A warrior's song

CHAPTER TWO

ELIAS’ POV

“Are you sure you want to do this? It would mean absolute devotion to the pack, the alpha. I want you to live a life for yourself, doing whatever it is that makes you happy.” I turned around to face the one person who had been by my side since the very day I came into this world.

She had always supported every decision I had made for myself without a second thought, but now, I know she’s thinking of all the possible ways to stop me from making this one.

I didn’t blame her, honestly, I couldn’t. She’s watching her son go down the same path the love of her life went and never returned. If I were her, I would lock myself in chains and never open them back up.

I understood her, I really did, but I still wanted to go through with this. I was the best warrior in the pack, and the alpha had asked me if I wanted the position of gamma, and I did. I didn’t really know how much I wanted to be gamma until I was given the chance.

The gamma position isn’t all that people think it is, really; it’s not all sunshine and flowers, or a position that allows you to do whatever or act however you want. Far from it, really.

It was a huge responsibility that not everyone could manage. To be in charge of the security of the entire pack, and to be responsible for every single warrior that would be placed in my care, both those training and others that have been fully trained.

It was something I actually saw myself doing. I also felt honoured because I was going to be doing the same thing that my father dedicated his entire youth to. It felt like I was going to help him do all the things he couldn’t do for the pack while he was alive. He loved this pack so much when he was alive, and I just know that if he were here, he would want me to do this.

If he were alive, Mom and I wouldn’t even be having this conversation. As gamma, his son was automatically going to take his place, but after what happened, Mom told the alpha that she wanted nothing to do with pack leadership anymore, and she just couldn’t continue going on like nothing had happened.

He understood her. He had too; her mate died to protect the pack. It was understandable that she didn’t want her son to have the same fate, and that was how we left the packhouse.

I never understood what really happened back then. I still didn’t know the exact incident that made Dad lose his life, but I knew it wasn’t an ordinary rogue attack.

With a sigh, I grab her hands and look her right in the eyes, “I’m sure that it's what I want, Mom. I don’t mind devotion to the pack or the alpha. Cal’s been my best friend since we were pups, ma, and moving away from the pack house hasn’t changed that even a bit. I'll be fine, Mom. I'll do everything I can to come back to you safe and sound, okay? So please try not to worry too much.”

The hope in her eyes vanished as those words left my lips, and her shoulders slumped forward in defeat. “So, there's nothing I can do to stop you?” She asked in one last desperate attempt to convince me, but we both knew the answer already. I was leaving, and there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Instead of giving her an answer she already knew, I guided her to sit with me on the bed and wrapped my arms tightly around her. We stayed there like that for a very long time, saying nothing to each other. She needed this more than I did.

For the longest time, she's stayed strong for me, always there when I needed her, but now I can be here for her too. I wasn’t a kid anymore, and that was exactly what I did. I stayed there for her, I let her mourn the mate she had lost, the years of loneliness she’d faced, and all the pain that she had to carry all on her own. If strength were a person, then it was in my arms.

When she had fully expressed her feelings, it was a little late, and I would have loved to stay back, but I had already promised Cal that I was going to move into the pack house today and start my duties tomorrow. He might be my best friend, but he was still the alpha.

With that in mind, I gave Mom one last kiss on the cheek and made my way to the pack house.

The sun had long set, and if not for my sharp senses, I would not have been able to see a thing. I don’t know if it was anticipation or unease, but I just couldn’t get Bruno, my wolf, to settle down in my head.

I thought he’d settle down after a while, but boy, was I wrong. An hour later, we were deep in the woods, and he stopped pacing abruptly to sniff the air, and I was going to ask what the heck his deal was, till it hit me.

The fresh smell of pinecones and raisins, there was something distinct about the smell that I couldn’t really put my finger on, suddenly all sense of reason that I usually held on to so tightly was out the window, and the only thing on my mind was to get to the source of that amazing smell, and that was exactly what I did.

Before my brain could even register the movement, my legs had already started moving in the direction that I knew the smell had come from. I tried to get to the source of it, but every time I thought I had almost gotten to it, it seemed farther away.

It was messing with my head, and I could tell that Bruno was about to snap, and just when it seemed like I was really going to get it, it was gone. Just like that. I tried sniffing the air to get it again, but I couldn’t. I placed my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath, not knowing what to do next. I heard Bruno’s confused grunt in my head, but I was still too confused to actually process it. What just happened? I knew I wasn’t dreaming, so…

What was that exactly?