The Rise of the Alpha

19

(Third Person POV)

Amos Cambridge spent the night awake in Mark's office making a multitude of plans for the whole of River Falls, and by his much-needed caffeine run down to the nearly-empty kitchen the f.ollowing morning, he had a small, new line-up of guards and patrolmen, therefore increasing security at not only the outer edge of the territory, but throughout the pack as well. It was his vow to his pack that from the ashes of their tragedy would rise the phoenix – a brand-new dawn, so to speak! It would be he who would bring the pack out of the darkness (but, of course, he didn't phrase it in quite that manner).

As to be expected, the breakfast crowd was practically nonexistent. Apart from a few children who'd woken up early, next to no one had any sort of an appetite, for they were not only dreading having to attend the funeral of their revered, cherished higher ranks and trusty patrolman in a few hours, their to-be Alpha was presumed d.ead as well.

*****

Later on in the morning, the time to lay the fallen to rest come around at last. The consuming sadness in the atmosphere was so thick that it could easily be cut with the dullest of knives! Front and center of the spacious, man-made clearing-turned-cemetery near the Reception Hall rested three larger, wooden caskets which had been meticulously fashioned overnight by a few volunteers, and a slew of other caskets sat behind those three; the casket up front and to the left contained the body of Mark while the one on the right held Lavinia's, and the one in between them bore a hand-written sign that read simply, 'Leila'. That macabre sight served as quite the haunting, tear-jerking reminder of additional loss to everyone in attendance! It was tragic enough that River Falls was having to deal with the departures of their dear loved ones, so was that horrid visual truly a necessity? Why would someone do that anyway? What in the world were they thinking? Was it supposed to bring about a comfort of some twisted sort? It seemed awfully tacky considering they didn't even have the girl's body to lay to rest…

***

While the few visiting higher ranks from surrounding packs (each dressed from head to toe in mourners' black) ascended the center aisle with their mates in tow to take their seats in the front row of off-white folding chairs on the right-hand side of the clearing, the best and closest friends of young Leila Wren filled the front row on the left-hand side, bawling their eyes out whilst holding one another close. A few minutes later, the gut-wrenching service officially commenced with the saddest music imaginable filling the dreadful silence as well as the ears of the tearful mourners.

As the hour stretched, not a single dry eye could be spotted amongst the sea of sullen faces, for the entirety of the event was enough to break the hearts and crush the spirits of even the most hardened person! The Cambridges were undoubtedly the glue that held the pack together, and their tremendous absence was felt immensely in the hearts and souls of each member.

Over the course of the service, Cyrus looked on from afar, c.ompletely consumed with sorrow and confusion and actively wracking his brain over the events which had played out in both the public eye and in the privacy of his bedroom. He'd tried several more times that morning to locate that neclace to no avail, consequently doing nothing good for his mental health.

At the conclusion (and most unable to hold it together any longer), he booked it from the clearing then transformed himself into a sparrow and took hasty flight, for all he wanted to do was fly his aggression out…so, that's precisely what he did; he didn't even place the lily boutonniere from his black, button-down shirt upon his dearly-departed Alpha's casket before taking off! His mind simply wished to be free from the troubles which plagued him, and it was taking everything within his being to not set it free just yet!

*****

(Jaden's POV, that same morning)

The bright, warm sunlight streaming onto the hardwood floor through the c.racks of the floral-print curtain above the undersized bed brought me out of my slumber and into the present. Filled with gratitude to the Moon Goddess above for bringing my mate through the night, I told my wolf 'good morning' in my head then propped myself up on my elbows to snag a glimpse of the sleeping girl. Even in my somnolent state, her faint but present scent was caressing me in such an unexplainable way, and I'd be a liar if I were to say I didn't enjoy it!

She sure smells sweet! Like berries and vanilla, chimed Xavier with unmissable adoration, licking his lips as the link manifested.

Mhmm, I mumbled in agreement, watching the slight rising and gentle falling of her chest with each shallow breath she took. She was still sleeping off whatever Sarah had done to her. I wonder what time is, I added with a stretch of my arms above my head. Having no idea of how long I'd been asleep, I rose slowly to my feet then gathered my makeshift bed (apart from my pillow and blanket, mind you) into a lumpy pile in my arms and tossed it into the nearby corner. As I approached the closed door, I looked back over my shoulder at the girl resting in the little twin-size bed; contrary to the condition in which I'd found her, her color was coming back to her and she appeared to be at peace, ultimately doing both my wolf and myself a mountain of good.

Regardless of the fact that she couldn't be a witness to a smile of mine just yet, I smiled warmly at her sleeping figure anyway then closed the space between us and grabbed her small, perfect hand, bringing it to my lips and kissing the back of it again like I'd done once before. Gone were the days of seeing my father's adoration of my mother on full display, but then was simply not the time to be going on a stroll down that particular section of Memory Lane. "I'll be around, Love. Rest as long as you need to," I whispered to her, tears threatening to well up in my eyes as I spoke. Pushing them back, I returned her hand to its resting position then turned on my heels and crept away.

Four steps out the room, my gracious hostess met me with a stained-up kitchen towel draped over her left shoulder. "Well, good morning, Sunshine … or, should I say, 'Good almost-afternoon'," she practically sang, then with a lighthearted smile, she motioned for me to make myself at home.

"Afternoon?," I questioned as I plopped down upon her couch.

She nodded in initial response. "Yep. Lunch has been cooling off for a while. Gotta go divvy it up now. Be right back," she informed me, then she dipped into her little kitchen and emerged a couple of minutes later carrying an oversized tray containing a pitcher of freshly-brewed tea, two ice-filled glasses, and two medium-sized bowls full of warm chicken soup. She set the tray on the table and encouraged me to dig in, but I held up a hand and shook my head in polite decline.

"I so appreciate the food and whatnot, Sarah, but I'd rather have some coffee first, if you have some and don't mind," I told her as delicately as I could, hoping that she, by chance, had a cupful extra to spare for me, given the time of day it was.

"No biggie. I get it," she replied rather upbeat, and not even a minute later, she had me fixed up with a large mug filled almost to the brim with dark, heavenly, piping-hot goodness. As she took her place at the table, I thanked her for the bold and fresh pick-me-up then asked, "So, exactly what time is it anyway? You said 'almost afternoon' a minute ago…".

"It's almost noon. Like, four minutes or so away from it, actually," she answered, then she swallowed a spoonful of soup and f.ollowed it up with a swig of tea.

Damn! We slept half the day away, Xavier muttered.

Looks like it, I replied, returning my attention to the mug in my hands. I wondered whether or not word of my nameless, mysterious mate had spread around the village yet, and I figured it was only a matter of time before people would start asking questions. Consumed in thought, I sipped my coffee slowly, and afterwards, I thanked Sarah for both her hospitality and everything she'd done concerning my mate and myself then let her know I would be leaving temporarily to shower and touch base with my mother, whom I knew for fact was chomping at the bit to have a conversation with me; her incessant mind links were proof enough! Sarah understood the concern and therefore bid me adieu from the table, verbalizing her promise to keep a watchful eye upon my mate until I got back.

"Sarah, I'm not kidding. Please, please, please link me if anything changes while I'm gone," I begged in addition, hoping she would get how important it was to me that she understood every word that was coming out of my mouth. With her promise filling my ears, I hightailed it to my house for a rushed shower then darted over to my mom's place, prepping myself all the while for the conversation that was sure to spark the second I showed my face to her.