Chapter 4

Emely

How could Julian be such a stubborn ass? It wasn't like we wanted anything wrong from him. Actually, he also knew that my father would never force him to join the pack. On the contrary. He had given his word to the Bardots, and the word of an Alpha was a rare gesture of generosity.

But he also had to listen, as all Alphas had to, to the Code that had been created when wild wolves had begun to disregard the rules and show themselves to humans, only to give in to their hunger and bring all the myths about us to life.

I sped up a bit, and the trees almost rushed past me, even though I was just in my human form. Not for one minute longer did I want to be in this part of town. It smelled like them everywhere here, and I didn't know which was worse. That the Quatura wanted to tell us what to do or this disgusting stench.

My legs took me further into the eastern part of the forest, because at no price did I want to run into any witches here.

Slowly, it began to smell of nature and wildlife again, and my body relaxed a bit. And slowly I recognized some trees with their scratch marks from the fights of the guys.

I didn't think much of these power games, just to show which rank one had within the pack. Maybe that was the reason Julian didn't want to join us. But what the hell? Sooner or later, he would come to us. I knew that, even if he resisted so much. There were rules that even he had to submit to.

A soft crackling in the undergrowth tore me from my thoughts, and a familiar smell rose to my nose. It looked like I had arrived home faster than expected.

Cautiously, I looked around, but nothing strange caught my eye.

He had gotten better. But so had I.

I took a quick leap to the side, and a second later, my sixteen-year-old brother landed on the damp forest ground, right where I had been standing a moment ago.

"Ahh, fuck!" it escaped him, and he tried to straighten up but buckled.

"Don't even try it next time, Finn!"

I had to laugh, and, to be honest, I laughed at him.

At sixteen years old, he was just two years younger than me and still landing with too much speed. No wonder he ended up on the ground where he was at that moment.

"Laugh all you want," Finn pressed out, finally giving it up.

Grinning, I took a step toward him and was about to hold out my hand, but immediately regretted it because he pulled me to him on the ground with a sweeping motion.

"Hey!"

Luckily, I wasn't wearing my best jeans, but a pair of khaki cargo pants. Out here, clothes got dirty fast. Especially with the others.

"That's what you get!" he laughed out loud.

Sometimes, I wondered if I deserved to call this naughty brat my half-brother.

I stayed lying next to him in the dirt. I didn't care about the grass stains and dust now, either.

A look through the open canopy told me that it was already later than expected. The sun had turned the sky slightly purple, and the massive cloud towers, common for this time of year in Blairville, looked as if they were hiding dark castles.

"Still trying to convince your crush?"

Annoyed, I punched Finn in the side.

"We're just friends," I said bitingly, though that sentence really upset me. Were we really still friends? Or was I just still telling myself that?

Julian and I had spent so much time together when we were kids. Together with Nash and Kieran, we had made the forest unsafe and had romped around on our property. Time had flown by. But it had never driven us apart. Then, three years ago, everything had begun to fall apart.

I told myself, day after day, that I could still save it. But maybe it was all an illusion, and I just imagined that Julian still had any interest in our friendship. He didn't care about anything anymore. Simply nothing .

This was exactly why I had wondered why he had signed up with us at Vanderwood, as my uncle had told me.

"You know... Sooner or later, he'll come around," Finn said.

I turned my head toward him.

Of the three siblings, he looked the most like father, with his caramel blond curls. I often wondered what his mother looked like. She had been a human.

It was customary for Senseque men to find a human wife since female Senseque, like my mother, were rare. And since humans were not allowed to know of our existence, the Senseque fathers took the children, always boys, and raised them alone with the help of the pack.

Only now did I realize what he had said.

"How can you be so sure?" I dug deeper.

"Because so far, they've all come. Every single one of them."

The chirping of the crickets relaxed me a bit, and I let all the frustration out of me in one breath, letting the wind brush through my hair, trying to stay in the moment, which I couldn't.

Finn was right. However, Julian was not like everyone else. He was different.

Broken, yet resilient.

"You shouldn't get so caught up in this. It's the Alpha's job to recruit. Or don't you trust Father?"

I jumped up and looked down at Finn.

He must have seen the horror on my face because he immediately started laughing again.

"Oh man, Emy. I was just kidding."

Finally, he rose too and looked at me, part amused, part examining.

It wasn't a joke. I knew that for a fact.

He was accusing me of not being submissive to the Alpha. But that was not true. I would never betray my family and do independent shit that could harm the whole pack or the highest Code. Right now, when Father had so much to do, I would do my best to serve the Code as he was doing.

"Finn, this is not funny. You should watch what you say."

"Why are you being like this?" he growled before grinning again.

Then I whispered softly. "Because we're being overheard."

Finn looked around abruptly, and I glanced in the direction from which I had heard the soft rustling. That had definitely not been a squirrel.

I snorted.

It was Nash.

"You can come out. We know you're there," I murmured, waiting for my twin brother to emerge from behind the tree.

His bright blue eyes twinkled teasingly at me. The straight, dark blond hair was a bit of a mess. And if you put the two of us next to each other, you probably wouldn't guess that we had the same parents.

"Well, going solo again, I guess, sis?"

A grin played around the corners of his mouth.

"Dude, how did you hear him?" it came from Finn, who had snapped out of his shock stupor.

Before I could retort anything, Nash pointed his finger in the direction of our property.

"Father wants to talk to you."

He looked at Finn with a serious expression.

"Very funny," our little brother replied, but he settled for that and headed for the house. We all knew that Nash just wanted to play boss and was taking advantage of every opportunity to do so.

When Finn was out of hearing range, he took a step toward me.

Before he could say anything, I braced my arms on my hips.

"It's not funny that you show yourself to people. You're breaking the Code with that, damn it!"

I glared at Nash reproachfully, and he pressed his lips together.

"Who knew there would be people hanging around this abandoned fun fair..."

I sighed. "As long as father gives you your free pass..."

"Don't think I enjoy the special status," he laughed dryly.

"I certainly don't enjoy any, Nash, because I have to take care of everything, including making sure my big brother doesn't drag the pack into shit."

I tried to get past Nash, but he stood in my way.

"Your brother didn't ask you to do that."

I took a deep breath before seeking his eye contact. "No one asks me to do the things I do, but I do them because they have to be done and because if I didn't, the pack would go down the drain. Father can't do it all alone."

Nash looked like he wanted to say something more but just looked past me, sighing, shaking his head before looking at me as if he pitied me.

"So out with it. Why did you just eavesdrop on us?" I asked him examining, trying to change the subject.

"You were with the Bardots again," he remarked harshly, his jaw noticeably tightening.

"And?" I asked. I wanted him to say it.

"You should finally leave Julian alone. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against him. He's all right..." All right . I almost laughed out loud but held back. "But he's chosen to go against the pack, and by doing so, he's chosen to go against our family as well. And I can't accept that."

Unimpressed, I raised my brows.

"You're not the Alpha yet. So, it shouldn't bother you." I scuffed my feet in the dirt. "And besides, Father really sent me this time."

Nash just shook his head. "Even if he didn't send you, you'd go."

My jaw dropped. He was accusing me of the same thing Finn was. "Nash, that's not fair. You both used to be friends!"

My twin brother walked past me, so I couldn't see his face. He was fucking cowardly. Too cowardly to show his true feelings.

"And besides, he can still change his mind. You know what happened changed him."

Nash knew Julian's reasons.

"It changed you, too, Emy," he sighed now. "I just don't want you to worry so much about someone who doesn't care about you entirely."

"I don't, okay?!" I snapped at him, and Nash paused. "Julian will make up his mind for us... Sooner or later."

Hearing my own words, I realized how implausible it sounded. Like I was trying to convince myself of it.

Nash came back to me and stood in front of me. There was despair in his eyes...worry. And I wondered if this was all about me.

"He's already made up his mind, Emely."

No, that wasn't true. I couldn't give up on Julian. Not only would he need us sooner or later... he would come to us .

I shook my head slowly.

Nash was still looking deep into my eyes.

"That's not true. All you care about is that..."

I broke off because I didn't want to blame Nash now. He was my brother, and he cared about me.

His arms wrapped around my body, and I wrapped mine around his back in friendship.

Inside, I was grateful to him for this hug because I was close to tears.

But I had to pull myself together.

There were still a few songbirds chirping, and the fresh forest air invaded my nose, while a roll of thunder sounded in the distance.

I loved it here. And Julian had loved it, too, back then…

What had happened? What had it all made of us?

The wind brushed my hair, and I heard Nash whispering at my back.

"He's decided against you, Emy."

Mayor's Office

The mayor tried to ignore the thunder in the distance. Like every year, the sound sent goosebumps down her arms. Yet the annual autumn storms weren't half as bad as the fact that she had to keep this town from collapsing.

She turned in her desk chair, away from the oak table, and looked out the window across to the lawyer's office when the door burst open.

She flinched, turned quickly, and spotted the man in his fifties who was known as the head doctor at Blairville Hospital.

"Dr. Copeland," she began, putting on her well-practiced smile. "I'm glad it's you."

The doctor looked anything but thrilled. His expression was tense, his beard, a boatman's ruff, and dark blond hair were neat, as always, and his doctor's coat, along with suit pants, dark brown vest, and white shirt, fit neatly, but the mayor knew this man was a loose cannon.

"I don't have much time!" the doctor pressed out, taking a deep breath.

"Then I'll be brief," the mayor continued, lowering her eyes to the documents on the table in front of her – quite a few cover letters from concerned citizens. "You can't have your pack approaching people. You know the rules." She looked up and caught his tense gaze. "People's safety comes first," she said.

"I always follow the rules," the doctor snorted. "And so does my family." His hands balled into fists, veins popping out on his arms, turning dark. "No one in the pack would harm a soul."

The mayor tried not to stare at his arms, looking back into his eyes.

"I understand..."

"You do not!" the doctor snapped at her angrily. "All you Quatura care about is keeping your own head above water! We're a thorn in your side!"

She pressed her lips together.

"As mayor, I'm all about making sure the treaties are followed."

His irises flashed yellowish. "Then you should start restricting the DeLoughreys!"

When he uttered the name of the richest family in town, his jaw tightened to the point that she feared it would jump out.

"Who do you think is behind the missing persons cases in Fogs Forest?" He moved closer to the desk that thankfully separated them. "Wildlife?" He propped himself up on the desk. "Humans?"

"Doctor Copeland..."

"No!" He pounded his fist on the surface of the desk. "I've been silent long enough!" He pushed off, stepping back but not breaking eye contact. "Get a grip on these monsters before they become a threat not only to us but to the entire city!"

Just as quickly as he had appeared, the doctor disappeared. The door crashed shut, and the windows shook alarmingly.

It took five minutes for the mayor to exhale her breath. Then she rose, stared for a few minutes after the doctor, from the second floor, as he crossed the street in a rage toward s the hospital, followed by reporters. When he was gone, she left the office through the side corridor to avoid the news channel reporters and strode toward the lawyer's office with growing anxiety.

Heart racing, she entered the old Victorian-style brick building, passing a few legal assistants before taking the stairs upstairs.

The office door stood open, revealing a view of the beautiful young woman in the black lawyer's dress. As always, she wore fine luxury dresses that flattered her elegant body, adorned with subtle silver jewelry, which the mayor knew was white gold.

"Miss DeLoughrey," she began, clearing her throat and braving herself to enter the office.

The young woman with a heart-shaped face and dark brown, almost black hair did not even turn around but continued to put folders on her shelves.

"Miss Blair," she said tonelessly. "I know why you're here." She spun to return to her desk. "And no, the clan has nothing to do with the Alpha's accusations." Only now did she look to the mayor, catching her gaze with her turquoise green eyes.

"I didn't know eavesdropping was one of your qualities?" the mayor remarked with growing tension.

She knew that this lawyer's beauty was only a facade. There was something dark behind it.

Still, the mayor didn't know if the woman was a Transformed or a Legacy Ruisangor . In general, she knew far too little about this family.

"That man is louder than my godson's car," the lawyer sighed, continuing to put away her papers.

The mayor's gaze fell on the porcelain vase filled with dark red roses, but quickly wandered back to the woman's feminine, if slim, figure.

"You're staring, Mayor." The mayor looked up, caught, but did not meet the lawyer's gaze. "And I know you don't trust me, but I don't think I would work for the town if I had bad intentions for its residents."

Maybe she did not have bad intentions, though the mayor wasn't quite sure about that. But the lawyer's clan head and his sons...

"The clan has changed," the young lawyer continued. "Treaties were signed for this two centuries ago." Her look was serious. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be in New York tonight. My plane leaves in an hour."

The lawyer folded up a folder, shoved it into her black leather handbag, reached for her black silk coat and the black fedora hat, and strutted confidently through the office on her high heels, past the mayor.

The footsteps linger throughout the attorney's office. However, they moved into the subconscious as the mayor's gaze slid through the English-style office, finally lingering on the vase.

The DeLoughrey seal was displayed in gold on the black porcelain. It featured a full rose blossom framed by a baroque crest.