It was midnight and Rain couldn't sleep. This time the cause not being her resident nightmares, rather an unruly young man causing trouble, as usual.
"Say that again." Reynolds laughed, amused.
"Well I always knew this would happen sooner or later. He's been recking havoc in the city, of course he got himself arrested!"
'He' being the ever angry 'call me Rush'. He was a great addition to the family, but he tended to engage in reckless behaviour often and it frustrated our rogue to no end.
"Just for helping out an old lady he thinks he thinks he's superman now?! Damnit!" Rain slammed her hands on the kitchen table they were sat around.
It was strong wooden material, it had to be. Running her hands through her hair, she groaned, again.
Reynolds took to calming her down, "Just don't worry about it, he's old enough to take care of himself, he'll survive."
Our leader laughed, it was a pained kind of laughter. "Oh I don't mind him spending a night or even a month in there cause he probably deserves it, but this might just blow our cover! Dammit Reynolds it's not funny!!"
"OK, Ok," Reynolds had his hands up in surrender.
"Blaze help me out here man, you don't think we could be sleeping peacefully right now and DEALING with other shit like finding out that the witches we bed keep our children from US!?" That silenced the room. Of course they sympathised, Reynolds was lost and hiding it behind humor and sarcasm but he was hurt. Rain could only lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.
What does one say to heal the loss of time?
Blaze was busy making coffee on the kitchen island a feet away from the one fully occupied table. He hummed. "He's right Rain, Edmund wouldn't be that stupid, however you might be onto something. If I recall they might want to release a 'troubled' teenager into the custody of a responsible adult and getting ourselves involved in all of that might raise blazing red flags. Imagine the alarms we'd trigger for how responsible we look."
"See?! That's exactly what I mean! Edmund shouldn't hav-"
"I don't mean to interrupt you leader but Rush told me he was defending himself. He said it was some group of kids that used to torment him back in that f*cked up orphanage." Steen defended, because of course he was closer to Rush than most, although the troublesome rogue could be clingy (when it concerned Rain) and an attention seeking brat, Steen still worried about him and would descreetly follow him during his shady journeys into the city just to keep an eye on his brother.
Rain looked at Steen with the eyes of a proud mother, she knew about his tracking habits but he didn't need to know that.
Besides, Rush hadn't called yet so the only source of all this information could only have been seen by the faithful boy's own eyes as opposed to his claims.
Rhea dropped a case of make-up on the counter with a cheerful smile and one daring look towards Steen.
"I think you'd make a damn pretty woman, don't you think big sis?" She chimed in, brushing our rogue's shoulder with her own whilst winking at Steen. "I could help you with the padding if you like?? I mean your hips have to be convincing..."
Steen's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, "Wait, so I'm getting him??"
"As his mother yes, yes you are." Rhea finished firmly before whispering for Rain to relax and go back to sleep. "Don't worry, I will make sure he's embarrassed for days to come."
She and Steen went to begin their makeup while Reynolds left for bed, leaving Blaze and Rain alone. Seating himself across Rain now that the table had cleared, the former beta tried to convince Rain to stop worrying as well.
"Don't stress yourself too much about the human government, I'll make sure to keep them from looking any deeper into our affairs"
Unfortunately for him, our rogue was quick to turn him down. "I'd rather handle that on my own but thanks for the offer." She gave an awkward smile before making an abrupt exit from the kitchen, without making any eye contact.
And that just cemented Blaze's worries about the broken trust. Crushed, the big man roughly dragged his hands down his face.
What remains important to know is that when Rhea was done with Steen, he walked out of the residence as the ugliest mother one could wish for. That is the only way to describe the fake orange tan on his skin, the butt less hips and the riggid hair that looked like it had frozen from one powerful strike of lightning.
~~~~
As the large kitchen buzzed with loud chatter over the sound of clattering cutlery, at one table sat eight of whom all but one had food in front on them.
"This is my punishment right?? To watch you guys eat Thema's delicious bacon, omelette and biscuit special while I salivate over it?!" Screamed Rush.
"Shut it! We got all the punishment you deserve for the lack of sleep we suffered last night, one would think we'd get a break after the battle of the Mayans and Reynold's discovering he's the father of not one but two brats-" the stink eye from Blaze cut off all conversation and gossip, prompting all men to excuse themselves from the kitchen. All but Rain and Rush, and all because she tripped him back into his seat and trapped him there .
He breathed. Scared. "I'm sorry."
Our rogue looked into his hollow eyes with a sad smile. "I don't believe you know the meaning of that word. "
His heart sank, to have her disappointed in him cut deep. "I was freaking defending myself! you taught me that! You teach US that!" He stood, ran his hands in his blue Mohawk, worsening its state.
"They made me feel small," His voice cracked. "I felt like a damn scared little boy again. Sis they pushed all the wrong buttons inside of me and WITH my wolf!"
Rain could not ignore the tears in his eyes anymore, they all had traumas to work through but teenage angst was something poisonous when added to the equation.
Holding his face in her hands, she wiped his tears before they could fall. "They kept you for too long. When you left the battlefield you didn't comeback to eat or rest...then suddenly you're locked up with some juicy humans."
Looking into his eyes, Rain could see the shame, "Tell me Edmund, what would have happened had your wolf gotten ravenous from hunger? Would you not have torn apart humans that had nothing to do with traumatizing an innocent little boy in a vile orphanage? Would you not have exposed us then?! Do you ever think of us?!! Do you??" At this point she was shaking him painfully!
Seeing the fright and regret in his eyes, she let go of his shoulders. Blaze and Rhea had already been creeping into the room just incase they had to defuse the situation. Our rogue saw them.
She pulled Rush into a strong hug, and he'd never felt more secure in her embrace. "I live to let you know that you are not alone, please stop fighting battles on your own." She let him go with a ruffle of his hair. "And besides, I taught you better than that."
Confused, the boy turned to look at his leader. "If it's revenge you want, you go for them and to them alone. You don't ever let them come to you."
She dropped back into her chair with a deep exhale. "Tomorrow night we're going together to survey the city slumps because you obviously need a refresher on teamwork. Get rested and fed before that "
A big smile could be seen splitting Rush's face, that was as big an 'I forgive you' as he was ever going to get.
Blaze creeped back out of the room relieved for the young rogue but disturbed for his own situation. How could he expect forgiveness when he was still in the middle of this 'betrayal'?
*****
The City was like a double of Las Vegas. Big lights, big dreams and big mistakes. But like all that's good and fair, where the lights didn't reach is where the 'scum' slept.
Rain and company, were coming up Coin passage, where a few abandoned cars, a few escorts and some dealers shared air. Rush was having the time of his life walking atop the ruined cars. Just jumping from one scrap of metal to another.
"The idea is to be quiet" Drawled our golden eyed beta
Rhea laughed. "Let him be big flame, this one learns the hard way."
Rain was following quietly from behind, walking slowly and stopping. So much so that Rhea noticed. "Are you alright there sis?"
Rain wouldn't tell them that she wasn't alright. That her wolf was restless, seeking. That her whole body was tugging her into a different direction. However when she turned back and climbed atop one of the scrap cars, her eyes set on a stinking alleyway in their far right, they noticed and Rush was right at her tail.
Ever the clingy little boy, right?
She started running through this jagged line of broken cars, old and new, on all her fours. Her rogue screaming danger all the way. Rhea and Blaze shared a look before turning to climb the buildings surrounding so to come up front of whatever situation their sister was running into.
As they got closer, the loud and irate voices belonging to males could be heard. Her heart kept beating faster, her breathing erratic...
'Threatening', 'Danger' and 'Faster' is all Rain could hear. When she was one vehicle and a small parking space away from the voices, Rain catapulted herself into the air and landed right in front of a specific male just as a gun went off landing the bullet into her heart.
As two wolves dropped two mutilated bodies from the roof of opposing buildings right above the scene, Rush had the shooter by the throat, but it was a bit too late.
The male now holding a feint rogue in his arms looked devastated as her blood spilled from her chest.
His broken voice, whispered "Baby..."
The wolves howled in anguish, but Rush screamed....
~~~~~
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