gaius

"Wake up," someone growled.

Groaning to myself, I sat up and rubbed my eyes and looked up. Councilman Steele was standing in front of me with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Why are you just sitting there?" He scowled. "Get him up and let's go. We still have to a little ways to go."

Don't hit him, Gaius.

Closing my eyes, I chanted the four words to myself before getting up and making my way to the bathroom. I took a quick shower before changing and going back to the bed where Onyx laid.

"Onyx," I shook him lightly. "Come on."

Onyx turned and shook his head.

"Onyx, come on," I tried again. "Don't you want to go see your parents?"

That got his attention. His hazel eyes looked at me and he slowly sat up.

"Are we leaving now?" He asked, still half way asleep.

"Yeah, after you showe-"

"Hurry up!" The councilman growled.

Sucking in a breath, I shook my head and helped Onyx to the bathroom. It took a little longer since there was no stool like we had at home, but once we were both ready to go, I helped Onyx back into the room and gathered our bags.

"Finally," the councilman muttered to himself.

His attitude didn't surprise me seeing as this is how he always was, but I was trying to be more understanding after what he revealed to me last night.

It was hard.

Part of me believed that he was trying to make me mad on purpose. He didn't want to be treated any differently than before or it would hurt his pride.

"Is everyone ready?" I asked instead of arguing with him.

Onyx's eyebrows rose at this but he smiled at me instead and nodded. The councilman's jaw clenched slightly, confirming my suspicion.

"Let's go," he said coldly, stomping out the room.

Onyx frowned before the two of us followed after him and made our way down the hall and into the elevator. When we reached the bottom floor, the smell of pancakes, sausage, and bacon filled my nose and Onyx's eyes searched for the area where the smell was coming from. Noticing this, Councilman Steele shook his head.

"We don't have time for that," he told Onyx with a warning glare.

Onyx pouted at that and I shook my head slightly.

"You want to drive for hours with no food?" I raised an eyebrow.

The councilman's face mirrored my own. "We don't have time for that, we're supposed to be going to the Solar Moon Pack and your mutt will slow us down with his hunger."

I stared at him for a few minutes before turning around and leading Onyx to the kitchen.

"Gaius!" Councilman Steele called out angrily.

I ignored him and made my way to where the to-go boxes were and grabbed three. Onyx's curious eyes followed the food as we moved through the line. He pointed at the things he wanted and I put them into the box.

Once our boxes were full, I helped Onyx to where the pissed off councilor waited for us and shoved one of the boxes into his hands.

"You're welcome," I told him before walking out the hotel with Onyx.

I helped Onyx into the back seat before climbing into the front one. I moved to get my keys out of my pocket but stopped when they weren't there.

Where were they? Did I leave them in the room or did I pack them in the bags by accident?

I was about to reach into the back and grab the bags to check when a knock on the window caught my attention. Councilman Steele stood in front of the window and dangled the keys in front of my face.

"Forgetting something?" He raised an eyebrow.

Scowling, I rolled down the window and snatched the keys from his hand. He threw a sarcastic smirk my way before moving to the passenger's side and sliding into the car.

"Go," he demanded.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before pulling out of the parking lot.

Almost there, Gaius.

...

"Turn here," Councilman Steele instructed.

"I know where the pack is, Councilor," I told him as I turned.

"You looked like you were about to drive right by," he rolled his eyes.

I opened my mouth to reply but Onyx's gasp stopped me as the Solar Moon Pack came into view. He blinked twice before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they were glossy.

"We're almost there," I told him softly.

I drove up to the border and standing there waiting for us was the alpha and beta of the pack. I stopped the car before climbing out and walking around to get Onyx. Councilman Steele shook the hands of the man and woman waiting for us. Once Onyx was out, I walked towards them and also shook their hands.

"You must be Beta Gaius and Councilor Steele, I am Alpha Raina and this is my beta, Umber. We've heard from your alpha why you wish to visit our pack but we'd like you to explain in more detail," the woman, Alpha Raina, said.

"Hello, Alpha, I'm Beta Gaius. We've come to your pack in hopes of being able to speak to the Harper family if possible," I told her.

Something flashed within her eyes. "Why do you wish to speak to the Harpers?"

My eyes traveled to Onyx and I lightly pushed him forward.

"This is Onyx, after looking at the past missing wolf cases, we have reason to believe that he was originally from this pack."

Alpha Raina's face revealed nothing, but Umber's eyes widened slightly before he quickly concealed his shock. Raina stared at Onyx for a few minutes before her eyes glossed over revealing she was linking someone.

"Come on," she nodded at us.

We followed behind the two of them until we reached a building. Upon walking in, I realized this had to be Alpha Raina's office.

"Please sit tight," she told us.

Beta Umber had left the room and Alpha Raina took a seat across from us.

"How did you come across Onyx?" She interrogated.

"He passed into our pack lands and I realized he was my mate," I told her honestly.

She nodded before looking at Onyx. "Where have you been all these years?"

Onyx hesitated before looking down. "I don't know."

Alpha Raina's eyebrows furrowed and she opened her mouth to say something when the door opened revealing Beta Umber and two people behind him. There was a man and a woman, the woman's eyes were filled with tears and the man's expression was unreadable.

The woman gasped as she stared at us and I looked over at Onyx who's eyes began to fill also.

"Hi," he whispered.

The woman broke out in a sob and moved towards him.

"Onyx? Is it really you?"