The Supreme Alpha

Author's note: This is from Serina's point of view

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Honestly, I imagined so many scenarios related to Duke awakening his wolf, from a total success to a total failure, but I never imagined it will erupt in chaos.

The idea of having Fynn and Lazarus here was that if Duke is acting erratically, they will pin him down until I can talk some sense into him. Well, that didn't happen.

Fynn ended up with a nasty gash on his back as he was slammed against the corner of one of the machines with such a force that his skin ruptured.

Lazarus had his lip busted and a few nasty bruises.

I quickly stitched Fynn up so that it heals faster, and I applied my medicinal cream to avoid scars.

Fynn sat in a daze through the whole procedure, overwhelmed by the power Duke exhibited when he woke up.

Sergio helped Lazarus by bringing extra icepacks.

"Is he stronger than Damiano?", I asked Fynn.

Fynn shrugged. "It all happened so fast. I'm not sure if he is a monster, or he just caught me by surprise. Probably both."

Once we took care of the first aid we all looked at Duke who was knocked out by the ridiculous amount of sedative I injected into him.

Well, at least the anesthetic worked, but those few seconds until he succumbed to it were enough for Lazarus and Duke to exchange dozens of blows.

"Now what?", Lazarus grumbled. "Are you going to wake him up and we try this again?"

I gave Lazarus a stiff smile and raised my hand, indicating for him to wait like I have a plan, but the truth was that I really didn't know what to do.

I didn't think that things will go smoothly, but I didn't expect that Duke will be absent and his wolf will start attacking indiscriminately. What was the point of mental preparations Duke went through if his wolf took over completely?

I shook my head dejectedly. We thought of the possibility that his wolf will be weakened or feral. I had contingency plans in case his aura dominates Fynn and Lazarus, but I didn't think he will be so overpowering in brute strength.

Shivers ran down my spine when I remembered how Duke flung Fynn against the machines easily, like tossing a chicken. If the scuffle between Lazarus and Duke lasted a bit longer, Lazarus would end up with much more than just some cuts and bruises.

As proof of Duke's strength, he was completely unscathed even after Lazarus landed a number of solid blows on him.

Damn it!

I looked at the machines and I could see steady blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels… I paused when I saw increased brain activity. He was not completely sedated.

I didn't know if Duke was aware of what's going on outside, but he was definitely processing something. Dreams? Thoughts?

Was that my Duke? His wolf? Or both?

There was no point in waking him up and risking that one of us gets seriously injured or dead. But how can we calm down his wolf if he is sleeping like this?

To make things worse, during that short period he was awake, we were unable to distinguish his intelligence level. I mean… can that beast even understand us?

I took a deep breath and looked at the latest results related to Duke's body.

His muscles increased in mass by 7%. On top of that, the density of his muscles went up by 42%. This was unheard of.

Considering that Duke was much stronger than a human, after this, he has super strength. I couldn't get more data without him being awake, but this was enough to confirm that neither Fynn nor Lazarus are his match now.

I could restrict him with my air control, but that would only enrage him further.

Think, Serina… THINK!

There was no way I will give up and let him stay sedated. Who knows what's going on in Duke's mind?

Just how he trashed Fynn and Lazarus, that stupid wolf might be trashing my Duke now! Mental scars can be just as bad as the physical ones, if not worse.

Will Duke know how to defend? He didn't have much mental practice, not how much I did. I spent so much time going through my memories that… I paused as an invisible lightbulb lit up above my head.

"Bring a bed here", I instructed Sergio who was the only unharmed one. "There is a bed on wheels in the room next door."

Lazarus cocked an eyebrow at me. "A bed? Do you feel like taking a nap?"

"Something like that", I responded.

He looked at me like I was going crazy, so I clarified, "I can access Mateo's mind and see what's going on there."

Lazarus frowned. "You can read minds?"

"No, not really." I didn't lie. I didn't want to reveal my ability, but Lazarus, Fynn, and Sergio were already here, and I couldn't chase them away without explaining, so I went with the bare minimum. "I can access Mateo's subconsciousness."

"Why would you do that?", Lazarus asked.

"If Mateo wakes up, we will have a repeat of what happened, and maybe you and Fynn won't be so lucky next time. Like this, I can access his mind and try to calm down his wolf without risking physical injury."

Lazarus narrowed his eyes at me. "You can access someone's subconsciousness?"

"Not someone's. Only Mateo's. And before you ask for more details, I also don't understand it completely, but I know that while Mateo and I were apart, we met. I was confident that those were dreams, but later we compared experiences and realized it was real. My father said it was Soul Echo."

The stiffening in Lazarus's jaw told me that he knew what I was talking about. Well, that made it easier.

"You want to go into his head.", Sergio said. "What if you can't get out?"

I didn't think that will happen. "Inside a mind, physical strength doesn't matter, and his aura won't affect me anyway. He can't subdue me."

Sergio didn't like this. "It's not that simple."

"I know.", I admitted. The body will project what the mind thinks it's real so if I get hurt in Duke's mind, I might have a physical injury also, but that was the risk I had to take. For Duke.

I didn't think that Duke or his wolf would know how to prevent me from leaving.

"So… what do we do now?", Fynn asked from the side while I was scooting on the bed that was right next to Duke's.

Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

"Wish me luck.", I said with a forced smile.

I was nervous as hell, but I had to do something, and I had to do it quickly. Duke might be facing his wolf now, and time could be passing much faster than the one in reality. Minutes out here might appear like days, or maybe years inside Duke's mind.

"I won't be sleeping, and this won't be a dream.", I said. "No matter what, don't try to wake me up forcefully."

The only safe exit for me would be if I return to my senses on my own, and if someone jerks me out of it… I had no idea what would happen.

I laid flat on the bed and put my hand into Duke's. I laced my fingers with his, and I missed that familiar movement of his fingers curling around mine and his thumb caressing the back of my palm. Duke never missed even the smallest gestures to tell me how much I mean to him. 

I glanced at his handsome profile. 'Hang in there, love. I'm coming to get you.'

One deep breath, two, three… and I chanted the mantra that allowed me to descend deeper into my subconsciousness before I attempted to connect to Duke's.

…

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The last time when I entered Duke's subconsciousness, I found myself in the silent darkness that later projected Duke's memories, but this was different. Very different.

It was nighttime, and cold winds howled. Occasional lightning revealed a scene that resembled an abandoned battlefield with ruins and charred trees, and I said it's a battlefield because the strong scent of gunpowder permeated the air. What the heck was this?

Sure, some changes were expected since his wolf was awake, but this was extreme.

This was Duke's mind, and he was the master of this domain. Why would he put himself into this environment?

But more importantly, how was I supposed to find Duke?

Should I call for him? What if I bump into his wolf first?

I steeled my resolve and moved in one direction I picked randomly. I mean, there was no 'Duke is here' sign and standing in place didn't seem productive.

If I could use some of my powers, I would sense fluctuations in the air, but here… I had nothing.

I moved carefully with my eyes wide open, and it didn't take me long before I saw a familiar shadow. His features were veiled in the darkness, but I would recognize that frame anywhere.

"Duke?", I called, and he turned to me.

"Serina?" The surprise in his voice was audible.

He moved toward me, and I sped up my steps, careful not to stumble on the debris that covered the ground.

"It's good that you are here."

My steps halted. "Is it?"

He also stopped moving and a flash of lightning revealed a frown on his handsome face.

"Why did you stop?", he asked.

"Where is Duke?", I asked in return.

My Duke wouldn't say that it's good I'm in this hellhole.

My Duke would ask me why I'm here, he would tell me to go back, and this… this was not my Duke.

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