TBMA [Complete ✔️]

9. Crowd

Rosalie's P.O.V

I watched Knox's wolf happily run around, at first a bit clumsily, but then, once he gained his footing, he was like lightning bolting through the trees. It's the freest I've ever seen my brother be, despite trapped in the body of a wolf.

Watching his wolf's free spirit made my thoughts wander back to the personality he once possessed, once, long ago, when he didn't have to get up at six every morning for training, long ago, when there was someone to guide us towards the right path, rather than leave us to fend for ourselves.

The moon shone brightly above us, the sky littered with a few more stars than usual. Truthfully, I had never had the chance to sit on the grass and watch the moon or count the stars. Despite being tired, and sure that I'd be no better tomorrow, I felt at peace.

More time passed with me hugging my knees to my chest, slightly shivering due to the cold, but gaze never leaving the black wolf's running form. Finally tired, my brother plopped himself next to me, nudging my hand towards his belly with his snout. I giggled but complied, scratching what appeared to be his favorite spot, then tracing different patterns along his fur.

He let me play with his fur for a little while before he got up and shook his body, took the backpack from beside me, and hid behind a nearby tree. Excitement bubbled in my chest at the thought of speaking to my brother again, at seeing him finally happy. I could only assume how wide his grin would be, hopefully as he told me all about what it felt like to be a wolf.

But his grin wasn't wide as he stalked towards me, in fact, there was no sight of it, not even the faintest of smiles.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He demanded to know, my excitement dying at once. "I asked you something, Rosalie!" He snapped, tears threatening to fall. I absolutely hated being yelled at, for it reminded me of all the times our father's yelling had grown to slaps towards mainly mom and Knox, but a few times me as well.

I jumped to my feet, not wanting to feel as weak in comparison to him and his massive size. My brother was tall and had a lot of muscle due to training and his Alpha blood. I was with Alpha blood myself, and definitely wasn't the shortest of girls, but I was skinny and had no muscles, despite trying my best during training.

Still, I knew Knox would never hurt me, so I had no problem willing my tears down and glaring at him instead.

"I don't need to tell you if I don't want to!" I said, his anger only growing. Even then, the only fear nipping at me was the one of losing him completely, not of getting hurt by him. Knox may be many things, he may be named even more things, but he would never be our father, he would never even come close to him.

"You need to tell me if you intervene in my business!" He glared back, throwing the backpack over his shoulder. "Why were you following me, or is this his new method of keeping an eye on me?" I shook my head sadly.

"And you think I'd do anything that would harm you?" I asked, though despite the sadness in my tone, his expression didn't change.

"And why wouldn't I? It's not exactly like you've ever helped me either." I ignored the tightening in my chest, trying my best to keep the glare on my face.

"Well, think I'm useless all you want, but never mention me doing father's dirty business, especially regarding you!" I hissed back, an unamused expression covering his features.

"At least you know what you are." He mumbled to himself, though definitely not quiet enough to assume I hadn't heard it. "Never follow me again, you hear me?" He asked seriously, tapping on my chest with his finger, which I shoved away.

"Sorry for being worried the only person I love would leave without me, abandoning me with our evil father, I'd never worry about you, or follow you again!" Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before I could even pinpoint what it was. I ignored it, too hurt by his words to think about his eyes or what flashed through them.

"Good." He nodded, once, before way too quickly walking away. Despite being mad, it was still too dark and I was still clueless about how to get to the pack house, so I ran after him, trying to keep up.

"Wait!" I finally yelled after him, panting. He had been running off for well over five minutes, and although I also didn't want to see him right now, I would prefer it to be after he took me home. But the asshole I had for a brother didn't stop resuming quicker.

"He's grieving, he'll come around!" Aunt Zaria had told me. "Darling, your brother loves you more than life itself, never forget that!" She had made me promise. But where was that love now? More importantly, where was my hope for being loved again? Where did the hope I still, even after all these years, somehow managed to cling to?

After a while, I couldn't even spot him anymore, fear gripping and clawing at my heart. Rogue attacks were no strangers to our pack even during the day, what was left of the night? I didn't want to be hurt by one, or get lost and starve to death, even if I probably wasn't too far away from the house.

It took a while of going around the trees in circles before I finally managed to reach the house, my annoyance with the asshole only growing. By the time I reached our room, he was already sleeping soundly, dark thoughts of putting a pillow over his annoying face crossing my mind. I couldn't even take my shoes off before I plopped on the bed, falling asleep over the blankets the second my back felt the mattress.

***

I grumbled, still half asleep. My alarm hadn't rung yet, meaning I could still enjoy sleep for as long as I had left. That was, if the world would stop being loud, but with my luck, the commotion only grew. I mumbled curses under my breath, pulling the pillow over my head and pressing, yet I could still hear shouts and rattles.

I suddenly jumped up, fear once again gripping its filthy claws around my heart and squeezing. Rogues. All I could think about was them going after my brother, aunt Zaria, Zane, or more innocent pack members like Sophia's mate, and those wolves I healed. My body shook as I kicked the blanket away from my body, making it fall to the ground. Stepping over it, I quickly jumped out of bed and pulled the blinds up, my gaze shifting until it found the source of the noise.

A breath of relief left my lips as I saw two members of our pack in a wrestling match and a crowd around them. There were no rogues, I kept reminding myself with a hand on my heart, waiting for it to calm down, but my relief was short-lived as I noticed chains attached to one of the contestants.

My brother. The rattling I had heard came from the chains tied to my brother. The commotion I had heard was coming from the crowd gathered around Knox and his sparing partner, who wasn't chained, something I'm sure my father had come up with, while they screamed for the other wolf to end my brother.

My heart rate picked up again as I tried to make out more of what they were saying, though I wish I hadn't. When Knox blamed himself for the death of mom, when Zane told me the pack blamed him too, I didn't think it was this bad. I had always thought that was only in the beginning, that Red Moon's members were smarter than to assume a twelve-year-old had killed their Luna, but clearly, none of them had brains in their heads.

I felt ashamed for not knowing what my brother was going through, for thinking, even if rarely, that he shouldn't still be acting distant. I realized that I had once again been shielded from the horrible reality, once again living in blissful ignorance. Despite Knox pretending to not care about me, the fact that I knew nothing about the cruelty of our own pack members said differently.

I balled my fists, the shame quickly turning into anger at those that decided they could put the blame on an innocent kid, no less one who lost just as much as they did, if not more. I strolled over to my closet, the absence of my brother's things not going unnoticed as I pulled on a pair of black leggings and a grey hoodie and bolted straight toward the training grounds.

The air got knocked out of my lungs as I finally made my way over, gaze landing on Knox. His body was covered in bruises, his shirt torn to shreds, leaving his bloodied back on display. Even then, he still fought against his restraint, though managing to do little damage as the chains rattled and pulled him back down.

"Finish him the way he finished our Luna!" A male shouted, winning himself claps and shouts of agreement from the formulated crowd. A few of the wolves that had noticed me kept their mouths shut, while the rest continued to shout praises to the opponent while dragging down my brother. I saw my father half-hidden behind a tree, watching the match with a disappointed scowl but doing nothing to stop it.

Luckily, he didn't notice that I had come out, so I was hoping what I was about to do wouldn't get me in too much trouble. I pushed through the wolves, everyone halting as they finally paid attention to me. Unlike my brother, they adored and respected me more than they did even father, though I wanted none of it. I didn't want to be respected by wolves who couldn't see past their own stupidity.

The match stopped, allowing me to get to my brother without getting hurt in the process, not that it would have stopped me. Nothing could when it came to him. Knox had used the pause to regain a breath, his head down as he stared at the ground, surrounded by splotches of his blood. Before he could even understand what was happening, I placed my hands over his bare chest, healing him.

Gasps could be heard from around us, most wolves having never seen me heal. Usually, there was no one in the room but the nurses to avoid danger. I was vulnerable while healing, and after, so my father created the rule to not lose the main trick up his sleeve. Sophia was an exception since her pup was younger than most that needed desperate help.

I pulled myself up, only slightly dizzy as I was used to wounds like this, and stood in front of everyone, my gaze accidentally meeting my fathers before he walked away. He was furious, perhaps enjoying the sigh of his son getting hurt as he loved him just as much as the crowd did.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves!" I spat, taking the wolves by surprise. They weren't used to my outbursts, for I had lived in my own little world up until today.

"He killed our Luna, he deserves much more than this!" One shouted, a few agreeing with him, but most smartly stayed quiet. I looked at Knox, who had gotten up and was now standing next to me, trying to get my attention. I knew he wanted me to keep quiet, for what reason, I had no idea, but I complied, just this one last time.

"And for that reason, you think you should spar against my brother while he's chained?" I c****d an eyebrow, turning to the wolf he had sparred with.

"Are you that afraid you would lose?" I asked. "Are you that weak that you can't face an opponent unless they're physically restrained?" My eyebrow shot up again, the wolf's fist clenching at his side. I let him be with his bruised ego, turning back to the rest, all the while Knox secretly pulled at my arm.

"And you!" I raised my voice again. "What kind of cowards are you for standing and chanting while one of your own is being mistreated? What happened to your vows to this pack? What happened to loyalty and keeping the other safe?" I knew I had an effect on the pack, but didn't know they would stand here and do nothing as I disrespected them. More so, some had lowered their heads in respect and shame. Sadly, they were a small bunch, the rest still not convinced.

"He isn't one of us, not after murdering our Luna!" I balled my fists at my sides at the mention of my mother with such intentions. These wolves were so blinded by hate, by searching for someone to blame, that they had become blind to the truth. Blind and ridiculously stupid.

"Like it or not my brother would one day be Alpha! Your Alpha! And as such you will respect him!" I looked into their eyes, willing someone to say something, luckily winning a few more over. Soon, there was a very small group that still stood their ground, the leader being the same male I had spoken to before.

"We do not want him as our Alpha!" He said, looking around, his confidence defleating as he searched for support. "We want you as our Alpha, not one who murdered their own mother!" Some agreed, some stood quiet, while my blood literally froze in my veins. These wolves were insane! I looked at my brother, who had a stoic expression on his face, his lips squeezed into a scowl. His aura was cold, deadly, I could feel it even without my wolf. His eyes had gone red, his own wolf trying to surface and claim his title.

"Say that again and I'll personally throw you in the cells to rot!" I challenged him, he and his group finally lowering their eyes, though still not convinced. "Leave!" I dismissed the crowd, murmurs and whispers not going unnoticed.

However, my brother seemed like a much bigger problem right now.

A/N

Hi, Treasures! Make sure you join my F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k group Teddy's Treasures for extra content and discussions! What do you think about the way Rose handled the crowd?