Tristan
"What are the four pillars of the Silvercrest pack?" She asked in a smooth voice.
I opened my eyes, she was seated across me, still in the same form with her knees folded beneath her and her back straight.
"No peeking, T." She spoke in a sing song voice.
I quickly shut my eyes. "Um - the four pillars..."
I racked my brain. "Loyalty, integrity, cooperation and... and..."
"Peace and harmony." She finished for me.
"Yeah, exactly." I responded like I had known it all along.
I heard my mother sigh. "T -"
I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me in a patronising way.
"I swear I knew it mum! I just needed a minute to think." I muttered the last part and looked at the ground.
My legs were beginning to hurt from putting all my weight on them.
"Get up, T." She spoke as she begun to rise herself.
I felt relieved that I would actually get to stretch out my legs after what must have been 40 minutes in the same position.
"You haven't been studying with Nita, have you?" She asked seriously.
I hated when she used that tone. It meant 'serious mum' was around. But then again, 'serious mum' always showed up when we came down here to train.
"I have." I spoke defensively.
"Really? Because she says you haven't been paying attention."
I looked at my bare feet.
"It's a lot to remember, mum."
"Pick up your staff, Tristan." She spoke.
I almost groaned out loud.
Not this again.
I looked behind me at the wooden staff on the floor.
I hesitantly picked it up and turned around to see my mother had picked up her own. Without warning she swung at me.
I quickly jumped back.
"The four pillars of the pack, Tristan." She demanded before swinging again.
This time I blocked it with my own staff before it could hit my face.
"Loyalty -" I groaned as I used all my strength to fend off her staff.
"Integrity."
Her staff came for my right arm and I quickly spun and stopped it.
"Cooperation -"
This time her staff came for my stomach area and I had to use both my hands to use align my staff to block the attack.
"And - whoa!"
The staff was swiped underneath me and sent me falling to the ground.
Dang it. I hadn't watched for my feet.
I landed on my back on the purple padded mat.
"Peace and harmony." My mother spoke sternly as her face appeared above mine.
"Ow!" I yelled at her as I rubbed the back of my head.
Her face softened.
She got on one knee before me.
"Tristan, the pain you feel right now is temporary. It will go away and then your body will be at peace and in harmony again."
"Are you really using my pain right now to prove a point?" I asked angrily.
She gave me a small smile. "Many alphas forget that last one too. But a pack needs to feel peace and harmony, at least once. When there is peace and harmony, everything works at its optimum level and everyone is safe. An absence of these two very important things can mean danger."
She put her staff down and took my arm, pulling us both onto our feet.
"T, you need to understand that the pain you feel now will disappear and you won't have that grouchy look on your face anymore." She teased.
She put her hand on my cheek. "You need to have experienced peace and harmony to know what life would be like without it. You need to treasure it and list it among one of your necessities in life. That way when someone threatens to steal it away from you, you're able to fight for it with whatever you have. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" She asked.
I huffed. "No. Just stop speaking in riddles and tell me."
She frowned. "I mean you should value peace and harmony in this pack. When you become alpha, you'll need to treat it as a basic human right for all your pack members. Each and every one of them. And when someone threatens that peace, you need to go for them with everything you have."
I huffed. "Mum, I what's the point of all this? I'm not even close to becoming the alpha."
"But you will one day baby, and I want you to know that this title is -"
She stopped when we heard the front door open. My father stuck his head into the room.
"Hey." He spoke as he walked in. "Busy training I see."
"Shoes, honey." My mum reminded him as he stepped onto the mat.
"Oh! Right, sorry." He spoke before taking off his shoes.
"Mum just knocked me over - again." I snitched.
My father looked at my mother with a frightened look on his face.
My mother rolled her eyes. "He's exaggerating."
"Tell that to the bump on the back of my head." I replied.
"Okay." My father spoke putting a hand on my shoulder. "T, why don't you go play with the twins, they've been asking about you."
I groaned. "Do I have to?"
My father placed his hand on my shoulder. "Yes." He responded.
"Yesterday, they snuck into my room and got gum in my hair!" I yelled in outrage.
"To be fair, they just wanted to sleep with their big brother. It's not their fault they didn't know not to sleep with gum in their mouths." My mother spoke as she picked up both her staff and mine and set them in the rack. She frowned and looked up at my dad. "We should actually discourage that as soon as possible. What if one of them choked?"
"My money would be on Mikey, the kid puts anything and everything in his mouth that seems edible." He let out a small laugh but immediately shut up when my mother glared at him.
He cleared his throat. "Plus, I am loving the new look, champ. It makes you look very grown up. I'm sure Lydia will like it." He winked at me.
I felt my face getting warmer and I pushed my dad's hand away from me. "Dad! Stop it." I muttered.
"Oh am I mistaken? Was it Bridgette you had a crush on?" He continued.
"Dad!" I yelled.
"He's only eleven, Francis. Way too young for girlfriends." My mother spoke seriously.
She had a hard look on her face.
Right. Serious mum doesn't do jokes.
"You better get going, champ, Anita made snickerdoodles." My dad told me.
"Sugar?" Serious Mum sounded outraged.
"Escape while you can." My dad whispered to me with a wink, slightly pushing me to the door.
I ran quickly.
But when I was out the door, I didn't leave.
Instead I leaned against it, pressing my ear against it just in time to hear 'Serious mum' begin to speak.
"You're to soft on him."
"Well you're too tough on him." My father argued. "Seriously? Sparring again? I thought we talked about that." Oh no, dad sounded mad.
Dad never gets mad.
"He needs to be trained. He needs to be strong."
"What he needs to be is a kid."
There was a pause. "Well that's not a luxury we can afford, we're in the midst of a war."
"A war that we have under control!"
"They attacked the Fallsway pack! A pack under my protection!" She yelled. "I know Ornyx, he's not a fool. He's making us think we're winning while doing all these little things to provoke me. He's trying to catch me off guard. Trying to make me do something stupid."
Another pause. I heard shuffling.
"You said you wouldn't become your father."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means he turned you into a paranoid war machine and you're trying to do the same to Tristan." This time I heard footsteps. I quickly turned and ran off.
"T? T?"
I sat up abruptly and turned immediately saw Bridgette sitting on the couch in the back of the room, she had a file open and different printed items scattered in front of her.
She frowned. "Sorry. I was going to let you get a few more minutes of sleep but Captain Park will chew you out if she gets here and finds you asleep. And I figured you've had enough of people yelling at you for one day."
"Yeah, thanks."
My head was pounding. I ran a hand down my face and tilted my head from side to side trying to get the know out. Word to the wise, don't wall asleep in the office chair anymore, who was I kidding? It was definitely going to happen again.
And even though I felt tempted to shut my eyes again, Bridgette was right, the last thing I needed was a repeat of what had happened earlier during our council briefing.
I didn't think it was possible for grown people to cause so much chaos, all of them acting without order. It was like they were all trying to compete on who could yell the loudest.
Hence my headache.
I stood up and flinched slightly.
Bridgette shook her head. "Will you just take a stupid painkiller already?" She snapped as she crossed something off on the papers she was looking at.
I looked up at her. She knew my head felt like it was about to split open because of the mindlink but we didn't share an empathy link so I don't know exactly why she was complaining so much. Especially since she had basically instigated the shouting match that had occurred during the council meeting.
"Hey, you weren't going to put Rodger in his place so I took over." She spoke and I realised she had read my mind.
"Will you stay out of my head? I'm right here next to you." I snapped.
"It's not like there's anything new in there." She scoffed. "Crystal, Crystal, Crystal, how will I keep her safe? Why are rogues after her? How will she fair with living in the manor? Crystal this, Should I have left her with my grandmother, Crystal tha -"
"Bridge!" I growled, I could feel her going deeper in my mind.
"And -" She stopped.
I felt her presence in my mind recede. She was quiet for a little while before frowning at me.
"Your parents?"
I looked away from her.
"T." I heard her sigh. She put down the pen she was using and stood up before walking towards me. She grabbed me by my arm, forcing me to turn and face her. "I thought the nightmares stopped."
"It's no big deal." I told her wishing she would just drop it.
"It is to me." She spoke in a soft voice which she hardly ever used. "You were talking in your sleep again."
I sighed knowing she wouldn't let it go. "I'm losing control, Bridge." I admitted.
I was an alpha, I wasn't allowed to be vulnerable. So I built my defenses up all the time. Built up concrete walls and lined them with barbed wire like my mother taught me. So that no one would be able to sneak in and break me. I was the alpha. I was supposed to appear strong and capable for my people. But then there was Bridgette who had seen me in more embarrassing moments than I would like to admit.
Besides, she was constantly in my head, even if I tried to hide that part of myself from her, she would know something was off.
"I think Rodger was right -"
"Take that back. Rodger is never right." She spoke dead seriously before cracking a smile.
I smiled as well in spite of myself.
"Well he had a point when he said that I'm not at my peak. I'm letting things slip through the cracks and I feel like I should have solved this case already and it's driving me crazy."
Bridgette sighed. "Hey, ease up on yourself, this isn't an easy case."
"I can't." I told her in frustration wishing she would just get it.
I showed her my thoughts, the night we found out my mother had died, how my father had literally become in active, weak, broken. He couldn't even get out of bed.
I showed her how scared my brothers had been. How I had to take over. I showed her how I had to step up and leave to fight on the frontlines where my mother had been. How that had been a mistake. Because even if I had been victorious, an enemy wolf followed me back to Silvercrest territory, back to the manor.
I showed her the moment I found my father's body in his room. He didn't stand a chance, all because I had let someone slip through the cracks. All because I hadn't been as careful as I should have been.
Bridgette looked up at me when I was done, her eyes were glossy.
"That's not fair. And you know it" She spoke harshly.
I showed her my fears now. What if I let something else slip through the cracks?
What if it hurt Crystal? My brothers? Pete? Or even her? I couldn't lose someone else I cared about.
Bridgette put her hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer. "Hey, look at me."
What if I was really going to be the downfall of this pack like Rodger insisted on reminding me all the time?
What if I hurt my pack? The pack I was supposed to keep safe and serve?
"T, look at me." She ordered.
I forced myself to meet her blue eyes.
"We're gonna figure this out, okay?"
I was about to say something when a voice interrupted us.
"Finally."
I had barely heard the door open.
Bridgette stepped away from me and turned to look at Captain Park who in with Peter and Raphael behind her.
"Sorry, we're late, we had to contain Rodger and stop him from starting a mini uprising during the council meeting."
I know what Bridgette was doing, distracting Captain Park for a moment while I collected myself.
I tried to compose myself and push everything back. This wasn't the time or place to let my emotions run wild. I have a job to do. A duty to my pack.
I stepped forward and took over.
"Any progress with the interrogations?" I asked Captain Park.
"No alpha, they still aren't giving up any information." She spoke. She gave me a strange look and I knew she could tell I wasn't okay. But as I said, I didn't have time to consider my mental state. I was worried about the hostages we were currently holding in the basement.
We've had them locked up with no food or water for hours, seperated, in the dark. But I didn't exactly expect that to break them.
They're Van Cliffe's.
I know how resilient they can be. They were trained to be that way.
And they were all still in their wolf forms, none of them had shifted back yet and I could only assume they were trying to protect their identities.
"I say we assume what we need to assume for now." Bridgette spoke. "They snuck into Silvercrest territory and aggressively tried to seek out pack members. Including the luna and the alpha's brother. They're a danger, a threat. We should handle them likewise, in a hostile manner."
"I don't know why no one is saying this but it isn't even a question." Raphael yelled. "They're Van Cliffe's we handle them like we would have handled them during the war."
I shut my eyes and winced. Whenever I thought of the wall, I saw glimpses of blood, lifeless bodies, flesh...
"Okay, go ahead and kill the prisoners." Bridgette spoke. "Then we would have achieved exactly nothing."
"I'm just saying we need to do what needs to be done, the public won't like that we're keeping Van Cliffes here in Silvercrest, alive for that mattter!"
I winced at his loud tone.
Are all my meetings today going to involve people yelling my ear off?
"Could everyone take a seat so that we start this meeting off the right way?" I growled.
"That sounds like something civilised people would do." She spoke, giving Raphael a hard look before taking the chair right across my desk.
Bridgette went back to the couch she was on. Peter just went to lean against the wall. I rose my brows at him.
"If I sit down, I will fall asleep." He spoke.
I couldn't blame him, among the three of us, we had probably gotten a max of two hours of sleep and it was clearly taking a toll on us all.
"Captain?" I nodded at her to give us an official briefing.
She didn't even look at the file she had infront of her. "As I said before, Alpha, nothing has changed. The captives are still in their wolf forms, kept isolated in separate cells being weakened with wolfsbane as you instructed, We're still waiting for at least one of them to change back so that we can question them. They're still fighting though. You gotta admire the resilience of the Eclipse pack."
No need to tell me. Ornyx Van Cliffe basically treated all his pack members as soldiers and subjected them to the most intense training, no matter their age. If there's one thing he hated, it was weakness.
"They won't last." I spoke.
I had heard a sick story about how Ornyx tried to make his soldiers immune to wolfsbane by giving it to them in small doses. It was impossible to develop immunity but I guess it helped them develop some sort of resistance. But even the strongest wolf wouldn't be able to withstand for too long. One of them was bound to break soon.
Raphael, who had remained standing in front of my desk shook his head at me.
"I can't believe you still refuse too open your eyes Tristan. We don't need to interrogate them, we know what's going on here."
"Oh, do tell." Bridgette spoke sarcastically.
Raph ignored her and looked at me and Captain Park.
"They didn't hurt or try to hurt the luna. That doesn't seem suspicious to you guys?" Raphael asked.
Here we go again.
I glared at him.
"Raph, my mate isn't a traitor. She didn't even know those rogues." I told him sternly.
"Fine. But what if they knew her." Raphael argued.
"It did seem like they recognized her to be a Van Cliffe from both your brother's and Bea's statements." Captain Park spoke.
I clenched my fists, what was wrong with these people and accusing Crystal?
"Here is a possibility." Peter spoke up quickly. "The Van Cliffe wolves are basically an exiled pack. In this region especially, it's hard for them to find a pack willing to give them refuge. Maybe they recognized Crystal as a Van Cliffe and hoped she would help them find membership in the Silvercrest pack."
"How would they know Crystal was a Van Cliffe?" Captain Park argued. "With her halfling nature, sometimes you can't even tell she has a werewolf side."
"So there must be a mole within the pack." I didn't realize how much I had been considering it until I said the words.
"T, that's a pretty serious accusation." Peter spoke warily.
Everyone else looked as shocked as he did.
Werewolves aren't like humans, packs are basically built on loyalty so betrayal is a pretty big deal.
I leaned forward.
"I know the Silvercrest pack is supposed to be united and loyal to each other. But I won't sit back and ignore the fact that my borders are air tight. No one can get in or out without someone knowing about it. They've been two instances now where they've snuck in and gone for two people close to me. Coincidence? I don't think so."
"So you're saying you think the two attacks are connected?" Captain Park asked.
I looked at her in confusion. "Don't you?"
She had taught me everything I knew, I thought this would be as obvious to her.
Captain Park pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "I think making assumptions won't help us solve anything, we need to interrogate the prisoners."
"Well we can't do that until they shift back, now can we?" Raphael asked impatiently.
I rolled my eyes, beginning to get impatient. "If you have something to say, Raph, say it."
"Fine." Raph spoke as he took a step forward. "I think you're being a terrible alpha."
Before I could even react, Bridgette stood up and stepped forward, outstretching her hand to Raphael.
"Okay, Raph-"
"No, let him speak." I spoke, looking Raphael right in the eye.
Rodger had already pissed me off today, honestly, at this point I just needed an excuse to let it all out. But of course that wouldn't be right.
Still, even if I knew that what Raphael was about to say was going to anger me, I needed him to get it off his chest.
I knew Raphael well enough to know that if he bottled things up, it would turn to rage and resentment. I needed all my guys on my side now more than ever.
"Thank you." Raphael smirked.
"This won't be good." Peter muttered with a sigh.
"It's obvious, Tristan." Raphael spoke, leaning forward on my desk. "You let a Van Cliffe infiltrate our pack and now her people are coming in after her. You're getting soft, the Tristan I fought in the war with would have no problem torturing those freaking Van Cliffe's into shifting back. How long do you think it will be until more come in after them? This could be an elaborate Van Cliffe uprising and you can't see it because you're whipped."
"And you're paranoid. Must be the PTSD from the war." Bridgette spoke stepping forward. "The Van Cliffe's were destroyed."
Raphael turned to glare at her.
He then gave her a sick smile. "I'm surprised, Bridge, I thought you'd be on my side with this one."
"Sorry, I,m not a crazy conspiracy theorist." She spoke with a fake smile.
Raphael scoffed. "This whole, 'I protect my alpha at all costs' act would be admirable if everyone didn't know that the only reason you got this job is because you two are screwing."
I could feel Bridgette's temper soar through the roof.
Bridge and I had hooked up one time, I made the mistake of telling Raphael that.
If there's one thing Bridgette hated, it was when people assumed she got where she did because of her sexuality.
I heard her growl.
I quickly got up and I knew Peter was thinking the same thing. He held Raphael back and I took Bridgette and held her back before she could pounce.
"Enough!" I yelled, letting go of Bridgette and getting in between the two. "My council already thinks I'm a joke! I don't need my right hand men proving the point even more."
I could tell both of them were still visibly extremely mad but neither of them dared initiate anything else.
I looked at Captain Park, the oldest person in the room, by far and the most mature and experienced.
"What do you make of this?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound like I was coming off as the little kid who needed his 'mummy' to tell him what to do.
But that was exactly it. Captain Park had worked with my mother, fought beside her, she would know exactly what she would do in this situation.
"I only follow your orders, alpha." She spoke and I suspected she was still mad about me not letting her interrogate Crystal yesterday.
"This is your alpha asking what you think we should do."
Captain Park didn't respond immediately and I knew already that I wouldn't like what she was about to say.
"Let's humour Soldier Diaz." She spoke, looking at Raphael briefly.
I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Captain Park sat up straighter.
"If you say that you think the two instances are connected then there's a common factor, isn't there?"
Crystal, she meant Crystal. I already wasn't liking this.
"The best way to find out what these wolves really want is to dangle different things in their faces and see what they respond to."
"My luna isn't a steak. We're not 'dangling' her in front of anyone."
"T," Peter spoke. "I - I think Captain Park has a point."
My gaze snapped to him and he flinched. "Might I remind you that they almost killed my brother?"
"Proving they had no regard for him." Bridgette spoke. "But Crystal? They haven't touched her."
"And I intend to keep it that way!" I yelled.
"Tristan." Bridgette spoke in a firmer voice. "There's a reason they aren't hurting her." She spoke slowly in a level voice.
"Unless you want idiots like Raphael to continue assuming it's because she's one of them, you need to test that theory, put Crystal in front of them, let's see how they react."
I looked at everyone in the room, my closest confidants, the people who advised me on a daily basis, the people I trusted the most with my life and I couldn't help but wonder, could I trust them when it came to Crystal?