THE TRIBID'S DILEMMA

Chapter 2

Gabriel's POV

Aubrey cried as they dragged Daniel away by his legs, allowing his head to bump into any rough obstacle on his own. She finally looked up and caught my stare. But she did not stare back, she glared back. Her new hatred for me is almost tangible through her eyes. Her beautiful eyes that I had always loved now held nothing but dark omen for the future. Before I could come up with something to say, Aubrey had already run off into the night, taking with her, her bow and arrow.

I should send someone after her, I thought. No, I will go myself, it would be easier that way. It would be less complicated. I will just tell her to calm down and it will be fine. Perhaps I should give her some time alone. Just maybe. That idea, however, left my head immediately as I realised something I should have realised since. The woods were not safe. Not in the least. Not after a bloody confrontation like this. Usually, just like I am, there are other Alphas out there hungry for territory and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. Sometimes even if it meant feeding on the weak and preying on the injured. There was definitely going to be another pack out there now, searching for the source of the noise in that came with our just concluded fight and desperately praying that we had devoured ourselves in the process so they come in and take the spoils, killing off whatever wolf is left and initiating those who wish to join the new pack. I had to go after Aubrey. She was not safe until at least a week had passed after the attack and no other wolf had stepped foot in our territory to scan for our survival conditions.

As I made my way towards the general direction I had seen her run through, I chastised myself for my lousy decision making recently. She was indeed a distraction, she was making me reason things that I did not normally reason: mates, and female wolves, and a deep masculine craving more, maybe the warm burrow; my attention had been too focused on thoughts concerning her that in my idle time my mind clouds from any rational thoughts and her face filled my mind. I was skipping lines during speeches in pack meetings anytime I saw her and though most people might not have noticed it yet, it had to stop. How on earth did I not think of the fact that other wolf packs will most likely ambush and ambush surviving packs because of its so many weak links, hence, they had to be some pride seeking Alphas around with their packs. Well, I was busy thinking at that moment about her thoughts, thinking I should let her get some gap to clear her head. If she was caught, the only gap she would be getting was the expansion of the one she naturally already had.

Holding onto that thought, I searched quickly around, scanning regularly, trying to assess any possible risks, while at the same time, searching for Aubrey. It took a few minutes but I was able to trace her scent to the edge of the forest where the large river flowed through and at the other end, laid a city of man, just like the one that was close by southward. She sat by the creek, sobbing lightly but unaware of my presence. I just sat and watched for a while as she did what she did – sit. From time to time, she fetched a stone and threw it into the water while whispering words to herself. Maybe she was recalling the events of the night, maybe she was practising for a difficult conversation she was about to have, maybe she was praying: but for whom? Me, so I can be a more caring man to her like I was back when we had met? Was it Daniel, so he could recover quickly and change his mind? Or was it herself, so she could pick the perfect man between him and Daniel. A weird thought came through his head. What if he duelled Daniel for the right to Aubrey’s heart? Just what if.

After staring at her to my fill to which there is no actual gauge, I decided to walk up to her. As I did just that, I realised that I had made another mistake I usually won’t make – waste time. If a pack member was lost and I went to search for them, I would normally waste no time in bringing them back here as the open world was fraught with all kinds of dangers and the safest place for the pack would obviously be in the Abode.

She didn't even notice my arrival until I got too close to her and sat beside her. “Hey?”

She doesn't speak a word. In fact, she does not even spare me a glance through her side eye. She just keeps her attention focused on the sand. In front of her folded legs, she had drawn the pictorial depiction of a scary wolf. The wolf looked a lot like Samantha’s own. Two things came to mind: first, she was feeling sorry for what she had done to Samantha and was hoping she did not die or second, which was the most likely option of the two, was feeling jealous as she had always felt all her life and since she could not become a werewolf in real life though she was birthed to two, she had now had to become a werewolf through her imaginations that she lived through drawings in the sand.

“Aubrey?” I called again, extending my arms to caress her face.

“Don’t touch me!” she recoiled, pushing my arms away.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?!” she finally turned to face me, flaring in anger and disbelief of my question. My conscience fell when I saw her face. It was not the face I had known. Aubrey was timid, yes. She never really felt as though she was a part of the pack because of her inability to transmute into a werewolf. Still, she was lively if she wanted to, she was serene, but still emitted radiances of light, peace, and love. But the Aubrey that now stared at me was different. This one had been reduced to tears, her eye was bloodshot, and her anger was visible by her mere stare. It was not a pleasing sight. Her aura now discharged hatred, sadness, and cold heartedness. She was far beyond the level where a simple beg for forgiveness would make a considerable amount of change. Regardless, I tried to reason with her.

“Aubrey?” I called again. She had turned away and was even more determined to ignore my presence. “I had no choice than to protect the pack. It’s what I do as an alpha. It is what is required of me. Nothing less.”

“You are wicked and hot-blooded,” Cassandra spat bitterly. The intensity in the words showed that she was holding a lot inside and insulting me was all it took for her not to strike out violently. “You wanted him dead.”

“I did not. You know very well I did not.”

“I don’t know, Gabriel. I don’t know. If you cared so much about him, you would have stopped Samantha. You could have told your wolves to stand down.”

“Then what? Risk losing being Alpha to Daniel.”

“Is being Alpha all you care about now?”

“No. I care about other things. I care about the pack; our general well-being. That’s why I fought and I care about you too.”

“If you did care about me, you wouldn’t have let that amount of damage befall upon Daniel while you stood there like an all knowing God waiting for a grand greater good scheme to unfold.”

“I’m sorry.” I finally begged.

“Your apologies would not mean anything when Daniel is banished, would it?”

“I am Alpha. I preside over these sorts of cases. I will let him stay. For nature knows that I was the cause of what had happened today.” When I said those words, Aubrey looked up at me in what I suspected to be awe. Her eyes were not all that dark and grim anymore, there was a trace of hope and gratitude; though I doubt that gratitude was for me. “You need to come now. The pack will soon go searching for us. There are no safe trees in these forests after a pack fight. You should know that.”

With that, we both set out to the Abode to regroup with the rest of the pack who I knew were waiting for me in regards to Daniel’s case. To save time and quickly avoid any neighbouring pack, Aubrey and I both decided to run. She was a great deal slower than I so instead of insisting I slow down, surprisingly, she let me ride her to a safe distance before she dismounted. We walked normally to the Abode from that point onwards.