The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 22: Small Accomplice

Oh Gulliver. I wish I could tell you everything that's happened. It hasn't been that long, but there's been so much change. The pack we built together is hanging on by threads. And I wasn't too much help for that. I wish I could find you, and bring you back to the family that misses you. This shouldn't have happened to you at all. It should have happened to me instead. At least I didn't have anyone back then.

Rhett sighed, looking at the bright moon in the sky. The sun had set long ago. They all decided to camp in that area that they had found his brother's tooth in. It was a wolf tooth, which meant that he lost it in his wolf form. Rhett could have guessed that his brother had been running as a wolf. Gulliver loved to run as a wolf. Him and Rhett used to race each other, playing and fighting to keep in shape. But at least this was some hard evidence.

He couldn't believe they found something. It was like the forest was trying to tell him where he was. And Rhett so desperately wanted to listen. There was so much to do and so much to say. There were so many wishes that his heart wanted. It was as plentiful as the stars in the sky.

Everyone had fallen asleep long ago, but he decided to stay awake. Even with Sebastian humming him a lullaby, his mind was too set on the clue that left his whole body buzzing to do something. He wanted to keep running. He would run to the ends of the earth if it meant finding his brother. If it weren't for the pack that needed him, he would have. But the worst he could do was let his pack to tear apart without someone to lead them. Then there wouldn't be anyone or anything to come home to when he finally did find Gulliver.

It tore him apart. Gulliver was the only family that Rhett had. They had to be there for each other through everything, even their parents dying when they were only just reaching the age to take leadership. Gulliver barely had time to enjoy his new mate at the time. They had both gone through plenty of bumpy roads, but they stuck through it. Success wasn't something that was given to you. You had to earn it. And they worked their asses off together to gain the success that they had with the growth of the Chakoa Pack. They made their parents and ancestors proud.

He missed him. There was so much he wanted to tell him. So much had happened over the four months that he had been missing. He missed the nights when they would both take a seat on one of the benches, watching the bright night sky, and just talking about everything they could over a beer or two. No matter what the problem was, they were always there for each other.

You missed me finding my mate, brother. You've been waiting for so long, bugging me about adventuring out of the pack to see if I would find mine away from home. Every time you saw me with Everett, you would bug me about it. It pissed me off to no end, but you just told me that someone had to replace mom about mates. She always talked about it before we even reached the age to go and find our mates.

Don't worry. Noah is having fun taking over for you on that. Since I finally found him, of course, it has to be a difficult one. I suppose it's karma for bashing on you being mated to Genie for so long. I still think it's weird sometimes. She was our friend since we were kids.

I think you would like him, though. He would shock the hell out of you, but you wouldn't believe just how well he plays, and sings. I wish you could meet him...

Rhett hadn't had hope like this in what seemed like ages. There was just something about finding that clue, and the starry night, that made him think that maybe life wasn't so bad after all. Maybe it could truly get better. If he could get through all these hurdles then things were sure to look brighter for him. Even if he had to climb over every single one of those hurdles, one by one. Perhaps it would all be worth it.

Just one step at a time. As long as he was making some sort of progress, he guessed it wouldn't be that bad. Having Sebastian and Odin around helped, he guessed. He was surprised that Odin had even found something while they were searching. His nose wasn't as good as Rhett's. It was the only good surprise that Rhett had gotten in a while, minus Sebastian randomly popping into his life.