The Missing Guardian

Chapter 13 - Home sweet Home

Kiron: (North)

I make my way to the back of the pack. Passed the houses that the few mated couples live in and the indoor gym.

My thoughts are on my destination... Hidden behind everyone else is where Asher and I decided to build our home.

We were determined back then that we needed our own space, away from the packhouse and the curious eyes that followed us around when they thought we weren't looking.

The same eyes that follow me as I walk down the centre pathway that goes in the direction of the forest further up the mountain and the back of the pack .

Eyes peering through their windows or as they walk passed me on the street. Secretly making their own assumptions about what happened to us then and what is happening to us now.

The pity in those eyes is what drove us to forge our own space, away from the downward gazes and side glances.

The need to make our pain go away in a physical manner, helped heal some of our wounds, or at least it was an outlet for the anger that flowed through us after our ordeal.

We tore down every tree, stripped and carried them ourselves. We didn't want anyone else to help us. Every log placed was by our design and our own sweat and blood to make sure it came out the way we envisioned it.

We needed to prove to our pack that we were still strong and capable enough to lead, our souls and minds not crushed by the torture that had been inflicted upon us by our captives.

Gave them a reason to respect us once more and then to train with us. Slowly building our pack into something no one saw coming. We created an army of elite warrior wolves that would never allow anyone to walk onto our lands uninvited again. Instead of cowering to those that tried to intimidate us, we grew together from it and became unstoppable.

It gave us a place to go when everything got too much and we needed to escape. Our own sanctuary where we could be ourselves again.

He built his section and I built mine, connected by a few shared spaces in the Centre, which we constructed together. We built it with the possibility of adding to them if need be in the future. Though neither of us are very hopeful of ever finding that special person.

After Amica rejected Asher, our pack was no longer gifted the bond of a mate. No one else after that found their other half.

We suspect that the previous Beta female angered the Goddess, but we will never know. Simply quietly suffering while watching the last of the mated with longing.

The path routes out of the pack passed a few ancient trees that are used as look outs, each adorned with outposts built in the top branches.

I wave at the patrol who are waiting on the ground. They all look to be young recruits waiting to take over from the guards in the treetops as their shift ends.

Each wrapped as warm as possible as they shiver through the icy wind that whips passed us all, heading for the meadows down the mountain.

They politely nod or bare their necks in respect as I pass.

Leaving them behind, I adjust my own coat to shelter from the now dropping temperatures, as I go into the forest that they are watching, keeping to the thin pathway winding its way through the snow covered trees. Until I see the path direct me to a clearing that our large cabin inhabits in the center.

An oasis in a world that became very barren to the both of us. A slice of sanity in the surreal situation we found ourselves in.

The timber, from the forest near where we first encountered our captives, a constant reminder of our roots but a warning of our mistakes. Reminding us to never be weak or misguided again.

The lights in the rooms facing me, the kitchen and dining room are on, along with the porch lantern, the warmth of the house pulling me in.

Climbing up the steps onto the front deck, I hear laughing coming from inside, not what I was expecting with Amica on packlands right now, but a welcome discovery.

I look over to the door, the old rocking chair sitting next to it, memories of many nights out here drinking come to mind. Nights where our worries slipped away as we sipped on expensive liquor and drank in our conversations.

The need for one of those nights without stress or concern hanging over us weighing heavy on my conscience.

Pushing the desire aside for now, but making a note that when we can, we will be revisiting those memories with new experiences.

I smile as I push the door open and enter into the open-plan kitchen and dining room. The dining room table is now covered in old scrolls and books, the stained wooden top hidden under the mountain of information.

The matching high back chairs pushed out against the wall, except for three that are positioned around the room.

I notice Jasmine first, her red hair a beacon to land on. She is sitting in one of the chairs that are available, looking at Asher, who is sitting right up next to her. In his own chair but with her hands in his, a look in their eyes I can't seem to decipher but intense all the same.

I think... I may have just interrupted something... Crap!

The awkward atmosphere becomes evident as they both turn and notice that they have been caught in an intimate moment, regardless of how innocent.

Each pulling their hands back to themselves in an attempt to guard their embarrassment from escaping.

I note as Asher shifts in his seat uncomfortably, staring at the ground. A look of shame that I cannot understand...

I need to break the tension now building.

I'm not spending the evening in uncomfortable silence when we have bigger issues to talk about.

"Embarrass yourself."

Khoda says, suprising me with his quick response on the matter, before curling up in his spot in my mind, getting comfortable.

I may as well, the longer I take to do anything, the weirder it's going to get.

Jasmine’s cheeks are getting progressively more vermillion by the second.

"Honey, I'm home..."

I sing as loudly as possible and then look directly at them. I put my hand over my mouth and feign utter horror at seeing them together.

"And you're with another?"

I shout out, as offended as I can act while closing the door behind me.

"How ever will I survive?"

With my piece done I pretend to faint and and flop onto the closest available chair, which happens to be across from the secretive pair.

Jasmine bursts into hysterical laughter at my act, while Asher gets up and shakes his head. I smile up at him as he walks passed me into the kitchen. Obviously grateful for the distraction as he sneaks off to retrieve another beverage I presume.

I look over at Jasmine who has settled down from the giggles at my performance.

Only hours ago, I was set in my dislike for witches, ready to sacrifice them all in my quest for vengeance. But here she sits, in my dining room and I am completely at ease with her presence, eager for her contribution.

Even Khoda has been silent. Asleep in his corner, unperturbed by this foreign entity in our space.

I have a fondness I cannot place for her.

I smile at her before asking the imminent question.

"Evening Miss Jasmine, prey tell, what is all of this on the table?"

She smiles back at me and the tension I was dreading, dissipates in an instant. She is easy to be around, as if we have known each other for years, contradicting my usual suspicion of any outsider.

"Evening Alpha, this is all I could find in our libraries about both Hunters and Rogues, we are now trying to link, a connection..."

"Or a similar pattern, anything that may give us some clue as to what the hell is going on..."

Asher finishes for her as her reenters the dining room. They seem so insync. Strange...

"How did you carry this all here?.. And have you found anything?"

My curiosity getting the better of me. Especially how so many ancient texts got here, as fierce as she she may be, Jasmine is a petite female...

This time Jasmine giggles before replying.

"I teleported it to the edge of the pack, and Asher here, helped me bring it inside. And to your second question... Nothing, unfortunately. "

Her answer not soothing as I look at the stacks of paper on the table in front of me.

"What happened when you left? Why is Amica here?"

The question I was waiting for and dreading all at once.

I know this is the question Asher wants an answer to, but how do I start to explain the complete s**t show Amica has brought to our doorstep.

I'm desperate to relay this in the right way, this could cause an utter catastrophe of a situation if Asher loses his grasp on reality.

"It seems her father has concocted a plan that could blow up on all of us."

I watch his expression harden as he tries to decipher my explanation.

"Alpha, I mean no disrespect with what I am about to say but... What the f**k does that mean?"

He seethes out at me through gritted teeth.

He is teetering on the line between my Beta and my best friend.

My Beta wants to handle this with respect and dignity while my best friend wants to stomp up to the pack house and demand answers from the woman who tore his heart open.

"Is he using your age against you?"

A small voice asks and we both look toward the little red head sitting near me.

How does she know about the age limit?

"In fact he is, how do you know about that?"

Asher is now looking between the two of us with a thousand questions burning through his gaze.

"I know Alpha Thorin rather well, I have met him through his liason with the coven, he seems a desperate man and desperate men tend to grasp at desperate straws. "

I can hear the contempt clearly in her voice. But before I can find out why she dislikes him so much, Asher makes his presence and annoyance known.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

The witch looks up at me with worry, afraid of the reaction that is bound to come from the man looking at us expectantly.

But I have to tell him, there is no way around this, no matter how I wish I could spare his pain.

"Thorin wants me to take Amica as my chosen mate, using the councils law of age against me."

I hold my breathe as I get it all out and await his backlash. He has every right to his response, regardless of what it is. After what she did, he should be furious. I would probably destroy things if I know my own rage...

But nothing, I release my breath and look up at him and I am shocked to see him pondering my answer with disbelief, but as of yet he hasn't become angry.

"Sneaky..."

Thats all he says...

What does he mean by that? Where is the raging beast that wants to hurt her the way she hurt him?

Why has nothing gone the way its supposed to today?. I know Asher, I know he is angry, so how in Goddess name is he so calm? Its unsettling and I feel like I have been thrown into a twilight zone where nothing is as can be predicted.

Thankfully Jasmine senses the madness too and looks at my friend, the person I thought was my Beta but is instead an imposter. it's the only explanation that comes to mind.

"What aren't you sharing with the group? Come on, out with it..."

Her voice now stern, filled with curiosity and a faint hint of concern.

"It's pretty obvious, when you look at the situation with an outsiders objective. I don't know why I didn't see it before?.. I'm just trying to work out what he gains from this..."

Asher isn't talking to us, not really, he is now pacing in circles and muttering under his breath while Jasmine and I just watch on, in confusion.

What does he mean by it all makes sense? None of this makes any sense...

"Hey buddy! What are you talking about?"

I shout at him, making him stop and look at us. I watch it dawn on him that we have no idea what he is talking about and a cocky grin creeps up his face.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away there."

He laughs his behavior off, and I am amazed at how he can so easily find humor when his fated mate who ripped a part of his soul away, is forcing his best friend to make her his chosen mate.

"Okay, but you still haven't told us what you know, and as fun as it is to watch you ramble to yourself, I don't understand what you are on about... And I doubt the Alpha does either..."

Jasmine replies. Her ubruptness making his grin falter for a moment.

"The whole thing never really made sense, something suspicious that lurked in the background. I always thought it was because I couldn't remember everything, that somewhere, something had been lost in translation."

Asher starts, both the young witch and I are listening intently as we try make sense of the situation.

"But this makes sense, this is what I have been waiting for, I just didn't know what it was."

He still isn't answering our questions. I can see the annoyance growing on Jasmine’s face, but we let him continue.

"When we were growing up, I always thought that Amica was going to be your mate, yes I was attracted to her, but I never went there because, well, she was clearly more into you than me."

His words send me spiraling backwards in history, to when Amica first came to our pack. We were all about nine or ten that first summer she came to stay. Her father wanted to keep her safe while he fought a war against the Dragons on their island, a battle that went on for years.

She was this exceptionally cute little girl that followed us around and barely spoke a word...

We all grew up together, and there were always rumors as we approached adulthood that because she was of Alpha blood that she would automatically be fated to another Alpha.

I guess from what Asher just said that everyone thought that Amica would end up my mate... Maybe even her...

"I remember the night of her 18th birthday and we found out that we were mates, she looked at you first... Her eyes hopeful but then the bond pulled her to me..."

He continues and I recall her looking at me first, I never paid it much attention back then. But maybe I should have...

I feel Khoda stir in my mind, letting me know he is awake and listening if I need him. Asher could turn this around and blame me, mate bonds have made men do far worse over the years.

But I don't want to jump to conclusions though and let him finish saying what he needs to say first.

"I saw the look of disappointment, even if I didn't want to accept it... And then the timing of her rejection... It all had to come to something... But then we barely saw her after we returned... I thought I had read too much into it or the trauma had made me warp reality. "

Khoda nods his agreement with Ashers statement in my head. Something about the whole circumstances of what happened all those years ago never made sense.

They knew too much... Who to target, where they were and how to draw us out.

"You think this is connected to what's happening now or then or both?"

As the words leave her mouth, we all fall into a silence as we contemplate the question.

"It's all linked..."

He's answer just above a whisper... As we all take in the possibility that this is far larger than any of us could have possibly imagined...

I think of the possibility of either Amica or Thorin having the information about us having a witch on our territory.

If they are connected, then the young witch may be our only way through the thicket that is the pair of them.

"She will need to be protected."

Says Khoda, making his opinion known. There must be something more to this woman, Khoda is only ever protective of his pack. His territory.

"Of course it is I'm not sure how or why, but its far too coincidental that she has chosen now to approach Kiron, he doesn't turn 33 for another year, whats the rush? "

Asher’s words bring me back to our discussion and out of my head with Khoda.

Their actions are suspicious, especially right now with the disappearances and strange activity around us. But how are they associated with Hunters and Rogues?

"But didn't you tell me that Alpha Thorin and Alpha Basil are in an alliance, did I hear that wrong? Why would he need to match the two of you?"

Jasmine replies, bringing up a good point, yet unsurprisingly not a revelation.

"Yes, but the relationship soured after the rejection and Kiron and I were taken."

My Beta answers as straightforward as possible.

"Because of the rejection?"

I can see she is looking for clarification and clues that point to Amica being suspicious.

"Mostly, but also because when my father sent out a distress message to him once we were taken, for assistance, he never responded. "

I answer as apathetic as I can, the thought still makes my beast furious, and I need to tread lightly when discussing these matters.

Especially since she is a witch and as placated as Khoda seems. Anything could trigger an outburst that would leave blood on my hands.

"I will never harm her, she is connected to us in some way."

Khoda’s baritone voice echoes through my head as he picks up my thoughts and dark insinuation.

"So the relationship is strained at best, Alpha Thorin has been at war for years, and only recently succeeded in claiming his territory, so how could he be involved?"

Her question valid and one that I cannot answer, it leaves the room in silence as we ponder the conundrum.

"Now that you phrase it like this... How did Alpha Thorin reclaim his territory?"

Asher suddenly asks, making me try remember what my father had told me... But no recollection comes to mind, simply that we had heard through our advisors that he had been successful and finally the war had ended.

"Well, he told the Coven that Silver Crescent had sent aid, along with others..."

Jasmine replies.

"We sent the bare minimum after our attack, we had to conserve our strengths, we were not the aid that he states he received. "

I recall as I replay the memory of my father angrily attacking his office after receiving a letter for aid... After they had simply ignored us in our plea for assistance.

My mother eventually convinced him to send medical supplies and food for his pack but he would send nothing more.

"So think of it this way, what if everything is connected, we know that the attack near Little Rock Falls was premeditated. Regardless of our brash actions that night, there was definitely suspicious behavior..."

"Are you talking about the confrontation between yourselves and the Tenebris twins?"

Jasmine cuts in, giving me a second to go over the events of that night, the night that changed our lives and brought the Tenebris empire into our territory. They had found us and then decided to taunt our beasts.

When we retaliated, they held us down and intimidated the she-wolves that were with us. And then turned on us, while we were paralyzed by some kind of magic. It was an unfair fight as they pummeled the two of us into the dirt both physically and magically.

"Yes, it's always bothered me how they knew where we were, and the way they tormented Misha far worse than they did Amica throughout the whole exchange..."

His words make Khoda growl at the memory of what they said to the poor girl that I was trying to mess around with at the time.

"So... You suspect Amica of setting us up?"

I blurt out as the links slot into place somewhere in my memory?

"Yeah... I think I am.. I know that sounds crazy but something inside me is screaming that she is connected to all of this..."

I nod my understanding at his words, I learned a long time ago to trust my Beta's gut instincts. Regardless of how alarming his calmness is right now.

"So how do we proceed?"

I am eager to end this conversation for another time, the mere thought of her and what she could potentially be involved in is making me nauseous.

"Play along for now..."

The answer surprisingly from the small witch in our company.

Both Asher and I look toward her with confusion, how can she expect us to play along with what they are proposing.

"How do you intend on finding out what's going on?... Without being close to her? You can drag this engagement out for years if you so wish, the council will only force your hand if you reject the idea outright, but you need to convince her that you believe her intentions... That's how you trap her..."

Her plan simple and elegant but grotesque to think about.

I realize its my only option right now if we want the truth and to possibly connect the dots with what is happening to our pack lately.

"Okay, so we will play along for now and try figure out what Amica and her father are actually up to..."

Both Asher and Jasmine nod, and I realize that this is my chance to redirect the conversation to something else.

"In the meantime, what have you found in these scrolls and what are your thoughts on what happened today?"

Jasmine smiles at me as I finish my question, relief that the mate conversation is done with for now.

"We were going to start separating everything into some sort of organized chaos. "

Asher answers, now from across the room as he gets himself another beer. Tossing me one as I look at the work ahead of us.

"So what are the categories?"

We may as well start, I want to bury my brain in something other than what could be conspiring within my packhouse since our guests arrival.

"To be honest, we were waiting for you to arrive..."

Jasmine answers shyly.

"Okay, lets create categories as we go, it will be easier that way. We may as well start reading what we can and making note of anything significant that we find."

I start instructing in my usual Alpha manner, hoping that the sooner we start, the sooner we will have more information to use at our disposal.

"I'll pop the kettle on, I assume you gentlemen don't want tea?"

She responds, eyeing the beer now open in my hand.

"No thanks."

I say smiling at her. I stand as she does and look over the vast amount of papers on our dining room table as she heads to the kitchen to make herself something to drink.

I really like the idea of her making herself comfortable in our home. It's almost as if she was always meant to be here. Khoda nods a gruff agreement with my assessment of our ease with her being here.

Asher comes over as I am choosing a large book with a latin title. Hoping that some of it will be in English.

"You okay?"

His question catching me off guard, I should be asking him that question.

"Yeah, mostly... Are you?"

He huffs out a chuckle as her peruses the choices of reading material.

"It's weird... But yeah, I think I am, I never thought I'd be able to say that, but I barely feel any connection to her anymore. "

That makes sense since the rejection severed the mate bond between them. But I was not expecting him to be so calm, regardless of the amount of time that could pass, I don't think I would be as such. I would still be a raging mess...

I don't voice my opinions and merely nod my acknowledgement. Taking my hefty hardcover to the far side, where our lounge is, opposite to the kitchen.

Asher follows behind me, with his own reading choices. I place the book down onto the couch and head over to the fireplace. Adding logs from a pile stacked up next to the door.

Once I have the fire lit and have settled down to start my research, Jasmine comes in with her own stack of papers and plops onto the rug in front of the fire.

A cup of tea, still steaming in her free hand.

I watch curiously as Asher positions himself closer to her slightly by inching to the edge of the the couch, where he is seated.

I brush off their strange relationship, as I focus back on the book now on my lap.

I turn to the first page which is covered in latin words that I can't decipher, so I start to skim through the pages, looking for any words that I can identify.

This may be a long night...