Kenzie Hope
That night I couldn't find sleep. I was both conflicted and missing my mate. The latter was an obvious reason that had kept me up for as long as I had left. The first, though, was a new development that I couldn't quiet wrap my head around.
I had a family besides Brady and they wanted to meet me. Jordan was a great man and a leader, he was obviously raised by a great mother. My father was a great man. The person who raised them both had to be decent, right?
If I saw my grandfather, he would offer me his title. I was the only blood left to take his kingdom. Jordan had refused him and Brady was too young. From the sounds of it, he didn't have the time to wait for Brady to be able to accept the fate. It was up to me to take the throne or let everything go to hell.
Great.
I went downstairs to the kitchen counter and pulled up a stool. The manila folder sat there, taunting me to open it and, well, I couldn't help myself.
On the top was a napkin with a rough family tree drawing. It was obviously informal as there was a wine stain in the corner of it. The handwriting was chicken scratch and there were question marks and circles all around various names. Although, it did hold the same information that I was just told. Jordan, according the napkin, was my cousin.
Under that was, what I assumed to be, a family photo. There were three people, two parents and a child, standing in front of a waterfall. They looked happy, genuinely happy, not just picture ready happy. The little boy was maybe one and he looked up at his mother with striking blue eyes, they were the same eyes Brady had. The back of the photo read Richard, Susan, and baby David in quick cursive handwriting.
Digging further into the folder was another picture. This time there were just two kids, one boy and one girl. The boy was maybe 10 while the girl couldn't have been over 6. They were holding hands and while the boy with the striking blue eyes looked right at the camera with a bright smile, the girl looked up at the boy with a giggle on her face. Her hair cascaded into light brown ringlets all the way down to her hips and her face was littered with beautiful freckles. The back read David and Lauren in soft print letters.
There were more pictures, but most of them were just Richard Hope, my grandfather, and those were the only two with my dad in them. I placed the pictures to the side, putting extra care into the one of my dad and Lauren, who I assumed to be Jordan's mom.
The rest of the folder was just formal documents; copies of birth certificates, my dad's formal exilement, the list of heirs to the titles, etc. It was basically all pointless until I got to the back. That is where I found the real stuff.
There were letters, maybe ten of them, all addressed to Jordan, as they made their plea to him.
"Mr. Jordan Dean,
I hope you regard my letter and it finds you in good health. As you have probably hear, our Alpha Hope is not in good shape and you are the heir to the title. I understand the responsibility that it would hold on you, but without you, Beta Maxwell will take over and then, eventually, his son. They are both evil men who kill for fun. I am begging you, Mr. Dean, please save us..."
The letters went on and on, all begging for Jordan to save them. Some of them were longer and some of them were shorter, but they all told a heart-wrenching stories of the evil Beta Maxwell.
I felt tears run down my face as I read the last one. Beta Maxwell had tortured this woman for spilling water when he tripped her, then, when her mate defended her, he locked him and her two children up. She hasn't seen them for two years now and if it weren't for the mate bond, she wouldn't know he was alive.
Behind the letters was a letter. Again addressed to Jordan Deans, but this time signed Beta Eric Maxwell. The name itself, after reading those letters, chilled me to the bone. The letter was typed, except for the signature at the bottom, and looked formal until I read the contents. Inside, there were several typos in it, almost like he was in a rush. He was in a rush to send a death threat.
Maxwell told Jordan that if he came for the Alpha title. Maxwell's goons would have him killed and if that didn't work, Maxwell would kill Jordan himself. He then went on about how he doesn't have what it takes to be an Alpha and that the other packs would look down on the Moon Rise Pack. He said that even if he was dead, the pack would still love him and hate Jordan.
Man, this Maxwell guy is really getting on my nerves.
I had enough for the night and I went back upstairs. I splashed my face with cold water before pulling over the soft black shirt of Kaden's that I had stolen. I tried not to wear it too much, as it made me miss him, but on a night like tonight I knew it was the only thing that was going to get me to sleep.
The next morning I got up with the basis of a decision made. With one decision out-of-the-way, I felt better, so I decided to help some of the women make breakfast. There were about fifty consistent wolves in the troop, but there was maybe a hundred or so that floated here and there that stayed with us occasionally. Because of that, the girls and I made about 75 plates. The girls didn't worry about the extras, saying that the boys will get hungry and want a snack later anyway.
Breakfast went as usual, the boys and I sitting at the head of the table laughing. Jordan sat at the head with Dylan to his right and an empty spot, for his mate when he finds her, to his left. Next to his invisible mate, is where I sat with Brady next to me. In front of me was Harrison and next to him was Carter. We sat like this everyday, enjoying each other's presence.
After breakfast, I pulled Jordan away into his office. He looked confused but after I placed the folder on his desk, he understood.
"I've made a decision," I announced to him with a proud look on my face.
"That quick?" He asked with obvious surprise written on his face.
I sighed, "I need your help." Jordan nodded for me to continue.
"I don't know how to do this whole 'Alpha' thing, but it's my blood. My dad would've wanted me to try."
"What do you need my help for?" He asked innocently.
"You've been teaching me how to fight, which is good, I'm going to need to learn how to kick fucking Maxwell's ass anyway," I mumbled away.
I continued, "But I need you to teach me how to be an Alpha, too."
Jordan laughed softly and shook his head.
"I don't know how to be an Alpha. I will teach you to fight though."
"But, Jordan," I started with a smile, "You do know how to be an Alpha. How long have you been running this troop for?"
He smiled back at me softly, "About seven years now, but-"
"But nothing, you call this 'troop' a pack and it would be the same thing. You've been leading this people for seven years, and you've done it better than a lot of other Alphas- most Alphas."
"I don't know, Kenz."
" I do. Teach me how to lead," I asked, "Please."
"Of course," He whispered with a smile, looking down on me with pride. I smiled back at him, knowing I made him happy. Our moment was interrupted when there loud shouting and growls came from outside.
"We're under attack!" Someone yelled. Jordan instantly went into attack mode as we run out of the office and to the front of the motel.
"Lesson One," He yelled over everyone else, "Protect your pack, lead them into battle, don't be a fucking coward and sit behind them." Then he shifted into his wolf and ran to the front lines.
I shifted after him and mindlinked Brady, 'Stay in the room. Lock yourself in no matter what."
'What's going on,' He asked.
'Just promise me," I grumbled.
'I promise, geez,' he said before cutting the link. I whispered a 'I love you' and a prayer to the Moon Goddess before dashing behind Jordan.
It was already a bloodbath by the time I got there. I had to stop and catch my breath, not due to being out of shape but due to the death and destruction. Bodies upon bodies laid on top of each other, in both wolf and human form. I wanted to cry just thinking of the good men we were going to lose, or had already lost.
A wolf lunged at me to my right and I easily ducked him. I sunk my teeth into his neck and threw him to the side as another one bolted towards me. I side-stepped the second wolf and he went running into another wolf. As they were both hazed and confused, I bit their necks and ended their lives.
A sudden gush of pain jolted throughout my body. My stomach ached, my arms lost tension and my legs began to weaken. A wolf had bitten me in the side while I wasn't paying attention.
I growled loudly at him and lunged for his neck. He jumped over me and landed behind me. I went to turn around but before I could, he bit my tail. That was a low blow. I wiggled my tail enough to throw him off then turned to face him. I barred my teeth at him before ducking as he lunged. At the right moment, I stood to my full height and took his neck in my mouth.
My tongue was soaked in the taste of blood. Bruised and winded, with a leg in agony, I grabbed the foot of the wolf and pulled his dead body to the ground. Then, I swung and used him as a baseball bat to hit is pack mate right in the head.
Bingo.
Then I heard it, a growl. This was a growl I was all too familiar with.
I dashed through the trees, dodging wolves until I found it. My stomach didn't bother me as much as I just needed to find the source of the noise. When I found it, I was not happy.
There was my baby brother- MY baby brother- surrounded by a group of wolves. They circled him like hyenas and his small wolf yapped at them as they did so. Every now and again they would taunt him and lunge for him, but wouldn't touch him.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, barking and growling the whole way there. My wolf pushed at the edge of my mind, begging to take care of her pup. I didn't stop her, I knew I needed her help.
I was pushed to the back of my mind and watched as we didn't get there fast enough. A wolf lunged and as Brady took a step back, another wolf bit on to his back leg, hard. Then another wolf bit his side. Brady staggered a bit before barking again, trying to hold his own.
Lexus jumped and dived into the middle of the circle. She stood on top of Brady, even with Brady standing at his full height she could stand on top of him perfectly. Her purple eyes reflected back at us as she glared and growled at each of the wolves.
We were pissed. No one messes with our little brother.
The wolves still circled, but instead of them lunging at her, she took taunting lunges at them. Each time she did, their circle got larger and larger, they wanted father away from the rabid dog.
One finally decided to take their chances and lunged at us. Lexus didn't even move as she bit onto his snout. He fell and while he was down, she sunk my teeth into his neck, killing him. Then, as his blood was on her snout, she licked it, showing the other wolves that she had no remorse and would kill them just as quickly.
She laid down to the side of Brady and nudged at him to get on our back. He wobbled on and directly afterward a wolf went for our throat. She stepped to the side and shot our paw at him as he passed, knocking him down. She took his throat out after that.
Then, with Brady on her back, she took off running. When the motel was in sight, she ran faster and only stopped after she was behind the last resort line of wolves. Jordan had set them up and the only time they fought was if the enemies got that close and attacked our elderly and children.
Inside the motel, she lowered herself to the ground and dropped Brady off in front of the doctor. After he was off, she knew we had to go back into battle so she licked Brady and with one lasting look, she dashed out again.
When we were back at the front lines, we found Jordan, who looked tired. He shook his head and then shifted back into human form. Lexus and I were confused for a minute so we stayed in wolf form and circled him to protect him.
"Enough!" He shouted as loud as he could. A few wolves growled at him while the ones who were on his side came next to us and mimicked Lexus's movements.
"Enough wolves have died today? Do we need this to be a blood bath? Send your Alpha to my office, if he is brave enough to show his face." Then Jordan started walking. He started walking towards the motel as the rest of us stayed around him in a protective circle.
Every once in a while, we would see one of our wolves who were just injured and would pick them up. There were only a handful and I hoped the rest of the troop was just behind me.
After not too long, we arrived back at the motel. Jordan said to put the line down and for everyone to go to the dining room and lock themselves in. They looked confused but followed Jordan's orders nonetheless.
Everyone changed back into their clothes that they had thrown down before we shifted into battle. I was glad I remember to take off my clothes before shifting, or else I would have ruined them and I was short on clothes anyway. Afterward Jordan, Harrison, Carter, Dylan, and I went back to Jordan's office and sat down to wait. We waited and waited until finally Jordan got a call.
"Brady made a full recovery," Jordan stated with a small smile as he put down the phone. I smiled and sighed in relief. "Apparently his injuries weren't all that bad, thank the Goddess." He added.
Then I smelt it. The scent of pine trees and cinnamon hit my nose and I knew it wasn't just from my shirt.