My Light in the Dark

Midnight Runners

A funeral was held for Damon's mother a few nights later during a full moon. The rest of her body couldn't be found so it was closed casket. After some words from speakers, the casket was set aflame. I was told that it was believed that the body acted as a shell for the spirit. The only way to release the spirit was to burn the body.

The days following someone would show up with a platter of food every hour or so. The kitchen staff were almost running out of places to store the surplus of food. Flowers and letters were also in abundance.

For the first few days, Damon stayed locked up in his room. When he finally came out he kept himself busy with pack meetings. The only time I saw him was at night before I went to bed. Even then our conversation consisted of a simple goodnight.

Winter slowly dragged on, but eventually spring came. The snow was beginning to melt and the weather was slowly getting warmer. With the new season brought new guests.

I stifled a yawn as the commander of the scouts read off the monthly report. Matthew was fighting sleep by shifting his position every few minutes. Alyx had completely given up and had her head on the table. I never attended a pack meeting before, but now that I had to, I wish I still had the option to opt out.

The commander was interrupted by a knock on the door. A maid walked in and quickly bowed.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but Alpha
Markovic requests an immediate audience with you."

"Kat's here?" Damon asked. His eyes lit up at the mention of the name. "Did she say why she was here?"

"No, sir. She just said that it was important, and you shouldn't keep her waiting."

"That sounds like Kat. Bring her up." The maid nodded and scurried out. He then addressed the others in the room. "We'll continue the meeting later."

Everyone filed out except for Alyx, who was still asleep, Damon, and myself.

I nudged Alyx awake with my elbow. "Who's Alpha Markovic?"

She stretched and rested her head on on her arms. "She's the one from Russia. I thought I told you this."

The maid returned before I could question her further. With her came a young woman followed by two young men. The woman immediately went over and embraced Damon. Instantly, I felt a pang of jealously. Who was this woman?

One of the men cleared their throats. "Екатерина, я думаю, что вы делаете его помощник ревновать."(Ekaterina. I think your making his mate jealous.)

The two broke apart quickly and the woman gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Damon is like family, and I haven't seen him in a long time." Unlike the one man, she spoke English perfectly, but there was a hint of a Russian accent.

The woman walked over and held out her hand. "I'm Ekaterina Markovic, Alpha of the Russian pack, Midnight Runners, but you can call me Kat. I take it your Dani." She was really pretty. Waist length, wavy, blonde hair framed her face. Her green eyes were pale, but there was a warmness in them. I nodded and shook her hand. Wow her grip was strong. "That's Anton, my mate." She pointed to the man who spoke earlier. He was muscled and stood with a serious expression. "And this is Viktor, my Beta." She pointed to the other young man. He copied the first man's demeanor. He was less built, but still as intimidating.

"Why are you here, Kat?" Damon asked.

"Your mom asked me to." She pulled out a folded letter from her pocket. "I got this about a month ago. I was directed to come here if I didn't receive another letter."

Damon, Alyx, and I exchanged glances. Who was going to give the news?

"Kat," Damon said breaking the silence. "My mom's dead."

Kat's face fell. "What? How?"

"Rogues. We've been having an issue with them lately, and my mom went to the Council to get help, and somewhere along the way, they attacked her and killed her."

"Well, luckily I didn't come alone."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've got twenty well trained pack mates waiting downstairs who have all done battle with rogues. If it's revenge your looking for, count us in."

"I'm not dragging you into this war, Kat. What about the rest of your pack?"

"My grandmother is acting Alpha right now. She may be old, but the old woman doesn't take shit from anyone, so I think my pack is good. Plus we're allies. Aren't we supposed to extend each other a hand in time of need?"

Damon sighed. "I would argue no, but that's not going to stop you is it?"

She winked. "You catch on quick. We should probably look over you battle plans. "Виктор, иди Анастасию так что мы можем начать планировать нападение." (Viktor, go get Anastasia so we can start planning an attack.) She smirked at Damon. "The girl is amazing when it comes to military strategy."

The two quickly became engrossed in their work. My chest tightened as Damon laughed at Kat's comments. It was a genuine laugh, and I couldn't even get him to smile after his mother died.

I got up and left, and no one seemed to notice. I don't know if I like Ekaterina.

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