Quiver

3

Roman

Months.. so many months had passed without her. But the months weren't lost to me, not one day did I spend not doing something for her. My entire pack had done the best they could for me in terms of consoling me, but I was devastated and pushed myself harder and harder every day I was without her. I had taken up training more and more, throwing myself into hunts viciously. So much so, that my father had to pull me aside and tell me I was acting like him... when he lost my mother. It made me flinch, as though I thought I had already lost Rori for good and so I withdrew from hunts and I trained less just to maintain a balance. But soon, after the months of waiting, we were ready. Our entire pack aside from Lilith and Chloe were going to raid the Jaecars, murder them all, and take back Rori. It was simply time, I was no longer thinking irrationally and our entire pack was stronger and bloodthirsty. Rori hadn't been with us long, but it had been long enough for the most of us to accept her and want her to be apart of our pack.

So today was it, I realized with a groan as I stretched briefly and sprung from my bed.. the bed that felt so empty without Rori curled in my arms. Today was the day we planned to invade the Jaecars, murder as many as possible and take Rori back as well as her brother. There was no more waiting and I was finally relieved and could breathe easy about what was coming, I didn't have to struggle through the day and pray she was okay. I was going to get her.

I slid down the stairs and found literally all of the pack in the kitchen. Yorik and his mate, Annalise sat at the head of the table with their daughter Aurora and appeared to be talking more than eating at this point. Chloe and Garrett sat at the table as well, only further down, with their little daughter, Lilith who didn't want to eat something, but they were making her. Holden and Sarah were stationed at the large table too with the guys they adopted, Trevor and Cody who scarfed down food faster than they could grab it. My eyes spotted Winter and Eva off in a corner by themselves, but they gave me a small smile as my eyes glanced over them. They appeared to be done eating and merely didn't want to leave the pleasant atmosphere of the kitchen. I spotted my father, Luke and my brother, Damion near the bar as well as a face who had become more familiar around here seeing as she was Rori's best friend, Bree Porter.

Bree had been coming frequently to the pack house, making it clear she was Rori's best friend and she wasn't going anywhere and she intended to help. Over the months we had all gotten used to her and even enjoyed her presence, not to mention, we were grateful for her part in planning to get Rori back. As a Witch, Bree could help us get into the Jaecars' place a lot easier than if we didn't have her. She was rather advanced and could probably stop the alarms from going off and unlock the doors to the compound so we allowed her to stay. But as she stayed she grew on all of us and she shared stories of her and Rori and helped out. Now it was like she was one of us.. just less wolf and more Witch.

I walked to the bar as they all waved me over and sank onto a stool. A plate was passed to me by Bree, who I hadn't seen move, but I smiled at her gratefully as she sat back down in her seat. No one said a word as I dug into my food and the silence continued until I was about halfway through, then my father decided to speak.

"Are you sure you're ready?" He asked, voice gravelly with slight dread. I knew what he was worried about, this fight would most likely cost us pack members... lives and all because I couldn't stand to be alone and throughout all of us, the pack understood in some way and wanted to risk it too.

I set my fork down and pushed the plate of food away gently. "I'm more than ready, Dad. You know I want to get her back... you would've done the same for Mom if you could have."

I watched my father flinch at the mention of my mother who had been dead for four years now, but his dark blue eyes hardened and he gave me a resolute nod. "Very well. I will stand beside you, Roman."

"Thank you."

"So are you excited?" Damion asked. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't often Damion asked stupid things, but this was a time when he did.

Bree smacked Damion on his arm and snapped, "Of course he is, we all are. It's a chance to not only get Rori back and Cole, but also a chance to give the Jaecars what they had coming a long time ago."

Damion instantly looked apologetic and I knew it was mostly because he liked Bree.. he liked her a lot. But with all the stress and worrying about Rori she hadn't the time to notice nor had Damion told her yet. My brother was just about to open his mouth and probably tell me he was sorry when suddenly Yorik jumped to his feet and rushed to the door with Annalise close behind. I felt my stomach flip in nervous somersaults and slowly stood up as the other pack members whispered anxiously to one another. I didn't know why they had run to the door until it was flung open and I inhaled.

My senses were suddenly flooded with a bunch of scents from whoever had come in the door, but there was only one scent in particular that mattered. Only one scent that I hadn't breathed in months. And only one Lupus that could belong to.

Her. My Rori.