Chapter 18

[MAVERICK]

Don Charles had a revered and strict 'No fighting in Club Nine rule.' It had never been broken in years.

But today, it didn't just break, it shattered. Immediately the glass had hit the Wolf called Andre, all hell had broken loose. Maverick stood his ground, evading punches from multiple angles while landing several of his own. Outnumbered three to one, he struggled to overpower his opponents, who were shielding Andre from his reach. The clash between the RiverHound and SilverTail crews escalated into chaos, with members from both sides trading blows. The RiverHound brothers were tossed around with alarming ease, yet they refused to yield, rebounding from each assault with unrelenting ferocity.

"Fuck!" Charles let out a scream of frustration as a SilverTail member caught him off guard with a powerful uppercut, sending blood splattering everywhere. Stumbling backward, Charles swiftly retrieved his gun from behind him and fired at his attacker - once, twice - before his legs buckled and he crashed to the ground.

But Within a span of mere seconds, Charles and Zane, who just tumbled down another attacker few feet from Charles, the bullet wounds on the SilverTail attacker's neck and chest began to shift and contort, as if the body was rejecting the foreign objects. The skin started to push the bullets out, and to their astonishment, the bullet holes sealed themselves, replaced by unblemished skin. Healed.

"They can do that?" Charles screamed.

"Oh, fuck!" Ken said from where he was. He, along with the entire club, froze in unison as the sound of gunfire echoed through the air, everyone's attention snapping towards the source of the shots to see who had been hit.

"What the fuck is happening here?" Don's thunderous, angry voice acolded, commanding attention, and his men instantly snapped to attention. Simultaneously, a soft whistle pierced the air, and in response, the SilverTail members swiftly fell back, repositioning themselves around and behind the Milo brothers in a unified, strategic retreat.

"You want me to ask again?" Don growled, the two men flanking him already bring out their guns.

"Father–"

"Your son should learn to control his temper." Joseph's voice sneered. Don looked from Charles to Mav, actually wondering which of them it could be, but the guilt in Mav's evlyes gave him off.

"It's them." Maverick simply said, fuming.

"Maverick here has never lose his temper for no reason, Mr. Joseph. So tell me, what did you do?"

Joseph looked at his brother for a moment, his hands in his pocket, unafraid, before he walked towards Don.

"I certainly didn't do whatever he has accused me of."

"This man they call Andre," Maverick pointed at the man who was bleeding everywhere, before giving him a kick in the knee that caused him fall to his knees. "Went into my home, and attacked Kate."

"That–"

"Shut up if you're going to lie about it, Joseph. But I had his scent at my place and here, now."

"I was going to say that... that didn't happen under my authority. "

"Another lie. Why would a member of your pack act without your authority?"

"Be careful, Mr. Maverick." Japhet finally spoke up.

"Very well. Give him to us then." Charles said.

"He is ours.We will punish him."

"He almost killed one of ours! We will punish him." Charles fumed and the tension in the air began to thicken. River Hound men began to bring out their guns.

"You're only plenty in number. I don't need such to kill everyone here. SilverTail may be outnumbered in this place right now, but Don Charles, you and your people are outmatched. And I know you already know that." Japhet said.

Don looked around in silence and nodded. "Take your people and get out. "

"So much for a celebration of partnership between us." Joseph said. He whistled in another tune again, and his SilverTail pack began to retreat and head towards the door.

"We will meet again, Maverick Lurian." Agatha whispered, suddenly beside him. No one ever called his last name, talk less of a stranger who had just moved to town.

"For your safety, I think not." Maverick sneered. Agatha only smiled, as she always did before joing the rest of her retreating crew.

But before Andre could turn with them, the man beside Don handed him a silver gun, and he pulled its trigger.

As the bullet ripped through Andre's knee, a blood-curdling scream tore from his lips, echoing through the air like the haunting wail of a damned soul.

His soul was indeed damned anyway. His body crumpled to the ground, twisted in agony. Don's second shot was merciless, striking Andre's chest with precision. The wound gaped open, a chasm of ravaged flesh, a wide hole from which the wall behind him could be seen. A faint misty steam rose from the torn skin, along with a sizzling sound like the whispers of a dying ember and the burning of flesh. Andre's screams grew weaker, his voice cracking beneath the weight of his suffering, until finally, his body stilled, and an unsettling silence fell over the room.

Everyone was thinking the exact same thing that no one could bring themselves to say. He didn't heal. They all watched for a while, as though expecting that any moment now, Andre would rise up, even though it looked otherwise, but the bullet holes didn't close up, and his opened eyes were not blinking, and his blood kept flowing and pooling all around him.

He didn't heal. He is dead.

"All monsters can be killed, Mr. Joseph." Don simply said, as he stared finally, into Joseph's eyes, full of bewilderment, as well as the rest of his crew.

Maverick watched with a certain aura around him, felling a little justified, but long after the SilverTail pack had walked out of Club Nine in shame, Don's words couldn't help but ring in his ears.

All monsters can be killed.