After hours of walking around Pheonix land, hunting down Alpha Kane's men and loading up the bodies of our soldiers and friends onto carts to return home wrapped in a sheet, we were all drained and exhausted.
We still had miles of territory to scour but we hadn't had a moments rest in far too long so we decided to make camp for the night.
"So it's over," I said finally breaking the silence around the campfire, "We can go back to normal."
"Finally," Tobias said with a sigh.
"But now what?" I asked, looking up to my brother.
"We reclaim our territory and rebuild our pack. There may not be many of us left but it's something," Tobias said.
I nodded, "Although it will be a quarter of its original size, it's still our duty to be there for the Nightingale pack."
"It's not your duty, Esme," Theodore said, speaking up for the first time since we made camp.
He'd been sitting on the opposite side of the fire, his fingers firmly entwined a
We were soon back at the camp where Rose and Tobias still sat. Theodore still gripped my arm tightly and as he looked down at Tobias with cold eyes, he instantly knew something was up."It's been settled. Esme will be living with me," Theodore told him, "As my Luna."Tobias looked from Theodore to me and my tear-stained cheeks and the way I depended on Theodore's arm for support, my legs still weak and shaking, maybe from the shock, maybe the pain, maybe the betrayal.Tobias got straight to his feet."What has happened?" he questioned, "Esme?"Saying nothing, I just kept my eyes on the floor, completely unable to face either of them.I was ashamed of my weakness. Ashamed that I had let him do this to me."What the fuck have you done to her?" Tobias growled a few seconds later."None of your business, Alpha Brynn. All you need to know is that she has changed her mind," Theodore replied, "And you will need to manage w
The rain of earlier had returned as a raging storm by the time Lou got me to the doorstep of a large house. We were wet through but he soon sat me down and lit a warm fire before finding some dry clothes and making me a soothing mug of hot cocoa."How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down on the end of the bed he had made up for me."I've been better," I said hoarsely.He sighed and squeezed my hand."I've had word from some of the men," he said, "Alpha Rivers won't be here until the morning.""And what horrors will the morning bring?" I asked."He's taking you to the Nightingale territory where he will announce Alpha Brynn's death and declare himself your people's new Alpha. The Nightingale citizens are being escorted home tonight and ordered to gather at the waterfall at 10 am tomorrow."I hugged my knees tighter to my chest, "Just in case he hasn't taken enough from me. Now he's taking my pack.""I'm sorry, Esme," he said
Half an hour later I was in the hallway of the Pheonix packhouse tying my boots as I sat on the bottom step of the stair. Theodore had just shrugged on his jacket and was now reaching for the coat stand.He plucked the jacket off the top and thrust it in my direction.It was mine. The one I left on Tobias's body.I took it and stared down at it."What did you do with their bodies?" I asked, clutching the brown leather between my fingers."Burnt them," he replied. "The ashes are in the pocket of your jacket."I reached into the pocket to find a glass vial filled with what looked like just the grey soot of a fire. I wrapped my fist tight around it and held it close to my chest."Can I sprinkle them on Nightingale territory?" I asked.He paused for a second before nodding, "Lou will escort you to wherever you want before I claim the pack."I reached for my bow but Theodore's hand got to it before me."You don't need
The next few years weren't easy. I was Alpha of not one but two united packs and I didn't have my Brother and Rose, who the pain of losing still crippled me, beside me to help.But perhaps even more shockingly, a few weeks after Theodore Rivers' death, I discovered I was pregnant.At first, it nearly destroyed me to be carrying his child after everything he did.But eight months later, when I gave birth to my son, I couldn't have felt more the opposite. When he first opened his eyes, I couldn't help recognise their hazel-brown colour and when chocolate brown curls began to sprout from his head, they felt all too familiar but he was my little bundle of joy and when I looked at his sweet little face I didn't feel any of the pain of the past. Only happiness and motivation to carry on even when things got tough. He filled the hole that Theodore had left and without him, things could have been very different.Lou was there for me and my son, who we named
Silence: the absence of sound.It's supposed to be peaceful, tranquil, calming. To ease the mind and body into secure relaxation, free of worries and strife.But I am a firm believer in context.And as I stared out across the fields of brown, I longed only for any sound of life. The chirp of a cricket, the buzz of a bumblebee or the whisper of swaying grass in a gentle breeze.But there was only silence. And it certainly did not bring me any peace.I tilted my head back, taking a deep breath and taking a second to close my eyes and escape. But my lungs soon filled with the dust and fragments of dried up debris that hung in a thick haze in the air, flaked up off the ground by even the slightest of winds.
An hour later, I was back on the doorstep of the little cottage in the woods that had been my home all my life. Its tenants included my older brother, his mate and me. Before it had been my father's home too, but now it was just the three of us.I entered through the wooden front door into the kitchen where my brother, Tobias, sat pouring over a piece of paper in his hands, his forehead creased and eyes fixated on the words.Rose, his mate, stood next to him, her hand resting on his shoulder.Tobias was the official Alpha of the Nightingale pack, a role he was burdened with when he was just sixteen after the murder of our father. In the space of an hour, he had gone from a carefree teenager to a leader, charged with the sudden responsibility to lead a pack alone. Not to mention that I was only a kid at the time and with both of our
The next morning, Tobias wrote back to Alpha Rivers, enquiring further into his offer. It was only a day before we received his response, ordering us to meet him at the waterfall, where the river flowed that separated our territory from his."Why does he want to meet us?" Rose asked as she stood at the stove, pouring the hot water from the kettle into the teapot, which held a dismal number of leaves for three people, "Can he not send us the grain and be done with it?""Apparently not..." Tobias replied from the kitchen table, "He wants to meet us, me specifically, to decide if he will help us."I rolled my eyes, "What a power freak," I muttered. "He wants to look down on us, desperate and hungry, knowing that the power to control our fate is in his hands. What a bloody-""Esme," Tobias inte
The next afternoon, Rose and I were in the kitchen, peeling the last three small, shrivelled potatoes left of this week's ration whilst Tobias sat repeatedly throwing a stone up into the air and catching it again in the same hand.I had just finished peeling the final potato when I caught him doing it once again in the corner of my eye and clenched my teeth. After abruptly stabbing the peeling knife into the table, I snapped my head to him."Tobias," I hissed, "You are going to drive me insane."He looked at me and sighed before lifting his feed off the table and leaning forward, "I'm sorry. Alpha Rivers could be here, on our territory, any moment and I'm anxious.""Well, you're making us all anxious. Go and throw your stone somewhere else," I replied, "We're trying to make soup out of lite
The next few years weren't easy. I was Alpha of not one but two united packs and I didn't have my Brother and Rose, who the pain of losing still crippled me, beside me to help.But perhaps even more shockingly, a few weeks after Theodore Rivers' death, I discovered I was pregnant.At first, it nearly destroyed me to be carrying his child after everything he did.But eight months later, when I gave birth to my son, I couldn't have felt more the opposite. When he first opened his eyes, I couldn't help recognise their hazel-brown colour and when chocolate brown curls began to sprout from his head, they felt all too familiar but he was my little bundle of joy and when I looked at his sweet little face I didn't feel any of the pain of the past. Only happiness and motivation to carry on even when things got tough. He filled the hole that Theodore had left and without him, things could have been very different.Lou was there for me and my son, who we named
Half an hour later I was in the hallway of the Pheonix packhouse tying my boots as I sat on the bottom step of the stair. Theodore had just shrugged on his jacket and was now reaching for the coat stand.He plucked the jacket off the top and thrust it in my direction.It was mine. The one I left on Tobias's body.I took it and stared down at it."What did you do with their bodies?" I asked, clutching the brown leather between my fingers."Burnt them," he replied. "The ashes are in the pocket of your jacket."I reached into the pocket to find a glass vial filled with what looked like just the grey soot of a fire. I wrapped my fist tight around it and held it close to my chest."Can I sprinkle them on Nightingale territory?" I asked.He paused for a second before nodding, "Lou will escort you to wherever you want before I claim the pack."I reached for my bow but Theodore's hand got to it before me."You don't need
The rain of earlier had returned as a raging storm by the time Lou got me to the doorstep of a large house. We were wet through but he soon sat me down and lit a warm fire before finding some dry clothes and making me a soothing mug of hot cocoa."How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down on the end of the bed he had made up for me."I've been better," I said hoarsely.He sighed and squeezed my hand."I've had word from some of the men," he said, "Alpha Rivers won't be here until the morning.""And what horrors will the morning bring?" I asked."He's taking you to the Nightingale territory where he will announce Alpha Brynn's death and declare himself your people's new Alpha. The Nightingale citizens are being escorted home tonight and ordered to gather at the waterfall at 10 am tomorrow."I hugged my knees tighter to my chest, "Just in case he hasn't taken enough from me. Now he's taking my pack.""I'm sorry, Esme," he said
We were soon back at the camp where Rose and Tobias still sat. Theodore still gripped my arm tightly and as he looked down at Tobias with cold eyes, he instantly knew something was up."It's been settled. Esme will be living with me," Theodore told him, "As my Luna."Tobias looked from Theodore to me and my tear-stained cheeks and the way I depended on Theodore's arm for support, my legs still weak and shaking, maybe from the shock, maybe the pain, maybe the betrayal.Tobias got straight to his feet."What has happened?" he questioned, "Esme?"Saying nothing, I just kept my eyes on the floor, completely unable to face either of them.I was ashamed of my weakness. Ashamed that I had let him do this to me."What the fuck have you done to her?" Tobias growled a few seconds later."None of your business, Alpha Brynn. All you need to know is that she has changed her mind," Theodore replied, "And you will need to manage w
After hours of walking around Pheonix land, hunting down Alpha Kane's men and loading up the bodies of our soldiers and friends onto carts to return home wrapped in a sheet, we were all drained and exhausted.We still had miles of territory to scour but we hadn't had a moments rest in far too long so we decided to make camp for the night."So it's over," I said finally breaking the silence around the campfire, "We can go back to normal.""Finally," Tobias said with a sigh."But now what?" I asked, looking up to my brother."We reclaim our territory and rebuild our pack. There may not be many of us left but it's something," Tobias said.I nodded, "Although it will be a quarter of its original size, it's still our duty to be there for the Nightingale pack.""It's not your duty, Esme," Theodore said, speaking up for the first time since we made camp.He'd been sitting on the opposite side of the fire, his fingers firmly entwined a
Sometime later, Theodore came over to me. I was sat with Rose and Tobias and had just finished stitching up a nasty wound on the shoulder of one of our soldiers."Alpha Brynn, everything here is sorted. I'm sending my men out to search the rest of the territory for escapees and to recover the bodies of our lost soldiers. I'd appreciate if you did the same. The sooner the place is cleared, the sooner we can let the citizens out," he said.Tobias nodded.As he spoke I'd been trying to avoid looking behind him at the spiralling flames of the 'crematorium' his men had made to burn the bodies of hundreds of Alpha Kane's men. But the smoke billowed and itched our lungs, refusing to be ignored."We've lost a lot of soldiers so we will be searching the territory for their bodies," Rose said."Fine," Theodore replied, "Esme, you are coming with me though."I looked up at him."I was actually hoping to go with Tobias and Rose. The least I can d
I looked into Theodore's eyes. They were wide and frozen as he kept looking down at his hands."Klaus," I said to the soldier who now cowered in the corner, "Tell all your fellow soldiers that their leader is dead and that if they surrender immediately, we can end this with no more bloodshed."Klaus nodded and scrambled out of the room, not taking his eyes off Theodore for a second."Are you okay?" I asked, stepping closer to my mate.He suddenly snapped out of his trance and his eyes locked on me."Why the fuck are you here?" he growled, striding forward and grabbing my wrist."I'm sorry I-" I stuttered as he dragged me at high speed from the room, "I had to help.""And how to fuck is getting yourself captured and put in extreme danger helping, Esme?" he hissed."If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had the opportunity to challenge Alpha Kane and he would have killed you on your knees," I replied.With that, he
I was taken through a large pair of wooden doors into a large room. I stumbled forward as the men holding me shoved me forwards to where a middle-aged man sat comfortably on an ornate chair."Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he asked, looking me up and down.His voice was deep and patronising. His features were sharp and oddly familiar. I even knew those brown eyes. It felt like I'd experienced their piercing stare many times before.Klaus stepped forward and brushed my hair off my neck.The man's eyes lit up and he instantly got to his feet. He smiled warmly yet his eyes remained dark and beady as he strode over to me and held out his hand."Alpha Kane, a pleasure to meet you, Luna Rivers," he said.I looked down at his hand and scoffed."You expect me to shake your hand? After everything?" I asked.He continued to look down at me."Yes," he said sharply, "Has Theodore not taught you how to show respect yet?"
I next woke on a dark stone floor. The bustle and hustle of the camp had gone and now all I could hear was the echoing drips of water droplets and the pacing footsteps of one man.My every muscle felt tired and useless and I could hardly even sit myself up."How are you feeling?" someone asked.Upon glancing up, I saw Lou looking down at me."Exhausted," I replied.I glanced around. It was dark but I could just about see damp stone walls."Well, that's expected," he replied, "You'll be okay soon."I diverted my glance back to Lou."Expected? Why?" I questioned.Lou furrowed his eyebrow, "Because Alpha Rivers marked you.""...So? And where the fuck are we?"It was then that Lou's face dropped and his jaw tightened, "You don't know, do you? He didn't warn you?""Warn me of what?" I asked.Lou sighed and sat down beside me, "When a female wolf is marked she goes into a deep sleep. It's the natura