Connection Through Blindness

Chapter 5

   One month had passed since I'd been rejected. That month I mostly kept to myself; not talking as much, not really smiling. But I didn't stop that from holding me back from living my life, though. I still hung out with family and friends.

"Come on Bella, we're gonna be late for the meeting!" Zach called out from downstairs, pulling me away from my thoughts.

Oh yeah, an intruder had been caught trying to enter the territory and the Warriors had easily caught him. After endlessly torturing the rogue the Warriors reported that werewolves were planning to invade the packs'.

We'd gathered for a pack meeting and explained the situation while the rogue had been chained down in front of us. He didn't say one word the entire time.

Their reactions were as expected: fearful and angry. My parents took care of them while I turned to Zach. He stood perfectly still beside me, face expressionless, body tensed, as if he thought the enemy would burst out of the trees and attack at any minute.

I reached over and took his big hand in mine, sending assurance and love through our bond. His answering love soothed my nerves instantly.

"It's hard not to rip his throat out," he said out of nowhere. "Just knowing they're after you pisses me off more than your damn mate."

"Ex-mate," I corrected quickly, then sighed. "Besides, those wolves won't be able to lay a finger on me."

" . . . . and who exactly set you and your people up to this?" demanded my mom.

We both turned our attention back to the interrogation. Mom was walking a circle around the rogue with dad standing right behind him. Beta Anthony and Rosie, Derrick and Ava, Stacy and Alex, Paul and Alice, were all standing on the left side of the stage in quiet contemplation. Meanwhile Emmett and Celeste, Naomi and Damon, Roxanne and Cesar, Seth and Jasmine, Sam and Robin, Sean and Melissa, talked quietly among themselves.

"Who else?" he spat. "The Alpha King."

Gasps of shock went around the crowd as my mom and dad froze for only a second before holding the rogue up by throat. The look on their faces truly worried me, considering they don't often show that kind of anger.

'What do you think that look meant?' Zach asked through our mind-link.

I shook my head and didn't answer. No words could come out. For some reason my thoughts were all over the place. That name had somehow silenced me, sending shivers down my spine, which has never happened.

Emmett came bounding up to me with a carefree expression on his face. He grins. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, you're just probably the only one right now that's not panicking."

He shrugs his muscled shoulders as his mate joined us. She gave me a respectful bow and smiled.

"Everyone's just surprised, is all. And I am panicking. Not in the way everyone is, though," he defended, wrapping an arm around Celeste's waist.

I watched them with a pain in my heart. That'll never be me. Realizing where my mind had taken me, I shake my head back and forth to clear it. No, I will not allow thoughts like that to distract me.

Clearing my throat, I give a smile that didn't fool Zach. "Yeah, well, I wonder who this supposedly 'Alpha King' is," I muttered. Emmett's eyes widened like saucers.

"Wait. You mean to tell me your mom and dad didn't tell you?" he asked in exasperation. My brows drew together in confusion.

"Emmett, what are you talking about?" I asked. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Well?"