His Purpose

Chapter 5

Isaac Pov

“So, did she say yes? Is she coming?” I asked, my eyes wide as Tessa walked into the dining room. It was funny, we’d had this dining room for so long, but we never used it. Even when my mother was the luna, she could never get her three sons to eat together at the table. Maybe when we were younger, before my father died, but I don’t really remember much of that time at all. Most of my childhood, honestly. It was like…everything seemed to be pushed backward, slowly getting forgotten, making way for all of the things Jason’s done to me over the years. All of the times he’s tried to kill me.

Chris laid his head on the table in exhaustion as Sean pranced around the room wearing one of Nate’s shirts, his superman boxers peeking out as he wiggled his butt. At the end of the table sat Chris’s father, since he was in a wheelchair. He had a firm glare on his face as he sat staring down at his plate, while my mother and Chris’s grandfather, my mother’s new husband, flirted away with each other. Avery and Paisley were sitting side by side on the other side of Chris, their heads bent together as they looked at something on Avery’s phone. Addison had a fighting magazine on the table that she was flipping through, the only one that was already eating as she read the magazine, her eyes skimming over the new training moves as she read. I had no doubt in my mind she’d end up writing all of the new ones down for me to look at later.

Nathan had been sitting beside me with a book of figures and expenses, showing me what the new equipment I’d been asking for would cost the pack when Tessa walked in. I already knew she was there by the way Nathan jerked, his nostrils flaring for a moment as a smile fluttered over his lips. It was almost comical the way he simply melted the moment she walked into the door, but at the same time, I wasn’t able to laugh, because I didn’t smell Arabella’s scent. I don’t even know why I asked Tessa, if Arabella was coming she’d have walked in with her, but I couldn’t hide the desperation from seeping through as I looked behind her, hoping maybe she was just running late. “Sorry, Isaac,” Tessa said, a soft sigh spilling from her lips as she went to sit next to Nate. “I tried,”

I gave her a small smile, shrugging as I tried to look down at the book and pretend everything was fine. “It’s okay, little bun,” I said, chuckling painfully. “Maybe next time.”

“Sean! Where are your pants? Sit down!” Tessa snapped as Sean giggled and kept running. He slipped and started to fall, and in an instant Chris was there, his hand shooting out and wrapping around Sean’s waist, making sure he didn’t fall on his face. Before anyone could say anything Sean shifted into a bunny and Chris sighed, carrying Sean and his shirt and little boxers over to the table, sitting his bunny down on the chair beside him. Chris’s father was on the other side of him and I watched as he looked at bunny Sean with a disgusted look on his face, quickly hiding it into a neutral expression when he caught me looking. Chris jerked up, his eyes wide as pain spilled through them, but when Avery asked him if he was okay he let out a soft breath and nodded, sadness slipping over his features as he looked down at his plate.

Nathan clapped the book shut, the sound loud enough to draw everyone’s attention toward him. “Okay, I guess this is everyone for now. Sebastian and Nicole are at the orphanage, they’re having quite a bit of trouble getting the rogue kids to behave. They won’t let anyone adopt them, not that I blame them.” She muttered. I mean yeah, I get that. We did just go in a week ago and kill all of their parents. But they were tough, they’d get past it, and hopefully, they’d understand why it had to be.

Nate was patting her hand absently as she smiled softly at him. “Nate, if they continue to be a problem you’ll have to send them to another pack. I told you it was a bad idea to even take them in, to begin with.” I said.

Nathan growled softly at me, his growl making me automatically bristle as the alpha in me heard the warning and wanted to defend myself. Patrick shifted around in my mind, ready to defend if need be, even if Nate was my brother. Nate and I were trying our best to start over, to be the brothers we always should have been, but no matter how hard he tries he can’t change the nightmares from coming every night, he can’t stop the images of the things Jason did to me from moving back and forth in my mind, and he can’t stop me from holding a little bit of anger at him for not trying harder to protect me. He knew how bad Jason was growing up, but he just…left me with him, ignored both of us, and tried to push forward in his own way. Leaving me to be the one Jason took everything out on.

“We are not going to just let them be free out there, wandering around for anyone to find them and do whatever to them. They’re just children, Isaac. They didn’t ask for the war their parents fought in.” He growled at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him, the tension between us was thick enough for everyone in the room to stop eating and watch us. Absently out of the corner of my eye I could see Sean shifting back again and Chris slowly handed him his shirt, all the while everyone stared at us. There were bets, I knew there were. I wasn’t stupid, I heard the whispers. The wolves knew Nate killed Jason, and they were waiting to see when Nate and I were going to go head to head. Most of the warriors wanted me to lead, now that they saw there was a chance for it. If we simply fought each other to the death, I’d win. I’m stronger than Nate, after all, but I didn’t want it. I was waiting to see if everyone would figure out I’d never do that because I simply didn’t want the title, but none of them seemed to get it past their minds that there could possibly be an alpha wolf out there that didn’t want to run a pack, didn’t want to lead and deal with numbers and complaints and responsibilities. I just wanted to fight, to get stronger and stronger, because even though Jason was dead, he was far from gone for me.

“You’re right, but tell me, Nate, did the parents? Arabella said before that a lot of the rogues were forced into it. Forced to submit, forced to join Andre’s rogues. A weak and exhausted rogue isn’t going to fight much against a strong alpha’s pheromones telling them to submit. A lot of those kids grew up listening to their parents complaining about Andre, about being forced to do his bidding, and they know their parents didn’t want any of it. Maybe not all of the kids, maybe not all of the parents, but a lot of them. They will see the fact that you didn’t ask any of them to surrender before you cut them down as unkind, and uncaring, and they will grow with revenge in their hearts. Maybe they won’t kill you, maybe they’ll go after your firstborn son. Maybe they’ll go after Sean, unsure if he’s to be the next alpha or if your future child is.” I said, staring pointedly at Tessa’s stomach.

We had found out a few days ago Tessa was pregnant, but we didn’t know what she was having yet. Nate slammed his hand down on the table, glaring at me. “You speak of a lot of what-ifs, Isaac. There’s no way in hell I’ll let anyone harm Sean, Avery, Addison, or any child Tessa and I give birth to. There wasn’t time to ask for surrender, I was working fast, silently, trying to get through to the house to get to you and Tessa!” He shouted.

I simply stared at him, not caring that he was angry because even though I submitted to him, I still was an alpha and I wasn’t scared of him. “Tessa and I were fine. She got the gems out of all of us, we freed Paisley, and we were doing fine. There’s always time to stop and ask for surrender, Nate. Especially when the initial surprise is done and there are only half the rogues left to battle. When you’re clearly going to win, that’s when you stop and ask for surrender. You’d be surprised how many would fall to their knees begging for their lives. Even if it means they don’t want to join the pack, letting them take their kids and leaving would have been better than just killing them without stopping to ask.”