Another Half

November 2011

Cerulean River

“What do you mean Enrique has been taken? How do you know this?” Rex hid his worry and fear behind a hard tone. “I just spoke to him a few hours ago.”

Uncle Dylan looked between Rex and Julia and suddenly looked like he would have liked nothing more than to be anywhere else.

Rex stepped away from Julia and sat at his desk.

“Julia, please tell Aunt Magda to go ahead and start the feast without me. I have an emergency.”

“As you say, Alpha,” she said, glancing at Dylan with a secretive smile.

Once the door was closed, Dylan cleared his throat. “Sorry if I interrupted anything, uh, intimate.”

Rex waved off Dylan’s comment. “Don’t worry about it, Uncle. It was probably for the best. Where’s Enrique? I thought he was in Azul celebrating with family and friends.”

Uncle Dylan shook his head. “He asked Sergio to take over for him and left to come here, to visit you and make sure you’re doing well today. He wanted to surprise you.”

“And he told you this?”

“Yes,” Dylan said, “as he was leaving Azul. He was supposed to be here hours ago.”

“And you didn’t try to dissuade him? You didn’t tell him that it was the stupidest idea you’ve ever heard in your life and that he should keep his ass in Azul as I told him to?”

Dylan looked down at the papers neatly stacked on Rex’s desk. “He was bringing a couple of men with him for protection—”

“Yes! And the mates of those men are now probably widows!” Rex put his face in his hands and rubbed it hard. “How can Enrique be so damn stupid?!”

Dylan sat on the chair across from him. “He’s been worried about you, Rex. He hasn’t seen you in Azul for several months now and thinks you’ve been avoiding our pack. Is that true?”

Rex looked at him. “And if it is, how does that justify Enrique leaving Azul on the anniversary of my father’s disappearance?”

Dylan sighed and nodded. “What do we do?”

January 2012

Azul Springs

Enrique’s body was found almost two months later along with the bodies of his guards. None survived the bloody ordeal they were put through, and all suffered the same painful and humiliating death as Alpha Brian, except this time all three mens’ heads and their genitalia were included in the garbage bags left at the entrance of Azul Pack.

Once again, Thomas, the same medical examiner who reported to Rex about his father’s violent death a little over a year ago, now reported the same about Enrique’s death with almost the same horrific details. This time, however, all of Azul’s trackers conclusively reported Enrique’s and his men’s place of death was the Blue Ponderosa territory. Maverick didn’t even try to hide it.

But there was something that was different. Rafael also reported an additional scent, one so faint, he almost missed it.

“Alpha, I figured out that it’s the same scent on those two kidnappers, but now I know that it’s the scent of a place, not a person.” Rafael had arrived at the King Arthur Room with Thomas. “I just don’t know what or where that place is.”

Once Thomas and Rafael left, Rex was alone with Sergio and Ax. He glanced at Sergio, Azul’s new beta. Rex hadn’t seen his best friend since April, not since they had taken over Cerulean River, and Sergio had changed since then. His boyish face was now gone, and Rex supposed fatherhood had sped up the process of Sergio becoming a responsible adult male before his twenty-first birthday. It had helped that his full beard had come in, making him look even more mature and serious than he usually was. But today Sergio looked ill and lost. His usually deep golden brown skin looked grayish and his brown eyes reflected the same listlessness that Rex had felt a little over a year ago when his own father had died.

Keeping his arms on his lap, Sergio put his head on the cool, round table and closed his eyes.

“That was his worst fear, y’know?” he said in a choked voice. “To die as your dad did. He used to have nightmares about it.” Twin tears escaped Sergio’s closed eyes and spilled onto the dark wood polish. “His nightmare came true, Rex. He lived and died through what terrified him the most,” he whispered.

Get him a vodka on the rocks. Quick. Rex mind linked Ax. Make it a double.

Fuck, I’m going to make us each a triple. You want your usual?

Rex nodded, understanding that Ax’s own wounds from last year hadn’t healed, either.

Sergio brought up his arms and buried his head in his folded arms on the table. He began to sob.

Rex put his hand on Sergio’s shaking shoulder, knowing exactly how Sergio felt and wishing that none of them had to know this depth of pain.

“We will avenge our fathers, Serge. Maverick will pay with his life the lives he’s taken. I promise.” Rex looked up at Ax, who was returning to the table with three tumblers.

Rex stood up and took his glass. “Let’s finish preparing for war. I will not rest until Nakon’s teeth sink into Maverick’s neck.”

Two days later, three she-wolves from Azul and their children disappeared in broad daylight as they played at the edge of Azul’s lake. The entire pack was in abject panic, and Rex almost lost his mind with worry, fear, and frustration.

“How could the intruders have come all the way up to Azul Lake and taken three of our she-wolves and their pups?” Rex asked Sergio and Ax. “What are our security forces missing? More men? More weapons?”

The she-wolves and their pups were found poisoned on Cerulean River territory less than a week later, but no one could, not even Rafael, could pick up the scent of the poison they used.

Fearing for his mate and young son, Sergio moved Crystal and Robby into the city, onto neutral territory. Rex did not take it well, but short of ordering them to come back, there was nothing he could do. He had to let Sergio protect his family as he saw fit.

“Crys is staying with a lone she-wolf that lives alone with her pup,” Sergio told him. “She lives in a house in front of the university. Cops patrol the area non-stop; I’ve seen it. The police station is about a block away, but they’re nervous. They must know something is up.”

Humans innately feared werewolves even though they did not know of their existence in the real world. Wolves simply stayed away from humans altogether, and the points where these societies intersected were few and far between. The arrangement worked.

Rex frowned. “A she-wolf living as a lone wolf? In the city? And she has a baby?” He crossed his arms. “How do we know she’s not a spy for Maverick?”

Sergio shook his head. “I moved Crys in this evening with Ax,” he said. “She wasn’t there, so I went into her bedroom, and took a sniff among her things. She doesn’t smell like any pack at all, from here or anywhere. She and her baby have been alone for a long time.”

“And you think your family will be safer there than in the Pack House? How does that logic work?”

Sergio shrugged. “Because no one imagines that my mate and son are in the city, Rex. Everyone thinks they’re here, in Azul’s Pack House.”

“Then they should have bodyguards at all times.”

Sergio sighed. “Rex, that would defeat the purpose of concealing them in the city and it would really put them in danger. They’d attract the attention of not just wolves but of humans, too.”

“Fine,” Rex said with a grunt. “But as soon as war breaks out with Cerulean, I want them all here in Azul, including that stubborn lone she-wolf.”

Sergio frowned. “How do you know she’s stubborn?”

Rex snorted. “Only a stubborn she-wolf would be able to live out there without the support of a pack and thrive. Fuck, who does that?”

“Okay, but Crys says she’s, uh, she doesn’t like alphas or packs.”

Rex raised his eyebrows. “Oh, she has a problem with authority, does she? Well, I don’t give a fuck. As soon as war breaks out with Blue, she and her baby are moving either here or Saxe or Cerulean, I don’t care which. I’m not leaving an irresponsible she-wolf with a baby to fend for themselves on my territory during a war with a deranged moron,” Rex said with a scowl. He turned and started to leave. “It’s utterly ridiculous to be alone out there without a pack,” he muttered. “And a fucking she-wolf, at that.”

Sergio laughed, which made Rex’s scowl even deeper.

“When are we going to war? Or are we waiting for them to attack us?”

Rex half-turned and grinned at Sergio. “When Saxe Oaks and Cerulean warriors complete their initial training. Three packs’ worth of trained warriors. Maverick has no idea of the surprise I have for him.”

May 2012

Blue Ponderosa

There is a certain point in battle when either victory or defeat is certain. It’s not a half-way point, but the deciding point. It’s also a point of no return. For Rex, that point came when he was chasing Maverick Lacerta for the fourth time across an already bloody open field while dodging dead bodies and other fighting wolves. The battle had begun almost three hours after midnight, sunrise would soon be upon them, and Maverick continued to evade Rex even as dawn approached.

They had fought a few times, but Maverick’s brown wolf was no match for Nakon’s size and strength. Maverick’s wolf would somehow break the hold Nakon had on him and run off, leaving Nakon to contend with the three to five attackers that would immediately jump him.

Except this time Nakon evaded all five wolves attacking him.

It’s time to end this, Rex said. It’s taken longer than it should have. Where did they get all of these people? They were supposed to be half of what we’ve been fighting.

Nakon caught sight of Maverick’s wolf ahead and sprinted. He jumped on a nearby boulder, leaped, and landed on the back of Maverick’s frantic brown wolf, who yelped with surprise.

The ensuing scuffle between the alphas was shorter than the other scuffles because Maverick’s wolf was tired.

Finish it, Nakon.

Nakon growled and bit into Maverick’s throat, ripping it off in one go. A torrent of blood spurted out and ran down Nakon’s snout.

Nakon’s howl of victory thundered throughout the territory and the fighting ceased immediately while the body of Maverick’s wolf twitched at Nakon’s feet.

The Blue Ponderosa wolves immediately submitted to their new Alpha in the hope of stopping being spared, and because that is what Pack Law dictated. Triumph and dominance demanded immediate fealty, and their loyalty to the old Alpha had ended with his death. They had a new Alpha now. The law was brutal but efficient in its clarity.

Nakon looked around the bloodied field, his body lush with adrenaline from the bloodlust. The strength and power from defeating Maverick were already beginning to fill him, making him shut his eyes and hiss with discomfort as he felt his essence swell and stretch. The transference of power and authority was almost immediate. The same thing had happened when he killed Chett and then Nash, but it always filled him with awe and wonder.

Once he felt better, he looked around again as wolves from both packs began to care for the injured and the dead. It had taken Rex two years, but Blue Ponderosa Pack was now his.

Julia, where are you? Rex asked through the mind link. Have you completed your mission?

I’m behind the bar at the edge of town, Alpha. The mission is almost complete if you want to join me.

Nakon growled with approval. As his best she-wolf warrior, Rex knew Julia would not fail him on a mission he could only entrust to one of his most loyal pack members. And she had proven to be discreet.

He opened the mind link with his gamma.

We’ve done this before, Ax. Figure out what we have to do to help survivors mourn, transition, and move on. Take care of the women and children first. I expect an initial report by tonight. Also, call the crews to clean up and bury the dead. And get the interior decorator out to the Pack House. I want everything clean and new. Zero remains of the previous alpha line. Burn whatever isn’t important or valuable.

He would order a complete census, too, but that would come later, once they took care of the urgent matters. Following Julia’s scent, Rex ran off toward the town bar.

Have you decided who will be Blue Ponderosa’s new beta?

Yes, Ax. My cousin James. He’s already preparing his family to move into the Pack House. Sergio will be with him for the next few weeks to help him with his responsibilities. Tell Rachel and Crystal to go back home. It’s safe now.

They’ve been home since last night.

Good.

Rex cut the mind link.

Once he found the bar, Rex approached the developing scene in front of him with caution.

Nakon stopped about twenty feet from the wall.

Julia’s gray wolf snarled at a scrawny tan wolf that had its tail tucked between its legs. She was trapped against the building’s wall and whenever she tried to run, Julia’s wolf would bite her. The tanned wolf’s wails were whiny and pitiful.

Are you sure she’s not pregnant, Julia? Rex said. He watched as he sat on his haunches, surprised by the pathetically weak wolf before him. With a dull tan coat that was sparse in many places over a skinny body and bowed hind legs, she looked downright frail.

Yes, Alpha. She doesn’t smell pregnant, but if she were she wouldn’t have been able to shift.

Good.

Caroline must have sensed him because she looked toward him, terrified. She wasn’t even a shadow of the arrogant young woman that had rejected him without a thought or care.

To Rex’s surprise, he felt nothing towards her.

Finish the job, Rex said.

Nakon twitched his tail once.

Julia’s wolf didn’t hesitate. She pounced on the small wolf and bit down deep into her throat. Julia’s wolf viciously shook her and threw Caroline, ripping her throat out in the process. Caroline’s body crashed onto the wall before slumping to the ground.

Only then did Nakon approach.

I hope you’re happy now, Nakon. You got your revenge.

Lily is avenged. I can let her go now. And it’s WE got our revenge.

Julia’s wolf was licking her bloodied snout when she greeted Nakon by bowing her head in submission.

Alpha, she was running away from all the fighting. She had almost made it to the woods when I caught her. She was weak, and I don’t think she fought at all, not even to defend her pack.

Thank you, Julia.

Rex didn’t look at her, he simply stared down at the dying she-wolf at his feet.

Go home. Rest. You did well today. And Julia? Not a word to anyone.

Julia bowed her head again. Alpha, you know you have my fealty. She paused. Maybe someday you’ll tell me who she was and why this was so important to you.

Julia lowered her head once more at him and left. Nakon watched her leave.

She was strong, confident, and, above all, loyal, a rare mixture of traits Rex had learned to prize. Most wolves could not stand up to Julia’s strength and fighting skills, and there was no stronger she-wolf than her in all three packs, if not the entire valley. Julia was the type of she-wolf Rex admired and wanted by his side. Feared and respected by all, she would make a formidable Luna.

Maybe, Nakon responded. But, no. I don’t like her anymore. Especially not after today.

Rex sighed. They had discussed this, and Nakon was immovable about his dislike for Julia, even though it had been his idea that they quietly pursue her.

But we need a Luna, Rex countered. We are running four packs now. How are we supposed to do it without a Luna?

Oh, so NOW you want a Luna, Nakon said with a snort. Think about Julia as the mother of our pups.

Rex cringed. Nakon was right. Julia had no patience for weakness, and she avoided children, especially babies.

Once they were alone, Rex looked down at the dead she-wolf before him, the one he had blamed for most of his problems.

Caroline.

He stared at her corpse and waited for the anguish of watching his once Fated Mate die to seize him, but there continued to be nothing but a void where pain and sorrow used to live. Maybe he felt a little sadness for what could have been, for what had been meant to be, but he definitely did not feel soul-crushing agony. Not anymore. That pain ended when his father died.

Caroline was never our mate, Nakon said. She severed the bond indefinitely with the incantation she used. That’s why it almost destroyed us then and why we feel nothing now.

Rex bent down and sniffed her one last time. There wasn’t a trace of the scent of his mother’s fresh-cut spring flowers that had first attracted him to her at the Mating Festival. Rex wondered why Caroline’s wolf was so small and scrawny.

Because she no longer had a wolf. Lily died a long time ago, Nakon said sadly. Caroline probably continued to lock her up and that finally killed her. Lily was sweet and she really liked me. I’m sure she died hurt and alone.

After making sure Caroline was dead, Nakon went back to the great main field at the entrance of the pack where most of the fighting had taken place. They looked at the hundreds of dead bodies strewn on the ground. Rex realized he felt at peace now that he had vanquished Maverick and Caroline, but he was saddened to see so much life lost as they made their way through the carnage in hopes of finding anyone still struggling to live. Regardless of what pack they had originally belonged to, they were now all the same pack now, and Rex would care for them all.

The sun rose behind Nakon as he continued to walk through the battleground, and a cool breeze from behind suddenly enveloped him with the intoxicating fragrance of fresh-baked brownies mingled with the robust caramel and vanilla scent of a Rojo bourbon neat. Hints of butterscotch in his Rojo’s new Special Reserve Label that had yet to hit the market also hit him, and Nakon’s heavy heart suddenly felt lighter as it filled with the most comforting and overwhelming warmth and bliss he had ever felt.

Rex remained silent, desperate to find where that delicious scent came from. The fragrance made Rex feel the same as when his Rojo Bourbon won first place in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. He had been surrounded by his friends and embraced by his proud father at the gatherings that celebrated his success. As he did then, Rex wanted this feeling to never end, but today he realized that he had forgotten what it was like to feel the type of joy that washed away all his sadness and pain.

A low growl made Nakon turn around completely and face the rising sun. On a small hill overlooking the large battlefield stood a large black wolf surrounded by a bright purple aura. Nakon inhaled and even through the stench of death and war he managed to pick up from that wolf the intense fragrances of brownies and bourbon that had put him in a daze. But he also picked up something else: the scent of a female—alpha?

The black wolf looked back at Nakon quizzically, tilting her head to one side as he slowly made his way to her. Another breeze with her irresistible scent hit him and he finally recognized her for who she was.

MATE! It’s Mate! MATE! Nakon growled at Rex.

Nakon didn’t know how it was possible that he could have a second Fated Mate, and at that moment he didn’t care. She called him far more strongly than Lily ever did, and she was here. Waiting for him. She had come for him!

Nakon let out the most menacing loud snarl he could. His beautiful mate was so consumed by him that she hadn’t seen the two male wolves that were slowly climbing the far side of the hill. They approached her, and he started to run toward her and towards the wolves now threatening his mate. He would rip off their heads and hearts; he would waste no time proving to her that he was strong enough to take care of her and protect her.

She’s mine! Nakon said. MINE!

What?! Are you kidding me? Rex said bewildered. Nakon! Stop! I don’t understand! NAKON!

When the black she-wolf on the hill saw Nakon running toward her, she widened her bright purple eyes. She backed up and ran off.

Nakon gave chase. Surely she wanted to be alone with him. Why else would she run from her mate? Marking each other was meant to be a private and intimate ritual, after all.

He followed her irresistible unique scent and ignored Rex’s frantic calls for him to stop, for Nakon to explain what was happening.

Let me take over—

No, Rex. We’re not losing her. Not this one.

But Nakon’s mate was fast, and too soon Nakon was struggling to keep up with her through a dense forest until the ground finally ended and Nakon had to stop at the end of a drop into a rushing river below.

Where did she go?! Nakon asked, looking around the area.

He sniffed the air and the ground. She had definitely been here, even to the edge of the drop.

Did she jump?

Nakon looked down. There were no rocks jutting out of the water, so if she had dived she certainly would have survived. But there was no sign of her anywhere. She wasn’t swimming toward a safe location on the shores of the great river.

Nakon’s mate had disappeared.

Feeling crushed, Nakon howled a long, sad call for his Mate.

Where are you? Why did you leave me?