Rising Within

Reunion

Craig

I made my way to the hardware store for some supplies. f**k, I didn’t even know what I was preparing for. What did I need? Rubbing the bottom of my stubbled chin in the middle of the aisle, I thought about Leonie.

My eyes darting the shelves carefully, I remembered the way I liked to take my time breathing in every bit of her. Her jet-black hair, every contour of her face, each bump and recession of her body, the length of her legs and her tiny feet. Her piercing blue eyes always begging me, mmm.

Hesitantly, I shook the feeling away. We all knew the rules, we weren’t to make contact unless it was dire. I didn’t know if I should see her first or last, but some part of me held a grave fear, and I didn’t know how to be ready for it. She was a true warrior, and took her work responsibilities too seriously, regardless of what the sacrifice was for her... for us! It didn't matter how much our wolves yearned for each other, she was in complete control always. Why couldn't she be selfish? For years I was angry at her, deeply infatuated with her, but still angry. She fought ever ounce of herself from letting me mark her, from letting me make her mine. I didn't just want the s"x- I wanted every bit of her, her shortcomings, her achievements...her love. F*CK. I knew I had grown weaker, refusing to accept or give a rejection. If I couldn't have her, no one would! I'd convince my wolf that having a crumb would be enough, but I was weakened severely, fighting against our nature.

Cable ties, large and medium. Found ‘em, I gruffed to no one in particular and triumphantly yanked them off the shelf. I stomped heavily over to the pliers and then to the rope aisle and lastly, the gasoline. I had to clear my mind for now. I couldn’t risk a f**k up. Thankfully, the attendant giving me f**k eyes as she scanned my things was enough to ease my tormented mind for a split second.

…

“Yeah?”

I answered the silent number and listened. One minute of silence. Just like old times. I took the call off the car Bluetooth and placed the phone to my ear. There was a deep breath, and I knew instantly it was her. My wolf roused in the background, I could feel his proud chest boasting.

“You cocky fucker, take that smug look off ya face!”I grumbled at him, shaking my head, but I couldn’t help the crooked smile easing over my lips.

“Craig…” I didn’t hear anything after my name. Her voice drummed in my ears and resonated down my body. It made my c**k stand at ease.

“f**k Craig, did you listen to a word I said?”

I pictured her flushed face as she scolded me. Her pouted lips pressed tight.

“Yeah Le, bad reception. Where’s the action?”

I quickly severed my thoughts and jumped into work mode.

“It’s started, we HAVE to regroup, Craig. I don’t know how long we have.”

Her voice became erratic, I could feel she had no part in the leak. Breathing a sigh of relief and relaxing my grip on the phone, we discussed a meeting point for tonight. It had to be now before this s**t got crazy.

“Le, are you sure Seb’s still with us? Forrest River Pack could have squeezed him for something to pass on… There’s gotta be a weak link somewhere. I damn hope it ain’t David either.”

I didn’t want to have to cut down our friendship, we were like brothers. Seb knew our pack’s history. Heck, it was his history too. But his beta mate Emily was tied to the Forrest River Pack, and we thought it best to spread out and watch from different zones, our ears always on the ground and up to the breeze for whispers. The Devil’s Elbow pack needed to out-think us, but they never knew who to track.

“You aren’t tearing us apart Craig. It’s none of us, they found a scent. I’ve been watching their scouts and they’ve been tearing the whole damn mainland apart looking for her. They are getting desperate!”

Come to think of it, she did sound worn out. I know Le would never let a hot lead slip out of her view, so she must have been hot on their heels. Her wolf eyes were as keen as they came. There was no doubt, I trusted her with more than my life.

“Alright, you know where to meet. Tonight, 9 P.M. sharp. You let Seb know and I’ll get David. I’m twitching to pack this all up pronto, I don’t know how long I can keep Santi calm.”

...

Checking my watch, I had exactly 3 hours to get a plan in place. I hoped David was ready. Then I was straight onto him. Drumming my steering wheel in frustration as I heard the ringing.

“…..Wolf wanna play?”

I teased him after our one minute pause. The earpiece was blasting with guitar solos. David rarely laid low, instead he was out parting with pups half his age and keeping up with them too. Ha, the bastard seemed the last person anyone would suspect of this mission, and it suited him well.

“When don’t I wanna play, what you got for me C-Man?”