Julius above

Julius POV

Danny is lying naked under me, he has tears in his eyes and yet he is smiling so brightly... Since I woke up on his couch I can't shake off visions like this assaulting my mind. I haven't felt so well in eternity, as if I finally got something essential to stay alive. I feel Drake's pure joy, first time in 11 years I feel him so strong.

Danny and I had breakfast together, and he seemed, I don't know, dispirited, and yet he kept saying that everything was fine. He might be worried because of our last conversation and everything I told him about Madison, Red Venom, and Luke. I shouldn't drag him more into all of that mess, especially including my ex-mate, I think as I move my wheelchair inside the pack dungeon.

She sits curled in the last cell, she doesn't look happy or healthy. Well, I don't care about her comfort no matter what. When I saw her for the first time after so many years all I could think was anger, now I think I feel tired but the anger is still there. I still don't want her here no matter what. And definitely, I don't want her near my son. And yet I'm here because Trist begged me to go to her and help her.

"I didn't expect you here," she says when she sees me.

"Why did you come back?"

"To see my son," she says wrapping her arms around her knees.

"After ten years? Suddenly you found in yourself so much motherly love," I say ironically and she looks at me angrily.

"You were the one who sentenced me for life on constant run and danger. And you were the one who took my son away from me so don't you dare to judge me! I was stupid, I was greedy and I was naïve, but this was my home! Do you really think that I would deliberately be able to destroy it!" she screams.

"I don't care about your intentions, the result is what matters, nothing more!" I shout at her.

She starts crying, curling herself even more.

"Why did you come back?" I ask again.

"I would never be able to survive as a rogue and you knew that. Natasha knew that too. Tell me, were you hoping that I would die quickly?" she takes a big breath "I was accepted in a pack, far away from here, I was a pack slut if you need to know."

"You think I care? I don't care who you have slept with for 10 years and I don't intend to start now!"

"I lost my wolf, she is no longer with me. And don't look like that, you think the rejection affected only you? My wolf got weaker, but I've lost her recently and because of that my position in the pack, I wasn't strong enough to keep myself safe anymore and I'm not getting any younger. In my field, it's not an advantage. I had to leave and because I had nowhere to go I came back here."

"To approach Trist and use him against me," I growl and she smirks.

"I'm not stupid anymore, I knew you would not welcome me here with an opened arms but I also wanted to see him, I want him to know at least how I look like."

"And the guy who had attacked you in the forest?"

"He is one of the clients, I stole some money when I left the pack I was living in, pack's money, he was in charge of security, I guess the Alpha kicked him out for that or maybe sent him after me to get the slut back!"

"And the money, but if you had the money why did Trist steal for you?" I ask and for a moment I see a small panic on her face "So, will you tell me the truth?"

She gulps but doesn't seem as full of herself as before.

"I had a guy, we did this together, and he..."

"And he took the money and left you with nothing, so you had no choice but to come here. You took money from Trist and Danny just in case," I say.

"I'm not a saint, I never was but I did want to see Trist, he is the only one I have. The only one, and I needed money in case you would find out and made me leave him again!"

Some things will never change I think as I look at her moods of a small child, always thinking that she is the one pitiful in all the mess she created herself.

"What are you going to do to me? I have no wolf now and..."

"And yet you were banished and coming back after being banished should lead to your execution," I say seeing the fear on her face.

"You won't let Natasha kill me, what about your wolf, what about Trist? You are not cruel!" she shouts after me when I leave the dungeon.

But she is right, I'm not cruel and it doesn't matter how much I hate or don't care about her now. Trist will ask about her, he will want to know what happens with her. She nailed it when she made sure to first gain his affection and later made herself known. 

So her wolf is dead, that would explain Drake's total indifference towards her now, half of our mate is gone, the good one. I stop to think for a moment about Madison's wolf, I feel sadness because I loved her, Drake loved her. Just like we loved Madison. But then we stopped loving Madison but we didn't stop loving her wolf. Maybe that's why Drake started coming back to me because he has finally accepted the broken bond between us?

Natasha is waiting for me in front of the dungeon, she doesn't look happy.

"Danny has broken my order and left the pack this afternoon, nobody knows where he has left."

My blood runs cold as I hear it.

Danny POV

I didn't think too much when Terry called and asked for help. I also can't blame him for deciding to take such a big risk. He has girls under his protection, there is no pack to help him, so he must be prepared. I didn't think at all about what I would tell later to my pack, I completely ignored the fact that I was forbidden to leave out territory.

I understood what I have done when my phone started calling, I didn't pick up and turned it off. I will have to think about what I will tell them, but that's the task for another time.

The long drive to the place, where he and Pearl are right now, is giving me time to think about what happened between me and Drake this night. Just like I thought Julius hasn't remembered what we had done. I try to convince myself that it's better that way, that Julius will not know and we can keep going, we can be friends. But my heart is broken, I can't lie to myself, I love him so much, I want to be in his arms again, feel his lips all over my body.

And yet I know I will never be free from Brandon. True mates after marking can never be separated, no matter what, it may kill them both. Julius managed to reject Madison and almost died because of it, but they have never been marked.

I touch my mark with my fingers, it's itching since that night, I wonder why? I wonder if Bruce has felt what I did, even so far away from here.

Checking my localization I know that I'm close, I was thinking about Julius for the last few hours, it's time to get some focus and start thinking about here and now.

The warehouse, located in an isolated area in a different state, gives vibes of uncertainty and fear. I step out of the car, but it seems that no one is around. I gulp trying to compose myself I don't feel well around here, and I want to leave as quickly as possible.

I walk in the direction of the main entrance to the warehouse and knock on it in a special way, I know it from the time in my life in the clan, a signal we used to warn that a friend is coming. After some time the door moves and I see Pearl who smiles brightly at me and lets me inside.

Terry is lying on the floor, looking pale, but he isn't unconscious. I ignore the dead body covered with a blanket in the corner and kneel next to Terry.

"Good to see you," he says, his wound looks painful but doesn't seem swollen.

"Don't worry I'll live," Terry speaks again as I gently touch his wound, but next hisses in pain.

With the help of Pearl, I managed to pull him on his legs and we slowly walk in the direction of my car. Terry insists that I take his car as well and I agree. It will be better if we tow it and get rid of it somewhere else, definitely not here. I won't be able to tow it back home, it's too far away. It's also too far away and too late to even think about coming back home today.

Going here I've already spotted the motel on the side of the road and that's where I go. I leave Terry there with Pearl and Doggy and go to get rid of Terry's car, dumping it on the outskirts of a forest, destroying the plates, and making sure not to leave inside any traces.

I turn on my phone and call Julius, and later Natasha. Julius screams and Natasha's voice is cold, and I told both of the same lie. That I need to quickly go and meet with someone interested in my art. They both accept my explanation but I'm not sure if they believe me, I guess I will find out when I come back.

As I walk inside the motel's room I see Pearl sleeping soundly with her head on Terry's lap. He is extremely careful not to wake her up when he moves her into the pillow.

I help him properly clean and dress his wound, he takes the painkillers but doesn't want to eat anything.

"Thank you for coming" he finally says as we both sit in the armchairs, as he has finished telling me everything that had happened.

"Do you think there will additional problems now that your existence has been found out?"

"Dylan didn't know from where I had come so I doubt anybody will be able to trace me now, but we can't be sure. My best shield was that nobody had known that I was still alive and now it's over. But the fact that Dylan had a buyer and decided to attack me proves that that buyer wanted to pay a lot."

"And that worries you?" I ask.

"No, I was a killer, I'm sure there are many who wish to see me dead, but I wonder how desperate this buyer is. Will he forget or will try to find me?"

"I made sure to get rid of the car, you got all the ammunition, and..."

But Terry doesn't listen to me, he keeps watching Pearl.

"Danny, if something happens will you be able to help me move girls into Black Moon as quickly as possible?"

I hear the sorrow in his voice and I understand how much he doesn't want to separate from them, but needs to think about their safety the most.

There was a time when Terry was a part of my daily life. After his parents' death when Terry was 15 and I was 3, he and his sister, my adoptive mother, were almost living in our house. My father was hunting a lot during that time and was out of the house almost all the time so Terry was kind of a father model for me. Of course, we had nothing in common, but still, he was the one who gave me all his old toys, took me into the woods or played with me from time to time, and seemed not to be irritated with the fact I was asking for his attention almost all the time.

When Terry was named the next leader of our clan the vibes I got from him were mostly sadness and loneliness. He didn't have anybody. His parents died killed by rogues, and his sister had to run away from the clan after almost getting killed because she had been carrying a werewolf baby, his grandfather saw him only as a tool that should've been used to kill enemies.

Jordan hated him, he used to speak a lot about how proud and full of himself Terry was and yet I only saw a very lonely person, too young to carry responsibilities like the future of the clan. Terry was also the only person in the clan who regularly paid respects at my mother's grave. After her death and my father's downfall, I became the outcast of the clan, other children didn't want to have anything to do with me, and regular visits from Jordan in my house also didn't help. I was a kid afraid of his own shadow, all the time scared and ashamed, and Terry used to notice me from time to time, used to talk with me from time to time and it meant the world to me.

Of course, I understood he was a killer, but I was raised in a hunter's clan, where werewolves were presented only as bloody monsters, ready to kill everybody without mercy, all my neighbors were killers. But for me the most important was that when Terry was near I knew that no one would tease me, my father wouldn't hit me and the fact that Jordan was afraid of him made me feel better. Actually, I wanted to go to Terry and tell him the truth, somehow I was sure that he would be the one to protect me but when I finally almost did it the shame literally choked me and I wasn't able to utter a word.

"Danny" Terry's voice stops me from spacing out "Thank you for saving me and Pearl today, thank you for saving our lives."