Evil is looming on the horizon.
Matthias can feel it. The rest of the pack senses it too. Their duty is to protect those who can't protect themselves, but how can they do that when the monsters they hunt are changing? After an increase in human dis...
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The tie around my neck made me feel like I couldn't breathe. I tugged on it, trying to alleviate the suffocating feeling somewhat. I hated shit that fit close my throat. Which is the exact reason why I disliked wearing a suit in the first place. They were too tight and restricting for my liking. If it were up to me I'd never wear one, but unfortunately for me, it wasn't.
"Would you quit pulling on it?" Alaric growled at me as he buttoned the cuffs on his dress shirt.
"I can't help it." I huffed, "It's killing me."
"You'll live," Alaric mumbled gruffly in response.
I sighed, dropping my hand down from the knot. I managed to get it a little loose, but it didn't help much. I still felt like I was going to pass out and being in the truck didn't make things any better. We'd only been sitting here for a few minutes now, but it felt like forever. I was getting antsy and I knew Alaric could sense it.
We'd made it to Red Rock, Oklahoma late this afternoon. Alaric drove the entire way here, only stopping for diesel when we needed it. I offered to drive, but he never let me. He hadn't slept in the past few days and I could tell it was starting to wear on him. He'd been going longer and longer without sleep recently. When he did finally get any it was because he had drunk enough whiskey that he passed out. Even then, the sleep he got wasn't enough. He wasn't truly rested when he woke up.
He was restless and agitated all the time nowadays. These past two months had only seemed to push him even further into a downward spiral. He had been drinking heavier than I had ever remembered and his self-destructive tendencies were making their way to light. He was at war with himself and I was afraid that he was nearing the point of nearly breaking and giving in to the beast that dwelled within him when it reared its ugly head.
Yet I knew that no matter how much Alaric struggled with it, he'd never allow himself to be bested by it. He was just having trouble facing his problems on his own. He'd never ask for help or even admit that he needed it. He was hellbent on facing everything on his own. Hence the entire reason why I felt it was necessary to find Mason and bring him home. Alaric would never say it to me, but he needed his brother. The way he left was the final nail in the coffin for Alaric and he'd never been the same since. It had hurt him more than what he let on and that pain hardened him.
I wanted to be the one to be there for him, but I wasn't what he needed. He knew he had me and that I'd always be there, but he was so closed off that it didn't matter. The strongest people still need someone to take their hand and tell them that everything is going to be alright. And if I tried to take his hand he'd probably break it.
He needed family. His blood. I hoped that my decision to find Mason would be a good one in the end. I didn't doubt for a moment that Mason was already back at the pack house. I expected the two of them would fight when they saw each other again. That was something that couldn't be avoided, but part of me thought that perhaps having Cheyenne there would help soften the blow. She was the last of her kind and Mason will be the one to bring her to him. If it all went the way I hoped, she'd be able to return Nyx to Alaric as well.
