Chapter three - Abaddon

Gene has a secret, I've known for a while but just assumed he had an embarrassing crush or something. 

Maybe she's too young or too old, maybe it's a guy or someone already mated. Who knows, I haven't pushed him, knowing he'll tell me if he wants me to know, but an uncomfortable feeling has begun building in my stomach while watching him exchange conspiratol looks with Seraphina. 

He's definitely talking to someone over mindlink and so is she. They're both pretending to be involved in something else, but it's obvious by the way they keep glancing at one another that they're talking privately, and, by the little smiles they've got on their faces, I'd say they get on well. Too well.

"Hey, what do you think?" I ask him suddenly.

I'm expecting some sort of guilty reaction, but he just shrugs and asks "Think about what?"

"Think about a party in the woods after the tournament next week." Caleb chimes in, saving me from having to make something up. 

"Yeah, sounds good." He glances at Seraphina again, while nodding along and then he's frowning deeply, his jaw clenching.

"What's up?" He shakes his head at me and then, knowing I won't let up, he tells me he'll tell me later.

His frown lifts, replaced by a small smile when Seraphina laughs loudly, everyone staring at her as she dips her head down, preparing to read her book.

Her cheeks are still pink from unexpectedly attracting the attention of the entire room and while everyone else is going back to what they were doing, I can't take my eyes off of her.

What's going on with her and Gene? 

I need to know, I don't know why, but I can't not.

"Are you seeing Seraphina Oakwood?" I ask him, still unable to tear my gaze away from her. 

"What? No way. Why would you think that?" He laughs, shaking his head. "Even if I wanted to, can you imagine trying to get her to agree to it. She's completely focused on getting away from here, she's not going to risk getting involved with a pack member."

"She wants to leave?" I feel myself tense, just as she looks over and meets my eyes.

"Yeah. I can't believe you don't know this, she's not exactly quiet about this. Ever since she met Alpha Calista, she's realised there are places out there that aren't like our pack. She wants more than what we can offer her." He says so passionately, it's as if he agrees with her. 

"Like what?" 

"A job. A chance to train. Just a choice I guess." He mutters, but I'm distracted now. She's still staring at me and I swear her eyes have darkened, the emerald almost disappearing with the size of her pupils. I've seen the same thing in most of the girls around school whenever I flirt with them, but I didn't expect it from her.

'Do you need something Seraphina?' I put a little flirtation into my tone, just to see her reaction and I'm not disappointed when I see the goosebumps raise across her skin.

I think she's actually attracted to me! Who knew!

I feel sort of smug with this realisation and I want to keep talking to her, just to see what other reactions I can pull from her.

'No, Abaddon.' This might be the first time I've ever heard her voice in my head and it causes a shiver to run down my spine, which is a new sensation for me.

She turns away and I feel desperate at the imminent loss of our connection.

'I assume your father punished you for that little stunt you pulled on Saturday?' I cringe inwardly at my panicked choice of topic to keep her talking and her reply is short, forcing me to try to keep her talking, right up until Mr Lars walks in and announces the start of the lesson.

~*~

I don't see her for the rest of the day and then straight after school, Gene drives us out to the training field, getting there before everyone else.

"We need to mix up the training." He says, ominously and I feel myself bristle as though he's personally insulting me. He knows this, so he sits down heavily with a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face. "Ana was out in the woods with Sera when our guys caught her. Ana hid in the woods and the guys had no idea she was there. If she'd been a rogue…"

He doesn't have to finish that sentence, I know exactly what he's saying and I'm pissed as hell. They should have been able to sense her. Her scent should have been enough, but there's no way she could have disguised herself completely in that time, so they should have known Seraphina wouldn't have been training alone and opened their fucking eyes. Even if they couldn't see her, she wouldn't have been able to stay completely still, there's obvious noises, right down to her breathing.

"Go hide, take Levi too and get him to hide elsewhere. I'll send them out to find you." He doesn't say anything, just gets up and nods, jogging through the east side of the woods.

I sit down on the bench he's just vacated, seething with rage, at myself more than them, I should have been on top of this. I'm in charge of the training, how did I miss this? My father wouldn't have.

The men filter in, laughing and joking, play fighting and shoving one another as they walk. I must be exuding anger, because one by one, they fall silent, standing to attention, waiting for me to say something. They look like a proper unit.

Well, at least I haven't failed completely.

"Caleb, Michael, Gabe, Josh." Each one of them steps forward when I call their names. Standing slowly, I look each of them in the eyes, watching as they immediately drop eye contact, submitting the way they should to my authority. "I've had some disappointing news today."

The tension in the room rises, but no-one speaks.

"Where did you find Seraphina Oakwood training at the weekend?" I ask, noting the confusion that crosses the faces of every man in the room.

"Uh… in a clearing in the woods, about half a mile west from here." Joshua answers immediately and I nod, moving to step in front of him.

"And she was alone?" He nods. "You're sure?"

"Yes, Abaddon, we surprised her, there wasn't anyone else around." Caleb adds, staring straight ahead. It's no secret he thinks he's the better choice for Gamma over Levi, but this hasn't done him any favours.

"You're wrong." I ensure my voice is clear and level, reaching every man in the room. Their heads whip towards me in unison, each gasping in shock and disbelief. "She was with a friend, who hid nearby. You missed her, but she could see you."

"No. There wasn't, we would have known if there was." The four of them look at one another, the disbelief obvious but as soon as they open their mouth to argue, I hold up my hand, silencing them.

"No arguments, you missed her and if she was a rogue we could all have been in danger. Now, split into pairs, Gene and Levi are out there somewhere, I want them found within the hour or we're all doing double circuits tonight." The mumbles of annoyance fill the room, so I point to the clock. "Fifty nine minutes, I'd get going if you want to have any sort of evening without me."

They rush out of the room, some shifting into their wolves, some running as humans, but all going as fast as possible.

An hour feels like an eternity with nothing to do and, with the new information about Anastasia, I've got the perfect excuse to contact Seraphina and ask where they were. I can't figure out why I want to though, the girl annoys me like no other. 

Instead of contacting her, I work on the circuits, hoping they find Gene and Levi soon, because I don't want to be here all night either, but the longer it goes without hearing from them, the less confident I am that they're going to find them.

"We found him." Caleb comes sprinting towards me, leaning over and panting when he stops inside the room. "We found Levi, where's Gene? They found him, right?"

He looks around the room, my own heart sinking when I see the minute hand click over to the hour.

'Gene, time's up, they failed. Where are you?' I call through the mind link.

'The big old oak tree, near the clearing. I watched eight of them pass me with no idea.' He sends back.

'Stay there, I'm going to see how long it takes for them to find you when they're right under your nose.' I call the group together, waiting for them to hurry back and then set off towards the clearing, telling them to continue searching for Gene and alert me if they find him.

I scent him when we're about half a mile away. He's disguised his scent well, it's mixed with mud and fox shit.

'You're disgusting.' I send to him.

'Thought I'd challenge them.' He sends back and I can imagine the smug grin on his face already.

"Foxes have been about, eh Abs?" Levi chuckles, flicking his eyes towards the tree where Genes camouflaged face grins at us.

And this is why he'll be my Gamma. He might piss around a lot, but he's a brilliant warrior.

Disappointingly, even though we hover nearby, none of the others seem to notice him, so, eventually I tell him to come out.

He takes it upon himself to launch himself out of the tree, tackling little Oliver, a thirteen year old lad, who just happens to be closest to him, to the ground and pinning him there.

"You stink." Oliver cries from beneath Gene's huge frame.

"And, you're dead." Gene laughs, ruffling the lad's hair as he stands up.

"We didn't expect you to stink of fox shit, no wonder we didn't find you." Michael complains, looking at Gene like he's cheated at the game.

"That's the whole point. You think rogue's or an enemy pack are just going to wander in and announce themselves?" I head back towards the training building, knowing they'll all follow. "Gene, Oliver, you two get a shower in first, you stink."

The moaning stops after I threaten them with extra drills, and, after they've gone, I wander home slowly, thinking up new training ideas to get them to use all their senses.

"Abaddon. You're late." My father's voice comes from his office and when I walk in, he's pounding into a brunette from behind.

"Extra training, Alpha." He insists everyone uses his title, including me.

"Good, you need it for next weekend. Violet is waiting for you in the kitchen, go eat, I'll finish up here and then we'll chat about the tournament on Saturday." My father thrusts faster inside the woman, his grunts becoming more strained, so I retreat from the room before I have to witness his cum face. An image no one wants of their own father.

Violet, a sweet woman who has been working as a maid in the house since my mother was killed, starts dishing food onto my plate, huge portions since she insists I'm still "a growing boy" and we make small talk until my father strides into the room, waving his hand at her to dismiss her.

"Now, I've been thinking and I think you should take the wolfsbane the morning of the tournament." He says, standing opposite me as I nearly choke on the chicken I'd just bitten into. "It'll show how strong you've become, don't you think?"

He's making it sound like a question, but it's not, not when it comes to him, he hands me the tablet and I groan, not wanting to take it. I've only just got my wolf back after the last dose.

"I'm doing this for you, Abaddon. To make you stronger. You need to practice with it, so you're not disadvantaged if the enemy uses it on you in battle." He places the tablet beside my plate, waiting while I pick it up and quickly swallow it down. "Good. I'm on patrol tonight, I'll see you in the morning."

He walks away, leaving me fighting off the initial trembling and nausea from the poison all alone.

Appetite gone, I crawl up to bed, closing my eyes and praying for sleep before the dizziness begins.