I can’t resist writing a chapter for this :P Okay, to my friend who told me she’s been dying for an update (Hi Calla, you know who you are), I’m updating it.  Particularly because I just finished Snakeroot and I’m having serious Ren feels. Enjoy!

Chapter Quote:
“Oh my gods!  My innocence!”
~Connor
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Chapter 13: River Run Rose

Ren 

He could see them.

Sitting at the top of a ridge, peering behind a rock, he could see them.  Arya, Neville, and Ansel.  The latter two’s presence didn’t surprise him.  This was their territory.  They belonged here.  Arya’s presence did surprise him.  How had she found him?  He’d been careful not to let her know where he was.  It was for her benefit and safety.  She didn’t know what he was doing; Arya didn’t know he’d disappeared for her.

His thoughts were broken by Neville letting out a massive howl, calling not only his pack, but Arya’s as well.  Calla’s pack responded first.  A few seconds later, Arya’s pack answered.  Ren shivered, and not from the cold.  He ached to be with his family again.  His new one, that is.  He wanted to romp around and play with his pack, he wanted to kiss his fiancée, he wanted to be with them.

But he had a job he had to finish.

A single howl echoed through his head, making him involuntarily whine.  Arya was calling out to him, begging him to come back.  Ren couldn’t stop himself.  He answered, trying to convey everything to her, that he missed her, loved her, and that she needed to stay away.  He saw Arya shift from wolf to human form and slump down to the ground.  Ren didn’t need to be next to her to know that she was on the verge of crying if she wasn’t already.

Shifting forms himself, Ren hit the rock next to him out of frustration.  He just had this one last job to do.  Then he could get done with this.  His “boss” had told him he’d be able to go back to his pack after doing all the recruiting, but Ren knew better.  He knew when people were lying.  He knew he’d end up dead.

Ren stalked back down the mountain, away from his pack.  He entered the cabin he was staying in.  It used to belong to one of his old professors, the one who had started talking about a forbidden author.  Ren had never seen the guy again, and no one was living in the guy’s house, so Ren made use of it.  Unfortunately, Ren wasn’t the only one living there.

“She found you,” a voice commented.  Holding back a growl, Ren turned around to face the person.  Lumine smiled at him. “I told you not to underestimate her.”

“I didn’t.  I don’t know how she found me.  I haven’t talked to her since I left.  I’ve done everything you asked me to.  I’m about to recruit the last person.  After that, I’m done.  You give me what we agreed upon, and I go with them.”

“I remember, Renier.”

“Arya won’t find me.”

“Don’t underestimate her.”

“Don’t underestimate me.”

Lumine raised one of perfectly manicured eyebrows. “We’ll see.”
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Shiloh 

As Shiloh and the pack were running to find Arya, he heard his alpha howl.  A heartbroken, pleading howl.

Then he heard his other alpha reply.  The alpha they’d been searching for.  For the first time in the two months they’d been looking, the Lightwood pack knew for a fact that Ren was in the area, and nearby too.  Finally they could reach him, even if his howl warned them to stay away.  Why Ren wanted the Lightwood pack to stay away, Shiloh didn’t know, but he didn’t care.  He was done watching Arya be miserable.  Ren would be found.  There was no other option.

“Arya!” Shiloh shouted, skidding to a stop in front of his alpha.  She was sitting on the ground, leaning against a giant Ponderosa tree.  She looked like she’d been punched in the gut.

“She’s been like this ever since he howled,” a guy said.  Shiloh looked up.  From what he remembered, the guy’s name was Neville.

“He’s here, Shi.  He’s actually here,” Arya murmured.

“Yeah, I know.  And we’re going to find him, okay?” he assured.

“He doesn’t want to be found.”

“He doesn’t have a choice.” She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips.

“What the hell is going on here?” Calla demanded.  The Nightshade pack, along with four other people, had arrived.  Mason had gone up to Neville and taken his hand.  Sabine appeared ashen.

“Ren is here, and we need to find him,” Ansel said boldly.

“What the hell are you doing with them?  Both of you, I want an answer!” Calla ordered.

“He’s my old alpha.  I want to find him and since Arya has a better idea of where he is and where he’s going to be, I decided to join her.  Ansel saw me leaving, and he wanted to come,” Neville informed.

“If it helps, I was wary to let them help without your permission,” Arya remarked, standing up with the help of Shiloh.

“Why was Ren warning you to stay away?  Doesn’t sound like a lover’s message to me,” Call snarled.

“Okay, enough with the bitch attitude.  Whether you like it or not, I’m searching for him and that requires me to be in your territory.  And you know, if I had another wolf in my territory, I’d be wanting to know why he’s here.  You know why we’re here, but why is he here?  Like it or not, we have a common goal, and that’s to find out why Ren is here.  We can either join forces and create a super pack, or you can get the hell out of my way until I find my fiancé.  What’s it going to be Tor?  And for the record, I’ll take any of your pack who wants to help me find him.  I don’t discriminate just because of his relationship with you and them.” Arya stared at Calla unwaveringly.

“Count me in.  I might be human, but I still love Ren, and I want to help him,” Sabine declared, moving over to Arya’s side.

“I go where she goes,” Ethan said, following her.

“So whipped,” Connor remarked.

“That’s my brother.  We’re going,” Adne stated, grabbing Connor’s hand and dragging him next to Arya.

“Sorry Cal, but he’s my old alpha.  I have a lot of questions for him.  I have to find him,” Neville said, going to next to Shiloh.

“I’m not letting him go alone.  I’m helping.  Sorry Calla,” Mason apologized, standing next to Neville and taking his hand.  Everyone stared at the four remaining Nightshade members, waiting for their decision.

“Just remember you’re not the only alpha making the decisions,” Calla warned. “We’ll help.”

“Thank you.  So we-”

“Melinda!” Taki shouted.  Everyone whirled around to find the Lightwood omega on her knees, head in her hands.

“What the-” Shay began.

Arya shoved past everyone to get to Melinda; she dropped to her knees and put a reassuring hand on the omega’s back.  For two minutes, this went on before the omega, still trembling, looked up.

“This is bad.  Really, really, bad…” Melinda mumbled.

“What happened?  What did you see?” Arya asked softly.

“Lumine.  Ren is obeying Lumine.  He’s recruiting people but I don’t know what for.  He’s doing it for a trade of some sort.  I think he’s recruiting people in order to rescue people.  She said a name.  I can’t remember what it was.”

“Try Melinda.  We need as much information as can.”

“Um, okay… I think it was Lauren or-or Larran or-”

“Loren?” Arya whispered.

“That’s it!  Loren!  Do you know the name?” Melinda queried.

Shiloh watched as the color quickly drained from his alpha’s face.  He knelt down next to her. “The name means something to you, doesn’t it?” he said.

Arya stood up, expressionless. “War.  I’m declaring war on Lumine.  We find her location, we hunt her down.  She is not going to get out of this alive, and I’ll be the one to kill her.”

“I’ve been itching for battle.  Let’s do this!” Connor agreed excitedly.

“Wait, what’s so important about this Loren person though?” Shay interjected.

Arya grimaced. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out myself.”
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Anyone surprised?  I hope so.  Review! :)