"What is the cost of blood?"
She never missed a moment of the wilderness, the therapy it gave her healing soul. She spent every morning running through the trees, rain or shine, and at night she often slept outside by her lone pine tree.
As soon as Alpha Leon returned and heard of the rogues, Cassius was grounded for an entire week for letting his guard down, and he had to run night patrols with Ralf through the duration. She was approached by many different pack members, who gave her thanks for picking up the rogue scents despite the rain, but she still felt conflicted.
It hadn't been her intention.
When she had caught the scent of the rogues, she knew that the opportunity for escape couldn't be any more perfect, and Sekhet had agreed. She tried to draw the attention to the rogues, to warn Cassius, but when they couldn't understand, she just ran.
She wanted to be a lone wolf in the wild.
The rain would cover her tracks, making it all too easy for her slip away. There was no one guarding the borders and with Sekhet's strength, she could have ran for miles. But, as she neared the western borders, she could sense someone following her.
She could have escaped.
But, she chose not to.
Seconds before she crossed the border, she changed directions. She came to her senses before she committed to something that was equivalent to her death, a thousand thoughts raging in her mind, and she helped kill the rogues.
She knew as soon as Cassius hugged her that she couldn't think of escaping again. The Gamma was scared to death, and she couldn't help but smile a little on the inside. He was a goof, but he was a soft heart, and her favorite brother.
This was her home, she belonged among the warriors.
They were all a bunch of older brothers and as she grew more comfortable around them, they would include her in their teasing and often they'd let her attend training sessions so that she could pick up a few tricks in fighting. She couldn't remember if she ever had a brother, but these warriors filled the void to the brim.
She had ran into Jay a few times and the white scar wrapped around his forearm made her stomach feel heavy. She never regretted anything, but when the blue eyed male flinched around her when she moved too quickly, she got a good taste of regret.
She couldn't communicate in words, and he always made their encounters as brief as possible so she couldn't express her apology. Although she was growing, she struggled to be understood by the males surrounding her, and it frustrated her.
Several emotions would swirl through her everyday, and sometimes she would understand them but other times she loathed them. Her emotions were strong and as they threatened to conquer her, she had to occasionally revert to blocking everything out. It was a learning process, and Cassius had warned her of it.
One step forward, one step backward.
She slowed to a walk as she emerged from the woods, and she respectfully shook her coat free of dirt before she nudged open the front door of the Alpha's house and ventured in. The morning was beautiful but she could sense another rainstorm brewing for the afternoon. Spring was such a rainy season.
She wandered past the living room, glancing in to find Lucas watching the human news, and then she padded into the kitchen where Asher was humming to himself. He had his head stuck in the fridge, digging through one of the drawers, and she sat down by the kitchen's island.
They were slowly becoming better friends. She wasn't very sure about him, since he was a Beta, but if she could accept an Alpha, she was working on accepting Asher, too. She discovered that the Beta and Gamma loved to argue with each other and sometimes they'd tussle.
She also learned that Asher had unnaturally white hair because Cassius had put bleach in the shampoo bottle. She didn't know that werewolves could change their human hair color, but she wondered what Asher's wolf looked like with the bleach.
The Beta was definitely very brotherly towards her and she often remembered Cassius's first words to her about Asher being the mother of the pack; treating her like his little sister. She would have laughed if she could, it was almost as if Cassius knew.
Asher made a noise of triumph and pulled away from the fridge with turkey meat in his hand, letting the door slam on its own. His amber eyes flickered towards her, "Hey, Reeve."
She blinked at him, slightly tilting her head, as he turned his back to her and finished preparing his sandwich on the counter.
"Leon was looking for you," Asher spoke in afterthought, glancing over his shoulder at her, "He's in his office."
She watched the Beta for a few more seconds before she stood and left the kitchen. She passed Harley on her way, then she paused in front of Leon's office door. She took a moment to breathe before she nudged the door open.
They had all been very thoughtful of her and they left most of the doors unlatched so she could move freely about as she pleased, but it was mostly because they didn't like having all the doorknobs covered in her saliva.
Leon glanced up from his desk and his golden eyes softened at the sight of her, "Reeve, I've been meaning to talk to you." She walked around to the side of his desk as he pushed his chair back, and then she sat down with perked ears.
She observed her Alpha and she noticed the tired look lingering in his eyes, but she also noted an emotion that resided in his eyes. She couldn't quite place it but it made her feel uneasy.
He heaved a sigh, "I'm not really sure where to start," He rubbed the back of his neck and then leaned back in his chair, "I know you don't much, but I think we have a similar enemy." She titled her head, attempting to display interest.
"When my father was Alpha of this pack, it was known as the Zayev Pack," The name was vaguely familiar but she couldn't recall from where, "A lot of things happened, and to put a long story short, a peace agreement went wrong with the Conquistador Pack--" Leon paused when she growled lowly. She loathed the pack and Leon made a motion for her to calm.
Reluctantly, she quieted, and Leon weakly smiled, "I know of the hate you harbor for them, but, you aren't the only one to suffer their wrath," She went still, "The Conquistador Pack came in seven years ago and they attempted to murder everyone in the Zayev Pack. It was a twisted act of power, they sought to destroy everyone who could rival them, along with those to the hierarchy of my father. They almost succeeded if it weren't for my sister and I being in another state on a business trip."
Leon took a breath, trying to calm himself, but she felt his despair. The rawness of his loss looming like a dark cloud. She had sensed it before, this broken man with a tragic past, and now she understood. She wished she could speak her condolences.
"We came back to a massacre and the remaining warriors were badly wounded," His voice quivered, his golden eyes misting with unshed tears, "My mother and father were among the dead, and I-I.." He swallowed, shaking his head, "I just wanted to kill everyone in the Conquistador Pack," His eyes grew distant, "I'll never forget my sister's cries. We were in mourning, but someone had to take over."
"I never wanted the responsibility, I'm a natural born Enforcer, but the pack needed a leader, and the blood in my veins was the answer," Leon's golden eyes bore into her, and she felt her own heart clenching at his pain, "I'm not telling you my life story so you can pity me, I just want you to understand."
She tilted her head, questioning him. Of course she wouldn't pity him, she hated to be pitied, but she didn't understand his reasoning for telling her all of this.
"I need your help finding someone," Leon finally said, and the broken man was forgotten, "He wasn't among the dead, and I refuse to believe he's been killed. He's the true born Alpha, the one who should be leading instead of me. I think the Conquistador Pack took him during the massacre to ensure we had no chance of picking ourselves back up, but also to use him as a weapon. Much like you." She had to harden her emotions to stop herself from growling, and Leon's eyes flashed. They were both fighting for control in that moment.
"I've searched for every possible clue to his location for months, but someone has been doing a good job of keeping him off the map. I almost gave up, its been six longs years, but when Asher and I went to that council meeting, we discovered information of a hidden prison camp somewhere in the Western Region. My gut tells me he's there, and I'm going to find him. Even if it kills me."
She was frozen in her place when Leon suddenly leaned towards her. Their faces were inches apart and the breath left her body as his golden eyes poured out his entire soul to her. She knew that this man Leon spoke of was very important but there was something else there.
Her Alpha exhaled softly, and then he spoke a single question that answered hers.
"Reeve, will you help me find my brother?"
✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙
That's a tragic back story.
So, Leon has a brother, what do you all think about that?
Leave a comment!
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