Back to the Past

Four years later

Lexi

I woke up to the low sound of two people whispering outside my door. They might as well have been shouting since whispering never stopped me from hearing anything.

“Okay, but this meeting is important to me. I’m set to be Max’s beta in a couple of months. Why can’t I just be there to know why these killings are happening?”

“Gosh, Keith! You already know the answer to that. Max would never allow it. He says you’re not ready, and honestly, you’re proving his point.”

“Glad to know that my twin’s got my back,” he scoffed.

“You guys realize that you’re no longer whispering, right?” I said, sitting up as I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands.

“Sorry, Lexi,” Gayle said as she pushed the door open. She smiled, then shot her brother a glare. She’d grown taller. Her red hair was longer, and Keith’s hair had gotten longer as well. In Kloud pack, the Alpha’s family made it a tradition to keep their hair long for reasons I still didn’t understand. Right now, their red hair was a reflection of their agitation.

“What’s so important that you two had to come to my room just to argue?” I asked.

“There’s a meeting going on right now at the council hall,” Keith said. “We should be there. I need to know what’s going on, but Dearest sister over here thinks it’s a bad idea if we sneak in.”

Right, that meeting. I didn’t know all the details, but Keith had been whining about it for weeks. It probably had something to do with Rogue King, Dexter. He’d been attacking some small packs and killing their Alphas, forcing them into a rogue rulership.

“I just think it’s reckless to sneak in,” Gayle said, crossing her arms. “This is sensitive. They have their reasons for not including us.”

“You know you used to be a lot more fun four years ago,” Keith muttered.

“Listen to yourself, Keith,” she snapped. “Fun? You think I’m gonna have fun listening to all these talks of death and war? I don’t think so.”

“Keith,” I cut in before they argued any further. “How badly do you want to go?”

“So bad, Lexi. I need this,” he flopped onto my bed. “Look, we don’t even have to go inside. I just need you guys to give me a boost. I’ll climb up for a few minutes, then we’ll leave. No one will find out.”

I turned to Gayle, who was already frowning in disapproval before she said, “We’ve gotten into enough trouble over the years. But fine, if you two are set on doing this and we get caught, I’m pinning it on Keith. Right, Lexi?”

“Umm… yeah,” I said, because what else was there to say?

“Great. Get dressed and… don’t forget your contacts. Those blue eyes were kind of a jump scare when I saw you four years ago. Even now, I’m still not used to it.”

“Shut up, Keith. You’re one to talk,” I said, forcing a smile as they left my room.

Keith meant well, and his jokes were mostly harmless, but he never let me forget that day. He brings it up now more than ever, and I don’t know why. I’m not ready to tell them where I’m from or why I was exiled. Four years feels like too long to carry it alone, but the things I went through aren’t something I can hand Keith and expect him not to use as a punchline the next day.

Luckily for me, since most packs have people with different eye colors, unlike Kloud pack, they will never know where I’m from, and I would like to keep it that way.

After getting ready, I put in my contacts so I wouldn’t stand out. By the time I was ready, Keith and Gayle were waiting. We slipped out and crept toward the council hall. From where we hid, they were already talking about the rogue king

“It’s perfect. They’re talking about him,” Keith whispered. “Help me up.” He said as he planted himself on our shoulders while Gayle and I exchanged annoyed looks.

After what felt like forever, our arms trembling from holding him, Gayle snapped, “Aren’t you done yet? What are they even saying?”

“Lower your voice!” Keith hissed. “They’re saying Dexter hides his face behind a mask, so no one knows what he looks like. His scent is also hard to trace, so it's difficult to track him.”

“Yeah, that is common with rogues. Their scent is weird,” Gayle said. “What else?”

“That he is advancing towards bigger packs and...”

“And what else? My arms are burning!” I grumbled.

“Dexter might attack Bay pack soon. Let’s just get out of here, I’ve heard enough –“ Keith barely finished before we all came crashing down in the loudest, most obvious fall possible.

“Lexi! What the hell? Why’d you let go?” Keith grumbled as we all got up to our feet and bolted.

“I’m sorry. My shoulder hurt,” I lied. I didn’t tell them that something in my chest had tightened when I heard him say Bay Pack. I never thought I’d hear of them again. If Dexter is heading there, would my family be safe? Even if they’d doubted me when I was accused, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t care if they were in danger.

“Sorry about your shoulder, Lexi. There were just so many Alphas in there, all talking at once. It was hard to catch what they were saying,” Keith said.

I froze mid-step.

“What are you doing? Let’s go before someone sees us,” Gayle hissed, tugging at my arm, but I pulled away from her. There was something more important bugging me.

“K-Keith,” I stammered, “are there other Alphas in there?”

“Yeah! Like, all of them. I wish I could’ve been inside.”

“Oh no…”

“What?” Gayle asked, eyes darting between us.

“If he finds me here, he’ll kill me.”

“Who?”

“Let’s just go before it’s too late,” I said, running hurriedly.

“And where do you three think you’re going?” A deep, commanding voice said, leaving us frozen in place. We turned slowly, dread crawling up my spine.

Keith started to make an excuse on the spot. “I'm Keith, Alpha Max's brother. We were just helping Lexi over here since she was…”

But his words faded into nothing as my gaze locked on the man standing before us.

I couldn’t breathe. It was... Dean.