130 years ago
The table full of people is silent, with nothing but the sounds coming from the clinking of knives and forks on the plates.
Family dinners with my parents had always been quite quiet, I had never been one to be good at small talk, but tonight it is quiet for reasons other than normal, my father is pissed that I had ordered the eating grounds of the Orion to be burnt down.
We had almost shifted and killed each other, if not for my mother stepping in.
My mother clears her throat, putting both her knife and fork down on the plate. "Kane, how is the house coming along?" She asks, breaking the silence.
Lucas sits beside me stuffing his face per usual, not picking up on the tension in the air from my father and I. The house I had been building was taking longer than I thought it would take me, but the lack of sleep had delayed me in building it for a week now, that and protecting the pack as Alpha.
"It's getting there." I tell her, swallowing the last piece of meat on my plate.
She looks happy at my answer and then turns to Lucas who has wide eyes with suddenly all eyes on him at the table. "What?" He mutters out, a mouth full of food.
I roll my eyes at him and grab a drink. "How is being Beta Lucas, is Kane treating you okay?" My mother asks while I ignore their conversation.
"It keeps me busy and of course." He says proudly, eyes beaming at my mother.
Lucas is like a brother to me, his parents had died in an attack when he was ten years old, leaving him without any family.
The first time I met Lucas he was brought home by my father to live with us, he was too talkative and annoying, he followed me around and since then I have always been with him, he was my first true friend, my father who was Alpha at the time had found his parents slain and Lucas close by, he saw them get killed and since then he had lived with us until he was ten and until we turned sixteen, now he lives in the packhouse with the other wolves.
He had only told me once about his family and that was enough for me, I told him about my family history and we never spoke or brought the topic up again, some things were better left in the past.
He knew everything about me, my past, and the secret I keep hidden from my pack, as does my father and all my ancestors who have the gene.
I don't want to be seen as a monster, therefore I keep it hidden, only a few I trust know of my true form.
I stand up and look at Lucas for him to follow me. "We can't stay mom, we need to go back out and follow the scent." I tell her, who frowns at me but nods her head, knowing she can't stop me, but it doesn't stop her from worrying.
I can sense her worry for me, her fears for me being Alpha are understandable, as are my fathers, as was his father worried for him. It's risky going out without a mate, I still struggle to control my emotions which affect my shift and make me lose control of my beast.
It's dangerous, and I don't want to hurt anyone from being too fucking weak.
My father gives me a simple nod as I pass him. "Thank you for the meal, and don't worry I will look out for him." Lucas says to my parents, as he follows behind me, sporting his signature smile at my parents.
I want to roll my eye but my lip twitches.
'You're such a fucking kiss ass.' I mindlink Lucas as we walk out the front door.
"They worry about you, you woke up in the woods again last night Kane." Lucas says once we are within hearing distance.
His nagging has become a daily reminder that I'm stressed, which doesn't help me relax. "Fuck off."
He sighs out and begins to shift, once he shifts he turns around and faces me, his wolf staring at me with concern for his Alpha. I snarl lowly and watch as he lowers his head before sprinting off into the woods to catch up with the rest of the team waiting by the border.
I click my neck and take a deep breath, when I sense that nobody is near me, I let my body relax and my beast takes control of my transformation. The tingle from the horns coming from my forehead no longer burns and the large heavy thick dark wings spring free from my back, no longer painful as they spring free.
Stretching my wings before I begin to fly, I take a moment to myself and sniff the night air.
It's going to rain tonight.
In times like this, where I'm by myself, my mind would wander to what my mate was doing right now.
Was she happy? Was she laughing and having fun? Is she safe? Does she know about my kind? Would she care? A small part of me wants her to be human, so she may never know suffering like my kind has, to never be normal and safe.
To have this burden on your shoulders from a young age, the need to protect, unable to relax, it was more than I understood until a certain age.
Sighing out I take off the ground and head into the direction of my team awaiting my arrival. The night sky feels so empty, only I was flying above the forest, I could see and hear everything within a mile radius without focusing, I feel alive and afraid of nothing when I let the beast take control.
It takes me no time to catch up, I land on the ground far enough that my wolves won't hear me so I can transform into my wolf form, once I catch up and see them, I notice everyone is here and looking in a certain direction.
'The den is up ahead, a dozen of them are there Kane, we won't get in undetected.' Larson says through mindlink.
I shift from wolf form and crouch down and look ahead. He's right, there are at least twenty Orion creatures huddled into a group like they're feasting on something, I have ten wolves with me, including myself, that's eleven.
I could take half of them out, no problem, but something feels off and I don't know why.
'Somethings wrong here, there should be more of them.' I mindlink to my wolves
We still ourselves and search for more scents as we stay blended behind the trees, not risking being seen while we scout.
There's a scent I don't recognize that just became too strong to ignore, it's mixed in with the scent of human blood, I look to Lucas and he points to a direction to my left. Focusing my sight I see a small hut to my left, not far out from the creatures as they feast.
That must be where the scent is coming from. Could it be you, Theodin?
'Larson, if Theodin is here I want you to keep the other wolves away from that area, I will handle him.' I tell him through mindlink.
He looks at me hard with a frown. 'What are you planning to do Kane? Roll in there and kill him?' He says sarcastically and I give him a warning look.
'Quit your bickering, we go together, Theodin is a coward, there's no way he's by himself, we should focus on the hut before we kill the dark creatures.' Rogon mindlinks from beside us.
Before I could open my mouth a voice yells out in the night, coming from the hut.
"KANE BLACK, ARE YOU THERE?"
My wolves, plus, Larson, Rogon and Lucus look at me as I try and calm the beast inside of me that threatens to come out.
Theodin.
'Stay away from the hut, that's a fucking order, I will deal with Theodin, you deal with the creatures.' I mindlink then cut the connection, making my way towards the hut, keeping myself hidden.
Once I make it to the hut undetected, there he is without a care in the world, holding onto a dim lit light with an expression of playfulness on his face.
"I can sense you kane, kom ut bror."
I come out from the trees, my claws and my canines out on full display, when he sees me his face hardens, he knows I didn't come here to talk.
"Hittade dig, Theodin." I say slowly, walking closer to him, each step making him rethink his plan when he sees me.
I let my sharp deadly wings come through and break the trees on either side of me, his eyes widen as he stares at me. He laughs nervously and holds his free hand up. "Woah, I just wanted to talk brother, there's no need for this." He says, pointing at my form.
"I'm not your fucking brother." I spit out in pure hatred, taking in how much he has changed since the last time I saw him. "Give up quietly and I might just give you a quick death."
He laughs, then soaks the light source from the dim-lit candlelight in his hand and transfers it to his own hands. "You never were any fun, I like that you get straight to the point Kane." He says humorously, as he holds the fire in his hands, watching me carefully.
There's another scent here, I can smell it.
The air is different, almost like it's his... mate?
I want to fucking laugh, I don't believe it.
We begin slowly circling each other, neither one of us looking away from the other. "Why not introduce your mate to me Theodin?" I ask slowly, a smile creeping onto my face, watching as he tenses for only a moment. "En jävel som du med en kompis, grattis." I say mockingly, watching as the words make him snap.
He yells out 'Fuck you' then throws a fireball straight towards me, luckily I dodge it just in time and leap forward using my wings to push myself forward to knock myself into him.
He moves out of the way just in time, but not without cutting my left wing with a poisoned dagger. "Do you feel that Kane? The burning, the itching, I hope you feel it!" He laughs out as I hold onto my wing, unable to retract them, I keep my eyes focused on him and snarl.
The door to the hut opens and there walks out a young woman, possibly the same age as both of us, she has hair darker than night and eyes as bright as the sun, she's looking at my form in horror before her eyes shift to Theodins, but not in love, in hatred.
She rejected him, that much I know. "Get out of here, this doesn't concern you!" I snarl to the female.
Theodin, attacks me again, this time with the dagger he cut me with, I grab onto his hand in time and twist it, making him drop the knife, I hold onto his arm and then throw him with all my strength into the side of the brick hut, causing the girl to cry out and crouch to the floor.
"S-She's my mate! She goes nowhere!" Theodin says, gritting his teeth glaring at me and then the girl.
Something catches my eye, I see it too late and before I know it, the young woman who was once on the floor to my right is now standing in front of me and taking the dagger that was meant for, stood it straight in the heart in that instant.
The hallowing scream of Theodin from the mate bond-breaking gave me an opportunity to reach out to him using my free uninjured wing before he could conjure another dagger to throw at me. Upon reaching him I use my sharp fangs to bite his arm holding the dagger and rip it off his body and spit it out my mouth.
His cries laced with his thick accent snarling incoherent words at me was all I could hear as he holds onto his wound, the stench of blood was now overflowing my senses and I felt sick from whatever he had cut me with.
I felt my legs give out as I tried to steady myself on the ground, the trees around me were spinning, I couldn't feel anything in my body anymore, everything was numb, I could feel my strength weaken and my bones burn all through my body, my head was on fire and my eyes were bleeding from the corners.
..Am I ...dying? Is this what death feels like?... It's too soon, I can't die like this, not yet.. I still have things left to do, life to experience, I can't die, I won't.
What.. just what the fuck did he cut me with?
Theodin..