Current day
The room was in a pained silence. A cold chill spread across my body, as I walked to the window. I needed a moment. Time to think. Yet, the words of my Uncle were echoing through my mind, and they were not going anywhere. This was not how I had remembered it. How had I not known of this?
There were muffled voices sounding behind me, but my mind was so distracted I had no clue what was being said despite my enhanced hearing. My mind was upon the gardens outside the window, and on my Dad. The man that I had lost. He had always been my hero, and seemingly he had died the hero too. Tears stung painfully at my eyes. I hated that I did not know any of the things he had gone through in the short time before he died. He was being the Beta he had trained so hard to be.
Footsteps sounded behind me. “So, perhaps if you want someone to blame, Lach, it is me.” Uncle Harry said somberly.
“No, Dad. That i
I was rushing, there was no time to wait. I wanted to put this right. I had royally fucked up, and I needed to do all I could to correct that. Of course, I knew it was unlikely to be easy. After all, Seren had seemingly given up all hope of us. I had made her angry. Understandably so. Not only that, but there was still so much to process…‘Fucking process?’ My wolf roared angrily. ‘It is too late for fucking processing. Processing should have been done a long time ago. Did you not hear what your Uncle told you? Your mind was misleading you. Your very thoughts were going in the wrong direction. Your anger taking her away. You could have cost us our fated!’A sinking feeling sat within my belly. I hoped my wolf was wrong. I would need to process all the information I had learned. I knew that. Ignoring it was never going to help. All this had taught me that. But, first we needed to fix this. I could not lose Seren. Not now. Not after everyth
The words Cole had just spoken turned my stomach and made my had spin all at the same time. Not a pleasant combination. I closed my eyes for a moment. I needed to think, and think fast. This was not what I needed right now…“She crashed here the other day… erm, her birthday, remember?” I all but stuttered at him, my eyes suddenly avoiding his. I knew what Cole was like when it came to his sister. Over-protective, and forever jumping to conclusions. He had always been bad, but when their father died he had become even worse. He saw it as being his role to ensure her safety and right now, this appeared to be one of those moments; despite my friend knowing I would never harm his sister.I was trying hard not so show any nerves right now. Nerves would raise suspicion. Suspicion would cause an over-reaction. Neither one of us needed that. I needed to get this interaction out of the way as swiftly as I could, then I could find Seren and fix the mess
Cole’s eyes met mine. Eyes full of questions. Questions and blame. The coldness remained, but I did not have time for the argument we had moments ago been in the throes of. I needed to find my mate. I needed to fix this. I did not wait a moment longer, I was already moving toward the door.‘What do you mean she is nowhere in pack Marcus?’ I demanded. Seren had been in pack not that long ago. She had been in the office with Marcus and I. She had stormed away in one of her mood swings she was known for. We had assumed she needed time to cool down, and she would be good again. How the hell had it gone from that to her no longer being in pack? It made no sense. Had things become too much for her and she ran?‘I wanted to talk to her about the plans she gave me, so I linked her, and I got no reply. So, I thought maybe she was in a mood with me, which would be understandable considering the way she reacted in the office, so I chose t
Cole and I walked into Marcus’s office. Marcus sat at his table, the senior warriors already there, standing either side of him, looking down at the large map laid out on the desk in front of them. They had begun looking to come up with a plan of finding Seren. Thankfully Marcus and the warriors had not waited for us before they begun on working out how far Seren may have travelled. They were well on their way to making a headstart.“You think her friends know anything?” I questioned, wondering if Seren may have called or messaged Ayla or Thea for help or even to say goodbye. The three of them were usually discussing most major things within their lives, so surely this would be considered major, right?Cole shrugged. “I could go and ask.” He said firmly, determination upon his face. Marcus nodded, knowing as well as I did that Cole would need a distraction, and going to speak to someone would likely be better than sitting
The drive to the City had to be one of the longest and most awkward I think there had ever been. Three friends who had spent countless hours together in the car over the years, all now sitting alongside one another with not a word to say between them. Tension hanging heavy within the air while we all waited stressfully to arrive to our destination. The city was one within only half an hour from the pack. A decent distance when it came to being far enough away to give us the privacy we needed as a wolfpack, but close enough for the supplies and things we also needed. It also meant that it offered some escape for those wanting to have time away from packlife… and I cannot help but wonder if that was what Seren had been looking for.Cole had not spoken a word to me. His darkened eyes glowering at me from across the car instead. I knew he had questions, and the unease he was feeling was evident from the way his fingers were tapping upon his thighs. But I don’t think
The words my friend had said sunk in, and my body felt like it was in agony, while time seemed to have stood still as my mind ran away with itself. City hospital had been in touch. That meant one of our pack was injured. Seren was missing. It could only be her. My sweet Seren. My heart twisted in pain. She had been fleeing from pack, and in doing so had put herself in harm's way. She had been hurt, and now lay in the hospital... my mind swam with horrendous images and thoughts. All bringing me back to the possibility of losing her. Losing her now before I had a chance to tell her I was wrong. Before we were able to fix things. Before I could say I was sorry...Chaos was beginning to ensue around me, snapping me from my daze. Cole had rushed back through the door of the office having left only moments ago to begin to speak to Seren’s friends in our bid to find her. “What do you mean the city hospital Marcus?” Cole demanded. “What do yo
Cole had slipped out of the room, walking past me with an icy glare, but spoke not a word. Marcus paused for a moment by my side. “We are just going to talk with the head doctor.” He informed me, so I took it that he was giving me the opportunity to walk in and see Seren. He had to have known I needed to see her. That my wolf needed to see her.I lingered for a moment, waiting, and watching as my two friends walked along the corridor, disappearing around the corner. The moment they were out of view I rushed to the doorway of the room I had been waiting for news from since we had arrived. There had been nothing. Neither Cole nor Marcus had come to speak to me, nor had they mindlinked. Everything had been silent, and it had been torture.I tentatively opened the door, and as I stepped inside my blood ran cold. Seren was surrounded by machines, her perfect, petite body covered with a sheet, with only her face visible. Her delicate features st
Two days of sitting by Seren’s bedside. And two days of there being no further progress. She had not moved. There had been nothing to sense from neither her nor her wolf, and damn had I been trying, as had Tyr. I was unsure I found any sleep in the hard and uncofortable chair that sat alongside her bed, but I had sworn not to leave her side, and I planned to stick to that.I had spoken to her at any given opportunity when it was just the two of us in the room on our own, hoping to the Moon Goddess she may hear me. Sharing memories of our times together in pack. The fun things we had done together. Good times. Things I hoped would make her smile if she was listening. I did not have a clue if, when someone was injured so badly and they were sleeping so soundly that they can hear what is happening around them, but I hoped she might be able to, or her wolf... anything to give me hope Seren was still in there.I allowed my eyes to drift to her again.
The car ride was going to be awkward. My whole body trembled the moment I lowered myself into the seat. My heart was beating so hard from standing up to Lachlan, and I could not lie, it also ached from the fact I had walked away from everything between us so easily… okay, maybe not so easly. It had taken a lot of thought over the previous days. Maia was whimpering at the back of mind as we drove away from him, and as I turned back to look at him through the window, he remained where we left him, simply stood with his hands by his sides, his eyes upon the car as it drove away. His eyes dark and blank. Very much looking like a broken man. How had things come to this?‘Don’t go.’ Maia whimpered. ‘Let him speak.’ She urged. I knew she was fighting every natural urge a wolf had when it came to their fated mate, but she had also spoken of her need to protect me. She had fought everything within her to help me heal, and she knew
It had tore me apart hearing that Seren was leaving pack. When I had been all but forced to agree to not seeing her, I was comforted by the fact that Seren was in pack. She was being cared for by our own doctors, and some of the best around at that. Plus, she had our families visiting her. I knew, despite not being able to see her, she was close, and she was well. Hearing she was well enough to be discharged from the pack hospital had been a rush of relief, of course it had, but that had soon been replaced by a flood of pain the moment Marcus told me that he had permitted for her to go and continue her studies in the city. He was allowing her to leave me. Leave our pack. And, I believed his reasoning for that was because of how I had treated her.Marcus was my friend, but he was also a friend to Seren. I believed, considering the way in which he acted around me of late that he found himself torn between the two friendships... perhaps rightly so. We had alway
Marcus and Cole had come to the hospital to collect me. I was finally able to leave. Relief was not a word to describe it. I did not know how to explain it, for it simply felt like time had been paused, yet I had been here for an eternity. The same four walls of a room begin to feel like a prison despite the fact you are not being forced to stay there. I think I knew every part of that room in far too much detail. But, the moment had come for me to be discharged with my body all but healed.There were still the occasional niggling pain, or ache depending upon how I moved, but it was nothing I could not cope with. The doctors had reassured me I was well on the way to a full recovery. I had been told I had been lucky. But, I did not feel lucky. Far from it. I had chosen not to consider all of that though. I had a future to focus upon, and thanks to Marcus, his mate and my planning, I was able to do that.“Still don’t agree with this.” Cole grumbled as h
It was destroying me not doing as I had wanted, and as I had promised and, being by Seren’s side as she healed. I had desperately wanted to prove to her I was not the monster she likely created within her mind… or my bad behaviour and treatment had created. I wanted to prove to her I could be a good man. But, I was respecting the wishes of my Aunt, and more so my mother.These were the women that had been a greater part of my life growing up, and I respected their opinions as much as I did my Uncle as a former Alpha. And, as much as it hurt, I knew they may well be right. Seren did deserve better. My wolf had been right all along and my bad choices, be it through lack of information or not, had caused me to lose my mate. Now I was faced with dealing with the consequences.Tyr had retreated to the nether reaches of my mind. It was strange to say I even missed his sly digs that I had grown accustomed to. The lingering that he had done previ
I had laid within the now familiar walls of my hospital room looking around, losing all sense of time. I could not help but wonder where Lachlan had got to. Yes, he had said he would give me space, but what exactly did that mean? I assumed, giving everything else he had said he would be returning later that day. Maybe the next. But here we were, or here I was, days later and there was still no sign of him. I would not lie, it hurt.And, I felt like a fool for ever allowing it to hurt. Not to mention to have allowed, once again, my hopes to be built around anything Lachlan Lamont had said or done. He said he could change. He said he was a good guy. All things were pointing to nothing having changed. And, forgiven or not, I was finding it increasingly harder to view him as a good guy. Despite me craving the company of Lachlan, I still had company; and plenty of it too. My Mum continued her dai
I had returned to my family home, a place I had not returned in the days since Seren’s accident, and took a shower. The warmth of the water feeling like a welcome relief upon my aching body. Having slept within that hard and uncomfortable hospital chair for far too many nights my body was not doing too well, and I feared Tyr was becoming weaker.His communication with me was lesser. And it had been sometime since I had last shifted. My priorities of course had been sitting by the bedside of Seren until she awoke. Now that had occurred I could try to take care of both her and myself. Begin to put things right. I knew we may have a long road ahead, but I swore I had seen something within her eyes when I mentioned proving myself to her. I just hoped I was capable of it.Fate had always been something in the back of my mind. Part of our life cycle, but something for the future. Nothing I was in a hurry for, I guess you could say. I was always a bit
Well I had not been wrong, the moment I closed my eyes to get some rest, my Mum had been in, And now she would not leave me alone. In the end I had to ask the doctor to tell her to leave because I needed some peace. My entire body had ached and my eyes felt so heavy. But more than anything my heas banging from the amount of talking from my mother. Maybe there were advantages to being in that odd state between being here and not. Because it meant I didn’t have to listen to my Mum telling me all the pack gossip. And, having been unconscious for days, it meant there was even more to catch up on!After finally being able to relax a little and settle to some silence my peace was disturbed once more as my older brother strode into my room. He looked anxious and on edge. Oddly there had been little else but silence since his arrival because Cole was sitting by my bed now, watching me through narrowed eyes and barely speaking a word. I was unsure why he had co
It broke my heart hearing Lachlan be so open and honest about things to me. In all the years he and I have known one another never do I recall him talking so freely with me. I felt honoured he trusted me to share some of the things he had, because I doubted many others knew of the things he spoke of. And, while the things he said may have hurt, in my mind there was nothing to forgive.I never knew he had struggled that way. I certainly never knew he had felt so alone. Growing up side by side, being so close, yet I was clueless of his struggles. Guilt flooded my body that he had endured this alone. I knew how much he loved his Mum, and how close they were, so hearing him say he had to witness her fall apart in secret was soul destroying. He was a young boy. But this was through no fault of my Aunt's either. Circumstance had brought them to this. Lachlan would have been struggling with the loss of his Dad and needed support, and likely feared he could not seek
My body once again felt like it was frozen in time as Seren lay there looking over at us. Her big brown eyes looking like they were focused upon me, while I was vaguely aware of Marcus calling her name. After everything she had come around. She was finally awake.I felt a swift punch to my arm. “You lost all fucking ability to think straight?” Marcus muttered, snapping me back to reality. “Going to mark her and then can't fucking talk now she is here.”Seren attempted to shake her head but I noticed her wince in pain, her hand moving toward her neck, and she stopped herself, every movement seemingly hurting her. I moved across the short distance from where we stood to her bed. “Don’t move Ren, if it hurts stay still, yeah?” I urged her. “Do you want some water? I imagine you must be thirsty.”“Maybe we should check with the doctor first.” Marcus said. “Damn woman, you had u