Operation Unite The Beasts.

Regrets...?

  ~Talon's POV~

My paws hit the ground as I came to a halt at the small lake that signified the division between my pack and the pride, the border, I stood on alert, fully aware of multiple presence in the area, waiting calmly, it didn't take too long for Kayla to emerge from behind the cover of trees.

She was Jay's third in command and despite her small statue was a force to be reckoned with, being the commander of both the patrol and trackers, she was known for her speed, stamina and flexibility, she was Jay's trusted aide and one of his most powerful warriors.

Aside from being his third, she maintained the position of his shadow, kinda like a personal body guard, always by his side except the rare times he sent her away or her attention was needed elsewhere , she was also known for being completely and utterly loyal to him and him alone, no questions asked. To Kayla, Jay's words were law, and his orders were to be carried out even if it meant her death.

I envied Jay for having a subordinate like her around him, it wasn't surprising his pride was still ahead of every other society of supernatural creatures, his subordinates were extremely loyal and held unyielding respect for him, he was a lucky man, she was such a powerful woman, and was willing to do anything for him, meanwhile all I got was Claire, I shook my head sadly.

"well on the bright side, Claire is willing to do anything for you as well..." my wolf Ray trailed off to me teasingly, I shuddered in disgust at his implication and blocked him out of my mind the moment he started laughing.

Kayla paced aggressively , her Lion form was thin but well built and a little larger than the average female, her gaze was fierce as she stared me down, I took a step forward and she growled lowly, ignoring her, I moved till I was right at the edge of the border, stopping I bobbed my wolf head toward the trees and she gave me one last glare before heading behind a tree, rolling my eyes at her, I did the same, shifting and putting on some shorts,

"it's probably due to something dangerous Jay posted warriors here, Mathias is just too much, you need to put him in his place or I will, Jay would never station guards here because of us, even if he is angry." my wolf said, I sighed,

"I don't know Ray, he did say he was done with us...." I trailed off, my wolf growled at me and I shut up, moving out.

Kayla was already there waiting, she had on a huge shirt that went down to her knees and she still spotted the death glare, schooling my features, I kept on my deadly Alpha expression and went straight to the point,

"what are we to take this gesture as?" I asked coldly, referring to the stationing of warriors aside from the usual patrol team, she looked at me coldly.

"the orders were simple, you are not welcomed here!" she informed clearly and I felt like I was punched in the gut, my wolf whimpered within me, I didn't let my feelings show though, nodding to indicate I understood.

"it has nothing to do with war then?" I clarified, she chuckled coldly,

"Jaylen knew you'd say that, he said to tell you this...." She began, I lifted a brow and she smirked

"You are not worthy enough to stand opposing me on the battlefield Talon, a war?, Why would I waste my time and resources so?" She quoted him, my chest tightened instantly as my throat began closing up with the pain that was kicking up again, this time my wolf offered me no help as he shut me out harshly, I nodded again before turning sharply, moving back into my territory, I shifted and ran into the woods.
__________

I walked through the halls of my pack house heading to my office, passing by the dinning hall, everyone quietened as they felt my presence, the same reaction was gotten from each person I passed by as they bowed and stayed as still as they could till I had passed, probably too scared any movement might upset me, I didn't blame them, it was quite obvious I was in a foul mood, I had been since the ball but it got much worse after the incident at the border, probably due to the fact that my wolf had refused to speak to me ever since, yeah, my mood was down right sour, I was angry and I didn't make the slightest attempt to hide it.

On normal days my pack didn't dare mess up in front of me, but on days like this, everyone adopted award winning good behaviors, even Grey, and that's saying a lot, everyone was walking on thin ice around me

'wise wolves.' I thought, the slightest action got you in trouble with me nowadays, for example, Elder Mathias was now just Mathias, like my wolf had always addressed him, I had decided to make it official and take the Elder part back, in my defense it was his fault for daring to show his ugly face in front of me, after spreading panic among my wolves.

Secondly Claire was now conveniently living on the ground floor, a place for the lowest of the low in the pack, where no one actually stayed because we didn't classify wolves according to rank in my pack, also her fault since she decided now was the best time to audition for an Oscars award in the most caring daughter and best crying scene category, so in general, if you came around me as of late, things just tended to go downhill for you.

Growling in annoyance, I got into my office, Grey and Cain already waiting there for me, I slammed the door shut, rounded the table and took my sit, fixing a death glare on the both of them,

"what the fuck do you both want?!" I asked crossly, they shuffled in their seat, Grey nudged Caine and he cleared his throat, glaring at Grey.

"well... today is Thursday....it's been four days since the ball and two since you went to the border...." He began,

"I have a fucking calendar Caine, I know what day it is and how many days it's been so do you have an actual reason for wanting to see me or do you just want to waste my time?" I asked cutting him off.

"I didn't know being grumpy actually took so much time you wouldn't have any left over..." Grey wondered aloud, I narrowed my eyes, turning to him, he seemed to just realize he had thought out loud, his eyes widened and he stood up,

"I didn't mean....aaaaaaaaaa" was heard as he fell down the window of my office, which was on the third floor, the crash that followed jolted Caine out of his shock as he rushed to the broken window looking down, turning back to stare at me in shock,

"you actually flung him out the window!" he said, I rolled my eyes at his expression.

"he'll live, besides there's a reason I always told him I would one of these days, now do you have something to say or not?", I said nonchalantly, Caine blinked, still just staring at me, rolling my eyes again, I turned to leave.

"wait, wait, we just wanted to know what you decided concerning Ariana, the human girl, you never gave us feedback." he said, I felt a pang in my heart at that,

"Ariana....." I muttered quietly, testing it, the name rolled of my tongue perfectly,

"perfect." I heard from my wolf for the first time in two days, as if just realizing he had let the block down, he growled hatefully at me and shut me out again, I sighed sadly, turning to face Caine, as Grey staggered in,

" so that's her name."I said softly, he nodded, a weird look in his eyes, glancing at Grey, it seemed they had a silent conversation as the look he had was the same, sighing again, I didn't even have enough energy to be curious right now.

I took a good look at Grey and was relieved internally, he broke a few things but they'd heal soon enough, besides as a warrior he knew how to prepare for hard impact in a way he would sustain only minimum injuries, noticing my look, he glared crossly at me and I smirked,

"seriously Talon, what's up with you lately?" Grey asked me worriedly, I sighed,

"Ray's mad at me and  he's not speaking to me, he shut me out for a while now, and combined with all the stuffs that's been going on, I guess I'm just ..... cracking." I replied, they both sighed, exchanging a look, before looking at me, I snorted at the look of worry they had on their faces,

"I'll handle it and you should go see the pack doctor Grey." I said, before walking out.

I had decided to take a walk through the woods, sighing I sat, resting my back against a tree I shut my eyes, this was the same tree I had come to seven years ago, with Jaylen, Kyle, Leo, Grey, Caine, Mia, Dan and Kayla who was always where Jaylen was ever since he saved her from rouges some years before then, it was such a pleasant memory, with all the people closest to me by my side and now, here I was by this same tree....all alone and somewhere deep within me, beneath all the certainty I had fortified myself with, I couldn't help but wonder, was I really doing the right thing?....