Chapter 16: Siblings

It was well into the night as a dark solitary figure sped through the woods. A faint glimmer of the moon peeked from beneath the clouds, casting whatever pale light it could to the world below. The air let out a low whistle as the figure sped past, leaving faint thuds echoing through the woods.

*The Wayne Mansion*

A bloodied hand grabbed onto the ledge of an open window. With a low grunt, the figure heaved himself into the room revealing a bloodied, dust-covered Daniel. His coat was covered in dust and dried blood barely visible under the pale moonlight. Daniel let out a low sigh as he took off his coat and tossed it into a corner of the room. His body ached all over and he barely had the strength left to keep standing.

He approached his bed, his every being telling him to succumb to the darkness that threatened to swallow him since he left the cave. He had nearly plopped on his comfy, soft mattress when a memory flashed through his head. His eyes moved from his bloodied hands to his neat, very bloodless sheets. Letting out a sigh, he dragged his weakened beaten body to the shower. He could deal with a lot of things in the morning but he didn't want Thomas's dark expression to be part of it.

He stepped into the shower, tearing off what little remained of his clothing in a flash. Didn't take long for the floor to run red as cold currents ran the lengths of his body. He had a lost expression on his face as he gazed at the blood slowly washing off his hands. The blood slowly spread until all he could see was red and bits of torn limbs and flesh, torn in the most savage of ways.

*******************************

*Cough* *Cough*

*Groan*

Thomas's attempt to rouse the young master was met with a groan of what felt like dismissal.

"Ahem!"

"Dammit! Five more minutes please!" The young master managed to groan in annoyance.

"Ah well, I'm afraid that wouldn't work, five more minutes and you'd be late. Maybe next time you shouldn't stay up so late playing"

Daniel peeked with one eye just in time to catch Thomas's mocking expression before it flitted away.

"Dammit it all to heck! I want a more submissive butler!" Daniel groaned as he forced himself up, nearly failing as his body ached like it got run over by a truck over and over.

"That's quite the ludicrous request, with your pitiful strength best you'd get is a rat maid and not a refined fellow such as myself" Thomas said, slightly tilting his nose upward in contempt.

"And a very modest one too." Daniel said, just as he managed to stand straight without falling. His bones creaked and muscles groaned as he stretched, causing pain to jolt up places he didn't even know had nerves.

"Do hurry up, you have a call" Thomas said with a straight face.

"Dad?" Daniel asked raising an eyebrow.

Thomas merely kept mute, giving him a mysterious smirk.

"Tch! Whatever" Daniel groaned as he strode into the shower.

"Oh! And master Daniel!"

"Yeah?"

"I appreciate you keeping the sheets clean this time"

"Ha Ha, no problem no problem" Daniel chuckled nervously thinking internally. "Like the death stare I would get if I didn't wasn't enough motivation."

Thomas nodded and strode out of the room, giving him some much-needed space.

"And no going back to bed" Thomas yelled just as a certain young man was sneakily leaving the bathroom. The air was filled with curses as he strode back in.

It didn't take long for Daniel to emerge from his room in a tight dark blue shirt and black jeans. He lazily headed down the stairs only to be met with a surprisingly large portion of food. The table was sumptuously decorated with multiple meals, all mouth-watering.

"Do we have guests?" Daniel asked cocking an eyebrow at the sumptuous feast.

Thomas chuckled. "No. You'll need a lot of energy to heal from those dastardly wounds"

"Well I take my words back, you're doing just fine Thomas" Daniel managed to mutter just before near-pouncing on the large enough meal that could easily feed 10 people.

"Young master and mistress would like to have a word with you once you're done with your meal young master Daniel" Thomas stated, his gentle eyes on the wolfling ferociously devouring food after food

"Hmm!" Daniel mumbled in surprise, mouth stuffed with meat. His eyes flickered before he resumed, merely nodding in acknowledgment.

Thomas smiled and silently stood by his side as chomping sounds echoed across the room, his eyes clouded with thoughts.

It was mere moments later before the entire table was picked clean, devoured by a black hole that was a wolf pup's stomach.

"Well then, I'll set the call. Zoey will clean up" Thomas promptly spoke, lightly clapping his hands to signal the maid.

Daniel merely nodded his response, following Thomas out of the room. "Thanks for the meal" He muttered just as he left the seemingly empty room.

They entered a room with a large screen and a sofa. Thomas picked up a tiny remote, setting up the call with a few clicks. Daniel lazily strode into the room, patting his stomach.

*Call Connecting* *Beep*

"Ho! Finally, the lad's done eating"

On the large screen popped two figures bearing strong similarities to Daniel. His elder sister had a round face with silky black hair, a pair of warm brown eyes, and a sharp nose. His eldest brother had a streamlined face with a sharp jawline, his eyes were sharp and gave off the feeling of a powerful predator.

"Look at you! You've grown tall! And all tough looking" Theodore laughed. Theodore Wayne, the first-born son of William and Lilian Wayne, Daniel's eldest brother and a peak-Alpha werewolf.

"You look all tired and pale, guess last night took a lot out of you huhn?" Erica chuckled, her eyes squinting mischievously. Erica Wayne, the second-born and only daughter of the tyrannical Wayne duo, Daniel's elder sister and a near peak-Alpha werewolf.

Daniel merely rolled his eyes at his sister, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"OH! That's right! Thomas here tells us you fought an Alpha last night and his entire horde?" Theo squinted his eyes.

"And not just fought but won" Erica chuckled.

Daniel gazed at his siblings. They knew he did but asked for more than one reason. He lightly smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, they…"

He was cut short as uproarious laughter echoed from the screen, one of pride and satisfaction.

"Haha! Would you look at that! Not many can take on Alphas while not even being a peak Beta wolf haha! Who else can achieve that but the prodigy of the Wayne family!" Theo grinned wildly. "My little brother haha!"

Erica smiled, her eyes boring into his, making him unconsciously caress the wolf ring he'd worn on his finger for as long as he could remember.

"I'm losing my mind here Danny! Thomas said he even went berserk! And yet you beat him haha!" Theo said, dramatically clutching his head. "I didn't take on my first Alpha till I was a peak Beta! And even then it was a rough fight"

"Maybe that's because you took on an Alpha croc" Daniel rolled his eyes. "An Alpha croc would no doubt be stronger than an Alpha rat, and not by a small amount."

"Well I was a peak Beta and definitely much stronger than your current self so it balances out."

"Tsk! I doubt you were that much stronger."

"What was that!?"

"Tch! Aren't you going a little off plan here Theo." Erica glared at Theo. "How are your injuries Daniel?"

"I'll heal fully in about a week or two." Daniel shrugged. "I got enraged for a while and used Wolf's Rage too long."

Erica frowned. "What happened?" She knew her brother to be usually calm and cool-headed. He rarely ever flipped and if he did it was for an extreme reason.

Daniel kept quiet for a while, unwilling to relive last night. "He killed and ate his own betas" He eventually muttered.

"WHAT!?" Theo and Erica yelled in unison. They both turned their eyes to Thomas, who silently stood in a corner of the room, only to see him nod his head with a grim expression on his face.

"Bastard!" Erica's eyes glowed a dangerous crimson as she gritted her teeth in anger.

Theo merely kept a cool face. "His death was well deserved then. Not mentioning his pack was jeopardizing your safety."

"Are you alright Daniel?" Erica asked, concern written all over her face.

"Hope it didn't bring back any memories?" Theo added.

Daniel noted the concern on the faces of the siblings, and it ached him knowing he'd have to lie to keep them at ease. There were much bigger things at stake that needed them.

"I'll be fine." He said flashing them a smile. "How's the other side?"

Theo and Erica gave him a knowing look.

"Alright then." Theo sighed. "You know how it is, we're just struggling not to lose the little we've managed to claim back."

"No sad talk Theo." Erica mumbled.

"Right right." He sighed again. "Well, we've gotta go now. We have a couple of things to deal with before heading back."

Daniel nodded his head in understanding. "I'll try my best to reach Alpha as soon as I can so I can fight by your side"

"You do that Danny." Theo let out a smile.

"Take care of yourself Daniel. I really hope you come to finally forgive yourself." A sad look appeared in his sister's face.

"Now now, what happened to the no sad talk?" Theo let out a chuckle.

"I will. My regards to mom and dad." Daniel nodded.

"Alright then, take care lad." Theo nodded.

Erica smiled and nodded.

"Take care Thomas." Theo smiled in Thomas's direction.

"Take care young masters." Thomas said giving a light bow.

"Bye Thomas." Erica waved.

"Bye big bro and sis." Daniel waved.

They both smiled at the waving Daniel.

*Beep*

Daniel silently stared at the dark screen, lost in thought.

"You may take the day off from school if you aren't feeling like it master Daniel." Thomas approached, concern evident in his tone.

"It's fine." Daniel let out a sigh. "I wanna know how Collin got out of that tree anyway."

He went up to his room to grab a jacket, his bag and keys. He petted a very energetic Rufus on his way out. Rufus gave out an affectionate bark as he drove out of the mansion.

He sped out of the woods and onto the main road, his eyes glazed and mind revisiting the events of a few years ago.