Chapter 16 - Tyler
The sun kissing my cheek wakes me up, but it's far from welcome as it starkly contrasts the coldness I'm feeling.
Like stone, every inch of my body is stiff from the restless night I've had, hardly getting any sleep with so much on my mind. I check the time and decide to get an early start to my day.
At least that way, I can avoid Arianna and leave before she wakes up. Besides, my friends are coming over to visit Portland for the first time since we retired from black ops. As a tight-knit bunch, we saved each other’s lives countless times on our missions, and we became close because of that.
Right now, I desperately need the company of my closest friends, and I look forward to starting my day just so I can spend time with them.
And time away from Arianna, I think glumly as I drag my feet to the bathroom for a shower, hoping that washing off the remnants of her scent might help me forget that I was just a rebound.
***
“Yo, Tyler!” Dominic whistles from across the lake, waving as he grins from ear to ear. He's the first one to emerge from the forest alongside his mate, Cecelia.
He has one arm slinked across the timid woman's shoulders, the other around her midriff, where her belly is ripe with their child, and he leads the way for the rest of the group to emerge.
He’s been visiting around the state with her to introduce his luna to his closest friends before she gives birth. He'd left Portland for the last when I reached out to him the other day, deciding to round up the group and meet here to visit me on the last leg of his tour.
I suspect he already knows that I'm troubled. It's the only reason I'd ever ask him for the potent wolfsbane that grows in Nightmist.
Behind him, Nicholas and Sean come out waving, followed by one of the only two she-wolves who'd joined our squad in black ops—Delilah Hargreeves from the Shadow Fang Pack in Scarborough.
She was the only female who ever had the guts to join. As an alpha's daughter and only child, she's set to take the mantle when she turns thirty in two years and become the luna of the Shadow Fang Pack, which is run like a monarchy. So it came as a surprise that the princess would join black ops.
Delilah has an added advantage, however. Her mother is a witch, so she has special powers that set her apart from any ordinary werewolf—something she never stopped reminding us of every time she kicked our asses during training.
That's why I love her—like a little sister, of course. And it's why I jog over to the group and greet her first with a hug, before greeting my brothers.
I guess in some ways, forming bonds with the members of the black ops squad softened the blow of losing my brother and made easing into missions a breeze. The only one missing today is Hunter, who's completing his alpha trials in Bloodclaw.
“You guys finally made it,” I grin as I step back, and Nicholas pats my shoulder, his forest-green eyes glittering with humor.
“Dom said it was urgent,” he chuckles. “Something about you going through it, and needing us. So, we're here.”
“I never said anything like that!” I defend as I narrow my eyes at Dominic.
Sean comes over and slings his arm across my shoulders as we set out for Portland. His dark head is bent as he whispers discreetly, “You would never ask for the good stuff unless it was urgent, Ty-Ty. We all know how uptight you were during black ops.”
I fix my narrowed eyes on Sean, shaking my head. It's true—I was always the one looking out for the others, the ‘designated driver' of sorts that would refuse a hit of wolfsbane just to make sure the others stayed safe while they let loose.
Reaching out to Dominic for that particular purpose must have come as a surprise and caused a stir amongst our friends who know me better than anyone. Still, I mask the way I'm feeling, poking Sean in the ribs.
“If you're here to make ridiculous observations, I'll kick you out of Portland. You're far from home, but you'll be running with your tail between your legs when I chase you.”
Sean chuckles. “Oh, come on, Ty-Ty. You think you can beat me all the way to Vermont? Pfft!”
Nicholas chimes in, “I say we should race, for old time's sake. Whatcha say, D?” He turns to Delilah, who's walking arm-in-arm with Cecelia.
They appear to be close already, but that's the effect Delilah has on those around her.
“I don't think Cece is in any condition to race you lot. She would have kicked your asses, anyway.”
Cecelia blushes. “Oh, Delilah, that's not true!”
Delilah rolls her eyes and tilts her head toward Dominic. “I saw your mate running from Nick's place here. She's fast, even pregnant.”
“I won't argue with that,” Dominic says as he pulls Cecelia from Delilah's side and swiftly kisses her cheek, deepening her blush. “My mate doesn't fail to surprise me.”
Watching them share another sweet kiss on the lips is unsettling, even if it's meant to be natural between the pair of true mates.
It churns my gut, seeing the couple together, knowing that I'll never have that pure kind of bond with my own true mate.
Turning my face forward to focus on leading the group into town through the forest, I notice Delilah curiously frowning at me, as if she's using her magic to read my thoughts when she senses something off about me, but I block her out.
I'd mastered the art of defending myself against her witchy skills while we were in the squad together for four years, one of which was her ability to read into our emotions.
I don't want to waste any more time mulling over what's going on between Arianna and me, so I clap my hands together and gesture to the town with an outstretched arm.
“Welcome to Portland, friends!” I chirp excitedly. “How about I show you around, and we can share a drink before dinner?”
“Nick won't need dinner after he's done drinking,” Delilah teases as she steps forward, rolling her eyes. She passes a glance at me, seemingly concerned, but follows my lead about wanting to distract myself with pleasantries.
“Hey! That's not fair!” Nicholas complains. “I'm not the only lightweight around. Remember that time when we had a whole week off? You, my dear Delilah, were wasted!”
“Shut up, Nick!” She throws a punch at his shoulder, which has him flinching and whining as he pouts and turns to the rest of us.
“You all saw that, right? She's bullying me!”
The group bursts into laughter as we proceed forward, and Dominic pats Nicholas's shoulder apologetically. “That was a lame attempt at flirting, dude. You know she's set to marry a Lycan prince, right?”
“What?!” I exclaim. This is news to me, and I stop in my tracks, stunned. “A Lycan prince?”
Delilah sighs, her shoulders slouched and brows furrowed as if she's defeated. “Yeah, and he's not my true mate…”
When she lifts disappointed eyes at me, there's a flicker of recognition, almost as if she can sense my own plight through her troubles, a frown flitting past her face.
“I'm sorry, D,” I offer as I pat her on the shoulder.
“It's okay,” she shrugs, replacing her glumness with a smile. “I guess we're all facing challenges of our own, and we'll figure them out, like we always did.”
I nod thoughtfully, wondering how much Delilah suspects, but not wanting to dwell on it too much. Today is all about my friends coming to visit my home and spending some time together before we disperse again and return to our duties.
I begin by showing them around town, mentioning the various facilities we have in place while we're at it.
Each of us is set to be the leader of our packs, and that's why we were grouped in the same squad during black ops.
Showing them around isn't just a friendly gesture, but a strategic one that will strengthen our alliances and show them that the Moonshine Pack is a worthy ally.
“...And this is the pack center,” I announce proudly as I point to the building.
The group stops in the garden surrounding the pack center as the building is abuzz with activity.
“This is where all the chores are done for our soldiers who go to the human world, and those who work in other departments in town.
It's how we trade and remain self-sufficient, much like Dom's pack.”
“Interesting…” Sean nods thoughtfully. “I didn't know Moonshine operated with ancient traditions.”
“You've been living under a rock, Sean,” Nicholas chuckles.
“You calling that skyscraper he works in ‘a rock?’” Dominic scoffs. “Lunaris is working on expanding, and I'd kill to grow into having operations and a million-dollar company in the city.”
“Well, I'd fund all your operations if you killed Prince Damion Hastings…” Delilah retorts scornfully, and I make a mental note to ask her why she's suddenly entangled with the Lycan prince of a tyrannical pack from Europe.
I know she'll open up once we're settled at the bar, and now that I'm done giving them the tour, we can head that way.
I'm just about to turn to my friends to lead them to the local bar when a familiar face inside the pack center catches my eye.
She must have taken my advice and taken up work at the center. The force of our mate bond is what keeps my eyes on her for a few seconds longer than I'd like, and that's when I notice something strange happening to her.
Arianna is staring out the scullery window, blankly at the garden, when suddenly, her hazel pupils turn milky white, her face losing all traces of color as if she's in a trance.
She doesn't move, and her body is so still that it appears like she's not breathing. Panic rises in my chest, my heart pounding like an urgent alarm bell going off, and I turn to my friends, raising my hands.
“Just give me one second, guys,” I mutter quickly before spinning on my heel and bolting for the center's back door. Throwing the scullery door open with a loud, deliberate bang, Arianna still doesn't move, her body surrounded by a mist that's only visible from this close.
“Arianna!” I call out, panicking when she doesn't immediately respond.
I rush to her side, grabbing her shoulders as I step in front of her.
Her eyes visibly release from the trance that turned them white, and when the soft glow of hazel returns to her pupils, she lets out a strangled gasp, a hand flying to her throat.
“Tyler! Thank Goddess!” she cries, her eyes filling with tears. I'm stunned by the relief in her voice—relief to see me.
“What just happened?” I ask, forgetting all about last night when she called out another man's name in her sleep.
That pales in comparison to how she's staring at me now, relieved and confused, as if she needs me.
“I-I don't know…” she stammers, brows furrowing when she can't control the tears falling from her eyes. Her vulnerability beckons to my inner wolf, who doesn't care about feeling jealous right now. Arianna needs me, and I'll be damned if I don't answer that call.
“I…I was being chased…” she says breathlessly, and I frown.
“What do you mean you were being chased? You were right here, in this room. You're safe.”
“I saw it, Tyler!” she wails. “I saw it! It was so real!”
“I don't unders—”
The siren blaring through the speakers around the pack center cuts me off, and a shocked gasp leaves my lips as my eyes widen.
It's a signal at the border, and just then, Brutus calls out through the mind link, “Alpha Tyler! We have the rogue in our sights! We're giving chase down the east stretch of the lake!”
“I'm on my way!” I respond urgently, my attention turning back to Arianna. “Border Patrol is chasing a rogue out of the territory. Where's Noah?”
“He's at the nursery,” she responds tentatively, and I nod.
“Get Noah and hide where I told you to hide before, in my bunker. Got it?”
This time, Arianna appears too spooked to protest and nods fervently before peeling off her apron and rushing out through the back door. I follow closely behind, relieved to see her racing toward the nursery once she's outside.
My friends are still waiting outside, standing with their backs toward each other as they sniff the air and listen to the siren.
I quickly explain the situation to them, and they all agree to join me in chasing down the rogue. We've had enough experience fighting the merciless creatures during black ops, so it's not a lot to ask of them.
Members of the pack flash past as they rush to safety, and I stop Brynta just as she's about to leave the pack center.
“Take Luna Cecelia to my house and let her join Arianna and Noah in the bunker,” I ordered after a brief introduction. “You can stay there with them until we return.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Brynta nods and leads Cecelia to my house. My friends are ready to help me chase down the rogue when they shift into their wolf forms, and as soon as I take the lead in the chase by shifting too, there's a flicker of suspicion left ringing in my wolf mind.
Whatever just happened to Arianna right before the rogue was sighted on our borders is no coincidence at all. I have to find out what happened to her, but first, we need to deal with the rogue.