Tame a Monster (Dark Romance Novel)

Chapter Four

Keenan's POV

"So if we drive them to this closed-off area here, Felix your packmates will act as a united front there." My dad said, pointing at the map, "together we can close in on them, surrounding them from all sides."

"Sounds good to me brother," my uncle Felix agreed.

I stared down at the map and looked hard for any flaws in our new plan. The area we were isolating the rogues to had limited to no resources and would be hard to survive there for long. With my uncle's pack closing in from the east and ours from the west, a swift wipeout was promised.

We all got up from the table, silently agreeing that our meeting was over.

"Maybe instead of attacking, we could arrange a conference. They haven't attacked or trespassed into our territories for years. Maybe they're not trying to cause trouble, maybe they're just trying to survive."

It was my cousin who spoke, my cousin Daniel, who almost never spoke or contributed much into these meetings. My uncle Felix, Daniel's dad, made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat, but my dad looked thoughtful.

"They're rogues Daniel, they can't be reasoned with, that's the whole point of going rogue." My uncle said, quickly dismissing him.

Daniel looked away and fixed the cuffs of his sleeves to hide his wrist, where I know the name of his dead mate is engraved. The only other person I know with a similar carving is an omega in my pack named Jean.

Once upon a time, Daniel and I were the best of friends growing up. We did everything together, we played together, trained together, and got in trouble together. But then one day I walked in on him convulsing on the floor, it looked like he was having a seizure, but he puking up blood.

As we all waited anxiously in the pack's medical room, the pack doctor informed us that this happened to him because he'd just felt the death of his mate. And when your mate dies, their name appears on your wrist, like it was carved into your skin from the inside out. He'll never know her or even know what she looked like, all he'll ever have of her is her name, Mia.

Ever since then, our relationship was never the same, my cousin was only eight when he lost his mate, but he may as well been 80 after. Any sense of adventure and childhood was gone. The person sitting across from me now was a complete stranger.

I guess he's fortunate she didn't die while they were fully mated. Fully mated wolves tend to die right after their deceased mate.

My uncle would never admit it to his mate or his son, but he admitted it to me once, he resented his son for losing his mate. No mate meant no furthering the family bloodline, you could try conceiving with a human but even then it was risky business. About 90% of the time the pregnancy will kill them both in the 2nd trimester. My uncle also admitted to me in confidence that he was trying vehemently for another heir.

Strange at is is, that's exactly how my uncle acquired the alpha position. My uncle Felix would've been the beta of my fathers pack but growing up, Felix disagreed a lot with my fathers views and leadership. Then one day Uncle Felix almost challenged my dad for the alpha position, but instead my uncle left, along with some of my dad's pack members that believed in his ideologies. Having alpha blood, my uncle became their alpha and he established his pack in a neighboring town. It took my uncle and dad 15 years to reconcile but now they're each others strongest and most reliable ally, they still have their differences though.

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We say our goodbyes and watch as my uncle and cousin drive off. My mother then approaches me with my backpack and coat in hand, "okay mister, off to school."