Chapter Ten

Pierce's P.O.V

I cross my arm over my heart as I keep my head bowed slightly. It's customary to keep your head lowered as you greet Alpha or any of kin. The show of respect can say volumes about your loyalty and honor is the foundation of this pack. Without. . .you mine as well become a rogue.

"I'm so glad that you made it back alive Pierce! I really am. . ." He places his hand against my face, but I continue to keep my eyes lowered and my face emotionless. He runs his fingers down my skin until he reaches my neck.

"So you can be here in time of our grief. . .We both lost someone very precious and dear to us. . ." My eyes begin to prick with tears, but I keep myself composed.

"To come back only to find out your father is no longer apart of this world must be painful. . .I should know. . .I lost mine as well." He lets out a shaky breath and gradually begins to lean into me. I feel his silent tears soaking into my shirt.

Isaac has always been on the softer side. Ever since we were pups. . .He would always run to me when something happened. A little scrape on his knee, a bump on his head. . .bullies even. I always thought of him as the younger brother I wish I always had. It really pains me to him to see him hurting this badly. Unlike all the other times, there is nothing I can do about it.

"The loss of our father's is a tremendous loss, but my father told me not to mourn his death if he died serving the Alpha. It's what he would have wanted. . . " He tugs away from me with watery eyes and all. "They MUST have done this!"

He throws me away from from him swiping at loose, angry tears. "Isaac calm down. Making assumptions-"

"Assumptions?! Assumptions Pierce?! They did this! I know they did! Whose side are you on?!" My eyes fall from his and I instantly cross my arms over my heart and bow my head down again. " My loyalty lays with you and only you. . .Alpha. I will serve you until the end of my days as my father did with yours."

"Then start acting like it!" He shoves me out the way as he leans against the wall with both hands covering his face. "The Northerners will pay for what they have done. Blood for blood."

"Your will is my hand." I say with a bit of reluctance.

". . .They killed members of your squad and held you prisoner for a month. . .AND YET you presume that I assume?"

". . .Forgive me. I may have spoke out of right not sense." I know he is hurting, but he is Alpha now. He cannot let anger and childish desires cloud his better judgement. As I thought, I knew he would be too young and unqualified for this position. But I am his Beta and I will serve him.

"No, you have right of it." I look at him as he continues to pace about the room. The sadness that was once there is gradually being replaced with hatred and anger. "As of right now. . .our pack has weakened drastically while fighting the Westerners off our territory. We cannot attack right now. I realize that Pierce. But mark my words. . .I will kill every last one of those Northerners just as my father and his father and his father's father had wished. I will make it so."

I nod my head. "For both my father and yours." My father would never want such a massacre held in his name.

"As you say, Alpha." He bristles at the title, but continues on.

"It may take a year Pierce. . .maybe two or better yet five, but I will have my vengeance. He who calls himself King of the North will know fury like no other." I can't help but think of Cassius. . .and Lily. . .and Grimm. They wouldn't have done something like this. Not all of them deserve a fate such as that. Especially not my mate. . .no harm can come to him.

"You spent a month there yet you haven't even uttered a word about your treatment there, the Alpha the, cell."

". . .I fear you may not like what I have to say. I rather save it for another day." I say softly not wanting to give away any of my emotions to him. Is this really how it must be between us? We were so much closer than this before. How can I hope he would be understanding in sparing my mate if he already feels this way about them. I can't even broach the subject with him now.

I see him sit behind the desk of the old Alpha. His black eyes are the same along with his silver hair. . .I only wish that he has time to change unlike his father. "You seem to have something on your mind. Come here." I obey absently and bend down to continue to listen to him.

"I always have worries. . .this position is one of them."

"It shouldn't be." He grabs onto the collar of my shirt and pulls me closer to him. "I trust you and only you with my life. You've always been a good friend and even greater advisor. . .I hope you'll put all doubts aside and take this on full heartedly. I can't do this without you."

"I'll do my best. . .Isaac." He smiles at this and decides to let me go. His father always hated the affection his favorite son had always shown me. By being his future there was only so much separating he could do. Eventually we grew attached to one another, but even then he didn't allow us to be together alone thinking that I may take advantage of his 'sweet boy' or better yet, corrupt him.

"Any other worries?"

I shake my head. "We've known each other far too long to not realize when the other is lying.What else is troubling you?" He presses the palm of his hand on my cheek waiting for my answer. Instead of answering I kiss his hand as I take it from my cheek as a sign of loyalty, fealty, and trust. "Just you, Isaac."

"I'm fine. . .don't take the words I said out of anger for face value. I kept you here for far too long. Why don't you go visit Tristan and the others. I'll like to have words with Archer and Manuel alone." He takes his hand away from me and stares off into the window. "You're dismissed."

I nod and take my much needed time away from him. He was beginning to suffocate me. Whether from grief or madness. . .I could not tell. As soon as I leave out the building I someone tackles me to the ground showering me with kisses on my forehead, cheeks, and even my lips. By the feel of them I can already tell who it is. Her scent sealed my ideas. "Kenzie!" I say trying not to laugh as she covers her lips with mine again.

Another thing the other territories tend to forget about us. . .we're very open with expressing ourselves within our close circles. "Pierce. . .I am so happy you're back. . .so happy." She wraps her arms around my neck leaving me to hug her back.

I kiss her cheek lightly and smile. "I missed you too Kenzie. . .I promised you I would be back didn't I?"

"You did." She says happily while snuggling her head in my chest. I press my lips into her hair hugging a little tighter with each second that goes by. If anyone, I missed this girl way too much. If anyone I know she'll understand.

"I have a lot of things to talk to you about."

"Oh Goddess. . .your wounds. . .the prison." I shake my head as I rise from the grass. ". . .That's the very thing I'd like to discuss with you."

"And Gabriel. Oh my Goddess Gabriel he came back. He's back." Her voice is on the verge of tears and I just don't have it in me to shatter her hopes. Gabriel is back. . .but he isn't the same and she'll soon find that out the moment she speaks to him. My eyes fall away from hers as I see her eyes glittering with fresh tears.

I let a smile go across my face and press her even closer to me. She is a kind, sweet, girl. . . Willing to accept anyone and everything. "You must be hurting so much. . ." I hear her say after a moment passes, but I just continue to hold her. Other than my sister my father was the only family I had left. He was more than a father to me, he was my friend, my advisor, and above all else he helped shape me to the man I am today. "He died doing what he had promised to do. I cannot mourn him. He wouldn't want that."

". . .I see."

"Kenzie. . ."

"They didn't put you in a dungeon did they?" I shake my head. ". . .Or torture you?" I shake my head again as she lets out a shaky breath.

"I was treated with respect. . .they took great care in that. . .even after revealing what rank I held."

"That-That doesn't make sense. If they killed the Alpha and Beta they could have killed you as well and weakened us dramatically. Gabriel was one of our best guardians. . .they could have used him to obtain information about us and killed him as well. Sending him back. . ." Her eyebrows furrow at all this jumbled information.

She then begins to look my body over to vouch what I had said and turns away from me after she confirmed it. "Don't tell me you grew accustomed to them?"

"No Kenzie I-I. . ." I found my mate there. "I'm just tired of fighting. I'm tired of bloodshed. . .I'm tired of seeing my kin laying dead beneath my feet. I want peace."

"Those are traitorous thoughts you're having. They have been our enemy for over eight hundred years Pierce. It's been that way for a reason. Have you forgotten!"

"I haven't. . ." But I wonder if we all forgotten how to forgive. Your mates may be the very weres your killing.

"Then don't ever speak of that 'peace' again Pierce. Not now. Not after our Alpha. . .not after your father." She sniffs a little before grabbing onto my shoulders and gets up. "Isaac needs you more than anyone right now. You cannot have passive thoughts on your captors again. It won't do."

"Hear me out for a-"

She puts one finger on my lips silencing me completely. "Of course we realized that there are some exceptions. . .But lingering on that fact will only make things harder for us. . .for you." She won't understand. The moment that dawns on me causes my heart to clench. I'm not talking about just any exception. It's my mate.

"You've always had that kind of weak spot. . .Tristan always used to tell me about it. . .Don't let that get in the way of what has to be done." I feel her lips on my cheek. "You're the Alpha's Hand now. It's just a daze you're speaking out of."

I grab both of Kenzie's hands in mine and press my lips to her cheek. "I know what must be done more than anyone. I just don't want to end up losing you or any of you. . ." If only I could convince them like he convinced me. Hate can become a never ending cycle and eventually we lose that sole reason as to why we hated in the first place.

When Cassius asked me why I hated him. . .I couldn't answer him properly. He had spared my life and even went as far to lick my wounds when I barely even knew him. I thought of him as an enemy for half the time I spent there and he thought of me as his lover. The hate that banded me to him blurred everything that was so obvious into something complicated and foreign.

And now I am aching just to hear his voice. No one will come to understand this blind hatred until they listen or fall in love with the enemy. I close my eyes at this. Neither one of those are desirable.

". . .You can't trust them Pierce."

"I know. My trust is in you, Tristan. . .Isaac and the rest of the pack." She smiles a gut wrenching smile at me and hugs me again.

"Though you cannot mourn your father's death openly I will say some words on your behalf." She separates from teary eyes and all. "Let's go see Tristan."

I nod and let her walk a little ahead of me as my thoughts begin to sink into my mind. I do not want to keep my mate a secret from them all, especially not my close friends. If he came from anywhere else I'm sure they would have been more accepting. . .but with my father and Alpha's deaths. . . My eyes prick with tears but I shake my head continue to walk on.

Until I see his body I will not believe he is dead. My father wouldn't die that easily. I know he must be alive somewhere captured. He has to be. . .after all I am his son.

The upset expression on Tristan's face spoke volumes. It causes Kenzie to stop in her tracks and then quickly rush up to him. "What happened?" As soon as he sees me his eyes fall and that said all that need ed to be asked.

". . .So you met with Gabriel. . ." I try to say as calmly as possible.

"He IS NOT Gabriel." He says with so much anger and confusion his mind-link begins to shake between us.

"What? Tristan don't say that. Gabe is finally back and now you're treating him with-"

"He isn't. . .the same Kenzie. He wouldn't even let me touch him or even go near him." The tears of anger begins streaming down his face causing me to sigh out lowly. His visit was too soon. . .but I knew he wouldn't be able to resist. The love for him was enough to not listen to me.

"Just give him his time Tristan. . .he'll come around. . .for you at least." The two of them always held something special between them and now I finally realize what it might be and so does Gabe. They must be mates.

"I am not going to let him treat anyone like the way he treated me! Kenzie don't go near him. He mine as well go back to that filthy pack of dogs from where he came from. Let them have him back. He is no longer wanted here." He pushes passed me but I grab his arm and feel it shaking uncontrollably. What did he say to him?

"I'm happy to see you Pierce. . .I really am. . .but I just can't deal with this right now." He sounds so broken I wanted to shake him and ask him what the hell Gabe said to him, but I can probably imagine what it was. . .I let him go before giving him a side hug and let him disappear off into the barrage of trees.

". . .Is it true?" Kenzie says completely heartbroken. "Has he really changed?"

"Just a little. . .but it's hitting Tristan pretty hard because they're. . .they're really close." Their relationship isn't up to me to disclose.

"We're not going to be ok are we?"

"We are. Just not the same." I look at her and grab her hand in mine trying to give her as much reassurance as possible.

"The Alpha is dead. The Beta is dead! A lot of the older Enforcers had perished as well! We have nothing but young people running this pack now Pierce! This isn't the time to be fragmented! We need to stick together or we'll fall apart. What are we. . .what are we going to do?"

"Do what we always do. Survive." As soon as those words leave my mouth Gabe comes out of his keep and looks at me with so much disdain. He doesn't even bother to look at Kenzie directly in the eyes and continues to leave out towards the river.

"Go after Tristan. I'll talk to Gabe." She nods her head slowly and rushes off the catch up with him. What have you done Gabe?

"Gabriel!" I shout madly. He stops in his tracks and allows me to catch up with him.

"What the hell did you do?" The anger rushes out of me much quicker than I would have imagined.

"Nothing. Absolutely Nothing."

"Tristan was your best friend. . ."

"Was. Notice the past tense."

"He has nothing to do with Lily or anyone else that you care about over there! He cares about you. . .cherishes you. . .loves you. . .and you're treating him like dirt beneath your paws!"

"If I don't he'll notice! And I don't want to hurt him! I love Lily. . ."

I close my eyes and let out a small, tireless sigh. "He's your mate isn't he?" He nods slowly and finally decides to look at me. "I'm in love with Lily, not Tristan. I don't want to be apart of this pack any longer. I'm going back."

"He's your mate. Not that she-wolf. He has been by your side since we were all five! Now you're trading him in for some-some Northener wolf? That's foul and disgusting."

"Your mate is an Northerner!"

"That doesn't mean I have to like every single one of them! My loyalty is to my pack before all else. Unlike you, my priorites are in line. You need to get it together and get it together quickly. I won't have you hurting Kenzie as well." I say close to growling. My new Beta commands are slowly beginning to seep out of me causing him to cringe and bend one knee.

"We are your pack. We are your family. I won't have you become a traitor because some wench saved your damn life. You can save hers by letting her become a distant memory."

"You cannot-" I cut him off.

"Where does your loyalty lay? With us or with her?" I see him clench his teeth as well as his hands as I put more power over him.

"Where does it lay Gabriel?"

"With...you..."

"I will not tell you who to love but I will tell you this, if you even think about hurting Tristan you may find yourself on the other-side sooner than you think." I snap at him and his head only begins to lower.

"Cassius. . ."

"What?"

"I wonder who you think he is? What title do you think he holds?"

". . ."

"You say your loyalty is to this pack, but. . .. I think not so much. It will begin to crumble soon and it will be me asking you where does this feigned loyalty lay now."

The rank he holds? . . .I've never asked him. . .I look at Gabriel and see him with a smug look on his face causing me to glare. "Cassius, whatever rank he holds, is my mate. I will not ever have any harm come to him. That is more than you can say for yours."

"Don't you find it odd?" I turn around and face him again.

"The timing I mean. . .you had gotten captured. . .your father and the Alpha are now presumed dead. . .and Isaac is now the Alpha. You are now his beta. You do find this odd don't you? The timing is impeccable."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. . .absolutely nothing. . .just that. . .you have unwavering loyalty to a man who. . .you don't even know but only think you do."

"Enough of this."

"This blind, faith loyalty you have may have you in a very bad place if you do not get your priorites in line."

"My loyalty-"

"Should be to Cassius." He looks at me with so much conviction I begin to waver.

"Once you realize this. . .come and speak with me again. That is, if it's not too late."