37.

Since Amelia had gone missing no one else had disappeared in the pack. In a way, it worried Farryn because they were keeping Tristan under constant surveillance, but on the other hand, it was a huge relief. It had been a little more than a month since her body was brought home, and Farryn knew she needed to produce results soon before her pack turned on her. Ashia had approached her a handful of times, still waiting for Farryn to step up and let her observe Tristan’s wolf. She had avoided the topic initially, Tristan had made it clear to Ashia that he wasn’t okay with the idea and Farryn hated the thought of forcing him to do something like this. She ran her fingers through her hair as she swept it back and tied it off into a ponytail that rested low before making her way out of her home towards the training grounds where Ashia and Tristan typically spend most of their day.

Ashia lifted her head as the Alpha approached, her eyebrows raised subtly to question whether or not she had made a decision. Farryn stifled a sigh as she nodded her head. Tristan opened his eyes as her steps came to a halt, he had been in the middle of a meditation exercise that Ashia had given him.

“Tristan, Ashia has brought to my attention that she needs to meet Rorus,” She could see as soon as his name left her lips that Tristan was prepared to argue but she swiftly raised her hand to cut him off, “I will be here the whole time to ensure that everything is okay. We have reached an impasse and if there is a chance she can get answers from him then that is our next step.” Tristan pressed his lips together firmly as he took a deep breath.

“No, I did it once already for you Farryn, but I will not do it again.” His tone of voice was firm as he held her gaze. She saw the way his fingers curled into fists as if he was preparing to defend himself physically. She could feel the internal struggle of her two wolves, neither one appreciated the fact that he was refusing to listen to his Alpha but how they wanted to handle the situation was different causing a fight. Her jaw clenched as she mentally hushed the two beasts.

“This was not a request Tristan and you *will* refer to me as your Alpha. Let Rorus out.” Farryn snapped as she took a step towards him. Her tone lowered just slightly as she allowed some of Lola to leak through her words. The power of the Alpha wolf had a visible effect on the male as his eyes quickly looked away from her.

“Alpha, please I am begging you, don’t.”

“Rorus, we need to have a word with you.” Farryn gave herself to Lola, knowing she would be able to draw the male wolf out faster than she could on her own. Like flipping a switch, Tristan’s amber eyes gave way to blue at a speed that for a moment made Farryn concerned that he would fully shift. He blinked a few times in slight confusion before looking around, looking between the two females, and then grinning at Farryn.

“Well, we no longer have those pesky bars between us but I see we aren’t alone. Didn’t anyone ever teach you it was rude to force someone to talk if they didn’t want to?” Rorus’s pompous attitude was one that did not fit Tristan’s face. Farryn’s lips twisted into a grimace filled with distaste before she motioned for Ashia to speak. Ashia cleared her throat to draw the male's attention to her.

“My name is Ashia, I will ask you questions, you will answer,” Rorus glanced to Farryn, his eyes sparkling with both surprise and amusement before he returned his focus to Ashia, “Tristan has said to me he sometimes does not remember things after you come out, why?” Rorus chuckled softly as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Aren’t you a little young to be playing detective? Don’t concern yourself with matters that don’t involve you. I keep Tristan safe and that’s all that matters.”

“No, more matters. You are defensive. You are uncomfortable now, you scratch as a moment distraction to think. Memory loss is not normal.” Ashia was quick to call Rorus out on the nervous tick he had. The alarm that pulsed through him was evident as he quickly lowered his hand to his side. His playful grin faded away as he took on a more serious attitude and began to take a step towards her before Farryn stepped between them. She didn’t want to believe that Rorus would get angry and attack the young female but at the same time, she didn’t know what he might do. Seeing the way his Alpha stepped in to stop him halted him in his tracks and forced him to back up.

“I am uncomfortable because I don’t know who you are, you are just an outsider poking your nose into something it doesn’t belong in. Both of you are, Alpha I mean no disrespect but you really should learn about privacy.” He was doing his best to keep his tone light, but they could tell he was starting to get irritated.

“I am Ashia, I said this. Why do you hide things from Tristan? Who is Deacon?” Rorus reeled his head back quickly as Ashia continued to question him. His lips curled into a snarl as he narrowed his eyes. The subtle movement of his eyes might have gone unnoticed had Farryn not been watching him closely. She watched in horror as the blue faded away to a dark brown, the same eyes that she had seen before fleeing the jail while he was behind bars after she had questioned him.

“We are tired of your questions, has anyone ever told you that you’re annoying?” He snarled sharply. Farryn could feel Namia retreating in her mind, Lola seemed to be frozen with curiosity. He moved quickly, a single hand on Farryn’s shoulder to shove her out of the way so he could reach Ashia but luckily Farryn had been prepared for him to try something.

As his left hand touched her left shoulder she reached out and quickly grasped him by his throat. The move was fast enough to stun whoever was now present in Tristan’s body. When his dark gaze turned to her a cold chill ran down her spine. Her fingers instinctively tightened their grip which drew out a deep growl from the male.

“How dare you touch me.” He rasped as he bared his teeth before striking Farryn in the ribs from below. The sickening crunch of bones could be heard clearly, mixed with the sounds of her pain-filled gasps but she didn’t release her grip on him. She heard Ashia take a few steps away from the pair.

“Run, get Jason! No one else!” Farryn hissed before driving her body forward, using her weight to throw the taller male off balance and drive him to the ground. The sound of Ashia’s retreating footsteps was an odd comfort, at least now she didn’t have to worry about another innocent being killed. With her body pinning his down she could feel his bones shift as the threads of his clothes popped apart while he shifted beneath her. Farryn was quick to let him go and roll to her side, allowing herself to shift to Lola who turned to find the wolf preparing to attack her was one she had never seen before.

Farryn and Lola both knew that Rorus was a grey wolf with a white chest and muzzle, the wolf that was now lowering his head and widening his stance was as black as night. His eyes were so dark that they felt as if they were looking into an empty void. His warning growl reverberated off of Lola and shook her from her trance. This wolf wanted blood and he wasn’t going to back down even from an Alpha. While Rorus was the same size as Lola, this wolf stood a good head taller and had a broader chest. He was easily the largest wolf Farryn had ever seen.

When he charged forward Lola instinctively jumped out of the way, spinning on her hind legs to snap her jaws at his legs and tail. For his large size, he was as slow as Farryn had expected. Lola’s teeth tore through his flesh to connect with the bones beneath. He didn’t seem phased by the pain as he used the opportunity to rake his claws down the side of her flank to force her to move. Lola released his leg with a sharp huff, the angle of her body helped to keep his blow from being deadly but she could feel the warmth on her side as her white fur was painted red.

The large beasts collided together, jaws snapping at each other in a flurry. Sharp pain burst through her ear as her claws dug into his shoulders, using the position to force his chest down into the dirt as her maw shut on the back of his neck. Rather than safely grabbing him by the scruff her teeth enveloped his neck as she bit until she felt his spine. All she had to do was squeeze to kill him but knew it would result in Tristan dying as well. The wolf thrashed beneath her, seemingly unconcerned for his safety. The sporadic movements helped to dislodge the female he rolled to his side, using his hind legs to sweep her off of her paws and send her crashing on top of him. As he leaned up to bite she rolled quickly, narrowly saving her shoulder as he tore a chunk of fur from her.

Lola could hear the sound of running steps, it sounded like Jason had made it just on time but the aggressive wolf wasn’t distracted easily. Lola and the wolf both rose to their paws as they squared off once more. Jason’s wolf’s large dark grey form entered her view as he lunged over top of her, bowling over the black-furred male and pinning his tired form down. The realization that he had lost lit up in his otherwise emotionless eyes. Lola released a loud snarl, the same kind she had released when demanding the pack submitted to her. She didn’t want to kill Tristan, but for threatening her guest and attacking Farryn Lola would kill this wolf.

The black wolf fell silent, his eyes quickly darting between the two, he more than likely would have won the fight against Lola. Both wolves were breathing heavily, but now that a new arrival had appeared he knew it couldn’t be done. Rather than submitting like the she-wolf wanted his body relaxed beneath and they watched in shock as his fur slowly began to lighten to a golden honey brown. Gold began to bleed into his eyes until all traces of the black wolf were gone as the golden wolf tilted his head with a whimper of submission.