Dusk

Chapter 8

Lauren paced back and forth as her head pounded. She was angry at herself for the way she reacted towards Dinah's pairing but she couldn't get over her grief for her fallen pack mate. "I miss you so much, Perrie... I wish you were here, Pup," She whispered up to the sky before a slow breath was released from between her lips. 

"Hey, you doing ok?" Green eyes turned to see Ally as she walked over. "I don't know for sure yet, maybe I never will be," The younger woman whispered as she stared ahead. Ally frowned and made them both sit down on the grass. "You know Lauren, I don't think I've ever understood you for who you are, y'know that?" The green eyed woman raised her eyebrow and shrugged. "Is that so," She replied sarcastically as she tipped her head backwards slightly.

"Perrie understood you though. That girl was so much smarter than anybody ever gave her credit for," The Alpha's nostrils flared at the mention of her pack mate. "You never reacted this way with Lucy, even with pairing being her killer an-" The woman was cut off by her Alpha's deep growl. It was a warning and Ally sighed. "They're gone, Lauren. Lucy isn't a full wolf but she's with her parents now and Perrie couldn't hold on forever," 

"She could have..." She whispered as her head tipped forwards in despair. "Lauren... You know better than anybody the sort of strain that puts on you... Maybe she is in the middle ground but it has already been five years and this pack is broken." 

Tearful green eyes locked onto understanding brown ones. "You have no idea what it feels like as an Alpha to have a piece of your soul torn away whenever a pack member dies. My mother died which made me the Alpha, and i suffered every death of our pack after hers on my own. You won't ever understand the pain that causes you," Lauren whispered before shifting into her wolf form and walking away from her guardian. 

Ally frowned as she watched her Alpha walk away in despair.  The death of any pack member was hard, of course it was, but when you had already suffered so many pack deaths, having your own pup taken from you was even worse.

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Dinah settled down by Normani as her mate ran her fingers through her hair. The blonde had settled down somewhat, and was now just watching the water meet the skyline. Normani's ears twitched when she heard a branch break, and when she caught the scent of her mate's alpha a second before she appeared, she had no time to defend herself. 

Dinah quickly sat up and turned to defend her mate but was surprised when she watched her Alpha completely ignore them. Dinah could feel the bond weaken and thought she was still in trouble before she felt all of her pack members cry out as they too felt their own bonds weaken. "Lauren? Whats happening? Where are you going?" Dinah asked panicked as she stood up and followed her Alpha. Normani quickly followed when she seen there was no response. 

Lauren ignored them as she kept walking through the woods. She couldn't take the pain she was constantly feeling and every day the weight of her death seemed to get heavier and heavier. She had carried the burden of Perrie's death for five years so her pack members wouldn't have to. "Lauren? Speak to me, c'mon. What's wrong? What's happening?" Dinah asked as she started to get more worked up. She linked her pack members to get to her as quickly as possible.

Green eyes had a glossy sheen over them as Lauren continued to walk. Her tail was limp behind her and she let the weight of her body snap twigs on the ground and off any trees she passed. Normani held onto her mate's hand as they followed the Alpha carefully. "Dinah? Babe? What are you feeling?" She asked gently as she watched the woman beside her start to tremble. 

"The alpha bond is really weak, Mani. All of us feel it but there's no reason for it. She's not even angry at them, and they aren't cutting her off either, it just keeps getting weaker and weaker," The blonde explained as the black wolf in front of her continued its patch through the trees. "Dinah, what if she does something stupid? You need to get you pack mates here, right now," Normani whispered before she felt her heart rate spike at the realisation of where the Alpha was going. 

"Dinah, she's not stopping, what is she doing?" Normani asked in a panicked voice when she watched Lauren continue to walk towards the vampire territory. The alpha walked passed the boundary line and the two wolves followed after the alpha.

A loud hissing sound filled the air and Lauren stopped. Quickly, the wolves were surrounded by the guards as the clan leader moved forwards. "What is the meaning of this, Jauregui? Is this to start a war? We have had this treaty for many years, why break it now?" The Alpha looked up at the woman with saddened eyes. "I'm not here to start a war, I'm here to ask you for a favour," The alpha shifted into her human form before looking towards the clan leader. 

"And what would that favour be?" Her dark eyes settled on the alpha before she walked over to the woman slowly. They had never had any disagreements and both had even formed a truce so that both the pack and her clans would be protected if the other ever needed it. "I need you to take Dinah and Normani back over the boundary wearing your passes and tell them you have my orders," The alpha started before she heard the wolves behind her start to argue. 

"Done. Now, why do you need me to do this? What else?" The woman told her guards to stand down before she stood with the alpha. Green eyes locked with brown before she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I can't suffer the pain of losing her anymore. I can't do it," The alpha whispered in despair. 

The woman's eyes widen before she motioned for her guards to quickly grab hold of the wolves so they would be ready to take them back to their own borders. The alpha bowed her head in despair as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm begging you, Gal. You can't tell Demi and you cant let the wolves see," Lauren whispered and the woman nodded in agreement. "Break me," The alpha whispered. 

Dinah and Normani immediately started to try and fight the guards and scream for the alpha. Lauren cringed and shook her head. "Get them out of here, they don't have to watch you break me. Just do it. Break me, strip my wolf and just take everything, I can't do this anymore and they will be better without me. Dinah can lead the pack and she has the support of her mate but I just can't do it,"

Dinah felt the bond weaken to the point it was nearly broken as she screamed and cried. Seconds later, the rest of the pack had shown up alongside Normani's as they watched the vampire guards take hold of them all. 

Gal looked at the Alpha sadly. "Please, Gal... Please..." The woman begged as she bowed her head. The wolves fought against the vampires before the clan leader lifted her head and held her hand up. "Remove them from these lands and do as the Alpha has ordered. You wolves may not come back to fight against this decision or it will be a break of the treaty. You have heard your alpha, now do not come back," She ordered.

The guards carried the wolves out as they all fought against the guards to try and save the green eyes woman. Lauren tipped her head to the side for the clan leader to bite. Gal sighed sadly before biting deeply into the pale neck and catching the wolf in her arms. She picked her up and held her to her chest as she carried her gently back to her own quarters. 

~~~~~~~~

The guards dropped the wolves in their own territory before leaving. Dinah fell to her knees as the rest of her pack followed. Normani crumbled beside her mate as she felt her pain. Normani's pack mates felt the pain too and before they could do anything about it, they heard a deep growl as their alpha ran towards them. Camila shifted to her human form quickly before pulling Normani into her arms to soothe her turmoil. 

Lauren's pack howled in despair as they grabbed at their throats and chests. Camila winced as she sensed their pain before she had all of her pack mates trying to nuzzle their way into her arms. "What happened? Where is your alpha? Why isn't she helping you?" Camila asked before she felt pain erupt from her link with Normani. 

"Why was the vampires here? Tell me," The alpha ordered and Jesy lifted her head. "Its Lauren, their alpha. She went to the clan leader and asked her to break her," Jesy whispered sadly and winced when her Alpha tensed. "She what? She abandoned her pack? Fuck..." The alpha whispered before she turned to the three wolves of the other pack howling in pain. 

"Ok, Normani? Grab your mate. Jesy, Leigh? Get the guardian," She ordered before moving towards the smallest wolf. "Ok, c'mon Jade. Let's go, little one," She whispered before picking up the youngster and holding her to her chest tightly. Once the alpha was sure all the wolves were cared for, she ran back to her home with her pack members trailing behind her.