Jay P.O.V

I raced up the steps, having shifted and dressed so fast, I was still working the shirt on as I entered and raced down the halls, using my nose and the various mourning sounds to lead me into the dining room. I looked between shoulders of those blocking the door, realizing that all children and anyone not within the warrior or diplomatic hierarchy were probably in their rooms. Those outside, after being coaxed to shift back, were probably being ushered to their rooms as well. I would have to check on that. Another worry was how many were guarding the borders; hopefully they didn't break formation from hearing the sounds; no recall howls had been sent out. Sliding between the wall of people to the dining room, my eyes took in the scene before me... And it was terrifying.

Amongst it all, I spotted David looking between his parents whilst his mother reposed in his arms. His father was across the room being worked on by our pack's physicians, and I wondered why it was that they hadn't moved him yet; what was even wrong with him?

"Mom, please," David's voice cracked, brokenhearted, as silent tears slid along and down his mother's face to find it's eventual way to his already tear-stained shirt. "Please, let me bring you to your room."

She only leaned her face further into his shirt, hands gripped tightly to his shirt. David's face lost all emotion as he slipped his arms around his mother, lifting her up as she began to cry shrilly, squirming within his tightly held arms. Without a change, even when she clawed and hit him, he silently walked to the wall of people who slid away from his approach before engulfing the path room after. David hadn't even met my eyes, but now wasn't the time for either of us, now was the time to regain control of the situation before confusion and pain overwhelmed us.

I turned my back to face the large body of people standing there stoic as statues, "Bradford, Tillows, Galfrey!"

The three looked to me instantly, "What is the situation with the border?"

"I-I. We do not know. Sir," Bradford, the first to recover, straightened as he stepped forward, Tillows and Galfrey taking their places behind him.

"Well, you damn well better find out then!"

The three flinched back, surprised by my tone before their faces became stony. I didn't care what they thought of me right now, because I knew what I would have thought in their position. I knew what was happening behind me. We all heard it, but standing there watching was not going to help anyone, and we needed to take care of our pack, no matter the outcome...

They nodded to a few before several headed out with varying degrees of emotions; many of which I tried not to focus on.

"Averick!"

"Yes sir!," She also stepped forward, looking straight ahead angrily. The only person that could have given orders as above me, outside of David and his family, was Patricks, our Alpha's Beta. Unfortunately, he was on a mission right now given to him by his Alpha.

"Lead a group to corral those outside and make sure everyone is shifted, then join Mager's group with checking on all the rooms and families, both locally in person and remotely by phone," I watched as two more groups assembled and left.

The sparse room held echos of the physician's administrations to their Alpha, but I didn't question the group, leaving it to them to know what to do, "The rest of you, guard the room and get anything the physicians may need. I walked out to the sound of several small, vibrating growls.

Cian's P.O.V

I angrily punched the wall instead of the face of the Etekstyvor I so badly wanted to, "No scents, no clues, no witnesses," I punched the wall several times before loosing my claws and tearing a path that lead me inches from the sweating man. Any human wouldn't be able to see the palpable fear roiling off him.

"I-I checked her background again... And the whole thing... ALL the background checks were gone," the man swallowed. "Every single one we did on all the possible families were wiped from our systems."

My phone rang Dr. Who at this instant, probably saving the man's life, because he was the only person I would have answered right now, "Pritcher, why have you called."

I glared up at the man before giving him my back as Pritcher's low voice filled my ear, "Everything I had on Ashe is gone, Cian. Everything. My-my whole office is destroyed, all my files- hard and virtual have been taken or erased. There's nothing of Ashe here anymore, Cian."

"The hell did you say?!" I worked hard not to crush the phone. "Everything... Just how did everything-? The security system there is one of the best! We keep so many sensitive medical documents and so on there... To have a breach..."

I crossed over to my office chair, taking a seat, "How?"

I leaned forward, speaking into the silence once more, "We need to find out how. I'll get trusted men to work on it. Expect them, Pritcher."

I hung up, looking to the Etekstyvor once more, "You're lucky I still need you."

He swallowed, nodding his head.

Ashe P.O.V

I sat at the table, from the sounds vibrating along it as foods were placed, the table was quite large for the number of people seated. I sat between Aaron and Avery. Aaron held my left hand, the older of my two brothers while Avery played with my hair. I thought it was funny that Avery had this preoccupation with it, always finding some way or other to pet the length I keep mentioning to mom that I needed cut. Avery had almost cried the first time I mentioned it, grabbing my head protectively while murmuring no. It took Aaron a large amount of coaxing before he finally released me. I had a feeling that unless I did something desperate, the probability of getting my hair cut was extremely slim.

"Mom?" I turned my head towards where her footsteps echoed from as she placed another dish on the table. "How did we get here?"

"Why, we drove, silly," she patted my head before filling our glasses with what smelled like blood.

"But... I don't remember..."

"That's because you were half asleep when we left. Remember? You hadn't been feeling well the last few days, but Dad just got back and he really missed you, so we bundled you up and made our way here," Aaron simplified as I furrowed my brows in confusion. I couldn't really remember any of that, so I must have still been sick. "Ah, we had also been giving you medication for it that makes you sleepy, so maybe you were more tired than we thought, huh?"

They all laughed, and I couldn't help but smile, "You're right, I must have really needed that sleep."

"Speaking of, do you feel better, honey? I can bring you to your room if you're not up for it."

"Actually, I feel all better, Mom," I grinned toward her voice.

"That's good, because your father really can't wait to see you."

I faced downwards, rubbing one nail against the edge of another, "Do... Do you think... He'll like me?"

"No," I faced up quickly, eyes already filled with hurt, "He'll love you. In fact, he's been impatiently waiting to meet you."

Just then, the sound of footsteps met my ears, and I couldn't help but face their direction as they walked down what must be a set of stairs and a twisting hall until they finally stepped into the open doorway of the dining room. The room itself was quiet with only our slight breathing and beating hearts to disturb the moment.

"Hello... Dear, we missed you so much!" Mom's voice was genuinely happy to see him, her voice making it possible to gain an impression of his figure in the large room. As he neared, it became obvious just how tall he was, easily larger than anyone I can remember meeting before. Aaron and Avery helped me stand with them, the heavy wooden and satin-laced chairs hard for me to move without awkwardly scraping or banging it around.

"Daddy," Avery's voice was cute with an almost pouting lilt to it, "I missed you so much!"

Aaron place a hand along my shoulder, the sound of his long hair shifting always interesting to hear. "Father, we've all missed seeing you."

I felt the moment his eyes landed on me, causing me to blush awkwardly, "H-hi."

Aaron and Avery lead me out to stand in front of the man I've never met, but is supposed to love me and be my father. I looked up to where his face should be, my neck almost craning at the effort, "And you must be my new, lovely son."

I shivered at his smooth, low voice, wondering what he looked like as I heard him lean down, a large hand running from the top and slowly down the side of my head, "Now, what shall we call you?"

I lay in bed, running the name in my head over and over again, twisting it over my tongue. While I didn't quite understand what changing a name meant, I liked the idea of starting or beginning again. I already had divided my life into Before and Now, so perhaps leaving Before's name Behind was for the best. I smiled as I remembered how excited my family became by the thought of the new name.

It was late, but I just couldn't sleep, setting aside my headphones and just listening to the open space around me. I had yet to understand the long halls, stairs and so on... I wasn't even sure I knew where the front door was... I thought momentarily before agreeing to myself that I didn't. I stood, still having a little trouble just navigating my expansive room, slippers protecting my feet from the cool wooden floor where rugs and carpets were not present.

I quietly walked along, noting where my room was before choosing a direction and sticking to the wall. I wished I had something to keep myself from almost knocking over vases, stubbing my feet or making a general ruckus as I walked along, but I didn't, so it took a lot longer than it probably would have with assistance as I followed the wall, skipping the branching halls until it lead me to a small, quiet set of stairs that I almost fell down. Down the stairs, I kept following the right wall, no idea where I was whatsoever and starting to think I should have just gone to Aaron's or Avery's, when I tripped over something short, losing my touch with the wall. I sat up, trying to make sure I knew which direction I had come from. I was scared now, deciding to try to get back to my room when I heard Dad's voice, I think.

I followed the voice, frowning when I realized there was another voice in the room, making me unsure whether I should bother him... And then became aware that I really was lost now, so didn't have a choice. Swallowing, I stood before the door a few moments, listening as the two voices became clear. My brow furrowed, because I recognized not only Dad's but the person he was talking with, now that I was close enough to the door.

"-knows nothing as usual, making it easy to run the drugs right through his territory-"

I knew it was not okay to listen in, so I raised my hand to knock, but the door quickly opened, "What are you doing out of bed?"

I clasped my hands together, scared even though his voice wasn't anything more than slightly reprimanding, "I-I couldn't sleep... Then got lost."

Jay P.O.V

Our Alpha was in a coma for a few weeks, but the physicians still had no idea what happened and why he was still declining rather than getting better like he should have. They had checked for who knew what, unable to give us any answers... Until he died. And then, all they could say was that the stress and physical exertions had put strain on him, causing an aneurysm. Not unheard of, and easily accepted by the rest of the mourning pack.

Patricks had returned the next day after I contacted him by phone when we finally had things under as much control as possible. David was now the acting Alpha at nineteen, a stressful position to be thrust into when it's usually handed off, the father assisting as needed. I wanted to think that was why David insisted that Patricks keep his position.

My phone beeped, informing me of a text from... David, of course, asking us to meet in his 'office', which used to be his father's a week and some change ago. He hadn't looked for me or asked anything of me since he had Patricks take over, so the moment it registered that he had texted me, I knew it couldn't be for anything good.

I headed straight to the office, not one to put off the inevitable, knocking, "Come in."

As expected, David sat at his desk, not looking up. What I didn't expect, was for him to look so ragged with rumpled clothes, dirty haphazard hair, and a look that perfectly summed up the loss of the world. When he finally looked up after sharply scenting the air, his whole face had changed to one of unrestrained rage.

He vaulted the desk, and I knew that this time I wouldn't be able to calm him down as my back hit the the wall, "This is all your fault!"

I did my best to block the punches aimed at my face, but lost it when he bashed me in the stomach before punching me to the ground only to kick me until I caught his leg, wrapping mine up between his and around his opposite leg so my feet crossed at his waist, giving me the leverage to upheave his balance so he fell onto his back, knocking the wind out of him.

I straddled him, making it impossible for him to unseat me, "I don't know why you did that, but you need to calm down!"

He struggled, yelling wildly before tears erupted, "It's...All your fault! He's dead because of you!"

I released his arms, and he quickly covered his face, uncaring of me as I rose and went over to the desk. The letter was thick and expensive-looking, a handwritten scrolling letter hiding horrible words within its beautiful writing style:

Dearest David,

Oh, or should I write, 'Alpha' David? We are sorry for your sudden loss. Honestly, we had planned for him to last much longer, but you know how these things work, and accidents are prone to happen. That aside, congratulations on ascending your pack's throne!

On to business. We have decided to give you a month's time for grieving, after which we will expect our partnership to begin. Please send Jaybriel our regards and let him know that there is a place open to him should he ever show interest,

Sincerely,

Those of the Seneschal

I stepped away from the letter, bumping into the overturned chair, slamming a hand to my mouth. Oh god, I felt like I was going to throw up... I... I had never thought that-that they would do something like this. My stomach roiled, and I couldn't hold it back any more as I retched into the small garbage beside the desk.

My mind was in a wreck, so I didn't notice until David was over me, "You..." His face crumpled before turning away with a broken cry, hands in his hair as he staggered around. "You! You need to make this better! I can't stand you! I... I don't know what to do with you."

I kneeled on the floor, looking up at David, the guy who I thought had feelings for me. The guy that took my first male kiss and the first person to touch me so personally. Tears filled my eyes with heartbreak and guilt. I had thought I had done so well. I thought I had given us some protection and time, instead of causing someone's death and so much stress on one person's shoulders.

"It's all your fault! I should never have trusted someone like you to actually help me! Hell, you had probably set this up with them!"

"No...No, I didn't! I haven't!" I rose onto my knees, hands gripping his pants until he knocked me off.

"Then you won't mind doing something for this pack."

I looked up at him as he crossed his arms, staring down at me as though I was some kind of gross stain on the carpet. I would have rather been that, than the reason that someone I had respected and depended on so much was... Murdered, because of what I had done, "What," I swallowed, trying to talk through a strained throat, "What needs to be done?"

David turned away, shaking with the effort of trying to control his anger, which had always been a problem. Minutes ticked by until he was able to breathe more calmly. His back still turned, David dropped the biggest surprise since his father's death, "I need you to join the Seneschal."

Really long and took all day, but this is the END of the 1st BOOK.