Painful death

Dylan moaned, turning on his side to reach for Jasmine. Jasmine Peyton. The blond-haired green-eyed beauty he made love to with so much passion. His first. He trailed his hands on his soft mattress, reliving the incidents of the night before.

He missed his way because he was lost in thought. While trying to find the path, he stumbled into them and saved her life immediately.

He dealt with the rogues by giving them a serious beating. Then he warned them never to come near her again. They ran off immediately without looking back.

He helped her up and together they looked for where they could stay for the night. It was late already.

Luck was on their side. After walking for some minutes, they came across a shack loaded with food and a soft mattress. 

"Jasmine." He moaned, still trailing his hand on the bed.

Dylan's brows furrowed and his eyes fluttered open immediately. She wasn't there. Her side of the bed was cold which meant that she had been gone for a long time. But to where?

His shoulders sagged in frustration. Why did she have to leave after such a beautiful night? He stood up from the bed to dress up. That was when he saw a silver stud by his side on the bed.

A smile grazed his lips and he picked it up. She had forgotten her earring but it was to his advantage. When he found out what his father, the Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack had summoned him for, he would search for her using the earring.

He stored the earring in his breast pocket. It was dear to him and he wouldn't want to lose it. Dylan donned his clothes fast, picked up his duffel, and headed for the door. 

At the door, he swirled around to give the room one last lingering look. Wanton memories of the night before filled up his head. This house would forever remain special to him.

 There, Jasmine had given him her innocence. He turned and walked out. The early morning sun illuminated his path and he was able to correct his mistake as he turned on the right path.

In no time he got to the Pack mansion. A smile lit up on his face and he spread his arms when he saw Brandon at the entrance. However, he wiped the smile away when he saw Brandon's mood.

They hadn't seen each other in years yet he looked sad. He soaked in the morose expressions of the guards as they greeted him. Something was wrong.

"Brandon , what is going on?" Dylan covered the distance between them.

"Let us go in." Brandon patted his back.

"Welcome, Alpha." A guard bowed to him.

'Alpha?' He frowned and flicked his eyes to Brandon whose lips remained clamped even though he was confused. 

"Tell me what is going on now." He yanked Brandon's hand away and said in a no-compromising tone.

"Dy…"

"I need answers. Now." 

"You either put me out of my confusion or I find out for myself. First, you don't seem your usual cheerful self."

"The guards at the door look like they are mourning, someone calls me Alpha out of the blue and the atmosphere is tense. What is going on?" He demanded.

"Maybe we are mourning." Brandon swallowed audibly.

Dylan stared at him in confusion. He was puzzled. Bewildered.

"Mourning who?" 

Brandon was silent.

"I don't have time for this, I will rather find out from my father." Dylan turned to leave the entryway.

"Dylan, you are the new Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack." Brandon said.

"Can you stop speaking in parables already?" He groaned in exasperation.

"What is going on!?" 

"Your father is dead." Brandon released the bad news.

Dylan let out a soft gasp and staggered back. A myriad of expressions flickered in his eyes. Shock. Sadness. Confusion.

"What?" He exclaimed.

Dylan gripped the pillar for support. His heart skipped a beat and he let the duffel bag drop to the floor. He hyperventilated, gasping for air as he sagged against the pillar. The room spun around and he felt sick.

"You have to be a man." Brandon was by his side in a second to comfort him.

His fingers were curled so tightly they turned white on his lap, heavy torrents streamed down his cheeks from his eyes and it hurt to breathe.

For the three years he was away, he never spoke with his father nor did he reply to any of his letters. Although he read them and was moved by them, his ego had gotten in the way.

So he had decided not to come home until he lived up to his words. His ego had made him lose his father forever.

It was like his ribs were being compressed by something heavy. The walls of the cell seemed to come closer, the lights blinding him even more.

Something was wrong somewhere. In his father's last letter to him, which was a month before the full moon festival, he didn't say he was sick.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying desperately to breathe as fast as he could. The panic was becoming too much, too overwhelming.

He came home with hopes of mending his relationship with his father before going back to complete his studies. His father was dead.

"Since when?" His voice was hoarse and thick with emotions.

"Two days ago. That was why I sent the letter to you." Brandon soothed him.

Dylan pushed him away. This was his fault. If only he replied to his father's letters and came home to patch things up, this would never have happened. Now, it was too late.

"Don't comfort me please." He held his hands up against Brandon.

"How?" He questioned Brandon even while in shock.

"It's not natural but we don't who murdered him yet. We have…" 

"As the new Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack, I will give my first order. Find the person who killed my father." He spoke with authority.