And it all comes to and end.
When Kael opened the back door he held Seth on his shoulders. "Greetings fellow earthlings." he smiled lightly at his brother and the teenager sitting at the kitchen table. Austin who was scarfing down food snapped to attention.
"Austin!" Seth said eagerly instantly trying to climb down he second he saw his brother.
"Hey, hey, let's not have you do a face plant with the floor." Kael laughed, lifting him up to set him on the floor.
Austin had jumped up just as quickly, grabbing his little brother and dragging him into a hug they probably hadn't shared in a long time. "You're really okay..." he muttered softly.
Camber watched, empathizing with the feeling from where he stood leaned back against the counter. "Thanks for looking after him, Kael."
"Course," Kael shrugged, smiling at the scene as Seth clung to his older brother.
"They found me." Seth explained with a nod.
"Found me too." Austin muttered, stroking his little brother's hair, probably without even realizing he was going it. Already a few of the more subtle wolf tendencies were taking hold.
"Earned ourselves a bit of a delay." Camber sighed quietly.
"Oh? Awesome." Kael mused, "You all right?"
"Define alright." He muttered, happy to see the pups happy again at least. He was trying hard to bury the hostility he didn't get to work out in a fight.
"Pretty sure you know the definition brother," Kael watched his brother for any signs that he would give away.
"Then probably." he mused, moving up to hope onto the counter.
"You don't look it" Kael shrugged, looking to the kids before walking over to sit next to where Austin was sitting, "Hey, neither of you are going to disappear, I promise."
"I wasn't so sure of that before now." Austin muttered softly, slowly pulling away so he could continue eating.
"I'll find a rope if you want. Better yet, a chain." Kael grinned, "You'll be back to fighting in no time."
"That kind of thing never stopped is." Camber commented.
"Yeah but they're not twins." Kael chuckled, "Normal kids would hate being tethered to each other.
"Yes, normal was definitely something we weren't." Camber mused, picking up his plate to continue eating.
"We can really stay here?" Austin asked softly when there was a calming silence in the room. It took him a moment to pluck up the courage to even ask.
Camber nodded. "Mhm. We'll work it out."
"Camber you suck sometimes. Yeah kid, we're not letting you go." Kael chuckled, "Austin right?"
He nodded slowly, smiling faintly at their interacting. "Right."
"Well we're glad to have you. Seth's missed you." Kael smiled softly at the boy.
"It's nice here." Seth told his brother, "Nicer than home was…"
"That's...good to know." Austin muttered. "I'm just happy you've been safe all this time. I can't believe you ran here all by yourself."
Seth grinned happily, "I didn't know I could."
Camber frowned at the thought and looked to Austin. "Had they helped you at all with the change?"
Austin tensed slightly and nodded reluctantly. "Sorta."
"Mm" Kael made a face, reaching out to rub the boy's head, "Sorta's not good enough."
"We'll help you." Camber said, sliding off the counter and putting his plate in the sink. "Will be more fun for both of you learning together."
"I bet I'm faster than you." Seth grinned, "I'm gonna be as fast as Camber and he's really fast."
"Hey! What about me, I'm faster than him." Kael pouted.
Camber coughed loudly, poking fun at his brother, "Yeah right."
Austin smiled. "What makes you think you're faster then me, huh? You'll see. Will be the same as before."
"Cause I ran across an entire state." Seth said throwing his hands out enthusiastically as Kael flashed his teeth at Camber.
"So? You probably didn't even know you were doing it." Austin teased.
"I'll be back." Camber chuckled softly; ruffling Kael's hair as he walked passed him.
Kael swatted at him, "Loser."
Seth stuck his tongue at his brother before laughing.
"Play nice!" Camber yelled back, pausing in the hall before making his way upstairs. He didn't reek too much of irritation any more and he had to assume that would be easier for the lone alpha to deal with.
Tibia sat in the bathroom connected to Camber's bedroom, and had finished cleaning and wrapping the injury caused by the silver blade. She didn't worry about the rest of them. She sat there because it was the most likely place she'd get to speak to Camber in private.
"Need help?" he offered as he walked into his bedroom, shutting the door before walking towards the bathroom.
"No...I'm finished." She said, not raising her voice since she knew he could hear fine. Besides her arms and the injury to her head, there were deep claw marks on her left thigh and back. None of them she fussed over besides washing them since they'd heal in a day or two.
"Sure?" he asked again, looking at her as he leaned against the doorframe. "Should still wrap those."
"They'll heal," she leaned her head against the mirror behind her as she sat on the counter, "Waste of gauze."
"Putting yourself through useless pain." He stared. "Again."
"Gauze won't help them hurt less." She shook her head; "Maybe the one on the back but the rest will hurt regardless."
He sighed heavily. "You're being impossible."
"There are things I worry about more than a few minor injuries, like your refusal to look me in the eye. But I'll patch them up if you want." she mused quietly.
"Since when has what I wanted affected you so." he muttered, walking in to sit in the edge on the tub. "What else have you kept from me?"
"Nothing else, that was my final mystery" she smiled lightly.
"Final mystery, mm?" he muttered, sliding back to sit inside the tub. "I wish I could really believe that."
She slid off the sink, walking over to sit where he'd sat accept she placed her legs inside the tub. "So, when my siblings died, very likely by that man's hand, my father who, was your average Oregon wolf but that much more dangerous, lost his mind. Women aren't valued highly to begin with so dealing with the death of his children and the fact that I was the only possible choice for him to hand over his title as alpha to family was just too much I guess. He trained me hard, confined me, beat me sometimes, but the last straw was when the man who was supposed to be my father threatened me with silver. Burned me with it actually, to prove I was beneath him and I had no choices. I had a choice though and I took it, I attacked him.
"I did not kill him, at least I'm pretty sure I didn't, he could possibly have bled out before mama took an axe to his throat but I'm banking on he was still breathing. But my scent was the only one on him. Any half-wit out there would probably figure out that a wolf wouldn't tear someone to pieces to finish him with an axe but they figured it was more likely me than my submissive mama to be the one to do it. And they're right to an extent, I mean she used an axe because she couldn't handle the prospective of laying a hand on him."
Camber listened silently, watching her as she spoke and feeling no trace of a lie. "Why not protect the pack you feel so strongly for?"
"The same reason we ran. That meager percentile of my pack that is hyper about the possibility of war is the same group who would attack me for my title because I'm a woman. And beyond them are the crazy wolves who'll just follow orders. And while that might be a tiny portion of my pack, that would be five times the people in your pack. Out for my head and not looking for a fair fight. And whatever crazed moron won, and someone would win because strong as I am I cannot take on an army anymore than I've advised you to, he'd be taken out by that asshole I just killed. My pack was better off with no alpha than one who'll take them deeper into the craze." she ran a hand though her hair.
"Firstly, a good percent of my pack resides in the mountains so it's not a meager as you seem to think. Second, why did you not try to do what I have done for you? Not only do I have alpha's ready to fight the cause but Emanuel and Oli have already agreed that it's only the crazed wolves that need to be eliminated." Camber said, watching her carefully still.
"I'm not saying your pack is small, I'm saying mine is disgustingly large because of their habit of attacking humans." She said softly, "I'm not so afraid of dying. I don't want to die but it's inevitable. I'd just rather it not be by someone who'll abuse the power that I apparently have. Not like I have any say since I haven't done any of the ceremonies."
"And after the mess is cleaned up what do you plan on?" he asked, leaning his head back against the wall.
"I'd much rather pick out someone to give the title to" she shrugged, "I don't think I can compete with some of the alpha's I've met, but if there's no one else I'd do my best I guess.."
"I don't know what to say to you anymore." he sighed, reaching out to touch her hair.
"Just tell me you don't hate me over this." Tibia said simply, tilting her head toward his hand.
"Maybe I'm just disappointed." he muttered, stroking her cheek.
"Disappointed I can do something about. Hate is hard to fix." she reached up to grab his hand, kissing his knuckles.
He brushed his fingers against her lips. "I hear you have a talent for seducing alpha's."
"That's crap." she sighed, "I told you alphas have had infatuations with me. None of it was my doing. Man in Texas liked my spirit, honestly I think he's an undercover masochist because he said that when I had just punched him. Man in New York was the first alpha we couldn't evade, found out my status as alpha because we, meaning my mother and me, didn't really know the do's and don'ts of being on the run. He wanted my status and lord knows he couldn't kill me. And then there was an alpha in Chicago who is a photographer in his spare time, wanted me as his mate and his muse."
Camber laughed softly, tugging lightly on a lock of her hair. "You don't have great luck, do you?"
She smiled lightly, her eyes going incredibly soft as she slid down slowly to lay next to him in the tub, "I like you...you're different."
"How am I different?" he asked, an arm sliding around her slowly to hold her the way he had that morning.
She laid her head on his shoulder, "Told you that but I guess you weren't listening. You met Jacob and you know other alpha's. You're different."
"I'm not trying to be anything more then what I am." he sighed, stroking her hair. "I don't have the time to put on a disguise."
"And 'you' works for me." She closed her eyes.
"How's your back?" he asked softly instead.
"Scraped up but the man was getting old and lazy" she pressed her noes to his shirt, inhaling his scent deeply.
He smiled a little. "You don't gotta be brave all the time."
"It stings but my arms hurt worse." she chuckled, "Bastard almost bit through my bone. It is painful."
"I would have liked to kill him for that." he said, stroking her hair still.
She tilted her head up to kiss under his chin, "Sweet of you. I had it covered though."
"Doesn't change how I feel about that." He said seriously, still a small smile in place as his inner wolf thought of how he would have torn the mutt apart.
"Reminds me. I have a mess to clean up." She sighed sitting up slowly.
"I had it taken care of." he muttered.
"I'd complain if it wasn't about three bodies laying around for anyone to see.." she nodded, "Are you comfy?"
"Yes." He chuckled. "I used to do this a lot"
"Odd man," she reached to stroke his hair, smoothing it back.
"We liked the bathtub when we were little. Blaze and me." He smiled faintly, gazing at her still. "Was a good hiding place."
She nodded, "I need one of those."
He laughed softly. "You're welcome to my bathtub."
She chuckled, "I think it's only special because you're here."
He turned enough to capture her lips and purr softly. "Maybe."
"I don't know how you expect me to leave." she muttered, holding onto his side. Without hurting herself she tried to press closer into him.
"I don't particularly want you to leave." he said softly.
She smiled softly, leaning up enough to bury her face in his neck, "Then I hope I can find my pack a good Alpha, because I don't see myself being a very happy go lucky person if I can't be here with you."
He smiled a little. "Tibia." he purred. "Don't tell me that."
"Why not?" she asked, nuzzling against his neck.
"Because then we won't be leaving this tub and not only are you wounded but there are children down stairs." he grinned.
"You won't best me next time." she chuckled, nipping at his neck, "Whenever that happens to be."
"Ha! You admit I got that better of you last night." he grinned, pulling her into a kiss. "Told you a wolf partner is more fun then a human one."
"I don't believe I argued but, since you're the first wolf partner I've had I can't compare it with much." she sat up enough to straddle him, "But as I said, now that its out of my system, next time wont be so easy."
"We'll see sweetie." he purred and grinned. "But I'm thinking now probably isn't the time."
"Probably not." she agreed, leaning down to kiss teasingly.
He slid his hands up into her curls and kissed her harder. "Only because I have a nosy little brother." He muttered.
"Let him walk in, bet he'll never do it again" Tibia laughed lightly, pressing her forehead to his.
"Have you met Kael?" Camber laughed abruptly, looking more amused then he had moments before. "Yes, he will."
"Yeah, he might stand there and comment." she mused, grinning.
He laughed softly, pulling her down to kiss again. "I just don't want him trailed by pups."
She gave his lower lip a tug between her teeth before standing slowly, "Come on then. Let's go play in a less...intimate way."
Onto the epilogue. Thanks for reading.
EViLIsabelle- thanks for reviewing! Yeah, that's kind of their relationship. There is definitely something there but sometimes arguing is more fun.
Kysilverrose- thank you kindly! Thanks for taking the time to review.
Observingangel and Klutz. for. life- thanks for reading.