Another Half

April 2011

Rex and Nakon had never been to the northern border of Saxe Oaks. Because of the intense work involved in reorganizing their new pack, this was the first time they ran through the entire length of the Saxe Oaks territory. They ran at full speed through the heavily forested areas to the part of the territory that ended high above the Great Cerulean River, the natural crystal-blue border with the Cerulean River Pack.

Rex was glad to be able to see the natural beauty of the pack for the first time through Nakon’s senses. Images were sharper and colors more vivid through Nakon’s eyes, and although his human nose perceived a wide range of scents it was nothing when compared to the plethora of scents that Nakon’s nose was capable of perceiving. In fact, as they passed through, Nakon’s nose picked up the scent of a male fawn that had been born that morning under a fallen tree. It was still nearby and had they not been in a hurry, Rex would have let Nakon help himself to his next meal.

Rex’s father had taught him about Saxe Oaks and Cerulean River’s strange history. Brian had laughed every time he talked about it and had called it an enemies-to-lovers story. Saxe and Cerulean had started out as fierce rivals, always at war for access to the river and its many ponds along the border. They reached peace when a Cerulean alpha’s sister became the Fated Mate and Luna of his Saxe Oaks counterpart. As time went on, the two packs built many bridges, literally and figuratively, to facilitate trade and transport between one another. By the time they had enjoyed continued peace for over a hundred years, Saxe and Cerulean considered themselves sister packs, and they stood together against anyone that threatened them, particularly Azul. To meddle with one was to provoke the ire of the other.

As Nakon approached the wide main bridge that united the two packs, he saw a large number of wolves on the Cerulean side yapping and growling at the Azul wolves on the Saxe Oaks side despite the wide chasm that separated them. There weren’t many Saxe Oaks wolves present to defend their own territory, a fact that nettled Rex.

Ax, where the hell are the Saxe Oaks warriors? They should’ve been here by now!

There aren’t very many willing to fight Cerulean. Most are related to each other.

I don’t give a shit if they’re each other’s grandmother. There will be hell to pay if we spill Azul wolf blood to protect Saxe Oaks while they stay home eating dinner!

Nakon strode toward the Saxe Oaks end of the bridge and the large group of Azul wolves before them parted as he made his way to the bridge’s entrance.

Through Nakon’s eyes, Rex noted that the wood bridge was large and sturdy. The edge of the chasm was sharp and the drop-off down to the river was long, at least a quarter of a mile, and onto a bed of jagged black rocks among violent white waters. Rex had never seen anything like it.

There’s no coming back from that fall, Rex said.

Nakon stopped when he got to the entrance. Rex vaguely recognized the surprised older man with long, shaggy brown and white hair and a matching beard in the middle of the bridge as Alpha Nash. He was waiting for him along with two other men, presumably his beta and gamma.

Nakon canted his head to one side.

He wants to—-talk? he asked Rex.

He wants to talk. Sergio? Ax?

As soon as Rex’s bare feet stepped onto the bridge, he felt Sergio and Ax on either side of him.

This is going to be interesting, Ax said as they walked.

This isn’t going to end well, replied Sergio.

Then maybe we preempt it by not letting them get off the bridge alive, Ax said with enthusiasm.

That would be murder, Sergio countered.

Not if they attack us first.

Enough, both of you. Leave me out of your mindlink bickering.

Rex stopped about ten feet from Nash and his men. They were unarmed, but Rex didn’t trust Nash. Not only because he barely knew him, but because he had betrayed his father along with Chett.

“What do you want, Nash?” Rex said.

“And a good afternoon to you, too, Rex,” Nash said. “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners before she died?”

“If you wanted to chitchat, you could’ve called.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Nash crossed his arms. “Where’s Chett? This is a Saxe Oaks and Cerulean River sparring session, and you were not invited. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’re here. Azul is always sticking their dick where it’s not welcome. You best tell your boys over there to move on out before Chett’s men arrive.”

“Chett is not going to make it today,” Rex said, impressed that two packs met to spar on a large scale. It was a good idea, one that he tucked away for later. “Or ever again for that matter.”

Nash stared at him.

“What did you do?” Nash whispered.

Rex shrugged. “Nothing that Chett didn’t have coming. I’m just surprised you didn’t know or haven’t figured it out yet. Has no one told you?”

Nash’s mouth gaped, and it was almost comical.

“Where is he?! What did the fuck did you do to him?! Do you have him in a dungeon? What the fuck, Rex! He’s an Alpha! Do you have any fucking idea what that means?!”

Nash’s temper escalated so quickly that Rex was confused.

“Chett is dead, Nash.”

Nash blanched. He looked around, stunned and-—hurt? Rex looked at him carefully. This was not the reaction he was expecting. Something was off.

“I declared war on Saxe Oaks as soon as I found out they killed my father and his gamma.”

“But he didn’t kill your father; Maverick did,” Nash said mournfully.

One of the men behind Nash gave him a small push on the shoulder, and he quickly recomposed himself.

Rex smiled.

It’s all the confirmation we need, really, commented Sergio.

Yep! Thank you, Nash! Ax said.

Nash turned red and he clenched his jaw.

“Where are Luna Ferula and her children? I claim the right to give them asylum in my pack, including her son Ronan.”

Rex snorted. “Ronan died before anyone else in his family. It was rather easy, too. As for Luna Ferula and the rest of her pups, they’re already in your pack’s territory.” Rex grabbed the wood railing and carefully looked over the bridge. “Well, I guess halfway on your territory since you and I now share the river.” He looked back at an astounded Nash. “Maybe they’ve washed up on your shores by now and you can extend them membership? They sent you their regards as they went over.”

Ax laughed.

Ax, shut it before they figure it out! Sergio said.

But Nash was too focused on Rex to even notice.

“All of them? Even little Tonette?” Nash whispered.

“That was the little girl's name? Yeah. She went over, too. It’s called war,” Rex said. “And Saxe Oaks preempted it when they betrayed my father.”

“You're a monster," Nash said. "Chett would’ve been devastated.”

Rex crossed his arms, still looking at him with interest.

“Should I tell you how he died? His last words? They were about you, interestingly enough. You were all he could talk about.”

Nash looked away from Rex as his face turned a special shade of puce.

Well, I’ll be damned, Nakon said. And both of them alphas.

You’re surprised?

Aren’t you? This sort of thing usually happens between two omegas or between an omega and a gamma. Rarely with betas and it’s unheard of with an alpha. An alpha’s line depends on him procreating with a she-wolf. The mixing with males—-among us wolves, nobody cares when it's two omegas, but it doesn’t look good on alphas.

Rex had to agree. Alphas weren’t permitted behaviors that weakened or risked the continuation of their bloodlines.

But is it possible? Rex asked.

Oh, it’s possible, I suppose. I just never imagined it actually happening between two alphas mated with she-wolves. Unless…

“When did you two start?” Rex asked, finally realizing what all the hints his father had dropped meant. Brian was probably sworn to secrecy by Chett, and he honored that promise to the end. “This is why Chett was after Enrique’s Fated Mate, isn’t it? To conceal his real Fated Mate.”

Nash’s beta and gamma looked at each other, confused. They moved and stood next to him.

“Oh, your men don’t know, do they?” Rex said chuckling. “My guess is neither does your Luna, much less your pack. Your Luna isn’t your Fated Mated. She accepted you because she wanted to be Luna.”

Shocked, Nash’s men looked at him. “Alpha?” one of them said.

“Shut the fuck up,” Nash said through his teeth. "You know shit."

Rex looked at Nash’s men.

“Your Alpha always mysteriously disappeared with Alpha Chett during these inter-pack sparring sessions, didn’t he? Chett and Nash planned these sessions often, only for them to disappear for hours at a time while the warriors from both packs were busy sparring.” Rex paused, assessing Nash’s evident embarrassment and his rising anger level. “It was the only way you could be with your Fated Mate, isn’t it?” Rex scoffed. “Imagine what will happen when your pack and pups finds out that you liked to bend over for another alpha male—”

“I said, shut the fuck up!”

Nash shifted into a large tan and black wolf and pounced on Rex, who instinctively lifted his right arm in defense.

The wolf bit into Rex’s thick forearm and started to maul it.

“Shift, Rex!” yelled Sergio. “Nakon, help him!”

But Rex couldn’t shift while the wolf had his forearm between its jaws, so Rex used his body weight to slam and pin the wolf against the railing. He slammed the wolf again and again, but the wolf tighten his grip on Rex’s arm, which was a bloody mess by now. The wolf started to shake his head tearing further into Rex’s flesh. The pain was making Rex dizzy, and he was quickly losing a lot of blood. He felt the wolf's canines sinking dangerously close to his bones.

Get him off of us or we’ll lose our arm! Nakon told him.

Using all the strength he had, Rex punched the wolf below the ribs with his good arm, sinking his fist deep into his underbelly. The wolf grunted but loosened his grip on Rex’s arm, and it gave Rex the chance to lift him with his other arm and push him over the railing. Shocked, the wolf released Rex’s arm before freefalling.

Rex watched the wolf scream in terror and fall. Several Cerulean wolves responded to their alpha with howls. The falling wolf’s screams were cut off suddenly when his body smashed on several jagged rocks below and the entire Cerulean Pack warriors howled with sorrow for several minutes.

Because it was a fight between two alphas, no one from either pack could have intervened and no one from Cerulean could retaliate against their new alpha or his warriors. As the defeated army, Cerulean was at Azul’s mercy. It was Wolf Law.

Sergio and Ax joined Rex, watching with as much shock as he felt as Alpha Nash’s broken body disappeared among the violent waters.

“Damn,” Ax said. “That’s one way to take over a pack.”

For once, Sergio remained speechless.

They looked back at Nash’s men, and both had knelt on one knee before Rex. The army behind them must have seen this and quickly followed suit. Cerulean Pack’s submission was immediate and absolute. Rex couldn't have been more pleased. The only blood shed had been his, even if he couldn't fist his hand at that moment.

“Please spare our mates, pups, and our pack members,” the man with the dark curly hair said, his eyes fixed on the thick plankboards. “We, as an army and a pack, will all pledge to you our fealty and allegiance, and Mel and I will step down without a fight but, with much respect, we ask that you spare our families and let us live in peace with them among our pack.”

Rex, still relieved that many lives had been spared, thought the request fair and nodded. “What’s your name?”

“I am Ricardo, I’m the now-former beta of Cerulean River pack, sir.” He nodded toward the other male. “This is Melson, the now-former gamma.”

Rex nodded for them to continue, and each took time to promise his allegiance and life-long service to Rex and his three packs. They solemnly promised their fealty in the name of the Moon Goddess and on the lives of their mates and pups. Satisfied, Rex looked toward the Cerulean army, and he saw that they were waiting for him so they could do the same.

Despite the many centuries of separation from the Azul Pack and the previous decades of peace in the Azul Valley, these wolves instinctively knew how to submit and coalesce into one unit under their rightful Alpha, Rex reflected.

Maybe. Or maybe they recognize that Azul Pack is their parent pack and that they never should have separated from them in the first place, Nakon said.

By now, the rest of Cerulean would have felt their Alpha’s death, and all five men walked toward the Cerulean army. Rex ordered his half of his warriors to follow, and the rest he dismissed to go home.

“Order guards to collect the Alpha’s Luna and pups, and keep them in the Pack House under house arrest,” Rex instructed Mel as they kept walking. “I don’t want them to escape, especially not the heir.”

Rex then turned to Ricardo. “Tell me, why did Nash betray my father? They were friends. All three of them were friends."

Ricardo cleared his throat. “It was for no other reason than to make Alpha Chett happy, sir. Alpha Maverick promised Alpha Chett a lot of money and other financial aid as soon as Azul fell, and Azul, Alpha Maverick said, could only fall if Saxe, Cerulean, and Blue united forces. Alpha Chett and his pack were in a terrible financial situation, and Alpha Nash simply went along to help Alpha Chett.”

“Ricardo and I,” Mel said, “strongly advised Alpha Nash against it since we needed neither the money nor the problems it would bring. We didn’t want to lose valuable warriors on something that did not concern us, but he always listened to Alpha Chett first and without question.” He sniggered. “We now know why.”

“And you had no idea?” Sergio asked. “Not even a suspicion? Y'know, that they were--together?"

Mel and Ricardo shook their heads.

“He–Alpha Nash–he always said that they were like blood brothers,” Ricardo said, “that they grew up together and that that’s why they loved each other so much. He was our alpha; we had reason to not believe him.”

Mel sniggered. “Nash knew he would lose the respect of most pack members if it was known he was sexually subservient to another alpha.”

“Did my father die in your pack?” Ax asked.

Ricardo looked at him before bowing his head but kept walking. He nodded.

“Alpha Chett arrived with them as prisoners the night before Thanksgiving,” Ricardo said. “He wanted Alpha Brian to surrender that night, to give up and sign over his pack and the distillery in Chett’s name. When Alpha Brian wouldn’t, Chett told Alpha Nash to beat Gamma Lance to break him. When that didn’t work, he told Alpha Nash to kill him.” Ricardo paused. “Alpha Brian—it affected him to watch Alpha Nash kill him. His wolf howled for hours after. When Alpha Maverick came to collect Alpha Brian the next morning, he took all the bodies with him.” He looked up at Ax. “I’m sorry.”

Ax growled and his eyes glowed with Edge's pale yellow eyes.

Stand down, Ax, Rex said, perceiving Ax’s intention to kill Ricardo. He had nothing to do with your father’s death. He’s just giving us the information we didn’t have.

Permission to leave, Alpha, Ax said, his usual jovial voice replaced by a stiff, formal tone.

Permission denied, Rex said. I have a job for you, one you need to do to avenge your father. Hang in there.

Ax nodded once.

Rex’s torn arm began to throb painfully, a sign that it was healing, but the damage was extensive. He looked down at his now-useless arm as blood continued to drip and spill on the bridge’s plankboards. He couldn't move or even feel his fingers. Rex looked back onto the bridge. He had left a trail of his blood along the Cerulean side of the bridge. Despite his accelerated healing, Rex knew it would take a very long time for his right arm to heal and be fully functional again. And he wasn’t left-handed.

He heard a throat clear and looked up.

“Alpha Rex? Do you need medical assistance?” Ricardo said.

“I do, but let’s take care of the Cerulean army first. We’re not leaving until each and every Cerulean warrior has pledged themselves to me and our three packs,” he said. “Sergio, have someone take a couple of days' worth of clothes for me, you, and Ax to the Cerulean Pack House. Looks like we’ll be spending some time there—”

Rex froze as he received a pack-wide mindlink announcement from Aunt Magda, their Luna.

Beta Sergio is the father of a strong, healthy son…

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