Alphas War

Chapter 14

"Where are you going?" Zach asked me the next morning after we had spent the entire afternoon and night in bed - catching up. He leant against the kitchen counters with a plate of toast in his hand and a frown on his face.

I reached up to peck his lips and then slipped my jacket on. "I have to talk to Dean," I said, grabbing the last slice of toast from my plate and biting into it.

"Why?" Zach frowned, crunching on his own breakfast.

"I want to know everything there is to know about Rick. So far, he has always been the one to attack and I want to be the one in control," I explained, already half way out the door. "See you later," I called.

"Stay safe," he called back, "I love you."

I smiled as the door shut behind me, warmth flooding through me. I turned to the house beside mine which was now occupied by my father and brother and tapped on the door.

"Hey," my brother greeted with a smile as he pulled the door open. "What's up?"

"Hey Aiden," I said as I stepped inside, shrugging off my jacket and tossing it onto one of the many cardboard boxes stacked around the hallway. "I need to talk to dad, is he here?"

Aiden nodded and lead me through a passageway between the boxes towards the back of the house. They had hardly moved in so their stuff was still boxed up, making the house feel smaller than I remembered.

In the kitchen, Dean was standing with his back to the door, plugging in the electrical appliances they had brought with them. He turned suddenly and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Is everything ok?" He asked, his eyes scanning me for injury.

I nodded reassuringly. "Everything is fine... I was just hoping we could talk," I explained.

Less than half an hour later, the two of us were trekking up the mountain away from the territory. "So what's up?" He finally asked, turning to face me.

"I wanted to ask you about Rick," I explained. "He knows everything about me and I realised I know nothing about him. I don't even know why is he so desperate for power?"

Dean frowned, still slowly walking alongside me while he thought over his answer. "I guess its because of what happened to our parents," he said finally and I frowned.

"What happened?"

"Our dad was always strong and that usually means having equally as strong enemies. When we were young, he was challenged to a fight... and was killed," he said, his eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown.

"Rick ended up being responsible for me and my mother and he always took it very seriously," he explained, "we were okay for a long time, safe."

"Thats when he met Alexia's mother," he continued and I frowned thinking of my friend. "He was completely in love with her and even though they were still young, they got married and started a family. That was the first time I had seen my brother genuinely happy since my father was killed."

"If he was so happy, why did he leave?" I growled.

Dean sighed and turned to me. "Our mother got sick not long after Alexia's brother was born. Rick tried to balance being there for her and being there for the kids but mom died," he said softly.

"Got sick?" I frowned. "How? She was a werewolf, we can't get sick."

"It turns out we can. The pack doctor said it was rare but sometimes werewolves can get an incurable sickness," he explained. "Rick blamed himself for not being there enough to protect her and it drove him crazy. He started arguing with his wife and lashing out until he had to leave... he was so enraged that they weren't safe around him."

"So he wants power to protect himself from dying like your parents did?" I asked, scrunching my brows.

"Not just to protect himself, he wanted to protect me and go back to his family, but he is too far gone to realise how insane this is," he grumbled, shaking his head.

"He wasn't a bad person," Dean assured me, "not until we lost her. And now he is going to extreme lengths to make sure he doesn't lose anyone else but he has taken it way too far and has lost everyone he cared about anyway. Now he has nothing to lose."

I stopped walking and watched my father turn to me in confusion. "What about you? Has he really lost you, because from where I'm standing it seems like you don't really want him dead."

He shook his head. "The second he admitted to murdering your mother he lost me Ella. He was my brother and I loved him but he has gone too far and I want him gone just as much as you do, you don't need to worry about that."

I nodded. "Good, because he has hurt and threatened too many of the people that I love. I want him gone," I assured him.

"So what exactly is your plan?"

"Well-." I sighed. "-I was hoping you would reveal a weakness of his that we could use but he seems to have lost all of them," I said, defeat evident in my tone.

"We'll figure it out," he promised with a smile before we continued our walk.

****

I stepped back into the house a little later with a cup of takeout coffee in my hand. I hooked my jacket over one of the pegs by the door and strolled down the hallway with another drink for Zach.

I stopped at the doorway at the sight of Liam, Alexia, Jordan and Ryder standing around my living room. "Hey," I said, frowning in confusion.

"Find out anything?" Zach called from the kitchen and I shook my head and moved towards him. He frowned and pecked my cheek while I handed him his coffee. "Thanks."

I smiled and turned back to the group of people in our living room. "Can I help you guys?" I asked.

"Yes." Lexi leapt forward to stand in front of me. "We were talking about your wedding and I know Jordan will probably be your maid of honour but please, please, please can I help organise it as well? You know organising parties is my thing!"

My eyebrows raised as I grinned at her while she rambled about party planning. "Lexi," I called, snapping my fingers in front of her face. "I haven't really thought about it yet but sure," I said with a laugh and she grinned.

"Great." She clapped her hands and turned to Jordan who rolled her eyes. "Told you," she said. "So how long do I have so I can make a schedule?"

"I really haven't given it much thought Lexi," I told her, shaking my head and taking a sip of my drink.

Her face dropped and she stared at me for a long while, making Liam and Zach chuckle. "Its your wedding," she stated, "how have you not thought about it every second since he proposed?"

I scoffed. "Well we have had more pressing issues, like Rick trying to get me and a war between humans and werewolves. Not to mention bombings, kidnappings and the joining of two packs," I said, "I've been a little busy."

"Well you're not doing anything right now," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow at me, "so think about it."

"Alexia, we are in the middle of a war. When everything has calmed down and we are all safe, then I will think about getting married," I told her.

"El, we are never going to be completely safe. Our secret is out, you're a target for anyone looking to make an army, you're the leader of the biggest pack in the world, we will always have something to deal with," Ryder pointed out and I sighed.

"He has a point," Zach agreed and I turned to see him gazing down at me. "I want to marry you," he told me.

A smile crossed my face. "I want to marry you too," I said, leaning up to kiss him softly.

"Great!" Again, Lexi clapped her hands excitedly. "So, lets plan a wedding?" She said hopefully.

I nodded and smiled. "Okay."