Troubled Souls

Chapter 4

Silas hadn't lied when he said he'd look good as new after a good night's sleep. When I woke up the next morning all there was left was a scar on his lip, where a cut had been the night before.

The days after that one bloody night, Silas didn't leave my side anymore. He took me to the most beautiful places in town, with their own history. All of the stories he could tell by heart. I figured it had something to do with his future position as an Alpha. I loved the botanic garden most. It reminded me of my own garden, where there was always color, no matter how dark my days were. Flowers always bloomed and it made my aunt jealous. She couldn't keep weeds alive if it would save her life.

I was staring at an exceptional rose bush, wondering why it wasn't dormant yet, when Silas confirmed my confusion.

    "It was dormant until a few days ago."

    "They should be this time of year," I said, remembering my research on all sorts of roses. "What happened?"

    "My brother would know..."

    "Rowan? He never really struck as the botanical type."

    "No, not Rowan," Silas laughed, "Ezra."

    "I haven't met him, have I?" Silas shook his head. He seemed troubled about something.

    "I don't think you will." Realization settled in with those words as I let out a quiet gasp.

    "I'm sorry, Silas." He shook his head again.

    "He's not dead, he just... Ezra has a different goal in life than most of the Pack." I didn't even know what the Pack's goal was. The atmosphere around us seemed to change talking about Silas's absent brother and it didn't sit right with me. Along with this new life came secrets I had no right to know but was still a part of.

    "Silas, why does everything have to be kept secret from me?" He glanced at me without stopping his walk.

    "I'm not keeping secrets from you," he said harshly. I begged to differ.

    "If I am going to be stuck here for the rest of my life, I'd like to know whatever it is you all keep hiding from me."

    "Not this again," he sighed, plopping down on the first bench he saw. "Why bring our connection up every time? I've tried to explain, but you keep insisting there is nothing."

    "I'm not talking about the whole bond thing," I said, as I sat down next to him waving his remark away, "You disappear at the strangest moments, then reappear bloody and bruised. Now your lost brother who happens to just have a different life goal that you obviously don't approve of and I'm cert -"

    "As my father's successor, I have to prove my worth. Contrary to what you have read about wolves, the Alpha does not sit back and relax. Our town would not be safe without the protection of our warriors. Warriors that are led by the Alpha and his Beta. Things went sideways that one night."

"Sideways is the least you can say," I muttered.

"I ignored a direct order from my father," Silas admitted quietly, cringing as he thought back to that night. He lowered his gaze in an attempt to avoid mine, but I'd seen the pain in his eyes. I felt sorry for him, knowing he was not only dealing with me fighting our connection and the physical aches it came with, but he was also dealing with a douchebag father in order to become an Alpha. All while protecting the town. As he sat next to me, his slumped shoulders and his head down, I realized just how human he looked at that moment. The familiar warmth spread through my arm when I took his hand. His grip tightened as if he had to hold on for dear life, looking up at me with his vermillion eyes. The darkness in them sent the butterflies in my stomach into overdrive. My thoughts went back to the clearing in an instant, dampening my panties. I couldn't stop it. Silas picked up on my feelings too, I noticed in the way his body tensed. Mine was demanding more of it. Maybe I could just...