Chapter 29: The Alpha's Fall - Part 1
The fire paints everything in hellish orange.
Peter and Kate circle each other. Predators sizing up prey.
The burning house between them. Six years of grief made manifest again.
"I should have made sure you were dead," Kate says.
"You should have." Peter's voice is cold. Empty. "Now I make sure you are."
Derek watches. His expression is hollow. Broken.
My Haki reads him. Conflicting emotions crashing together. Rage. Grief. The desperate desire to see Kate dead. The knowledge that wanting it makes him complicit.
"Derek," Scott says. "We can stop this."
"Why?" Derek's voice cracks. "They both deserve death."
I struggle to stand. Everything hurts. Nen depleted. Regeneration exhausted. But I force myself upright.
"Because revenge doesn't end," I say. "It just creates more monsters."
Peter laughs. "Says the boy touched by the void. You're already a monster, Adam. You just don't accept it yet."
Maybe he's right.
Kate shifts her stance. Recognizes she's outmatched physically.
Changes tactics.
"You want to protect these kids, Peter?" She raises her crossbow. "Fine."
Aims.
Not at Peter.
At Allison.
Her own niece.
"NO!" Chris screams.
Moves.
Interposes himself between the bolt and his daughter.
The crossbow fires.
The bolt punches through Chris's shoulder. High. Close to the neck.
He goes down hard.
"DAD!" Allison's scream is raw. Primal.
Peter moves.
Faster than thought. Covers thirty feet in a blink.
Claws extended.
Kate fires her last bolt. Catches Peter in the throat.
He staggers. Blood streams. But doesn't stop.
Grabs Kate by the neck. Lifts her off the ground.
"You burned children alive," Peter says. "You don't get mercy."
Kate chokes. Claws at his hand. Eyes wide with terror.
Finally afraid.
Derek has the shot.
Peter's distracted. Vulnerable. Back exposed.
One strike could end it. Kill his uncle. Claim the Alpha spark.
Derek shifts. Eyes flash red. Claws extend.
Approaches slowly.
Peter doesn't turn. Doesn't defend.
"Do it, Derek," he says. "Kill me. Become the Alpha. Lead the pack I couldn't build."
Derek's claws raise.
My Haki reads his intent.
He's going to do it.
"Derek, wait—"
Derek strikes.
Not at Peter.
At Kate's arm.
Claws slash deep. Kate screams. Peter drops her reflexively.
Derek stands between them. Eyes burning red. Tears streaming down his face.
"You don't get to make me a murderer. Either of you."
Peter stares. Confused. "She deserves death."
"Maybe. But I deserve to be better than both of you."
Derek turns to Peter. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you from the fire. I'm sorry you became this."
Pause.
"But I'm ending it."
He attacks.
Nephew vs. uncle.
Final fight.
It's brutal. Personal. No strategy. Just rage and grief made physical.
They crash through the burning debris. Claws tearing flesh. Blood on ash.
Both of them crying as they fight.
Scott moves to help.
Lydia grabs his arm. "This is Derek's fight."
"He's going to die—"
"Maybe. But it's still his."
Peter is stronger. Faster. More experienced.
But Derek is motivated by love.
Not hate. Not revenge.
Love.
For his family. For the pack. For the memory of what the Hales used to be.
Peter stumbles.
Wolfsbane from earlier. Finally taking effect.
Slowing him down.
Derek sees the opening.
Doesn't hesitate.
Claws pierce Peter's chest.
Through the sternum. Into the heart.
Peter gasps.
Blood spreads across his torso. Black in the firelight.
Falls to his knees.
Looks up at Derek.
Something like relief in his eyes.
"Thank you," he whispers. "For ending it."
Derek's tears fall on Peter's face. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
"You did."
Peter's eyes fade.
Red to blue to human brown.
He collapses.
Dead.
Derek stands over his uncle's body. Trembling. Claws still extended.
Kate crawls toward the tree line. Forgotten in the chaos.
Injured but alive.
My Haki suddenly spikes.
New presence. Entering the area.
Massive. Ancient. Multiple sources of power converging.
"Something else is coming," I say.
"What?" Lydia asks.
"I don't know. But it's big."
Bigger than Peter. Older. Dangerous.
But that's a problem for later.
Right now, Derek is standing over his uncle's corpse.
Breaking apart.
And Kate is escaping into the darkness.
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