The Last Bears Daughter

CH 8

Braxton

He’d been there with his mother and all of Rhyse’s family on the packhouse front steps when Alpha Austin and his Mate, Alpha Luna Sloan, had brought her here to the pack. He’d allowed their car to come over on the ferry and right up to the packhouse.

Though he was a little surprised about Austin having a Mate, though Sloan had stated she’d found her Mate on that full moon she’d not said who it was, the man looked happy though, as he got out of the car and opened not only the door for her but for Rhyse as well.

There was no one else traveling with them, likely being that two Alpha’s mated to each other, and he knew Austin was a pure-blooded Alpha and Sloan, if the rumours were true from the Otto family, was a Kitsune, they did not need any extra help, those two would be able to protect and defend Rhyse if it came to that.

He heard the sob come from Ellen the moment Rhyse got out of the car, and watched her just run right over to her daughter. No one stopped her, she just wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her to her and just cried.

Kyle was no different, though he walked down there and touched his daughter's head, and she looked up at him, and he could see the tears in her eyes, watched them fall as she breathed the word, ‘Father.’

He could see Rebecca standing there, looking a little nervous to him. She hadn’t seen her sister in a hundred years or more, and they’d all thought she was dead, likely had her kin bond severed from them at some point. Not a nice feeling he knew that.

But if her life was so very terrible, and he wasn’t thinking it could be anything else, not with the paperwork he’d gotten yesterday from the Wolfen Council, which had King Christian's seal and signature on it.

Rhyse may have done it herself to stop them from feeling her. To stop them from worrying about her the entire time she was missing. He could actually see from here as her mother finally stepped back to let Kyle hug his daughter, that she had multiple bite marks on her neck. That did not bode well for the girl.

He didn’t have the finer details about her life, and may never get them. But he did now know that she had been inside the Bloodless Moon pack since being stolen from this pack. She was teary and clearly happy to be home, looked a little on the rough side, but likely had held up inside that pack. Perhaps she had gotten used to her life, a life she had never wanted for herself.

It was possible that Kyle or Ellen would tell him what happened to her. Alpha Austin or Sloan might even do that yet, they were here for the night to make sure Rhyse settled in. She didn’t look to be shy and timid, didn’t look to be underfed or undernourished, but just from all the bite marks, he knew she’d been treated terribly.

Rebecca waited for Rhyse to come up the stairs, and then she just burst into tears as much as her own mother had done, had been up here trying to hold herself together, it seemed, had been able to until hugging her sister.

Brax and his mother, his entire unit were all standing there. No one was going to interrupt them, he’d already told them as much. This was not for them, it was for her and her family alone. He was happy to see her back and relatively healthy looking, likely did have emotional trauma though.

But here in this pack, she could get help with that if she wanted to. They were a medical research facility, and not only did they train other wolves in the way of human medicine, they also had a full private medical facility that trained wolves how to be psychiatrists, counselors and therapists.

A lot of packs trained here or came here to do their medical placement. He even housed a medical well-being center for those in need of full treatment. It was a small facility that only housed 60 patients at a time, 20 on each floor of the building. Usually used by the Wolfen Council for those rescued from the black market and in need of treatment from severe trauma.

Rhyse had a spot there if she wanted it, he would let her parents tell her that and show her if she wanted to look at it. If not, she was able to stay in the family home with her parents or have a single apartment to herself.

Alpha Austin and Sloan smiled watching the family reunion, before coming up the stairs, to greet him, he congratulated the pair of them and saw them both just smile at each other. A good bond it seemed. Likely, if she was representative of the Wolfen Council they’d already known each other prior to finding out that they were Mates.

He introduced himself to Rhyse, when she looked at him, introduced his mother and his unit, she looked right at Rohan and smelled him, knew he wasn’t a wolf shifter, “Sloth Bear.” Rohan informed her.

“Cougar.” She stated simply.

“You don’t have to be initiated right away, Rhyse, in your own time.” He smiled at her.

“Actually, yes she does.” Austin stated, “part of the Kings' protection for the pack means she has to be initiated into the pack, then it becomes effective.” He was holding out an envelope a moment later. “Once I report that has been done, this pack will be granted the Kings protection from attacks for the next two generations of Alpha’s. We should go inside and get that done right away. It will help Rhyse feel safe.”

“I’m not scared, Austin.” He heard Rhyse state. “Nothing scares me anymore.”

“It’s not about being scared, young lady, it’s about knowing you’ll be protected. The king's own seers will be able to tell if something happens to you and track you like they can the king's own kin for the next two generations. To come and protect you, retrieve you and punish any that think it's okay to do those things to you again.”

He watched her just shake her head but say nothing, but she did go inside with them all and allowed herself to be initiated back into the pack, before going with her parents, off to their home, a place she’d not likely seen before. When she’d been here this pack had been small and, like many others, had houses dotted around inside it.

They were now very different to what she would remember if she recalled anything at all that was. He didn’t think she recalled much, is why the council had been looking for her pack. She hadn’t known where it was, had forgotten it in all likelihood, or had made herself forget so as not to miss it or try to escape back to where it was.

He sat with Alpha Austin and Sloan and read the finer details on the king's protection for the pack, and was a little surprised that a portal to the kingdom was going to be created, one that went right to the Nightingale Pack itself. Would be just outside his pack only a half kilometer away and would be up and running within a week.

He looked at Austin, “Welcome Alpha Braxton to the Wolfen realms protection.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked, had been to Nightingale every year since he’d taken over to attend the annual Alpha Meeting within the Kingdom. Knew there was many a battle raging outside the kingdom as well, had been a soldier for many years.

“It’s a portal within Nightingale itself, no rogues or enemy’s will be coming through. Though you will now have to defend that portal with your own men, it is one of the perks of having one.”

“Perk?” he shook his head and heard the man laugh himself. “Think yourself lucky I have a portal inside my very pack. Have to guard it day and night. It does not go directly into Nightingale.”

“Then I do feel lucky.” He nodded. “The rules around it?” he asked.

“There are none. Anyone can use it to come and go from Nightingale, and it might make pairing some of your pack up easier. There will be one of the witches setting it up to come through. She’ll have the Kings ensigna on her cloak. Don’t attack her.”

“Why would I?”

“Some don’t like witches.” He shrugged.

“As long as they don’t harm me or mine, I do not mind who or what any other worldly creature is. Acceptance is part of our pack laws. And we don’t judge based on species either.”

“That is good to hear.” Sloan smiled at him. You won’t be the only one getting a portal either. Everyone who took in those from the Bloodless Moon will be getting one close by and have the Kings' protection for two Alpha Generations.”

“Not that two of them need it, and I’m certain one will refuse it,” Austin stated.

“Refuse it.”

“Hmm already has Royals in it. Powerful ones at that.”

“Ah, you must be talking about Eclipsed Moon in Washington.”

“Yes, you know them?”

“Of them only.” He nodded. “From those annual meetings is all, I’ve seen the dual reigning Alpha’s, shaken their hands, had a bit of a chat. My pack doesn’t run into the things they like or need.”

“Fair enough. It’s been a long trip. Sloan and I will see our room and if you could see dinner brought up to us at about 8, that would be great. We’ll wander and have a look around tomorrow with you if that’s alright.”

“It is.” He nodded.

Showed them up to their suite on the second floor and organized a full three-course meal to go up to them at 8pm as requested, understood why. They were newly mated and still wanted to spend time together, alone. He knew his mother had set them up in the nicest suite they had for visiting Alpha’s.

It was one of three suites that were designated for Wolfen Council Members, was even decorated with them in mind, in the colours of the Wolfen Council. They had one suite in the packhouse that was for visiting royals, not that he’d ever had one here in the pack. But they too, were catered for up on the Alpha Floor.

That suite held four bedrooms and was decorated in royal colours to help them feel at home when away from home. It even had a lockable walk-in foyer to the suite. A two-door entry system; coded grand double doors to the suite, which led into the foyer which had two chairs and a table, for their own personal guards to sit in, and then another set of coded doors that actually accessed the suites' rooms themselves, to keep them safe if they ever turned up. Could well be a possibility now, he supposed.

He was out walking in the pack just thinking, and smiled as he saw Rhyse walking around with her family that night, out in the garden, under the lights when night fell. She was showered and changed, he’d already ordered her pack cards and would just let her settle in for a few months. Perhaps she had something she liked to do. He didn’t know, would just wait on that, maybe she’d want to work with her mother or father, perhaps her sister. It would take time, but he was glad to see she was not holed up in a room, too traumatized to venture out into the pack and look around.

Likely she was going to be alright.