37. Lucas
37
Lucas
Staring at the buses and vans sent by Ivory Fangs as they pull into the parking lot, I watch as my wolves bounce with excitement. We have spent a total of three days here relaxing, but also watching over our shoulders with fear in case my father came looking for us.
“Alpha Lucas?” a man asks, as he steps down from the bus and makes his way towards me.
“Just Lucas, please, mister…?” I answer, stretching my hand out to this wolf. He scoffs at my hand and walks over to Simon, hugging the man with a wide grin on his face.
“Simon! Finally joining the pack, I see?” The man steps towards Simon and pulls him into the hug, the two wolves seeming like best friends.
“Yeah. Oak Fur has nothing for me, and Lilac is at Ivory Fangs,” Simon answers as a few more wolves step from the vans and bus. A total of eight wolves. Another one steps towards me, this one burlier than the others with a silent disposition.
“Don’t mind Ash. He is just protective of a mutual friend we all know,” this man states with a deep voice. He reaches his hand out to me, and I shake it. He seems nicer than his companion at least.
“Edison, second-in-command of the warriors. Ash is second-in-command of the hunters,” Edison introduces with a nod to his friend, as we watch Ash and Simon chat happily with one another.
“Who is this mutual friend of ours?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me. Edison just stares at me before letting out a scoff, as he walks away from me towards Kurt, who is helping the Ivory Fangs wolves store our belongings away between the three vehicles. My wolves file onto the bus one by one, their excitement at being free contagious as I feel their link to Oak Fur blink out one by one. They were denouncing their allegiance to Oak Fur, marking themselves as rogues until they can find a new pack, and I couldn’t be happier for them. They were lesser warriors and omegas, their ranks being ones that Ramos would have used as cannon fodder if a war broke out between Oak Fur and Blood Oath. Now, they will get a chance to grow stronger.
“You and I are riding in the van,” Simon calls out as Ash moves to help with organization.
“And why would we be taking one of their vans, and not sitting on the bus?” I ask, watching a guilty look cross Simon’s face.
“Because Ash wants to punch your face in for hurting Kaylee.” For a moment I freeze as I think about what Simon just said. Ash hates me because of Kaylee. For a moment my mouth opens and closes as I try to think about how to respond.
“How the hell do they know Kaylee?” I finally splutter, looking at the wolves that were sent to grab us. It explains why these wolves give me the cold shoulder whenever they come near me.
“It’s a long story, but not mine to tell. Besides, you’re no longer my alpha.” Shocked by this other piece of news, I search the pack link and curse. It seems while Simon was laying out these shocking bits of news, he had renounced himself as an Oak Fur wolf. Everyone but Kurt and I had actually renounced their status.
“I hate you.” Glaring at my friend, I watch as an amused smirk crosses Simon’s face.
“You just hate the fact you can’t boss me around anymore,” he retorts in a sing-song voice, twirling a pair of car keys around his index finger. With a sigh, I follow him towards the closest van, getting ready to climb into the passenger seat when Edison comes into view.
“You’re in the back, Lucas,” the warrior states, his voice neither commanding nor friendly. I sigh, resigning myself to my fate, and climb into the back seat of the van. I can feel those in Oak Fur trying to reach out to me through the pack link, feel their confusion at so many of our wolves flicking out and turning rogue. I close my eyes and take a deep breath as the rage and anger from Ramos come through. I knew he would feel the bond of our packmates flicking out. Oak Fur will be weaker without all of us, but they had their chance.
“Everything fine?” Edison asks. My eyes open to find that he has turned in his seat to look at me. Concern and suspicion fill his gaze, and I realize he must be worried about me.
“Yeah. I am the last one connected to Oak Fur, and there are a lot of emotions attacking the pack link from everyone left there. Mostly anger, but some with sadness,” I explain, closing my eyes once more.
“Well, you need to denounce your rights as the heir to Oak Fur and become a rogue before we can leave,” the warrior states. I hum in acknowledgment, taking deep breaths as I prepare myself for the pain that will come with denouncing myself to my ancestral pack. With me gone, the pack will grow even weaker.
With a final deep breath, I send a goodbye to the link before I mentally denounce my rights as heir of Oak Fur. A beat of silence passes before I feel the pain—like a sharp knife set aflame, slicing through my heart. I grunt as the pain consumes me, but realize it is dull compared to the pain I felt when Kaylee finally dealt with the pain of rejection. Nothing will ever be as painful as feeling just a tenth of what my mate felt that day.
“You okay?” Simon asks, and I open my eyes to find my best friend watching me.
“Yeah. This is nothing, compared to what Kaylee went through.” Reassuring my friend, I close my eyes again and focus on breathing. I hear Edison ask Simon what I meant, and Simon goes on to explain how I felt the residual pain Kaylee went through when she stopped holding everything in. A low whistle sounds from the Ivory Fangs warrior before the van roars to life.
The pain slowly dulls as we drive away, and I find it easier to breathe, the pressure slowly relenting until I can take a deep breath. I am a rogue now. Packless, mateless, and judging by the cold introduction to Ivory Fangs, unwanted. But this is nothing.
I will become stronger, become a better person, and will find Kaylee. I will show her I regret hurting her. Will prove to her that I will never allow anyone—other than her—to tell me what to do ever again.
Once we are safely at Ivory Fangs, I will thank the alpha and beta there, then set off to find my Kaylee.