Stand Tall, Mate

FIVE

AXEL

Avery keeps the gun against Michael's head as she stares at me, "put the gun down, and we can talk, okay?"

I take another step closer to her, and see a single tear fall from her eye. My heart aches as the scent of her tear makes its way to me. 

"Avery?" I take another step, a step too far as she pulls the trigger. I wince as Michael stops moving. My men behind me all simultaneously sprint towards her, but she had already started running before they could process what had happened.

I sighed as I gave chase with my men. I had seen her file; her parents and older brother were murdered, and she was left to fend for herself for 14 years. She trained herself and started jumping from pack to pack, challenging warriors, building herself up from the ground. She killed a few warriors, but she earned her place as best warrior to have been heard of. Although, some killings she has done was out of spite, not challenge. Which is why I was tasked to find and capture her.

That all changed of course, when she turned out to be my mate. I still needed to bring her before the council though, trial and sentencing was needed and that was out of my control. 

I jump over a fallen log as I watch Avery sprint with such grace, even I was surprised. My men following a few paces behind her, and me behind them. I watched their backs in case she had set a trap out for us all. My hunch was correct as another warrior falls down in front of me with a scream. I stop to help him out of a bear trap.

The rest of the men pause for a split second before I yell to keep running after Avery.

AVERY

I laugh as I sprint away, one of the men had been caught in the bear trap I laid out prior. I take their split pause to quickly race up a tree to my far right. As I perch myself on a solid tree branch, I look down just as the men stop and look around.

I smile as Axel slowly makes his way to the center of the group and looks around in utter confusion. I grab a thick stick and chuck it at him. It hits him on the back of the head, hard. His hands fly to his head as blood seeps between his fingers for a few seconds. He pulls his hands away and looks up as soon as the bleeding stops. I smile down at him and wave. 

"Avery, get down!" Axel yells as he starts climbing the tree. "No can do, don't really want to see the old boys who sent you," I retort as I rise to my feet and jump to the tree on my left. Making Axels attempt at getting me a bit more difficult.

Axel snarls as he goes back down to the ground and stares up at me, I laugh as one of his men aim a gun up at me. I make eye contact with Axel and feel the bond between us click back into place. 

My mouth turns up into a snarl as I break eye contact and sprint through the trees, making sure to put my scent everywhere so they can't track me as easily. I pause for a moment to see whether or not they were still tracking me, only to sense them a few 100 feet behind me.

I sigh and climb down and sprint to the left of me. Towards my family's old pack grounds, which was now burnt to ashes. I had to make him see the truth. My heart clenched at the sudden memory that surfaced.

"Big brother? Where are you?" I cry as I walk around the pack lands, trying and hoping that my brother was still alive after those wolves attacked him. I knew deep down that he wasn't, but I still hoped that after I looked away, he managed to escape.

"Wayne?" I whispered as I opened a black, charcoaled door to a house near my old home. The smell of burnt meat and wood wafted up my nose as I walked in. I warily looked around as the groaning of wood beneath my feet gave away my location. I grip my side as the fresh wound from the bit of wood was still oozing blood. 

"Big brother?" I whispered again, crying as a burnt bit of wood pierced through the sole of my foot. I crouch down to pull the bit of wood out of my foot when a small shuffle has me pausing. I turn to where the shuffling came from to find a half-burnt body trying to reach for me. I open my mouth in a silent scream and just stare at the blackened body in front of me.
"H-help m-me!" It was a lady. All of her hair was burnt off, her clothes had been melted to her skin and her legs were crushed under a fallen beam from the roof. I stare in horror as she attempted to drag herself closer to me.

I took a step back as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body went limp. I stood still for what seemed like forever, processing what had happened.

I shook my head as I continued to sprint to the burnt buildings of my old pack.
After a few lazy minutes, I sensed the warriors and Axel finally gaining behind me. I shot forward quicker as I passed the boundary of my old packs borders. The sudden silence that enveloped me was deafening and I came to a stop before the numerous buildings before me.

I waited as I heard the men coming closer. One by one, they all came to a sudden stop behind me. I turned toward the men to see the horror written on each face of theirs as they looked behind me. I look at Axel as he slowly approached me, still staring at the buildings behind me.

"This is what your council did when they learnt of my birth," I spoke, snapping the attention to me. The buildings seeming to seethe with anger as I mention the people who set fire to the wives, children and men here.

"Excuse me? This is the pack of the late Lycan King and Queen." One of the warriors retorted back as rage poured out of him. "Our council would never do this, they don't even leave their building to deal with lesser beings like you," a different warrior snarls. I glare at them both as I point behind me.

"This was done by Zoltan, Xavier and Zarlo! All three of them came down themselves and burnt every man, woman and child here! Just to find me, you really think they wouldn't?" My anger getting the better of me as my wolf starts to come to the surface, itching at the disrespect.

I focus on my breathing as I reel her in and look towards Axel, shock and disbelief evident. I sigh as I turn and walk to the left, to the most familiar building. I glance behind me to make sure they were following, only to find they were right on my heels.

"Have you ever met any of them? Or do they still hide behind their robes and hoods?" I ask nonchalantly. I hear nothing in return so sigh again and stop in front of my home. The burnt down rubble of the large home I used to reside in stood before me as the memories I had of my family circled my head. 

"This was where I used to live, have a sniff," I told them all as I get grumbles in reply, but I hear the faint sound of them all sniffing.

"That's Zoltans scent," Axel states. I nod and move the dirt beside the dug up grave beside the flowers. "Have another sniff," I point.
"That's Zarlo's!" The warrior that first spoke to me piped up. I nodded again and lead them to the middle of the rubble, picking up the dress I wore the day they came for me. 

"This was what I wearing the day they came to collect me. My father and Xavier, as I had come to learn, killed my older brother. My brother told me to run and I ran straight home, like the stupid little girl I was. Xavier found me here and demanded that I die, he had killed my father after mauling my brother." I held out the small tattered blue dress to the men and let them pass it around as they sniffed it. Shock and disbelief passed every single one of their faces until the dress was placed delicately into Axel's hands. He kept eye contact with me as he smelt the dress. His eyes widened at what he smelt and he dropped the dress onto the floor, kneeling before me along with his men. 

"You are the Lycan Princess they've been looking for."