So, I definitely forgot to upload on Tuesday.
I'll be sure to update tomorrow as well as this post.
I'm going through some very tough mental health issues right now and well, I very well might forgot some things and other area related issues. I'm not ready to share with the world what's happening and how I'm coping with this...but I want you all to know, I'm still me.
The me who loves building and sharing worlds to escape this one.
💫
Isolation...
...yet not alone.
As I stand off a few hundred yards from the meeting point with Grandpa Keir and Grandma Laura, along with those vital to this plan, I feel whole. Everything coming together with each step of the way fading behind in the path we are taking, we journey onward.
Leaving Tresor behind with some relief that Nimue and Lars will be of use to search for Aeon's vessel, I can focus my energy solely on what is ahead. With the winter solstice looming and the fear I should not harbor due to Rose having once overthrown the council before, part of me is skeptical as many changes and alterations have been made to this timeline. Soon, the timeline I once knew will fade away completely from existence...along with me?
I don't know for sure.
Breathing out slowly, I move from a dead stop, quickening my pace to close the distance of the encampment of those remaining behind of the Silent Stars Pack and the Imperial Stars Pack. Their heartbeats accelerate the second they pick up my scent, the scouts and warriors performing perimeter checks are on high alert. Respectfully, I slow, coming to a near halt as I step lightly toward those nearing me, wolves and skin alike.
A man approaches me, his eyes hard as they search with questions...
...though I'm completely taken off guard the second I feel cold metal press against the front of my throat.
Each individual scent is easy for me to distinguish and hers should have been no different, yet I can't fathom the reasoning she was able to elude me as Grandma Laura commands with authority, "State your name."
"Dot," my voice is soft, my heart beating fast as she's so close, yet I've never been on this side of her aggression, her stance toward me of a precarious nature. I judged poorly, assuming that she would remain by Grandpa Keir's side during these events...though I should have known better from the stories Grandpa Keir and she told me before...
...she's a born tracker at heart and by nature a skilled assassin, a Luna through mate status.
The blade eases from my flesh, her movements slow as she says, "Cormac sent you," she pauses a moment, taking steps around my right side as her eyes meet with mine, "you are different from the hybrids we've heard about and encountered."
Grandma Laura is much younger, though her strength and headstrong innateness have not changed.
"I'm a true born hybrid...my parents of similar nature taken by Arthur's hand years ago..." my voice trails off, filling the role I will play.
"Rogue," she tilts her chin upward, the man moving closer at her spoken word...yet she heads him off and calmly says, "easy, Bishop."
Bishop, beta to Marc...he states with his gaze unmoving, "Is she not the most dangerous species we've come across?"
"Yes," Grandma Laura replies in a cold voice, though her tone alters slightly as she chuckles, "so, I wouldn't piss her off without knowing her cards. Rogues aren't always the way they are by choice or mistakes they've made...some are out of luck under the world influence we live. Her very existence is what the council wanted to prevent, fearing what they don't understand...just like Rose..." as her voice trails off, she whispers beneath her breath, her tone one of remorse and sadness, "...Walter."
Relief washes over me as I breathe out a sigh of relief.
That relief is quickly extinguished when everything floods back about Rose's origins and the hand Tresor had in Grandma Laura's rape...though she often reminded me, that Walter wasn't cruel...just one moment she could not explain. She's never been told about how that incident came to pass, my heart falling into the pit of my stomach at the thought...
...though without the things Tresor has done, Rose, mother, Edith...me...we would never exist. He killed Grandpa's mother, and though that was a hard thing to face, Grandpa forgave him. Perhaps, one day Grandma Laura will understand the truth and come to terms with the meaning behind all of this.
She nods in the direction behind her, feeling the wolves' presence ebb away from the surrounding area as she asks, "Shall we?"
Unlike previously, Rose will meet up with me once she is set free for The Hunt, her belongings to be set at a drop off nearby from Dante I'll acquire shortly.
"Yes," I nod, taking Grandma Laura's side as we walk through the forest off by the grounds of Castle Valentine. Bishop is close behind us, though his distance is respectful.
Grandma Laura asks, "How long have you known Cormac?"
"A year," I reply, her gaze flickering to mine when I state, "I was nearly a selection last year...though, Cormac aided me from escaping that fate."
Not really, but I'm not about to explain the circumstances behind Taft's sudden change in mood for his selection.
A soft smile makes its way onto her lips as she sighs, "Cormac's good at that."
"Sorry?" I ask, crossing over a few fallen logs as we near the encampment.
She pauses a moment, turning to me as she replies, "I owe him my life. Rose owes him her life. He doesn't put a facade on when he speaks about bringing an end to The Code of Conduct. He truly means it, wanting to share a better future with us all."
I'd almost all but forgotten...
...Grandpa is her hero and that of our bloodline.
"They will all pay for their crimes against the rest of the species in this world," Grandma Laura continues when I remain quiet for too long, my gaze following hers as I see others staring at me with more fear that curiosity.
Some have already done just that, though their sentence doesn't always appear clearly to others on the surface...
...Aohdan.
My heart skips a beat, Grandpa Keir approaching while others murmur, some holding their tongues for a silent mind link communication. He stops short a few feet from me, his eyes looking me over while Bishop walks away, heading toward a tent off to the right. Grandma Laura moves to Grandpa Keir's side, telling him, "She's the one Cormac sent."
I hear a few soft cries from my left, glancing away briefly from the two as fear from pack members bubbles to the surface quicker than boiling water. Grandpa Keir brings my attention back to him as he clears his throat, "Don't mind them," he pauses when our gaze holds, "they're not quite used to the idea of hybrids standing alongside us."
Grandpa Keir's father was killed by a hybrid...
...the same day Grandpa Keir showed his strength to the werewolf community.
Stories...
...I'm thankful for the stories my family members have passed down, Alpha Rakkon Wood's memory living strong. All the memories I hold dear to my heart, using them as a lifeline and a guide to navigate my current surroundings.
They've already seen Rose...so why am I to be looked upon with fear in their eyes?
My origins are unknown to them...at least Rose had Grandma Laura to assimilate into their pack by name, her upbringing quite a tale I can imagine.
"It will take a hybrid to bring down the council, our persecution the same as your own," I reply, watching as Grandpa Keir's features shift slightly.
He nods and continues, "Be that as it may, there are those who do not grant their trust so easily."
"That's understandable," I agree with him, considering I am exactly who he speaks about without prior knowledge.
Grandpa Keir motions in the direction of a large stump, my footfalls falling behind the two as they walk. When we approach the stump, I observe and glimpse papers that appear to be a map of the surrounding area put together roughly. A man stands near a woman, the two arguing briefly about something before the man stops and asks, "Alpha?"
"Coen, Quinn," Grandpa Keir acknowledges them and then turns to me as I stand on the opposite side of the stump, "this is Dot. Dot, this is my beta and his mate."
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end, my gaze lingering, staring hard on Coen...longer than I intend it to and in turn, Coen takes a step closer to Quinn. He appears unnerved, questioning to Grandpa Keir, "She's not like other hybrids."
"Powerful allies are what we need right now," Grandpa Keir begins, motioning to the map of the grounds, "the winter solstice will be here shortly, and we will cut the packs back further."
"We won't le-"
Quinn is cut off by Grandma Laura stating, "It isn't a suggestion. The fewer members we retain will help, considering we don't know if the selections will viably hunt us down. The pack's safety is more important than our individual lives...a price to pay for freedom if we must..."
As her voice trails off, I shake my head and say, "With all due respect, without the packs' leaders, they will descend into chaos."
"Then you don't believe in the chain of the hierarchy should something happen," Grandpa Keir is short, cutting in right away with slight disdain clear in his tone.
"That's not what I meant-"
"See, this is why rogues can't and shouldn't be trusted, regardless of the code placed into effect by the vampires," Bishop approaches, a snarl sounding from the back of his throat. He glares at me and states, "At least the vampires' intentions are clear...rogues..."
Grandma Laura slams her fists on the top of the tree stump, growling lowly as her irises shift, her wolf coming forward as she orders, "Set aside the prejudice. She was part of the vampires' games and ploys just as much as I was..." her sideways glance doesn't go unnoticed, the rest of them looking to me with silence hanging over their heads.
It is silent for a while, Grandpa Keir breaking the silence as he says, "During The Hunt, Rose will meet up with you here," he indicates my position on the map. I nod and he continues, "We will remain here in case things get out of hand and to allow our presence to be made known the second the council begins to fall. We will move in and aid when given the signal from Cormac."
"Understood," I agree, looking to the marker for Rose and then seeing the distance that Dante and I will meet tomorrow evening. Laisha is the next piece that will fall before the Starlight Dance...she needs to be removed from this game before she becomes dangerous.
Bishop and Coen disperse, leaving Quinn standing awkwardly when the silence falls again. Grandpa Keir is the one to say, "Quinn, Dot will be sharing the tent you are stationed in."
"Yes, Alpha," she replies, though an uneasiness rises in her tone. She turns to me and motions, "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."
As I walk away, I stop for a moment, turning to see Grandpa Keir and Grandma Laura speaking to one another lowly. I call out quietly, "Your grandson is precious and despite what you say, he needs you both around to be in his world."
"Y-You've seen him?" Grandpa Keir's voice nearly breaks instantly, Grandma Laura's eyes widening.
"I-I di-didn't think..." her voice trails off, shaking her head, "...she had him...Victor."
Their minds have been everywhere but here.
⊰♥⊱To Be Continued⊰♥⊱
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Chapters 43 - Epilogue is available on Patreon under the Pack Warrior Tier ($3.00 donation).
Chapter 1 of Fate's Design is available on Patreon also.
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