Chapter XIV
"It has been said 'time heals all wounds'. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them in scar tissue and the pain lessens. But, it is never gone,"
—Rose Kennedy
The screams kept the entire pack up.
Michal could barely relax in his bed without his wolf pawing at him, trying to get him to take care of the feral creature destroying his home.
So instead, he sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee. It was one of the only things to do at this point.
He stood there, shirtless and in sweatpants. He leaned against the marble counters, the mug warm against his hands. His hair was disheveled and bed worn, showing his failed attempt to rest. Michal knew he'd have dark circles under his eyes tomorrow. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. He'd probably have to skip training.
No, I can't. If I do that then it will only show weakness.
Michal sighed, taking another sip. As he did so, a familiar scent drifting in, telling him a someone was approaching. He looked up to see his little sister coming in.
Fawn was only fourteen, and had just started high school this year. She had dark, frizzy black hair that she tamed by keeping it cut into a pixie cut. Her skin was dark, showing off her African heritage. Her eyes were a dark brown and were currently filled with sleep. She yawned before grabbing a mug. "Please, let me save some." Her voice was raw from lack of sleep. Michal simply nodded.
She gladly poured herself some and then added some creamer. She sat herself atop the counters, her legs swinging off the side. Fawn sipped her coffee, her eyes dropping every so often.
"You guys have a little party in here?"
Michal looked up to see Peter standing there. His curly black hair was even crazier than usual, and his caramel eyes were clouded. He wore boxers and an unbuttoned shirt, as if he actually wore that. Michal rolled his eyes. "Sure, Pete."
Peter nodded, simply grabbing a beer out of the fridge. Peter was only nineteen, but he still drank. It was something Leyna had tried to stop her cousin of doing, but he clearly didn't care.
Fawn rolled her eyes, taking another drink of her coffee. "You're stupid."
"And you're too young for coffee."
"Am not! Michal was drinking this back when he was in seventh grade!"
"He was also training to be an alpha at that time. It was needed." Peter retorted, taking a swig of beer.
Michal sighed. "It's too exhausting hearing you argue."
"Will that wretched beast calm itself?"
Michal looked towards the entrance of the kitchen. Yvan stood there, his skin an ashen gray and dark circles already present on his face. He rubbed his forehead, obviously trying to wake himself up. Yvan gave them each a horrid glare before grabbing a bag of tea. Michal watched him grab a mug and fill it with water. He then stuck it in the microwave and watched it boil.
"You can't sleep either then, can you?" Peter asked, tapping the bottle against his front teeth.
Yvan scowled. "Who can when that— that thing is snarling so late at night?"
Fawn sighed. "Such is the life of a halfling who refuses to shift."
"Terrible waste of space, if you ask me."
"By no one did,"
Yvan gave Peter yet another evil look. The microwave beeped, and Yvan grabbed the mug with a kitten over his hand. Michal hadn't even noticed he'd grabbed it. He watched as Yvan began to mix the teabag inside of it.
"Who's our there?"
Michal watched as Leyna and Troy suddenly walked in. Leyna wore Troy's shirt and Troy only had boxers on. Michal raised his eyebrows. Leyna blushed, though Troy only smirked, grabbing her hand.
"You two couldn't sleep either, huh?" Peter asked, ignoring his cousin.
"For completely different reasons, it seems." Michal teased.
Peter immediately looked at her. He looked her up and down and then Troy. Peter sniffed. Then, he grimaced. "You two smell of sex."
The only way to describe Leyna's expression was absolute mortification. Troy simply laughed, patting her on the back. "Perfect time too! Couldn't hear this one moaning over Timothy!"
Leyna immediately slapped him.
Michal laughed, enjoying Troy's pain. Troy gave her a bewildered look before telling her she just hit a future king and should apologize. It was hilarious seeing him like this.
Yvan tolled his eyes. "If I have to hear you two argue over this trivial thing I will gladly walk down into the dungeon and allow that mongrel to tear my flesh from my bones."
"No one is stopping you." Peter said, amusement clear in his voice.
Yvan muttered a slew of curses at him before putting his tea to his mouth and drinking from it.
Leyna stopped arguing with Troy and grabbed herself a soda from the fridge. Troy grabbed a bag of something red, which Michal could immediately smell was blood. Troy gently cut a corner and poured it into a cup. He then began to sip from it.
Another loud howl sounded out. This one almost sounded coherent. Michal frowned. "Is he gaining consciousness?"
"Perhaps," Yvan mused, "but perhaps not."
"That was oh so helpful." Peter grumbled.
Yvan gave him another evil look.
Fawn rolled her eyes. "By the Moon goddess I swear just kiss already."
Peter gave her a mortified look. "As if! He's not even my type!"
"I thought you liked leggy blondes, Pete." Leyna teased.
Yvan blanched. "I am not leggy."
"My type is leggy blonde with huge tits." Peter said. "I thought you knew that."
Leyna rolled her eyes. "I was hoping you'd finally admit you liked guys better, but whatever."
Peter narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't comment. They then descended back into silence, the only sounds being the occasional accidental slurp.
It was peaceful in the Marksman Pack. There wasn't ever really any conflicts. The last one had been when, what was assumed to be the Cedar Pack, attacked them. However, it turned out to be a group of rogues who had been staying in Cedar territory. It was common knowledge that the alpha had been kinder, and wouldn't have messed with the rogues unless they hurt them.
That kindness caused the downfall of his pack.
The rogues killed Michal's mother, and his father led the attack against the Cedar Pack. However, after the attack, the loss of his mate finally hit him and he ended up succumbing to it.
Michal was left all alone. He was five when his father passed. However, one thing his father did before dying was adopt Fawn, an orphaned baby werewolf they found one day. Michal isn't blood related to his sister, but he pretty much helped raise her and she is family to him.
Leyna's older brother was killed in the fight, but her parents survived. They helped raise Michal once he was alone. To him, Leyna is like a sister. One he liked to tease with his rocking body. Michal suppressed a laugh at the memories.
At one time in his life he liked her, but upon reaching sixteen, he knew she wasn't his mate. So, he stopped liking her.
Peter's parents had been killed as well, leaving him in the care of Leyna's parents as well.
Yvan's family has survived, if you could call it that. His mother managed to get him out mostly unscathed, but she lost an arm and her right ear. His father was killed, and his twin sister is currently comatose. His older brother survived, but succumbed to his wounds. If anyone had a reason to hate those rogues, it was Yvan. He had only been seven when they attacked. Too young to fight, but old enough to remember the horrors.
Michal became an alpha at sixteen, and has been running the pack for almost two years. They've done well for themselves, and have remained free of conflicts for a while. They typically stayed out of other pack business, and lived well.
It was peaceful.
However, sitting beneath Michal was the one survivor of the Cedar Pack Massacre. Too young to remember anything. Michal would have to ask Garroth how Timothy survived.
Speaking of Garroth, Michal was surprised he was sleeping so well. He stayed behind to help Timothy in the morning, saying he couldn't leave his friend to himself tomorrow. Michal respected that. They seemed incredibly close, almost like brothers.
Michal took another drink of his coffee. He remembered Megan being incredibly adamant about staying, but Garroth refused to let her. It was strange. He kept saying that she wouldn't want to see him tomorrow. Whatever that meant.
They'd find out in a few hours, though.
****
Michal was leaning against a wall, trying not to fall asleep. Troy had just gone upstairs to wake Garroth, who would go with them to check on Timothy. His screams had stopped, and the sun had risen. It was time.
Michal looked at his Beta and Thetas, who all looked equally as tired. Leyna had changed into some clothes, as did Fawn. Peter had buttoned his shirt, and Yvan had remained in his pajamas. Michal had put a shirt on. Troy had also changed.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. Maybe he'd have to skip training today. His whole body screamed over the lack of sleep. A nap would definitely be taken today.
The sound of footsteps was heard. Michal looked up and saw Troy, alone. He frowned. "Where's Garroth?"
"Gone. Wasn't in his room." Troy answered as he stepped next to Leyna.
Michal sighed. "We still have to get Timothy. His clothes are on the chair."
Peter quickly grabbed them, and then they headed down the stairs. They walked past the cells and into the torture/interrogation room. Michal looked towards the door. His eyes widened.
Sleeping next to it was Garroth. He was curled up against the door. Dried tears cling to his face, and dark circles made him look like a skeleton. He was shivering, his skin pale. He looked like shit. Michal walked over to him and gently shook him. "Garroth?"
Garroth slowly opened his eyes. He yawned, and then looked at him. "Is it time?" He croaked.
Michal nodded, helping Garroth stand up. Garroth groaned. It was obvious he was sore. That couldn't have been a comfortable place to sleep.
"What are you doing down here?" Fawn whispered, looking at him.
"I couldn't stand sleeping in a bed while my best friend was suffering. I thought if I stayed by him he might be a bit calmer too."
Michal immediately felt terrible. He knew Timothy had been struggling, and yet he was complaining the whole time.
But at the same time, he deserved to complain as well.
Michal opened the door, not saying anything. As soon as the door opened, his jaw dropped.
The room was destroyed. The bed was in tatters and even the toilet was shattered. The soft covering on the walls was in shreds. The room reeked of vomit and blood, and he could see it laying in different areas. He carefully stepped in, but was pushed out of the way by Garroth.
Garroth quickly bent down near one fo the piles of cotton. "Tim?"
The pile shifted, and Timothy slowly popped up. He was covered in blood and vomit, and completely naked. He was shaking, and as soon as he registered who was in front of him, he broke into tears. Timothy wrapped his arms around Garroth and sobbed. Garroth carefully helped Timothy up.
Michal watched as Garroth wrapped his arms around Timothy and began to cry himself.
"I'm sorry— I— I'm sorry!" Timothy sobbed.
Garroth gently patted his friend on the back. "It's alright. It's okay." He gently shushed him, beginning to move him towards the door.
Michal helped him, and they led Timothy upstairs and to one of the bathrooms. Garroth carefully started a bath and then sat Timothy in it. "I'll be right back."
Garroth took the clothes and then looked at them. "Thank you for this. I'll explain everything once I have him cleaned up. Could one of you make some soup made up? Something with meat in it. And, maybe some hot cocoa? Timothy needs strength right now."
Michal nodded. "Of course. Anything to help."
Fawn was already preparing the cocoa. She used milk, probably trying to make it as rich as possible. Yvan began on some soup. They all stood in silence, not really knowing what to say.
After they finished, Garroth came back in with Timothy. He was now clean and clothed, though still looked freaked out. Garroth carefully sat him down and then placed the meal in front of him. "If you need anything, call. I have to talk to Michal and the others."
Timothy didn't even nod as he carefully picked up the spoon.
Garroth nodded at them, and Michal took them to his office.
"I'm sorry about this. Timothy— it breaks him every time he force shifts. It breaks the person. I'm sure you've heard of that before."
Leyna shook her head. "There's not many halflings who reject their wolf side, and not many werewolves do either."
Garroth sighed. "It depends on how they were raised. Timothy was taught to hate his wolf side because his wolf side is Fenrir. I don't know if you knew that."
The Thetas looked shocked. Michal shook his head. "I thought the wolf and Fenrir would be separate."
"That's another reason we keep him locked up. If Fenrir were to become sane while in control, well, that'd be horrible. Fenrir is an apocalyptic being. We can't have that running around."
"Wait— Timothy's Wolf is Fenrir?" Peter exclaimed.
Michal nodded. "He's a vessel."
"Holy shit." Yvan said, his ice blue eyes wide.
Troy nodded. "Couple tíos with Lucifer rising. We have so much to deal with right now."
Leyna groaned, leaning into her boyfriend. "How could this have happened?"
Garroth sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not sure. But, the one thing to remember, vessels only come during a cataclysmic event. There are four in total. Perhaps the other three will come soon, and then we have four gods helping us defeat Lucifer."
Michal laughed, shaking his head lightly. "Wow. That'd be ideal."
Fawn frowned. "Just imagine if this isn't the event though."
Troy shook his head at her. "It has to be. What could be worse than Lucifer rising?"
Peter jabbed his thumb back at Troy. "The vamos right. Not much is worse in this world than Lucifer."
Michal nodded, smiling.
Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as they thought.
****
Longer chapter this time too. Almost 2450 words. Am I spoiling you?
By the way, with what I'm planning, there could be 6+ parts to this series. I need to fill in a good chunk to give characters more personality, and make new relationships.
I love romance.
Anyways, what'd you think of the chapter?
I love werewolves. They're my guilty pleasure. I used to only read werewolf books on this app. Honestly, I can't even begin to name all the different ways people tried to shove mates apart.
Stubborn alpha guy with halfling mate, pregnancy to another male, blind alphas and prisoner who he refuses to touch, forced markings, etc.
I wonder if you can guess the five novels I just named. They're some of my favorites. Especially the last one.
I just started rereading it and honestly I am terrified to start the third book.
I don't want her to choose someone else.
Sorry, tangent.
Timothy is: broken. Oops.
Also, what do you think? Is this the cataclysmic event or nah?
It's probably obvious. I'm not good at subtlety.
Love ya'll!
—Paige