Author POV -
Brian and Mark departed from their home in Rival River pack and made their way on foot through the woods that separate them from Twin Lakes, they chat idly as they go, talking about the things they want to accomplish in their lives, they talk about anything that comes to mind except the mission they are currently heading towards. Brian dreads the topic coming up, hoping that as their opinions differ on the task at hand that they can just make it through the coming days without any accidents, injuries and more specifically without any fights between themselves. He feared their bond was too new for them to risk a fight no matter how much he disagreed with Mark’s plan, they had after all only been mates for a month and still needed some time to really strengthen their bond to one another.
The bond, though accepted by them both was still delicate as they had not yet mated and marked one another, they had originally decided to wait a while and get to know each other better as individuals without the bond being completed, which was an unusual move as most wolves fight to complete the bond as quickly as possible and as the time came to a close they had discussed it again but then this mission had been given to them so they had agreed to wait until this mission was completed and Ace and his followers had been dealt with. Their thought process being, yes, being mated makes you stronger, but being mated also means that you are weakened when separated, and Brian knew enough about Ace to know he would try to use their bond against them if he felt threatened or cornered in anyway, which was likely to occur if they got too close to his hideaway. Mark had actually been the one to suggest holding off until Ace was apprehended and though Brian agreed with him, he still worried that Mark might have an ulterior motive to holding off. Brian was not an ambitious man, he was happy with his lot in life, he had no dreams of grandeur, no drive to lift himself higher in rank, he was happy as the Delta to Jack’s pack, he knew the importance of his role and enjoyed himself. Mark however, came across to Brian as a very ambitious person, always wanting to better himself, always dreaming of more… more power, more money, more notoriety, he simply wanted more. Mark was an excellent warrior and was happy to be mated to a ranked member of the pack, but he was disappointed when Brian confided in him that Jack had offered him the Beta position and that he had turned it down. He just didn’t seem to understand that Brian felt his role as Delta was an important one, and that he was happy and he was great at it.
Mark glanced over at Brian, who had fallen silent as they walked, he hated to admit that he was slightly disappointed, he already loved Brian, he was ready to fully commit to the bond, the thought of rejecting his mate had never occurred to him, though he did wish the moon goddess had paired him with someone more like minded, more willing to take some risks for the sake of others. But as he watched Brian make his way through some thick brush, clearly lost in his own thoughts, he thought back over the last month, the changes that had occurred in his life in such a short span of time, yes he had been a member of Twin Lakes, yes he had been aware of the crap Ace had been pulling, he had tried desperately to fight against the ill treatment of others, he had been reluctant to leave the pack after meeting Brian, not because he questioned the bond but because he was slowly making a difference, finally, within Twin Lakes, he had managed to stop some of Ace’s men from acting out their sick fantasies on the unmated she-wolves of the pack, he had managed to help a handful of omega’s escape the wrath of Ace and had even managed to get a few of them off pack lands. They were safely sequestered in a nearby human town, living together in a very small, cramped apartment that Mark himself had purchased early on, when it became clear that Ace had an axe to grind and that he would become the Alpha unless Sven somehow managed to find another. He was happy with the decision Alpha Sven had made to have Dave made Alpha, he liked what he had seen and heard of the man and he felt that the girls would do well to return, however, nobody knew of these girls, nobody knew what he had been doing in secret to save and protect them, not even Brian, he hadn’t told a soul until now, and he had had no plans to tell anyone until Ace was in the ground, where he belonged, though he believed this needed to change. It was for this reason alone that Mark was so determined to find and kill Ace as quickly as he possibly could. He knew Brian was worried, he understood why, he had even hoped that would be the case, he hoped the worry would push Brian into action, but whenever he thought of Ace he saw those women cowering away from him until he was able to convince them that he could help save them. He saw them tear-streaked and trembling and an unbridled rage flooded his veins, blinding him to everything else.
Mark knew it was risky, he knew he would be outnumbered, but he didn’t care, it was why he had dismayed Brian from completing the bond with him, he did want to be with Brian, more than almost anything, but he did not want to risk Brian’s life as well as his own.
Mark knew Brian had gone to Alpha Jack, he knew that Alpha Jack and Alpha Dave had collaborated and changed the plan, he knew they were being followed discreetly by others. It had all been a part of his plan, he wanted to make sure Brian was safe, and he wanted to end Ace so that the girls could return home to their families who currently thought them dead.
After some more thought of the plans he had been concocting he decided it was time to bring Brian into the loop, he had hated lying to him, manipulating him, but he worried that if he had told the truth from the beginning that instead of heading off with back up, that they would have been pulled off the mission, and to Mark, that was not an option. When they stopped to set up camp in half an hour he planned to tell Brian everything, he would bare his soul and hope that he would be forgiven for keeping secrets from his destined life partner, his mate.
Author POVAfter walking for another 45 minutes they find a decent spot that they can set up camp in, in between the trees for cover. Mark starts getting nervous about confessing to Brian, he hopes that Brian understands why he behaved the way he did. The back-up were doing a great job of staying out of sight, Mark only knew they were there as he had heard a man voice faintly when they paused to have a drink, he had pretended not to hear a thing when Brian had looked up sharply in the direction of the voice and continued on as if alone.Brian, having heard the male warrior, made a little more noise for the rest of their journey. They were now at the base of the mountain in the shadows of the trees that wrap around the base tightly. Setting up camp was a quick process for them and it had been planned that they would do their first excursion after s
Author POV - Over at Rival River pack at that very moment, Cassie and Jack were cloistered in Jack’s office having just spoken with Dave over at Twin Lakes. Concern is evident in the air at both packs as nobody has heard from the teams sent out to gather intel on the mountains, their caves and Ace.Jack missed having one of his best friends around all the time and was struggling to add Dave’s Beta duties on top of his own, but he was happy for his friend. Happy that he was going to have the chance to show the world what he was truly capable of.Jack had always felt Dave was meant for more than just a Beta role and he knew that Dave was going to be an amazing Alpha, especially to the Twin Lakes Pack which desperately needed a strong leader after the torment of the past few months. They all knew just how quickly everything can change for a pack, there are many in history that proved that just a few short weeks can change everything. But having his beloved mate close by helps.Cassie ha
Cassie - This last week has been very emotional for me, I have been thinking about my mother a lot in the last week, for some reason she is constantly in my thoughts, I miss her so much. I also keep dreaming of everybody else I have lost recently, Luna Lily for example, seems to be a constant feature in my dreams, telling me everything will work out as it should, and Thomas, my darling Thomas, who sacrificed himself so that I might survive, sacrificed himself because he felt my life was worth more than his. I’m not sure why this last week has been so trying, maybe because I knew what was about to happen, maybe I’m seeing all my lost loved ones because I am terrified that others I have come to love will be leaving me and joining them. Brian and Mark are so close to Ace’s hiding place, I know it, even if we don’t know exactly where he is, I know they are close, and I pray to the Goddess almost hourly to spare them, they don’t deserve to lose each other, not when they have only just fou
Cassie - I roll my eyes the heavens before I look her straight in the eye and reply, “Plenty of people call me Luna, you are my friend, not to mention you are a ranked member of this pack, you are free to call me by my given name, please Tara, I thought we were friends by now?”“Of course we are, I wouldn’t have survived without you and your kindness,” she exclaims.“And I would not have managed to become the Luna you see before you without your help, please, I don’t want to have this argument again,” one good thing about repeating this conversation with Tara is, it has driven the ghosts of my past to the back of my mind and we have managed to arrive at the hospital.“Very well, Cassie, I will try not to call you Luna as it seems to be such an issue for you,” she concedes finally, this is the closest we have gotten to her agreeing to call me Cassie and I take it as a small victory.“Thank-you, now let's get this over with” I pull my shoulders back and head into the hospital with my h
Daisy - So Dave has me packing for this mission, that's all we seem to do lately, plan missions. I am heading to Forest Haven Pack.He is sending me to this pack for two reasons, the first and main reason being that there are some questions regarding finances that were moved between their pack and ours, and the second reason is that they had a similar situation to our current issues with Ace in the past and he is hoping that someone there will remember what happened and be able to advise us on what our next steps should be.Forest Haven knows that I am coming, they are expecting me in a days time, so I don’t have much time to pack up and get going. But I do take the time to call my best friend and let her know my plans.The phone rings out when I try to call Cassie, but I’m not worried. She is often busy with her Luna duties and always calls me back quite quickly, so I leave my phone on the bed and continue to fill my bag with the items I am likely to need for a quick visit. Hopefull
Daisy -I pull up to the pack house at Rival River minutes later, having driven a little too fast around the twists and turns the roads make us take to get to each other and I am jumping out of the car before I realise I haven’t undone my belt. The force of being held into the car by the belt stops me and I hasten to undo it, frustrated when I can’t get the damn button to click and release me.Finally free from the damn car, I race through the pack house, up the stairs and slide to a halt outside the Alpha suite. I don’t bother to knock, they know I am coming, I throw the door open calling out to Jack and looking around the spacious sitting area with the small kitchenette in the corner.Jack appears in the doorway leading to their room and I stride over to him quickly, peaking around his broad chest
Cassie -“I want pups with you,” I can sense him now, finally, and I am hit with the realisation of the guilt he feels because he thinks I am unhappy with the news. “I love the idea of carrying your pup,” I reassure him quickly.“But, your emotions, they disappeared and when I found you with Tara you were unresponsive, you wouldn’t look at me, you wouldn’t speak, it took me having Daisy come by for you to utter a word” the hurt in his words rips me in half.“I’m so sorry, I never meant to block my emotions from you, I didn’t even know that was possible until I realised I couldn't feel you anymore, I was in shock, and I will admit, a little upset, but not because I am pregnant, because of the timing, if Ace wasn’t still out there, a risk to every s
Author POV -**Mark's anger melted away into sorrow quickly when he realised that his actions had caused his mate to feel rejected, that was the very last thing Mark ever wanted. He knew his actions would cause Brian pain, and he had regretted it, but he had had to keep him at arm's length for his own good, he was trying to protect Brian from the fall out of a mission gone wrong and from the heartbreak of possibly losing his mate. It had all been for Brian that he had behaved as he had, he was desperate for Brian to understand now.**“Please, Brian, don’t ever think I don't want you, I do, I love you, you are perfect for me” Brian scoffs at that but Mark continues, “You are, I did it all to protect you, you weren’t there Brian, you have only heard of all he did, you were not there to witness it as I was, I felt