A New Dawn

Chapter 4

Aiden bent down next to his father and looked into his lifeless green eyes for the last time. He took his finger and slowly pushed his father’s eyelids closed and followed with a howl of mourning. Numerous howls filled the air as the entire pack mourned the loss of their Alpha. Then, he realized David was kneeling next to him with his arm around him. Looking at his friend in sympathy, David nodded. “We will get his pyre ready and send him off tonight.”

Aiden nodded and began to stand when suddenly another link broke, a link as necessary as the Alpha. New Dawn members released another mourning howl, a howl for the loss of Luna Mary. Aiden and David looked at each other with panic and ran as fast as they could for the pack house. They needed to get to their Luna before someone else died. They continued to sprint as fast as they could and didn’t bother to stop and check on anyone. David and Aiden knew that the circumstances would be much direr if Roxanne were killed too.

They ran up the three flights of steps and down the hallway until they stopped at the door to his father’s office. Once the door to his dad’s office opened, they instantly gasped at the sight that awaited them. Luna Mary was lying on the floor with a large stab wound in her heart while Roxanne sat beside her, pushing on the knife wound and crying hysterically. As she looked up at the men, Roxanne’s eyes grew in a mixture of relief and fear. “I didn’t see the Rogue until it was too late. He jumped out the window.”

Aiden grabbed his crying mate and wrapped her in a hug; he gave her the time she needed to cry out her fears. He spent the time reassuring her that everything would be ok. As the soldiers came in and removed Luna’s body for her sendoff, Aiden had no words. He took solace in the tingles that the mate bond gave him and the fact that his mate was still alive. Finally, David knocked on the door and informed them that they were ready to send off those they lost this evening.

Aiden and Roxanne stepped outside the pack house and walked hand in hand to the side yard, where the once-happy graduation party turned into a funeral. Aiden wiped his eyes and looked around the crowd; he knew he would have to keep his composure for this part. “Tonight, what was supposed to be one of the best nights of my life turned into one of the darkest nights for the New Dawn Pack. Due to an attack by Rogues, we lost our treasured Alpha, Luna, and Beta, as well as many wonderful members of our pack. I would like to offer a moment of silence for all those who lost their lives protecting our pack house, women, and pups. May they find their way to the Moon Goddesses’ side.”

A few minutes of silence passed, and Aiden nodded at David, who lit the pyre for the warriors, followed by the pack Beta and the Alpha and Luna. The silence was deafening as the pack mourned the loss of their family, friends, and leadership. Aiden cleared his throat and looked around again, “Please take this evening and hug your family members extra hard. You never know when they may be called to the Moon Goddesses' side.” The group dispersed silently, and they began to make their way back to their homes. Aiden grabbed Roxanne and carried her into their room, lying her down on the bed. He kissed her forehead, covered her with the blanket, and whispered, “Get some sleep; I’ve got pack stuff to handle.”

Aiden quietly left the room and made his way to his father’s office; thankfully, the Omegas managed to remove the bloody rug before he got in there. He was sitting at his father’s desk when a knock was heard on the door. David entered the office, followed by Elder Otis. Both men took a seat and gave Aiden a sad smile.

“Good evening; what can I do for you, Elder?”

“Alpha, I know this is horrible timing, especially given the circumstances of the evening, but we need to complete your Alpha ceremony.” Otis, one of the pack Elders, was a family friend for as long as Aiden could remember. Aiden nodded in agreement and turned towards the window. “Plan it for tomorrow night; let’s get this out of the way so we can work on rebuilding.”

“Will the Luna Ceremony be tomorrow as well?” Otis asked curiously.

“It will,” the men looked up in surprise at the woman standing in the doorway. “That is, of course, if you have no objections, Aiden,” Roxanne questioned as she looked shyly at her mate.

Aiden smiled proudly at his mate as he looked at her with love and adoration. “You know I wouldn’t have a problem with that, Roxanne.”

“Very well, I will make the arrangements for the ceremonies to happen tomorrow then,” Elder Otis acknowledged as Aiden and Roxanne left the room hand in hand.

As David sat in his seat and stared, something important weighed on his mind from the events of the evening. He watched the future Alpha and Luna leave the room and sighed deeply. “It makes you wonder how a man could jump out of the third-story window into two large rosebushes and not be seen or heard by a soul.”

Otis’s eyes grew huge at the realization of David’s statement. He said nothing in response, only stared at the door with a blank expression. He was just as lost with the answer as David was.

The night was filled with little sleep for anyone, and the events of the day continued to haunt the New Dawn pack as they felt the loss of their loved ones. After a few hours of lying in bed, Roxanne fell asleep, giving Aiden a break to take a walk and blow off some steam. He left the pack house and walked towards the woods. Once a good distance away, he stripped off his clothing and shifted into his black wolf. His wolf ran with no destination in mind, and the only purpose was to help Aiden tire out his overactive brain and think about where the pack would go from that point.

Finally, Aiden backtracked and ended up on the cliffs to the right of the pack house. He sat there deep in thought. His parents' thoughts and all they had lost in just 24 hours. He thought of the Rogue standing over his father’s body and his hatred for a man he didn’t even know. Finally, he thought of the relief he felt once he realized that Roxanne was ok and uninjured. As he lay there taking in the music the crickets and owls were playing, he closed his eyes in sadness. A short while later, he opened his eyes and noticed the sun was rising. Shaking the grogginess out of his head, Aiden stood to his paws. He knew he needed to return to his pack; otherwise, they would begin to look for him sooner or later. Once he returned to the clothes he had stripped off the previous evening, he dressed and slowly began his walk toward the pack house. When he arrived in the front yard, he was met with a curious sight. He stopped in his tracks and stared humorously as he watched David studying at the third-floor window in alarm.

“Is there something interesting about the window, Monroe?” Aiden asked as he chuckled at the fact David jumped with his comment. David’s concentration level was so high as he stared at the window that he didn’t hear Aiden approach.

“You could say that, yes. Look at this rose bush and tell me what you see, Lock,” David asked the question to buy a little time. He wanted to ensure that he had his facts straight because he knew this conversation wouldn’t be a good one.

Aiden rolled his eyes at the stupid question and then looked at the bush. “Well, since your eyes stopped working today, I see flowers, leaves, and even thorns. So make sure you don’t touch them. I will not be kissing any of your boo-boos today,” he replied sarcastically.

“I’m serious, Lock. What do you see?” David demanded, pointing aggressively toward the rosebushes.

“I see bushes that are in desperate need of trimming!”

David rolled his eyes and looked at Aiden again. “Ok, maybe the easier question for you would be: what don’t you see?”

“I don’t see the point of these stupid questions,” Aiden mumbled as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “The bush looks normal!”

“Thank you! That’s what I wanted to hear. But, hypothetically,” if someone jumped out of a third-story window into this bush, wouldn’t you see some cracks, broken flowers, or even clothing pieces in the thorns?” David questioned as he pointed to the bushes.

Aiden’s breath buckled, and he turned to David; the anger level in his body began to rise, and his eyes slowly turned gold from his wolf. “What are you getting at Monroe?” Aiden asked as he stepped closer to David with an aggressive stance.

“I’m saying that there is none, so obviously, someone didn’t jump out of a window last night. You need to re-talk to your mate and get the truth,” David replied defensively.

“David, what the hell, man? Is it because you haven’t found your mate yet that you will call my mate a liar?”

“Grow up, Lock, and look at the details and facts plain as day in your face. Something is wrong with her story, and I will not be your Beta until I get the truth from your lying mate. Also..”

...

A right hook instantly stopped him cold as he was knocked to the ground by his best friend. David groaned in pain, slowly stood to his feet, and wiped the blood from his mouth. He turned and glared at Aiden, who had an equal mixture of disbelief, frustration, and remorse on his face. David took a deep breath and turned to face the woods. He knew he needed to calm down before they started brawling in front of the pack with more than enough issues. As David continued to look at the woods in anger, he knew what he had to do. Without turning around, he took a deep breath and yelled to anyone who could hear him. “I, David Monroe, am no longer a member of the New Dawn Pack. I rescind any link to my future Beta title and am henceforth a Rogue. Good luck with the Lying Ass Luna New Dawn.” Once he was done with his statement, he turned to Aiden. The look of hate in David’s eyes made Aiden wince in regret. David then shifted into his wolf and sprinted for the woods.

The loss of the pack link of the future Beta caused the rest of the pack members to come out in panic and fear. They all gasped in worry as they noticed their future Beta shifted and left. Aiden sighed distraughtly, turned, and looked at the bush. After all that, he realized that David was correct; there were no broken branches on the bush. Aiden rolled his eyes and knew that this was something he didn’t have time to worry about, and he needed to find himself a new candidate for Beta. As he began to walk back toward the pack house, he noticed Roxanne standing at the door with the rest of the pack. “Don’t you all have work to do? How about you go do it,” he demanded as the crowd quickly dispersed into the house.