After a long cry I finally calmed down, Darious stayed quiet the whole time and I liked the silence so I stayed quiet too, observing the trees, the grass, the moon shine all over the flowers and grass, it was peaceful. I almost dozed off when suddenly a deep growl sounded from somewhere, Darious stiffened and lift his head to sniff the air, then he seemed to relax and patted my head "your alpha is here" I nodded and moved away from between his legs, I slowly got up and Darious followed-I looked around and finally spotted Cedric in his human form ,dressed up this time-he was standing between the brushes and looking at me with a scary scowl on his face.
Darious stepped beside me "alpha Cedric" Cedric nodded "Darious", then he looked at me intently like he was staring into my soul- suddenly I felt uncomfortable under the heavy silence and started to squirm and look around. Darious looked at me and raised his brow "you ok?", I met his gaze and smiled "um, yeah I'm fine-thank you for saving me"-" Cedric cut me "from what? what happened?" his demeanor changed from angry looking to something else-less dominant, and I thought I saw a flash of worry in his eyes. I cleared my throat "I was attacked by a bear and fell into the lake when I tried to escape" Cedric blinked and relaxed "are you ok?" I nodded, and he looked at Darious "thank you- but I can see you already know Rain. You seemed rather comfortable a few minutes ago" Darious chuckled "alpha Cedric- you have nothing to worry about, Rain is my friend and we met the first time I saved her life" Cedric scowled "the first time? What the hell are you talking about?" Darious explained everything to Cedric- he came closer to stand with us and listened the whole time while his arms were crossed and his stance reflected dominance.
When Darious was done, I looked at him and smiled- but when I looked at Cedric he was staring at me and then he gave Darious a strange look- I thought I sensed jealousy but then I shook the thought away, why would he be jealous when I mean nothing to him- Zevrus face jumped into my thought and I immediately remembered that he's now dead- now what?
After saying goodbye to Darious, Cedric and I walked back to the pack area- we were silent, he seemed to be lost in thought just like I was-but I had to ask "Cedric, how long have you known that Zevrus is...gone" he stopped and sighed, then slowly turned to face me with a sad expression "when Cyprus, Jud and I reached the human borders, we had searched the whole radios, he was nowhere, I reached other alphas of all the packs in the areas nearby-they haven't seen him. The whole time I had doubted that he was captured by the R.A.Ws but hoped not, when we reached the human boarders I decided to take the risk and act as a soldier in disguise- my fears were confirmed, the other soldiers confirmed that they caught a grey werewolf and he didn't fight back, instead he shifted into human form and gave himself in.." he was quiet for a second and I felt my heart being crushed, he continued "they said that they found it strange of a werewolf to simply surrender- usually werewolves fight back and cause casualties, but this one they called their "lucky draw" didn't fight back or show any aggression, and he was transported to the labs to be killed and used for scientific purposes" he clenched his jaw and his eyes turned golden, it was clear his wolf was close to the surface, I found my voice and asked "how do they kill werewolves?" he closed his eyes "wolfsbane- it's a venom that kills werewolves if given in heavy dozes".
We continued on our way in silence until we reached the pack house, I noticed the door was fixed, when we stepped inside Cedric told me that he had some pack work to deal with and excused himself. I stood there looking around and couldn't help but remember the night Jacks almost raped me, I wondered what happened to him, when is he going to get the punishment- I got busy thinking about Zevrus and forgot to ask Cedric about it- tiredness fell over me like a warm blanket and the morning light had broken, I climbed the stairs and took off my filthy clothes, after that dip in the lake they stank so I threw them away- then I took a shower and spent the next three hours sleeping.
I woke up to a loud thud- I realized it's the front door of the house, raising my head up I looked around and outside the window, the sun is high in the sky and I had just about enough sleep. I got up and walked into the bathroom, after a quick fresh up I exited my room and went down to the kitchen- I needed coffee desperately. I was brewing the coffee and waiting patiently next to the coffee machine to finish while holding my coffee mug when suddenly a strong scent of cinnamon and vanilla washed over me- I closed my eyes and inhaled the aroma, the sound of someone clearing their throat made me open my eyes and look behind me- it was Cedric, with his hair disheveled everywhere and wearing only grey sweat pants that hung down to his hips while he had no shirt on- I gulped loudly.
Cedric scratched the back of his head "hey" he said and I noticed his voice was hoarse, looks like he had a good sleep as well, I smiled at him "hey yourself" he pointed towards the coffee machine- "can I get some too?" I nodded and reached up to the cupboard to get another mug for him, I hadn't noticed when my shirt climbed up revealing my stomach until I heard Cedric's breath hitch for a second, when I looked at him, he was looking away with his hand on the back oh his neck while he leaned against the door frame. I poured two mugs of coffee and sat on the bar stool and Cedric sat across, we drank in silence for a few moments- but then I had a question that had been nagging me since yesterday "Cedric, can I ask you about something?" he looked up from his mug and cocked an eyebrow "sure" I bit my lip and looked at my coffee mug "what's become of Jacks?"
At that moment someone knocked at the door, Cedric rose from his stool and walked towards the door, I had a good look at his rippled back and shoulders as he walked with such grace towards the door, then he opened it and Cyprus got inside, he looked stressed and didn't even look my way "alpha, we have a problem" Cedric tensed up "what is it?" Cyprus stepped aside to let Cedric look outside the door, Cedric's eyes widened and my curiosity had me running to look what's outside the door- they were about three guys holding up a fourth guy that was bruised and beaten up, his clothes were torn and he was bleeding in different areas of his body.
Cedric
I stared at the guy bleeding, it took me a moment to realize it was Tempo- the son of one of the oldest warriors in our pack, Numbers, Rod and Black were holding him up- it was obvious they were straining to keep him up, Tempo was no little guy- like his father, he is one of the strongest wolves on our pack, to me he is a general at war. Seeing him like this meant that someone out there is strong enough to beat him up which means bad news.
I heard a low gasp and looked beside me to see Rain shocked, she had her hands covering her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at Tempo, she took a few steps back then looked at me, she didn't need to see that, in our world this kind of scene of blood and gore is something regular while in the human world in was something out of the ordinary- I decided it was enough for her to see the damage and called for Cyprus "yes alpha?" he looked prepared to take any order , but this next order had taken him aback "stay here with Rain while I investigate what happened with Tempo" , Cyprus stared at me for a while as if waiting for me to say it was a joke but then I stared back at him and raised my eyebrow, he looked at Rain then cleared his throat and looked down "yes alpha, I'll be right here". I nodded and walked outside closing the door behind me.
"alright Tempo, now that you're comfortable tell me who did this to you?" after he cleaned up and drank some water, we were sitting in the conference room where we usually had our pack meetings, for some reason Tempo had asked to talk to me in private instead of everyone and although he earned some frowns and glares from the others because we usually shared everything and kept no secrets, I respected his wish and asked everyone to give us some privacy.
Tempo cleared his throat and met my gaze "alpha, I found my mate" I stared at him for a second then smiled and slapped his shoulder "good for you pup! You sure have grown a lot" Tempo grimaced and hung his head, I frowned "what's wrong?" He sighed "she's from the Amara pack" I nodded "okay...does her alpha know? Have you come clear with him?" I stared at Tempo waiting for him to answer but when he didn't, I had a bad feeling "answer me!" A hit the table with my fist, Tempo didn't hesitate to answer eight away "no one knew, I used to meet her in secret" I narrowed my eyes at him "when was that?" He sighed "whenever it was my turn to do patrols" I growled at him "you ditch your duty and put everyone in danger just to go meet your girl? Have you lost your mind?!" Tempo held his head in his hands and I felt that he had more to say "one time one of the wolves from her pack saw us, fucker wasted no time and went straight to alpha Dracus, when he knew he got mad and sent after me- little did I know that I was walking straight into an ambush" at this point I stood up and started pacing around the room to calm my wolf , Tempo swallowed hard then continued "turns out that alpha Dracus had her checked to make sure she was still a virgin .. " when he paused I stopped pacing and locked eyes with him "tell me that she is still a virgin Tempo" he looked down then shook his head, I lost it , grabbing him by the collar I threw him across the room, he hit the wall with a grunt and fell to the ground. "You broke the rules and stepped over the law! How dare you show your face here?!".
Tempo groaned and started to get back up but I snarled at him and he got back down, the door flew open and Numbers and Black got inside "what's going on?" I looked at Numbers "well, Tempo here grew some balls and decided to break a rule, he fucked his mate before getting the approval from her alpha!"
Numbers and black looked at each other then at Tempo , I ran a hand through my hair and pulled at it "now what am I gonna do? They will demand a virgin in return from our pack to mate with one of their wolves, if we say no this will be war! Tempo you motherfucker!" I walked to him and kicked him hard in the ribs, now I know why they beat him so hard.
Rain
I looked at Cyprus who was busy playing a video game while we waited for Cedeic to come back. I started to feel bored so I thought I would start a conversation with Cyprus, I got up from the bar stool and walked towards the sofa he was hanging on, we I sat down he stiffened and looked at me "need anything?" I raised my eyebrow " how old are you?" Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow "why do you ask?" I shrugged "just getting to know you, since we're here bored and all" he huffed "I'm not bored" I looked at the huge TV screen then back at him "right, that's why you've been playing super Mario for a while now" he finally sighed and turned it off, then he turned himself to face me "29" I blinked "what?" He huffed "my age- 29" I nodded "I'm 26" he nodded back and fell silent. awkward. I fumbled with the whim of my shirt while he leaned back and looked outside the window, I cleared my throat "tell me Cyprus. What was Zevrus like?" He stared at me in shock then his features softened and he rubbed his face and sighed "Zevrus was like a brother to me- we grew up together, ever since we were young, he had it in him to be the protector of the weak, always defending other kids and girls" he smiled and continued "when we reached adulthood he was already one of the strongest wolves in the pack, while Cedric was the strongest with no doubt- their father alpha Alexander was kind and loved every body in the pack as if we all were his family, but when it came to rules of the chosen wolves of battles, he was strict- so he ordered that each and every one of the adult males fight against his sons- that way he would make sure to know who will become alpha after him "For a whole day there were lots of matches , some against Zevrus others against Cedric, then my turn came and I fought against Cedric- at some point Cedric lost control over his wolf and he became too aggressive" I looked at him confused "how exactly do you lose control over your wolf? Isn't it like you own him?" Cyprus chuckled "it is a wolf not a pet dog- we don't own our wolves and they do not own us, it's more like a brotherly connection we are one. But when our wolf reaches adulthood, it will always try to take control and by taking control the human for starts to fade deep inside until the werewolf takes over and doesn't transform back into the human form" I stared at him with huge interest "wow" was all I could say, I was learning a lot from him. He continued telling the story "when Cedric lost control over his wolf he defeated me but then he almost killed me, when a wolf surrenders he shows his neck and the stronger one bites it slightly as a show of a winner , that day Cedric but me and almost tore my neck open, and that's when Zevrus pushed him off me and fought his wolf until Cedric came to realization and transformed back to his human form" I looked down and nodded "so Zevrus saved your life" Cyprus nodded and looked outside the window "hey, speaking of the devil".
Cedric
I opened the door and stormed inside, the first thing that I noticed was that Rain and Cyprus were sitting really close on the couch, the second thing that I noticed was that they were all smiles and laughs- Cyprus never smiles, let alone laugh, I narrowed my eyes at them suspiciously, Cyprus turned pale and stood right up "alpha, you're back, may I ask about what happened with Tempo?" I looked at Rain who scooted forward to the edge of the couch and looked at me intently, I looked back at Cyprus "not now, come with me we'll talk in my office" then I walked towards it and Cyprus followed.
He closed the door and came to stand in front of my desk as I rounded it and sat in my chair, "everything alright alpha?" I gestured for him to sit down as I fumbled around the drawers, "I need to find the little notebook that has the names and contact info of the alphas of the packs in the area" Cyprus raised his brows "what for?" I found the notebook and slapped it on the desk then sighed and scratched my head "well, we may have a war ahead of us, with the Amara pack" Cyprus stared at me then blinked "why? We have a good political relationship with them" I nodded and balled my fists "well, Tempo just fucked it- literally" when Cyprus looked at me confused I told him everything that went down with Tempo the whole time his scowl deepened and when I was down he let out a growl "that idiot! he just doomed us all to hell" I sighed and nodded again "I need to call alpha Dracus and try to come up with a solution to this problem" Cyprus nodded and stood up "tell me what to do alpha" I searched for alpha Dracus' name "make sure we are prepared in case of a war, all the cells need to be filled with food and supplies , tell the others that we have a meeting within an hour" Cyprus nodded and headed out.
I dialed alpha Dracus' number and placed the phone on my ear as it rang, I started to weigh all my options, not that I had many, the problem was that we had no virgins in our pack-they only virgins are little girls no older than 5 or 10 that won't happen, so I prepared for the second option which is war.
My thoughts were cut when a deep growl sounded on the phone "hello" I cleared my throat "alpha Dracus, this is alpha Cedric speaking" I heard some shifting sounds and a low feminine moan , looks like he's been busy " alpha Cedric, I was hoping you'd call, I need to speak with you" I sighed "I know, Tempo showed up and told me everything-I assure you alpha Dracus, Tempo got his share of beating and punishment as well" suddenly alpha Dracus laughed "I like your forwardness son, but you know that's not how it goes- we have laws and rules and by that I am going to head to your territory tomorrow in order to claim a virgin for one of my wolves" I clenched my jaw "I understand and respect the law, but there are no mature virgins in my pack yet, so I must be excused " alpha Dracus snorted "well the virgin doesn't have to be a she wolf" I froze "what do you mean?" he hummed "I heard that you have a human girl in your pack-" I cut him "that is my brother's mate, she is off limits" alpha Dracus' voice turned serious "your brother is dead, the girl doesn't carry a mark and she did not mate with your brother, I see no reason for her being off limits" I felt anger start to boil in my stomach and my wolf stirred inside of me, alpha Dracus broke the silence "think about it till tomorrow, when I arrive- I expect your approval , otherwise you know the consequences. Think about it-the girl vs your pack" then he hung up. I started to breathe faster as I stared at the phone , anger built up and started to rise inside of me and I crushed the phone in my hand, my wolf started to come out as my claws elongated and my canines started to grow out , suddenly a knock on the door made me whip my head towards the direction of the sound -who dares interrupt me in my office I snarled and then saw a pale Rain stare at me with her mouth agape and her eyes wide with fear , is this the girl who's going to brake me? It was her vs my pack, I should kill her and then alpha Dracus won't have to attack, NO! I started to take back control over my wolf but it was too late, my wolf launched itself on Rain and her scream echoed in the whole house.