A week passed by faster than Orion thought it would. She had spent the majority of the time with Seth and Vincent discussing and making the necessary arrangements for what was to come.
Vincent was always adamant to be finished with their meetings at an early-ish hour so that he would have time to spend with Luna Spiraea and their son before they left. The woman in question would sometimes bring them all lunch whilst they were in their meetings, though judging by her unusually sombre display, she wasn't entirely happy with the idea of her mate having to leave.
Seth felt somewhat bad about the tension between Vincent and Spiraea; it was after all his fault. It was his pack, his uncle, his presence and now his idea that would mean Vincent would have to leave his mate. Whilst they didn't expect for this situation to take very long, none of them knew how long they would be away for.
However, Spiraea, being the observant woman that she was quick to dispel any of his worry. Seth was taken aback not at all expecting her to have realised his guilt. It did make him feel much better to hear her sooth his troubles; there was something about her that just radiated a sense of comfort and understanding.
Regardless of the much shorter hours used in preparation, everything had been set. They had made sufficient arrangements of where each Alpha would be stationed, with whom, doing what. The plan was to have Damien caged in from all sides with ample amounts of reinforcements from each Alpha on each side. Adam would cover the west, Killian and Renee the east, Sebastian would be at the rear which left Vincent to cover the north with his own reinforcements. Sam, Fletcher and Killian's Beta Adella, had managed to create and distribute earpieces amongst the Alphas so that they would all be able to communicate from their separate posts. All in all the preparations were running fairly smoothly.
Whilst the plan seemed rather rushed, it was put together well enough that it could work, which they all agreed was the most important part. None of the Alphas were too nervous about the whole affair. The mutual trust and solidarity between them all meant that they would all be protected by each other- not that they necessarily needed to be. They were only the distraction after all... Nonetheless they could all rest assured that Damien would not be getting away.
Seth, now that is was the evening before the long awaited day, was no longer nervous. He of course spent time pondering the things that could go wrong, but he was more resolute in the fact that he knew what he had to do. He knew what was to come.
He had waited for the day to come far longer than anyone else; 17 years of his life, he had planned the day that he would face his uncle again. He lay awake in bed, Orion passed out beside him blissfully unaware of Seth trapped in his thoughts beside her.
Part of him felt wrong, almost dirty, for thinking about all the slow and painful ways he wanted to torture the pig whilst his innocent mate slept beside him. But he couldn't help it, it was the only thing that could keep him from getting up and trying to find the man right then and there.
Seth turned over, his eyes glancing at the clock on the table beside the bed. It was just gone 2, he would have to be up in the next 3 hours. They had planned to set off around 6am; if all things went to plan, he would be Alpha before lunchtime.
A light drizzle began to come down, he could hear the thunder rolling in the distance. He hoped the rain would let up, but somehow he felt it fitting. The rain tapped against the glass of the window, Seth's body finally relaxing to the sound.
He never stopped thinking it odd that he could find comfort in the midst of chaos. Between that thought and the dark beckoning bellow of thunder that rumbled the air, he managed to fall asleep.
***
The rain didn't let up; not as they ate a quick breakfast the next morning, not as they shifted and met up with the other Alphas for a quick brief, not as everyone took their planned positions, not as Seth hid Orion in the hollow of a large tree he found, and certainly not as Seth found himself striding onto his land to face his uncle. If anything it had started to rain harder. The thunder that had seemed miles away the night before seemed to crack and roll right above them.
The rain had slowed them down somewhat, the heavy mud had made running and stealth rather tedious so they had to slow their pace. Then the ear pieces had malfunctioned and it took a whilst to get them then fixed, and even then Sam had said he wasn't sure they would last. They were way behind schedule, it was now drawing close to noon, and Seth still hadn't challenged his uncle.
Internally he wanted to rip something apart with all the anxiety flooding him, but externally he kept his cool. He kept his chin high, striding purposefully forward. He was somewhat surprised that he hadn't been found by anyone yet; though he supposed all the guards were currently occupied by the alliance of Alphas currently on the borders.
Finally he could breathe a sigh of relief, at least something was going right.
His legs trembled as he walked, the trees around him thinning out as he approached the main area of the pack. It was strange how it was both nostalgic, and yet Seth didn't recognise the place at all. The pack he remembered was a ghost of a memory now, a few buildings that stood as a reminder that his distant past was in fact real and not a fantasy conjured up on cold, lonely nights in his time as a rogue.
The area was chaos; men and women running around, as if not knowing where to go or what to do. Seth thanked the Goddess that this was not a real attack because had it been the casualties would have been catastrophic. There were larger men milling about, one in particular trying to give instructions but it was obvious that nobody was prepared and they were struggling.
In all the havoc and disarray, there was one man who was not present. Even after 17 years, his uncle was still a coward; Seth's lips turned up into a snarl, his anger pulsing through his veins and spurring him forward.
"You." He called out, his voice commanding and only mildly threatening. He had been addressing the large man whom he assumed was the Gamma, but his tone was one of an Alpha and impossible to ignore. Silence spread like wildfire; all present turned to inspect Seth, some with a predatory interest, others full of fright and perhaps even hope.
"Who the hell are you?" The man answered, his frustration almost tangible in the air. Whether it was because of Seth's presence, or the chaos of the situation, Seth wasn't entirely sure. Not that it mattered. Once he was Alpha, most every position in the pack would be re-filled, his frustration did not matter.
"Bring your Alpha to me." Seth did not bother to answer his question; his tone, and the unrestrained power radiating off him was answer enough. "And if he refuses, tell him his nephew has come to pay him a visit."
The gasps and whispers took over the space in a flurry. Those that were old enough to remember, and those who were brave enough to pass down the memories of the rightful Alpha and Luna. They knew- this was the son of Alice and Eliyyahu, this was their true Alpha; now they could only hope that he could prove it by reclaiming his title.
***
Orion crouched uncomfortably in the hollow of the tree that Seth had placed her in. Perhaps if she had been smaller it would not have been so bad, but she was a woman of generous proportions and the small hovel had her contorted in a strange position.
She let out a quiet curse, she knew she was not meant to move or make a sound. She knew werewolves had freakishly supernatural senses and capabilities, but if the bark of the tree kept biting into her hip she was certain that she would end up skewered by the tree. She shuffled for a moment, trying to get comfortable but to no avail.
She wanted to screech in pure frustration but knew better than to let it out. She had promised Seth that she wouldn't move until he came back to find her had she known he would take so long she doubted she would have agreed to such terms.
All she really had to do was find a more comfortable, secure hiding spot. Close enough that she would be able to see Seth when he came back, but covered enough that she wouldn't be spotted by anyone else. She had spent 17 years living in the wild with Seth, she knew how to hide when she needed to.
The girl poked her head out the small hole, her swan like neck turning this way and that as she looked for somewhere new to hide. A large log curved over the ground, a small crater directly below. She wasn't sure how deep it was, but she was almost certain it would be far more comfortable that the god forsaken pocket that she was stuck in.
The log was 20, maybe 30 feet away, but she could make it if she ran. She stuck her head out cautiously one more time, making sure it was safe. She untangled her limbs, crawling out of the small space her legs moving as fast as she could make them.
The mud from the still pouring rain made it harder to move than usual but she could still make it. She was almost there, 15 feet, 14, 13..
10.
Then she heard a growl.
***
When Damien first walked into the clearing, that was now full of pack members wanting to see the event of a lifetime, Seth couldn't help noting two things.
The first, was how much Damien had changed over the last 17 years. He had aged like milk, each part of him only revealing the tyrant he was; his face hard, lined with age and the harshness only brought about by years of cruelty and greed. He was still muscular, and perhaps to everyone else he looked every bit the strong and intimidating Alpha he was; but Seth could sense a weakness lingering on him, the trade mark of a man who had others his dirty work for him.
His uncle had never been a particularly loving man, but there were times Seth remembered him to be kind. However, the man standing in front of him now, he knew was the one who had always lay beneath. There was no kindness in him, and for that, there would be no mercy shown to him.
Which brought him back to the second thing that Seth couldn't help but notice. The look on Damien's face as he took in Seth's frame- the anger, the disgust, the shame... the fear.
Seth stood, feet planted into the muddy earth, hair doused by the rain and looking every bit the ghost of his parents. He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the ripped and corded muscles cut and trimmed to precision. But that wasn't what caught everyone's attention, it was the scars; scattered across his body like a canvas brutally coated in paint. Testimonies of the battles he had fought, and won.
By the end of this challenge, Seth had no doubt, there would be more scars added to the collection. Only they would mark his assent back to his rightful place as Alpha. He wore all his scars with pride because of the way Orion would pour her love on his scars. The thought alone gave him something to look forward to, if only for a moment.
His eyes, dark and stormy as the storm around him, pinned Damien down with a glare. His words loud and clear for all those around him to hear as he made his intentions known.
"I, Seth Wilde, challenge you Damien Wilde for your position as Alpha."
***
A/N: Hey guys,
I know I know, we just want Seth to Kill Damien and take his pack and place as Alpha, and I'm just drawing it out... please don't kill me...
I was so tempted to just write all of it in this one chapter and have it done and out of the way, but the truth is, I've kind of forgotten how to write good action scenes. I sense a lot of writing, and re-writing, and re-writing in my future.
This is such an important moment, I want to get it right.
SO, the shit will hit the fan in the next chapter... I hope y'all are ready! ;)
Please Vote, Comment and Share!
Stay safe!
Love you all,
Bernie x
P.S. I didn't forget my banner this time! Yay! =D