Kohl

"What do you mean?" Kohl asks.

In light of the death of Gaius, the Elders have called a meeting. The meeting started in the same way they all do. The conversation then took a detour to the topic of the night of Parker and Gaius' fight with the vampires. The Elders are adamant that they must know more about Parker's powers, even calling him a possible liability before implying he is a weapon. They implied this without saying it directly.

Jasar is aware of Kohl's growing frustration, especially when the Elders call Parker's actions reckless.

"Tell me," Kohl's voice is beyond strained, "Which part was reckless? When he told all the wolves to evacuate the situation and took them on himself, with the help of my deceased father? Tell me, what did anyone else lose that night?"

"The pack lost an Elder."

"I lost a father!" Kohl shouts.

The room is quiet now. The four Elders seem to be at a loss for words. Jasar worried that Kohl's mental state wouldn't be ready for this. His thought extends to the entire Ashwood family. Kohl's outburst is not in his personality, not anymore. His demeanor has changed since he became an Alpha and found his mate.

Jasar clears his throat, "Perhaps we can adjourn and reconvene at a different, less stressful time."

Aldan, one of the longest-running Elders, seems to agree. Aldan is an older man with short grey hair and a rather well-kept beard. He must be in his late sixties by now. His pale skin is on par with the vampires.

"Jasar is right. Emotions are running high now and the wound is fresh." Aldan says, "Our assertions, though well intentioned for the pack, are inexcusable. We offer a formal apology for any disrespect against you or the Luna."

"Thank you, Aldan." Jasar says.

The Elders gather their things and leave the room. Jasar watches as Kohl walks over and stares out of the window. Jasar knows that speaking at this moment would be the worst thing he could do. Kohl's wrath is ever present.

As a friend, he knows this. As an advisor, he must speak up. Still, he waits a few minutes before speaking.

"Are you alright, Alpha?" Jasar asks.

"Do you think I'm a good Alpha?" Kohl asks as he turns to him, "I'm not always right, I know. I get that."

"You've been an amazing Alpha. Yes, there has been less than a handful of major setbacks but you've put the pack above yourself."

"What about as a mate?"

"I honestly wouldn't know."

"I just—Gaius was probably not perfect in the beginning but he always knew what to do. He could always figure it out and he always kept a level head." Kohl says.

"Maybe that's because he made mistakes and learned from them." Jasar suggests.

"Maybe you're right."

"I doubt he ever had the types of problems you do. A God as a mate, attacks by woodland nymphs and vampires and the little fact that you share a mate with your brother."

"Out of all of those, that one makes me cringe." Kohl frowns, "Yet, here we are. I just don't get the grand scheme."

"No one does." Jasar says, "Perhaps, and this is as your friend, you should take a day or two to gather yourself and make sure your family is alright. I haven't seen Parker in a couple of days."

Kohl nods, "He's been pouring through books, trying to find...I don't even know anymore. He's convinced that he brought this on the pack. He thinks I blame him for that and for Gaius."

"Do you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" Jasar asks.

"I wish he didn't take so many risks."

"Like going to an old logging station to recon vampires?" Jasar asks.

"Exactly! He's held to a different standard than me. He's always had eyes on him and I worry that he doesn't care anymore. I worry that he feels he can never do anything right. Isn't what just happened another instance? He saved the pack from an attack."

"The two of you have been a power couple like this pack hasn't seen. He compliments you in a way you don't always appreciate because you're a control freak." Jasar smiles, "I've always liked him."

"To my dismay."

"Yeah, so did Gaius. For the exact same reasons."

"Gaius loved to take the piss out of me. He was always there to put me in my place. The longer I am Alpha, the more I realize how right he was and how entertaining it must have been." Kohl laughs, "Gaius was a better man than me."

"No, he wasn't." Jasar says gaining an unfavorable glare from Kohl, "You're like him. You just don't see it."

"Thank you, Jasar."

"Any time, Kohl."

Cassie & Mickey

Mickey woke up early to find Cassie.

Cassie has been inconsolable for the past couple of days. Most of her time has been spent cooped up in her room. There is no debating that Cassie was the closest to Gaius. As his only daughter, Cassie was spoiled the most. From Mickey's view, he was harder on his sons than he could have ever been on Cassie.

Cassie being his older sister was a blessing. She always tried to pull Gaius and Mickey back together. She took on the surrogate roll of their mother after their mother died. It seemed easy for her. Mickey always thought Cassie took after their mother more whereas Kohl was split right from Gaius.

Mickey is the oddity.

Cassie awoke earlier than usual this morning and headed out to an overlook not far from the territory. With the boundaries unlocked, there is no ban around being as far away from the lands anymore. The overlook is her favorite place on the planet. Gaius used to take her here, especially after the death of her mother, when she had a rough time or when the world was just too much to deal with. She spent a lot of time at the overlook after her family imploded.

The serenity from the overlook calms her in a way she never felt anywhere else. The sun beating down against her skin and the view of the entire forest made her feel at home. It was time away from the pack, on her own. She'd always wondered what it was like away from the pack. She always wondered what the world was like outside of being a werewolf.

Parker told her some things but was very honest about the world not being as wonderful as it should be. He told her about racism, classism and all the other sensitive topics among humans. He also told her about the resilience of humans and the good things. The good things, as they usually do, outweighed the bad.

"I figured you'd be here."

Cassie sits up and looks over to Mickey moving into view. She smiles at her younger brother. The two of them have gotten closer since Mickey returned to the pack. Cassie is thrilled to have her little brother back but she wishes he'd have gotten closer to Gaius before Gaius died. The two of them were very stubborn.

"Of course you'd find the highest place in the whole goddamn forest to settle." He says sitting down beside her, "Good thing I'm a wolf or I'd have died a mile back."

"And yet, here you are." Cassie says with amusement.

"You're a hard woman to find."

"Coming from the guy who disappeared for years." Cassie says looking out onto the land, "How'd you know?"

"I caught your scent. I knew sooner or later you'd come here and when the scent led me to a certain point, I knew." Mickey smiles, "I was a rogue. I had to use every instinct I had."

"You don't talk about it a lot."

"The time when I killed our mother? Or when our father tossed me out like trash."

"You left."

"He told me to." Mickey says angrily. He takes a deep breath, "Water under the bridge."

"Yeah, right." Cassie nods, "I will admit that Gaius spoke out of rage. It hurt him when you left. He was happy when you came back. Cautious but happy."

"He locked me up."

"No, Kohl locked you up and can you blame him? That was before he knew you were his mate's mate, which still creeps me out." Cassie says, "You must be creeped out. Both of you."

"We're not intimate. We've kissed, yeah, but he doesn't trust me yet." Mickey says sadly, "Not with his heart. Can't blame him."

"One thing Gaius did that pissed me off is that he made you doubt yourself. I'd trust you with my life. I always have, even when you wanted to kill me."

"I'd have killed literally everyone here but you." Mickey says with an amused tone, "And Gaius was right. He only wants to sleep with me because he feels like it will fix whatever he feels is wrong with him. He tries to make me feel like he's not keeping me at a distance because of Kohl but—"

"He is." Cassie nods, "Imagine if It were you. If you fell in love with him first. Imagine how you'd feel? Or put yourself in his shoes. He struggled with the concept of a mate and when he actually got it down it changed. He is told that he's meant to love Kohl but he's also supposed to love you. I don't think it's that he's keeping you specifically at arm's length. He'd keep anyone at arm's length."

"Doesn't matter."

"You're right. It doesn't. You've shown your heart. You've shown that you can be here for us. You just have to show him that he can trust you with his heart."

Mickey is silent. He's aware that Cassie's insight is correct. It's easy to talk to Parker, so it isn't as terrifying as it should be.

"You know, Gaius was proud of us, even as the screw-ups we are. He actually said that out of his mouth." Cassie sniffles, "I don't know how to feel. We're orphans now."

Mickey closes the distance and hugs Cassie, "Maybe but we're back together. We'll get through this together."

The two are silent once again. There are no more words. The silence between them is not unsettling nor is it awkward. The siblings finally feel a sense of peace in this moment. It's what Gaius would have wanted.