Determination

[Travis’ POV]

By the time the sun rose, the packhouse was nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubble and lost souls. Around me, those who survived mourned their lost loved ones and shot accusations towards me, insisting that everything was planned by Marissa.

"Alpha," Ace murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder. "All that has been lost has been accounted for. A total of fifty were lost and another twenty are still missing. "

"Right," I sighed, running a hand across my face. The night had been long and emotional for all. I was utterly exhausted, but there was still so much that needed to be done.

Turning, I took in the accusatory glares of those who had survived. Up til now, I hadn’t addressed the attack, but I guess now was as good of a time as any.

"I know what you all think, but I know that Marissa had no hand in this." I began, projecting my voice enough for everyone to hear. "And to prove her innocence, I will do everything in my power to find those responsible." Though I knew who was behind the bombing, I couldn’t possibly say it until I had enough evidence. My damned uncle was well respected among the pack, as was his disgusting son, Gregory. "For now, we will begin collecting the bodies of the dead and set up a proper send-off." I continued, pushing aside my rage over my own stupidity. "By sunset, we will set them ablaze."

Burning the bodies was the only way to go for those who gave their lives for the pack. Sure, some opted for the modern way of burying, but we just didn’t have a big enough grave site for that.

Finished speaking, I began to make my way towards the forest line to wait for Thomas and the others to come back. I could just barely make out their presence drawing closer, but I didn’t feel Marissa with them. By this point, I could only hope that maybe they had a clue as to where she got off to.

However, when they finally appeared, I knew immediately by the looks on their faces that they had nothing. In an instant, I felt my heart turn to stone and my world turn bleak. Marissa had managed to disappear entirely, and with all the time that had passed, the chances of finding her were slim.

"Travis," Thomas said, frowning. "We did our best but..."

"It was like someone was keeping us from finding her." Kim offered, elbowing Thomas. "Don’t beat around the bush, dude."

Nodding, I took in their tired faces and dirt-covered skin. Like the rest of us, they were clearly exhausted, and all that I could do now was allow everyone to rest.

"If you’re tired, there is a cabin a little ways down." I began, motioning towards where my mother's old safe place was. "You’re more than welcome to go there to wash up and get some sleep. We will be sending off the dead later this evening. I don’t know if any of you want to come, but...

"Of course we’ll come." Thomas snapped, cutting me off. "How can we leave you without any moral support?"

For a moment, I was stunned by his words. But soon I felt the side of my mouth twitch in an attempt to smile.

"Thanks." I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You all have been such a blessing to me and Ma..." Lifting a hand, I clutched my heart as a pain shot through me from just trying to say her name.

"Don’t worry," Kim said quickly, her eyes growing wide. "We’ll find her."

"I know."

Even though I wasn’t so sure that we would, I had to hold out hope that she was somewhere out there just waiting to be rescued. This thought alone was the only thing holding me together.

Later, as the sun began to set, everyone gathered in front of the remains of the packhouse and watched as many pallets that were quickly erected were set ablaze, allowing those that lay on them to begin to burn.

There wasn’t any sound from the crowd, only the heavy sadness of a pack that lost many of their beloved mates. Despite insisting I would find the ones responsible for the attack, I could still feel the distrust of those around me and found myself joining them in their hate.

"Alpha, I can handle this if you want to go." Ace murmured, also noticing the hostility that was beginning to spread.

"No," I replied."If I were to bow out now, it would only make me look worse. I will stay here and I will deal with all of this. "

"Are you sure?" Ace asked, seeming genuinely concerned for me.

"Of course." I sighed. "You can’t handle the pack alone, especially since Chris has still not been accounted for."

"Right."

Growing quiet, Ace turned his attention back to the scene ahead. I was sure that I had managed to hit a sore spot with him in mentioning Chris’ disappearance. Though we all grew up together, Ace and Chris were inseparable since childhood, whereas I only got to know them after taking my position as alpha. I was sure this loss hit hard for him, even if he wasn’t willing to say anything about it.

"Anyway, I intend to find us a new place to live by tomorrow." I continued, setting my determination to begin to rebuild this pack from the ground up. "Be sure to let everyone know they have a day to collect their things from their homes. We will all be staying together until the attackers are found. It is too fucking dangerous to be living separately for the time being, understood. "

"Yes, sir." Ace saluted.

Satisfied that my orders would be fulfilled, I turned to where Thomas, Kim, Sarah, and Simon stood. As their curious gazes met mine, I took a deep breath and strolled over.

"What’s up?" Thomas asked, eyeing me suspiciously. "You look like you’ve got something interesting to say."

"I know that all of you seem to like life on your own, but I have a favor to ask." I began, deciding to jump right in. "Will all of you join us in relocating?"

"Join you?" Kim repeated, raising a delicate eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean," I said, preparing myself for whatever their response may be. "Will you be temporary members of my pack?"

"Temporary?"

Turning, I felt my eyes grow wide as I took in a very ragged-looking Max. With everything going on, I didn’t even think of him, but here he was limping towards me, looking like he had been through hell.

"What happened to you?" I asked, eyeing him. "Were you buried in the rubble?"

"No," Max responded, frowning. "I chased after those bastards, but they got away."

"Aren’t you blind?" Kim asked in confusion.

"I still have my innate wolf senses." Max pointed out. "Anyway, that isn’t important right now. What is important is that I watched Gregory and Davison climb into a helicopter and leave. "

"Are you fucking serious?" I growled, drawing the attention of those closest to us. "So they could be anywhere by now!"

"Seems we will have to search the entire world." Max sighed. "I hope you’re ready for the long haul, cuz. Because this battle isn’t going to end anytime soon."