Chapter Sixty-Three

Regan’s POV

After getting Stonghold pack’s pledge, we visited six more packs that gave similar responses, all pledging to come when we called.

Since each pack we visited insisted we dined with them and even spend the night before continuing our journey, as was customary hospitality among werewolves, I could not turn them down without being disrespectful. Especially since I had come to seek their aid.

This simply meant that our journey took longer than originally planned. I had to write to Nana to tell her that all was well with us after receiving several spelled messages from her and Gaia, all enquiring about our well being.

I knew that Jasmine would be the most worried of everyone back at home. And that was the last thing I wanted, to worry or upset her in any well. It would not be good for both her and our pup.

As we rested in the rooms provided for us by the current pack we were visiting, a knock on my door drew my attention from the map I had been observing.

I immediately knew it was Luke since he had used the familiar knocking pattern we always used.

Rather than reply, I mind linked him to enter and the door opened a moment later to usher him in.

“Nana sent a letter from Jazzie”, he said, walking into the room and shutting the door behind him before handing me the letter in question.

I took it from him eagerly, already catching the familiar scent of her from the letter.

It made Rage growl in longing.

We both missed out mate very much.

Despite how much I longed to rip open the letter and read the words she had taken time to write to me, I knew there was an urgent issue I needed to address with Luke.

So, I put the letter on my bed and turned to face him.

“Tomorrow, we set out for Redclaw pack”, I told him and watched as his face hardened.

“I know”, I said, already knowing what his look meant. “I do not like it anymore than you do”, I told him. “But I fear we have no choice in the matter”, I said.

“Redclaws have no honor”, he said stiffly, his calm voice doing nothing to fool me.

I nodded. “I know”, I said. “But this goes beyond honor”, I told him. “This fight is for the werewolves everywhere”, I said. “We have no other choice in the matter”.

He remained silent, clearly not agreeing to with me.

I sighed hard.

“Redclaw is one of the largest packs in the East”, I reminded him. “We would need their numbers if we wish to have any hope of winning this war”, I said.

He remained silent still.

Luke’s behavior was nothing surprising to me. I had known it would be difficult to convince him that we would need aid from the Redclaw pack. In fact, I had purposely omitted mentioning anything about them until now.

His hatred for the pack was not undeserved.

After all, a member of the pack had been responsible for his older brother’s death.

We did not speak much of it since it had happened years before the Blackmoon massacre, and since we had been quite young then.

Unlike me who was an only child, Luke and Lena had had siblings. Luke had an older brother that had been quite some years older than us.

He was supposed to be the one to inherit the title of Beta from their father by right of birth, even though everyone had known I would choose Luke.

He had been learning under our fathers and had gone with them on a visit to Redclaw pack.

He had not returned alive, and since we were quite young at the time, no one would tell us how he had met his end.

We had simply overheard that he had been killed by a member of Redclaw pack.

That was the reason for Luke’s behavior.

Luke had been very close with his brother and had adored him, so it was no surprise to me that he still held resentment for the pack that was responsible for his brother’s death.

“I know what I am asking is not easy”, I said to him. “But we need this”, I reminded. “So I will need you to put your emotions aside and deal with this wisely”, I advised.

He turned to level a glare on me, and from the look alone, I could tell that I had said something wrong and that I would not like what he was about to say in return.

I was right.

“How simple it must be for you to say that”, he said. “When you yourself would have nothing to do with Blackmoon since they murdered your family”, he said.

Luke knew me too well.

He knew what to say to rile me up, and this time, he had chosen to do just that.

Rage growled at the affront in Luke’s words and I felt my anger start to surface.

I took a deep breath to hold it back before I spoke through clenched teeth.

“It is not the same”, I told him, glaring daggers at him.

He simply held my gaze with one of his own.

“Is it not?” He asked simply, his voice sounding very calm, before he turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

I was angry at his rudeness.

Despite the fact that he was my best friend, it did not excuse his disrespectful behavior towards me as his Alpha.

But rather than go after him in anger, I took a deep breath, before turning to where my mate’s letter laid on the bed.

I made my way over and sat on the bed, picking up the letter and carefully ripping it open to reveal her familiar writing.

She wrote to me about the happenings in our pack, and as I read as she described the events that had taken place, I felt the anger drain out of me and felt my tense muscles relax.

From her words, it was clear to know that she had finally adjusted into her role as Luna of our pack. She mentioned something that happened with Emry’s sister and said to send word to him from his sister.

Since I had brought Emry along for our journey, I made a mental note to tell him when I saw him next. He was the youngest warrior in my company.

She went ahead to tell me about our pup and I laughed at her descriptions and explanations, almost feeling as though she was right beside me.

She ended by saying how much they all missed me, she most of all and urged me to hastily complete my quest and return home.

As I finished reading the letter, I brought it to my chest to hold it close, wishing I was holding her instead.

I fell back onto the bed, staring at the roof of the room I had been given.

Luke’s emotions and behavior had been understandable.

Better than anyone, I had seen how the death of his brother had affected him, even to the present day.

His father had also been hard on him. Not knowing how to openly mourn the death of his oldest son without being perceived as weak, he had thrown all his expectations and frustration onto young Luke.

Luke had been expected to be like his older brother.

And whenever he had made any mistake, he was punished for it.

No matter how hard I knew he tried, his Father had always found him wanting.

It had been Nana who had protected Luke from the mental and verbal abuses of his father. His mother had been distracted by her grief at the time, and by the time she had realized it, it had been to late.

It was why Luke was always so hard on himself.

Why he worked himself to the bone.

Always trying to be perfect.

It had not helped when our peers had come of age and gotten their wolves and he did not. I remember how he had already convinced himself and accepted that he was a wolfless wolf, even going as far as to refuse being my Beta.

It had taken all of our strengths to help him hold onto hope.

And it had paid off.

Him getting his wolf had been the proof he needed that his Father’s words about him were not true.

The proof that he was good enough.

And I dearly hoped that he always remembered it.

Luke was right.

I would never even entertain the idea of having anything to do with Blackmoon because they murmured my family and my pack members. So why did I expect Luke to agree to the idea of seeking help from those who murmured his brother?

I brought an arm around my face.

I was a hypocrite and a terrible friend.

And thanks to Jasmine’s letter, I had not gone to do anything to make it worse.

I held the letter tighter to my chest and closed my eyes.

I did not know when I drifted off to sleep.

By the next morning, I had paid my respect to the Alpha and Luna of the pack we were visiting at the time, thanking them for their hospitality before making my way out to where my warriors were packing our supplies and readying the horses.

Thankfully, we had not encountered and rogues or rogue attacks on our journey so far.

I walked over to my horse who was being tended to by Emry.

“Good morning, Alpha”, he said on catching sight of me as soon as I approached him.

“Good morning”, I said, patting my horse. “I have a message for you from your sister”, I told him, remembering my mate’s latter the night before.

He looked up at me with wide, worried eyes.

“Is she well?” He asked. “Did something happen to Mother?” He asked almost immediately.

I could not help but smile, lifting up a hand to ruffle his hair.

“All is well”, I told him. “Your mother and sister are fine”, I assured him. “Your sister simply asked that you be told to better return without a scratch or she would not spare you”, I said, smiling as I relayed the message to him.

Slowly, the worry disappeared to be replaced by a wide smile.

“That does sound like something Amy would say”, he said, his adoration for his sister clear to see.

They had a very close bond.

For a moment, I imagined something happening to Emry while he was away. For him to have left home with the promise of return, only for him to never make it back alive. Imagined how heartbroken Amy would be to loose her brother like that.

And that had happened to Luke.

Once again, I felt guilty about how I had casually spoken to Luke about Redclaw the night before.

I had never had any siblings, being an only child.

The closest I had ever had to siblings were Luke and Lena.

I tried to imagine something happening to Luke, or Lena.

Just the thought of it alone was enough to make me go mad. I knew I would have no peace, even after I had exacted revenge on anyone who would dare to harm them, let alone take them from me forever.

I looked around at the warriors gathered in search of Luke, only to see him already making his way over to me.

He came to a stop a small distance from where I stood.

“Emry”, he called to the young werewolf. “Could you help me check my horse as well?” He requested.

Emry, proud to be of use to both his Alpha and Beta, eagerly nodded and left to do as Luke asked.

As soon as he left, I mind linked Luke, not wanting anyone else to hear our conversation.

‘Forgive me’, I said. ‘It was selfish and thoughtless of me to have asked that of you’, I told him. ‘We do not need Redclaw’s assistance to fight this war. You were right, honor is important’.

He was quiet for a while before I heard his voice in my head.

‘No’, he said. ‘I was wrong’, he told me. ‘We do not even know what really happened all those years ago. And I heard Redclaw has a new Alpha who is honorable. I would never forgive myself if my resentment over the past stands in our way of protecting the family we now have’, he said and looked up at me.

“Let us ride to Redclaw together”, he said aloud. “You have my word that I will my best to act wisely”.

At his words, I smiled in gratitude, bringing a hand to place on his shoulder.

“Thank you, My brother”, I said to him.

He smiled in return and gave a nod before turning away to mount his horse.