Matheo sighed as he looked at the beautiful sky that was in front of him, the sun just barely out, shooting colors of which he had never seen before, perhaps it was of good omen.
He wondered who could have threatened Devan with Matheo's life, it made much more sense now that he thought about it, the way he looked so worried and scared when he yelled at him.
His eyes glanced at his hands, remembering the burning feeling that had travelled through his palm when he had slapped Devan, regret filling his chest like a fire, he shouldn't have done that.
"I can't believe Narcia's dad is dead... What will happen now? I know Narcia has to become the next alpha... but whats the process and all?" Liam asked as Matheo frowned, this whole situation was so unneeded at the moment, he wished it hadn't happened.
"Well, they need to recover the Alpha's body for proper burial, that way we can close the link for good. After that, everyone will pledge loyalty to Narcia, forming the new alpha link. Technically, we would also perform the mating ritual between her and her mate the following days, but that's out of the question as you two aren't even bonding." Matheo said as Liam sighed, looking at the panick in the distance, he knew he needed to stand his ground and take his time, but something inside of him wanted to stand with Narcia.
"I used to have a crush on Narcia, back when I was little. We were very close when I first met her, if she could just be a little more patient with me..." Liam said as Matheo put his hand on Liam's shoulder, smiling to him softly, knowing how hard it can be with Narcia sometimes.
"I'm sure things will get better in due time man, this is a pretty big shock for the whole pack. I know she will be irritated a lot, so don't take it personally." Matheo said as he squeezed Liam's shoulder, receiving a soft smile from Liam before the boy stood up, determination brightly displayed on his features.
"Since we currently aren't welcomed here and that a certain man needs our help, why don't we go and look for your boyfriend?" Liam said as Matheo blushed, giving a quick jab into the boy's side, hearing a chuckle from the now slightly wounded guy.
They both made their way to Matheo's house, sneaking into the kitchen, they needed to get some water bottles and some food for their little trip.
After making their way towards the woods, Matheo grabbed Liam's sleeve, causing both boys to stop in their tracks, Liam frowned as Matheo quickly stripped.
"Yo! What are you doing!?" Liam said as he took a step back, making Matheo laugh as he finished stripping.
"I'll shift so it's a quicker and easier ride." Matheo said before Liam facepalmed and chuckled, having forgotten that Matheo could simply turn into a wolf.
The boy did as he said, shifting into the marine blue wolf that he was, Liam was always so amazed at how pretty these creatures were, he smiled softly before hopping on the back of the wolf, claws digging into the soil before dashing through the woods with Liam holding on to the fur for dear life.
...
Matheo huffed as he slowed down to a trot, his nose sniffing the air to try and catch a scent of Devan, it was like the cannibal had not been around for a long time with how faint the scent was.
"It's pretty quiet, are you able to smell if he is around?" Liam whispered as the wolf shook his head, hearing a click of Liam's tongue, annoyance marrying his features.
Matheo felt just as annoyed as Liam did, he needed to go to Devan and make things right, if someone was threatening him with his own life, there would be hell to pay for it.
They slowly made their way to the door, Liam hopping off, his hand reaching out and grasping the doorknob before slowly opening it, not even bothering to knock, the house was dark and smelled damp, it was clearly abandoned.
"He needs to take better care of this place, honestly." Liam said as Matheo stepped inside, the sound his claws tapping on the floor with each of his steps, it made the silence in the room feel almost heavier.
Matheo leaned his head down, sniffing the floor as Liam walked towards the living room, he could tell someone had been here recently, but the scent was bizarre, like they barelly even were existing at the time.
"It's not nice to break into people's home." Devan said as he leaned against the front door with his arms crossed, making Matheo jump a bit before turning around to face him, Liam quickly coming back into the kitchen.
"Sorry, we were worried about you." Liam said before Devan's eyes softened, sighing as he uncrossed his arms, his jaw clearly tightening as though he was holding something back.
"You shouldn't be, I am perfectly fine. You two can leave now and—" Devan stated before a heavy growl echoed, making both Liam and Devan's eyes widened as Matheo's white canines showed brightly.
"Look, we know someone is threatening you, we're here to help." Liam said as the blood seemed to leave Devan's face, paling as he stubbled a bit back, looking like he had seen a ghost.
"How do you know? Did my father come after Matheo!?" Devan asked in worry, looking scared as he made eye contact with his green eyes, it hurt him to see the man so scared for his life.
"No, he did not and I am not surprised that it is your father that threatened you. Of course that cannibal man would come after us for this, you can't go back to him Devan."
"Why not? I won't risk Matheo's life for my happiness." Devan said as Matheo whimpered, taking a step closer towards the man.
He loved hearing that he made Devan happy, there was no way he would let him go back to his father now, he would have to do that over his dead body.
"Listen, I know that man is strong and scary. We can help you, we have the whole pack behind us." Liam said as Matheo frowned, his little wolf eyes growing wide as he understood what Liam planned.
If Liam was to take his spot as the rightful leader of the pack with Narcia, they would have to do his every bidding, including protecting Devan, it made his heart squeeze that he would do this for him.
"I heard about the alpha, my condolences. But I do not want to risk the new leaders future either." Devan said as he walked in, gently caressing the top of Matheo's head, a purr escaped him as he leaned into the touch, heart warm with love for the man.
"That's fine by me, nobody is going to die on my watch." Liam said as Devan smiled, shaking his head as he scratched Matheo behind the ear.
"You're human, that means close to nothing."
"I may be human, but I will have the whole pack behind me. Nobody will die if we plan this right."
"People always die when cannibals are involved. Shifters are inferior to my species—"
A yelp escaped Devan when Matheo bit his hand, growling as he looked up at the man, he would not let him call it his species, he was nothing like them.
"I think you have no other choice, your father will never stop threatening us to make you do what he wants. You know that." Liam said as Devan rubbed his hand, cursing something inaudible as he looked at Liam, Matheo smirked with how clever Liam could be, it definitely was easier with him here.
Devan growled lowly, he hated that they were right, as long as he lived, his father would use his loved ones to control him, sooner or later, he would end up regretting being too late.
"Alright, but I can't go back to the pack right now. Matheo would agree that they are way too emotional at the moment, if Narcia tried to kill me before, this would be worst. I'm going back to my father tonight, make him believe he has me back, you two get things back in order with the wolves." Devan said as Matheo's tail wagged, making both Liam and Devan chuckle, the wolf was so glad things were going to be fixed, they had to.
"Alright, we will head back now and get back in touch later. Here, that's my number." Liam said as he handed over his phone, Devan quickly grabbing it in his hand, their fingers grazing each other for a moment.
Both looked up in shock as their hearts picked up the pace, Devan slowly covering his neck where his scent gland was, feeling tingles.
"Thanks..." He mumbled as he sent a text to himself, passing the phone back to Liam who was still looking confused before putting his phone away, Matheo frowning at the interaction.
The room was heavy with awkwardness, all three of the boys confused as to why the tension had grown so weird and heavy.
Liam didn't want to linger any longer and quickly hopped on Matheo's back, the wolf gently nuzzling into Devan's side with a purr before making his way out the door, he jumped down the stairs and quickly switched to a gallop as Devan shut his door, preparing to face his father.
-
Narcia sighed as she sat in her dads office, whiping her red puffy eyes, her eyelashes droopy with tears, she still couldn't believe her father was dead, not even sure where her mom even was at this point if not dead somewhere close.
A knock came on her door, she slowly stood from the chair, her hand grazing the desk's top as she made her way towards the door, her hand lifted to reach for the handle, hesitation catching her movement into a halt.
What if they had found her mom's corpse? Could she take another death? Could she accept having lost yet another parent and leader?
She shook her head, huffing as she lifted her chin, clearing her face of any salty water that remained, she would not crumble, she needed to be strong for the pack.
They only had her after all.
"Yes? What is it?" She said as she swung the door open, looking down at two bloody twins, her face turning to worry as the little girls trembled with tears.
"L-Luna.... She was found." The twins said in unison, making Narcia's heart dropp in both relief and terror, this blood, it was her mother's.
"Where is she!?" She asked as they pointed out the window to the healer of the pack's house, making Narcia sigh in relief, she quickly ruffled their hair and crouched down to their height.
"You two did a great job, go home and wash. I'm so proud of you two." She said as the girls smiled a bit, sniffling as they wiped their faces and nodded, running out towards what she could only assume would be their home.
Without wasting time, Narcia rushed out of her house, closing the door with a quick lock before making her way to the healer's house, she needed an immediate report on her mother's condition.
Her chest bumped violently into the person that stood in front of her stairs, her eyes widened in disbelief, how dare he come here at a time like this.
"You." Narcia gritted through her teeth.
"Hey..."