his best to get a hold of himself. Rick grabbed Sophie’s broken arm and flailed it to make her scream. It worked just as he wanted. “Look at her!”, Rick repeated as Sophie let out a deafening shriek. It flicked something off in Aaron. His body fell limp. The vampire shook his head in disappointment. He was sure that he was going to delay the display and wait for Aaron to wake up. Aaron’s body abruptly moved. Rick was delighted that he wasn't going to have to wait. Boris limped to his feet. He was back to his human form and was struggling to breathe. He was done fighting. His face was badly swollen and he needed to lean on a chair to get up. Rick took one look at him and knew that there was no fight left in him but Boris wasn't looking at the vampire. He was staring at his Alpha as if he could sense something. Rick looked back at Aaron and found him calmly getting to his feet with his eyes closed. The crippling pain in his body seemed to have vanished. There was no hint of expressions on his face. He abruptly opened his eyes and his eyes were glowing like white hot metal. Rick stared at him puzzled. Boris let out a chuckle which was interrupted by the pain in his chest.

“You’re so fucked now!”, Boris said as he pressed his ribs that seemed to have been broken during the fight. Rick looked back at Aaron and found him staring back at him blankly. The lights in the hotel flickered on and off. They were back on in a blink of an eye but Aaron was nowhere in sight. Rick looked around. Sophie was running out of breath. Suddenly a gigantic silver wolf, standing fifteen feet tall, pounced at Rick and flung him in the air before he could react. Sophie fell to the ground and stared at the monstrous beast go after the vampire. The wolf was significantly larger than the one she had seen at the cemetery. And judging by the way Rick went flying by its single effortless swipe, it was definitely stronger as well. She looked at Boris for some answers and found a calmness on his face that told her not to worry. Rick smashed into a wooden wall. He staggered back to his feet and shakingly looked back at the Alpha. The beast radiated power and command. The loud growls shook the entire lobby. The window to kill Hal-Eck was gone. Rick knew that he didn’t stand a chance against the monstrous beast but he decided to give it a fight anyway. He disappeared from where he stood and reached the Alpha in a blink of an eye. The wolf didn't lose eye contact with the vampire even for a moment. It struck him down as soon as Rick was within its reach. The Alpha didn't use more than a mere fraction of its strength yet the marble floor was cracked by Rick’s impact on the ground. The beast stood over the downed vampire and glared into his soul.

Mike staggered back to his feet and looked around for his daughter crippled by the fear of the worst. He lost his breath when he saw the enormous beast fighting the vampire. The vampire’s nose was letting out blood and he lay there motionless, panting and huffing. He looked into the eyes of the Alpha and the beast stared back, awaiting a movement. Rick could feel the strong breaths landing on him. The glass door of the lobby that was the entrance to the hotel, abruptly swung open. Sophie and Boris turned to see what had caused it and found Sandra Hudson standing there, looking badly worried. The first thing she saw was the unmistakable Alpha standing over her downed husband. She knew that it was fruitless to try and stop the Alpha by force. The wolf lifted its paw to strike. She screamed and ran to her husband using her High Lord unearthly speed which she knew wasn't enough to make a difference. The wolf swung a blow in the air to its right and the tiles on the wall in the direction shattered. The wall was dozens of meters away from the Alpha. Sandra stopped in her tracks. She was astonished by what she had just witnessed. She looked at the damaged wall and found blood on it. Everyone in the lobby, including the vampire lying on the ground, was perplexed out of words by what they were seeing. The Alpha took one look at Sandra and stepped away from her husband. The wolf stepped out of her way and it looked like it was inviting her to the wall with the bloodied tiles. She read it and reluctantly walked towards the wall. It took her a moment to see it but she found what the Alpha wanted her to see. Sophie, Boris, Mike and Rick were waiting for Sandra to tell them what she was seeing. Sandra walked closer to the wall and found a fountain of blood oozing out of thin air at her feet. She stared at the scene trying to make any sense of it. A terrifying, horned and hoofed crimson creature, blinked in her view twice before materializing in front of her. She loudly gasped. The being was badly injured and was having its last painful breaths. Sandra, Rick and Boris recognized the demon in an instant.