Chasing Tails (Original)

50. Miranda Part 3

"Are you sure it's your brother?" Ollied asked incredulity, looking at Dresden closely. He was normally oozing with power on a daily basis but he was different now. He was caked with ominous power. It was seething out of him like fog over a boiling witch's brew. It cloaked Ollie to the point where he had a hard time breathing and found himself struggling to keep his head up rather than submit to the great power in front of him. Even so, Dresden was panicked and his face was covered with concern. It was the first time he's ever shown the emotion openly.

"No doubt about it." Dresden confirmed, cursing under his breath. "I was positive that I killed the fucking bastard a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" Andy asked a good distance away from the Alpha. Even then, he was having a hard time keeping strength in his knees. He wanted to fall down, entirely overwhelmed with the power. He couldn't imagine killing his own brother. He couldn't fathom a good enough reason for it. But, for Dresden, he wasn't surprised. He always thought the Alpha was much darker than he looked. "What happened between you two?"

"Dresden has some dark days." Jack spoke, fully healed and ready to go. His wolf and his spirit was dying to let loose. But he didn't dare move without Dresden's permission. He was still very much in trouble. "When I first met him, he was a straight on killer - a rogue Alpha."

"Darren was the same." Dresden hastily added, pausing his pacing back and forth to look at them. "But he took things too far. When I left him, he betrayed me and killed our own mother because she was starting to change me."

They were all surprised by the softness Dresden's voice held when it broke - all except Jack who knew the truth early on in their friendship. The look on his face confirmed their thoughts. Dresden was close to his mother and he hated, without reserves, Darren to his very core.

"So you killed, er, thought you killed your brother." Phillip repeated, attempting to move the conversation away from the depressing topic. Even he could see the fear Dresden had that Darren might do something to Julie; something worse than just mating with her. Rose leaned against him, gripping his hand tightly. She hadn't been resting properly like she should have. The thought that Julie was missing and was in grave danger shook her to her core. Learning about Dresden's past only made her think of her own and the thoughts of her mother made her cringe. Phillip could see it all and he was beginning to panic about her.

"Now he wants revenge." Paul continued. Dresden resumed his pacing, swinging his arms feverishly as he tried to keep his power in check.

"That doesn't make any sense though." Andy thought outloud. "Why take Trisha? Did he want us to kill each other off?"

"No," Dresden argued immediately. "Knowing Darren, he only took Trisha for information. She probably held back on him so he kept her longer. That battle was just an entertaining consequence for him."

"What does that mean for Julie then?" Andy's voice was filled with protectiveness that masked his fear and worry. Dresden growled. Only thinking about the possibilities of what might happen to Julie when Darren was involved drove him mad.

"According to Trisha, he wants to make Julie his mate. He shouldn't have a reason to hurt her otherwise." Dresden tensed, snarling immediately at no one in particular, cursing an unimaginable string of curse words angrily. They all knew nothing they said or do could comfort him and decided to ignore him, letting him vent out his anger.

"That's not possible though." Jasmine, one of Rose's trackers, told them. Her voice was covered in confusion and as Paul, Ollie, Jack, Rose, Phillip and Dresden caught each other eyes, she realized she had been missing out. They were all thinking the same thing. Finding Julie was the highest priority.