Sam reads the email in his inbox for the third time, his brows drawing closer and closer the more he reads. He purses his lips tightly, humming unhappily under his breath. He can't hear the sound, but the vibrations in his chest help to ease his anxiety.
His eyes narrow at the signature beneath his mate's name.
'Beta of Ironhill Pack'
How obnoxious.
He doesn't hear the words of his best friend close at hand, no surprise there, but he also doesn't register the movement in his peripheral vision.
Dylan moves closer and Sam just about leaps out of his skin. Dylan laughs gently, pressing a fist to his chest and rubbing a circle.
"Sorry." He mouths and Sam waves him off.
Dylan's eyes drift to the screen of Sam's computer, curious to see what has captured his Beta's rapt attention. His expression drops into a blank, well rehearsed mask as he takes in the message.
Sam watches his superior's face carefully.
"It's a good idea." Dylan says eventually.
Sam doesn't think so. Not at all. But he nods tentatively anyway.
"Would you want to go there, or meet here?" Dylan signs.
It doesn't take long for Sam to decide. Here. To meet on unfamiliar territory would be a disadvantage and Sam knows he'll need all the strength he can muster to survive this meeting.
"Here." Sam signs, almost immediately and Dylan nods.
"Arrange the meeting and I'll let patrol know to anticipate the Ironhill Beta." He signs.
Sam nods, turning back to his laptop, but his eyes never leave his best friend.
Dylan feels Sam's stare until the door of their adjoining offices snaps closed, and he exhales a heavy sigh as soon as he is free of it. He's secretly glad that their Betas would be working things out, unsure how he would ever cope with another run-in with Orion. He knows it's inevitable, but their last meeting had opened up a wound that had been hurting for nearly a decade, drawing back every deeply repressed memory with it.
He'll need every moment before their next meeting to steel his aching heart.
The other door to his office opens slowly and Dylan spots his mother peek in.
Ellie West has always been radiant. Pictures of her in her youth do her beauty no justice, and as Dylan looks at her now, he can still see a glimmer of her lovely prime. She stands a little thinner now, but her hair is still the same honey shade, her smile still hopelessly kind. She has always been doted upon in Bluewood, especially by the West men.
"Hello, honey." She smiles and Dylans heart swells with affection.
"Hi, mum." He murmurs.
"How did your meeting go?" She asks, her tone light but focused.
Dylan exhales, raking a hand through his hair as he watches her tread towards him.
"I signed the treaty." He says, watching his mothers face glow with maternal pride.
"You've ended the feud?" She asks, perching on the edge of his desk and Dylan nods tiredly.
"Orion had drawn up the paperwork, I was very satisfied with it." He explains, curious at the startled expression on his mothers face.
"And what was he like? Alpha Orion?" She asks. Dylan studies her face for a moment, ignoring the painful tug in his chest.
"He was fine. Level headed, easy to talk to." He says, shrugging his shoulders. It's a lie though. He had been everything Dylan remembered, and yet a complete stranger, all at the same time. He was utterly heartbreaking.
"I'm glad. He was a lovely little boy, but I had been sure that he'd follow in his fathers footsteps." She says a little vacantly.
Dylan frowns a little.
"What do you mean?" He asks. He's aware of Alpha Reece's reputation, prior to Orion. He had been a tyrant, but he had still been a leader, and a respected one at that.
His mother hesitates, her brows knitting together tightly for a moment.
"Oh, well, you were too young to really know what he was like. I kept you as far away from him as possible. Your father tried his best but...it wasn't right. Reece was so full of spite and hate and his father had been the same before him. It's no way to raise a child. They're greedy in Ironhill, they always have been and Conrad was the worst. He passed on all the hate he had for us to his son, and I was sure Reece would do the same with Orion." She says gently.
"Why didn't you do something?" Dylan asks tensely, struggling to accept the idea of Orion growing up like that. He had always known that Orion's home life had been less than ideal but...
"What could I do? Orion's mother died during childbirth, and Reece was careful to never lay a hand on him. At least, not where anyone could see, anyway." She says miserably.
But that is where Dylan knows his mother to be wrong. More than once Orion had appeared in their spot, sporting a busted lip or a shiner. He never would fess up who had done it, but Dylan had known. He'd always known.
Dylan opens his mouth but his words fall short when he notices his mothers vacant stare.
"Mum?" He says softly.
She recalls herself with a start, peering around anxiously.
"I...I came in here for a reason. What was it?" She murmurs quietly, looking at her hands.
"Mum?" Dylan calls again. Her eyes turn to him this time, watchful, a spark of recognition.
"You shouldn't play around in here, darling. Look at how messy the desk is." She says, a fond smile turning up her lips.
"I know." Dylan says quietly.
He watches his mothers eyes brighten, glancing around.
"Have you seen your father? I've been looking for him everywhere." She says suddenly, meeting her sons eyes.
She doesn't see the way they pinch.
"No, mum." He says gently, watching her expression droop.
He wants to tell her everything, how much he's struggling and how his head aches, along with his heart and every other inch of him. But he gives in, not able to bring himself to do it.
"Have you checked the living room?" Dylan asks.
His mother smiles radiantly, looking like a glimpse of the woman she once was.
"Good thinking. I'll check downstairs." She says. She presses a gentle kiss to her sons cheek before sweeping out of the office.
Dylan watches her go, waiting to hear the familiar click of his door shutting before allowing his head to fall into his hands.
He glances at the bottom drawer of his desk, seeing the document that stares back at him, reminding him just how long it's been. Four years, he thinks to himself. He doesn't know where the time has gone, but he knows that he's felt every second of it.
He thinks of that night, of the fire, the smell. He shakes his head, his head throbbing painfully as the impossible scent of smoke begins to crawl into his memory.
He slowly slides the drawer closed.
_
Snow is falling beyond my window and with it comes a fresh, blank canvas.
Let me know what you think so far- I always love to hear it.
Ever yours,
F
YOU ARE READING
Boundaries
Hombres LoboThe packs of Bluewood and Ironhill share a lot of things. They share a boundary line of nearly twenty miles, a vicious history of hate and a feud that's lasted the span of a hundred years. Dylan and Orion, future Alpha's of their feuding packs, are...
