Big Bad Wolfie

...Jason's POV...

"What the h3ll did you do?" Zach asked me when he met us at the door of the Master House.

During the car ride back, Maria went from looking like I ripped her heart out to like I danced on her grave.

Meaning, she went from sad puppy to angry pit bull.

The second we got back to the Main House she stormed to her room, not sparing me a glance. Bruno and Claire followed after her to make sure she actually got there and stayed there.

I felt like the biggest idiot in the world when she sat in the car staring out the window with tears in her eyes. She didn't look at me once.

I didn't mean what I said.

I mean... I do wish she was a little less difficult, but... But...

D@mn, I'm an @sshole. There are no buts.

But the feeling of crippling guilt only lasted until her expressionless, tear stained face changed into a glare.

It got a little easier to see where I was coming from... But it didn't justify enough for me to be able to forgive myself for what I said. Her crying face is imprinted in my mind forever.

The way her expression dropped when I said all those terrible things sends a spear through my heart every time I look back on it.

F**k, she was so sad. And now she's so pissed.

'She's never gonna talk to us again.'

Don't say that.

"We got into fight," I responded shortly to Zach.

He looked to where Maria stormed off, "What did you do?" He asked again.

I shook my head, "You just assume it was my fault?"

He raised a brow.

"... I mean, I may have implied she was a mistake."

"Dude!"

"What?! What do you care?" I don't need this. I'm already hating myself for it. I messed up.

'Obviously.'

We messed up.

'Grr.'

But it's not that big of a deal. She'll forgive me and be fine.

"Do you want my response as your beta or your best friend?" He raised a brow.

"Well, you're my beta because you're my best friend, so —"

"Great, best friend it is then. Dude, you need to get your s**t together, or else you're gonna die alone," He told me bluntly.

"What the f**k, man?"

"What? As your best friend, it's my job to be honest with you. And you're messing everything up with the literal perfect girl for you."

"Trust me, you don't know how difficult she can be," I grumbled, rubbing my temples.

"Fine, but how come I'm the one who already knows how awesome she can be and you're over here acting like you only see the bad in her? Sorry man, but you're the @sshole in the relationship, not her."

"DUDE!"

He put his hands up in surrender, "Sorry bro, it's part of the best friend code we made when we were seven. If one of us is out of line with a girl, we've gotta call each other out on it."

"I know, I know," I growled.

"I know you know. Now stop b**ching about it and go and get her, we need her down here."

I furrowed my brow, "For what?"

"You'll see. Just go and her and meet us in the conference room."

"Us?"

"Just do it!"

I growled again, "You're lucky you're my best friend."

"Yes, yes. And like I always say, you're the lucky one. Now go make things right with your girl."

Goddess, I love that @sshole.

***Maria's POV***

Knock, knock, knock.

Wow, I'm surprised he knocked -

He walked in.

"Why the f**k did you bother knocking?!"

He was silent for a couple of seconds.

Then a small smile appeared on his face. "You said 'f**k'. You're upset."

"Well nah s**t, Sherlock."

He knows I only cuss when I'm sad.

"Listen -"

"No."

Silence.

"Well fine then, just come with me."

You weren't supposed to give up that easily.

"No."

I'm giving you another shot. Convince me.

"Yes!" He grabbed his favorite spot at the back of my neck and pulled me up.

... He doesn't give a f**k what I think.

We made our way through the Master House and ended up in the conference room.

I furrowed my brow, "Master Philip, Alpha Cason, what are you doing here?"

Great, they're working with Wolfie too.

Another partnership he ruined.

And these two are our neighboring territories.

No wonder he and his warriors got in so easily. They probably didn't come from the side that borders unclaimed land(the most guarded side) but from our neighbors' side that we thought were allies. Well, apparently that contract expired when wolfie showed up.

Wolfie frowned, "Yeah, what's going on?"

They nodded to both of us but didn't hold my gaze.

Hm, someone knows they've screwed up.

"Maria, Alpha Jason, we have something to show the both of you," Alpha Cason informed seriously.

"The both of us?" Wolfie raised a brow.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Fine then, it better be good, because I was busy when I got the call to -"

"Alpha Cason's men found this dagger in the unclaimed territory near his border," Master Philip cut him off, holding out the dagger.

My heart, lungs, and mind froze over.

I slowly looked back up at him from the knife.

The two suddenly have the will to look me in the eye and hold contact.

Their stares hold something meaningful.

Only us three in the room understand what.

I'm sure Happy and Wolfie are very confused.

But that's fine for now.

My heart stopped all over again though, when I remembered that close to their border is close to my border and that's why they're here. Well... Part of the reason.

And even though all three of our territories are rather extensive, each being close to 50 square miles, it's still unsettling to have that thing anywhere near me and my house. Wolfie's eyebrows drew together, "And what is it?" He went to reach for it.

"Don't touch it," I put my hand out in front of him.

"Why?"

"It's made of silver," Alpha Cason answered for me.

"Even the handle," Master Philip added.

It would burn werewolves to even hold.

Wolfie and Happy frowned at the dagger.

My thoughts exactly.

I looked back up at the alpha and master. "Has it been tested?"

"For finger prints, yes. For poison, that's what we came to you for," the master told me.

"The prints tell us anything?"

They shook their heads, "Like before, there are none."

I nodded and trained my gaze back on the knife.

"Why would you come to her for that?" Wolfie questioned.

I held my breath and picked up the knife, trying not to have a panic attack. "Well, for one, I'm practically a chemist."

"What?"

"It's nothing. And two, we can save time with things like this," I used the knife to make a shallow cut through my palm.

"Maria!" Wolfie made a reach for the dagger.

"No, no, no, shoo," I waved him away with it.

He was forced to back off.

My skin immediately started bubbling up and blistering and it hurt like a b**ch, but I just kept flexing my fingers to make sure I still had feeling in them.

Which I do.

Which is a good thing.

Now the feeling of fire started prickling at my palm. It spread to the rest of my hand and wrist and intensified, but I didn't panic. Not even at the kind of pain that makes you wish your hand would just fall off, because for me, that means it's almost over. For everyone else, it means their either about to get their wish and their arm's probably about to fall off... Or they're about to die.

But the fire stopped spreading and I sighed in relief. The searing pain didn't go away, but I gritted my teeth and drew my attention back to the group. The pain's not gonna be completely gone for a while. "Well, their formula for the poison they use is the same," I stated.

"The dagger is coated in poison?" Happy mumbled, still looking at my cut with uneasy eyes.

I don't even wanna look at Wolfie.

"Well, yeah," I held my hand up in front of him.

He flinched away.

"How do you know the formula's the same?" He cringed.

"Well, if it wasn't, I'd be dead."

I felt the temperature drop in Wolfie's corner of the room in particular.

"I have a sort of immunity to what they use. If they changed it, it'd affect me the same way it'd affect anyone else. Death, or loss of the limb at the very least."

Silence.

Alpha Cason and Master Philip already knew this, and Happy didn't have anything to say. He's just standing in his corner looking rather nauseas .

.. And you thought it wise to use it on yourself?" A calm voice with a storm behind it came from behind me.

And, here we go.

I turned to him, "I knew they wouldn't change their formula," I tried to justify.

"How?" He gritted through his teeth.

"You don't fix what's not broken," I held my hand up in front of him this time.

He glared at the inflamed and blistered skin around the already ugly cut.

His suddenly infinitely gentle hands went to hold mine in place as he studied it closer. Apparently, he couldn't decide which deserves his glare more. The inflamed gash in my hand for being there, or me, for

putting it there.

He went with me, and his gaze made me want to throw up, so I removed eye contact and pulled my hand from his light grasp.

The temperature's still deathly cold behind me when I speak to the master and alpha. "We'll keep it here and run some tests just be sure, but I'm nearly 100% positive it's the same mixture they used before."

They nodded.

"Thank you gentleman, we'll be in touch," Wolfie spoke.

The chill in his voice is one of the most unsettling things I've ever heard.

I think it's because it's his.

"I'm assuming Maria can explain anything else my beta and I need to know," he nearly growled.

The alpha and master held my gaze again.

"Yes, she can tell you what you need to know."

And they left me.

They left me in the room with the brewing storm.