Dinner was nice and calm until Christopher walked in, he didn't look so good.
"Why wasn't I called in for dinner?" he asked.
John looked up from his seat "ah Christopher, you finally decided to grace us with your presence."
Christopher looked confused but recomposed himself fast "Its Duke." He spat at John.
John threw his head back and laughed.
"What is so funny?" Christopher yelled losing his calm.
John stood up and held out his hand towards Christopher "I'm John," Christopher looked even more confused "The King of all wolves."
"Ah..."
"Indeed, and I'm surprised that you as 'the duke' weren't there to great me."
"They had it under control." He waved at us.
"Indeed, they have it under control. I wonder what your role here is exactly."
"I don't see the problem."
"Do you want to do this here? Or you prefer your office?" John asked.
"I wouldn't know why we should go to my office. I don't see any problems."
"Fine" he walked behind Frank and Margot and placed his hand on both their shoulders.
"From tomorrow Frank and Margot will become the Alpha and Luna of this pack and therefore the duke and duchess of the West."
"No, you can't do that! This is my pack; my parents gave it to me."
"True but, I as king can take that away. Especially when I have suspicions of mismanagement, neglecting and such."
"The pack is well managed by my Beta, Delta and Gamma." He growled at John.
"Yes, and if someone isn't taking his responsibilities then I can step in. Especially when the pack itself calls me for it."
"I still don't see why. This is my pack, it's my birthright!" Christopher yelled.
John clapped his hands together "If it is your birthright, then you should have treasure it. Especially after losing your parents. But you didn't, you left it to the others. You Christopher are the Alpha, and you didn't step up!
"I..." Christopher didn't come up with any argument and for the first time since he lost his parents, I saw the real Christopher back.
John nodded and sighed "I King of all wolf and Alpha of The Lunar Eclipse pack John Alexander Greene strip you down from your position as the duke of the west and as the Alpha off the West pack. Your position is from now on given to Frank Wright."
He cut his hand and gave the knife to Frank who cut his hand too. John and he clapped their hand together and we felt everything shifting. Frank stood proud next to John and said, "I Frank Wright accepted the position as the duke of the west and as the Alpha off the West pack, I accept James Walker as my Beta and I accept Dean Newman as my Delta."
Frank mind linked the whole pack to tell them that he would visiting tomorrow the grounds and that he was looking forward to meeting them all. We all felt the joy and relieve flowing through the pack link.
John looked at me and smiled "Finn, we talk soon."
"Okay" I nodded, I hope it is good because Frank didn't accept me as his Gamma. Doesn't he want me?
"As for you, Christopher, you can stay as a pack member. Or you can choose to leave and seek out another pack."
Christopher didn't reponed but stormed out the diner room. Beth stood at the side with a huge smile on her face and I winked at her.
*****
Later that evening I walked with John through the garden, he had asked me to step outside with him.
"James is your brother?"
"Yes, we are twins."
"That's why I also sense Beta-blood with you."
"Yes, our father was the Beta of Christophers father."
"Why is James the Beta?"
"Our fathers decided it because James was the oldest. Only by 5 minutes but..."
"Did that ever bother you?"
"Uh... yes and no. It only bothered me that I never got the chance to show them that I could be also a good Beta, but I love being the Gamma. And my brother is a good Beta."
"But you don't share the same mate."
I chuckled "no, but that's because we are fraternal twins. Apparently, that only happens with identical twins."
"Your mate rejected you?"
"Yes, how do you know that?"
"I feel your wolf sadness."
"Yes, she did. I wasn't powerful enough for her. She wanted an Alpha or a Beta as a mate. She tried to seduce my brother, but he was not interested."
"She didn't try with Christopher?"
"Of course, but he was only interested in sex, nothing more. He threw her out."
"So, he did think about your feelings."
"No, he didn't, he fucked her for a month. For the time she was here, I visited other packs, till he threw her out."
"Fucker."
"Our friendship wasn't worth much apparently." I sighed.
"Are your parents still alive?"
"Yes, but they are travelling the world. After Christopher's parents died, they stayed till we were 18. Once a year they pass by."
"And your sister?"
"She found her mate a couple of months ago, Alpha Jayden Wood."
"Oh yes from the Moon Valley Pack. He is good one."
"Yes, and a good friend of Flo. Did you find your mate?"
"Yes, I did, 7 years ago."
"But?"
"I found her in some pack that I was visiting. I was 20 years old and eager to find her. My father sent me to a pack, he was worried about bad leadership. He was right, the Alpha had lost his mate and son in a rouge attack, and he lost it."
"Alpha Roberto of the Yellow stone pack?"
"Yes, a lot of people had already left the pack. When we arrived, there weren't many people around. Most of them looked weak, and my wolf was very agitated from the moment we entered his land. I thought that it was because he saw how the people were treated. We arrived late and were quickly moved to a cabin in the woods. I slept really bad; I couldn't contain my wolf anymore around 4am. He forced me to shift a ran toward the packhouse. There I smelled her, my mate, I shifted back and opened door after door. I found her in the basement..."
He sighed and was silent for a moment, when he began to speak again his voice sounded hoarse "she was tied up against the wall, naked, skinny, blood everywhere, the smell off sex in the air. I pulled her from the wall and wrapped her in my arms. I knew immediately that she was dying... I was to late. I tried to comfort her, and 30 minutes later she died in my arms, I don't know if she ever knew that I was with her. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one, we found 3 other girls down there. One off the pack members told me that the Alpha said that they had ran away. Only 1 girl survived, they were in the basement for 7 months. I found my mate and lost her in the same hour. I never got the chance to get to know her, love her, cherish her." He sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"I tell myself every day that the moon goddess has a different plan for me. I hope that she has. My parents started to push me to take a chosen mate. I still hope that she would grand me with a second chance mate. Do you want one?"
"Yes, I want one. I really hope that I get a second chance mate."
"Good, that's why I don't understand those who reject their mate. You need to cherish them."
"You need to tell this story to Jack Moore, Alpha Jayden's Beta."
"Why?"
"He is Flo's brother. Flo told me that she was raped when she was 16 by Alpha Roberto. Her parents and Jack never believed her. They degraded her to an omega."
'Stupid people" he murmured. "I will tell them. But first I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes, we got a little distracted." We chuckled.
"I wanted to ask you if you would come with me and become my Beta."
"Uh... I hadn't expected this. Can I think about it for a night?"
"Of course. I know that you need to leave your home pack. Talk with your friends."
He went back to the castle while I walked around the pack. Me the beta of the King? I felt honored but do I want to leave this pack? I walked towards Grace and April's house. They were still up, and Grace opened the door for me.
"Finn? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Can't I just drop by for a visit?"
"Yes, but it's 11pm. Now tell me what's wrong?"
"King John has asked me to be his Beta."
"That's wonderful Finn. You deserve it."
"But can I leave the pack? I feel that I am abandoning them."
"You are not. They are left behind with a new Alpha and a good Beta and Delta. For once think about yourself."
"Is your family still transferring?"
"Yes, I already talked with Alpha Frank. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay, I leave you packing. Don't leave without saying goodbye!"
"Of course not, Finn."
When I entered my room, my brother sat on my bed. "James?"
"Finn, how are you?"
"Good, relieved that Flo got away."
He chuckled "we all are." Then he became more serious "Christopher left. I don't know were to. He left a note."
"What did the note say?"
"Sorry for everything."
"Good, It's better for the pack."
"It is. What are you going to do?" James asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you saying yes to John?"
"How do you know?"
"I have suggested you. Not that it was needed, he already had you in mind."
"Why? Do you want me to leave?"
"No of course not Finn. But I believe that you would be a good beta. Maybe the change will do you good."
"Yeah maybe." I sighed deeply.
"Since you lost your mate Finn, you focused on others. You always think about the people around you. Please for once chose you. Maybe look for a chosen mate."
"Fine." He stood up and pulled me in a hug.
"I only want to see you happy little brother. I have Olivia and Hope. You deserve that too and you certainly deserve this chance. Take it!"
"Yes, big brother."
"Have you heard anything from Flo?"
"No. I hope she and David are fine."
"Me too."
After we missed the bus, I shifted back and discussed with David what we were going to do. We had our 2 backpacks with us, but I lost my phone somewhere. We could wait till the next bus would arrive, but the lady at the stop told us that the next bus would pass by in 4 days. David and I knew that we couldn't wait till then. Especially since I couldn't let anyone know, I was great with numbers, but I had never memorized a phone number. Stupid of me. We decided that we would travel further on foot, or I would shift in Nayla. Once shifted I could carry David. We had still 150 miles before we would reach Oklahoma city.
David bought us a map in the shop. We mapped out our route and hoped that we wouldn't cross any packs on our way. Before we left, I still had a question for him.
"David, I have a suggestion, but I understand if you don't want to do it."
"Okay Flo." He looked back at me. His big brown eyes full of worry.
"I would like to be able to mind link with you. I think it would be safer."
"You're right. I trust you" he whispered.
"Okay, we need to cut our hand. Just follow me."
He nodded "you need to know my name?"
"Yes David."
"David Ethan Sullivan" he whispered.
I took the knife, cut my hand, and did the same with him. Placing our hands together I said, "I Florence Moore accept you David Ethan Sullivan."
He looked in my eyes and told in a strong voice "I David Ethan Sullivan accept you, Florence Moore."
'David?' I mind linked him.
'yes Flo' he linked back.
"It worked, that's great. So, when you suspect that we aren't alone or in danger we use the mind link."
"Okay Flo."
"One more thing David. When we are in danger and I tell you to run, you run!"
"No Flo! I'm not leaving you."
"Not up for discusion David. You need to promise me that you run when I ask you. Find Finn, okay?"
"Fine, but I'm not happy." He growled at me.
I chuckled and ruffled his hair. "I know."