The Eve of Darkness

Chapter 4 - Camden

Camden and Jude wasted no time as they pushed open the front door of the pack's medical clinic. The smell of anti-septic, hand-sanitizer, and dry air greeted them as Jude called for their friend Hazel. The tiled floors beneath them echoed with every step that was taken as the alpha held Aria closely and tightly to his chest.

"What happened to a 'simple, morning jog' guys?" Hazel's familiar voice asked in surprise, her footsteps brisk as she came closer to Camden. She smelled like the taste of cherry Nyquil and cheap tequila to Camden, who had taken a few weeks to get used to it. While it had been very easy to find Hazel in a crowd as well as to guess what her occupation was, it still made him scrunch up his nose every time she came near him.

"Well," Jude started, his voice sounding both exasperated and sheepish. "It was a lovely run, until captain 'I can't communicate normally' over here yelled 'oh my god,' squealed a little bit, and ran off like his ass was on fire." Camden didn't need his sight to know that Jude was definitely gesturing to him. The high-pitched, girlish voice that he'd used to imitate Camden's excitement that morning would have been funny in any other setting had Aria not been a dead weight in the alpha's embrace.

Camden growled as he adjusted his grip on his injured mate. "Hazel." The word carried the command of an alpha, and immediately demanded the full, un-changing attention of his pack member. "This is your Sola. Treat her immediately."

The intake of breath and slight growl that left Hazel's throat was enough for Camden to know just how upset his pack member had become at the new knowledge.

"Yes, Alpha," Hazel affirmed, stepping forward and taking Aria from Camden's hold. "I will give her the best treatment and have her recovering as soon as possible."

Camden nodded, the movement enough to send Hazel marching away, barking orders at other staff members of the clinic. The sudden ruckus as they all began organizing medicine, equipment, and paperwork brought a small level of comfort to Camden's mind as he knew that his mate was in good hands.

"Jude, let's go sit down," he ordered, holding his hand out and allowing Jude to guide it to his shoulder. They walked a short distance before coming to stop.

"To your right and down," was all Jude said as Camden followed his instructions, reaching his hand down and feeling the plastic-like cushion before turning and settling in the seat.

He heard Jude settle beside him but could not find the energy to speak. Camden's mind was occupied with thoughts of his mate as his heart throbbed at the thought of losing the one person he'd looked forward to for his entire life. The heavy sigh and sound of fingers tapping a phone was enough to tell him that his friend understood the need for silence.

Aria.

She'd mentioned when she had scolded him (which was amusing in the moment) that she'd been with the hunters for at least three days. Knowing the cruelty of some humans, she was probably starved, dehydrated, and consistently physically and mentally abused. The rage that planted itself in the back of Camden's lungs blossomed exponentially when he thought about the terrible things those hunters could have done. However, despite the time she spent with them, Camden could tell that Aria was anything but weak.

He recalled how much her weight surprised him when he first held her in his arms. Rather than being small, fragile, and light from lack of food, he could tell that her body was well-trained and strong. Her back felt muscular and stiff, and her legs were heavily weighted.

She was, most definitively, not an omega.

Perhaps we can spar together.

The thought of being able to do anything together- to be able to spar, workout, run, cook, listen to music - delighted Camden in more ways than he could possibly imagine. He'd spent most of his twenty-five years of life hoping to meet the person that was the other half of his soul. Now that he had finally met her, he couldn't wait to see what kind of person she was, what her hobbies were, what she believed, and how they would grow to care about each other over time.

"So," Jude interrupted after a while, pulling Camden from his hopeful thoughts. "I never got to talk to her, but what was she like?"

Camden turned his head towards his friend with a small smile. "She's strong and has a fierce personality. When I was getting ready to save her, she scolded me for talking too much."

Jude snorted at that and patted the alpha's shoulder. "Well, good on you for finding someone that can keep you on your toes."

"Yea," Camden agreed with a chuckle. "I guess I'm okay with that."

More than okay with it, he thought as he leaned his elbows on his knees.

"So," Camden started, feeling his face heat up as he turned his head away from Jude. "What does she look like?"

Jude coughed out a small laugh but refrained from teasing his friend. "I feel like I'm in a lose-lose situation here. If I tell you she's ugly, you'll get mad at me. If I tell you she's smoking hot, you'll get mad at me."

Camden could help but laugh as he leaned back and bumped his shoulder against Jude's. "Nah, you get a free pass this time. Actually, give a description that goes farther than 'she looks okay,' though, please."

"Alright," Jude replied. Camden could hear him shift a little bit in his seat, as if he moved to sit up right. "Well, I didn't see her eye color, but she has black hair that's, like, frizzy but not curly, you know? She's definitely not white, but I can't really tell what she is. If I were to guess her height, it's definitely taller than five-foot-eight. Also, surprisingly, she is pretty muscular. I'm talking defined arms, strong abs, hell, even her thighs were toned-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Camden interrupted, alarmed at the sudden thought that popped up. "How do you know what her stomach and thighs looked like?"

Jude was silent for a moment, as if he was trying to think of a way to reverse whatever he'd said. However, rather than trying to get out of it, Jude just sighed.

"Well, I thought you'd realized it when you were carrying her, but she was just in a sports-bra and underwear."

Camden knew that he didn't need to be angry. He knew that Jude was innocent and had just happened to see his mate without clothing and would never lust after someone else's mate.

Despite that knowledge, however, the immediate territorial feelings that bombarded his head were unavoidable.

"Aye," Jude snapped, lightly flicking his friend's ear. "Don't you dare go all, 'I'm alpha, you no look at alpha mate' on me, I'm the one that has to handle the paperwork when you inevitably avoid doing your job to spend all your time with the Sola."

Camden couldn't argue with that statement. He had no plans to follow through with any of his duties as an alpha. Rather, he was going to take every chance he could to talk to Aria, learning about her dreams, ambitions, and even her faults and fears.

"Alright," Camden ceded, allowing his discomfort with the idea of his best friend being able to see more of Aria than he ever literally could to subside. "What else can you tell me about her?"

"Well, she has tattoos, for starters."

"She has tattoos?"

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A/N: I got excited and posted early again ;P

And here we go! Another chapter in Camden's point of view. Make sure you let me know what you think and don't forget to Vote and Comment.

I appreciate your time and I'll see y'all in the next update!

- Kai