Tristan
You can't really sleep when you have a battle ahead of you.
I learnt that the first time I was told I would have to fight in the war. I was barely fourteen and I was scared out of my mind.
I thought I would die the minute I stepped onto that battlefield even though I had been training my whole life for it.
I didn't oppose the minute captain Park suggested it. My mother had been stoic about the entire thing but deep down I wondered if any bit of her was even the slightest but worried about whether I would come back or not.
I was afraid. Fighting alongside way older and experienced soldiers who looked at me, the luna's son, possibly their next alpha. The pressure was on and it was real.
I didn't want to show any weakness. I wanted to be strong and brave like my mother.
But when the time came and I didn't even think I could shift, it had been Raphael who had taken me under his wing, shown me the ropes, kept me alive.
When you're thrown into battle, your instincts kick in. It's funny what your body will do when it comes to fight of flight.
What it chooses is supposed to say a lot about you. But you know what? I've always been sure of one thing, we all fight for life when faced with the threat of death.
Cuts should heal faster in normal circumstances.
But these weren't normal circumstances.
They had stopped pumping me with wolfsbane and had actually brought me more water and food.
An attempt to get me stronger for my showdown with Roman I guess.
I didn't want to hold my breath for an opening where they would get me out of my chains again.
That would probably only happen when Roman was ready for me.
I needed to have the element of surprise on my side. And to do that I needed to get out way before the guards came back.
With no concept of time or even windows to look out of, I had no idea how long I had or if I was even strong enough to try and break the chains.
But I needed to find the strength.
I needed to find a way.
I needed to take out Ornyx.
His guards would probably take me down seconds after but as long as he was down, I know I would have done something to leave my people safer.
But I needed an ally.
I didn't even know the first place to find Ornyx. I didn't know where we were or even how far the camp extended. I didn't know how many men I would have to get past or if there was even any surveillance.
Of which I doubted. We were in the middle of no where. And Ornyx has never really been one to depend on tech.
I turned to look at my only option.
She held the same rock in her hands scratching down on the floor.
She didn't even bother sleeping and that's what worried me.
She just fiddled around with that stupid rock.
"So," I shifted in my position, my back aching with the movement. "How long were you a spy in Ornyx army?" I asked her.
Meggy's head turned to look at me.
She let out a weak laugh. "Impending death making you sentimental, alpha?" She asked.
I just tried to remind myself that I needed her help.
"I'm just trying to understand why you're in here with me instead of being out there being celebrated like a freaking prodigal son like Roman-"
"David, his name is David." She spoke.
She remained silent for some time. "We all make our choices
"What was yours?" I asked.
She turned to look at me full on, suspicion in her eyes.
"Why do you suddenly want to know my life story? You weren't all that interested when you captured me and my friends."
I shrugged.
Because there were more ways to interrogate a person than the conventional.
"Got something better to do?" I asked. "Besides you tried to kill Ro-David the first time I met you. Seems like we have the same enemy."
She grinned.
She shifted. Her hair was now matted and looked more than unruly.
I saw youth in her face but she must have been older than me. Give or take a couple of years.
"I know you Silvercrest wolves have your self righteous beliefs. You think you're better than Ornyx and the rest of us because you want to live in isolation where humans can't get to you. But Ornyx has a point. Why should we be the ones to hide?"
I almost doubled back on this potential allyship.
Was she as crazy as him?
"I believe we should get a chance to walk among humans." She spoke.
Without really thinking about it, I scoffed.
She turned to look at me.
"What? Is that different from the sheltered crap you folks learn in Woodfell? You use their tech, learn their ways... you emulate them and demean our kind-"
"We evolve." I corrected.
She laughed.
"Yeah. According to them."
Living by hunting wasn't something me or my people had done in a long time. We got rid of practices we now considered beneath us because they no longer served us.
The mating rituals for instance, they were way more raunchy in the past than they were now.
"I think it's crazy," I spoke honestly, "two species together would always bring about a battle of superiority. They would try to hurt us and we, them, it would never work."
"How do you know that?" She challenged.
"I mean think about it, humans hate what's different. Look at their wars, look at their conflict."
"Like werewolves are the epitome of world peace." She scoffed. "Not too long ago, you thought your mate was half human. What if she wanted to live among humans? Would you suppress your very nature for the rest of your life because of that?"
I was silent.
Not because I agreed with her but because I didn't think I could argue with someone who already had her mind set on her radical thoughts.
Humans and werewolves mixing was a taboo. It was dangerous and everything we knew taught us that it was a bad idea.
Being reduced to myths among smaller groups was fine to me as long as they left me and my pack alone.
"So you wanted to live among humans?" I asked honestly wondering if she could be against Ornyx and share in his beliefs.
"Co-exist." She clarified. "Not have anyone bow down to us. I believe there's a reason we were created. And I believe there's a lot we can learn from each other."
She couldn't possibly think that was possible. That we would just come out to the human race and they'd receive us with open arms.
"My father believed that too." I couldn't believe I was admitting this.
I looked away from her, straight ahead.
"He was from the Stone pack. Very different lifestyle from Silvercrest. Different mentalities too. He was... intrigued by humans. He didn't anticipate a fight and even if he did, he believed there wasn't any conflict diplomacy couldn't fix."
I and a lot of other people often wondered how a man like my father could end up being my mothers mate.
They were as different as day and night.
My father - mostly a pacifist who would rather sort out issues with words. My mother, a descendant of a long line of alphas who believed the only way to get people to listen was by exerting your power and making your influence known.
Meggy looked at me. "My friends and I and everyone who rebels Ornyx aren't against the Shadow pack. We're against the Van Cliffe's." She spoke. "Theresa would feed us this idea that things would get better once her daughter became alpha."
"Crystal?" I asked in confusion.
Meggy scoffed. "Crystal, Valencia... who even cares. She was wrong."
I looked ahead. I didn't want to think of Crystal too much while I was in here. Especially considering I would never see her again after I did what I had to do.
But something didn't make sense.
"Why bring Crystal to Woodfell if Ornyx wanted her as an heir?" I asked.
Why not brainwash her her whole life like he had done to his own people?
Meggy looked at me like I was stupid.
"Ornyx told Theresa to do it." She spoke. "When she ran away, she was pregnant with Valencia. When Ornyx found her, she had to prove her loyalty or be executed. That's when the spy operation was born. Theresa made it seem like it had always been her intention to throw Crystal into the Silvercrest waters. Hoping David would indoctrinate her and they would take down you and your pack from inside.
It would have been poetic too. A Van Cliffe bringing down a Melrose. But fate had other ideas, now didn't it?"
Crystal turned out to be my mate.
The irony of it all.
I looked at the ground.
No one could have predicted that happening. Not even Ornyx.
"So having Roman tell her who she really was would be too risky."
Meggy nodded and grinned. "That's where Captain Park came in."
Rage immediately built up in my body when I heard her name uttered.
Meggy let out a sigh and folded one leg on top of the other.
"It wasn't hard to get her to turn on you. Or so I hear. Gotta look out for the oldies. They remember they're parents and grandparent's stories about how werewolves have always been the superior species a little too well.
She believed the next alpha should be the strongest in the pack. So after your mother, she believed she should have been the automatic choice."
I couldn't speak. No words would ever be enough to explain how big of a betrayal Captain Park's had been.
My mother had trusted her with her life. My whole family had.
She was there when I was born, there when my father died in my house, she was there when I took the alpha title.
"What's her role here?" I asked bitterly.
Maybe if she was close by, I could take her out along with Ornyx.
Meggy shrugged. "Above my pay grade. But I suppose if you want to see her again, she'll show up for your execution." She said it so causally, you'd think she was scheduling lunch.
"When did they say that would be by the way? You were gone a long time and they did rough you up pretty good. And not to mention, judging by the food they gave you, Ornyx still wants you alive for some reason. To torture you? Make you watch your pack go up in flames -"
"He wants Roman to be the one to do it." I spoke.
This actually made Meggy shut up.
I was intrigued by her reaction.
"In a duel to the death." I added, studying her face closely.
She turned away and looked ahead.
For a second she was silent. Then she let out a soft laugh.
"He's gonna love that." She muttered. "Finally getting mummy and daddy's approval."
I furrowed my brows. "Think they'll make him take you out as well?"
A ghost of a smile played on her face. "Maybe... as I said, poetic justice. I did try to kill him first... only fair."
Her voice got smaller, her eyes far away.
I had a feeling she was about to retreat into herself and I couldn't have that.
"Why did you try to kill him?" I asked. "You and... David, you were involved romantically, right?"
I knew I was being too blunt now. That if she was trained as well as I thought she was, she would be able to see right through my questions.
I was expecting her to curse me out or scream at me to mind my own business.
But instead, she let out a soft sigh.
"All's fair in love and war and... well I guess it was the distance... him having to be a whole other person in another park. Barely ever having communication with me... we grew apart. He picked Valencia and me? I picked freedom." She let out a humourless laugh. "Even before I had joined the rebels, I knew the only reason I was still fighting for Ornyx's cause was because he was still here. I held on to the hope that maybe with him, it would be worth it... But he was holding onto someone else."
She looked like there was a bitter taste in her mouth.
She let out an angry breath before turning to look at me.
"Kill him for me, will you? You'll be doing him a favour. The David I knew didn't even believe in all this crap. He was just as scared as the rest of us were. Theresa, Ornyx... they didn't care about any of us when they stripped us from our parents and trained us to be these... these things. David could have been caught and killed by your pack and neither of them would have blinked. The only reason they even see him as worth anything was because he got close to her."
"None of this is Crystal's fault." Even now, I felt the need to defend her.
Meggy gave me a sly smile.
"Relax, alpha. She chose you. You win." Her eyes drifted to where my hands were bound. "For what it's worth, I guess."
I shifted trying to sit up straighter.
It was now or never.
"You hate Ornyx as much as I do." I spoke.
She furrowed her brows. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I hate you too."
"The way I see it, I'm the less of two evils to you."
She looked confused. "What are you playing at?"
"I know we're not getting out of here alive." I spoke. "But, we can do one last thing before we die. We can kill Ornyx."
Meggy's eyes widened in shock, she then burst out laughing. She hunched over, looking out of breath for a second.
But she stopped abruptly when she saw my serious expression.
He face fell. "Crap, you're actually crazy."
I scooted slightly. "I'll gladly meet my maker if I can have the satisfaction of taking Ornyx with me."
Meggy didn't make any jokes or give off any sarcastic comment.
Her jaw fell slack and she leaned back. "Shit."
Crystal
I walked into Joshua's room without knocking.
He looked up at me. He had been lying down on his bed, Bea beside him with her head on his shoulder.
Bea looked up.
"Oh look who's here-"
"I'm not here for you." I spoke immediately marching towards them.
I folded my arms across my chest and looked at Joshua.
"I need to talk to you." I spoke directly not leaving any room for questions.
Bea looked at him as if expecting him to say no.
Joshua didn't bother even sitting up. He didn't have to say anything for me to feel his anger towards me. We were still linked after all.
He was fiddling with a small metallic object in his hand that I really couldn't make out.
"Yeah? I bet you do." He spoke lazily.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "I'm serious Josh."
"Yeah me too. Get out Crystal." He spoke turning away from me.
I dropped my hands to my side.
I did not have time for this.
"Fine, Mikey and I will go and save Tristan ourselves." I turned around and not even two seconds later I heard his voice.
"Wait."
When I looked at him, this time he was seated up, his eyes focused on me.
"What are you talking about?"
I sucked in a breath.
I looked at Bea.
"It's private actually."
"Excuse me?" Bea looked offended as she leaned forward.
I looked at Joshua. This wasn't about petty teen rivalries. This was more serious than all that and believe it or not, it was actually safer for Bea if she had no clue about any of it.
The mind link was 100% still there.
I could feel Joshua's conflict, his anxiety... and a little bit of hope.
And I knew that he could also tell that I was one hundred present serious.
He turned to his girlfriend.
"Bea - I'll fill you in later."
Bea looked beyond shocked. She looked at me then at Joshua.
"Are you kidding me right now?"
Joshua didn't look like he wanted to argue. In fact that was the last thing he wanted to do.
As I said, this wasn't about petty teen drama. Including their relationship.
"Give us a minute." He spoke with no other explanation.
Bea, still looking more than offended scoffed.
"Fine, don't talk to me, Josh. I swear I'm so done." She got off his bed, angrily threw her feet into her shoes and started for the door.
She slowed and shot me a glare as she walked past me.
I looked at her blankly knowing I had more important things to worry about than her hating me more than she already did.
When the door shut and I heard Bea's footsteps disappear, I turned to Joshua.
"What is it?" He asked.
I stepped closer. "You have access to my mind, why don't you check?"
Joshua gave me a side grin that held no humour or amusement at all.
"That would mean you getting access to my mind as well. And trust me, you do not want to know what I think about you right now."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah whatever, I don't even care. Look, the WU is officially preparing for war. They have battle strategies in place but they've all agreed that Tristan is beyond saving."
I felt so much of Joshua's sadness and disappointment wash over me all at once, they almost felt like my own emotions.
I tried to clear my head.
"Which is why we're putting together a team to find Tristan and I told Bridget I wanted you and Mikey in it."
Joshua's sadness and feelings of hopelessness immediately spun into shock and an element of elation.
He eyed me suspiciously.
"So what? You want us to thank you, to be grateful that you're giving us what's rightfully ours?"
I moved closer to Joshua. "You have access to my literal mind Joshua! If you still think I'm holding back, search my mind! Find any ill motives!" I was screaming now but I didn't care.
I wasn't supposed to be letting Joshua get to me but he definitely had a talent for it.
I took in a breath trying to calm myself down.
"I need you and Mikey to help me contact him, we did it once-"
"And he chose to talk to you. He had a choice and he chose to let you in over us."
Suddenly it hit me like a tonne of brick.
"Oh my gosh." I spoke slowly. I threw my hands in the air. "That's what all this is really about? You're jealous?"
Joshua's face darkened. "Why would I be jealous of you?"
I let out a hollow laugh which only seemed to agitate Joshua more.
Of all the... of course, it was psychology 101.
"Does it really matter that he loves me too, Josh?" I asked. "Is it a crime that Tristan might love me just as much as he loves you?"
Joshua clenched his jaw, I could tell I had hit a nerve.
"Yes." He seethed. "Yes it does."
He threw his legs off his bed and stood up.
He pointed an accusatory finger in my face as he stepped closer to me.
"It does because we're supposed to come first, Mikey and I. Family is what should matter to him more -"
"Than his mate?" I asked, raising my brows.
Joshua obviously wasn't pleased that I had spoken back.
He hang back as if just realising what an offensive stance he had taken.
I shook my head at him, for the first time realising just how young he was. Sure I was probably only about a year older than him but that didn't matter. Not in this moment.
Because right now, I saw an immaturity that was so self describable, I couldn't believe I had missed it earlier.
"I'm sorry you felt like he didn't pay attention to you or Mikey." I spoke, my voice was softer than he deserved. "But for you to think, even for a second that Tristan doesn't care about you - Josh, he works so hard, does all he does for you. And Mikey."
I decided to do something I never would for Joshua Melrose.
I stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He stiffened and looked at me like I was in the wrong place.
And boy, did I feel like I was.
"Tristan once told me he didn't mind missing dinners with you and Mikey if it meant neither of you would ever have to see war again. I know what a toll that must have taken on you but... you need to understand that he always had your best interests at heart.
And even if I didn't always agree with your brother... I too had to get over the fact that loving Tristan would always mean getting over sharing him with the entire pack. The same way you look at him for protection, guidance, company, approval... that's the way the entire pack views him. And for good reason too. He's an amazing alpha, an amazing brother too."
I took in a breath. "And that's why we need to get him back, Josh. Everyone here needs him."
Joshua didn't say anything. He looked away.
But enough of his emotions sipped into me for me to understand he was fighting back tears.
Finally he looked back at me.
"What do we need to do?"
I let out a breath, grateful.
"Tristan never wanted you or Mikey involved in any of this. And... I just don't agree with that. Neither does Bridget. If anything, you and/or Mikey are gonna be the new alphas. You need to know what's going on. Especially since -"
Joshua furrowed his brows. "What is it?"
I swallowed hard. "A war is about to break loose."
Josh clenched his jaw. "That means Ornyx is going through with the promise he made in his video."
I sucked in a breath.
"Yeah."
Joshua let out a breath.
"I'll help you and Mikey contact Tristan. But I can't be part of the rescue team."
My face dropped. "What?"
Joshua looked at me seriously. "A war is breaking out, Crystal. The pack needs us."
It scared me just how much Joshua sounded like his brother just then.
"I know." I felt guiltier than ever. Tristan had said to forget about him. Those had been his instructions and some part of me knew that would have been the right thing to do. It's what he would have wanted.
But... I just couldn't.
I was choosing Tristan even over the pack. I had to.
Joshua watched my face.
It's like he could read my thoughts.
Well... he kind of could.
He simply nodded at me. "I get it." He spoke.