***This is a work of pure fiction. These characters are not mine nor are cannon. Anything that is like to real events, people, or writings***
The sun steaked through the window and lit the room as Bran awoke for the second time. He had fallen asleep in the midst of his thoughts without even noticing it. Now the clock read 6am, an acceptable time to get up without anyone thinking it odd, even if the sun would not yet rise in little over an hour. That was Montana though, especially in winter. So he got up and went to grab his clothes, only to stop at a realization. Turning back to the bed, he found that Leah was gone just as her scent in the room had told him. That was odd seeing as Leah slept in almost every day.
After dressing himself in last night's clothes, he made his way downstairs to the main floor. His foot hit the last step went it hit him unexpectedly. It came from within the pack bonds, a wolf was injured. With a deep breath, Bran gathered his wits about him and entered the pack bonds in search of the issue that had stuck him. Music gather about him as the pack bonds became clearer. Faint songs flowed about showing each wolf he had. His own song was louder than the others.
The first bonds he checked were those of his sons, Charles and Samuel. His youngest son, and also his killing arm, was recently finding issue in his job. Ghosts were haunting him, Charles had confessed, and it did more damage to him that it would to the average. With shaman and witch blood in him the dealings made sense. But when Bran checked his son's bond he found it as fine as ever. Anna was fine as well he understood and left them to each other as soon as he could.
Samuel was the next he checked. His son was almost as old as himself and quite powerful. A few years ago that age and power had caused him to feel out of the world. Thankfully Mercy had been there and kept him alive until he found an old friend, and mate. He could have lost his son then. Yet, after checking that bond, he found him fine as well.
It took him awhile to understand what had happened. He checked the bonds to his immediate pack and those to Mercedes, because God knew the trouble she got into. Then Bran checked his own and found something missing. A bond that should be connected to his own, a bond that should be connected to his pack. Leah. But why would it be gone?
The reality hit him like a brick as he connected the pieces. She had been gone this morning from the bedroom, and now he found her gone from the pack bonds. That wasn't possible though, he'd have felt her leave. He should have felt her leave. They were bound together…unless the bond wasn't enough. True it had been built of necessity, not a strong binding, but that didn't mean…
The beast within him gave a mournful sigh. It had felt her leave it seemed. Of course it would since it was the wolf that had accepted the bond. So with another deep breath, Bran found her scent and followed it. He followed it out the door and too where one of the car should have been. Tracking a car could take time in human form, but not as the wolf. If what seemed to have happened was true though, that meant the wolf was the last thing he should become.
It took Bran a good amount of time before he found the car. It had been stopped by the side of the road as if in haste. With one sniff inside he knew Leah had been here but not in a while. Thankfully it was still winter, so tracking her footsteps was easy. So he followed them into the woods that were common for Montana. And he followed them, and followed until he reached the crest of the hill. Upon looking down from there he saw what had happened. There his wife lay in the snow, face first, with a shotgun next to her.
The universe had a sick sense of humor it seemed. For Bran held him dead wife underneath the cover of stars. Stars that seemed to be watching him, but he couldn't see them. All he saw was the dead woman he held, the one thing he told himself he would not come to love. Yet, there as he knelt, his heart broke once again as it had many times before.
A sick sense of humor indeed.