Chapter 122

After talking with Alpha Ditri and Onyx Raphael and Charm were brought to guest rooms to rest.

Onyx had a protection spell around the main pack, where they were now, but her magic was not as powerful as Charm's.

Raphael groaned as he threw himself to the bed, It creaked in protest under his weight. He drifted into a dreamless sleep.

He woke up an hour or so later and checked his phone for notifications, a couple emails, a text. No phone calls.

He knew that Brooke hated texting and calling, she much preferred face-to-face conversations, but he'd hoped she would call.

His phone began buzzing in his hands and he saw the Alpha's number.

"Hello." He answered tiredly.

"Hello." Thresh answered.

Raphael sat, staring out the window, waiting for him to continue.

He was about to ask if he could hang up when Thresh finally spoke, "I'm afraid the meeting with my brother didn't go well."

Raph nearly dropped his phone, "Brooke, is she…"

"She's alive. Though I'm afraid my brother will not be helping us."

Raph nodded, relief flooding him, "I see… can I talk to her?"

"She is sleeping… is Charm alright?"

"Yes, her and Onyx seem to be enjoying each other's company, Luna is resting now."

Raphael wanted to ask Thresh to wake Brooke up so he could talk to her, to hear her voice. But she probably needed her rest. He moved and sat by the window.

"We are moving on to Montreal now." Thresh spoke.

Raphael stiffened, "Him? Alpha, Alpha Dart I understand, but him? He's…" He wanted to say a maniac but he was afraid that Thresh would take offence, "He's dangerous."

"I know… I'm hoping that your mate will be resistant to his… gift."

Raphael clenched his fists at the thought of her speaking to that Alpha. The man had no honour, no loyalty. He was no Lycan.

"When you land… could you ask Brooke to call me?"

"Yes." Then he hung up.

Raph slumped in the chair, his mind consumed with worry for his precious mate.

When it was nearing dinner time he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where all the mouthwatering aromas were coming from.

Charm and Onyx were hard at work, stirring sauce and cutting meat.

"You ladies need any help?" He asked. He needed to do something other than mope.

Charm smiled and Onyx looked at him confused.

"No, I think we are fine, but thank you Raphael." Charm said cheerily.

He nodded and exited the kitchen.

The front door burst open and Ditri came in with many other Lycans.

"Guests are here!" He bellowed.

Raphael just stood and watched, slightly perplexed with the current situation.

"Ah, Beta Raphael. These are all of my best Lycans." He gestured to the group behind him.

He just nodded in reply.

~~~~~~~~

The dinner was delicious.

Raphael brought his plate and fork into the kitchen to rinse them and found Charm in there bent over the sink. She looked like she was in pain.

He rushed towards her, "Luna, are you alright?"

She immediately fixed her hunched posture, "I am fine, I am just feeling a little pregnancy pain. It is normal."

He relaxed and sighed in relief. He'd thought she'd been going into labour.

"Thresh called." She said as she finished rinsing her plate.

He nodded.

"He said that the meeting with his brother had not gone as planned."

He shook his head, confirming her words. Brooke still hadn't called him and it had been four hours now. He was getting worried.

"He said that Brooke had been injured."

Raphael froze. He hadn't told him that. She was sleeping… h-had she passed out from blood loss? Was she ill or feverish? Why was he taking her to Montreal?

"Oh!" Charm shrieked.

He looked down to see that he'd broken his plate and was bleeding.

"Raphael." Charm looked up at him with concern in her eyes.

"What's going on in here?" Ditri asked as entered the kitchen with his mate.

"Nothing." Raph quickly replied. He didn't want them to know that his mate had been injured. It was a sign that he'd failed to protect her. That he'd failed her.

He glanced at his hands that were stinging from the glass shards.

"I'm sorry for the mess."

"No, no. It is fine. I will clean it up, do you need help?" Onyx said looking with wide eyes at his hands and the broken plate.

"No, thank you I'll be fine." He said then walked to where the washroom was.

He found a pair of tweezers and began to pull out the small, fragments of glass from his hand.

Once the foreign objects were gone his hands began to heal. He washed them in the sink and they were now just pink scars that would heal in a matter of minutes.

He dried his hands with a towel and walked out.

The guests had left and there was no one there save himself, Alpha Ditri, Onyx and Charm.

He sat next to the wood stove and thought of all those nights he'd spent cradling Brooke in front of the fireplace at the cabin. He sighed resting his head on his fist.

"Feeling a little down there, eh Beta?" He heard Ditri ask.

He looked up, "Ah, no. Just…" he couldn't think of an excuse. He could always think of an excuse. He just shook his head and rubbed it off.

"I think-" He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes took in a sight he hadn't noticed before.

A chessboard.

A slow smile creeped onto his face.

"Is that a chessboard?" He nodded excitedly in the direction of the board that was sitting on a side table across the room.

Ditri looked in the direction, "Oh, that's Onyx's. Yes, she does love to play, unfortunately I'm a terrible opponent."

Raphael nodded as he continued to stare at the wooden board.

"Would you like to play, Raphael?" Onyx's shy voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He smiled, "Yes! I would love to play."

He had tried to teach Brooke but she had gotten very frustrated over not being able to figure it out. It was very easy, but he knew she didn't like to feel unintelligent, which she wasn't. Maybe he would try again when they got home. He smiled happily at the thought.

Onyx smiled softly and glanced at Ditri who nodded his approval.

She happily walked to the side table and grabbed the chessboard. She moved a small table that perfectly fit the board. She opened a drawer from the side and began to set the board.

He loved chess. It challenged him. He supposed maybe it was because he was a strategy Lycan but it wasn't just the strategy of the game, it was just playing itself.

He went first and moved his pawn then waited for Onyx to move.

~~~~~~~~

After three games Onyx was declared the winner.

He smiled, as he helped to put the pieces away.

"Thank you, Onyx, that was very fun. It's been awhile since I've played chess."

"Hmm, I have missed playing."

Charm had gone upstairs to sleep around the second game.

He went upstairs himself and checked his phone just in case he'd missed anything.

Nope. Still nothing. He sighed and rested his head in his pillow, considering calling Thresh but he eventually decided against it.