A Sin of Her Own

Chapter 26

Nathan was in his third week of a broken heart. He had been through many stages of despair; anger, misery and now depression, the epiphany of his past actions. He stayed a hermit, fearful of the consequences that would arise if he stepped foot in the centre of Duskfall lands.

He hunted for his meat but it was clear that the lack of care for himself was showing on his body. He'd lost muscle definition and his wolf was barking in his mind, insanity was surely not far away. His
mind was in turmoil and as he lay in his cabin bed. Blankly looking at the ceiling he came to a stark realisation. His actions, his stubbornness, was what had brought this upon him. There was no pity, no friends or even family that he could rely on. Many of his previous friends, except Hugo had ignored him knowing that association with him was a death sentence for them also. Not that Nathan could blame them. 

Even then, Hugo only visited once ever couple of days. Still alone it seemed.

He rolled out of bed, knowing that while sleep was a tiny reprieve of the constant pain; he needed to hunt for his dinner and fill up his water tank from the nearby spring. Eóghan had been smart in his housing arrangements: out the way, secluded but sustainable.

Nathan sighed, a hand tiredly running over his face. "This is the life."

A sardonic chuckle escaped from his lips as he realised that his life was now an empty shell. For the next few hours he managed to sort out his water supply and catch a couple of trout, it would do. He was not used to the climate and the challenges that came with it. He had been warned by Hugo on his last visit that he needed to build up his winter food stock, but had tried and failed on multiple occasions, growing too tired or too numb to face the tasks. 

He instead stocked up on whiskey which he kept in his cupboard.

So there he sat, at the small wooden table of his barren cabin contemplating the point of life itself. Then he drifted painfully to the memory of Titania. The broken bond flailing and trying to reform desperately. It only served to make the pit in his stomach feel worse, preventing him from eating any more. 

Nathan pushed the half full plate away with a deep sigh, hands finding his overgrown tresses as a few tears escaped his eyes. 

What made it worse was the claw marks he had found on the trees around his cabin. Which inevitably belonged to her and ever since, the paranoia of being watched. Even spotting her wolf lurking in the shadows of the night. That, or surely he was going mad. But instead of telling a desperate Beta of the fact Titania had been to his side of the territory; he let them wonder, like the stubborn wolf he was.

If he was to mope in solitude then so would they.

"Nothing? Its been a month Eóghan." Brett was pacing his office, already in a foul mood from the unrest that had consumed his morning. The Rosevelt pack, from south England, had been causing a commotion but when questioned weren't giving him the answers he wanted. Frustrated at the lack of co-operation and from the fact he had lost Titania, Brett was on edge.

Eóghan on the other end of the telephone line simply sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "It's not from lack of trying. Apart from the odd carcass, there's honestly nothing that I can track."

"Is the pack not searching?"

Snorting at the absurd statement Eóghan replied, "The whole pack searching for a feral wolf? You know what happens when a wolf loses it and I can't put others at risk of her attacking. Not to mention that she's an Alpha, surely you know we can't do that Brett."

"I understand that but the longer we leave her the less chance we have of getting her back... if at all! Winters coming and even being the strong wolf she is, you know her chances are slim without a pack." His pacing had turned into full on stomping. His wolf was antsy and not helping his already frazzled state of mind.