2 - SAMUEL

SAMUEL

The days and years following when Emma was taken from us were even worse than when my parents were trying to work out how to find the balance between them. I know my fathers blame themselves for not protecting her, but they are not to blame. How would they have known that she would have turned against them?

My fathers took it in turns to look and search for Emma, but with the number of rogues that ambushed us that day, she just disappeared. A week after Emma was taken, my fathers started my Alpha training. I think a lot of it was to take my mind off of the fact that half of me had vanished without a trace.

Marcus was originally going to be Alpha by my side but not long into the training we discussed it between us as only 10-year-olds could and we agreed that Samantha Auntie Katie and Uncle Max's daughter would be my Beta and he would be my Gamma, Claire loved to fight so she was training with Alexander and Greta's daughter Maya to be my Delta's and Head Warriors. No one crossed them when they were in a fighting mood.

Due to what happened to Emma I shifted at the age of 8, my fathers couldn't understand why as it is very rare and practically unheard of but my wolf Waylen explained that even though my connection with Emma wasn't broken the fact that I could no longer see and talk to her even over our twin link, meant that I needed him sooner than most and together we have only gotten stronger.

Some call me a fool for believing, but I know Emma is still alive as I occasionally feel her sadness and loneliness pull at my heart, especially around our birthday when I wake up from the nightmare of her being stolen from us.

After I turned 10, I made a trip to my mother's uncle's pack to see how things were run in a different pack, a different territory and under a different king and kingdom. Now it had been 4 years since Uncle Christopher attacked, killing my unborn brother and sister and nearly killing both my mother and father. As both my mother and Uncle James were the only living relatives, the Alpha King Liam gave the pack to them.

They discussed it between them to work out what the best thing to do with the pack would be. They decided that Beta George would keep his Beta title and watch over the pack when James or Skyler or one of my fathers couldn't be there. It wasn't until after my visit with Greta as my escort at the age of 12 that he showed his true colours and tried to attack our pack once again as a ruse to take Greta from Alexander.

He used his position as Beta to get the information he needed over the years... It was only then that we realised as he had covered it well, that he was similar in his mindset to Uncle Christopher, and that was that females were only there to see to any male's needs and nothing else, no matter if they belong to someone else or not.

After Alexander killed him, Uncle James and my mother went and had a meeting with King Liam of that kingdom and they decided that with the influence of Christopher and then George, the pack was better off disbanded, and split between the closest 4 packs equally.

As soon as I turned 15, much to my mother's argument, I started my own search for Emma and the female we thought we could trust and treated like family. After what happened with Greta, I buckled down on my training, passing even my father's special elite programs, I proved myself to King Noah and he gave me a permanent pass to enter any pack lands or territories I needed to check and travel through.

Unfortunately, over the years, I have visited nearly every pack and territory, even going through some of the rogue camps. I smile to myself as I have heard a rumour lately or maybe it's more of a warning to keep clear of me and the Royal Blood Moon pack or face the consequences and if you knew anything about the possible location of Alpha Emma or the female that took her that day then you're better off telling me rather than me making you.

After returning from another dead-end lead to find Emma, I caught a rogue just outside our territory yesterday and I am just heading down to where I have him in the cells to see what he knows. I meet up with Marcus on the stairs and he falls into step next to me,

"So, do you reckon he has any useful information for us?"

"It's hard to say, but by the time I am finished with him, he will have told me everything he knows..."

Waylen, my wolf, tries to push to the front. I pause on the stairs so I don't fall and speak to him.

"Patience, you will get your turn!"

He huffs at me but backs off. I turn my attention back to Marcus and start walking down the stairs again. The guard standing outside the cell bows and unlocks the door. I walk into the cell and smile as I find the big tough rogue I fought yesterday cowering in the corner. I stop in the centre of the room and Waylen growl,

"Where is my sister?"

"I don't know!" He growls in return,

"Where is the whereabouts of the female that took her?"

As soon as I ask this question, his demeanour changes and he straightens against the wall instead of cowering against it. He then says calmly,

"There are rumours going around the rogue camps. They are not to help her and that she has been spotted up in the mountains. They say she is in hiding as there is a very large bounty on her head and not just from the Royal Blood Moon pack, but from the Rogue King Ezekiel himself."

I knew the cowering was just a ruse, but Waylen backs off at this information, allowing me control to continue the interrogation.

"Really, how did she make an enemy of the Rogue King Ezekiel?"

"He put a bounty out on her once he learned the reason behind why you were raiding our camps. Apparently, he never sanctioned the massive attack she used to take the young Alpha female, even though he is still trying to find the rogue responsible for authorising such an outright invitation of war between your King and ours..."

This seems a little too good to be true. He doesn't seem to be the rogue that put up a fight yesterday. Could this just be a trap to get me out of the territory again? I then ask,

"Why the sudden willingness to share this information?"

He moves slowly and gets to his feet and then leans on the wall as he says,

"I was sent by the Rogue King Ezekiel. He believes that by giving you the information you seek, he believes you will back off on your raids of our camps. I was sent to help you find her and to do my own investigation into who helped her within our camps..."

"And why would I need your help?"

"I am a rogue and I have spent a few years up in the very mountains she is now hiding in. I can show you where a lot of the good places to hide are... I also know some of them, some of the more permanent rogues that live on the mountain, and I would have more luck than you to get the information needed from them..."

"How do I trust that you will pass on the right information?"

"I am under King Ezekiel's orders to cooperate with you under the surrender of my life if I don't, and on the contrary to what you think of us. Most of us do still follow certain rules. They may not be as complex as yours, but most of us do still have a little bit of honour."

"If! And I mean IF we do this together, who gets to punish her?"

"The Rogue King Ezekiel has asked that you can beat the information out of her that you and we need but when it comes to her actual punishment, he would like it to be done on Neutral territory under a 3-day truce to discuss what is to happen..."

I turn and exit the cell. It is not what I expected, and it is something that I will have to discuss with my fathers before making any sort of deal with the Rogue King Ezekiel. Marcus follows me out, and the guard closes and locks the door behind him. Marcus then says as we walk back up the stairs,

"Do you believe any of that?"

"I don't know, I think we need to go and talk to our fathers..."

He nods and we continue to ascend the stairs and head to the Alpha's office. Ever since my mother told me about how Elijah, Nathan and Cole are all her mates, but Cole is my actual father and after Emma started calling him Daddy, I call him Dad and I call Elijah and Nathan Father. I knock on the door and wait until I hear one of my father's voices,

"Enter!"

I open the door, and we enter. I close it behind us and walk to the centre of the room. I stop and stand with my hands clasped behind my back as I face father Elijah's desk. He looks up at me from the paperwork he is doing and says,

"Samuel, welcome home." He nods to Marcus and continues. "What can I do for you?"

I look around and notice that my other 2 fathers are not in the office; I return my eyes back to Father Elijah and say,

"I need to talk to all 3 of you. That rogue I picked up yesterday says he was sent by the Rogue King Ezekiel and has put an offer of truce on the table..."