Betrayal

"Douard!" Betty couldn't help but cry.

Hugging him tight, she wailed up and sobbed hard.

"Why? W-why would you cry? It's not even your fault."

Douard consoles her but she isn't.

"What actually happened, Betty?" Frank asked.

His concern changed as Adam was exiled. He needed to know how it came to this. But…

A look saying to stop and don't dig up fell onto him.

Turning away from the face of Douard, Frank walked towards the dead body of Lark.

State screamed off of that head, confusing him to immense disbelief to his very own eyes.

Burning it to its freedom, they returned with even more questions and less answers.

With imminent war on head, every of Fire Blood's trump cards are fading away. It is out of thought to even imagine what would happen.

Reaching the camp area, Frank moves to wash his face by the waterfall, that's when he hears new voices and noises.

Turning to it, his heart raced and voices rang even sharp and clear.

Betty and Douard reaching out to the van stopped, surprising Frank.

'What happened!' His thoughts stuck.

In that brief moment, Betty turns to Frank and smiles.

It startled him.

'What is it!'

Wiping off his face, stomping the ground with his even slight might, he approached the van with his racing heart.

When peeks into the van, his eyes brim with tears and fall to his knees with happiness and joy overwhelming in his heart.

"Alene! I… I am so… I am so happy. Thank you so much." He said.

His eyes and face both red and heart swelled up with love and pride, he just took Alene's name repeatedly.

To what this can feel wrong, right?

Well Martha felt differently. Her gaze as though still on Alene, screamed off doubts and future troubles.

"Sam! Come here!" she called him.

'Sam'

Betty and Douard looked puzzled.

"Please lift them gently." she said.

'Huh?!'

Frank looked at her surprised.

"What…" Even before Frank could finish,

"Marked Ones!" Douard mumbled,

Martha looked at him and her doubts and suspicions only grew about his identity.

"Frank, Alene gave birth to hybrids." she said.

"Hybrids!" Frank exclaimed.

"But look… those marks… They are not common." Douard said with no change in expression.

Martha jumped suddenly in front of him and tried to grab his throat but,

'Swoosh!'

There was only air. Douard vanished from his spot and appeared behind Sam.

"Looks like, nowadays, you are under-estimating me. Huh?!" Douard said in a nonchalant voice.

It looked absolute cynical to Martha.

"He is not a Douard!" Martha screamed, stepping back.

'Not a Douard'

Betty looks at Douard with surprise.

But she can't find anything abnormal instead his fully awakened wolf.

"You're mistaken. I am Douard. It's just that my wolf is new to you." Douard said.

"Is that the reason? But you don't feel like a werewolf to me." Martha said with doubtful eyes.

Douard smiled.

"You are weak." He said.

"What are 'marked ones' you said earlier?" Frank asked.

"They are hybrids with the ability to fully utilize both powers inside them with age." Douard answered.

Pondering for a moment, Frank asked,

" How do you know that?"

"Because I read it in 'Book of Anthropology on Werewolf and Vampire' left by my father."

Avoiding eye contact, Douard said.

"What book Are you talking about?" Alene wakes up hearing those words.

Beside her, tiny little pups snuggling to her, she gently stroked their head.

And looked at Betty and Douard.

"Thank god, you both are fine." she said.

Without the knowledge of the situation, her clumsy statements felt deep in their heart.

Everyone hid something from everyone here.

Leaving the thought aside, Martha broke the silence.

"Alene. Rest up. We were just talking about the temple and other books related to it."

"Temple!"

As soon as she heard the word, her archeologist inside jumped out.

Mood lightened with her excitement and everyone looked at each other's face and gave up fighting now.

"Look Frank! Our babies. How cute they are!" Alene said, pointing towards the babies.

"Oh! Yes. Of 'Course they are. Look at her, she is just like you." Frank dawdled with babies.

"She is not! She has black hair and eyes too. But look at him, he is unlike you with golden hair and brown-reddish eyes." Alene said.

Her show-off fight for babies looked very childish yet cute to Frank.

He giggled and looked at her passionately.

'Wish we could just stay like this forever,' he thought looking at the bright happy face of Alene.

"Frank! I need to talk with you." Martha called out.

"Yes! I am listening." He said without looking at her, stroking his babies and smiling.

"Alone!"

She stomped out.

"Me too!" Betty added.

To that, without any delay, Frank looked at her and stood up.

"Let's go!"

Alene felt little off about the situation.

Before she could ask, they left and only Sam, and Douard were present.

Looking at Douard, she asked,

" What is it? What happened?"

"Nothing."

Douard tried to avoid but Sam burst out without knowledge,

"They are talking about marks on your babies because they too are hybrids like you." He said with an innocent smile on his face.

Even thought brainwashed and fully obedient machine, he retained his peculiar habit of speaking.

'Tch!'

Douard clicked his tongue.

"What mark?" Alene asked, worriedly.

"Sam, some privacy please." Douard said with murderous intent.

Feeling suffocated, he left hurriedly.

"He said hybrids, right?" Alene said with an upset face, trying to sit up.

Douard grabbed her trembling hands and said,

"There is nothing to worry about. Look! You are fine and babies too."

'I didn't die giving birth,' she thought.

'Grrrr…'

Synge growled from inside.

His strength and senses starting to emerge within Alene oozed out in the air.

'Is this the feeling? This is how heightened senses are?'

She is fascinated and surprised.

Her hands and body trembled in joy. Her weak body after delivery healed slowly as Synge started to appear slowly.

'Grrrr…'

With a growl, Synge gestured.

Raising her hands, she looked at her mutating hand into wolf's paws.

"Roarrrrr…"

She roared with her wolf, the whole surrounding air shook.

"Aaah!"

Sam screamed in sudden shock.

Alene felt unimaginable and unstoppable power inside her.

She suddenly turned to her babies.

'How powerful!'

She could sense their power so precisely, she felt goosebumps at that.