Five

Casper has learnt in his many years as a beta to be a man of actions and not just words. He used to be a very carefree man, light-hearted and full of laughs, till he was made the beta for Logan, a quiet young man of fifteen then. He had been one of the few people Logan had included in his social circle, more because of his skills in battle than anything. Logan had taught him patience, discipline, and the ability to back up his words with action.

He had been the most reserved and disciplined young werewolf when they were growing up. It was clear that he was destined to be an alpha, whether or not he was the son of an alpha. He wasn't one to let petty things trouble him, and he usually proffered solutions to any problems quickly and efficiently.

So, Casper was aghast when he saw the same Alpha in his room looking troubled. Many questions from him about his troubled mood proved futile as Logan wasn't giving any answers.

"I know you'd prefer not to tell me what is troubling you but it is important that you tell me," Casper said. "But I'm your beta because you need someone you can share your burden with."

"I would rather not, Casper." The alpha replied gruffly, appearing uninterested.

"But Alpha..."

"Casper, drop it. Please."

Casper eyed him warily. "If you say so. I've been meaning to ask you something about the white wolf we rescued."

Immediately Casper mentioned the white wolf, the Alpha raised his head in alarm. He realized that he had looked too interested and quickly checked himself. In a split second, he rearranged his expression from interest to indifference.

"Yeah, what about her?" Logan asked in what he hoped was an unconcerned voice.

Casper looked at him with suspicion. The alpha was definitely hiding something. "I wanted to ask about the mark you found on her shoulder. What do you think it means? Frankly, I have never seen anything like it before. Rogue werewolves are known to draw tattoos that separate them from normal packs but that's one tattoo I've never seen before."

Logan signed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers "Yeah, you might want to keep that information to yourself, Casper." He said "Stuff like that can cause an uproar among the people. It would be best if we kept anything about the white wolf or her mark or how we found her to ourselves. Inform Dr. Frank to not say a word to anyone about it too, till I fix all of this."

"Noted." Casper replied, nodding his head "And what do you plan on doing with her in the end? She would still pose a problem whether she's a spy or not. Would you kill her or imprison her?"

Logan turned to him in alarm. Casper could read his expression as easily as an open book. His face was full of doubt and the beta could see that he was hesitating to make any judgment. It was like the Alpha was going against everything he preached.

"I haven't made a decision yet." Logan answered after a few seconds of silence "But in the meantime, tell Dr. Frank to keep her in the clinic till I figure something out. She is not to go anywhere or talk to anyone else. Not like she does a lot of talking anyway." He added under his breath.

Casper looked at his alpha and wondered what type of emotional turmoil could be going on inside him that would cause the man to act so distractedly. Was it the presence of the white wolf or something else? With this last thought, he inclined his head towards the Alpha in greeting and walked out of the room, leaving Logan to his thoughts.

Logan sighed with relief as Casper left his room. He knew he couldn't take a minute more of his beta's incessant questions. Everything seemed to be getting to him these days. Usually, he would have answered Casper's questions seamlessly but he had caught himself struggling for words and solutions. All his mind could conjure was a curly, dark-haired, mute woman that the Goddess had forced upon him as his mate.

His thoughts randomly went to his father and he sighed as he remembered how great the old man had once been. He remembered being a young boy and idolizing his father, admiring the alpha he was. His father had been a great alpha, fierce in battle yet loving and gentle with his people. He loved his son and his mate Jessica very much. Maybe a little too much.

The death of Jessica his mate had made him retreat to a dark corner of his mind till he slowly began to lose his sanity. People had thought that he would get over it after a few months but he had gotten much worse, till the Council of Alphas declared him invalid and unable to rule, thereby crowning fifteen-year-old Logan as Alpha in his stead.

Logan sometimes resented his mother for dying and leaving his father like that, but most times he thought most of the blame rested on his father. The man had been too weak and soft-hearted, giving room to love and be loved, and it has cost him a lot. The story of his father had taught him the dangers and implications of giving yourself wholly to someone. He had vowed to never follow that path. Ever.

Not until this white wolf had come and turned his world upside down.

Logan grunted in frustration at the direction of his thoughts and stood from the desk behind which he was sitting, heading towards the door of his room. He would see his father again to remind himself of the dangers of falling in love.

His father had been moved from the main Alpha's quarters to a small room on the ground floor of the pack house, where he was to spend the rest of his days. Once Logan got there, he opened the door without any preliminaries and peeped inside.

His father was fast asleep on a couch by the window, his head lolling carelessly over the arm of the couch and his hands and legs flung about. His long gray hair was flowing down from the arm of the couch to the ground and he had almost a week's worth of stubble on his chin.

He was letting out a great unpleasant snore that made Logan turn his head in distaste. The alpha moved closer to his father and wrinkled his nose as the smell of whiskey and stale sweat hit his nostrils. Several bottles of the stuff were lying around and Logan saw that his father was clutching something to his chest. He gently removed the thing and saw that it was a picture of his mother, Jessica. Typical. His father often slept off with the picture in his hand. Logan's father was a defeated man.

The alpha's face hardened as he looked at the face of his mother smiling up at him from the picture. She used to be a beautiful woman and used to bake him cookies that he never ate because they were too sugary. He remembered throwing a lot of her cookies away and then lying to her that he enjoyed them just to please her. He never really had a close relationship with his mother: from an early age, he had been training to be an alpha and barely had time for anything else.

He looked back up at the snoring vulnerable man on the couch and hardened his resolve. If this was the price for love, he would never ever allow any woman into his life to treating him like this. Ever. And with that last thought, Alpha Logan returned the picture to his father's chest and walked away, leaving his past behind.