Alastor had promised Ikigai that he would tell no one about what Deimos had done to her. He had promised her that no repercussions nor retaliation would be sought out against her. Alastor was a wolf of his word. But what he had been very tactful to avoid promising her was that he would not seek retribution for the brutalization the princess' fiancé had subjected her to. This was not a matter the Commander could let go by without doling out punishment for the crime. He didn't give a fuck if Deimos was a true-blooded Mendacium, or that he was the brother of his wife the Matriarch. As Commander, he had vowed to protect the wolves of Elysium and to uphold the pack's laws, and he intended to do just that. Deimos knew better than to be so reckless and stupid. He knew the standing Ikigai had, the influence she brought, and that their whole alliance with Ashen hinged upon her. He knew Ikigai was far too dutiful and demure to tell her mother about this incident, but if he didn't put a stop to it now, what would stay the foolish brute's paw the next time? What if Venom had appeared at their borders for an impromptu visit? What if he accidentally killed her? Iki had asked him not to punish Deimos for his actions, but Alastor saw this as investing in their future and ensuring he never made such a lapse in judgment again.

Still silently seething, the massive wolf marched through the dense pine forest in the direction of Deimos and Iki's den, a furious fire burning in his abyssal gaze. Strong jaws were clenched hard, gritting deadly fangs together behind tightly set lips to prevent himself from visibly snarling. He had to remain composed—at least for now. Alastor made his way up the mountain paths, arriving at the quiet den a few minutes later. The silence was deafening, and knowing that Iki was out washing herself of the evidence from the night prior, that meant the culprit was sleeping like a baby inside. For some reason, that infuriated Alastor more than anything. Taking a moment to compose himself and smooth his features, Alastor put on a concerned, urgent expression and hurried inside the cave. The air still smelled of sex hinted with blood, a stench the Mendacium brute would ordinarily have liked, but in this case was incensed by. The rumbling snoring coming from the sleeping alcove further infuriated the man. He followed the sound to where he found the giant slate imbecile fast asleep, totally dead to the world around him.

For a moment, Alastor watched Deimos, quietly contemplating how easy it would be to grab him by the neck and twist until his head ripped off. That would certainly let off some steam and solve his problem, but something told him Manea would be even more mad at him than she already was if he murdered her brother. No, he didn't intend to kill the fool, just teach him a lesson about restraint and making better choices. Putting on his crisis mode face again, Alastor prepared his charade. "Deimos! Wake up, now!" He delivered a sharp kick to the other male's side, trying to rouse him abruptly enough to get him up yet still keep him groggy from sleep. "It's Ikigai. You need to come right now!" Still acting with urgency, Alastor turned and hurried back to the main chamber of the cave, looking back to Deimos and ushering him to hurry up before padding swiftly outside. He did not want to start any violence within the home, more for Ikigai's sake than Deimos'. But as soon as he lured Deimos outside, then all bets were off.

"Alastor Mendacium"

Deimos was deeply asleep and snoring lightly when he was suddenly jerked awake by a sharp pain in his side, knocking the air out of his lungs for a moment as his bleary eyes flew open and he was just as suddenly confronted by the splitting headache his hangover presented him with. He groaned and rolled over, wincing against the light of the morning while he barely managed to focus on the fuzzy form of Alastor looming over him and demanding that he get up. At first he had zero recollection of what had happened the night prior and his brother-in-law's words went right in one ear and out the other, his brain lacking any sort of ability to comprehend what he was saying. After a beat he at least was able to decipher what Alastor was saying to him. There was something about Ikigai that required his immediate attention. "Ikigai?" he rasped, his brows pulling together with concern as he groggily pulled himself to his paws and shook his head to clear it.

He still didn't quite remember what had gotten him into this state. He remembered coming home the previous evening, he remembered being frustrated and downing a bottle of wine on his own because of it, but any of the other details were still fuzzy in his blacked out state—at least until he started hurrying to join Alastor outside of the den and the lingering scent of blood and sex started to jog his memory. A knot began to twist in his already uneasy stomach as he forced himself out of the cave, staggering a bit until he found his balance and stepped out into the sunlight. "Where is she? What's going on?" he questioned while still putting together the scattered memories of the night before, stopping just outside the cave and looking around for her.

"Deimos Medacium"

Deimos acted as if nothing was wrong. Like he hadn't just spent the night before raping and roughing up his fiancée. Alastor was no saint by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew better than to raise a paw to a lady. He also knew better than to do anything to jeopardize the pack or his family. Deimos had committed both of those crimes in one evening alone. And now here he was, acting as if he had no idea what the trouble really was. Was he actually that shameless that he felt no guilt or remorse for harming Ikigai? Or was he so hungover that the realization hadn't dawned on him yet? Either way, be it pride or his diminished sobriety, it got the true-blooded Mendacium to follow him out of the cave and into the early morning light. Alastor waited until Deimos had crossed the threshold and was safely away from any of the personal belongings inside the home. Idiot...

Alastor rounded on Deimos then, bringing a large paw up aimed to smack into the side of Deimos' head with all the strength he could muster. The feigned concern on the dire wolf's face melted away into barely contained ire following his sucker punch, squaring up against the other male with a quivering snarl on his lips. Jet black eyes smoldered with a furious blaze. He drew down on Deimos, and whether the slate-furred wolf went down or not, Alastor sought to bring his paw around again to snatch him by the scruff, his claws extended to secure his aimed grasp on the other wolf's neck. "Do you truly not recall, or are you so self-deluded that you don't care about what you did to her?" Al hissed through bared teeth. "She's down by the lake, washing the filth of you off of her and trying to hide the injuries you left on her, you fucking cretin of a man-child!"

"Alastor Mendacium"

Not even a beat after he stepped out into the sunlight, Alastor rounded on him and before he could react the dire brute's paw connected with the side of his head, rattling his already scattered brain with a grunt. His ear began to ring from the impact and he stumbled to the side a bit, only just catching himself and managing to stay on his paws as he grimaced and winced from the sudden, sharp pain. "What the f-" he muttered before he was cut off, Alastor suddenly rushing at him and catching the hungover, unsteady brute off guard. He snarled and pulled against the hold that Alastor was trying to get on him, stumbling again and falling slightly before pushing back up onto his paws, but there was no getting away from the sharp bite of Alastor's claws gripping into his scruff.

He was just a moment from rounding on Alastor himself and attacking the Commander back—consequences of that be damned—when Alastor's furious, hissed out words caught his attention and made him freeze. Did to her? The blackout he experienced the night prior was coming back to bite him and regardless of what Alastor believed he could truly not remember what, if anything, he had done. The evidence was there in the lingering scents that had permitted the den, but he didn't know the specifics or what exactly had transpired. Alastor shed a bit of light on the situation as he was finally told where Ikigai was—down by the lake washing up and trying to cover up her injuries. His expression didn't change but there was a twist in his gut as he again questioned what he had done, a dread and a guilt biting at him. All the work he had done to slowly begin winning Ikigai's trust felt like it had been thrown away in an instant and he was more infuriated with himself than anything else.

Regardless of what had happened, Alastor happened to find Ikigai before he had so now he had to deal with the Commander's fury regardless. In his hungover, frustrated, indignant state he couldn't care less what the brute did to him and he couldn't allow himself to simply back down and accept that he deserved whatever lashing he was about to get. "Why don't you get the fuck out of my relationship and deal with your own?" he snarled, his lips pulling back from his teeth in a snarl as he threw himself forward, jamming the front point of his shoulder into the center of Alastor's chest to knock him away or wind him or both. He growled, looking up at Alastor with a defiant glare and a slight smirk on his lips he added, "From what I hear you've been too busy getting your dick sucked by that pink bitch to pay attention to your marriage so where'd you find the time to fuck with me?"

"Deimos Medacium"

ooc: PP permission granted by Shelby

The surprise and shock that caught Deimos off guard had been a wonderful ripple of delight down the demon brute's spine. Hearing his brother-in-law grunt and growl in pain had been reward in of itself for the crimes he'd committed, but Alastor wasn't done with him yet. His grip on Deimos had been successful, and now holding the other brute by the scruff he snarled his words into one violet ear. Deimos struggled some, but seemed to give up the fight when he realized what he was being punished for. The grim realization that dawned in the other male's eyes told Alastor all he needed to know. Deimos knew what he had done. He knew and had drunk to forget it all. Cowardly fuck... Couldn't even face the reality of what he had done to that poor girl. Alastor's siam claws bit deeper into the wolf's scruff, angered by his lack of a reaction or acceptance of his guilt. Instead, what Alastor received was a venomous response from the true-blooded Mendacium, a snarl turned in his direction, and then Deimos was pushing into him, shoving Alastor back and forcing him to relinquish his hold on his foe's neck.

Deimos' smirk on his arrogant, smug face would have been enough to justify another smack from Alastor, but it was the words that followed that sealed the slate wolf's fate. Alastor's pupils shrank to furious pinpricks in amongst the sea of black obsidian, his jaw set hard and ebony lips peeled back from deadly white fangs. Something twinged inside his brain, an animalistic rage pulling at the back of his mind like a marionette string being tugged. The dumb asshole didn't know when to shut his fucking mouth, did he? Snarling, Alastor lunged for Deimos, closing the gap between them in one bound. He didn't stop his momentum, instead throwing his shoulder into Deimos' side to return the shove, but he kept going, pushing harder and harder until he had pushed the other wolf up into the rocky wall of the mountainside. Alastor withdrew, but only so he could slam his shoulder back into Deimos again, slamming the wolf into the rocky wall a second time.

Once he was sure Deimos was dazed, that same paw that had held his neck shot up to grasp Deimos by his skull, thrusting his muscular foreleg forward to bash Deimos' head against the wall, then turning with a twisting motion to drag Deimos down to the hard ground. He threw the wolf down, his paw still grasping his opponent's head in a vise-like grip with razor sharp claws biting into the flesh around his brow and chin for a better hold. Alastor showed no mercy, expression contorted into a violent snarl as he lifted Deimos' head and slammed it down into the rocky mountain ledge once, twice, three times until he saw smatterings of blood beneath the slate wolf's head. As enraged as he was, Alastor was still in control—for now. He didn't wish to kill or permanently damage Deimos, but he would not let his offenses come to pass without judgment. Noting the blood seeping from the fresh gash in his temple, Alastor snarled and shoved Deimos' head back to the ground, applying some weight to keep him pinned while he loomed over his injured foe.

"You'd do best to remember your place, Predator," he hissed with seething rage between clenched fangs, a lethal growl reverberating his husky tones with each syllable spoken. "Your name and your blood won't spare you from me. Take this as your one and only warning. If you dare lay a paw on Ikigai to harm her again, I will rip all four of them from your legs and then I'll feed you your own cock. I'll leave your rotting corpse on the beach for the gulls and the crabs to dispose of." The paw over Deimos' head flexed, applying more pressure to the downed wolf's skull and pressing his claws deeper into the thin flesh around his face in imminent threat. "If you say another word about my marriage or Relm, I'll tear your smarmy tongue from your mouth. Do you understand me?" He leaned closer, snarling, daring Deimos to say something stupid again. If he was smart, he would accept his punishment and yield. But would Deimos prove to be a smart wolf...?

"Alastor Mendacium"

The look of fury on the brute's face in response to his scathing words told him he had done exactly what he wanted in getting under the Commander's skin. He knew there was no avoiding this "punishment" or whatever Alastor was going to deem this at this point so if he was going to take a beating then he was going to give Alastor a real reason to do it. He braced himself as Alastor charged him, the air quickly getting knocked out of his lungs as he was shoved and pushed till he was knocked clean into the rocky wall of the mountainside. He pushed back against his attacker, the sounds of growls and snarls filling the morning air, but he was outmatched in his current condition and he knew it. He was stubborn and arrogant, but he wasn't an idiot. He was slammed into the rock with a grimace and he snarled, taking the hits and feeling the hard impacts into his sides and ribs while he reached with a large bear-like paw for whatever parts of Alastor he could reach, swiping and cutting into his shoulder and the side of his neck between the impacts until he had to let the retaliation go in order to have any hope of staying on his feet.

That didn't last long, however, when Alastor's paw suddenly gripped his skull. When his head impacted the rock his ears immediately began to ring again as a blinding pain cut through his head, making his vision spin and blur a bit. Part of that spin and movement ended up actually being the fact that Alastor pulled him to the ground, but he didn't really realize that until after several heavy impacts when he finally realized it wasn't the side of the mountain that he was being thrown into any more but the rocky ground. At some point the scent of blood reached his nose again, but this time he knew it was his own. When the movement stopped and it was replaced with a constant pressure instead, Deimos grimaced, breathing heavily through gritted teeth against the sharp, stabbing pain that laced through his skull.

There was nothing Alastor could have said to him or threats that could have been dealt that would be worse than what Deimos was already thinking about himself—with what little capacity for thought he had at the moment. Still, there was no avoiding the lovely images that Alastor painted for him of what would happen to him should he ever harm Ikigai again. He didn't know what had made Alastor so fucking protective over his mate, but he was so he supposed there was no avoiding this now. He didn't have any intentions of doing something to Ikigai again, but he'd certainly need to be more careful about things in the future. If he was trying to save his own hide he'd probably keep his mouth shut—but Alastor's pointed insistence to not say anything else about his marriage or Relm was just too good to let go. Even though he had been irritated with his sister and the pressure she was putting on him yesterday, his loyalty was always to her first so if he could get a dig in on Alastor when he knew he was already going to get injured by the furious brute then it felt like it was worth it.

"Why are you so bothered by me talking about your marriage?" he muttered under his breath with a scoff, fighting against the pain from his claws and the hard pressure he was putting down onto his skull. "Are you just mad that I can fuck your wife better than you and she just settled for you instead?"

"Deimos Medacium"

Amidst his brutalizing of the guilty, Alastor felt Deimos thrash and struggle against him, trying to break free or fight back or do anything but be victimized. Ironic, given that he likely hadn't given Ikigai any quarter when he'd had his way with her last night. A sick, twisted part of his mind enjoyed rendering Deimos helpless and bent to his will, and a part of him considered doing to him what he had done to Ikigai, just to teach him a lesson. Ah, but that might be going too far. A little roughing up, some spilt blood and lingering threats, that should do the trick. Deimos lashed out at him with wild bear paws, those hooked claws managing to catch the ebony dire wolf in the shoulder and across his collar a few times, tearing into skin and muscle. None of the wounds were particularly deep, but they did run red with his blood and stung like a bitch. Alastor grit his teeth and growled against the pain, each stabbing sting just reinvigorating him, like taking a shot of adrenaline. If only Deimos knew he was fighting a masochist...

In the end, Alastor had gotten Deimos exactly where he wanted him. Pinned down beneath his bulk and within his power, Alastor demanded his brother-in-law's submission for his own sake. But Deimos stubbornly refused. Instead, the Mendacium brute doubled down on his attempts to goad Alastor into further violence. This time, he succeeded. Deimos' taunting words brought a brief pause to the psychopathic dire wolf, his expression freezing as he processed what the other man had said. Black lips quivered with untethered rage, something snapping behind empty obsidian eyes. Deimos had fucked Manea. Manea had been intimate with her brother gods knew how recently and she hadn't told him. She hadn't told him that the brothers she was bringing into the pack were lovers of hers as well. A deep sense of betrayal cut through the demon wolf's blackened heart. Had Manea fucked Merrick too and not told him about that? How many other secret lovers had she snuck into Elysium without his knowledge?

With Deimos still pinned beneath his paw, Alastor shifted his weight and brought his other paw crushing down on his opponent's throat, pressing forward with all his weight to choke Deimos without mercy. Alastor snarled, more like a feral animal than a sentient creature at this point. Spittle flew from bared fangs as he thought about the dozen different ways he could end this reprobate's life here and now. The consequences might be worth the reward and pleasure he took in watching Deimos expire. Alastor pressed harder on Deimos' throat. He wanted to see the other man squirm, kick, thrash for air he wouldn't receive. Siam claws extended to dig into the soft tissue of the other wolf's neck. All he had to do was grip a little tighter and his claws would tear through veins and arteries. Deimos would be dead before his heart stopped beating. Or he could just keep leaning forward. The slate male would either choke to death or have his neck crushed. Alastor quivered with sadistic pleasure as he imagined what that crunch would sound and feel like.

Ah, but the thin strip of consciousness that remained in Alastor's fragmented mind reminded him that he was not above Elysium's laws either. He would be responsible for murdering Deimos, and lord knew what an already pissed off Manea might sentence him too. So he would let the cocky fucker live... for now. But he wouldn't let him go easy. The paw on Deimos' face flexed, sending sharp siam claws sinking through his thin skin until he felt them hit hard bone. With his claws embedded in Deimos' brow, Alastor gave his brother-in-law a wicked grin and then pulled his paw across Deimos' face with all his might. Razor-like claws rent through flesh like shears through paper, ripping several cuts down Deimos' face from above his right brow and through his cheek down to the end of his snout. He had intended to take Deimos' eye in the process, but the other male's brow bone had deflected his claws just enough to spare him from a blinding.

With Deimos' face sufficiently torn up and bloody, Alastor squeezed his paw tighter around the wolf's neck, lifted his head up, then slammed it back down into the hard rock one last time before releasing him so he could breathe. Moment by moment Alastor began to recover, breathing hard while he gradually came down from his combat-driven high. When he'd taken enough breaths to step off of Deimos and admire his work, Alastor delivered another kick aimed for Deimos' exposed belly just to knock the wind out of him some more. "Come near me or my family again, I'll make you wish you'd been culled." As he stepped past the crumpled form of the bruised and bloodied Deimos, Alastor aimed one last parting kick aimed for Deimos' snout. Whether it broke the brute's nose or just stunned him didn't matter. Alastor reveled in any little bit of pain he could inflict. Deimos had more than deserved it. And if he thought he was making idle threats, he was welcome to test them. Alastor would take great pleasure in proving him wrong.

- exit Alastor unless stopped -

"Alastor Mendacium"