Thomas

I let Audrey go upstairs after she claimed to go shower. Going into the kitchen, I grabbed an apple and started munching on it. "Hey, Thomas" Gar greeted me as she emerged from the doorway. "Where's Audrey?" she questioned.

I swallowed my food before answering her. "She's gonna shower" I stated before an ache erupted in my chest. Frowning, I looked up at the ceiling. I knew I was feeling Audrey's pain. She was sad, and I knew for a fact that she was crying. "Can you get your mother for me, please? Tell her that I'll be in my office" I asked.

Gar nodded her head. "She went back to the castle last night, so it might be a while until she gets here" she informed me.

"That's alright. I'll just wait in my office for her" I stated before walking off with my apple. My wolf was begging me to go to Audrey. So I did.

After walking up the stairs, I stopped in front of one of the guest rooms. I could hear the soft sounds of water hitting the floor in the shower. Slightly louder than the water, was the sound of Audrey crying. Every sob was like a stab to the chest. I placed my hand on the door knob, but didn't open the door.

She might not even want to see me, right now. And even if I did go inside, I would just have to wait outside of the bathroom. Going inside of the bathroom would just be crossing boundaries. I dropped my hand and slowly backed away from the door. If she needed me, then she would've stayed with me instead of coming up here.

I wish that I could somehow ease her pain. But I can't if she won't let me. She almost opened up. Almost.

Audrey told me that she accepted the fact that she was kidnapped; but it is obvious that she hasn't moved on from it. If she still wants answers, then she didn't move on. She cried a lot. I didn't mind, though. She needed to cry; and I was glad to be her shoulder to cry on.

However, when we were almost home; it was like she just shut down. In the matter of a few seconds, she pushed out all of the sadness and was complete bare of her emotions. It was as if she put on a emotionless mask. The few words that she spoke were just dull. Void of any and all emotions. Honestly, seeing her like that was scarier than the day she was making lunch.

It was when Keith wasn't awake. She was so pissed at me. I thought she would never forgive me for hurting him. I thought she would hate me forever. I feared that I would never get a chance to love like my mother and father. That's what I've always dreamed about: to love my mate like my father loves my mother. Its all I ever wanted. But when she slapped me and yelled at me; it scared the shit out of me.

Yeah. The Alpha was scared of his mate that's like 5'3". But I wasn't scared of her physically. I knew that I deserved every hit that she gave me, and then some. I was scared of what she could verbally and emotionally do. She could've yelled at me and continued to paint me as some evil villain. Hell, she could've even rejected me! She could've said that she hated me. If she said anything like that; it would be like twisting the knife that went through my chest.

I've only known her for a few weeks; but honestly I would do anything for her. I would give up anything for her. Jesse and Sam would say that I'm whipped, and I wouldn't deny it at all. She has me wrapped around her finger. I'm not even sure she knows it.

"Earth to Thomas!" a voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Shaking my head, I looked at Jesse- who had an amused smirk on his face. "Why the hell are you creeping on your mate?" he questioned. "You're being such a perv- just waiting for her to get out of the shower!"

Always such a dramatic. I rolled my eyes. "I was thinking. And don't even call me a perv. You're the one who walked into the girls bathroom in Target and hid in a stall for two hours!" I whisper-yelled. It would be horrible if Audrey heard me.

Jesse face-palmed. "It was once! I was 15!" he argued. Yup. Fifteen year-old Jesse hid in a bathroom. I don't even know what he was doing in there for two hours. His dumbass kept saying that girls eat chips in the bathroom, but they were actually using feminine hygiene products. My mom slapped him so many times. I video taped it! Its on my old phone. "Are you even listening?!" Jesse snapped.

Giving him an apologetic smile, I shook my head. "Whatever" he grumbled. "She just got out the shower, you creep" he stated before walking off in the opposite direction.

I strained my hearing, and there was no longer the pitter-patter of water droplets. I heard some shuffling, then the bed creaked as she sat down or laid down. "Today was just fucking amazing" she mumbled to herself. I have such a sarcastic mate. Audrey stopped sobbing, but that didn't mean that she wasn't crying. She could just have silent tears again.

I waited until her breathing evened out- signaling that she was asleep- then went to my office. My dad has his own office, as well as my mother. Even though I didn't find my mate, they gave me my own office so I could still help out with pack matters.

After throwing away my apple, I plopped down in my desk chair. I pulled open one of the drawers. It contained files on every pack member that has ever been in the Midnight Howlers. Every person got their own file; and every file had at least a few papers in it. I scanned the files, looking for his name.

Wait. I groaned aloud as I realized that I opened the wrong drawer. I bent down and opened the very last drawer. Ree. Reece. Reede. "Why do so many last names start with 'r'?" I muttered. I finally came across his name, and pulled out his file.

Anthony Reynolds

There was a description page, with a picture included. I don't understand why my father felt the need to describe him, when a picture of him was literally stapled to the page. The next page was about his family- or lack of it actually. He had no next of kin. No siblings. Deceased parents. Not even an aunt or uncle. Frowning, I turned to the next page.

It was about the banishment.

Anthony Reynolds has endangered the Princess of our kind. He spread information of her whereabouts. He has told others where she would be and who she would be with. This is considered as treason.

His sentence is banishment.

Okay. Well, telling people was pretty damn stupid on his part. But treason? I know that he was 19, when he was banished. Surely, a 19 year-old would want to brag about meeting royalty. There has to be something missing. Turning to the next page, I came across a copy of the note.

Hello, Queen Genevieve. You and your mate killed many of my friends and my master. If you're reading this, then we've gone through plan B. Little baby Audrey Bay.

I clenched the paper. I could practically hear a teasing voice in my head. He was taunting them with the note. Taking a deep breath, I read on.

She will be strong, just like we planned. Don't worry, I will return her, eventually.

Until then, you should focus on David Christopher and Gardenia Belle. Trying to find us will just be a waste of time.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

-Anthony

Well, that last line was dramatic. But it was weird how he knew everyone's names. My father told me that the snake was Malcom. He was the one who had all the information. But if this was after he died, who told Anthony their names?

"Thomas?" a voice said softly. Looking up, I saw Eve standing in the doorway. I gestured for her to come inside. She gently closed the door behind her and sat in the seat across from me. "Is Audrey alright?" she asked.

I quickly nodded my head. "She's taking a nap" I informed her. "Um... We went by her old house today. And Anthony had left her a note" I pulled the paper out of my pocket and handed it to Eve.

She stared at it before slowly unfolding it and reading the words. "He was a good father" Eve mused. "He just wasn't a good person" Its weird how people can be horrible to everyone, but be so nice to the people they love. "Is this why you wanted to talk to me?" Eve questioned as she put the note down on my desk.

I nodded my head, but then shook my head no. "At first it was. But I decided to look at this" I told her while handing over Anthony's file. "I read the note. And something just doesn't add up" I stated.

"This was after Malcom was dead, correct?" I questioned. Eve nodded her head. "And you guys confirmed that Malcom was the snake that was feeding the rogues information?" Once again, she nodded her head. "So how did Anthony know their names? You were still pregnant when Malcom died. And you didn't chose the names before hand, right?"

With a frown on her face, Eve shook her head. "We were only expecting two. Gardenia was a surprise. We just put the names of our parents together once we had the babies. It was never planned" she explained while handing me back the file. "And there wasn't another snake. It was some witch looking into the future" she stated.

I didn't think about that possibility. "Oh" I muttered.

She gave me a small smile as she stood up. "Stop digging into the past. Its over. We all just have to move on" she said softly. I literally just had that conversation with Audrey. I nodded my head as she walked out.

For some reason, I just have a gut feeling that there was another snake. And if they didn't find the traitor 18 years ago, he could still be in the castle. 'You're being paranoid. Even if this guy wasn't ever caught, I have a feeling that he's already dead by now' Alex, my wolf, told me.

He's right. I'm just paranoid. There's no way that a snake could stay in the castle for this long. I shook the thoughts out of my head before returning the file to its rightful place. What if it wasn't a witch? I couldn't shake the feeling that something's not right.

The door opened, and I was expecting Eve to come back in. But I was completely surprised when Keith stumbled into my office. "Thomas, right?" he croaked out as he slowly walked deeper into the room. I sprung to my feet and helped him to one of the chairs. "Thanks" he mumbled.

"No problem. And yes, I am Thomas" I informed him.

He nodded his head. "Are you Bay's mate?" he asked. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion before I realized that he was talking about Audrey. Its confusing to be called more than one name.

I nodded my head at Keith as I sat down in the chair next to him. "I'm sure you already know; but I'm Keith" he introduced himself. "Since Anthony isn't here to give you this speech. I'll do it" he stated.

Great! Its the 'I'll kill you if you hurt her' speech. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna kill you" he said, like he was reading my mind. "But if you hurt Audrey- physically or emotionally. I will gladly cut off your dick and sew it to your head. So you will officially be a dickhead. Got it?" he said sternly as he narrowed his eyes at me.

Well, that's interesting. And disturbing. "I would never raise my hand at her or intentionally hurt her in anyway" I declared.

Keith nodded in approval. "Now, wanna help a crippled guy get back to his bed?" he asked with a light chuckle. I quickly nodded my head and helped him stand up. We slowly made our way out my office. "Hey, you know how you guys raided our house?" he blurted.

I slowly nodded my head. "Did you guys happen to take a guitar?" he questioned.

"My Beta and Third were the ones in charge of the raid. I can ask them" I offered. Knowing Jesse, he probably took it and sold it on E-bay or something.

Keith nodded his head. "I got it for Audrey for her birthday. It wasn't there when I looked around" he informed me. Well, shit. Hopefully, Jesse didn't sell it. We got to his room and I helped him get on the bed. "Fucking werewolf shit" he muttered.

I laughed and moved away from the bed. "How are you feeling?" I asked. He shrugged in response. "Does the doctor know that you got up?" I inquired.

He shook his head. "I'm fine besides the numbness and headache" he stated. I was about to ask if he wanted me to get the doctor, but he spoke again. "Wanna catch me up on what I missed, while I was in sleep-land?" he questioned.

Why the hell not? I pulled up a chair and started from when Audrey found him in the basement.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Aww... Thomas and Keith actually get along!

BROMANCE!!

They'll buy each other BROses and daffoDUDES!!!

Hehehehe... I'm weird... I know... You don't have to point it out! Gosh!

Kayyyyzzz Byeezzzz

~A.J.