Disgraced: Twins of the Zodiac

Confrontations...Blood of The Alpha

    “Today, we honor two soldiers of the Arctic; Kendrick and Leo. They were very brave soldiers of the Arctic. So we take this moment to remember and show respect in silence and memory of their sacrifice.”

    Azul stood there before the pack, relaying his obligatory speech, while the whole time, he could not pull his thoughts away from the young, mysterious, and fascinatingly beautiful Aurora Vale. 

    In fact, Azul was so engrossed in his thoughts about the potential key to all of his problems, he did not realize how long he’d been in silence until his thoughts were interrupted by another of the pack.

    “What happened to them?” A random and yet prominent member of the pack asked.

    Azul caught himself before inquiring about who the member was talking about. By this time murmurs began to erupt throughout the crowd; this frustrated Azul but he knew that in showing such agitation, he’d be showing weakness. He quickly remembered himself and the situation that he and the pack were in before he answered the question.

    “Bellarossa Vale.” Azul finally answered.

    “I thought that this was supposed to be reconnaissance! Why were they in throws with the mother of our Alpha?” Another demanded. 

    “How did they end up in the grasps of an Elder Vampire?” Another randomly shouted.

     The probing inquiries stemmed from Jacobi, the pack Delta and the most respected pack member of the Arctic at that point.

    Usually, the Delta was always behind the Beta, sticking with them and supporting them in their actions and decisions, as well as training up the pack to assure no weakness. Jacobi was the complete opposite, however, in terms of following after Azul. He'd always had his own way of thinking-a very strong-minded individual Jacobi was. Where Rorick admired such a trait, Azul began to see it as something of a hindrance. 

    Ever since the Alpha Rorick died, Jacobi became hell-bent on finding another capable Alpha of the Arctic Pack. The only problem was, there weren't any left. Sure, there were some of the members that were of Alpha lineage but they, themselves, weren’t what you’d call Alpha material.

    Jacobi was always about following the line of authority. Azul didn’t feel that way. Sure, he was a Beta; it was in his blood and he did have Alpha lineage in his line but as it stood, the Arctic pack did not need a Beta to run the pack. They needed an Alpha; so why couldn’t he assert himself as one if there was no other to do the job?

    Deciding that he’d take on the role as Alpha, Azul, then appointed another in the place of his role as Beta. Jacobi wasn’t okay with Azul’s decisions from the start but the straw that seemed to break the camel’s back, was when he began to appoint roles in the pack. Jacobi, then made it quite clear that he would not stand for such insubordination. He and Azul had never been on courteous terms since. And Azul also noticed that he’d begun making his opinions of Azul’s shortcomings verbally known in front of the Pack as a whole of late; something that Jacobi never did before now.

    Jacobi knew that his probing questions would not bode well for Azul and his self-appointed role as the Alpha of the Arctic pack. And he alerted Azul to as much with every question that he asked, by looking him straight in the eye, boldly, as he did so.

    It was a challenge if ever did Azul see one, and he would not back down from it. “Anything can happen in our world.” Azul cooly stated to Jacobi. “I’d expect you to know that better than anyone, Delta.” He said, all the while suddenly regretting not sending him in Kendrick or Leo’s stead. Then again, he realized that after the thought that Jacobi's death would be not nearly easy as his late comrades.

    Jacobi stepped forward. “Funny, that things like this didn’t happen when the Alpha Rorick was present and leading this Pack.”

    “Of course it never would have happened. What mother would move against her own son’s pack?” Azul pointed out. “In truth, Bellarossa never cared about the pack-only the one leading it. Now that her son is gone, everyone is fair game.”

    Jacobi didn’t respond right away, only staring at the Beta for a moment. Yes, there were those waiting for him to combat Azul’s claim, but Jacobi wasn’t the type to try and combat a valid point. He was never one to appease the masses-only one that wanted everything done the right way; a way put in order according to the Goddess Moon herself. Unfortunately, even Azul could not help but respect the Delta.

    “You could have at least brought their bodies home.” Jacobi finally said. There was silence for a moment before he added. “Where are their bodies, Beta?” Another thing about Jacobi, he refused to call Azul by anything other than his given title.

    This inquiry led another random pack member to yell out in anger. “You didn’t even bring back their bodies for their families to properly grieve!” 

    Azul grimaced, closing his eyes for a minute to gather himself before opening them again and speaking on the subject matter.

    “You know where the Elder Vale is concerned, there never really is much left when she sinks her teeth into you.” 

    Yes, Azul did kill Kendrick; and there really wasn’t much left of him to bring. Though, even if Azul decided to bring Kendrick back, it would only tell his atrocities and not Bellarossa's; and he couldn’t very well bring parts of Leo back and not Kendrick, so he, instead, cleaned up the mess that was made by both he and Bellarossa and had a small burial for them in the town of Luxeville. However, despite the fact that the Pack did not know of the specifics of what happened to dear Kendrick and Leo, they did not question much when he said what he had; as all of them at one point in time were witness to what the Elder Bellarossa Vale was capable of.

    “We have lost two souls,” Jacobi said. “So what do you plan to do about this, Beta Azul?”

    If Azul was being honest with himself, he hadn’t really thought that far ahead; and even Hazazel had to admit that such a mistake was not an Alpha trait. Azul knew that if he didn’t say something soon, he would be in even more boiling water with the Arctic Pack.

    “You didn’t even think that far ahead, did you?” Jacobi asked, shaking his head in sarcastic disappointment, as it was evident that he had already known that this was the case before he verbalized it. “Azul, you are not a-”

    “I have been trying to hold my tongue-keeping this from you until I have found the truth of the matter.” Azul cut the Delta off. He would not have him slander or embarrass him in front of the Pack any further; allowing this would have made it even harder to ascend to acceptance of the Alpha status. He had to tell them what he found. “While on my trip to Luxeville, I may have found the reason as to why Kendrick and Leo had run-ins with Bellarossa.” 

    “Why?” The murmurs began again, all inquiring of what news he had found while on his trip to the large town.

    “Our Alpha.” He said. “The former Alpha, Rorick.” He paused. “I think he has a child.” His gaze stayed on Delta Jacobi as he spoke. “A young girl, beautiful-with the mark of the Arctic beast.” He said.

    “That’s impossible,” Jacobi whispered. “Rorick didn’t have a ma-”

    “Rorick had a wife,” Azul said, causing a few gasps to erupt from the pack. “In secret, he married a sorceress, the most powerful of her coven...of the Zodiac itself-short of the man who created the cult in the first place.” Everyone stood silent, waiting for Azul to finish his sentence-even Jacobi had begun hanging on his every word. “Her name was Abigail. Her surname was Vale and was later changed to Valentine after the death of her husband.” He said. “I didn’t know this until I ran into the girl but...Rorick had a child-a daughter of the Vales. And she is definitely an Alpha.” He said. “Though, oddly her genes are showcasing her grandmother’s vampiric side.” He admitted.

    “Then how would this be a good thing?” Jacobi asked. “She is a vampire! She cannot lead the Arctic Pack.”

    “Rorick was both!” Azul countered. “He was hybrid-showcasing both! And he was the best Alpha this pack has ever seen! And even aside from that…” His thoughts trailed off a moment before he spoke again. “The scent of the wolf is...very strong with her.”

    Jacobi scoffed. “And how old is this child that you have found.”

    “She may be a child in comparison to our years but she is no child at all,” Azul clarified. “She’s well over a century and a half in years,”

    “Hm.” Jacobi seemed to have to think for a moment after this bit of news. “The Alpha has a daughter.” A small smile appeared across his face before he returned his gaze to Beta Azul. “And what does Bellarossa want with her?”

    “Nothing good,” Azul answered. “The only person that she ever cared about was Alpha Vale. I’d find it hard to believe she’d accept a granddaughter that is descended from the very people that murdered her son.”

    “Then we must bring her here.” The Delta insisted. “Show her the ways of the Arctic Pack.” He smirked. “Surely, you will step aside with no problems once the rightful heir arrives.” He said.

    Azul sneered. That wasn’t his plan at all; no, he would not cause problems, but he surely would not step aside either. 

    “I had no plans of doing such a thing, Delta,” Azul said. 

    "What?" Jacobi's sneer faded into that of confusion and suspicion. "What do you mean?" He became flustered by this news. "Surely, you do not think that you are more worthy of the title than that of the actual heir!"

    "Of course not," Azul replied. "However, there is one other thing that I failed to mention about Aurora Vale,"

    "Oh?" Jacobi countered, everyone else curious as well. "And what could that be?"

    "Well," Azul smiled. "Many of you have wondered why I have never taken a wife after centuries-long. I've been waiting...waiting to find my true mate," He said. 

    "No," Jacobi shook his head in disbelief. "This can't be,"

    "But it is, Delta Jacob," Azul returned. "Aurora Vale....is my mate."