"Th-Theo."
The Alpha's voice cracked as he whispered his son's name. His hand gripped his chest urgently but alas, it wasn't enough. That was the last word he uttered before Theo watched the final breath of life leave his body.
"No! Father, no! You can't die! Someone help me!" Theo yelled out but everyone stood around him frozen in place.
"We need to save him! Get a healer!"
"Theo you can't save him. You can't save anyone!" The menacing voice yelled out loudly and Theo became frozen as well.
His hands clamped rigidly to his side and his feet went numb. He couldn't move, he could only scream as he watched helplessly as his father's body disappeared before his eyes.
"No! You'll never get away with this!"
"But don't you see? I already have."
The faceless man's evil laugh bellowed and Theo's father was now reduced to ashes.
"No!" Theo screamed out as he thrashed around violently, only to open his eyes and realize that he was in bed. The door slammed open quickly and guards rushed into the dark room.
"Are you okay, Alpha?"
"Yes," Theo said, "I'm fine. It was only a dream."
The guard was hesitant. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. You can all leave."
"Aye, Alpha."
The guards filed out of the room one by one and closed the doors behind them.
Theo wanted to believe that the nightmares weren't real, just a terrible dream. But in fact, they were the reality he now lived in.
As quickly as he forgot, it all rushed back. Every moment of blissful ignorance was coupled with memories that reminded him of what he lost.
Goddess knew he was exhausted but sleep wouldn't be his friend for the foreseeable future.
Theo groaned annoyedly at the thoughts that overwhelmed his brain. Sighing, he fell back into bed, exhausted.
***
Morning came shortly after and Theo was rudely awakened by the sunrise. It came without his permission and he was now forced to deal with it. Morning meant that the warriors were back from their search and the thought rattled him.
Theo arose from his bed and a bright stream of sunlight blinded him. He winced uncomfortably but that was just a soft blow in comparison to the events from the night before. The once strong man that he knew was no longer there. Theo was now the only shoulder of his people.
The realization forced him to wonder if he should find someone to stand beside him. A mate would refortify the pack's power and help him lead.
He dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.
This was not the time to find a mate.
He had other things to be focused on and it wouldn't be fair to either of them.
Theo was showered and dressed in record time, maybe his fastest ever. He exited his room and there stood his line of bodyguards. He sighed in frustration as he closed the door behind him.
"I'm relieving all of you for the day. I have business to attend to that is confidential and I can't have you all following me around.
"Alpha, our orders came from the Elders. We are to stay with you at all times."
"Well then I guess it's a good thing I'm your Alpha and now I override those orders."
The guards hesitated before leaving and Theo spoke again.
"If you get into any trouble, direct them to me. Now off you go."
The men all nodded before dispersing and Theo reveled in his privacy once again. He headed down the stairs and to the main room of the house, in a much better mood than before.
"Has anyone seen Finn?"
All eyes turned in his direction. As soon as they realized who it was, their gazes lowered before they addressed him.
"No, Alpha, we haven't but we will inform him that you were looking for him as soon as we do."
"Thank you." He nodded then left.
Theo walked in the direction of the cells. He was holding out hope that they had captured one of the intruders.
As he passed by, many people greeted him as Alpha and somehow the title made him uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he answered, walking briskly to his destination.
He had sent out more parties to find the intruders, insisting on joining them. He wanted to help find the people who had waged war on his pack but the Elders basically forbade it. They had already lost one Alpha and sending out the last of the true bloodline was out of the question.
So instead, Theo had the pleasure of being under twenty-four-hour surveillance and being ordered to sleep by Martha. But now it was morning and he had duties, namely to make them pay.
Theo headed through the doors only to find the cells empty, making his jaw tick.
He rushed out of the space and immediately collided with a small body.
"Ouch." She groaned, holding her arm.
"Sophie! Are you alright?"
Theo was frantic as he attended to her arm. Sophie placed a calming hand on him to stop his rushed movements before reassuring him.
"Hey I'm fine, I promise. See?" She showed her arm to him and he sighed.
"What are you doing here?" Theo asked.
"I was just coming to check on you and I saw you head over here so I caught up. I know you probably haven't eaten anything all day and I want to make sure that you did. Have breakfast with me?"
"Sophie, I'm touched that you wanted to check up on me but I can't right now. I have something to take care of. I'll see you later."
Theo nodded at Sophie and began to walk away, heading towards the Elders. Sophie's soft voice, however, stopped him before he could get too far.
"Theo," she called out.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder, but not enough to meet her eye. "Just remember the kind of person you are. Don't forget that."
Mentally Theo acknowledged her words but verbally he gave no response. He walked away and Sophie watched him from behind.
Theo made it to the Elders' office and once his presence was made known, he was acknowledged heartily as Alpha. Theo took a seat before clearing his throat lightly.
"I know that my father was the Alpha of this pack but that is a title I have not yet earned."
"Theo, we have every belief that you will, soon enough." Martha's kind words were welcomed and he accepted them gracefully.
"In due time, yes, but for now we have other business to attend to."
"Speaking of business, mine is to keep you safe. Where are your guards?" She enquired.
"I've relieved them for the day, and before you object, the borders are crawling with patrols. There is no way for anyone to get in. What I want to know is how the search went."
The room fell into dense silence and Theo knew that something was wrong.
"What happened?"
"Beta led the search to the edge of the territory with his group and caught up with some of the intruders."
"Well, that's a good thing right? Why aren't we happy about this? And why aren't they in the cells?"
"Well, that's the thing. They saw a group of men who had survived. They were settled at the border doing some sort of spell, presumably to get back through the protective barrier."
"What happened?"
"One of the warriors informed us that they started speaking more quickly, trying to do the spell faster but they had caught up to them. The warriors thought they had caught them. There was no way to escape but as soon as they got close enough to capture them they…" she trailed off without completing the sentence and Theo got impatient.
"They what?!"
"They killed themselves, Theo. Every one of them."
"Shit!"
"Theo, calm down. I know that—"
"No, you don't know anything!" Theo seethed. "That was the last chance we had to know who these people were. To know why they attacked us and murdered my father!"
After a short pause, he realized that the Elders weren't the people he should be talking to.
"Where's Cane? Why isn't the Beta of this pack telling me all of this himself?"
"Because he can't," an elder replied. "The spell they did to kill themselves didn't only harm them. Cane and everyone else are in the infirmary recovering."
"Oh, Goddess."
Everything failure was piling onto Theo. Everything was going wrong, one after the other. He didn't think he could handle any more bad news.
"This meeting is adjourned. I'm going to the infirmary to check on them. Please find something that can help us figure this out when I get back."
Theo knew that anger was a useless emotion. He also knew that he shouldn't yell at the people in his council but he couldn't help it. His feelings boiled so hotly that he had to release them. With everything happening he didn't know how to control it anymore.
Last night was long, maybe one of the longest nights he has ever experienced. But today already felt longer and it had only just begun.
Theo walked to the infirmary and the thought of his father being there lingered at the back of his mind. He hesitated at the door, unsure if he would be able to go inside.