A Wolf's Tear

fourteen - just the start

Jacob waltzed through the foyer with his head held high. He was used to smiling and pretending that everything was okay and this time was no different. After a day of hopping from wolf to wolf, he was ready to retire and sleep in his cozy bed.

While on the inside he tried to remain happy, there was a sudden change of atmosphere as he trudged through the mess hall. Most of the time, the mess hall was filled with lively laughter but somehow it was absent.

A whispering voice caught and piqued his attention, making him turn to where the voice came from. It was Lively, Winston, and another wolf, Beta Lilian. The seriousness of their looks made his lips form into a grimace. Sighing, he moved his feet and quickly masked himself with a toothy grin as he approached them.

“My, my, where’s the funeral? The bunch of you look tremendously awful, especially you, Lilly. Shouldn’t you be smiling after that lengthy vacation of yours?” Jacob butted in, causing multiple death glares in his wake.

“You should watch what you’re saying, junior.” Lilian sneered.

“Woah now, easy. I know you bite.”

Jacob opted to make light of the situation despite it seemingly being heavy.

“Jacob,” Winston’s big calm voice entered his ears. “It’s about Nathaniel.”

“No,” Lively grimaced. “It’s about Selena. Nathaniel can eat it if he thinks his pain is greater than Selena’s.”

Jacob’s chest tightened. “Pardon?”

He searched for the answer in their eyes but found only the dark bitterness of the situation.

“No one told you yet?” Lilian arched a brow.

“I wouldn’t be asking now, would I?” He retorted.

She glared at him. “Alpha Morris brought his mate back from the latest Remmington attack, Selena. Alpha Talon arrived here hours ago to officially drop the links between our packs. He caught wind of Kayla Marie and Nathaniel’s wedding and well, you can divine the rest.”

“So, junior. There’s your funeral. Your brother brought his mate here only to reject her and smiled through a dinner with Katie.” Lively spat.

He froze, gulping as his lips nervously shook. He wanted to believe that all he heard was a lie but their tone of voice and angered expressions proved otherwise. His denial was unprepared and the great wave of realization crept through his heart.

The smile on Selena’s face dawned upon him. Now he understood why it was hard to see a genuine grin coming from her pale face. When she smiled, Nathaniel was there to dim her and Jacob felt like a fool to not see it earlier. His face slowly contorted into anger as he turned his heels and headed for Nathaniel’s office.

~•°•~

Nathaniel hissed as Eliza dabbed a cotton ball soaked with alcohol on the cut that Alpha Talon left on his cheek. He draws himself back and stares at his mother.

“You still haven’t changed, just like your father.” Eliza sullenly murmured.

His mother’s warmhearted comment didn’t elicit the response Eliza hoped it would. There was no escaping this. Especially when it was only starting. He had already foreseen then but he couldn’t pretend that he was ready for all of it.

He had hoped to pay for everything by sending that email to Talon, he was going to lose a lot of things but to rope Katie in by getting her rejected was not a future he imagined.

Now, Katie was fighting for her life again only this time it went for the worse. Her wolf had completely shut itself down and he had no way of trying to help her. Time would only dictate if Katie can pull herself out of her despair and for her to escape her troubles.