C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N:
R E I N F O R C E M E N T S
Within ten minutes of leaving my brother and Elliot to plan a meeting, my phone call is complete and my plan seems to be in full swing.
In two days, I would return to my pack to give them the news. The news that we were officially going to war and needed all the help we could get.
My heart was pounding like a drum in my chest. What I was doing was taking a huge, and very dangerous, risk. Putting hundreds of lives on the line to try and end this disaster.
I decided that I would ask Aaron if he knew of any Seers. Seers were powerful, able to see the past and future, along with memories. We needed one desperately right now, Carver was refusing to talk and we were running out of time.
"There's one a couple of packs over, I can make some calls here in a few, just let me finish this." He said as I walked into his office. He had papers and files sprawled all over his desk.
"What are you doing?" I question as I make my way to his side.
He lets out a sigh before he starts to re-organize the papers. "Going back and looking at all of the people that have been taken. I'm trying to find any connection to them to see if there's a pattern, but haven't had any luck."
I can feel his stress and frustration through the bond. "Hey, let's go take a break. You can make that call later." Grabbing his hand off of the desk, I gently pull him towards me.
He turns his attention towards me and doesn't argue as I pull him closer. When he's close enough, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest, taking in his smell. I never used to believe that a mate really was your missing half, the thing that was suppose to change your life. Now that I've found my mate, I don't know what I'd do without him.
Aaron's warmth engulfs me when he wraps his arms around me, as if he let me go he'd lose me. With his chin resting on my head and his arms around me. I'm able to forget everything horrible happening; it makes me never want to let go.
"Thank you." He mumbles. "I was starting to go crazy staring at all of those papers."
We stood there for awhile, just enjoying each other's closeness. Eventually, I decided to ruin the moment and bring up the task at hand.
"I'm going back to my pack in a couple of days." I begin. Aaron looks down at me, confusion and sadness on his face. "You were right. We can't just sit around and wait for it to come to us. This is getting out of hand, it's time we end it. I'm going back to get the rest of my pack. We need to start discussing a plan of action."
Reluctantly, he pulls away. "That's a good idea. I'll make that phone call. I'm sure there's someone near us who would be willing to help. If not, I'll just use my all mighty king authority and demand them to." He says playfully and winks, causing me to laugh.
He plants a kiss on my forehead then pulls it his phone. "The Golden Dawn pack has a Seer named Evangeline. She's still learning but she fifty years of practice. I'm sure she'll be able to get into Carver's mind with no worries."
"Fifty years and still learning?" I question.
"Seers live for hundreds of years. They're made to have longer lives to pass down history and wisdom."
"Huh, I never knew that. But then again I guess it's something I never really learned or looked into."
Aaron was going to say something, but the sound of my phone ringing in my back pocket stopped him. Taking it out, I see it's Tori.
A sick feeling pools in my stomach upon looking at the screen. "Tori?" I ask worried as I answer.
"Rayna, you can't come. Don't come." She rushes out, panicked. Around her I hear screams.
"Tori? What's going on? What's happening?" My whole body starts to hurt, a migraine forming.
"They're here. The hybrids. I don't know how they found us but it isn't safe here. They're too strong. We can't fight them." She's hurt and scared, it's evident in her tone. I hear snarls on the other end.
"Tori get out of there, get those who you can to safety." My heart aches, I can feel the bonds between my pack members and I being cut like a thread. They are dying.
"We can't. It's too late."
Tears run down my face as I frantically rush out of Aaron's office and through the halls. "Tori please, just run, hide. I can't lose you."
"Rayna, thank you. For everything, for being the sister I never had. For being the nicest person I had ever met. I will always appreciate you. Keep them safe." I can hear she's running, running away from something.
"Tori, please." I beg her as more strings are cut.
"It's okay, win this war." She whispers as she hangs up.
I rush outside, trying to call her back. It only goes to voicemail. Scanning the crowd, I see my pack members with pained and scared looks on their faces, they feel it too.
I see Michael, he's looks almost as in much pain as I am. But before I can call out to him a searing pain blossoms in my chest, causing me to fall onto my knees.
This thread is different, it's as if a piece of me has literally been yanked from my body. It causes me to lose my breath and my whole being to hurt. My wolf howled in pain and agony and I let out an unknown noise.
Tori.
Our bond was different. Tori was the only person I made a connection with through souls. It was like a mate bond, but not as strong. Tori was the one person I trusted with my life, the one I felt safe enough to connect souls with. She was my beta and my best friend. And now our bond had been ripped away.
I felt Aaron crouch next to me, one of his hands on my back. He was talking to me but it felt as if he was miles away. I couldn't hear anything but the pained howls of my wolf and the blood rushing in my ears.
I felt him try to pick me up but I shoved him away, not even he could help me right now. I just wanted to lay there and cry.
My vision was blurring in and out of focus, I could feel my wolf wanting to break to the surface and run. Run away from everything.
In the distance, Michael is now on his knees. Tears streaming down his face, his face red. He felt Tori's bond snap too.
She can't be dead. She can't be.
"Rayna you need to stop!" Aaron is begging me, pulling at my hands. I glance down to see my claws digging roughly into my palms, crimson running down and pooling under me.
He held my hands so I couldn't hurt myself. "Let go Aaron!" I screamed at him through choked sobs, struggling against his grasp.
He was worried. I knew my pain was hurting him too, I could feel his wolf reaching out trying to comfort Brynn. But she was just a big a mess as I was.
"Rayna please look at me." He spoke softly.
I was surprised he was still holding onto me, I was acting like a wild animal trying to get away from him.
He pulled me into his chest and I stopped struggling. Instead, I latched onto him and sobbed more than I ever had in years. Aaron didn't say anything as he held me, as if he was afraid I would break.
He had nothing to worry about, because I was already broken. Tori's death sparked something in me I had suppressed since my parents were killed.
Sadness.
Brynn was still howling. I felt the pack members that were here reaching out to Micheal and I, giving comfort. It helped me, but barely.
"I have to go." I mumbled into his chest.
"You're not going anywhere like this, Rayna." He ran on of his hands through the back of my hair.
"I need to go see if anyone survived. If I don't leave now they will run out of time."
He pulled me back so he could look at me. "I'm coming with."
I shook my head. "You need to go see the Seer, now more than ever. Michael will come. This was our pack."
He didn't say anything, but reluctantly he helped me stand. I clung onto his arms, my legs feeling shaky and my body feeling numb.
Michael was getting up. I could see how pale he was. If he looked that bad, I could only assume how I looked.
I mind linked him and told him we were going. Ten men of mine and ten of Aaron's were ordered to tagged along.
Aaron give me a kiss before letting me go. "Let me know when you're there please." His eyes held so much pain and worried I felt sick about leaving him.
I nodded and turned towards the direction of my pack. We shifted quickly and Brynn was anxious to get there already. She paces back and fourth as she waited impatiently for everyone else to shift and grab their clothes.
When the last person had shifted, she didn't even look behind her at them as she took of in a fast sprint.
The breeze and smells made us relax. Aaron had given me one of his shirts for when I shifted back. His smell helped us feel better, yet we still ached.
Nothing could fill the Tori shaped hole that was now empty in my heart.
Word Count: 1820
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Woooooooow it's been awhile since the last update. I'm so sorry about that! I don't even really have a good explanation other than I just didn't feel like writing anything for this book. However I have been working on other stories, so once this one is finished I hope to have another one prewritten. I'm at a point where I know how I want it to end, but can think of a way to get there. Anyways, super sorry once again about the impossibly long wait. Sorry the chapter is so short.