She could have cried, sank into a deep depression but my Mother stayed strong. While many around her whispered behind her back about the son she lost. She knew what they said didn't matter but to me they were bastards, they were no better than the men that took Matthew away, "Alfred, mon ange don't listen to them." She told me one night after I had threatened to beat up a shorter beta with an especially loud mouth. "They are trying to break you."

I muttered as I turned away, "They're bastards."

She took my jaw and pulled my face to meet her eyes, "Words are easy weapons. They cut deep and the pain can last longer than any bullet wound but only if you let them." She kissed my forehead, "But they're also weapons that can be justified and vindicated in the eyes of others so while you might have seemed in the right to others you were still in the wrong."

I blinked, "Wait…how can what he have said been vindicated? He…he." I couldn't tell her what he had said to me, it was cruel and honestly I didn't want her to know. I could still be a hero in a way and shield her from some of the pain I decided that I alone would bare.

"Life isn't black and white baby; there are a lot of gray areas." She smiled at me trying to get a point across that I was not getting. "They say I was stupid for standing in the way and for it they took Matthew. While others say Matthew was the Alpha therefore it was the government's rights but they don't want to see the truth or perhaps they fear that the truth would be too painful to see." I could see the pain she was trying to mask as she cleared her throat, "But it's not our job to force them to see it."

"But Mom they'll have to see it eventually. I mean if I ever have kids they'll learn about this shit in school like I learned about all the last three wars." It's how the world worked, I thought. If someone was attacked or abused than we would have to learn about it or threaten to repeat the action.

"History remembers it all but the Historians on the other hand like to pick and choose what they remember. Remember baby we all love the heroes and hate the villains but few know what exactly made them each that way." She always had such a way with words and I could tell she was trying to make me think of something deeper than what I wanted to. She must have known I was uncomfortable so she changed the subject, "Come on let's go pick a few flowers."

I didn't know if she was serious or not as she stood up and reached for my hand, "Mom…most of your flowers are kinda…you know."

"They're not dead. The roses will come back and the Black-eyed Susans will grow again and besides this house needs some color." What she wanted to say was it needed some color for when Mattie came home.

So I nodded as I took her hand and followed her out into the garden. I remember that the sky looked a bleak grey as a plane flew overhead. "Mom we need to get back inside." I said quickly pulling her back towards the house. The plane wasn't one of ours but an enemy fighter plane and we both knew what that meant as I ushered her inside our basement. It wasn't long before we heard the sound of gunfire and screaming above us.

I held her close as we hid under the basement steps, my heart was beating out of my chest as I heard the sound of distant explosions that shattered all the windows in our house and rocked us both to our cores. Our neighborhood was the front lines and the skies above were filled with planes fighting it out not caring if there were omegas or children below. "Alfred…" She whispered to me during a lull in fighting, "Once this is over we have to leave."

"Leave for where?" I answered hoping my voice didn't shake as I said it. I was honestly afraid, not of death but of somehow losing her.

"Your late father had a brother and he should be far enough away from the fighting for us to be safe." She said it as if he was simply in the next town over. "He's a good Alpha and he'll take us in."

It wasn't like this was something hidden from me, I did receive a birthday card here and there from a man named Scott Kirkland but it never registered exactly. I never meet him but he knew of me and my brother. "Are you sure? I mean where is he?" Both where good questions, I mean if he was an Alpha than why didn't he try to have more contact with us?

She nodded, "Yes I'm sure and he's in a small town just across the border."

"Whoa Mom that's what, a couple days drive?" What I didn't say was the border wasn't exactly like it is today. You couldn't just walk across it; you had to face a few crossing agents, these Alphas had complete say. If they didn't want you to cross the border than you didn't cross, period, and it could have been for the smallest of things.

"Yes but it'll be worth it to keep you safe." I knew she was willing to do anything to protect me. So the next day after the fighting stopped we emerged from the basement to see our windows blown out and our home a mess. Our car wasn't any better since it was actually hit by the gun fire. Five large holes littered it and it also refused to start so with little options left at the moment we loaded up two backpacks with what we would need and started walking north.

I wish we could have taken a train or a bus but then it might have gotten us killed, they were easy targets after all and it wasn't unheard of them being bombed. But Mom had faith and hope that we'd get there in no more than a few weeks besides we weren't the only ones making our ways to the border. We might have been refugees but a least we would have somewhere to go once we reached the other side. At least that's what we hoped.