"I'll be watching?" Drake's ominous words repeated themselves in his head.

Does that mean he made Carolyn put up cameras? Ugh, what the hell. I'm getting flashbacks from the last world. I still didn't know I was being watched. If I try and find them and take them down... Adonis will be angry. I really don't want to piss him off. Now, it seems the lengths he'll go to are a hell of a lot more extreme. He said he's slaughtered his way through thousands of worlds. If that's true, then he wouldn't hesitate to kill. Just thinking about everyone back at camp, lying lifeless in a pool of their own blood, ugh, it makes me sick. He really has changed. If just one System pill made him into the person he was, what kind of person is he now? He must of taken hundreds of pills. I can't begin to imagine what that must of done to his mind. He's more dangerous now more than ever.

He also knew my name. My real name. Did he put bugs up as well? Was he listening in to our conversations? That would make sense, since he knew about yesterday morning. Damn. I should've been more careful. No, I need to ask Carolyn. She'll know exactly where everything is, considering she's probably the one who set everything up. And now that she knows Adonis's true colors, I'm sure she'll have no problem listening to me. No... think about it logically, Ethan. If he's in the System, that means he also has access to the System's shop. Anything at my disposal... he has, too. He could of easily bought a System Eye, multiple, considering the insane amount of points he must have acquired.

Wait... Adonis said the System. He said it, and didn't get stopped. His soul didn't get obliterated? How is that possible? Is it because I'm also in the System? No, that wouldn't make sense, I've gotten that same warning around Lance. Ugh, what the hell? Does he have the System wrapped around his fingers, too? He's become their puppet; they probably favor him.

Cyrus comes across the pond. He leans down and stares at his reflection. His brows were furrowed and there was a tremor to his bottom lip. He was scared. But, he was also angry. Angry at Adonis? Yes. Angry at himself? Even more so. He hated how Adonis could so easily break his courage. He hated how he would obey Adonis's warning. He wished there was another way he could win against him. Another way he could be stronger than him, or outwit him. He wanted to rebel, he wanted to punch Adonis in that terrifying face of his and put him in his place. He wanted to protect Lance and Charlie.

Cyrus scoops up a handful of water and scrubs his face, his arms, and his neck. He winces at the pain around his neck. The mark Adonis left was beginning to fade. Cyrus slumped back onto the ground and sighed heavily. As he waited for his wound to heal, his mind raced with thoughts.

This is what Adonis wants, for Cyrus to be scared. Scared equals obedience in his eyes. I should give my wolf exactly what he wants so he becomes even more powerful than he ever was before. I'll let Adonis believe I'm obedient, but disobey him in secret. I'll make sure he doesn't find out. Yes, I'm aware how smart you are, bastard. But, so am I. I'll find out a way to make sure you don't follow me to the next world, to disrupt your plans. I'll get you when you least expect it. Maybe... I'll start using the System again. I'll need to use anything at my disposal to beat the likes of him, I'll just make sure not to use the pills... Ah! My wound healed. Cyrus caressed this neck that was now free from the mark left by Adonis. It took longer than Cyrus had anticipated. Perhaps wounds inflicted by other wolves took longer to heal?

Cyrus stood and wiped himself off, walking back towards camp. He wondered if Carolyn said anything, or if she kept her mouth shut about their little meeting with Drake. Now that he thought about it, he hoped she got rid of his scent, and waited for her own wound to heal. He wanted the meeting with Drake to be kept a secret. Even if that meant pretending he was buddy-buddy with Carolyn, and they simply were off "training" this morning like she said. That didn't necessarily mean he had to like her. After all, she was spying on him for Adonis just so she could get rid of Cyrus and keep Lance all for herself.

"Selfish bitch!" his wolf growled.

Cyrus took a deep breath, unclenching his fists. He chuckled, look who decided to come back? Where were you when I was with Adonis, huh? Were you really cowering in fear? His wolf is ten times weaker than you! How are we supposed to kill him when you're scared of him?! His wolf whined guiltily. Cyrus sighed, rubbing his temples, no, it's alright. I didn't mean to yell. He's scary, I know. But in order to beat him I need you by my side. I need your strength and courage. In return I'll keep training, and give you everything you want, okay? His wolf is silent, before it stands and runs laps around Cyrus's head excitedly. Cyrus chuckles, good boy. Just wait until you can run around on real grass! How'd you like that, huh? His wolf stops to howl and Cyrus laughs cheerfully.

As long as Cyrus kept this mindset, everything would go smoothly. Now, all that was next was to face Lance and Carolyn. The two were chatting on the porch when Cyrus emerged from the trees. His wolf growled at her presence, now deeming her a threat, but Cyrus calmed him. He plastered on a smile when she quickly turned her head to face him. Her features were stoic, but Cyrus knew she was on edge by the nervous sweat rolling down her forehead. Cyrus's teeth clenched behind his smile when they locked eyes. She seemed unnerved by his presence, as if she really was expecting Drake to do something to him. No doubt she had dozens of stories lined up to explain Cyrus mysteriously disappearing. Now that her plan failed, and Cyrus knew exactly what she was up to, she was waiting for the moment Cyrus would rat her out and she would be banished from the camp. More so, she was preparing for her heart to be shattered by Lance after he knew she was the traitor. Nothing but regret consumed her as she solemnly awaited Cyrus's judgement.

All that ran through Cyrus's mind at that moment, however, was that he was delighted Carolyn had in fact gotten rid of Adonis's scent on her person. She also didn't tell Lance anything out of the ordinary; whom greeted his mate with a tired smile. His own plan was flowing smoothly.

"Ah, hey! Did you find it?" Lance asked, rubbing his eyes.

Cyrus slowed to a stop as he approached the two, "Huh?"

"The red cloth. Car always does the find the cloth game with her new trainees, don't beat yourself up if you couldn't track down the scent."

"Oh, no, I didn't. I tracked the scent as far as I could but I lost it... sorry, Carolyn." Cyrus smiles apologetically.

Carolyn's eyes widen at the unexpected topic of conversation, and Cyrus's smile. What? He's going along with it. He's not going to...? She swallows the lump in her throat when Cyrus tilts his head patiently, "D-Don't worry about it."

"So, anything else on the agenda?" Cyrus asks.

"Let's eat breakfast... we'll pick up training later." She mutters, avoiding his prying gaze.

"Ah, yeah," Lance speaks up, unaware of the static between the pair in front of him, "I'm starving. I'm not used to getting up this early."

Cyrus moves his intense gaze off of Carolyn, directing it towards Lance, and Carolyn breathes a sigh of relief.

"So, why did you? You could of slept a little longer." Cyrus bickers at him and Lance stands up and heads inside, with Cyrus following close behind.

"I woke up when I realized you were gone, I couldn't go back to sleep. So I waited for you and Car to come back from training."

"So you were worried? How sweet."

"Are you teasing me? Only I can do that." Lance grumbles.

"Says who?"

"Says me."

Carolyn remains on edge as she watches Cyrus dissappear from her line of sight. Damn it! Now what do I do?! I'm going to have to drop my plan of getting rid of him, it's not like I can do that myself. Drake was just using me, that bastard! All of the spying, letting them onto our territory - I did all of that for nothing! If it wasn't for Cyrus, then he would of killed me! She grits her teeth, why did he save me? Why show me mercy? No, how did he escape Drake alive? If there was one person that could of gotten rid of him, it would've been Drake. But he even has Drake wrapped around his fingers, somehow. Just what is it about him that's so special?! If only I was stronger... maybe then Lance would... Carolyn sighs heavily. How pathetic... it was stupid to assume this plan would work in the first place. Cyrus is Lance's mate. How can I compete with that? I have no choice but to wait for Cyrus to reveal my true intentions. Or maybe I should just run away...

"Car? What are you standing there for? Aren't you hungry?" Carolyn looks up to find Rudy standing in the open doorway, expressing nothing but concern. He frowns when he notices the vulnerable expression on her face, skipping down the steps to be by her side, "What is it? What's wrong?"

She is silent as she watches him. And this boy, Rudy, she couldn’t bear to see the look on his face when he found out she betrayed him. He was maybe five years younger than herself. He joined the pack a few years ago, and Carolyn had trained him herself, taught him everything he knows now. Due to his promising power as a wolf, he easily climbed the ranks and became a beta. He got along with everyone, including Lance. Over the last few years, he had always been there. He had always given her such a kind and welcoming smile, and had annoyingly pried his way into her heart. No matter how many times she had dismissed him, or had been rude to him, he would still hang around her, as if he wasn't bothered in the slightest. No doubt that smile of his would dissappear the moment he knew just what kind of person she truly was. He was the amongst the only people, second to Lance, that she truly cared about.

"Has it gotten too painful? To see Lanny and Cy together like that? I'm sorry, I know it must be hard. I'm here if you want to talk. Or if you don't want to talk, that's fine. I can just... stand here, with ya." He laughs nervously.

Rudy had always been so kind to her. He's made this pack feel like a family, and has always included her. At least this pack, this family, wanted her. God, she was such a fool. What had love turned her into? Was it even love anymore? Or just her refusal to accept rejection? She had risked losing her family because of her actions. She had risked their lives and their safety. She had risked losing Rudy.

She dropped her head, ashamed, "I'm sorry."

"Eh?! Why are you apologizin'?"

She forced herself to smile, shining it at the confused Rudy. Conveying her thankfulness towards him as much as she could in her strained smile, "It's nothing. Let's get some breakfast."

She walked past him, but Rudy caught her arm, "I forgive you!"

She swiveled around, breathing the word, "What?"

Rudy's eyes glowed underneath the morning sun, and they gleamed with nothing but determination, "I forgive you, for whatever you've done. I don't care how bad it was. I'll always be on your side, Car, no matter what."

Carolyn's mouth parted with a quiet surprise. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks at his kind words. Always by my side? No matter what? Those words tugged at her heart. She quickly pulled her arm out of his grip and headed up the steps, mumbling, "You're so stupid..."

He smiled, chasing after her.

-

After breakfast, Cyrus joined Carolyn for a jog around the camp. Lance wanted to tag along, but Cyrus convinced him not to. After all, he had to talk to Carolyn in private. And this was probably one of his only chances to without it coming across as suspicious. Carolyn seemed pretty on edge, considering she kept stealing glances over at Cyrus, who donned an eerily calm composure. The pair jogged for a while before Cyrus spoke up, causing Carolyn to flinch,

"We need to talk."

"Wait."

He watched as she pulled out a pair of headphones from her pocket and began blasting music out of them. She wrapped them around her neck before she nodded for Cyrus to continue. Well, that's smart. Why didn't I think of that?

"I'm not going to tell anyone that you're the traitor."

She frowned, "Why not?"

"The reason doesn't matter, just know we're on the same side, okay? Now that you know how fucked Drake is, you don't still plan to work with him, do you?"

She shook her head, keeping her eyes forward. Cyrus looked ahead also, keeping his voice to a whisper, "Good. Now, I know he had you tap the house. Will you tell me where?"

She bit her lip, refusing to answer. Cyrus sighed, "I'm not going to take them down, I know what would happen if I did that. I just would like to be aware of where they are so I don't piss him off."

She hesitated, "He had me tap every room in the house. Including the front porch. He can probably see us now... but your room and Lance's, he had me focus on those. There must be dozens of cameras and mics."

Cyrus grits his teeth, "How long ago did you put those up?"

"About a week ago. I haven't heard from him until yesterday, when he wanted me to bring you to the woods."

He must of saw and heard what me and Lance did and got pissed off. So everywhere in the house is off limits. He must of infiltrated the camp in the first place to keep us situated there, so he could keep an eye on us in the future. Like a dog herding cattle.

"Are you still in contact with him?"

She glared, "No. I smashed the phone I was using."

"I see."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Train." Cyrus shrugged, "Get stronger. And in a month from now, kill him." He glances over at Carolyn, "Will you help me?"

She studied the sincerity in his eyes, and then glanced back at the house. She found Rudy and a couple other pack members loitering in front. She didn't want any harm to come to them, so she agreed. Cyrus smiled. Good, that was easier than he thought it would be.

"Okay... I need my wolf to be as strong as he can be."

"There's not much you can accomplish in a month, physically. For any real progress training can take years."

"Then I'll train every second of everyday."

"Well... I suppose since your wolf is strong as is, and already knows the basics, we can start with the more difficult training."

"Like?"

"In your case, running up and down the mountain at least three times a day - that will strengthen your leg muscles and give your wolf the running freedom. Since you had no problem flipping that car over there, I'll find something much heavier for you to work with. Let's see... you will need to eat a lot more. More meat, vegetables. We're talking four large meals everyday. Tons of water. And for the adrenaline rush every wolf craves, jumping off the Redfall cliff always works. If you jump off everyday, soon you'll do it without fear or hesitation. I'll start taking you hunting as well. You will need to know the vital arteries to target in order to get a clean kill."

Cyrus is silent as he processes her words. Well, I did sign up for this. There still is the matter of her feelings for my mate... "One more thing; you won't interfere with my mental training, will you? My training with Lance."

Carolyn immediately knew what Cyrus was referring to. She sighed, and it almost as if she were breathing out years of her life. The very years of her life she wasted on unrequited love. She refused to believe it, but watching Lance these last few weeks, he was happier. Happier than he ever was with her. She now knew Cyrus was a big part of his happiness, from the way he talked about him this morning. The way his eyes lit up when he saw Cyrus. The way his words were laced with love and adoration, and his smile twisted with warmth. He loved Cyrus, in a way he could never love her.

She looked ahead, smiling ruefully, "No. Not anymore."

Cyrus nodded, content, "Okay, then, we better get started."

The pair picked up their pace, and Cyrus began his brutal training that would ensure he beat Adonis in the death game a month from then.