35. Trauma

Ash's POV

I followed his directions, and I traveled to the pack up north. I begged them to help us, and even though they originally didn't want to I was able to convince them. "Do you know anyone who will help?"

"A little bit east, there is a coven that may be willing. Their land is large, so they also border Half Moon. Kinda pesky pack, if I do say so myself."

I walked away to recruit them in an act of trust that the pack would go to Georgia. Everything was going wonky in my world, and I found myself missing Alex more every passing second. I knew that I had entered their territory when I was greeted by a young, grumpy male that seemed to be doing guard duty unwillingly. "State your business," he grumbled.

"I need help, please. My coven is being attacked by Half Moon and we need all of the assistance we can get."

"I'll take you to my father, but there is no promise that he will choose to help you."

I followed the boy, now identified as the heir, into the forest. It got much darker as I went in further, and I felt my tense shoulders relax a little bit. It was calm down there, and I could see a few little children sprinting through the shadows. The wind hardly reached down there but so did the sun, so it was sheltered yet kind of chilly. The short boy pushed open the door with a strong arm and basically shoved me inside of the small room. A man that was somehow shorter than me was standing at the front of the room.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked shortly.

"U-um, my name is Ashton, and my coven is having problems with Half Moon and I'm going around looking for assistance to exterminate them..."

His face looked thoughtful for a second before replying, "We will help, but only because I want to see the look on that bitch's face when he dies," he snarled with vengeance. "I'm Marcus, by the way. Please make yourself at home while I get my coven prepared."

I looked around and suddenly felt a sharp stab in my heart. It felt like my insides were being turned inside out, and everything around me was getting blurry. I collapsed onto the floor and curled into a fetal position unable to handle the pain. My mind went blank, and the last thing I remembered before I passed out was, "Is this what it's like to lose my other half?"

Alex's POV

"How are you awake!?" he shouted so loudly that the whole camp heard him.

"It's a long story I'll tell you later," I whispered before slipping out of the back of the tent. I sprinted into the woods before anyone could see me and made a beeline for the forest. I had to set this right and fast. I moved quickly yet stealthily, my eyes scanning any open area before running through it. If this was to work the first person I needed to see on this territory was my father.

The pack house came into view with the rising sun behind it. I approached with extreme caution and scaled the outside wall as to not get caught in the hallways. I found my father's study, which he was in alone, and poked the window with my foot before putting it down. This was a peaceful visit, I wasn't about to kick the window open with style.

He looked up briefly before going back to his paperwork, so I clicked my foot against the glass pane again. My father got up to look out of it, and I scooted away from the glass so that he didn't see my hanging form right outside of his window. He unlocked it and sat down again, yet kept glancing up at the outside world. I picked a particularly long moment to push it open slowly with my toes. He kept his head down, so I slowly lowered myself into the room.

I stood there until he looked up, and I gave him a bad scare. I walked up to his desk and casually sat down while his face still was blank with shock. Then, in a turn I hadn't seen since I was a boy, his face turned into one of gentleness.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, son, it was bitterness taken too far. Please don't haunt me!" He begged, and suddenly I realized that he thought I was dead.

"I'm not dead," I deadpanned.

"But I saw you die."

"Dad, I got my second chance. A chance to make everything right and stop the fighting. I found out why you did what you did, and while I may not agree with it, I do understand your desperation."

"I'm a bad person, son. I just didn't want you to end up like me. I've killed many people, been responsible for many more homicides. Hell, I tried to murder my own mate. I thought by getting you away from me I could get you to grow in your own frame of mind. Before I knew it I was being a monster again, but this time towards you. Nothing can fix me," he breathed apologetically.

"I refuse to believe that. You see yourself in me, yet you also see my mother. You see betrayal whenever you look at me, the same as what you see when you look at Ash. I know you knew exactly who he was as soon as we walked into your office, yet you chose to play with him. Trauma makes people do crazy things dad, but I still love you and am willing to forgive you if you're willing to let me help you.

"I... I would like that, Alex."

I basically leapt over the table in my haste to hug him tightly. "Stay for dinner?" he asked quietly.

"I would, and I will, but I need to stop them from attacking," I replied before leaping back out of the window and returning to the campsite. I looked through the bushes to find that the pack that I had stayed with for what, like three days, was also milling around.

"We need to wait for Ashton. He forced us to promise that he could lead the assault."

"So... Who wants to tell him that we managed to lose his mate's body in the few hours he was gon?"

"Well, I mean we already cast out the kid that was supposed to watch it, so it should be fine, right?"

I didn't know who was talking, but the only thing that I heard was that Allystar was out there alone. I turned on my heels and ran out to find him, but I was having little luck. Then I lifted up a branch and found him tucked under it. He was already asleep, so I just lay down next to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders to warm him up.