Chapter 30: Cries and Screams

Chapter 30: Cries and Screams
Silas
"Hey, Syd," I yell from our bed.
"What?" She yells back from the bathroom. She just got out of the shower.
"What were your parents like?" I don't want to tiptoe around it, but I don't want it to feel extremely serious. If I brought it up casually, I figured I would get the real Sydney.
Sydney walks out of the bathroom in one of my t-shirts. I usually would pounce at the sight, but I wanted to know more about my mate after the day we had.
She looks deep in thought as she climbs in bed. Once next to me, a sad smile tugs at her lips. "They were amazing."
I don't fight the urge to pull her to me. She doesn't fight me but instead settles in with her head on my chest. "Tell me more."
"What do you want to know?" She looks up through her curls at me.
I know the loss of her mother is still fresh, so maybe I should ask about her dad first. "The Elders seemed to have liked and respected your dad. What do you remember about him?"
"My dad… He was my hero. I know all kids say that, but my dad was our Beta. He was so strong, smart, and kind." She giggled; it was so cute. "As soon as I could walk, he started training me to fight. I know it sounds nuts, but it really wasn't that bad. He would put boxing gloves on my teddy bears and teach me combinations. Can you imagine a baby me fighting a teddy bear?"
"Please tell me you have pictures." I laugh. I can imagine it, and I want to see it. She nods; I can't wait to see them.
"As I got older, I moved from teddy bears to training pads, and of course, the moves got more complicated. He also took me out and showed me our territory. He was a red wolf as well. I loved riding his wolf, Max." She cuddles into my chest. I stroke her back. I know she is fighting back the tears.
"He sounds like a great dad." I don't want to push her anymore. Today has been emotionally draining on her.
"He really was." I feel her body tense up, and she rolls over. I know she's trying to hide her pain from me.
"Hey, come here." I pull her back to my chest and just hold her. "You know I can feel your emotions. You can't hide from me. It's OK to let it out."
It's like my words opened that dark place she hides in. All her pain from years of holding it all in came roaring out. Our room was filled with the sounds of her sobs. She clung to my arms wrapped around her, and for the first time, she felt fragile in my arms. She's always so statuesque, but that statute was crumbling right now. She didn't say anything, just cried like the wound was fresh, as if she was that little girl again standing in front of her father's funeral pyre. I didn't try to stop the tears; I just held her, ensuring she wouldn't disappear. I always have this feeling that if I blinked, she would vanish before my eyes. Right now, I feel if I let her go, she will fade away like this was all a dream. Her fragility doesn't scare me; mine does.
As her crying mellowed to a whimper, I kissed her shoulder, and she fell asleep in my arms. I can't change what happened in the past, and I may never be able to close the gaping wounds created by the dramatic loss of her parents, but I would never make another one.
"Our mate carries a deep pain. Even Thora came to Sydney early to help with the pain." Bram has always been more protective than other wolves, and I feel it's gotten worse after finding our mate, but I haven't tried to stop him once. Maybe I am too.
"She was an early shifter. That doesn't surprise me." I give her a gentle squeeze.
"She's strong but still needs protecting." Bram was lightly pushing the feelings of safety and security through the bond.
"I just hope we are the right ones to do it." My mate and this pack needed so much healing. Could I really be the one the goddess wants to protect something so precious? The Beta's third son, the substitute?
"This has always been our true purpose." Bram has always been so resolute and faithful. It's hard not to take comfort in his words.
I didn't answer. My eyes had closed, and I focused on the rhythmic sounds of Syd's breathing. Her tart and spicy scent filled my lungs with warm comfort. I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
"ROGUES!" Sydney and I shot out of bed as Bram was screaming in my head and taking control of my half-sleeping body. Sydney looked about the same frantic and half-conscious.
"Ambrose, Kyler rogue attack, meet us at the back door now!" I screamed through mind-link. We rushed out the door of our room and to the back of the packhouse. Kyler and Ambrose were only steps behind us.
We all shift mid-stride and race to the patrol unit. "SECOND ATTACK," Bram screams.
"We need to split up. Si, you and Kyler head south to the second attack. Ambrose and I will go east to the first attack." Sydney pushes her Alpha aura in her orders.
We split, and I'm not too fond of the feeling of fighting separately, but her call is correct. She and I are our strongest fighters since we are the Alpha couple. I just need to clear this trash and get to her side as quickly as possible.
Kyler and I find two of our warriors fighting off five rogues. I can smell the irony smell of blood and catch a glint of moonlight on one of our men and the gaping wound on his side. He's in human form and losing blood quickly. Damn it. It just had to be him, Brian.
I pounce on the nearest shifted rogue knocking him to the ground. I grab his throat before he can get up, and I shake him violently until I feel a snap. Two more of our warriors have joined the fight. I shift and grab Brian. As much as I wanted to kill him just a day ago, he's a pack member, and he fought five rogues.
"Brain, you need to sit down, or you are going to bleed to death. You are losing blood and energy." He nods. He looks pale, but he's not gone. I get him behind a tree, and I see some yarrow nearby. I grab as many of the lacy leaves as I can and press them into his gash.
"Ahhhhh damn it." Brian grits his teeth.
"Keep pressure on it. The yarrow will help stop the bleeding. Don't move and focus your energy on your healing." Getting a closer look, he's paler than I thought. "Hey, look at me. You did good tonight. You saved lives. Now heal up so I can kick your ass later." I nod and jump back up to join the fight. The rogues are finally outnumbered.
"Lumiere," Brian yelled out. I turn to look at him. "Thank you. Oh, and next time I'll win." I give him a nod. I hope he makes it.
I'm about to shift when I feel my whole body start to tingle. "Get to mate now," Bram screams. I hear a bloodcurdling howl in the distance. I don't hesitate; I take off shifting mid-step.
"Bram, what's going on?" I know something is wrong; I just don't know what.
"Our mate is in heat," Bram growled.
This was bad; it's downright dangerous. A female in heat not around her mate becomes feral. She is putty in the hands of her mate, but if another male is near her or tries to touch her, she will attack him and try to kill him. The only one who can calm a female's heat is her mark bearer. Normal females are a handful when they are in heat. I don't want to see the amount of carnage an Alpha female might be able to do while in heat. This is fine if it was all rogues, but our warriors are fighting with her, including Ambrose.
I'm racing towards her. "Sydney, I'm coming. You need to fight it. Don't hurt our pack members."
"Silas, I need you." The burning pain in her voice told me everything. She was doing everything she could to hold on.