cloud

When I wake up, I immediately know where we are. The bundle of nerves in my stomach continues to grow as Raiden keeps driving. We were getting closer to the pack and closer to memories I desperately wanted to let go of.

The more we drive, the more memories fill my mind. Memories of running around through these woods as a child, memories of watching Dad and Gray train, the memory of Gray's first time shifting — they all come flooding back to me.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I didn't want to remember any of that, I didn't want this trip to be harder than it needed to be. We were just going to go in there, talk to Gray, and then we'd be on our way. There was no reason to remember any of this — afterward, I wouldn't have to see this place ever again.

The feeling of a hand gripping my own causes me to open my eyes. My eyes travel to Raiden; even though he isn't looking at me or saying anything, he doesn't have to. I take a deep breath to calm myself down and attempt to push my thoughts away.

You'll be gone before you know it, Cloud. There's no reason to get so worked up.

I let go of Raiden's hand and he briefly looks over at me, silently asking if I'm okay. I give him a small nod and focus on the road in front of us. Soon we'd be reaching the pack borders meaning it was almost time to see Gray.

As much as I didn't want to be here, I was curious about my brother. Before I left, Gray was a stranger to me compared to the Gray I knew as a child, would it be like that again? Just how much had he changed in the time that I've been with Raiden?

I'd know soon enough.

My eyes travel to the back of the car where Beta Reo sits. He's clearly awake, but his eyes remain trained on the window. Strangely enough, I think this is the quietest he's been since I've met him. I expected to wake up to the two of them arguing, most likely over something stupid, but that wasn't the case. But judging how Raiden keeps sending small glances in the beta's direction, something did happen.

"We're almost there," Raiden says out loud.

The beta remains as he was before, but my nerves grow even more. His eyes turn to me and he raises a brow — I'm sure that due to their enhanced hearing, both Raiden and he can hear just how nervous I am but neither one of them say anything.

Raiden continues to shoot glances my way throughout the rest of the ride. I'm sure he wants to say something or do something to help me, but doesn't know what he can do.

The closer we get, the more familiar the land becomes. I was back at the place I called home for so long, only it didn't feel like home. It felt wrong to be here.

When we finally pull up, two warriors are stationed at the pack lands' entrees. Their eyes follow our car before they turn to me, recognization covering their faces.

Here goes nothing.

As the warriors approach the car, Raiden's hand moves to grip my own once again and Beta Reo quickly opens his door to step out.

"Are you going to be okay?" Raiden looks at me, worry coating his face. "If not we can—"

"—we can what, Raiden? We both know this is necessary," I tell him before sighing and moving my hand out of his grip. "I'm okay, Raiden, really. You don't need to worry about me."

Raiden frowns. "I'm always going to worry about you, Cloud. You're my mate."

"Then trust that I can handle this," I try instead. "Trust that I'll be okay."

Raiden still looks a little unconvinced, but he nods nonetheless. The two of us quickly follow Beta Reo's lead and climb out of the car. The warriors are talking to him, but their eyes follow me.

"We need to speak to your alpha," Beta Reo says, his voice confident.

"For what reason?" One of the warriors asks, his eyes narrowing slightly causing the beta's eyebrows to raise.

"For reasons that don't concern a low-ranking wolf such as yourself," he matches the warrior's narrowed gaze.

The two of them stare at each other. The warrior's hand clenches and his body tenses up, wordlessly challenging the beta.

The second warrior places his hand on his friend's shoulder nervously as he glances at Beta Reo, clearly sensing not only his ranking but also the waves of anger he was letting off.

The warrior's mouth opens, but he doesn't get the chance to say anything. Instead, they both turn around along with both Raiden and Beta Reo as two wolves approach us.

The first wolf is in the front and is moving faster, but my eyes remain glued to the second one. The dark coat and light blue eyes were all too familiar. The closer it gets, the more it slows down. Its eyes meet mine causing my body to tense and my heart to beat faster. I can hear Raiden talking to me, but I'm not focusing on him.

The first wolf stops a little ways away and darts behind a tree to likely shift back, and the second quickly follows suit just as Raiden pulls me closer to him.

"What was that?" He asks worriedly.

I open my mouth to reply, but no words come out. In fact, I don't even get the chance to try and form a sentence before someone darts at me and arms wrap around me tightly. Raiden stumbles a bit before catching his balance, his face morphs into a glare and he attempts to get the person off of me.

The person turns around and briefly, glances at Raiden before ignoring him and returning their attention to me. Ice-blue eyes meet mine with many emotions swimming inside them, and I'm sure my own eyes look the same.

The hug quickly tightens and I let out a shaky breath before saying, "Hi, Gray."