Ch 7 Sweet 16

The Darkwood pack prepared to celebrate the Sweet 16 birthdays of Alpha Blake's triplets and Coen's mate Trinity. Camillia and Trinity were finished dressing and Grandmum Marigold was fixing their hair and makeup when Callen burst in begging, "Help me, I can't tie my tie."

Camillia offered, "I'll strangle you with it." Trinity laughed.

"Come here, Callen." As Grandmum Marigold tied it, she told Trinity, "Go check on Coen."

She walked down the hall as Cami and Callen continued to taunt each other. Coen was sitting at his desk, writing in a book when she knocked and pushed open the door. "Hey."

"What?!" He snapped the book closed rudely. He stared at her, wide-eyed, like he didn't know who or what she was, then looked away.

"Grandmum Marigold wanted me to check and make sure you're ready," Trini said tentatively. Things with Coen had been different since the baseball tournament two months ago. He had become distant. It hurt.

"I'm fine, Trini," he answered stiffly without looking at her.

She licked her lips, her throat felt dry, "Oh, okay." She didn't move.

"I said I'm fine," he repeated. The pencil twitched in his fingers like he was agitated.

Her wolf growled and her demoness thrashed its tail, and suddenly she was very angry, so she snapped, at him, "Are you going to tell me what I did or just keep being a butthead?"

He stared at her stunned.

After a long moment, she snarled, "Fine! Arg! I'm sorry. I am sorry, sorry, sorry for whatever! Happy birthday! I won't bother you again!" She turned and in a rustle of blue silk and a shimmer of shadows, she was gone before he could stand up.

"Trin." He trembled, staring at the space she had just vanished from. He had never seen her that angry at him before. Downstairs, the front door slammed.

The cold air of the night cooled Trinity's flushed cheeks as she wrapped her cloak around her and started toward the pavilion. Autumn was like a yo-yo this year and it felt like snow was coming but Trinity hoped summer would return. She knew that probably wouldn't be the case. Winter was almost here and she had been lucky the warmth lingered as long as it had.

They would all graduate school the second week of November and then leave six weeks later. After the winter holidays everything would change. She would go to her grandfather's coven so he could introduce her to court life. In a year, she would be across the ocean and training under her great-aunt, the Blood Queen while in college. Camillia would attend a private Luna college and take medical courses, while Callen and Coen would be gone to perform their tour of duty with the Guardians and Alpha training, which was basically military college. They would rarely see each other for the next four years.

A tear ran down her cheek and Trinity brushed it away angrily. Ahead, she could see the light and hear the music from the town square, she couldn't face it yet so she turned off the trail and wandered away into the woods. She didn't even know where she was going until she stopped under a familiar oak. On the surface was carved, T + C then +C +C. She smiled, Coen had carved their initials, and been so angry when Callen had added the rest. Cami once said together the four of them could overcome anything, but could they overcome the distance that was facing them. Her fingers trailed over the letters, and she wished they were all ten years old again. But then again, ten had been the worst year of her life, she had lost her parents and one set of grandparents and almost everyone she knew and loved. She longed to hear her father's laugh and feel his strong arms, or hear her mother and grandmother singing while baking, or run through the vineyard, trying to hide from her grandfather's wolf. She wrapped her arms around herself and fought the tears. She looked up at the moon, waning gibbous just like that night.

"You shouldn't be out here alone, Trinity. It isn't safe," Coen said quietly. "Let's go back."

They walked quietly in the moonlight for a while.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," she whispered.

"No, you're right, I have been a butthead. I'm sorry... I just..." He cut himself off and took a deep frustrated breath. "I just don't want to say goodbye. I... I'm not ready." He stopped and looked at her strangely.

She could sense the conflicting emotions swirling within him. "It's not goodbye, it's just a few years," she protested.

"It feels like it will be forever," he groaned, looking up at the moon, "I hate it. I hate thinking about it. I hate that you will be so far away and I will be stuck at the Alpha Academy then doing my tour of duty with the Guardians and I won't be able to see you or... I love you and I hate everything about everything that will happen after today... And I hate that I might lose you most of all."

She truly saw him for the first time. Her lips pressed together in concentration, realizing he was just as afraid as she was. Her Coen who was confident bordering on arrogant; driven, determined, an alpha's alpha was worried. Her Coen who shifted to his wolf and warform early, who could overcome any challenge or challenger fearlessly, feared their future. Coen who had always been there for her, protected her, trained with her, fought rogues with her, and was always at her side. He was a scared teen just like her. She stared at him. Her strong, invincible Coen feared the same thing she did. He feared he would lose her because he loved her.

"I..." She feared she would lose him because she loved him too, but she couldn't find the words.

He looked back to her, surprised that her ice blue eyes were only inches from his, she was looking into his soul. He held his breath. He had not heard her move, but now there was barely a hand span between them. She was so beautiful, in the moonlight, in her pale blue gown and cloak, ethereal.

"I've loved you since we were children and now you're was leaving to go to royal court and you'll realize that I'm just a wolf from the western woods and would forget about me."

"I won't," she vowed. "It's... you could die." A single tear made a glossy trail down her cheek. 

He wanted to kiss her so badly, and the thought of it was like molten lava in his soul. Wolves weren't supposed to find their mates so young, but he had been lucky or perhaps cursed because now he would have to leave her for four years and she might not come back ever.

Her eyes narrowed and she blinked, and he was free. Startled, he started to step away, but her arms were around his neck and her lips against his and he could not stop himself from holding her. Their first kiss. Not the momentary brush of lips when she was in the hospital, but a real kiss. The kiss was tentative in the beginning, slowly the kiss became more. He tightened his arm around her tiny waist. His wolf howled for him to bite her shoulder and mark her as theirs. 

As if sensing this, she rolled her head to the side exposing her neck and shoulder to him.  "Please."

His fingers reached to push the fabric to the side.

'Rogues on the southern border, patrol attacked, all warriors report.'

Coen and Trinity jerked apart, both gasping for breath. They stared at each other for a moment then he seized her hand and dragged her running toward their homes. After three steps she was keeping pace with him then ahead of him.

"Hold on," she shouted, and he wrapped his arm around her, then they blurred back to the houses. She stopped for a moment and pressed her lips against his before releasing him. "I love you and I will never leave you. I will always come back for you."

They were in front of his parents' house, a shimmer of shadow and she was gone. He turned to see her rushing into his grandparent's house. Warriors rushed about and families were scrambling to get to safety. Coen rushed in the door and stripped to his boxers. Callen bolted in moments later, stripping as he entered, he stopped and stared at his brother for a moment before giving him a lopsided grin.

"Trinity's lipstick really isn't your shade, brother," Callen observed, amused.

"You're not as funny as you think you are, brother," Coen snarled back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Callen just laughed as he threw his formalwear onto the back of the couch.

<^><^><^><^>

Trinity ran up the steps to her room. She struggled but couldn't get out of her formal gown by herself, she screamed in frustration and shimmered out of the gown. It fell in a heap on the floor behind her. She yanked on her stretch leather pants and vest, and combat boots, then pulled a hoodie over her before she strapped her swords on. One at her waist and the other over her right shoulder.

'Rogues on the western border.'

Trinity bolted down the steps and almost plowed into Callen.

"Come on, Trin." Callen pulled her arm toward Coen who was ordering a group of junior warriors to protect the safe houses and main pack house, and half to follow them the western border.

'Alpha, I am sending the older Juniors to set a perimeter to the west. Trin is taking Callen and I to scout the border.'

'Very good, Coen, be careful son.'

'Yes, Father.'

"Trin, blur us to the border." Coen ordered as Callen groaned.

"Don't you dare puke, Callen!" she scolded. In a moment, they were flying through the trees faster than any wolf could run. Several minutes later, they stopped just inside the treeline. Trin dropped to one knee gasping for breath. She looked around, eyes glowing.

"I don't see anything," she whispered.

Coen stripped and shifted to his wolf while Callen was puking, blurring always made him nauseous. Coen took several steps away and sniffed. 'I don't smell anything either, well almost anything,' and he frowned at his brother who just shifted. 'Start south, Callen. Trin, get some altitude.'

Both nodded. Trinity tucked their boxers into her belt bag and climbed to the top of a tree. She reached out with her shadow, but could sense no one else. She jumped from tree to tree following Callen as he traveled south. Coen was running a wide sweeping search pattern north.

'There's nothing here, Coen.' she thought to him.

'I agree, are we sure they meant west?' Callen questioned.

Coen shrugged, 'That was what we were told... Alpha, no intruders on western border.'

Alpha Blake didn't answer, though Coen could feel him fighting for his life with many of others.

'Coen! The pavilion safe house is under attack! Help us,' came Camillia 's desperate plea.

"Junior warriors protecting the safe houses stay put, all others to the pavilion now. East side of town.' Coen roared through the pack link, 'Yes, Alpha Coen' came a dozen replies.

'Trin?' Coen summoned.

'On the way with Callen.' Trinity dropped from the top of the tree next to Callen and wrapped her arm around Callen's large brown wolf, "Just like we practiced, only this time, please don't puke on me."

Callen growled then yelped and they moved rapidly to the north. Coen bounded into view and slid to a stop and shifting as Trinity arrived. He wrapped his arms around her. Callen whined and gagged but didn't shift from his wolf.

"Hold on," she hissed as she shimmered into shadow while she blurred toward the town, carrying both Coen and Callen. The other junior warriors were already back and joining the fighting.

<^><^><^>

A dark figure materialized out of the shadows, watching the young warriors depart. He smiled evilly as another appeared.

"Impressive. The Darkstone princess is stronger than expected and quite fast, even when burdened."

"Yes, she will bring an excellent price or make a good example for the Pure Blood cause."

"Are you sure the hybrid will come to us of her own free will, Master?"

"We have her little brother and the wolf girl, she will come."

"What if the alphas come with her?"

"They are young pups; we can deal with them easily. Come, let us rendezvous with our allies." A cloud shadowed the moon, when the light returned, the two hooded figures were gone.

<^><^><^><^>

Trin overextended her strength getting the three of them to Camillia. The pavilion safe house was burning. Several wolves injured or dead lay on the ground. Some were still fighting. She collapsed onto her hands and knees as exhaustion threatened to consume her. Coen and Callen jumped on the non-pack wolves, in moments the twin alphas were driving off the invaders.

'Camillia! Where are you?' Trinity's mind shouted through the link. There was nothing, emptiness, like the slight hiss of static on the radio. She knew Camillia wasn't dead, but she wasn't conscious either.

'Trin, help us,' came Gabe's weak voice, 'Sissy is hurt.' Gabe had called Camillia by the nickname sissy since he was four and they had been orphaned.

'Gabe? Gabe! Where are you?' Trin demanded.

She could feel her little brother getting further away, then he was gone, out of range. A wolf snarled behind Trin and she shimmered from where she had stood as it leapt at her. Swords out, she slashed at decapitated the wolf. Another came, and they fought. She wasn't as strong as the wolf, but she was faster and her swords leveled the battlefield. It jumped and dodged as she feinted and struck. This wolf was more skilled and shifted into a dingy pale wolf. Saliva dripped form its dingy yellowed fangs, its claws weren't much cleaner. It reeked of mundane booze, tobacco, and cheap meat.

"Where are they taking my brother, you dog?" Trinity hissed at him.

He growled and snapped at her.

"If you tell me. I'll let you live," she bargained.

He wheezed something that sounded like a laugh and charged. It took everything Epimetheus taught her to keep the wolf's claws and teeth out of her skin. She blurred and was behind him, stabbing him through the center of his back severing his spinal cord. She knelt over it, as it shifted to its mortal form, a scruffy, half toothless man who looked more like a mundane homeless drunk than a wolf. He disgusted her.

"Tell me where they took them and I'll end you honor like a real wolf, don't and suffer,"Trin threatened. She couldn't show any weakness, but all she could feel was fear for Gabe and Cami.

Blood and spittle sprayed from his lips as he wheezed, from somewhere he managed to say, "What would you know of wolf honor, parasite?"

Her eyes shined hard, she forced her voice to be steady, "More than a rogue like you. You know your goddess will send the hounds for you. Where did they take the Alpha's daughter and foster son?"

He wheezed another laugh as blood gurgle from his throat, "Took them... all... to... to the... sale." His eyes widened at some unseen horror. With a terrified moan, he convulsed as if he was being ripped by unseen claws then he died.