The Soldier's Begining

05 Aftermath

Nico POV

    Football practice went great as usual. Since this was the last year I was going to be able to play I was having more than worrying about how perfect everything had to be. I was taking over as Alpha in a few short months. I already went through the ceremony and expected my role. However I wasn't in total control, my father was still acting as Alpha so that I could finish school.

    We all showered and changed back into our street clothes. My Beta Wes and I made our way down the hall to the commons. I was ready to head to the student parking lot when I noticed there was an absence of people. I was ready to shrug it off when I heard cheering and laughter from the front of the building.

    Curious, I made my way towards the noise. My amused curiosity turned to anger the second the scent of blood reached my nose. 

    I was appalled even by the thought of violence on neutral territory. Because of this the loudest, most angry growl erupted from my chest. I purposely used my Alpha aura and everyone dropped to their knees. What I saw made another angry growl erupted from me.

    Laying on the ground completely covered in her own blood was Jess and right next to her was Ryan. He looked terrified seeing the anger in my face, but based on the blood on his hands he was the reason my beautiful cousin was in the state she was. I knew something was off from the second I found out they were mates. My wolf came surging forward. We both knew we should have given him an Alpha order to stay away from her, but I respected my cousin too much to meddle in her love life.

    I looked over and saw Jace with two of Ryan's goons next to him. He tried to help her, he always was the best brother. The sense of pride I felt towards him lessened my anger enough for me to speak.

    "Jace, take Jess to the pack hospital."

    His eyes widened and his face was full of fear. My wolf was so close to the surface that my eyes changed to his. 

    "I-I can't drive."

    s**t! I forgot he was only 14. I closed my eyes not wanting him to think any of my anger was directed at him. None of this was his fault.

    "Wes, take my cousins to the pack hospital."

    "Yes Alpha."

    I finally opened my eyes. I wasn't speaking to anyone so no one would assume my anger was misdirected. I watched as Jace took his sister into his arms and lifted her.

    "We gotta hurry, I can barely hear her breathing!"

    My anger surged to a new height. At that moment I decided if she dies, so will he. As soon as Jace and Wes were out of sight I went and stood over Ryan, letting my anger and power radiate off of me. Brett, my gamma came to stand beside me. He had his arms crossed looking very intimidating, he liked Jess. Partially because he liked her determination and also because his sister had a crush on Jace.

    "I knew you were a piece of s**t, but this takes the cake. I told her not to trust you, but she believed you loved her so I left it alone. You're not getting off easy this time."

    Out of the corner of my eye I saw the wolves from our neighboring packs start to move. I knew they wanted to leave but they were willing to stand her and watch as my cousin's mate beat and humiliated her. They could stay and watch what happens when you mess with my family. My pack members knew better than to leave, I made it very clear that my cousin was to be left alone.

    “Who said you could leave?”

    Everyone froze, I think some of my pack members held their breath. My pack knew how strong my Alpha power was and these other packs were about to find out if they tested my anger further.

    “You’re not our Alpha.” Someone from the crowd shouted.

    My wolf surged forward and let out a roar that echoed for several seconds. The other pack members dropped back to their knees. I saw several of my members flinch and close their eyes.

    “You will all stay. If you can stand idly by and watch, laugh and cheer as this asshole beats and humiliates his mate, you can stay and watch the example I’m about to make.”

    I watched as everyone hung their heads. I truly hope they feel the guilt they are showing. I heard Ryan gulp, he was afraid… Good. I turned to him, he looked me in the eye for a few seconds before he looked away. He then looked back at me and I could see the gears turning in his head. He was looking for a way out of this, but what he didn’t know was the only way he was getting out of this was limping. I wanted to kill him but I knew Jess wouldn’t want that. She had been at the mercy of his bullying for years, but she still never raised a hand against him unless he struck first. She had such a beautiful spirit and I’m afraid this asshole broke that beautiful spirit of hers. 

    I watched as Ryan opened his mouth. He was done talking. "Whatever it is, you plan on saying it had better be what happened here. Actually I don't trust a word out of your mouth. You there." I pointed to one of Ryan's lackeys that was restraining Jace. "Tell me what happened here."

    "Nico, I'd be happy to tell you what happened." He had a death wish.

    I turned my attention back to Ryan. "Did I tell you, you could speak?" He simply shook his head. "Then I suggest you keep quiet. And if you address me as anything other than Alpha I'll rip your throat out. Do I make myself clear?"

    "Ye-yes Alpha."

    I turned back to the one I was talking to before. "Speak."

    He told me everything. He explained Ryan's plan and recounted the events that happened here. From the rejection to Ryan's wolf cutting Jess' face. I had to close my eyes and take deep breaths to keep from killing someone. By the time he finished I was shaking. I was so very furious. I was about to say something when our three head warriors walked into the center of the crowd and stopped just behind me. Dad must have sent them. They kneeled with their right fists over their hearts and their heads down. Oliver remained in the position he was in but lifted his head to look at me.

    "Alpha, how can we serve you?"

    Their timing couldn't be better. "I want these three." I pointed to Ryan and his friends. "Taken back to our territory and put in the cells. I will decide what to do with them at a later time."

    Oliver nodded and the three of them rose to their feet and carried out my orders.

    "Oliver."

    "Yes Alpha?"

    "Before you leave I want it to be known that everyone one of the Blue Ridge pack members present in this crowd is to be placed on two a days for the next three months." No one one in this crowd was getting off easy.

    "Yes Alpha. Is there anything else?"

    "Not at the moment. I thank you for your time."

    "You're welcome Alpha." 

    Oliver, Harrison, and Davis all bowed their heads and left the area. I turned back to the crowd.

    "As for the rest of you I will be contacting each of your Alphas to inform them of what happened here and allow them to devise a punishment they deem appropriate. You may all leave."

    I've never seen a crowd clear out of a space so fast. As the last person was leaving, Wes walked over to Brett and I.

    "Letting them all go?"

    "Not before giving all our pack members two a days for the next three months."

    Wes whistled. "We're not included in that are we?"

    "No Wes, unless there is something you need to be punished for." I know I was being a bit unkind, but I was still on edge and Wes was my best friend so he understood.

    "Not that I'm aware of, but I do sleepwalk sometimes so who knows." Wes always knew how to make me laugh even when I felt like committing murder. "Now that you don't look like you're going to rip apart the next thing that moves. What's the plan?"

    I took a deep breath. "Did you get Jess and Jace to the pack hospital?"

    "Sure did and in record time too. Shortly after I got there your dad, Aunt and Uncle showed up. I think I saw Jamie's car heading that way when I was on my way back."

    "Why didn't you stay?" I was slightly irritated that he didn't stay to get news on Jess' condition.

    "Well for one your dad is there so if you're worried about protection don't. He looked like he was ready to take on a whole pack of rogues by himself. I also didn't stick around because I thought you might need backup here. That was a large crowd and I know you're a good dude but you're not that good. So if things got out of hand the two of you could have been really fucked."

    "Hey I am just as good a fighter as you." Brett seemed offended.

    "You're also only 17 and haven't gotten your wolf yet, so back it on up pup."

    As amusing as it was to watch these two bicker I had other things to attend to.

    "OK, ok you two can finish your marital spat later. I need to check on my cousin." They both turned to me with their mouths gaping open and very offended looks on their faces. "What? The two of you fight like an old married couple." I walked past the two of them, still gawking at me.

    I wanted to head straight to the hospital to see Jess but my dad mind linked me to stop by his office. I told Wes and Brett that they could go home. They both wanted to check on Jess but decided to wait until tomorrow so that her family could be with her tonight.

    I walked into my dad's office, I didn't even bother knocking. He knew I was coming and it was going to be my office after graduation. He was sitting at his desk looking over some paperwork, he looked up after I shut the door.

    "So I heard most of our young pack members have two a days for the next three months."

    "You think it's too harsh?" 

    My dad raised an eyebrow at me. "I think you let them off easy. I would have given them two a days during the week and three a days on the weekends plus 200 hours of community service at the hospital during the summer."

    "Can I change my ruling?"

    Dad laughed. "No son, it wouldn't look good if you harshened your punishment after your original ruling."

    "I understand, I'm just so angry."

    "As am I son. The reason I called you in here was to see if you found out what initially happened."

    "One of Ryan's little posey sang like a canary." I told my dad that whole story and with every detail his face grew angrier and angrier. Everyone knew he loved Jess, she was like the daughter he wished he had. I always viewed as more of a sister than a cousin, we've been close since we were young. "I just want to beat the s**t out of him!"

    "Language." Dad had a stern and warning tone. "I understand how you feel but as Alpha you can't touch him." I slumped in my chair. I just wanted justice for my cousin. "That is why I am temporarily revoking your title."

    I jumped out of my seat. "What!? I worked so hard for it. I earned…"

    My dad put his hand up. "I'm not taking it away to punish you. I'm taking it away so you won't have any blow back."

    I understood what he was saying. I could do what I had to do to make sure that asshole didn't so much as breathe near Jess ever again.

    "I won't let you down. If you'll excuse me I would like to see how Jess is doing."

    "Before you go I want you to know that it isn't pretty."

    "Yeah it wasn't pretty seeing her on the concrete covered in blood." With that I left and made my way to the hospital.

    I walked into the waiting room and straight to the desk. Everyone bowed their heads in respect. I smiled at the nurses, the younger ones giggled. “Jessica Santiago's room please.”

    “She’s in room 116.” Nurse Jackson told me. She was a sweet lady that’s been with the hospital for as long as I can remember.

    “I’ll take you there Alpha!” One of the newer nurses excitedly offered.

    Nurse Jackson rolled her and gave me a look that said ‘I’m sorry about her.’ I tried my best to swallow my laugh before I spoke. 

    “I know the way, thank you.” She looked disappointed, but she wasn’t my mate and I was here to check on an injured family member. I wasn’t interested in flirting.

    I walked down the hall and took the first right, second door on the left. I’ve been to the hospital many times, checking on injured pack members. It was the responsibility of the Alpha to make sure that all his pack members are well looked after and know that they are all cared for. My father brought me along on many of his visits as part of my training.

    I knocked on the door, I know I was family but that didn’t mean I didn’t have manors. There was a very good possibility that they didn’t want to be disturbed this evening and I wanted them to know that I respected that. It didn’t take Jace long to answer the door. His eyes were bloodshot and angry, he had fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. I hated seeing him like this, so I did the only thing that came to mind and pulled him into a hug. He let out a few sobs before he ended our hug.

    “Sorry, Nico, I know it’s not a very manly thing to do.”

    “Dude your sister just got beaten to a pulp and is in a hospital bed. If you weren’t crying I’d wonder if you cared at all.” His face grew angry when I mentioned the beating.

    “I’m gonna make that bastard pay for what he did.”

    “I know how you feel, but I want to hear what she has to say first. It’s not like her to just roll over and take a beating without getting a few good hits in.”

    “That’s gonna be kinda hard to do.”

    “Why?”

    “Come in.” Jace moved out of the way and let me in the room. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her. Jess was just laying there, the back of her bed was positioned so she wasn’t lying completely flat. She had a blanket pulled up to her chest and her hands were laying on either side of her body palms down. She had an oxygen mask and bandages on her face and all kinds of tubes and wires hooked up to her. I felt a tear fall down my cheek, this was the most heartbreaking sight I had ever seen. Jace came and stood next to me, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “They put her in a medically induced coma. The doctor said that she was so distraught that they had to, so she could heal.”

    “What did he mean distraught?”

    “I don’t know, he didn’t go into details. He just said that this was what was best for her healing process.”

    I felt a growl rumble out of my chest. “How long will she be like this?”

    Jace’s grip on me tightened. “Doctor said a week. He said he’s going to bring her out of it and she’s still as distraught as before he’s going to put her back under.”

    This was much worse than I thought. Based on what Jace told me, Ryan broke her. My sweet, kind and beautiful cousin. The bastard broke her for absolutely no reason. My wolf was growling and clawing at my mind to get out, he wanted blood, hell I wanted blood. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and calmed both myself and my wolf. I couldn’t afford to lose control, not here, not this close to my family. I opened my eyes and looked around the room.

    “Where are your parents?”

    “Dad and Jamie took mom home. Seeing JJ like this was just too much for her. She needed some time away, we all thought some time with her grandkids would help ease some of her suffering. I don’t plan on leaving JJ till she opens her eyes.” 

    “I’ll sit with you when I can. I should probably go see Aunt Diane and Uncle Roberto. Make sure they're ok.”

    “I think mom would really appreciate that.” 

    I hugged Jace and made my way to the door. I opened the door and with the handle still in my hand I turned back to Jace. “He’s not going to get away with this. I promise you that.”

    “I want to be there when he gets what’s coming to him.”

    “I’ll make that happen. Wes and Brett are going to stop by tomorrow to see her. They’re just as worried about her.”

    “I know JJ would love that. She really likes Wes and Brett.”

    “I’ll see you later.”

    “Yeah. Hey Nico?”

    “Yeah?”

    “Thanks for stopping by. You know how much JJ loves you.”

    “Not as much as she loves you, your brother and your parents. We’re cousins and the best of friends but all of you are her everything.”

    Fresh tears poured down Jace’s face. He sat down in the chair that was behind him and placed his face in his hands. “I feel like the worst brother. Had I not been caught up talking to some random girl I would have been with her and protected her.”

    I let go of the door and crossed the room to Jace. I kneeled in front of him and wrapped my arms around him. I let go of the big bad Alpha persona and let my own tears fall. It didn’t even bother me that my voice was shaky when I finally was able to speak. 

    “You’re not an awful brother. You have been the absolute best brother to her that you could ever be. I’m not exaggerating, Jess is always telling me how proud she is of you. How strong you’ve become and how amazing, kind and thoughtful you are. None of this is your fault, that bastard had this whole thing planned and we all fell for his act. If anything I should have given him an Alpha order to stay the hell away from her.”

    I heard Jace laugh. “You know she would have kicked your ass for that.”

    “I know. I may be the Alpha but the thought of fighting her scares the s**t out of me.”

    We sat there and laughed for a minute. Once our laughter died down Jace finally returned my hug and we just sat there in silence. After a couple of minutes Jace pulled away and I stood. We dried our tears cleared our throats and Jace walked me to the door.

    “I promise I won’t tell anyone you cried till JJ wakes up, then I’m totally telling her.”

    I groaned and rolled my eyes. “You know she’s not going to let me live it down for years.”

    “Yeah but think about how big that smile on her face is going to be.”

    “That’s the only reason I’m not kicking your ass kid.” I ruffled his hair and walked away.

    “Love you too!” He shouted down the hall. I just lifted my hand above my head to acknowledge that I heard him.

    I made the short drive over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. This time I just walked in without knocking. I haven’t knocked on this door since I was and Uncle Roberto told me that family doesn’t knock. I walked into the living room to find no one around.

    “Aunt Diane?” I called out.

    Uncle Roberto came walking out of the kitchen, a glass of bourbon in his hand. He mostly only drank beer, the bourbon only came out on special occasions or when he was really stressed. I would say he was really stressed and based on the smell coming from him this was his third drink. I didn’t want to judge, he was allowed to grieve and process things in his own way.

    “Your Tia is upstairs. I had her go lay down, she’s quite upset.”

    “Understandably so. How are you?”

    He took a big swig of his drink and swayed a bit. I was betting he was sleeping on the couch tonight. “My baby girl is lying in a hospital in a coma that the doctors put her in. To top it off I can’t even hold my baby because her injuries are so bad. Why was this done to my baby Nico?” His accent was even thicker than normal which always happens when he’s upset. I had an answer to his question but he was in no condition to hear it.

    “I’m working on finding that out sir.”

    He finished his drink. “You’re such a good boy Nico, we’re very lucky to have you.”

    “I feel the same about all of you.” I crossed the room and took the glass from him. “Can I help you to the couch?”

    “That would be nice.”

    I sat him down and took his glass into the kitchen. I went into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and made my way back to my Uncle. When I entered the room he was laying on the couch fast asleep. I removed his shoes and covered him with the blanket they kept on the back of the couch. I placed the bottle of water on the coffee table and made my way upstairs. My Aunt and Uncle’s room was on the third floor all the way at the end of the hall. The other two rooms were guest rooms. The door was slightly open and I could hear my Aunt crying. I knocked on the door and pushed it open.

    “Aunt Diane?” I asked quietly. 

    She was lying on her bed, she looked like she just came home and laid down. She was fully clothed and even had her shoes on. She sat up when I called her name, she tried to wipe her face clean, but the tears were pouring out faster than she could wipe them away. Her hair was a mess and her clothes wrinkled. Her makeup was ruined, it was smeared and running down her face.

    “I’m sorry, I bet I look like a real basket case.”

    “Never, you’re just as beautiful as ever.”

    “You certainly do have your daddy’s silver tongue.”

    “I only speak the truth Auntie.” I walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug. “How are you holding up?”

    “Not great, baby, I think I’m still in shock after seeing my baby like that. Do you know that Jace blames himself?”

    “I do know that. I stopped by the hospital before coming here. We had a heart to heart.”

    “That’s good to hear. You’re already showing signs of being a great Alpha. I’m so proud of you.”

    “Thank you Auntie.”

    I kissed the top of her head and took a half a step back. She did look like a wreck, not I would tell her that. “I think some chamomile tea and sleep would do you some good.”

    I knelt down and took off her shoes. She looked at me funny when I stood up but she didn’t protest. I held my hand out to her which she took and I led her to her bathroom. I had her sit on the chair they had while I looked for her makeup remover wipes. It didn’t take me long to find them, I went back to my Aunt and started to remove her makeup.

    “You know I can do it myself?” She laughed a bit and it made me happy to see her smile.

    “I know that you can, but you spend so much time taking care of everyone right now I think it’s important that someone take care of you.”

    I saw tears well up in her eyes but they were happy tears this time. “You’re such a good boy. Your mate is going to be one lucky girl.”

    “I’ll be sure to share this moment with her.”

    With that my Aunt allowed me to finish removing her makeup. I made her stay in the bathroom while I went and pulled out her favorite pajama set. It was the light blue silk set that Jess, Jamie, Jace and I bought her for her birthday a few years ago. We had to pool our allowances together but it was worth it. While she was changing I pulled the covers down on her bed and headed back to the kitchen. Uncle Roberto was still sound asleep and I didn’t foresee him waking up anytime soon. Once the tea was ready I took it up to my Aunt who was sitting in bed looking much better than the last time I saw her in it. I handed her the cup, kissed her forehead and said my goodnights before leaving the room. My next stop was Jamie and Sophie’s room. There was no light to be seen under the door nor was there an answer when I knocked. Satisfied with how the Santiago house was looking I headed home, but I wasn’t done yet. I went through the contacts that my dad had on his computer and put out the word that I was looking for people to help with the Santiago ranch while their daughter was recovering. I was slightly amazed at the number of responses that I received from people willing to help. Everyone gave me a timetable for when they were available and I made out a schedule for the next month. The only thing I wanted that family to worry about was their daughter. I was going to take care of everything else including Ryan.