Evening had come like the purple cape of Death, sweeping about the sky with colors dark and dreary and frightening, draped behind what reaped with skinless fingers hidden from the sight of mortals the stars that would once shine bright - but Nico could see them. Oh yes, he could see them play. He saw his maker dance in the midnight clouds as if no souls were ripe to pick, as if there were no fools to torture tonight, so then why was it he who was tortured so? For days he was bent before his thoughts' endless whims, their voices that screams were ridden with anger, and for once he was rendered helpless to what festered within. And so, he walked; walked with purpose toward's the Beta's den, in search of solace he was not fond of seeking.

"Sire? My king? It is I, Nicolaus, your Warrior. Forgive my coming at such a late hour, but I assumed privacy was dire to our meeting." He stood before the den's entrance and the shadows it threw upon the soil, his head ducked beneath the branches of the overhang that scraped and tickled at his ears. He knew not what would be discussed between the two beneath this moon, nor if their company would be joined by the ash fae whom shared in Steele's, but he cared little of was to unfold. No; he simply wished it to unfold, whether in organization or not. Time was of the essence now that the Alphess was sleeping with her beloved, for soon her blood would be near to impossible to spill.

Time. Time passed slowly. Plans. Thoughts. Ideas. These things filled the Beta's head. What was he going to do? Kenai had angered him to his peak. The brute has finally lashed out and attacked him. Good. This was very good. Soon he would have Azul right where he wanted him. Groveling for his life, protecting his impregnated fae. An evil chuckle escaped from his quivering lips as he thought of staining the Alpha's coat with his thick red blood. Something white and barren, covered in filth and destruction. How he dreamed of the last breath the Alpha would breathe. It was not long until he was called from his chamber. The Beta forced himself from his thoughts and proceeded to visit the guest at his entrance. With a flick of his tail, the Beta was on his paws, making his way to the outer world. Once he was able to see the unlikely guest, he was rather intrigued. Funny how he was dreaming of the end for the Alpha and here stood one of the only wolves he trusted. Warrior Nicolaus.

"Yes, what is it Nicolaus?" he asked. His voice was thick like the fog covering the night sky. His silver eyes, finding the trace of moonlight, glimmering in the evil presence of the other. His breathing was slow and his thoughts began to come rushing back. What could Nicolaus wish from the Beta on this night? As Steele pondered over his wishes, he was reminded of their first meeting. Nicolaus showed great interest to him, possibly to aid him in his plans to take over this pack, or leaving altogether. The bitch had not returned to the den yet, so these two were alone to speak freely. "Come inside, I wish to speak with you... privately." Without waiting for the brute to reply, the Beta turned from him and made his way into the den, finding a comfortable patch among the new rabbit pelts lying on the floor. As he rested his haunches quickly, he turned his eyes to the outside, waiting for his visitor to enter his home. Steele was a very patient brute, especially when time was all that mattered.

As the Beta emerged from his place amongst his shadows he bowed, his nose nearly touching the ground, once again offering a greeting most extravagantly. From his place near the black knight's paws, Nico drank in the aura of power that flung itself upon him from above, intrigued by the ever changing sense of dominance Steele clung to each time he had the pleasure of sharing in his company. His eyes that once pierced the drowning day closed as he spoke, his words edged with a harshness that boomed deep as they slithered past the dampness to his lips yet lowered in volume as to fall below his sire's. "Of course, my Alpha."

He followed behind his tail with pace quickened, his chin sweeping above the cavern floor with little elegance, little finesse, until he was placed within the den's center. His rump hit the floor with an uplighting plume of dust, his tail splayed lazily out to his side, and as he spoke - his chest tight as if constricting within its grasp a growl - his head hung low before the larger male's anticipating stare. "Please, continue, sire. I have come before you this night expecting to converse little and to instead listen, for you once mentioned sharing a rather delicious secret, or so my somewhat failing memory recollects, and I do enjoy secrets of the delicious kind. I do, however, wish to ask of you a single question before you do indeed share: how do you think of the recent pairing between your king and a lowly Apprentice? Forgive my speaking so openly, sire, but I am curious, indeed."

Having every intention of telling his darkest secret with the brute, he was interrupted by the Warrior's issues with the Alphess. Steele nodded his head as he listened to the concern within his voice. This pleased the Beta greatly, knowing that he was not alone in the dislike of their joining. Who else hated their match? "The Apprentice bitch winning over the heart of the weak Alpha male, but mark my words, Azul is not my king. He is my enemy and the mate to my enemy, is my enemy as well. I had hoped to kill the Alpha before he took a mate, but with more wolves around, it will make my plan all the better." He licked his chops, thinking of the taste of blood on his maw. "But less of that for now, and more of my secret I wish to share with you and your ears alone." He looked to the brute, watching as Nicolaus listened to his words. Steele knew he could trust this brute, there was just something about him. "I have plans to leave this horrid place, to start my own pack. I can't stand idly by, waiting and watching as the Alpha and Alphess tear this pack down, ruining it entirely. The wolves that have joined are becoming numb to the ways of how wolves truly are supposed to act. There is nothing but nonsense here. Wolves ask to get promoted, instead of fighting to prove they are worth the position. It drives me insane, and Kenai. Don't get me started on his waste of air." he snarled in anger just thinking of the brute. His eyes moved to the ground as he continued to snarl and growl. "If you wish to come with me, I can promise you a great future. One of dignity and chaos, something better to live for. What do you say? Once we get a formidable pack, we could take out this pack, once and for all."

"Ah, so you do have an appetite for blood, hm? I was not aware your plans included the murder of your Alpha, but I must say, sire, it really does make it all the better. The Alphess, too, must share in Azul's fate, will she not? I would very much like to see that happen." Nico shifted his paws about the dirt that sat loose beneath his weight, his shoulders slumped and spine bent to rather uncomfortable measures as his head was never lifted above his king's. The must that dripped from this cavern's walls was thick enough to choke; as if it smoke from a blooming flame, but beneath its rusty tones of earth ran a ribbon of sweet spring heat. The female whom had called upon this dank chamber for sleep had left in her path a trail, a mixed array of scents that, he was sure, Steele had reserved to be enjoyed by solely he himself. How strange it was that one whom made the impression similar to that of a devious mastermind had named for himself a mate - or so Nico presumed. Never in his life had the aging warrior found for himself a willing mistress, nor did he fall for any such fae, for such foolish debauchery signed acceptable simply by ceremony was nothing short but a waste of precious time. This, of course, did not mean he did not indulge. The weaklings with shapely bodies were indeed mysterious creatures - beautiful, in that they were so easy to swoon, and who was he to not partake in the name of discovery?

"Oh, yes, your word rings true. I myself have watched from shadows the tarnishing of malleable minds at the hand of he of whom you grace with speak. I see no work being made, I see no punishments given. There are even those, sire, who do nothing but collect daisies beneath the sun and dream of butterflies come night. There is no progress, no order, and all and worse will be present with the children bore by such weakness. The Apprentice's belly grows rounder each day, my king; rounder with the bodies of an Alpha's offspring. There is no such act more disgraceful than the tainting of a ruler's lineage, is there not? But there is no reprimand for falling in love, hm? Their crowns would no sooner slip off their heads in good time, of course, but I would much rather prefer to push them from their mighty place my- ourselves. I apologize speaking so of a pack I have yet to call my own, but I would hope that what shard of wisdom I have collected over years of hardship would fall upon solemn ears. So, yes, I accept. I, in hopes of providing any and all service you require of me, accept your most humbled offer, Alpha Steele. And may we ever cross after our paths someday break, be it satisfied at the Gates of Hell."

"The Alphess will be killed before the Alpha. Azul will watch as we take the last moments of Lucy's life. There will be nothing he could do to stop us. I want him to suffer, to watch the life slip from her eyes and her last breath poor from her lips. I want him to be crushed, ruined before he dies. I want the last thoughts to be 'I never got to say goodbye'. Then we will kill him. I will kill them." Steele began to breathe heavily as he spoke to Nicolaus. He was rather angered by the discussion, wishing that Azul was already dead. "Yes, I have noticed it too. She is definitely carrying his young. It sickens me, thinking that more of those weaklings will be made and running around these lands soon." He snarled to himself, turning his head from the other. He listened more to the brute, taking in his words and forming a reply. The brute enjoyed his plan and even seemed to agree to it. This pleased the Beta greatly. He gave an evil smile as he turned his eyes back to the other. "I shall give you a high rank once the pack is settled. I don't know how many wolves will follow, but after discovering Kenai to be dead, more will come. They will see what I am capable of and they will wish to live, thus following me to a better pack." He chuckled, running his tongue over his fangs and lips. Thinking of the blood he would spill in the next coming weeks, it pleased him more than he ever thought.

With the first utterance of her name, he froze; his spine jumping in a rampage of shivers neither delightful nor of fright. "Lucy," he spoke, his tongue caressing the word's single syllable as it slipped like a purr from his lips, his stance with his voice calming and dipping below the shadow that loomed before him. "Yes, her blood before the Alpha will be most torturous. But...but what of her suffering? She must suffer, yes? She is a temptress; a piteous thing, indeed, but the seducer of a king's very lineage, nonetheless. She is strong in that way - or, so I have seen in the little time spent in her presence. Her death must not be swift, sire, for the sake of both her crimes and for the enjoyment of Azul when he watches her fall."

Nico matched Steele's grin with fervor, his eyes burning with the same essence of evil and hunger but for two different things. His Alpha; the weak white's death, and the fun that would come before the deed that would ruin him. He; revenge. Simply and always revenge, and he would have it sweetly. His claws thirsted to drag across the Alphess's fair skin, his jaws the throat that in a mighty bite would end her, but how he himself would touch her before Steele, he did not know. Now, now, you needn't be so selfish, Nicolaus. Here is a wolf, angered and bothered, who is willing to do the dirty work for you. Let him take the prize; as long as she dies, and follow him in his reign with peace. "Kenai? The Elite fool, dead? Oh, sire. How very convenient of you. Now, what requests may you have for me to assist in quickening your chance of power? Are there any you wish for me to befriend...or deceive? Say the word and I will make haste to do what you will."

"Lucy will suffer. She will watch as her pups are ripped limb from limb, their blood splattered across her fur, tainting it with their dark fresh red color. She will be crushed, ruined. And Azul, he will be forced to watch his whole family massacred. Then it will be time for him to feel what it is to die. It will not be quick or painless. It will be a slow death. His body will be completely exhausted, unable to fight his life's end." He snapped his jaws, thinking of the act itself. Feeling the power beneath his paws, forcing the Alpha to the floor. But then the male spoke once more, concerned it seemed. Steele began to laugh. It was filled with evil intentions, and horrible feelings. He had killed the Elite. There was no way that Kenai was alive. Steele hushed his laugh and looked to the other. "Yes, I killed Elite Kenai. He is no more. But I must leave the pack, search for the lands I will conquer for myself. While I am gone, I do have a task for you. We need wolves, choose only the strongest of them. Offer them a better place, as I have offered you. When it is time to open the pack, I will alert you. We will meet in the neutral lands. But for now, I must leave." The Beta moved from his comforting place, looking around his den one last time. He took in the scents that mixed together, his and Esmeralda's, overpowering the scent from the brute who was visiting his home. Although Steele was leaving to create something of his own, he would never forget the den he created, the memories of this pack, and he would continue on. He lowered his head as he moved from the entrance. The pack was in their dens, sleeping in the dead of night. Without a sound, he moved from the pack lands and headed for a new world.