Alpha & Hunter

"I still don't understand."

"No, I figured you wouldn't. It's a lot to take in all at once."

Sorin paced back and forth across the room, rubbing his chin and taking thick drinks of the blood wine in his hand. I watched in quiet curiosity, swallowing the nausea in my gut. Only a few hours had passed since I had obtained most of my memories. Every so often a tremor would sweep up my spine, and more images sparked across my eyelids. It was less painful now, though. My bullet wounds were healing quickly; both had gone straight through and out my back, so surgery was unnecessary. I shifted, ignoring the sweat that beaded on my forehead. Sorin was kind enough to untie me and now we sat in his private quarters in one of the Sangue's safe houses.

It was strange, to be honest. To a human eye Sorin couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty. And yet there was an air of wisdom and age about him, one I could compare only to Constantine. My little brother. The idea still baffled me. I shook my head, draining a glass of wine. Sorin glanced at me with raised eyebrows before rolling his shoulders. His face was laced with deep concentration; his nimble fingers lit a cigarette and handed it to me, before lighting one for himself. He finally stopped pacing and looked down at me.

"You can stop staring at me any time, you know." His tone was more stressed than annoyed, and he drained his cigarette of life in a few long drags.

"Sorry. I'm still having trouble, ya know..." I gestured around me. "Coming to terms with all of this."

Sorin sighed and nodded, taking a seat opposite of me. He poured himself another glass of ruby red wine. "Listen, Gabriel. I would love to explain everything, but unfortunately we're running out of time."

My confused expression must have been enough for him. "For this reason I must get straight to the point; Constantine isn't who you think he is."

At the mention of Constantine's name my heart began thundering. I snickered, my eyes flashing silver. I finished my wine. "Ya know Sorin, I think I know Constantine better than you; or anyone for that matter."

I was taken aback when Sorin growled, his own eyes turning a piercing off-white. "One thing certainly hasn't changed; you're still a stubborn fuck." He smiled, but the expression was cold and harsh. I had to hand it to him, the kid was intimidating. I pursed my lips, holding myself back. He may be my little brother, but that didn't mean I couldn't beat his ass. Abruptly I realized my sudden rage was in defense of Constantine. Aggravated with myself I bit my tongue.

"There's no way I can tell you to make the information any else daunting. Whether you want to hear it or not, Constantine is a murdering, lying, manipulative snake." Sorin snapped his jaws, a white fire burning in his gaze. Despite my best efforts I growled in response, my grip tightening on my wine glass.

"You clearly don't know what you're fucking talking about. He saved me."

At this point, Sorin laughed, the sound half-insane. He ran a hand over his face, a wolf smile on his lips. "He really has you fooled; that's what he does best." He leaned towards me, spitting off to the side.

"You're his personal little bitch. You're not a lycan. You're a whimpering pup." In a split second my wine glass was shattering across Sorin's face, his body slamming to the floor. I towered over him, my gaze purely animal. His hand shot out and grabbed my ankle, cracking a bone and sending me crashing to the floor. Before I could react he had his hands wrapped around my throat, pinning me to the floor. Blood and wine trickled down his cheeks, his sharp jaws fully bared.

"Listen to me, Gabriel." He snarled. "I didn't wait over two centuries to get you back only to have you disregard me." He spit blood. "I am an Alpha. You will listen to me. And if you choose not too, then run back to Constantine and learn the truth yourself. I'm giving you a chance." He tightened his grip before letting go, standing above me like a smoldering titan. I stared up at him, eyes narrowed.

"Fuck you," I snapped.

His face darkened and he turned away, whistling. Two lycans came into the room, their bodies shrouded in black.

"Take him back."

Lifting me up, the butt of their guns hit the back of my skull and I fell into shadow once more.