The Brotherhood

Prologue

The night was dark and chill, the slight breeze chilling Petyr to the bone. He'd drawn the short stick and been given night watch duty. What else was fucking new, he thought bitterly. All there was to see on night duty was dark trees and mist, so much mist you could barely see three feet in front of yourself. He knew that the magic of the forest kept the compound covered in mist so that outsiders couldn't be able to find it, but sometimes he wished that the magic tried a little less. It was easy for an attacker to sneak up on you when you couldn't fucking see. 

Petyr continued his rounds, staring out into the pitch black darkness. He was on edge. Usually the forest made him feel this way... but tonight was different. Something hung in the air that Petyr really, really didn't like. He knew that if he told any of his brothers about it they wouldn't believe him. He looked down at his Bonded, Chareese, to see that she was just as tense as he was. Her shoulders were hunched forward and her teeth were bared in a way that had Petyr searching the forest around them. Chareese was a bloodhound that could smell a man coming long before Petyr could ever dream of sensing them around. If she sensed something was wrong, then Petyr better be sure he was ready for when shit went down.

Off in the distance, Petyr heard a twig snap. His eyes shot toward where he'd heard the sound come from. He scanned the forest desperately. Chareese slinked forward, growling low in her throat. Petyr's hand went to the small sword strapped to his side. His hand gripped the pommel tightly. He followed Chareese slowly into the darkness, taking just a few small steps away from the safety of the compound. 

He didn't have to go far before he heard shuddering, raspy breaths coming from the mist. Petyr inhaled sharply and Chareese stiffened beside him. He gazed down to see Chareese tilting her head in confusion. He looked back out into the mist-shrouded darkness, but saw nothing. Suddenly, a figure came crashing through the woods, leaves and twigs crunching rapidly under their feet. The figure slammed to their knees on the ground in front of Petyr, making a hideously loud sobbing sound. Petyr took a step back in shock, trying to put some distance between himself and the figure crumpled on the ground in front of him. 

The figure was still half hidden in the mist and what the mist didn't cover was hidden behind a thick veil of tangled black hair. There was no way that this was happening on his shift. The Mother hadn't chosen a new recruit in years. There was no way this was happening now. But there was that kid, sitting in the shadows, heaving great, gasping breaths. Chareese slunk forward and sniffed hesitantly at the kid, as if she wasn't quite sure if she was seeing things correctly. Petyr definitely didn't believe that he was. Chareese tilted her head again, like she was even more confused than she'd been a moment ago. 

Before Petyr could guess what had caused such confusion, the kid lifted their head. Scared green eyes stared up at him. Petyr's breath caught in his throat and he jumped away from the kid. He looked at Chareese, his eyes wide with unbridled fear. Without having to say a word to her, Chareese took off as fast as a lightning strike, going back to the compound. Petyr stood and stared at the child before him, completely and utterly silent. 

Shouts echoed in the distance as the compound sprang to life. Petyr knew that soon they would be surrounded by his brothers, who would all be just as stunned as he was at what was before him. Footsteps pounded the ground as dozens of his brothers came running from the compound to where he was. Chareese led them all, finding him easily through their bond. Petyr felt his brothers stop short when they saw the child crumpled on the ground in front of him. No one made a sound, as if they were all too scared to speak. 

Petyr felt the crowd around him begin to separate, letting the Alpha Supreme through. Normally, Petyr was good at acknowledging the Supreme in the way that every good brother did, but tonight the shock in his body wouldn't let him turn away from the sight before him. The Supreme came forward until he stood next to Petyr. Petyr stood wordlessly beside him, his mouth flapping open like a fish. The Supreme stared down at the child, surprise and anger lighting up in his silver eyes. He took a step away from the kid, which was the most emotion Petyr had ever seen the Supreme show. 

The Supreme turned and barked orders at the brothers that were surrounding Petyr. Petyr didn't hear any of it, he just stared and stared at the child. He wasn't pulled from his shock until the Supreme looked directly at him and gave him an order. 

"Take the girl back to the compound." The Supreme's voice was gruff, but Petyr heard the order in it clear enough. His brain didn't need to be working to heed the order of the Supreme. It was instinctual, it was bred into every single brother that will that was one with the more powerful, the alphas. 

Petyr bent down and gently helped the girl to her feet, walking with her silently back to the compound. The murmuring of his brothers followed him every step of the way. He could feel their eyes on them every step they took toward the compound. Petyr could fell the Supreme's roiling anger trailing behind him. 

Once they'd entered the compound, Petyr took the girl to the Grand Hall without needing to be told. Judgement would need to be proclaimed about what to do with this outsider that had clearly found this place by mistake. Petyr paid no mind to the girl, she wasn't going to be staying here long anyway. 

Maybe that was the reason why no one seemed to notice that the girl held onto something tightly in her arms. Maybe that was why no one seemed to notice the tuft of jet black fur that peeking through her arms or the yellow eyes that peered out. 

Petyr stopped in front of a long bench sitting next to one of the long wooden tables filling the Grand Hall and gestured for the girl to sit down. Shaking, the girl sat down on the bench, like she didn't quite trust that it would her weight. Petyr turned and watched as the Supreme came and stood before her. 

The Supreme's bonded, Alix, stood beside the Supreme and regarded the girl coldly. Alix shifted on his feet and moved forward soundlessly, sniffing around the girl carefully. That was when Petyr noticed that the girl held onto something. Petyr reeled back, his heart a weight in his throat. 

The girl parted her arms as a small, black furred bundle jumped to its feet in her lap. Every brother in the room inhaled sharply. Silence echoed throughout the room. The wolf pup stared at all of them with vicious yellow eyes. Even Alix stepped away as the wolf pup bared its teeth at them. 

The Supreme regarded the girl and her wolf pup. Then he spoke almost gently, "What is the pup's name?" 

Petyr tried not to let his shock show at the question that the Supreme had asked. It was the same question that every brother in the Brotherhood was asked when they stumbled upon the compound. That perilous journey through the magical forest was where they found their bonded. They were then asked this question, this one question that answered whether or not they were meant to be here, or if there was some horrible mistake that had been made. 

The girl looked up at the Supreme, some of the fear falling out of her wide eyes. Her jaw worked for a few moments and Petyr was afraid she wouldn't speak. The Supreme waited patiently. 

Finally, the girl said, "His name is Titan." 

Shock reverberated through the hall as everyone heard the girl's clear words. Every eye slowly turned to the Supreme to see what he would do. 

The Supreme nodded to the girl, "Welcome to the Brotherhood. What is your name?" 

"Finley," the girl answered, "My name is Finley."