Chapter 64
Julian
“Alive? What do you mean he’s alive?”
I close my eyes as I struggle to breathe.
Last time, they didn’t have to ask if he was dead. They found me, and the blood told them what they needed to know. Somehow, that was kinder than this.
“Julian!” my father snaps, forcing me to look at him.
I open my eyes only to look away a moment later when Oliver’s eyes stare back at me.
“I mean, he’s alive,” I choke out as I focus instead on the chaos confining us.
Wolves run around us like ants crawling out of a disturbed anthill, all doing their part to ready our pack and our warriors for what’s to come. We were yet to speak to the pack as a whole, but word of a potential fight had gotten out, and our fighters had since gathered for their orders.
“I saw him,” I continue as I start walking again, tracking a group of warriors hustling in front of me. My parents follow closely behind. “Aiden and I went to scout the rogue threat, and I saw him.”
It sounds straightforward like that, but there’s nothing straightforward about the way our dormant family bond flares painfully. I ignore it, pushing it down as I keep walking, desperate for an escape from this conversation.
I didn’t even realise I would have to have it until they appeared in front of me amidst the chaos and unleashed an entirely new form of dread beneath my skin. The realisation had been like a punch to the gut.
“Julian,” my father whispers with effort while I keep moving—keep us moving. “What do you mean you saw him?”
“I mean, I saw him,” I whisper shakily. “He’s alive. He’s with the rogues.”
Alive. Whole.
All these years. All the mourning, and he’s alive … and we didn’t even know.
“We need more wood at the eastern border—grab some and take it over. The next patrol shift is in ten. Find your team if you’re on it.
” I bark my orders in the midst of the madness, and somehow, people hear them and obey.
I’m grateful for it, because I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to keep still, even for a moment.
“I want weapons over there and warriors with the deltas,” I state with a pointed finger. “If you don’t know where you’re supposed to be, find Beckett in the Hall.”
“Julian, wait—” my mother begs as she rushes forward to cut off my path. “Please, just wait.”
I stop to face her, my mother with her tearful blue eyes that resemble a child’s. She looks to me, and it’s not a mother facing her son, but a scared woman seeking answers from the only one who has them.
Goddess, where’s Aiden?
I look for him in the crowds, but I can’t spot him. I know he’s near—I can feel him—but he’s not close enough because I can’t do this.
I don’t know how I summoned the words and let the truth spill out, but I had—and now they’re following me like lost pups, searching for answers I don’t know how to give them. But they need them, so when my father grabs my arm and forces me to look at him, and not through him, I don’t fight it.
I don’t posture or let offence rise, because I’m so tired, and he’s so scared.
My father—immovable and impassible—now scared. When Oliver died, a part of him went with him, and misery took its place. But not fear—never fear. Not until now …
“He’s alive,” I whisper again, meeting those amber eyes that look just like his.
His fingers tighten around me, and his lips part like he wants me to deny it, but he remains quiet.
“Whatever we found …” I swallow, needing to breathe deep to get it out. “It wasn’t him.”
“No,” Mother croaks, lifting shaking hands to her lips. “No?”
Aiden, I call through our link.
I’m coming.
“How do you—What did you see? Where?” Father rambles, his questions stacking on top of each other as he squeezes my arms. His head drops as he heaves. “Julian?”
A hand slides across my lower back, and another into my free fingers, keeping me upright before I have the chance to fall.
I step back into it, and as my father lifts his head, unbalanced, I force myself to breathe.
They need me—need our family to come together to get through this—but the only family I’ve ever really had is the man standing behind me, and he’s the only one who would help me get through this.
“He’s alive,” I state. It’s not fair how clinical I am with the truth, but it’s all I can manage right now. “We both saw him.”
My father’s gaze shifts to Aiden, and a near-lethal frown drags his features down before I continue.
“He’s with the rogues,” I say, clenching Aiden’s sure fingers.
“We’ll have to see him then, and I don’t know what that means or how it will go, but I have to take care of the pack first and foremost. When I know more, I’ll find you. ”
“Wait, Julian,” my mother calls again, this time with more vehemence as frantic blue eyes find mine. “Don’t tell them. D-don’t tell them.”
I blink at her. “What?”
“Don’t tell them,” she repeats, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Not until we know more.”
I frown, confused, until the realisation settles in. And then I can’t help but laugh. A huff of air escapes me as I gaze at my mother.
If the pack found out that Oliver was alive and with a group of rogues, the shame it would bring onto our family would be insurmountable. But it wouldn’t stop there. It’d ruin the pack’s reputation and our standing in the supernatural world.
She’s worried about that reality, rather than the possibility that Oliver might not have chosen to be there. It’s a slim chance, I know that, but it’s still possible that what happened to Aiden, happened to him. And if it did, then my priority is saving my brother.
Among it all, the very last thing on my mind is what the pack would say if they knew.
“When I know more, I will find you,” I repeat before I turn with Aiden, walking away while my stomach turns. I’m sure nothing is left in me, but my gums still slicken.
“Are you okay?” he asks the second he can.
“No,” but he already knows that. “You?”
He laughs, and I know the answer.
“The elders are gathered,” he tells me as we cut through the crowds in the direction of the Elders’ Ward. “The Council Warrior is at the borders, waiting for the rest of them.”
“That’s good,” I reply with a nod. “We need to get out there sooner rather than later. Each day we grant them gives them a leg up.”
“Agreed.”
“She’s scared of what people will say about them,” I whisper, drawing his gaze to me. “I’m worried about how he left, why he’d choose them over us, and they’re worried about what people will say.”
Aiden’s gaze lingers in the silence before he gives my hand another fortifying squeeze.
“We’re here to come up with a plan that’s going to save as many lives as possible when we face the rogues.”
My words sit heavily on everyone’s shoulders, just as they’ve weighed on mine throughout this never-ending day. The meeting room is filled with the highest-ranking members of our pack—our head warriors, scouts, deltas, betas, and elders all wait, listening with keen ears.
“By now, most of you know the general details,” I say, scanning the room.
“For months, we’ve been noticing strange behaviour from the rogues, and neighbouring packs have reported the same.
The Council agrees it’s a threat that we must face.
The warrior they sent is one of twenty en route to our territory.
All packs in the region will be receiving aid, and we will all travel together to confront the rogue faction up north. ”
Silence follows—not from distress, but from shock.
“Why are so many needed?” an elder with a tight-lipped frown eventually asks. “We have always handled rogues on our own just fine.”
“These aren’t common rogues. They’re not feral, and they are working under a man with a much larger and dangerous goal,” Aiden answers before I can, to my surprise.
I thought he’d stay quiet through this one, but he shoves his shoulders back and pushes forward.
“There’s a rogue. His name is Reon,” he states impassively, voice unflinching. “He wants rogues to have the power that packs do, and he believes the last step to achieving that is in making one of them an alpha.”
“That’s impossible,” Isabel retorts before hastily covering her mouth. “Sorry, but … that is impossible.”
“Yes, but they’re insane,” Aiden retorts firmly. “They may not be as feral as they should be, but they are insane because they are willing to do anything to achieve their goals. Reon is, and the wolves following under him are no better.”
I bite the inside of my cheek as I wrestle to keep my expression blank.
A day ago, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at that statement, but that was before I knew Oliver was one of those wolves.
“We’re eliminating the threat,” I state as I step aside to point to the valley on the map pinned to the wall.
“The rogues are here. Every pack on this path”—I point to the stretch from our pack to the rogues—“has reported the sighting of rogues, all heading in this direction. There are hundreds of them, and they are not out in the open. They’ve built homes. ”
“We might run into rogues on the way, and we’ll face those as we go,” Aiden continues as he folds his arms over his chest. “With the help of the other packs, we will need to kill every rogue we see so that none gets away to warn the others at the base. Got it?”
Nods return, but when Aiden’s eyes narrow, a firm “Yes, Alpha,” follows.
“Now, for the main event,” I continue as I eye the map.
“They are located in a valley, which means they will see us coming the moment we climb over the edges of it, but it also means they won’t have many routes to escape.
We’ll need to come in from all sides to keep every single one caged in.
To hit them hard, I’ll be proposing that we attack at the brink of dawn when the rest of the warriors arrive. ”
“Dawn?” a voice interrupts, and I turn to meet the steely gaze of an older warrior.
Jamerson. He was one of my father’s closest advisers, but he’d never been afraid to oppose him, which was the only reason I let him retain his position.