Chapter 72: Reason To Smile

Chapter seventy-two: A Reason To Smile


Jasper

It is him, I watched the wolf make its way through the tree line and made a mad dash to the west. He looked at me and I knew from his eyes that it was the same wolf from that day. I wanted nothing more than to chase him down and rip his throat open but I knew better. I couldn't go at something like this alone. He was like a wolf you rarely saw, he had speed that could easily rival a Beta. His strength was like that of matched three warriors and he was cunning like a fox.

My thirst for revenge may have burned my blood but I was not stupid. If I were to get any form of justice for my fallen friends, I would need the help of Bernard. He had the power I needed to make sure that we could bring him back alive. I wanted to torture him myself the same way he had tortured my friends before my very eyes.

"Sam, call the others to take my post. I need to go and speak with the Alpha." I messaged him through the mind link.

"Is everything okay, Captain?" He asked.

"Yes, I just need to go and notify the Alpha of something. Make sure that you tell them to look out for three wolves and one seems to be limping and the fourth one is headed to the west. Keep your eyes peeled and warn them."

"Yes, Captain." With that, I closed the mind link and made my way back to the direction of the main area of the Pack.

After all these years, he is back and he was lurking just outside our territory. I had wondered what had happened to him that day. So much blood spilled and a lot of people died and I had been so out of it for the first few days afterwards. I had to bury people that I had planned to do dumb teenage adventures with during summer. For some time, I was angry with Alpha Joseph for having taken us on such a task but then my anger shifted when I realized he wasn't responsible. The person responsible was that wolf, he was the one who had the blood of innocence on his hand, not my Alpha. He was the one who deserved my anger and he was the one who was going to pay. Blood for blood, it is the only way I knew justice could truly be served.

I pushed my legs faster until I got to the edge of the forest, I weaved through the trees expertly, my muscles being carried by the adrenaline surging through my veins. I came to a halt to one of the hollow trunks where the Pack had left spare clothes for those who needed them. I shifted back to my human form and put on a pair of shorts. As wolves, we didn't mind being barefoot. In fact, I preferred it. Being barefoot connected us more to nature which was our element. The earth was like a feeding ground for us, we thrived within the forest lands. It is why you rarely saw any wolf in the cities, we never felt comfortable enough.

I walked through the tree line and headed straight towards Bernard's house. He is recovering but he is doing much better than he had been in the past two weeks. He had taken in a lot of wolfsbane and the species of plant they had used was very rare and also very lethal. He was lucky to be alive but then again that was one of the perks of being an Alpha. What affects a normal wolf never affects an Alpha in the same way.

I walked up to his front door and twisted the knob, I smiled internally when I realized that it was open. Bernard often complained about people that just walked into his house like they owned it but he never bothered to lock his door. I stepped into the foyer.

"Bernard?" I called out.

"You people just walk into my house as you own it. Damn it, I need to learn how to lock my door." His voice was coming from the kitchen. I walked in that direction and walked to his impressive looking kitchen. Sometimes I would forget just how well off the Alpha family truly was until I stepped into Bernard's house.

He was sitting by the island with his laptop open and a cup of coffee in his hand. It was five o'clock in the evening and this man was still downing caffeine.

"What's up, man." He greeted me, not looking away from his screen. I walked up to him.

"How are you feeling today? I know you are still healing." He turned his head to me and had the biggest grin on his face I had ever seen.

"I am great, Jasper. I have never felt better in my entire life. I feel like a new man now." He was strangely in a good mood, I don't think I had ever seen him smile this wide in the entire time I have known him.

"You seem to be in a good mood." He nodded.

"I just found a reason to smile, I guess. Now, what do you need? You are meant to be on patrol today so if you left your post then I know it must be something important." My mood immediately sobered.

"Yes, remember a few years back Alpha Joseph us out to the Dark Wood Pack?" He sat up straight in his chair.

"Yes, I remembered and we lost some good warriors and trackers that day." I hummed in agreement.

"Well, I saw one of the wolves that were there that day. His name is Matthew, he was the leader of those groups of what we thought were rogues at the time. I saw him lurking close to the western border on the west side."

"That is not possible, my father said he tracked all of the wolves from that day and had them killed. Are you sure?" I nodded.

"I will never forget the face of the wolf that almost killed me. It was him and he knew that it was me. The way he looked at me, Bernard, I knew it was me. I felt it in my bones."

He was silent for some time. His mind was turning and I could see the conclusion he was drawing behind his eyes. He hadn't been there that day because he wasn't a tracker but he knew what a great loss that day had been for the Pack.

"Was he alone?" I shook my head.

"No, he had three other wolves. I think those were the wolves you fought that night in the woods when you had to go and retrieve Elena. One of them was limping badly and I think they hadn't quite healed."

"Which one was it?" He asked but that was an odd question.

"Right hind leg, but why do you ask?"

"Because I remember snapping one of the wolf's bones on their hind leg. It is them, are they still near the eastern border?"

"They disappeared but Matthew took off and headed west. I am not sure exactly where he was headed but he looked in a hurry to get there. Do you think they may be waiting for Elena?" His eyes darkened slightly.

"If they were, then they would be sorry. They will never get their hands on Elena. She is safe within my boundaries and it will remain that way. They can't enter the Pack lands unless they have an early death wish. But what you can do is you can notify Nicholas, tell him that I told him he needs to look more into this, and give me a full analysis report tomorrow." The alarm bell went off in my head. Doris's words echoed through my head about Nicholas. He is not a man to be trusted.

"Do you think telling Nicholas is the wisest idea, Bern? I think it is best to deal with this internally and just between the two of us. After all, I am the one who battles Matthew. I think I have a better insight than Nicholas could ever have."

"I know you have your qualms with Nicholas but he is my Beta and these are things that he ought to do in my absence. And besides, you are too emotionally invested to make logical and rational decisions. Your judgment calls will be clouded and I think it is best you just step away from this one."

"But, Bern….." My voice trailed off when I saw the look on his face.

"Nicholas is many things but he does know how to do his job properly. I trusted him."

Well, you shouldn't trust him, I wanted to say that but I didn't. I still had no proof that Nicholas was planning on killing Bernard and taking the Alpha title by force. If I spoke now, it would not only expose Doris but then Nicholas would know that I was onto him. I needed to trust Bernard's judgment, he is the Alpha after all. I would simply need to keep a close eye on Nicholas and make sure that no harm came to my friend and Alpha. The only card I had to play right now was the card of secrecy. Nicholas didn't know that I knew about his little plan, I needed to use that to my advantage.

"Okay, I will talk to Nicholas." I relented.

"Good, now please leave my house. I am expecting someone soon. I have a meeting."

"Okay, Alpha." I bowed out of respect to my friend and walked out of his kitchen.