Madness Descends

15. Family Lies

Hot on Dove's heels, Artemis intended on getting to the bottom of his brother's attitude problem and his father's secrets.

"Dove, stop!" Stryxx's voice surfaced.

"We need to talk. Will you hear me?"

"Of coarse. I always have time for our little sisterly talks." Dove rolled his eyes. As soon as Dove turned, Stryxx, fully released, knocked him to the ground with Stryxx's huge wolf paw pinning him there. "Let me up. You don't want what's on my B side, trust me, brother." Dove growled, shaking in rage.

"You will calm down so we can speak like civilized men. We are not monsters, brother." Stryxx shouted.

"Maybe not, but we're are little better than animals. We lie, cheat, wage wars, and force our own wolves to fight their brothers and sisters for what? Power? The biggest, baddest Wolfpack? It's criminal what we put ourselves through." Dove went completely still and Stryxx pulled him to his feet.

"I never knew you felt this way. Rei has rubbed off on you, in a good way." Stryxx smiled, hugging his brother.

"Now add Briar's situation onto Rei's emotions and maybe you will understand my state of mind." Dove said.

"I have to say this before we get back to it. Father is hiding something from us. I don't know what it is, or how long he's been keeping it from both of us." Stryxx said.

"There's a lot he hasn't told us. The last time he pulled me in for one of our chats, he told me something. Something about you. I didn't believe it then, and I still don't believe it." Dove said nervously.

"What was that? Is it that serious? If you could only see your face." Dove smiled weakly.

"Spit it out man, we have a job to do." Stryxx huffed, annoyed.

"You aren't the Blood Heir, I am." Dove blurted out.
Stryxx was silent for a moment, then laughed at the news. "Dove, he used that on me a long time ago." He said putting his arm around Dove's shoulders.

"Why didn't you say anything to me? It must have hurt, at least at first." Dove asked cautiously.

"For the same reason you never told me, I suppose. It seems our father has been trying to play us off each other, get us jealous of each other, even use Kitsune to force a wedge in between us. I never believed I was the one to draw out Kitsune. If I was, we would have met first." Stryxx reasoned.

"How very big brother of you." Dove laughed.
When Stryxx and Dove walked back into the house, Dove announced. "Crisis averted. Please forgive my behavior, the Moon made me do it." He smiled.

"You two good now?" Tris asked.

"Family drama that needs to be unpacked, but it can wait. Where were we before the distraction?" Stryxx asked.

"After the sun sets we are going to the Row to search block by block in the area that Dove and Artemis felt the tremor. Keep in mind that we still have no idea who or what took Briar, so stealth and focus are top priority." Kyle said.

"A couple of rogues Nico and I know told us that a few months back, a new wolf was spotted stalking the area, looking for something. I think the wolf was looking for Briar." Tris said.

"Every wolf in Creation instinctively knows who Briar is, who you two are, and what she is to inherent in less than a month. There have to be wolves that know how to find you wherever you go. How else do you explain how they found you before?" Shae reasoned.
Kyle and Noni looked at each other quickly. "Noni and Briar have been running since she was in the 3rd grade." Kyle revealed.

"How many moves?" Shae asked.

"Six different states. It's been pure madness!" Noni looked at Kyle, "When Briar was born we knew we had only 2 paths in front of us. One, tell her everything, and have her reject Kitsune, the wolves, and us all at once."
Kyle cleared his throat, "Or we could have ruined Briar from the very beginning, and raised a soldier who took orders, followed them to the letter, and never questioned any of them. I wanted my daughter to be a free thinker with an accepting nature, open mind, and warm heart. She needs both strength and compassion to be the human vessel for Kitsune reborn."