Beauty within the Bereft

I truly despised the Oblation. 

Observing the fragile laws was a necessity; the only way we could save as many as possible from the Blessed’s shackles before war inevitably broke out. I knew and understood that much, but the theatrics still bothered me.

Thankfully, it was over, and we could soon put this farce behind us.

Mother seemed to agree. She led the pack toward the treeline with long strides that spoke of a confidence none of us felt. Not after the blow the Blessed had dealt us. Even Dimas and Luis were lost to silence, caught behind faraway looks that avoided Cesar completely.

Brother’s mate, the one person we’d hoped to leave with tonight, was engaged to Manuel Capistran.

A development the Blessed Heir had been eager to flaunt. The image of that cursed ring and her wide eyes ingrained itself in my mind, almost as prominently as my brother’s stiff spine when he’d noticed.

Now they retreated with a speed that turned the chilly autumn air a few degrees colder, Amaia no doubt latched to the Capistran’s arm.

The moment we made it into the forest, Cesar’s voice splintered the night. “The guards are lacking.”

“Are they?” Mother’s eyes raked over the huddled trunks. “I thought our patrols were further ahead.”

“I asked them to move closer.” The unspoken ‘in case’ coupled with the bite in his tone almost made me flinch. “It seems they thought better of it.”

“This is something to be dealt with once we are safely behind our borders.” Beta Eurico peered behind us.

Brother’s stiffening shoulders urged me forward until I was close enough to tuck my hand into the crook of his arm. His attention fell on me, and through the slits in his mask, I saw his eyes narrow a fraction. Something the matter?

Only the nip in the air. A silly response considering the thick woolen coat I had on, and our higher-than-nature body temperatures, but one he accepted either way. Likely due to the rustling of leaves to our right. He drew me closer at the same time Mother and Eurico slowed, all three of them scanning the darkness for any signs of danger.

This continued until the footpath we were on opened up onto an access road where our convoy of black SUVs waited, each flanked by a squad of Brother’s personally trained guards.

My hand landed on the door handle of the lead car, the other ready to guide Cesar away from Eurico and the imagined threat around us, when he stopped. I suppressed the yelp that had been about to come out of me and followed his line of sight to the four newly bound couples huddled in pairs.

If the Chosen mourned the loss of their families and their friends, it didn’t show beneath the adoration sparkling in their eyes. A look their Bereft mates returned tenfold.

“Luis. Vito. Dimas.” I gestured toward the trailing SUV, where Mother waited by the open rear door. “Would you mind taking the vehicle after our Alpha and Beta? I’d like me and Cesar to travel together.”

“You sure about that? With the mood he’s in, the driver might wrap you guys around a tree before you clear the ridge.” Luis elbowed Dimas in the ribs. The pair snickered in unison, earning them a scathing look from Vito.

“Will you two shut it and get in the car? The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can all relax.” Our future Beta scanned the treeline as he caught Luis and Dimas by the shoulders and shoved them toward the second car.

The first half of our ride passed in fragile silence. Brother kept his eyes plastered on the window as though he expected the rogue pack to bullet from the shadows and attack our moving vehicle. A silly notion. While the ruffians were desperate for any advantage, they weren’t stupid. And they’d never attacked one of our private transport convoys before.

I settled my head against the headrest. “The Chosen shed their lineage so easily.” A well-timed sigh. “To walk away from your pack after a single ritual is either profound faith in the mating bond or pure foolishness.”

Brother huffed. “It isn’t either.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s the acceptance of an opportunity to flee from the Blessed’s illusion of light.” He finally tore his gaze from the window. “But you know this already.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I do, but those people were—are—their families. Their friends. And they simply leave them behind. Why not tell them the truth? Save them, too?”

“Taking too many from the Blessed would start something we have no hope of finishing.” His hand found mine, and he gave it a squeeze. “Not yet, at least.”

I stayed quiet for a long moment before asking, “It’s bothered me for a while.”

“What has?”

“My mate being from another pack. Ours is so large I always assumed it’d be someone from Mirla since my searches on the mainland came up dry, but…” My throat tightened. “What if she’s not? What if she’s from one of the outlying packs?”

“Then she’d come to us.”

“And if she wants me to come to her?”

He inclined his head, something he always did when he was confused. “Then you’d go to her.”

“I would never!” My back straightened. “I belong here! With you and Mother and Sister!”

Cesar said nothing for a long moment. Then he sighed. “True belonging isn’t inherited from a pack name or even blood. True belonging is where your heart is, and if that is elsewhere, so long as it’s not on the mainland and you’re offered sufficient protection, you would be more than welcome to go.”

“I can’t—”

“Therasia. It’s not as if you’d never see us again. Changing packs isn’t as black and white as you seem to think it is—”

“Unless she’s one of the Blessed.” I countered.

His finger traced circles on his thumb. “Well, yes. If she is from the mainland, there’ll be no negotiation aside from, perhaps, bringing her entire family to Mirla. They don’t need to merge with us, but they’ll be given ample territory on the outskirts. A dowry of sorts.” At my failure to respond, he squeezed my hand again. “Don’t overthink it. When we find your mate, we’ll handle it.”

“And what about yours?” A dryness snuck into my mouth as I broached the topic I’d originally meant for us to discuss.

“Amaia isn’t our concern anymore.” Steel enveloped each syllable.

“Who’s thinking in black and white terms now?”

“She’s engaged. By law, we can’t touch her so long as she wears that damned ring.” He withdrew his hand and turned back to the window.

“Then convince her to take it off.” I lifted a shoulder.

“And how do you propose I do that?”

I fought off the urge to scowl at his back. “The same way the other Bereft convince their mates to come across. Spend some time with her, and when the time is right, tell her who you are—”

“Absolutely not.” He gave a single shake of his head. “The Blessed would know the moment I crossed the border. Not to mention that white whelp won’t let her out of his sight long enough for a greeting, never mind a proper conversation. For now, we have to accept that she’s a lost cause.”

“All right, then.” I folded my hands in my lap.

The conversation died there. As much as I wanted to call him out on his stubbornness and insist he take action, all my attempts would end in an impasse. Exactly as Mother’s had.

He was so set on remaining alone, shouldering everything by himself, that even the Sleeping Goddess wouldn’t be able to change his mind.

Ahead of us, flickers of light spilled out between the thinning trunks on our right. The forest opened up further, revealing a private airfield alive with more movement that it’d seen in years. Armed guards patrolled every inch of the metal fence surrounding the property, with more marching long lines across the concrete. Completely unnecessary. Almost borderline paranoid.

Our previous experiences with the rogues had already shown us they lacked the resources, firepower, and motivation to attack any of our main territories on the mainland. There was no reason for them to start now when the Light Cesar wielded was at its strongest.

As our car crawled to a stop in front of the main gates, two men in dark gear approached, their boots crunching on the gravel. Cesar rolled down his window to exchange words with one guard while the other checked the trunk and under the car. I paid no attention to any of it, more interested in our previous conversation and what possibilities were available to us.

That’s when I saw it, deep within the shadows of the birches outside my window; a flash of gray pressed low to the ground. Gone in a blink, the forest once more undisturbed.

A quick glance at Cesar, who was rolling up his window, and the retreating guards confirmed they hadn’t noticed it. Neither had the men patrolling the fence closest to the gate. My eyes found their way back to the still-empty space between the white trunks. Even as our car pulled off, they stayed there, my neck craning to keep it in sight.

“See something?” Brother’s voice brought my thundering heart to a screeching halt.

“I…” My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as our taillights swept across the treeline, illuminating three distinct shapes. All with gray fur. They passed through the gates, following our SUV for several meters before breaking off to one of the shift rooms along the perimeter.

“What did you see?” Cesar was now also looking out the back of the car.

“Just the wolf patrol.” I settled back into my seat and offered him what I hoped wasn’t a shaky smile. “Honestly, Cesar, your little army isn’t enough?”

“Better to be safe than sorry.” He eyed me. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Simply happy to be leaving the Oblation and all this—” I gestured vaguely to the airport and guards—“behind. The whole thing puts me on edge.”

Cesar hummed his agreement. “Well, at least the rogues can’t cross our borders.”

A small mercy, indeed.