Sleuth

Run

Kyrrian woke up at five a.m. like she always did and got dressed. She put on her running clothes, put her hair up, and took off out the front door at six on the dot. She ran down the path that led from the first step of the house and across the vast front yard. The trim grass quickly turned into rough foliage and tall pines. Kyrrian continued on the path as it wound through the forest. As per usual, small animals like rabbits and mice scurried to their holes for safety at the sound of her feet pounding down the path she had slowly worn throughout the years. Because everything was just as it always was, Kyrrian almost didn't notice the silhouette of the person standing at the edge of the bluffs overlooking the crisp, cold North Pacific. She halted suddenly and dropped down to her haunches, watching the person through the shrubbery. The silhouette stood, hands on hips, posture strict and straight, staring intently at the roaring ocean before them. Kyrrian sat in her hidden position until the wind blew the scent of the man towards her and she realized she recognized him. Stepping out of the hedges, Kyrrian made her way to the Alpha's side.

"Alpha Reik?" she said. He turned, completely calm, and smiled softly.

"Kyrrian Grayson" his tone was very proper as he turned back to the ocean view.

"You must have been up early to beat me out here" Kyrrian said. She despised being beat, by anyone, and the idea that he had left close to the same time as her and beaten her to this spot irked the competitive streak she had been grooming for years.

"I don't sleep well Kyrrian Grayson" he said, a shadow of deeper emotion behind his eyes. Suddenly, he turned to her with his signature large smile. "And why are you up this early?"

"I like to get up and get my workout done before anyone can talk to me, helps me get myself together" she said, then furrowed her brow, not understanding why she was telling him so much information about her personal feelings.

"You should avoid grimacing like that. Your brother is a handsome man, but you're too beautiful to always carry his signature frown" Scottlin said with a soft smile.

"He and I are twins, we're supposed to look alike. And I don't like being hit on" Kyrrian said, immediately taking a step back.

With a sigh, Scottlin turned to Kyrrian, "do you know why you put up such a strong, hostile front?"

"It's not a front, I am strong and I am hostile" she said, crossing her arms and taking another step back from him.

"No, it's because you want someone to try to see how hurt you are" Scottlin retorted.

"I'm not-"

"You are. You are hurt, and weak, and fragile and you have tricked yourself into saying that this tough exterior you've created is because you're smarter and wiser than before whatever it was that hurt you, but in all honesty, you are more shattered and broken than ever. You want someone to break past your shield and see the truth, to help you fix yourself correctly, but everyone has done exactly what they think you want, which is left you alone and let you be tough all on your own" Scottlin Reik finished his speech with somber face. But he quickly plastered on a smile and waved goodbye before taking a sprinting leap off the cliff side into the water below. Kyrrian ran to the edge of the cliff with a gasp and watched his body plummet into the ocean. After a few seconds, he resurfaced and began swimming toward the shore of the beach a few miles from where Kyrrian stood.

Kyrrian stepped back from the edge of the cliff and stared at the ocean before slowly sinking to the ground and pulling her knees to her chest. One tear slipped down her cheek, but that was one tear more than she had allowed herself in the five years since the incident.

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Later that day