The Shadow Twin

Chapter 18 - Respect from wolves

----Kayden POV----

I had been gone a long time. After seeing Leigh like that and knowing it was my fault, I lost it. I had run out of the infirmary, shifted to my Wolf and stayed in the nearby forest for almost a month. Whenever someone would come somewhat close, I would run of, not wanting to be near anybody at this point. I had let my Wolf take over completely and as he were in control, I tried getting myself back together. I wasn’t sure why I was so destroyed over what happened to Leigh. I wasn’t able to pinpoint the source of my feelings, that had increased after I saw her. The frustration was now pointed directly at myself, because I should have known something was up and reacted to it the second, I felt uneasy. Which let to me being annoyed at myself to, because I deep down had indeed known that something was wrong, but because it had something to do with Leigh, I didn’t want to respond to it. I was impatient and I just wanted everything to go back to normal, even though I knew it would never go back to the way it was before the attack. And I felt a slight anxiety regarding what had happened since I left, not to mention that I didn’t even know what had happened during the attack. I stopped outside the Pack house, now that I had decided to come back and took a couple of deep breaths before walking in. This is your Pack house so act like it, I told myself. I shook of all the negative feelings or tried to and steeled myself for the new reality. As I walked into the house, a few surprised gazes flew my way and that was it. Nobody said a word, not until Jack walked in and then it was him who broke the silence.

“Does this mean you are back, or do you need more time to dwell in your self-pity?” He asked, while leaning against the wall. He’s dark expression then darkened even further and that’s when I smelled her. She wasn’t in the room, but she was close.

“What’s the human doing here?” He demanded to know as he stepped away from the wall, his tone disapproving. My own expression darkened at his words, and I stopped myself from growling. This was not the time to act out. Mainly because I wasn’t completely back to my old self and my feelings were a bit raw, after being a wolf for so long. Deryn, whose wounds where healed, just as they should be, stepped in front of us. He had been the one in charge while I was gone, and I was thankful that it was him and not somebody else. As Beta it was technically his job, but he may not have wanted the job given what happened before I left.

“The human as you insist on calling her…” Deryn started, starring down Jack.

“Saved my life. I had five opponents, and I was taking them on by myself, while also protecting her, because they had already killed the driver. Despite the fact that she had just seen us all shift into wolves and knowing she where no match, she grabbed a glass-shared, jumped on the back of one of the wolves and killed it.” He looked around the room, making sure he had everybody’s attention.

“A human killed a Wolf, armed with nothing more than a piece of glass. She even punched a wolf in the face. The Crown princess. Leigh. Is fearless and she deserves your respect. She got hurt saving my ass, saving my Wolf and if anyone here as a problem with her showing her face here… They’ll have to go through me.” By the time he was done talking, his eyes were glowing. I couldn’t believe it. She had fought to protect one of my own, risking her life knowing she didn’t have a chance. The pride that I felt for her actions made me smile. The surprise, that had been visible on my Pack members faces turned to amazement at Deryn’s words and in that amazement, respect started to show. Deryn was well loved by everybody in my pack and in my brothers and he had saved many of the members on numerous occasions, but it wasn’t just that. It was the fact that a mere human, had risked their life for one of us and even one she didn’t even really know. Deryn had now, with his words done more for Leigh than I had, and it stung. The majority of my Pack would treat her like one of us now and they would lay down their life for her. This level of respect to a human was unhurt of. And I wasn’t the one that had laid down the possibility for it. I had done nothing but hurt her since she came here and that had been the real reason why I had left. I hated myself for being like that and for not living up to the legacy I had already build. I was a coward and now I had to raise back up from the ashes of my horrible decisions. It was going to take time, but I was determent to do it. To make things right with my family, with my Pack, my wolf who hated me for what happened to Leigh and with Leigh herself.

“He’s in here.” My sister’s voice broke the silence that had befallen the crowed afterwards. She stopped in the doorway and looked at me in surprise. Leigh turned up behind her and she too looked at me with surprise. A bit of hate were mixed in with the surprise and I didn’t blame her one bit. It did hurt, seeing her look at me like that, but I understood. She then steeled herself, passing Kaylen and walked into the room. Her left arm was in a sling and still covered in bandages, but at least they weren’t covered in blood this time. She then stopped in front of Deryn and looked back at Kayleen for a second, before turning back to him.

“I had Kaylen bring me here so that I could thank you in person... Thank you for saving me.” She then made a small curtsy, which made her make a small grimace. Everybody, expect for my sister looked at Leigh in surprise, myself included. A royale curtsying to a non-royale, was rare.

“And this is a token of my gratitude.” She then handed him a velvet box and Deryn reached for it slowly.

“I talked with the King and because of the fact I was able to convince him, I had him help me draft my own version of the Medal of Honor. So, this is the Medal of Leigh, given for exceptionally bravery, strength and for giving it every think you have, your life.” She then did another curtsy, which made her grimace again. Deryn opened the box with his hands shaking a bit. Inside on the blue velvet laid a medal with a L made with calligraphy on top a wolf, that looked like it was howling at the moon. Visibly touch by her gesture he pulled her in for a hug, making sure not to hurt her. I stifled the growl making its way trough my throat, because this was not a romantic gesture on Deryns part.

“You didn’t have to do this.” His voice was trembling a bit, as he spoke, and he looked down at her.

“I both had to and wanted to. What you did goes beyond what I expected people would do for me, but you never gave up on me. You gave it your all and kept fighting despite your own injuries and I’m standing here today because of that. So again. Thank you, Deryn.” She gave him a huge smile and as she took a step back the rest of the Pack erupted, in cheer. This was big on so many levels and I couldn’t believe that she actually had my father create a new form of medal and for something like this. We never got medals for the work we put in as wolves, because it was kind of expected that we just did what Deryn had done. So, creating a medal that where honoring exactly that, had such a huge impact that I wasn’t even able to grasp it right now. Pride once again filled me due to Leigh’s actions. She returned to my sister, who put an arm around her as support. They both walked out the Pack house and I followed suit.

“Leigh, can I talk with you for a second?” They both stopped as I spoke, and she turned to me.

“What’s there to say? You weren’t there as we got attacked. When my leg received the bitemarks. When I ran for my life calling for help. When my arm was ruined or when I woke up. You have made it perfectly clear that you want nothing to do with me and I guess it took something like this to happen before I finally got it. We are no longer sharing a room and as for the marriage… There is not much that can be done about that, but as I play the role as your wife for your Kingdom, remember this. You got what you wanted, so now you have to live with the consequences.” She then turned and walked back to the castle with my sister, leaving me with my own thoughts. I underestimated that girl and despite her harsh words, I was actually really proud of her. And hurt.