Elijah Hayes
She didn't listen. I told her it wasn't safe. I told her. She just didn't listen.
I can't blame her, though.
That shredder is her mate, and there's nothing any of us can do about it.
I don't agree with it-any of it. I don't agree with her being with him, and I don't agree with what my parents and brother are doing to him. I can't say any of that, though.
Grey's my sister, so I understand my parent's point of view. It's been seventeen years since we last had contact with Grey. Now, I chose to blame my Uncle Riley for what happened, but mom doesn't.
Mom met Uncle Riley when she was sixteen. He was only three at the time, I think. Uncle Riley was the one real reason why mom stayed with dad at first. From stories that I've heard from her, dad, and others like my Uncle Andrew and my Aunt Karissa, mom and dad didn't exactly get along. Mom was a originally a rogue. She was against pack life in every way. Obviously, my father being an alpha would have caused tension between the two of them. To be short, mom hated dad, and dad didn't exactly make a great first impression. My mother wanted to turn around and just leave him (my Aunt Karissa used the term 'kill him' once or twice, as well), but chose to stay because of Riley. It was because of that little boy that mom and dad have stayed together.
That's the basic reason why mom refuses to think Grey's kidnapping is Riley's fault. She loves Riley, and believes that if he hadn't been involved with shredders, none of this would have happened.
She blames the shredders for corrupting him.
That just adds another layer of her hatred for shredders. Not only did she believe they ruined Uncle Riley who she would probably die for, they also stole her only daughter.
I was only four when Grey was taken from us, but I still vividly remember my mother breaking down not only in front of me but the entire pack. That was one of the last times I had ever seen my mother show much emotion.
She blamed herself for Grey being taken, too. Sure, she knew if it weren't for a group of shredders ripping through our pack, Grey would have grown up like a normal Alpha's child, but she couldn't help but think she helped them. Dad wanted her to stay with Grey. Mom sure as hell wasn't a weak wolf, and she was honestly a fair fight against dad. Mom was strong. Grey was safest with her, but like I said, Mom would do anything to save Riley. She truly believed that if she just spoke with him, she could make him come back.
She couldn't.
Mom left Grey with two of our strongest warriors while she went out to the pack yard hoping to find Riley. She found him alright. Not only did he snap her neck when she found him, but he also broke her heart. She woke up two days after having her best friend who was practically a brother snap her neck. The first thing she did was cry. She cried because of Riley, but then she heard the news of Grey. She was completely broken.
She cried for days.
She blocked everyone out.
I didn't see my own mother for nearly two weeks. She just sat in Grey's nursery and cried. She would skip various meals. She wouldn't sleep. Then one day, she just came out and wasn't the same.
Everyone spoke so highly of my mother. Alex Ricardo may have been a psychotic rogue, but Alex Hayes was not. She changed. Alex Hayes was kind and caring, but a bitch when necessary. She was the type of woman to convince the devil to commit suicide or just flat out murder him herself. My mother knew just what to say and just how to say it. She was persuasive, bullheaded, and over all just a great Alpha. She was a good mom, good wife, good friend. After losing Riley and Grey, she lost that side of herself.
Dad went insane. Jale was a psychopath. No one was surprised when my mother went crazy herself. They called her a lunatic.
My entire family turned completely mad which then turned the pack completely mad.
Most days, I felt like I was the only sane person left. Everyone else was dead set on ripping apart whoever they needed to, to find Grey.
It got so bad that my Uncle Ashton who is a Warrior from the Werewolf Council had to come and stay with mom for a while. Uncle Ashton and mom are siblings-Ashton being the younger of the two. My Uncle Andrew is their adopted brother. He's the oldest of the three leaving mom in the middle.
Mom and Dad were actually extremely close to being charged for many accounts of murder until Uncle Ashton stepped in. He and his mate, my Aunt Karissa, has to come and stay with the pack for nearly a year about three years after Grey was kidnapped. This was about the time that Mom and Dad decided to calm down their search on Grey. There were rumors that Grey wasn't even alive anymore.
They never stopped searching. They just stopped ripping apart entire packs. Like I said, they were nearly being charged for mass murder.
It was points like that, that made me so against the torture of Kieran, though.
I may not love the dude, but Grey does.
Kieran's a shredder. Grey's point of view on him is obviously much different than any pack wolf's. We know what shredders do. A pack of just four shredders including Riley ripped through our main pack house holding nearly seventy people and managed to kill twenty. All four of them got away with very minimal harm. Shredders were not stupid.
It was stories like these that made people so scared of shredders. What really made people terrified of shredders, though, was the fact that no one really knew about them.
Shredders are like rogues, but on steroids. A rogue, like mom was, is a wolf with no pack. Rogues can be born into the lifestyle, but more times than not they are thrown out of their pack. Wolves are forced to leave their packs for many reasons, but usually they are things like murder or pack treason. Some wolves even leave packs on their own accord which I never understood. Mom never really told us why she left her pack. Once a wolf leaves its pack, it becomes its own alpha, so it has no rules to follow. This usually causes them to go power hungry. They kill what they want and do what they want. They're reckless.
Shredders are a bit different, though. From what generations of wolves have gathered, shredders share similarities of rogue wolves, but shredders usually group together in little packs of twos, threes, or fours. While rogues are reckless and what not, shredders are extremely intelligent. They cover their tracks well and work well together. Shredders often times rip through entire packs in the night, and people don't even realize that they've slaughtered half of their pack until they wake up the next morning.
If it weren't for sprinters and howlers, there's a good chance that shredders would have managed to take over not only the werewolf world but the human world, as well. Sprinters and howlers are two other types of wolves similar to shredders. Only difference is that there are definitely more shredders than sprinters and howlers. It's almost funny to think about, though, seeing as how I could go find a sprinter today easily, but I'd be extremely lucky to find another shredder that wasn't Kieran, Marilyn, and the other one that I can't recall. Shredders are smart and stay hidden until they want to make an appearance. They're a rare breed.
They're also every pack wolf's worst nightmare which is the main reason why they're locked in cells in the pack house cellar. Personally. I don't think it's smart keeping them so close to the pack, but Jale doesn't.
Then again, there's a good chance that Jale is keeping them down there because it's the opposite of what I think is right. Jale and I haven't ever really gotten along after everything especially when he came of age to be alpha. Many members of the pack actually went against it. They thought Jale was too violent. They thought he would just cause more war than anything. They didn't want Jale to be alpha. They wanted me to be.
Of course, I couldn't be at the time. I was only fourteen when Jale turned eighteen. I was young, and trying to take the alpha title from an alpha himself being only a child was literally suicide. I had only shifted two years before that time. Jale was strong. He had connected with his wolf, and Dad trained him to be the strongest alpha that there was.
I don't think he had Kieran in mind while training Jale because I can almost promise that Kieran is stronger.
Kieran-the shredder, my baby sister's mate.
I wasn't exactly pleased to know that my sister was mated to a shredder. Not to mention, the leader of a group of them, but it's not like I could do anything about it. My parents don't exactly understand that, though.
They worry more about the aspect of her safety. They worry more about how Kieran acts as a shredder rather than how he treats her as a mate.
I could lie and say that I haven't eavesdropped on their conversations. I could say that he is a monster and is planning on murdering her the moment he gets out. I could stand in front of Grey, look her in the eye, and tell her that her mate's one true agenda in life is to kill everything and anything including her, but why would I? Why would I do that if I know it's not true? I don't even have a mate, and I know that no mate would hurt their mate-well, that's not true. Marilyn seemed to have a pretty fun time murdering hers, but to fair he did reject her.
Mom and dad just don't see that, though. How can they not see that? They're mates. They should know this stuff, but they just ignore what they damn well know is true. They know Kieran would never hurt Grey. They're just scared of losing her again.
I don't think I'll ever be able to unhear mom's scream as she walked into the training room to find Grey unconscious on the floor. I was all the way on the fourth floor, and I heard her. When I arrived upon the scene, Kieran was unconscious on the floor as mom cried. She was kneeling over Grey as blood ran down her cheek from a gash and blood soaked her shirt around the bottom left of her stomach. Her shirt was torn. It was obvious there was another large gash, and she was losing a lot of blood. It didn't last long before she literally passed out from losing so much. That sent dad into a literal panic as he picked both her and Grey up and bolted for the pack doctor. Every pack has one. We have four in the area, but only one lives in the main house. You can't take a wolf to a human hospital. That's insane.
I don't really understand how we all missed the mark, though. The doctor hadn't noticed it, or maybe she just thought it had been there from before Grey came back home. Mom didn't notice, Dad didn't, Jale didn't, and neither did I. Not until Grey did.
I have to hand it to Kieran. Sure, marking Grey was pretty much suicide for him seeing as how dad now wants nothing more than to kill Kieran for 'touching his little girl', but whatever physical pain is inflicted on Kieran, Grey feels. He knew exactly what he was doing. By marking Grey, no one can do anything to physically hurt him. Now, that doesn't say dad still won't flood his system with liquid silver ever chance he gets, but his body will soon recover from all of the gashes and bruises. He'll be nearly as strong as before. Plus, Grey still continues feeding them, so he's not exactly starving to death either.
Mom is torn. She was against putting Kieran in Lock Nine, and surprisingly enough, so was dad. Mom felt awful for basically beating Kieran to death, but that's just how mom is. She's 5'4 and full of anger. She'll always have a soft spot for Grey, though. She wants to get along with Grey and still protect her from Kieran. It was Jale and Trevor who decided it was necessary to place Kieran in Lock Nine.
I'm not sure that Jale even knows that Dad and I had Kieran moved back to his cell. It sure as hell was not easy, but seeing Grey cry like that was ten times harder. Dad didn't question me when I came to him stating that we needed to get Kieran out. I assume he had a hunch it was taking a toll on Grey even if he had no clue I had taken her down there.
Dad would do anything for Grey that didn't involve the shredders. Dad was surprisingly the reason Kieran was still standing today. Jale and Trevor wanted him dead as soon as he was questioned the first time, but dad wouldn't allow it. He never said why, he just wouldn't allow it. No one really had half of a mind to defy my father. He may not be alpha anymore, but he was, and he was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Alex and Greyson Hayes were pretty much legends amongst werewolf packs for reasons both good and bad.
I sighed as I quietly opened the cellar door. None of the guards bothered to question me as I did so. I was the alpha's son who everyone was convinced hated the shredders. Why would they say anything? As far as they knew of, I was just coming down to torture them for fun or something. They were just guards. They couldn't stop me from being a malicious asshole.
I made sure to shut the door behind me so that they couldn't hear anything before making my way to them. The one who's name I couldn't quite remember was slumped against the back wall of the cell as he whistled a tune that I was unfamiliar with. His face was dirty and bruised as a small scar made its way down his right brow. He stopped whistling when his blue eyes landed on me. He surprised me with a smile.
"Aw, Eli. How nice of you to stop by," he greeted. I only nodded not sure of what else to say. I looked in the cell next to him to find Marilyn not there. He must have noticed my confusion. "Blondie took her for questioning again."
"Trevor?" I asked earning me a nod. Why would he be questioning her? She hasn't been questioned since like the first week we found them, I thought. "Oh," I replied pushing the thought of them away. I turned to face Kieran who was slumped against his cell eyeing me. "Hello." He didn't reply. He just continued watching me carefully.
It seemed like minutes were passing as just watched me closely. His dark green eyes watching my every move making me extremely conscious of the way I was breathing. The color in his face was returning. Deep gashes from days prior were now healing, and his hair was still just as disheveled from when he was in Lock Nine. The bags under his eyes didn't look as bad as earlier, either. I assumed he hadn't slept while in Lock Nine, so when he got back to his cell he used the opportunity to rest.
"I like you, Eli," Kieran said suddenly taking me by surprise. For some reason I was expecting something more along the lines of 'open this cell so I can rip you apart, and I can play jump rope with your intestines', but okay. "I really mean that. I do. You make my mate happy," he continued.
"I do what I can," I replied. Standing in front of Kieran made me want to hide behind my mom to be honest. He was locked in a freaking cell lined with silver, and I still was terrified he was going to break free and throw me down the hall like a rag doll. I had no clue how Grey could be around them and not have thoughts like this. "Why'd you do it?" I asked quickly. Kieran raised his eyebrow at me.
"Do what exactly? I do a lot of things," he chuckled humorlessly. In any other situation, I would be looking down at Kieran as if he were the scum of the Earth. He's murdered people. He's a shredder! He's the bad guy in ever story! Not this one, though. Not in Grey's story. In Grey's story, he's the love of her life. He's the night in shining armor. Her point of view has changed the bad guys to the good guys. It's almost insane because if you were to look at it the way mom sees it, she would just be protecting her daughter from what happened to Riley. Kieran would've the bad guy. Hell, I would have been a bad guy for helping Grey see him.
"The mark," I shot out quickly. He gave a smug look that made him look literally insane as the other man stayed quiet.
"You know exactly why, Eli. You aren't that stupid." My jaw clenched as I held eye contact. "Neither is your brother, though."
"What?" I was completely lost.
"You don't think he knows what you've been doing?" Kieran asked making me stiffen. No. Jale couldn't. Kieran obviously noticed my distress which he took the opportunity to laugh at. "Didn't you notice there were no guards down there? You think he'd just leave me there unguarded?" I could tell my face visibly paled in the moment as my blood ran cold.
"He knew we would go down there?" I questioned allowed.
"He needed you guys down there," he stated. "He needed her. He wanted her to see me at my worst. He wanted me to scare her into not loving me. He wanted her to deny our bond," he said sounding almost hurt.
"That's why you wanted her to leave."
"I was not going to scare her like that. She doesn't deserve to see me like that. I love her far too much to have her leave me just because I can't control myself under some pressure," he muttered. It was then that I realized just how truly under control he really was. Most people get out of Lock Nine and can't even hold a conversation. Kieran looked and acted completely normal. He was the same cocky asshole that he was when Jale and dad would question him.
Kieran really was stronger and smarter than we all thought.
"Everything that I do is to protect her. Even if I must sacrifice her happiness, I will. Her safety is much more important to me which is something that I know your parents and I can both agree on seeing as how she doesn't seem too happy these days," Kieran continued talking. I quirked an eyebrow silently questioning him. "Mate bond."
I forgot about that. He feels all of her emotions, too. He would know when she was angry or stressed or happy. He was emotionally attached to her like she was to him.
"Yea, you're not too good at controlling you emotions, either," I snapped knowing his attitude was making Grey lash out.
"Sorry that I'm locked in a f------ cell while my mate is being forced to stay away from me. Please, let me write you an apology letter about how I'm the dickhead in the situation," he replied sarcastically. I frowned knowing he wasn't in the wrong. It wasn't exactly his choice to be locked down here.
"Listen, I'm sorry-"
"Don't mention it," he brushed it off sounding bored. "Just be sure to tell my beautiful angel when you see her next time thank you for making that deal with you. Not from me of course. I would love nothing more than to kill all of you. I'd make sure to kill you fast, though. I actually like you. I wouldn't want you to feel any pain," he explained with a sadistic smile making my face scrunch in disgust. What do you even say to that? Thank you? "Like I said, though. Her safety comes first. I'm simply agreeing to this deal to make her happy, but if I feel that killing you all slowly is necessary, don't think I won't," Kieran promised.
Well, there it was.
The shredder that I'm guessing Grey never really got to meet.
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AWEEEEEEE WHATD I DO.
I feel like I had to do this. This was like a necessary point of view Bc Eli is sort of a middle man, and I needed this to be out in the open.
I think a lot of people were confused on why Alex and Greyson were doing what they were and I was hoping this would make sense. A lot of people were basing their actions on Greys pov and I think you need to think about Alex and Greyson's povs in these situations so yea.
I ALSO FELT LIKE U GUYS DESERVED A MUCH NEEDED EXPLANATION OF A SHREDDER AND OTHER THINGS. U ALSO GET TO SEE RHE PSYCHO SIDE OF KIERAN A LITTLE BIT SO THATS COOL.
Any way!!!!!!!! Hope you enjoy this chapter and have a great week! And yeah....I love Eli HAHAHA
Stay Awesome Gotham 9/5/16