Forever Yours

TWO

Isaac grimaced, his teeth gritted against each other, as he made his descent down the staircase. As they did every morning, his bones ached like they would with a fever, his shins feeling like they had splints with each step he took. Halfway down, he paused, angry tears blurring his vision. Moon Goddess he hated this. He'd gone from being one of the most respectable and powerful Alphas to people looking at his crippled body with pity. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at the bannister him and Tobias had crashed through after he found out his Beta was soulmates with his little sister. On the foyer floor below he could still make out the splinters of where their bodies had landed in the floorboards. If he fell from such heights now every bone in his body would break.

With a deep breath through his nostrils, he focused on taking another step, keeping his breaths even as he moved down one at a time. Finally, he reached the bottom, his chest heaving with laboured breaths. Throughout the house he could smell Roxy's scent and it gave him the strength to straighten his aching back and move over to the kitchen. A gentle breeze pushed through the house and he relished the small bit of warmth that came with it. Usually he was a wolf who enjoyed the cold when his black coat wouldn't absorb the heat and his human body which constantly ran hot didn't feel like it was boiling over. These days though the heat helped soothe his aching body. Being blanketed by the snow during winter had been hell. Each morning he'd wake up with bones that'd felt like they'd rusted together and the darkness hadn't helped his depression.

Isaac began moving about the kitchen, his sore and stiff body loosening the more he moved. After flicking on the kettle, he placed two mugs on the bench. Then, once he'd spooned two large amounts of coffee into one mug, he rummaged through Roxy's tea collection before dropping an English breakfast teabag into the other. Normally she would return from her morning run to him still in bed but he'd made the commitment of heaving his body out of bed, even if his body roared in protest. She was beginning to see him struggling – something he'd been working hard at hiding. He didn't want her to feel more guilty than she already did. He didn't want her to see the pain he was in. Not anymore.

As the kettle continued to boil, Isaac rummaged through the fridge before tossing bacon, cheese and eggs onto the bench. Plucking a frying pan from the pot rack above the island counter, he smacked it down onto the stovetop and turned the dial before a blue flame ignited. Just as he'd done this the kettle flicked off and he slid over to the other side of the kitchen, a rare smile crossing his face as he began pouring the hot water and milk into the mugs. He hadn't felt this great in months. With the drinks made, he returned back to the frying pan; tipping in diced bacon, grated cheese and eggs.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he leant against the bench while the omelette cooked, gazing through the open kitchen windows at the pack houses and territory beyond. As usual, a large pang of guilt made his weak body ache when he thought of Roxy sitting out there alone watching the sunrise. She said she'd started going out there for a run to stay fit – the kidnapping making her want to improve her fitness. But despite his weakening mind she couldn't fool him. It was to get a few rare moments to herself; to escape having to look at her dying mate, to free her mind of the cure they hadn't yet found and to relax amongst the craziness of running a pack. The pack he'd had to step down from. Of course, only the members of Moonlight Ridge knew of his decision to step away from official duties. If the Alpha committee found out, numerous questions would be asked. Isaac was sure they were already becoming sceptical of his multiple apologies for the meetings.

The eagerness he'd felt towards the new day quickly left as Isaac tossed the omelette, the dark cloud of his depression floating back over his head. These days it never left him for long, like an extra tail he'd grown when the venom coursing through his veins had begun taking its hold. It'd hadn't been easy for him to step back from the Alpha duties he'd been doing since the age of sixteen. Swallowing his pride for the safety of his pack and passing the workload to Roxy had been one of the toughest things he'd ever had to do. Roxy had already been nervous about being the Luna to an original pack and now she was in charge of it. Of course Isaac shadowed every decision and explained things she didn't understand. When he'd had to tell her about the politics behind each decision, he'd sworn she was going to tear her perfect golden waves from her scalp. Isaac constantly reminded her that Tobias could take over, he was the Beta after all, but Roxy had blatantly refused each time. He wasn't sure why, it was clear she wasn't enjoying ordering wolves around and having to be locked away in the office completing whatever work that needed doing. While he believed Roxy could do whatever she put her mind to, he knew she wasn't destined to be a leader but rather a supporter. She was doing it out of guilt, believing that if she hadn't of been the one to transition him then he wouldn't have had to step down as Alpha.