Chapter Five

SORIN

Sorin was in a sour mood. This entire trip was a waste of time and energy. He could be home, hiding in the library or sparring with his guards. Instead he was stuck out here in the middle or nowhere with his Uncle breathing down his neck.

At least his brothers were here. They weren’t brothers by blood but by choice, their connection even stronger- forged in friendship and hardship.

Sorin's back twinged. The lash marks his uncle had inflicted upon him a week ago were still healing. They itched constantly but he couldn't reach them to scratch at them. Wouldn't, either. He couldn't let anyone know about them. Not even Cyrus.

His brothers would be horrified to learn of his secret shame, the beatings that still went on. He knew Cyrus and Lucas had outgrown theirs years ago. As soon as they grew large enough to hit back his coward of an uncle had stopped the recreational beatings he was so fond of.

But not for him. No, instead his uncle just recruited more wolves into the room to witness his shame. Two of his uncle's guards to hold him down against the stone floor. Another to wield the whip. At least until his uncle said they were too light handed. Then he would snatch the whip from his guard and lash Sorin's already flayed flesh.

He clenched his fist tight, breathed in deeply, and released a misty breath into the chilled air. As the fog from his breath dissipated, so did his tension.

He needed to keep a cool head. He couldn't be getting lost in his spiral of self pity when he had so much to be doing.

Despite the face of this trip being a waste- there was no real reason for them to be here ‘strengthening ties between the Earth and Heavens pack’, everyone knew the Earth alpha was comfy inside their uncle’s pocket- he and his brothers had their own unique agenda for this trip.

They needed a champion. Or a patsy. Someone eager to please. Easy to manipulate. Someone they could convince to kill the King.

It was needed. It was necessary. Their uncle was a scourge upon wolves and he was only getting worse. Pretty soon the already volatile situation was bound to turn into a them vs him spectacle. And his uncle had all the power. He could have them killed. They needed to get to him first.

He wasn't going to let them live much longer, especially of Cyrus continued to buck the ironclad control of them.

It wasn't his fault. Cyrus couldn't help it. He was a born leader. He couldn't submit to the King's vicious rule when he saw ways he could make life better.

Cyrus would never admit it, and Sorin would never push him to, but he was actually a dreamer at heart. He had dreams for everyone too, not just himself or his brothers in arms.

So time was of the essence. They needed to get rid of their uncle, preferably in a way that implicated someone else to avoid a civil war.

Cyrus had had the idea to look for a rouge to do the assassination here in the outer Packlands of the Earth Kingdom. They'd been able to sell the idea to the King by suggesting that there may be a small faction of rebellious wolves in this area and they needed to come out and crush it. The king had jumped at the opportunity to throw his weight around.

Really, this was probably an area of least concern for the Heavens Alphas. The Alpha of this pack, Roy, was a hard man who ran his pack equally hard. He and the king would get along swimmingly. And once the king realized this they'd be on their way again.

Cyrus was currently in the woods looking for the local rogues. Their hope was that such a hard alpha would have a lot of enemies, and some of those enemies would translate well into enemies of the king as well.

It was getting late. The sun had set an hour ago and the bonfires around the pack house had all been lit.

Cyrus could find his own way to their rooms. Lucas probably wasn't going to show his face until the next morning anyway. Last Sorin had seen he'd cornered a flirtatious little omega and already had a hand up under her shirt.

He smiled slightly at the thought of Lucas's antics. That boy was insatiable. He was always chasing a skirt, no matter what else was going on. At least it made him happy. He deserved to be happy. They all did but it wasn't in the cards for Sorin.

He turned his back to the woods and went inside. The main pack house was nice. Expertly decorated in yuletide cheer it was much larger than some of the other pack houses they'd stayed at in the past. And the rooms were large and well appointed. Befitting their station as princes.

Sorin made his way up the stairs past the servants quarters, warrior housing, noble rooms, and all the way up to the very top floor where their rooms were located. The very best of the best apparently. He wasn't sure where the Earthen Pack alpha would be staying but he had moved to the next floor down as no one could be equal to or higher than the heavens pack while they were here.

Sorin finally made it to his room and flopped onto the bed. Maybe he could just go to sleep now. There was a celebratory dinner that evening but did he really need to be there? His uncle wouldn't risk beating them while they were here and someone could see. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. Of course.. His uncle was an injustice collector of the worst kind. He would remember any little infraction Sorin did and would repay it triply. There was no real winning

A swift knock woke Sorin with a start. He must have fallen asleep. The candles he had left burning had all gone down to the nub and it was dark in the room. He wasn't worried though. He could smell Cyrus. His earthy woodsy evergreen scent relaxing him before He could even worry about the intruder.

A light flicked on across the room and he squinted against the bright light.

“Give me a couple minutes and I'll get ready for the feast,” he mumbled and pulled a pillow over his eyes. Goddess he was still so tired.

“Forget that,” Cyrus said, grabbing the pillow and tossing it across the room. “I found something in the woods.”

“Oh yeah? What did you find,” Sorin said eyes still closed

“A girl.”

Sorin cracked one eye open. So? Why would that be newsworthy? He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Cyrus grinned and sat down on the bed next to him.

“I found a girl, and I think she is going to try to kill us.”