Boundaries

Chapter 18

Orion sighs heavily, passing quietly into the Bluewood pack house. His mission has been fruitless and now he can feel the heavy weight of exhaustion in his bones.

He'd spent every minute of today under the beating sun, going door to door, meeting members of the Bluewood pack and talking. Just talking. Talking about nothing mostly, because that's usually how you find out what you want to find out in a pack.

If you speak to the locals long enough, even if you're completely foreign to them, eventually someone will let something slip. A snippet of history, a long forgotten secret, a hint to the mystery that you are trying to solve.

And so he had talked. He had laughed and gossiped and made idle chit chat to anyone who would spare him the time of day.

And he had learnt nothing.

He pauses for a moment. That isn't strictly true.

He had learnt a lot.

He had learnt that Jane's delicious, highly sought after secret recipe for carrot cake is actually a Betty Crocker box mix. He had learnt that Carole and Jim are sleeping in separate beds now. He had learnt that Phoebe is expecting twins in January and Ollie has recently gotten another tattoo (a rather raunchy one) and that Joshua (eighteen) is giving Joyce (eighty-one) a run for her money as president of the knit and chit (chat) club.

He had also learnt about Dylan's incredible knowledge; a seemingly unending powerhouse of information for anything from battle tactics to long forgotten ancient folklore and songs. He had learnt that Dylan is respected but reserved, and holds an incredible authority over his people that he has earned, rather than demanded. He learnt that never has Dylan dated anyone, nor does he seem inclined to.

Orion shakes his head, his cheeks heating.

He had learnt all that and more, but he hadn't learnt anything about the mysterious accident four years ago, or the death of their late Alpha who he misses so terribly.

In fact, whenever the subject matter had even the slightest chance of being introduced, it was turned away.

It was turned away with such elegance and grace that, at first, Orion hadn't even noticed. But it happened time and time again. The people of Bluewood are conversational Jedis, shaping discussions so naturally that is is almost hypnotic. Always away from that night. Away from Ben.

And the thought makes Orion furious. It's as if they want to forget.

The knowledge that a hidden truth lies in Bluewood is obvious to him now, and with every second the very earth beneath his feet seems to rot and writhe, bitter with the secrecy and silence that linger upon it.

The people of Bluewood have a secret. They are a tight, uniformed entity with a common goal, an unspoken agreement that whatever happened that night, it isn't to be spoken, as though even one word of it should bring civilisation to its knees.

Orion slumps into a stool, leaning against the kitchen island. His brow is drawn, his expression pensive, and it takes him a moment to register the movement to his right. He startles suddenly as his eyes meet clear, cold blue, her face pale and clean and shrouded by honey-brown hair. She smiles radiantly at him, and despite his exhaustion, he smiles back, warmth filling his chest.

"Alpha Vice." She says politely.

"It's lovely to see you again, Ellie." Orion says, standing and pressing a kiss against her cheek.

She frowns, a small, confused smile on her lips.

"Again?" She murmurs, before nodding to herself.

"Of course, it's a pleasure." She says.