"Theo will take your work at the pack for the next two weeks." Her mother screamed from the living room still arranging the couch as Eleonora walked into the kitchen held by her father on one side and an engrossed Theo on the other side.
"Mom, the doc said she can move normally in about a week again!" Theo screamed back frustrated leaving Eleonora laughing only to be stopped by the pain in her chest. She had realized laughing wasn't a good idea with nine broken ribs. Well only eight now, the doc had checked in the morning and one with a small fracture had already healed over the night.
"Ouch." Theo called out after receiving a slap on the back of his head that their father gave him with his free hand. "You laughed too, dad. This is so unfair!"
Her mother made it through the open door to the kitchen, holding a bottle in her hand. "Young man, your sister is hurt, and she'll recuperate for the next two weeks. Even if the doctor said something else, I won't have her do anything until she healed for double the time necessary." She gestured heavily with the bottle in hand. Her mother looked like her usual self today, with her hair tied in a fish braid over her shoulder and the fitting accessories to her casual yet pretty outfit.
Theo let out a sigh, making Eleonora chuckle again, only for both of them to regret it as she covered her side at the sudden pain. Theo reached out to stabilize her again. "This is going to be one hard week for you, sis."
"Oh, shut up Theo." She said, pain flashed on her face.
"You need a Theo ban." Her father stated as everyone sat down in the living room. "Seriously, you two can't be in one room without as much as laughing your eyes out or fighting until all furniture is destroyed." Even her mother laughed now, knowing it was true.
"She could still take the pain killers." Theo held out a white package to his sister, but she pushed it away.
"They only slow down the healing process if I don't move and don't laugh, I won't feel much pain." Everyone in the room sighed collectively at Eleonora's stubborn behavior.
"Just like your mother." Her father exclaimed. "You're just as stubborn as her." Her father earned a light slap to the shoulder from her mother, who looked anything but pleased after being called stubborn. But her father was quick in the act, smirking at Theo and Eleonora knowing full well what he said. He put his arms around his wife in a swift move and placed a deep kiss on her lips.
"Goddess, take a room." Theo was the first to complain at the cheesy scene, but Eleonora too had her eyes anywhere but on her parents in that moment.
"Just wait until you find your mate, Theo." He said with a knowing smile on his face.
Eleonora on the other hand found the concept rather strange. Mates. Soulmates as they call them too. Two halves making one. She doubted that she could feel love for a person she had never met before. She would want to get to know them, learn about their likes and dislikes and maybe just maybe they could fall in love. But this concept of love at first sight and feelings for a person without knowing them was ridiculous to her.
Her brother on the other hand had a different thought on that. He believed in the concept of mates and was eager to find his. Contrary to when he was younger, he hoped he didn't find his mate. He wanted to choose a pretty girl he wants for the rest of his life himself and not because of some special bond. Leave it to a 14-year-old teenager whose sister teased him with the thought of having an old and wrinkly lady as a mate. But it wasn't Eleonora's fault that her brother believed her sweet lies. After a year, even he realized that mates were always around the same age. Well, he took his sweet time to realize it.
"Earth to Leo!" Eleonora snapped out of her thought only to see Theo's face just inches from hers as he flicked her forehead. "Dreaming of your mate already?"
She pushed his hand away quickly. "You wish." She almost spat the words at him.
"Easy there." He held his arms up in surrender. "Make sure not to hurt yourself."
"As if you're worried about that." She rolled her eyes at him.
"Right, but mom will have my head if she sees you in pain again. Even if I didn't cause it." Eleonora scanned the room to see her parents had left.
"So, why are you still here?" She asked as Theo brushed his hand through his hair, Eleonora realized it wasn't tied together for once. "You should really cut it." His loose curls were still bothering her, but she was still a little happy since their curls were something they had in common, even if Eleonora's red hair was far more unruly than his.
"What?" Theo asked back, he obviously didn't hear her.
"Never mind." She looked at her hands. "So, did you find anything?"
"You mean about the rogues?"
She nodded at him.
"Well, that's the reason I'm still here." He ran his hand through his hair again. "I couldn't find anything else. We lost their trail a mile later, no scent or footprints were left from them. The patrol didn't spot any rogues either."
"I'm just wondering what he was doing here in the first place." Eleonora was thinking about the black rogue whom she spotted first. He was hiding in the forest near the lake. But why was he there? Was he checking out the territory for any weaknesses for a later attack? Was he just strolling around? Where the other rogues also in the territory and she just didn't notice them? Would they come back and if yes, then why? That was the biggest question. Why? What did they want? Eleonora set her hopes that the rogues didn't have what they wanted yet and that they would return, and she would be ready to face them again. "From next week on let's spar some more."
"You know what mom said."
"Mom doesn't have to know about it." She looked at her hands. "I get a feeling that those rogues are really strong. We have to be prepared for the worst."
"Do you think one of them is a banished alpha? You said one was black with red eyes."
"If he isn't one, I'm sure he's just as strong as one. His growl was really something else, like your's or dad's when you're angry." Her gaze wandered to the window. Alphas and their offspring were always stronger than the average werewolf, they had natural authority and were stronger compared to others. Eleonora on the other hand didn't have this specialty since she wasn't of Alpha's blood, she was adopted into an Alpha family but that didn't make her stronger than other wolves. But she always wanted to catch up to her brother, training harder than any other person her age. And with time she reached her brother's level. You could say they were evenly matched in a fight , much to Theo's disappointment.
She was snapped out of her thoughts as she saw a person walk past the window. "Who is -?"
"Oh, right." Theo interrupted her question as he followed her gaze. "Dad forgot to mention it earlier, but he put more patrols around the house too, some are around the territory watching over the other pack members. He doesn't want us to go out alone anymore, not with the rogues near the border. Well, I'm on patrol now too and have to train the others tonight-"
Eleonora was a bit disappointed at the sudden increase of security, she knew it was right and the security was needed but she feared that the black rogue would be scared off from all the patrols. And yet she thought the only way to see him or to find him again would be if he came into their territory again. She didn't know what would happen, but she wanted him to come again.
But the increase in people wasn't unusual and Eleonora was long used to people walking in and out of their house. The Alpha family lived in the pack house after all and many pack members came to visit or for work. They all just added to her family like cousins, uncles, and aunts. Seeing that many people walk in and out of the place the house was rather big too. The house was a three-story building topping it off with the attic that made Eleonora's space. She had the whole floor to herself, thankfully. But for the next week she would technically be living in the living room, a large room with three giant couches and a sitting area in the back. Theo had already moved her consoles down and she could comfortably lay down. The kitchen was connected through a large open door, three men could walk through it together. The kitchen wasn't any smaller with a big kitchen island in the middle, a huge fridge and a large table.
Eleonora laid down on her back, hearing Theo's fading footsteps on the porch outside. She concentrated her senses and heard at least another four pairs of steps around the house, probably her parents and two pack members on patrol. She took her phone out of her pajama pants and looked at the screen in hopes that Dione had messaged her or called back. Nothing. Eleonora would snap her sisters neck if she could since it was her who was worried now.