Stronger As One

Trigger Words

These past few days have been very uneventful and I've been dealing with an odd mate. He has been acting very indifferent to Raven and making it difficult to spend time with him. Just the other morning I heard the two arguing in our home while I was trying to sleep. They both slipped away to continue the conversation so I never gotten the chance to see what it was about. Its honestly been really starting to piss me off. I haven't gotten to introduce Juliet to him yet and I want to know more of who is supposed to protect me.

Right now I was taking my mind off of them and spending time with Juliet in my new snowy space. She was absolutely enthralled by it and the work the Alpha has put into it. It was nice getting to roughhouse and put my guard down. Juliets been incredibly busy with assisting the pack. Since being here, the lead hunter of the pack has taken her under his wing. Juliets strength has grown exceptionally since being here. Though she is not a good tracker, she has strong coordination with the hunting party and does great at taking down prey.

My mind tuned back into my surrounds. The sandy brown wolf has disappeared among the trees and I needed to focus to find her. I slowly circled myself and scanned for any abnormalities. I was fighting against using any of my advantages in order to keep this fair.

A sound peaked my attention and I flicked my ears to the side. It was the ever soft sound of pressure on the snow. I jumped around and pounced forward, I landed on the back or a crouched Juliet. She yelped out and rolled over under me. She tried desperately to push me off but I simply kept snapping my jaws and pawing at her face. I let her push me off and we both jumped to our feet and circled each other. Juliet paused in her pacing to nip at the fresh snow that had begun to fall from a few small boxes on the ceiling. A laugh slipped passed my lips as I watched her. She looked at my and tilted her head, I didn't even have time to comprehend what had happened when I felt her large paws push against my side and knock me in the snow. She landed on top of me and was staring down with a lopsided grin. I barked in amusement and returned a smile.

She pushed away from me and laid back down in the snow. I rolled over and rested my head on my paws. Neither of us made a sound and simply enjoyed the others company.

It's good to see you like this. My wolfs voice was something I didn't expect.

What do you mean?

Your life has not been easy.. When your mother passed.. It completely changed your father. You were forced to build a thick wall around you and to be extremely untrusting of everyone. But here you are.. With a friend, enjoying yourself.

I froze.

Memories flooded back of my father and the recent events that have occurred. He took my childhood.. Forced me to grow up so quickly. He blamed me for my mothers death.. I tried to cover it..

'Oh it's just his grief..' I thought.

And.. I thought it was my fault. The words that left his mouth haunted me, made me feel worthless.. I didn't see a point in living. He drank to try and cover the pain.. Losing a mate is a horrible experience. But he was angry. The alcohol took him to places and made him do things he wouldn't have normally when sober.

He wasn't sober often.

I cringed as I remembered the smell of alcohol on him. It followed him wherever he went like a little puppy.

I felt a wet nose nudge against the side of my head. I looked up to see Juliet staring at me with worry in her features. I sighed and huffed before pushing up and leaving the room. I needed to relax..take a warm bath.. Get my mind off things.

I padded back up to my room. I cocked my head at the door, it was slightly cracked. I nudged it open and didn't even make it in the door before I bolted. Jason and Raven were in the room both have shifted with cuts and bruised scattering their bodies. Both had animalistic sounds emanating from them and they were standing dangerously close. As soon as I opened the door they both snapped their heads to me, Jason took a step forward but I wasn't hearing it. I ran down the stairs pushing past pack mates I watched as they backed away, some falling on furniture. My eyes honed in on the glass door that led to the back. My anger was peaking, and my mind was feeling a bit hazy.

Dustin.. What are you doing? Please calm down.. My wolf pleaded.

His words simply added fuel to the fire. A growl charged in my throat and rang out as I charged head first through the glass. It shattered around me, and scrapped at my skin but I was too far gone. The pain was non existent as the adrenaline rushed through my body. I landed with a loud thought on the dirt before digging my claws into the ground and pushing off into the forest. I needed to get away from everyone. I heard the soft screams of some people as I slowly ran deeper into the woods.

How could they fight! I don't understand. Raven is here to protect me yet here they are fighting each other when there is absolutely no need for it.

Trees became a blur as I continued my anger induced run but it didn't last. I felt the strong emotions slowly switch to one of sadness. Tears filled my eyes and I quickly tried to blink them away. I ran into something hard with a loud crack that echoed through the forest. Pain burst in my head as I stumbled around before falling to the ground. The world was spinning so I focused on the tree that slowly began to fall to the earth. Shards snapped out and stung my face.

Are you okay? My wolf sound panicked.

I couldn't respond. Black dots were filling my vision, and the pain was greatly increasing. I let out a soft groan. Tears were steadily pouring from my eyes as images of my mother filled my head. What would life been like if she were still here? Would I be a different person? She was so beautiful and such a pure soul.. 

A sob escaped my lips as I slipped in and out of consciousness. I just want things to be okay for once.. I know I'm not a saint.. but haven't I been punished enough? It was getting harder to stay focused. My vision was now blurring and I found it much harder to keep my eyes open. 

It can't hurt to rest, right? 

I let my eyelids slip shut and I embraced the weakened state.

"Well look what we have here!"

And then I was gone.