As I studied my Beta, best friend, and the person I consider as a brother with admiration and respect, he doesn’t flinch as my eyes change to Ballian’s and he says,“Thank you, Levi. I know Braxton has made a similar declaration when he named you as his Beta and I am doing the same; right here and now. You and I together will always protect him.”
“To the death,” Levi growls, holding his hand out.
Ballian takes this time to remove himself from the rest of the conversation.
I take Levi’s hand, gripping it firmly before shaking it. Pulling him into a brotherly hug, I tell him, “Thank you, Levi. And you know I feel the same way about you. We’ve laughed together, fought together, and made money together in the process. If I didn’t have you by my side, I wouldn’t want anyone else. I have younger siblings from my father who I love, but with the relationship we have in my eyes it has moved past the Alpha and Beta titles. I see you as my brother, Levi. I am a firm believer of the saying‘Blood doesn’t always make family’.” I wave my hand between the two of us. “You have always been my family; Levi and you know how I feel about family.”
“I do,” he responded as we continued to hug it out.
We take a step back when Nyah yells out the window. “As touching as this is, we need to get going. Daddy just called and said they are waiting for us at the cabin.”
“Who’s they?” Levi and I ask at the same time.
“He didn’t say,” Nyah replies.
Looking at Levi, I smirk. “Welcome to the unknown.”
I stared out the window as the question of ‘who’s they’ still echoed in my mind. Couldtheybe our fathers, needing us to come back with news of the war? Maybe,theymeant Alpha Lightfeather, father and the Pack wanting us to return to enjoy one of the Alpha’s meals. Who knows, I guess we would find out once we got there.
The ride was silent with Nyah, Levi, and I in deep thought. No doubt they were thinking the same as me. All we can do is speculate and hope for the best and pray that it’s nothing bad. We’ve seen enough blood shed for today, but if more needs to be spilled, I was ready for it.
Twenty minutes later, Levi is turning onto the road to the Pack lands. He slows the car down as two armed guards step out of the woods. It’s a good thing Alpha Lightfeather is taking precautions in ensuring the safety of the Pack.
“That’s Dakota and Lenny,” Nyah informs as we slowly near them.
Once we’re close enough, Levi lets the windows down so they can see that it’s us inside. The men bow their heads as Levi proceeds on.
“I would have thought your father would have had more than two guards posted,” Levi says to Nyah.
“Oh, he does. You only saw two but believe me there are more. Daddy always said let people see what they want to see until it’s time to reveal your true plan,” Nyah returns with a grin.
“True words of an Alpha,” I counter.
A few moments later, Levi is parking the car in front of the cabin. What’s surprising to us is that everyone is standing there as if they were awaiting our arrival. This cannot be good.
Not waiting for Levi or me to open her door, Nyah does it herself, then dashes to her father.
“Daddy, what’s wrong? Is Crown okay?”
Alpha Lightfeather hugs his daughter, replying, “Nothing is wrong, Nyah. Crown is off playing with some of the Pack children.”
Levi and I joined them.
“Alpha, we were on our way here when you called Nyah,” I say, “Why were you calling for us to come?”
He shifts his eyes to Elder Nelah who is dressed in what could be described as an Ancestral robe of our people.
She displays a soft, motherly smile before saying, “The two of you need to come with us.”
“Why?” Nyah questioned.
“And where?” I add.
Elder Nelah reaches out and places one hand on my cheek and the other on Nyah’s. Our eyes simultaneously close from her warm touch. Behind my eyelids Ballian’s yellow eyes stare back at me.
“Trust her,”he whispers as his eyes fade into the darkness.
When Nyah and I open our eyes, we glance at each other. Did she just experience the same thing as I did? My question is answered as she slowly moves her head up and down.