Lessons in Love

POV: Beta Ben Westlake For six months, the Sapphire Lake Pack had been at war with a strong contingent of Rogues. Rogues don’t have formal packs, but they had been organized and 300 wolves strong when the war began. Sapphire Lake had always seemed like an odd target to me. We’ve always been a working-class pack, made up of farmers and food suppliers. We made plenty of money, enough to keep 1200 wolves in decent homes and with money in their pockets. Rich, though? Not even close. We serviced a few larger packs, but not enough that destroying Sapphire Lake would result in starving them out. Our land was fertile, crops and orchards aplenty, and the undeveloped land around the lake we got our pack name from seemed to hold value to some. Still, the Rogues waging war on us didn’t add up. What had been adding up were the casualties. In six months, the Rogues had burned half our fields, several of our orchards, and killed most of our veteran warriors – all men. Worst of all, they’d killed our future Alpha. Alpha Marcus Stanford was 60, ancient for an Alpha these days. His son had died on a patrol almost 20 years ago. His grandson Cody, who was barely 19, had died a few hours ago. Cody had put up a good fight. He and I had taken on six Rogues together. We won the battle, but Cody had been badly injured. The doctors had done everything they could, but not even our innate ability as wolves to heal could have saved Cody’s life. It broke my heart. Cody was so young and had his whole life ahead of him. He was smart, a good general. It had been his offensive that had finally pushed the Rogues back and broke their ranks. I didn't have the casualty reports, but I knew they would long. I thought about Rick, my Delta. We'd split up to fight on different fronts. He'd reached out to me at one point to ask for help through the mind-link. I had sent reenforcement but couldn't go fight by his side despite wanting to. We'd grown up together, and he was my closest friend, more like a brother. I felt shaken at not being there for him. I stood at the packhouse doors. My hand shook as I reached for the handle, and I had to flex my fingers before opening it. The moment I did, I heard the Luna screaming. The sound ripped my guts out. It was pure grief. I looked up from the base of the stairs in the main foyer and saw Alpha Marcus grab his mate firmly. “You must calm down, Eleanor!” He practically growled at her. “No, no, no …” she sobbed. I gripped the railing and started to move up the stairs. Honestly, I felt lightheaded. I had a massive gash on my left leg, from mid-calf to my hip. I’d been stitched up, and the wound was already healing, but I had had to walk from the hospital to the packhouse on the injured leg. It was throbbing by the time I reached the landing where Marcus and Eleanor were arguing. “Sir,” I said as I stopped in front of them. Marcus grabbed the Luna forcefully. “You need to stop and hear Ben.” He gave her a bit of a shake. “Sir, Future Alpha Cody has passed …” My words were drowned out by the Luna’s renewed screams. Why Marcus was torturing her like this, I couldn’t understand. We’d all felt Cody die. A highly ranked packmate’s death would have been felt by everyone, especially them. He was their grandson! They would have already felt immense pain in their chests. The Alpha could have held her, comforted her, scooped her up, and carried her to their room. Anything was better than letting her fall apart in the hallway, with the maids downstairs gawking. “Enough with hysterics!” Marcus yelled an inch from her face. “Sir,” I couldn’t take it anymore. “Perhaps my mother could help get the Luna settled?” I offered. “Fine,” Marcus seemed flustered and practically pushed the Luna in my direction. I managed to catch her but had to stifle a growl as her hand accidentally hit my injured leg. I walked … correction, I limped down the hallway to their quarters with a supportive arm around her. She was quieter than before but still sobbing. I took her into the suite and put her to rest on the couch. I left the room and quickly texted my mother. One of the best parts of my job as Beta was that I got to volunteer my mother for odd jobs or to visit with the Luna. Anything that got her out of the house, and away from my father. Texting her would be unnecessary if not for him. I could have mind-linked with her, but then she would have no proof that she was needed at the packhouse. There was a chance my father wouldn’t let her go without it. My father had been Marcus’ Beta until 9 years ago. He and Marcus were cut from the same cloth. Women should be seen and not heard, produce heirs, and keep the home fires burning. No women from Sapphire Lake went to college or trained for combat. I would have to talk to Marcus about that and see about changing the pack’s policy. There simply weren’t enough able-bodied men to defend us. He would have to allow it, I thought, as I leaned against the doorframe of their suite. There had been a few packs that offered help during the war with reinforcements. Rick and I had discouraged the Alpha from taking most of them up on their offers. They had wanted land rights, or taxes, or a million other ‘favors’ for their help. Some Alphas had been bold enough to say they wanted to develop the land they requested into summer homes and resorts for our pack members to work but reap none of the benefits from. What had often astounded me was that if the roles had been reversed, they would have laughed in our faces for trying to broker a deal mid-conflict. To hell with them anyway. We made it out the other side without help from any of the larger packs in the region. We’d rebuild and be stronger for it. My mother appeared at the top of the staircase, my father in tow. My father went toward Marcus’ office and my mother rushed to the suite door. “Are you …” “I’m fine, mom.” I gave her a weak smile. “She’s waiting.” I opened the door. My mother gave me a tight hug before going in. I made my way downstairs to find Rick hobbling toward his suite. “Hey, you alright?” I asked him. Rick’s green eyes were blank, like he was still processing what he’d seen, the hand he reached for the door with shook ever so slightly, and he nodded before looking up at me. “John is dead.” He whispered. “Crista too. 7 other students.” “Shit.” I cursed under my breath. Rick had been asked to help at the high school at some point. John had been our Gamma; Crista was his mate. Both taught the high school students, and John had been our lead trainer. Crista wasn’t much of a fighter. I knew that, but John was tough and well trained, even if he hadn’t been training as hard the last several years since their daughter was born. “Where’s Emma?” I asked after their, now orphaned, daughter. “I took her to Sarah’s.” He said, tears in his eyes. Sarah ran a daycare that, over the last 6 months, had turned into an orphanage. Rick turned and went into his suite without another word. I stood there, wondering if we were ever going to get this place back to the way it was.