ALPHA CYRUS - Fallen King

4. Running

"Took you two long enough," Enzo growled at us from the bottom of the staircase. He had changed out of his stained clothes from earlier and was dressed in his evening wear now.

Cyrus placed his arm against the middle of my back and guided me down the staircase. We had taken a lot longer than we anticipated..and were now too late. My parents should be gathered in the dining room, where Madeline and the rest of the staff had prepared us a meal.

"Do you think they'd be able to smell it?" I whispered to Cyrus as we got down to Enzo, whom walked off instantly in the direction of the dining room.

"Yes." He answered simply and proudly, a smile on his face as he walked us over to the dining room, pushing the doors open effortlessly to expose my parents that were sitting on our left.

My mother's eyes were the first thing that caught my attention. Her eyes lit up almost immediately and she stood up, walking over to me.

Her eyes that were once filled with complete happiness had a sense of dullness - a new dullness. Even the corners of her eyes were wrinkled more than the last time I had seen her. But considering the loss she's suffered, it made some form of sense.

But I still hated seeing her like this.

"There you are!" She gushed, a wide smile on her face as she approached me. I quickly let go of Cyrus's hand, wrapping my arms around my mother. After a moment of desperate silence in which I found myself holding onto her scent as if it was going to disappear in seconds, she pulled away.

"You look well." She said once she pulled away, "Your skin is glowing."

"Thank you, mum," I smiled, "How have you been?"

"Good." She answered shortly and turned her attention to Enzo and Cyrus that stood on my left.

"Alpha Cyrus,"

"Mrs Lockwood, we've talked about this - call me Cyrus." Cyrus smiled and placed his hand out to her.

"I forget," She laughed, pulling him in for a hug. I took this as my chance to search for my father.

But he wasn't here.

"Where's dad?" I asked her, distracting her from greeting Enzo.

"Pack matters, but he sends his love." She replied and took her seat. "Come on, I didn't drive all those hours to eat cold food."

Cyrus let out a short chuckle and walked over to her, taking his seat in front of her. Enzo followed suit, sitting beside him and I sat beside my mother, directly in front of Cyrus.

"This smells lovely," She smiled, picking up a plate and placing it in front of me. She proceeded to place spoonfuls of food on my plate, loading it up. I placed my hand up, indicating that it was enough.

"Oh no honey, you've got to thicken up for the winter." She replied and I rolled my eyes. "A little thickness never hurt nobody." She added and Enzo let out a snort, placing a plate in front of him.

"So, how is Jarrod?" My Mother asked after a couple of moments of peaceful silence.

"Yeah he's doing great, he spends a lot of time at the Macy's with the other children," Cyrus replied, meeting my eyes for a second.

"Oh that's lovely, and baby Xena?"

"Growing too quickly" Enzo mumbled, his mouth full of food.

"How is it at MoonCrest?" Cyrus asked and I rolled my eyes inwardly.

"Can we please not talk about Pack Business, just for tonight." I groaned and my mother nudged me with her knee, under the table, an action that meant 'Be quiet or else,'