The Rejected Alpha's Vengeance

[JER]

"I don't even know what I'll tell her when she wakes up, or even if she ever wakes up. How do I tell the woman I love that I failed her a second time? How do I tell her that it will be okay even if we don't have pups, when her womb was ripped from her?

"Where do I even start, Elodie?" Jer asked, his head in his arms as he tried to think. But would it give him any relief?

The war had just begun and it was alone so long that life would probably lose meaning in the process. If Jer started giving up at this point then he would have nothing to fight for when the war ended, that is if he ever made it to the end.

"We shouldn't lose hope. They came and ambushed us, but then they retreated, as if to tell us to prepare our warriors. Now that we know they will be coming, we will be prepared, mentally and physically.

"You shouldn't worry too much, Alpha. We will be able to fight back, especially with our warriors," Elodie said confidently.

She knew that it was a battle to the death the next time Hawi and her warriors came, but they had to be hopeful and fight back. This for the Sicario warriors, was a test of their resilience and they had lost on all fronts.

It didn't matter that they were allies and insiders. What mattered was that Sicario was losing, and Elodie was certain Hawi didn't want to lose her home. It was a strange assumption.

If anything, this was Hawi giving them a chance to save their home and rid it of the most incompetent Alpha.

Granted, there was no telling what Hawi wanted, outside of the deaths of everyone who caused her pain either by spectating, or directly participating in it, but Elodie hoped that when this concluded, there would be some hope for them.

"You sound confident in all of this, Kane," Jer said and Elodie just stared at him. She could tell that this was stressing him out, and a stressed Alpha would be a terrible leader for their pack.

Sicario had a reputation to live up to and it was impossible that they let themselves be defeated to a pulp just because of one bad leader. Perhaps there was a different way to do that, right?

"I know our army, Alpha," Elodie said as she walked to sit on the side of the bed where Malika was.

She didn't know what to do to console this man but she knew how to get him back to his fighting spirit. It was more than obvious that the ambush had forgotten him a little fucked up, not to mention the blatant attempted milder of his luna.

Jeremiah Warner was so close to losing his mind and if Hawi and her team just pushed a little more, he wouldn't be able to do anything, as a matter of fact, the Alpha could probably opt for the easy way out.

After all, there was only so much that a broken soul could do in war.

"What does that mean, Kane?" Jer asked.

"We were unable to fight back well, because most of our warriors were busy saving the women and children. We didn't know there was an attack and there were so many vulnerable sock members outside.

"That got us a little screwed because we focused on the innocents instead of fighting to save the pack. Then again, the innocents were saved, so it was a win. However, now that the boundary to the pack house is up, we have no reason to worry.

"Sure, our dead are still sprawled out there but we can always bury them later, even if they would understand. But we will be ready for them next time, even if they choose to attack this morning.

"That won't matter because, after all, they promised they would come back. And knowing Awuor, she will definitely want to keep her word," Elodie said, reminding Jer that her sister may have been an unhinged psycho, but she was the psycho who never forgot promises.

It was a good thing when it came to her family but perilous for her enemies because she wouldn't even think of forgiving them. That much was certain.

Elodie wasn't sure this would work on Jer, the little pep talk, when his wife was hurting in bed. Maybe she was trying to hold onto the impossible but then there was no way for her or Jer to know what to do if they didn't join hands and do the thinking.

Besides, there was only so much they could do with their hands tied.

"The people are angry that we were attacked, and I wasn't around to save them. They watched me beg for my Malika's life and stay behind the doors when they were being slaughtered. How the hell am I even to recover from that?

"How do I explain to them that it wasn't intentional for me to be trapped in the pack house? All of this is confusing and it makes me so angry that that isn't anything I can think of that will make our situation any better," Jer said honestly.

Elodie seemed to be the only one he could talk to about Hawi and the disaster that had happened, without worrying that the warrior could judge him or look at him differently.

Perhaps he was a little too trusting of the woman, but they had history, a long history that revolved around wanting the best for their home. Perhaps that was what Jer was counting on; Elodie's loyalty to her home.

It was a faint hope, given she would be fighting her best friend, but Jer wanted to hope that this time, Elodie wouldn't hesitate to fight, even if it was just for Sicario and not for her wishes.

"Of course, our people are angry. You are our Alpha and you didn't do much to help. I know that's harsh, but it's the truth. The whole tithing could have gone differently but then it's already happened, so there's no point in holding on to a broken past.

"What you need to focus on is the people. They are more important than any council or any ex of ours who wants revenge and even if you might not want to accept it, they are more important than the luna.

"Without the people, Sicario, or even its leadership, would not exist, and there wouldn't be a need to shed blood while fighting for a place that has houses and battlefields. I hope you understand what I'm getting at," Elodie said in the kindest voice she could muster.

Jer looked at Kane in shock, almost like he couldn't believe this was happening. The Elodie he knew could have already tried to fight him and board home roughly for what was happening, but then she hadn't.

Instead, she had been calm, standing by his side like the loyal warrior she was for Sicario. She could have jumped ship when she saw her best friend, but she didn't, and maybe that was also something that got Jer curious.

They had been best of friends and their bond had already passed for sisterhood. It wasn't worth it that anyone could break through, so seeing this happening was strange for Jer, and perhaps he was right to be very suspicious, but what if?

Would it really matter then?

"Did you know she was alive all this time?" Jer asked.

"Are you being serious right now? I'm here, with your wife, instead of being with my parents and family out there and the only thing on your mind is whether I knew the best friend I mourned for three years was alive?

"Would I have mourned her that long if I knew? Would I have let you marry Malika if I knew that he was still alive and could come back to take her place on the Sicario seat? Would I?" Elodie asked, staring at Jer with disbelief in her eyes like she just couldn't believe what Jer was asking of her.

It was supposed to be impossible but then with Jeremiah Warner, impossible was just another way to remind him of the endless sins he could come up with while trying to prove that shit was possible.

He was a goner in so many ways and Elodie knew that. That could also explain the confidence with which she stared accusatorily at him like she hadn't now all this while about her sister.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that everyone was shocked and was shocked by their shock, while you were more focused on fighting for our people and defending our home. It was like she was invisible to you or something," Jer said softly and Elodie sighed.

She never thought the conversation could take this direction, but then she couldn't blame Jer. There were so many things that had happened in a span of very few hours, and they still needed to understand that.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't know. I wasn't even sure how to react, given I was the one who suggested her rejection. If she finds out I told you to reject her, which may have probably triggered her death or something…

"… You definitely won't have to worry about me being a pain in your ass because she will definitely take me out. You know how she is, and she never forgives betrayals," Elodie said earnestly.

Well, her statement wasn't exactly true, but Jer seemed to buy it, because he just got up from where he was sitting and looked out the window, like he was expecting some new revelation or something.

"Please take care of Malika. I'll go to have a chat with the elder before I can meet our people, who knows what's happened to them anyway," Jer said and Elodie nodded in understanding before the Alpha left.

"You're crazy."