Two Alphas, One Luna

Three Souls

WARNING: DESCRIPTIONS OF DECEASED PERSONS

Gracian

The alarm clock on the nightstand read 6:47 a.m., but the room looked just as pitch black as it had the night before. The sun was rising, but I was none the wiser. Blackout curtains were my saving grace. Priya lay in bed nestled in my arms like an ebony angel. Her long coils were in long twists for the night. Occasionally, I nuzzled my nose into her hair. I was intoxicated by the scents of Argon oil and rose hip oil that saturated it. I didn’t dare wake her, even though I wanted to. The Winter Gathering was last weekend, but she hadn’t been herself since then. Pack events were so exhausting for her; Priya was truly an introvert at heart.

Between pack affairs and working long hours for my family’s private security company, things have been hectic. Preparing for the role of Alpha was definitely challenging, but in a good way. I was confident in my ability to lead and support my pack. Priya was a large part of that. She’s always had my back, and I hers.

When I was 16, Warrick told me in secret that he’d been keeping an eye on me. I was scared shitless at first. The Alpha observing you could mean many things. When he finally spoke with me in depth about his succession and my role in it, I was elated. A beta like me couldn’t wish for a higher honor. His two sons had shown promise as future Alphas when they were young boys, hunting together. I was sure one or both of them would succeed Warrick. As fate would have it, his sons sought out mates from other packs. They were now the lords of their own lands, so to speak.

My thoughts were shattered by the sound of Priya’s cell phone vibrating on the night stand.

“…Mm…Why…”

She groaned half asleep as she reached for her cell. I reluctantly loosened my embrace so she could sit up a little to answer.

“Rayna? Hey…He’s WHAT?! No, there’s no way…He was FINE! I spoke to him yesterday! YESTERDAY!” Priya cried.

I sat up straight in bed then, placing my hand on her bare shoulder. My eyebrows furrowed as I listened to her become increasingly upset. I could hear the other person’s voice faintly, but not clearly enough to understand what was said. She suddenly dropped the phone on the floor.

“Priya, what’s wrong? Who was it baby?”

She covered her face with her hands before leaning against me, sobbing. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the side of her head tenderly.

“My dad…He’s dead!” She cried out.

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Warrick was in good health. Nothing had seemed out of sorts at the Winter Gathering…

“Priya, I’m so sorry…Who called with the news?”

“…My sister, Rayna.” She whimpered. Her cell phone began vibrating against the hardwood floor, making her pull away from me. She leaned over to look at the screen before sighing heavily. I reached my left hand up to her face, gently wiping away her salty tears with my thumb.

“It’s my mom. I’m pretty sure she’s at his house already…We should head out.” She sniffled. I could tell that she was trying not to break down right now, but she absolutely should be.

“Priya, wait.”

I got out of bed and turned on the lamp on the nightstand before walking up behind her, holding her against the line of my naked body.

“You don’t have to be strong right now. Take a moment for yourself before we go.” I whispered against her ear.

She only nodded in response, but I felt her tears dripping onto my forearm as I held her. I was supposed to work today, but the security team would just have to make do without me. To hell with everything except my Priya today…

After half an hour, we got dressed and made the twenty minute drive to Warrick’s house. The street was lined with parked cars on either side. The private driveway that lead up to his victorian style house, was now busy with law enforcement. As we pulled into the driveway, one of the officers held a hand up to stop us. I stopped just outside of the open gates to roll the driver side window down. The officer bent down to speak to me. He briefly looked past me at Priya.

“Good morning. Can I help you two?”

“We were called by the ex wife of the deceased. The young woman beside me is his daughter.” I explained calmly.

I tried to sound polite but, I knew it wouldn’t matter. This place was being treated as a crime scene. It was clear they were being very cautious about who entered. What the hell happened here?

“Ma’am? Can I see some identification to verify that statement? I’ll need to see yours as well sir.” The officer said looking from me to Priya once more.

After we fished out our ID’s and explained our relationship to Warrick further, only then did he wave us through. We drove up to the house to see the flashing lights from not one, but three ambulances.

“Three ambulances? Who else was hurt?” Priya looked around at the scene as we slowly came to a stop.

Priya’s mother and two of her sisters were standing outside beside a stretcher. Two paramedics were standing at the head of the stretcher, waiting it seemed. I got out of the car to open Priya’s door, but she was already getting out before I could. She ran up to her mother and hugged her tightly. I approached them, but kept my distance a bit as they embraced each other.

If you were to run into them, there would be no mistaking that they were related. Priya and her sisters were the spitting image of their mother. Big, beautiful, almond shaped eyes. Round button noses with full pouty lips, oval shaped faces with deep brown skin. Priya’s youngest sister, Alana, looked a bit more like Warrick to me. She’d inherited his high cheekbones and thick eyebrows.

“Mom, what happened?” Priya asked as she stepped out of her mother’s embrace. Bellephine shook her head solemnly.

“I don’t know. I found your dad in the living room sleeping on the couch when I came in. He never sleeps on the couch no matter how tired he is. There was blood coming from his mouth and nose…I’m sorry I can’t…” Bellephine covered her mouth with her left hand, unable to speak further.

I stepped up closer to Priya. In situations like these, I knew there wasn’t much I could say. I just wanted to be here for her. Warrick had been like a second father to me. My own father had abandoned my mother and I was eight years old. I still have no idea where he is. I’m 27 yrs old, too old to give a s**t anymore. Priya’s family was my family and that was more than enough for me.

While we stood there anxiously waiting for something, anything to happen, two groups of EMT’s came out of the house carrying zipped body bags. The first group set one bag on the stretcher closest to us. The other group carried the second body to another stretcher a few feet away. Bellephine walked up to the first bagged body, she seemed certain that it was Warrick. Underneath the smell of death I could smell his scent as well. There was no doubt it was him. As for the other poor soul, I wasn’t sure. Priya and her two sisters went to stand with Bellephine. I didn’t notice at first, but Alana’s side view revealed a prominent pregnancy bump. She had to be at least 6 months along.

“Alana, I don’t think you should see him like this. Not in your condition.” Rayna said. Alana looked over at her, frowning.

“You two get to see dad but I don’t? Really? My pregnancy is stable. This isn’t my first set of quads okay?” She snapped back.

“Please you two, not today. Any day but today…” Priya pleaded with them. She closed her eyes briefly to keep herself calm, I think.

“Are you all one hundred percent sure you want to see him like this?” One of the EMT’s asked cautiously. They all nodded.

We stood there almost afraid to breath as he unzipped the body bag. Warrick’s eyes were half opened, the iris’s had began to turn that ghostly blue that indicated death. Dried blood was caked around his nose and mouth. The four of them erupted in tears at the sight of him. I felt my eyes sting with the beginnings of tears as well. I just couldn’t understand why. Why now? How?

I went to Priya, pulling her into the circle of my arms. She buried her face in my jacket, giving into her grief. The EMTs zipped the bag closed again and continued loading the bodies into the ambulances.

Later that evening, Rayna called to let us know who was inside of the other two body bags. A woman Warrick had been seeing. She wasn’t a shifter, so no one really knew her. I don’t recall ever seeing her around during pack gatherings. As for the third person, he was a shifter that none of us knew. What’s worse is he was just a 14 year old kid. It was hard to wrap my mind around the things that people are capable of. Not that I, a werewolf could judge. I’ve witnessed many acts of cruelty from those in my very own pack. I suppose nature, is cruelty. It would be at least a week before we got any information from the autopsy. The police were treating the incident as a homicide officially. There was no way of knowing how long it would be before we knew anything more. Werewolves were no longer a dark secret. Our existence was known, but not widely accepted. I doubted they would rush the investigation to satisfy us.

A scalding hot shower helped me relax enough to collect my thoughts. When I came back to the bedroom, Priya was sitting on my side of the bed. She was sitting in her royal blue hooded robe. Her raven curls were pulled up into a high ponytail, or ‘high puff’ as she called it.

“Priya, is there anything I can do for you right now? Anything at all?” I asked as I walked up to her. She looked up at me with pink, puffy eyes.

“No…But you were great today. Thank you for helping me get through this.”

I bent down a little and claimed her lips with mine. A gentle press of lips, nothing too risqué. Kneeling down in front of her, I put my arms around her hips. I looked deeply into her dark red eyes with my own.

“You never have to thank me for doing as I should. I love you, with the very core of my soul. You’ll be my Luna in a few weeks. I’ll do my damndest to make sure the transition to power isn’t too stressful. We’re in this together.” I reassured her confidently. Her soft, slender hands came up to my face then.

“You’ve had my heart since we were pre teens Gray. I couldn’t ask for a better Alpha. Can you promise me something?”

“Do you really need to ask?” I said almost grinning. The comment made her smile.

“Promise me that you’ll help me find whoever killed my father. Please help me.” Her voice trembled with those last few words.

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked up into her eyes then.

“I promise, Priya. I swear I’ll find them.”