12 Chapter 10

The boom of thunder echoed above them and seemed louder under the canopy of the trees they padded through on silent paws. Unlike the rest of the pack they had volunteered to be on patrol duty to make sure the pack stayed safe for the night. The trails they followed encircled the section of territory where the pack had chosen to hunt for the night. It was quiet aside from the sound of the rolling thunder. The moon offered little in the way of light hidden behind the heavy rain clouds as it was. Bright flashes of lightening guided their way along the old deer paths. The quiet breaths of the other two wolves keeping pace slightly behind her lulled her mind into a haze, and the thoughts that have been weighing so heavily on her mind came to the forefront. She let her mind wander trying to piece together a puzzle that had so many missing pieces, so many unanswered questions, but she was to afraid to confront the one person that may have the answers she sought. A heavy sigh pushed its way from her chest. Desire to run pulled at her. She stopped at turned to look at her two patrol partners.

""Stay on the route. I'm going to scout ahead, before you protest, I'll call for you if trouble arises,"" She signaled.

A beat of silence passed, as the two other wolves looked at each other, before a hesitant, "Alright."

Dipping her head to acknowledge their response she quickly turned back in the direction they were heading and took off at a full sprint. Leaves crunched underneath her paws, blood rushing through her veins, her heart thudded almost as loud as the booming thunder above the trees in her ears, yet her mind kept racing. Flashes she could barely hold on to blurred through her mind. And always there was those honey-gold eyes.

""I love you.""

The words echoed in her skull. The voice so reminiscent to the one she listened for everyday in the halls of the school. Mind and heart warred with each other. One wanting to believe what could only be an impossible hope, the other telling her that such a thing was not possible. She wished the dreams made more sense. That they followed her into the waking world and were not just blurry images in her mind's eye. The aching pain in her chest that she woke with each day left her frustrated and seeking company of the one person she should not. Her mother was already suspicious with the growing ease between her and Kristina. So was her brother. The Acadian's did not question, but Beth had heard the cautions they whispered to Kristina when she would leave them to approach her.

""You fear. Or maybe it is my fear. It keeps us from remembering,"" was her wolf's quiet statement.

""What do you mean?""

""An echoing fear. From a time that you are no longer from. A time I am no longer from. She was us before. That we loved her before.""

""What are you rambling about?""

""The one who's eyes we see through. The warlord, NeKoda, she was us in another life.""

""That's impossible.""

""The memories are ours Beth. You know that they are,"" her wolf snapped irritably.

Beth shook her head. The exhaustion in her body finally weighing on her. She slowed to a steady trot continuing the path. It wasn't long before the steady thudding of paws reached her ears from behind her. The two others approached her cautiously from behind sensing her sour mood. They said nothing as the 3 continued the trail that split down into the small clearing the pack gathered in. Sharp noses picked up the smell of iron and raw meat the closer they came to the trail head. With excited barks the two wolves behind her streaked past her and into the clearing to get their share of the hunts' spoils. Beth moved at a slower pace the conversation with her wolf still processing through her thoughts.

Pain lanced through her. If she believed what her wolf told her. Believed that the dreams were truly memories of a past life. Then she would have to accept that she had been hung. Murdered if she really thought about it. Betrayed by someone she had trusted. The echo of that dream, that memory, was the one that was clear above all others. Waking with the feeling of the noose tightening around her neck was one she had begun to get used to waking to. The screams were something she couldn't get used to hearing. They had rung in her ears for what felt like hours after she woke. Beth remembered the letter that sent the warlord, NeKoda, into such a panic that she had run right into the ambush. The letter. Beth was so lost in thought she hadn't heard or noticed her brother approaching.

""Who wrote the letter?"" she thought to herself.

""What letter?"" Lucien's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

""Nothing. Just off in thought,"" Beth replied.

""Nick and Gideon said you were zoned out most of the patrol.""

""I was just enjoying the sounds of the coming storm and the quiet from the pack.""

Lucien eyed her curiously as they got closer to the pack. Their mother was also watching them. A boom from the sky sounded from above them as thunder rolled and the crack of lightening as it illuminated the sky followed. Beth met both their stares head on, daring them to question her further with their minds now in the pack link. Lucien ducked his head not wanting to draw further attention. Isabelle kept her gaze locked on to her daughter's before Beth looked away for fear of initiating a challenge, she had no desire for.

""The storm is about to break. Head home at your own pace!"" Isabelle's voice echoed over the pack link.

The pack steadily started to disperse. Isabelle tilted her head towards her pups and motioned them to follow as she started in the direction of their home. Beth felt her mother cut them off from the pack link. Dread pooled in her belly. A nagging feeling ate at the edges of her mind. Her mother knew. Somehow, she knew what Beth was trying so hard to keep from them. The pack house loomed closer just as the clouds broke. Rain was released from the clouds in a torrent, soaking through their fur quickly. Beth shook out her pelt as a chill settled in her bones from the downpour they were currently at the mercy of. Rain ran in rivulets into her eyes blurring her vision momentarily. She never saw her mother turn the moment they broke from the trees into the yard of the pack house. A yelp ripped itself from her throat as an impact from her side took her off her paws and she tumbled through the mud. Teeth sank painfully into the nape of her neck the second her body came to a stop. Beth let out a sharp whine. Her assailant shook their head in a small harsh movement tearing their K9s further into the flesh of Beth's scruff and shoulder area. Beth went limp releasing another sharp whine. Her mother's scent finally making its way through her nose. Fear registered in her mind the same time her mother's scent did.

""Stay away from the Acadian Beth! You invite danger into our pack!"" the surge of an Alpha's command laced with her mother's voice.

""Yes Alpha."" Beth and her wolf replied weakly.

Teeth let up from her nape. Stinging pain reverberated through Beth as she laid panting in the mud, the torrent of rain continuing to soak her coat. Tears ran from her eyes, mixing with the rain, as she listened to her mother and brother finish making their way to the house.

A whisper of a voice resonated in Beth's mind from a distant memory. The sting of an ages old betrayal joining the pain left behind by her mother's teeth.

""It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I'm sorry.""