The Grim Lost

Ruin

(Ruin's P.O.V)

Despair moved about the office, picking up random objects and moving them elsewhere. I growled at him, standing up on all fours. The recovery week was almost over. I had maybe a few more hours before I returned to my human form. Our kids were upstairs with Kris. She wasn't very talkative despite being given a voice. Twilight and Shadow loved her. Apparently she played creative games with rules that changed according to game play. 

"I know you can communicate with me while you're like that," Despair said. His fingers pushed my short sword back further on the top shelf. I rolled my eyes. Lightly trotting over to him, I licked the side of his head. He cringed away from me, falling on his ass.

"Maybe I wanna stay quiet a while longer, eh? I'll chew you out when I'm in my other form. Then I can pin you down fairly so you can't run away." I replied, chuffing in laughter.

"Rude," he huffed. A sharp pain radiated in my chest. I sucked in a sharp breath. Oh, this is going to hurt. I laid down on my belly as my body constricted in on itself. Too soon. What the Hell... Blunt cracks moved from the back of my head down my spine. My legs straightened out into four human limbs. I yelped while my jowl shrunk. Panting, my gaze came to focus on Despair holding up a blanket to throw over me. I blushed slightly.

"Thank you." I said, accepting the help. He lifted me into his arms. My senses from being in alpha mode were still extremely heightened. His B.O. made me wrinkle my nose. "You need a shower."

Despair rolled his eyes, adjusting his hold so I was basically clinging to his hip like one of the kids. I laid my head on his shoulder. I had to get my land legs back, metaphorically speaking. Running around on all fours for a weeks threw me off track. He set me on my feet outside the bathroom and poked my nose.

"You first, Wolfy. I wasn't the one rolling around in dirt and leaves the last week," Despair smirked, pulling a twig from my hair. I growled, my eyes flashing at him. He shook his head with a smile, "I'll grab you a towel and clothes. Just don't use all the hot water."

"As if, beauty queen," my retort came quickly. Oh crap. I slammed the bathroom door shut. Alpha laughed. At least he got half that right. We look like Hell froze over then melted. I agreed with her, smiling. Not long after my shower, I stretched out on the bed. The tips of my toes barely the reached the edge. Despite everything, my normal size was puny compared to my wolf's. I sighed. Pretty sure I wasn't going to shift for a while unless absolutely necessary.

"Mama!" Twilight and Shadow came running. My daughter hopped onto the bed next to me in full human form. She shifted into a pup then back.

"Good job, baby girl!" I cooed, rolling onto my side and pulling her close. Twilight yanked away as Shadow nudged his way into her place. I smiled. He was my quiet baby. His major words were either 'mama' or 'dad.' And considering he still had his baby fat, he wasn't quite the spitting image of his father yet.

"Alright, so I brought popcorn, water bottles, and a small variety of M&Ms." Despair listed off. His arms were full of movie night goodies. "What are we watching?"

"Detective Pikachu!" Twilight yelled as she tripped over herself to get to the DVD player. I rolled my eyes and snuggled Shadow close. As the movie started playing, Twilight and Despair curled up next to Shadow and I.

My mind drifted to Raiden being my new Beta. Not to mention that I had to deal with the on-going Marcosias issue. He sent several death threats over the last few days. I had to have Despair read them to me but they ended up in the fireplace anyway. I needed to speak with Havoc and Death. They seemed to have gotten closer since the wedding. I wasn't sure how that happened. If it's what I thought it was, Havoc needed to officiate her rejection or we were going to be facing a head-on war.

Once the movie was over, it was obvious the kids were going to be sleeping with us tonight. I scooted away from Shadow slowly. When Despair quirked an eyebrow in question, I motioned toward my office door. We left the room, quietly shutting the door behind us. I sat at my desk. Despair leaned against my drawers with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Speak."

"We need to address the whole Havoc and Marcosias ordeal. Call her up," I responded, turning toward my files and sifting through them.

"At this time of night? This can't wait until morning?" Despair asked.

"No, this needs to happen now. I have too many meetings tomorrow. Either call her up or I wake Raven to do it," I snapped.

He scowled and hung his head, "Fine."

"The sooner we solve this the better." I pulled out the three files I needed. Havoc. Death. And Marcosias Daw. Death's was almost empty except for one piece of paper listing off a few facts. Even when I lived with him, he was very reclusive. Though I did know more about him than the file held. Marcosias' was packed full with subsections dating back to his first felony. He had a criminal record longer than a CVS receipt. Havoc's wasn't too full but it wasn't completely empty either. Suddenly, my door opened. I straightened up, scooting my chair forward.

"What is it, Ruin? This better be important, it's late as all Hell." my sister walked in. Her eyes were squinted against the office light. I waved her toward a chair. She sighed and sat down. I held up the most recent threat for her to see. When she reached for it, I let her take the envelope. I watched her eyes skim over the cramped and hurried writing. Havoc growled as she crumpled the note.

"Important enough for you?" I inquired. She glared at me. Sighing, my eyes flicked up to see Death enter. He quickly took the other available chair. "Lovely, you're both here."

"What is this about?" Death asked.

I stood up, feeling fire in my eyes, "My pack is under threat while we have very important visitors. Do you understand this? Havoc, either reject Marcosias or accept him as your mate. This has gone on long enough. I will not allow you to ignore the problem any longer. In three days, I will have him summoned for the ritual. You have until then to make your choice. Death, if my eyes are not deceiving me, you feel defensive over Havoc for some reason. I have cause to believe the reason is you're in love with her. Am I wrong?"

Neither of them said anything. I nodded my head, feeling Alpha's regality seep into my conscious form. It seemed as though I had made my intent clear.

"Don't bother with the ritual. We will go to him and perform the rejection in his home territory," Havoc said. Her eyes were ablaze with fury. Death stared at her in shock.

"That's a suicide mission..." he said. His hand twitched, itching to hold his scythe. I knew the feeling well. Despair's hand rested on my shoulder, gently forcing me to sit back down.

"No," I channeled my power into my words. "No one is to leave the sanctity of this pack. We will solve this together under safe parameters."

"Fine." My sister snapped. Death nodded, his gaze never leaving her. I sighed and waved them out before collapsing backwards into my chair. Slipping my files back into their respective places, I brought my knees up to my chest. I was finally drained for the day. Despair coaxed me to my feet.

"C'mon, my love. The kids await us in bed," his comforting words were a lullaby to my exhausted body. He slowly led me upstairs to our bedroom. Twilight and Shadow were still fast asleep, curled up next to each other in the center of the bed. I pulled our son to my bosom. On the other side, Despair did the same to Twilight. Gradually, bit by bit, the night came into effect around us. The soft wind rustling the leaves on the trees and the slow breathing of my babies created the perfect, calming white noise I needed in order to relax.

With these three, I knew I could do anything. I loved my mate and our wonderful children. Here I had created a pack worthy to take on anyone who dared defy it. Where outsiders felt akin to each other. There was no such thing as being alone. If you couldn't live by yourself, the pack house always had an open bed. It's home.