Sous packed up her belongings and was ready to go to the teleport station. She looked at her wand that she placed in her bag, shaking her head due to barely using it. Maybe she just needed to accept the fact the wand felt more like a hindrance than anything else.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
Shadow Jr. came down the steps to the bunks below the deck. She clapped her hands. "Alright so you're gonna go to Canas for a bit and then you're gonna meet me in Faelock," the young Alpha said to the older Alpha.
"Yeppers," Sous said, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "I just wanna meet up with someone real quick and then head over to see ma and grandpa."
Shadow Jr. nodded her head and ran back up the steps. Sous sighed and placed her hands on her hips. Going to see Kara back home in Red Woods was going to be risky. But its been years and she was ready. She had no desire to fight anyone, no desire to cause drama. Sous just wanted to see her Omega childhood friend.
"Tsk, aaahhh!" Shadow smiled wide as he drunk the mug. He looked at the golden liquid and glanced at his daughter who came back up the deck, raising an eyebrow. "Where'd to you get this beer?"
"Monica sent it," his daughter answered. He glared at her and puffed out his lips, and titled his head up. "I swear!"
Shadow leaned back in his captain's chair. He hadn't seen Monica since the whole situation with Sous. They spoke to one another telepathy wise but seeing her would make him feel better.
Thud!
Sous slammed her bag on the boat and looked out. "Are we about ready to dock?" She asked.
"Hey, say hi to Monica, will ya?" Shadow said.
Sous twisted her face. "You can literally talk to her with your mind-"
"JUST DO IT, SOUS!"
"Alright, alright, sheesh," she said.
Doureena and Zhiliary sat with one another out on the back patio over looking the beach of Apex's place. Doureena rubbed her chin and popped her neck.
"You will have to banish Kara."
Zhiliary snapped her neck to Doureena. "What?"
"She's a betrayer. And of course, I'm not going to kill my own daughter. I'm not that much of a monster," Doureena exclaimed with a little chuckle.
"But..."
"But what?" Doureena shrugged. "You're mated with eight kids. None of which will be stepping in your footsteps, she significance is little."
"What if I told you that about Monica. Monica is just as much of a betrayer as Kara is. I bet it was Monica who saved Sous, killed those assassin's back then-"
"You haven't any proof."
"DOUREENA! You know its true!" The Alphas paused. She stood up. "That's not fair, for me to banish my Omega and you not yours."
"Monica hasn't any position with the pack to be considered a threat, all past deeds are null."
"Kara has no power-"
"Kara has Sous and you know DAMN well Sous is coming for her." Doureena took Zhiliary by the arms. "We know what the witch said. Let-her-be-with Sous. Send them away and our pack will prosper and grow as long as we do not have contact or take what belongs to Sous," Doureena explained to the younger Alpha.
Zhiliary sighed and nodded her head. "Fine."
Doureena smiled and patted her shoulder. "Good."
Zhiliary stared at the ocean beyond Apex's beach house. The waves crashed with a rhythm that felt like a countdown. She didn't move, didn't speak. Her hands capped where they gripped the patio railing.
The salt air suddenly tasted bitter. Doureena turned and walked back inside without another word, the sliding glass door whispering shut behind her. Zhiliary remained frozen. A gull screamed overhead, sharp and accusing.
The sun warmed her skin, but a cold dread settled deep in her bones. Banishing Kara. It wasn't death, but it was a severing. A tearing away of something precious and old. Her chest tightened, a physical ache blooming beneath her ribs. She watched a crab scuttle sideways across the wet sand, oblivious. The simplicity of its existence felt like a cruel joke.
It was night when Sous found herself back in Red Woods, overlooking the horizon, the place had completely transformed. It was city with lights, millions of people.
She crossed the tracks and saw the wooded area she once played in as a child was demolished, a new apartment complex in its place.
Her house, her shack...gone. There was a stump near one of the complexes. A last reminder of what was of once was of a shack.
Sous sat down, listening to the crickets, seeing no stars because the sky was covered in artificial lights. The sounds and hums of vehicles made her ears twitched. Even with it all, Sous wanted to see Kara.
The Alpha gave herself a small smile thinking of the Omega. She looked behind her shoulder, looking up toward the hills where the Alpha and Omega lived. There was an event that was taking place tomorrow. A wolf event for the whole city. Sous would show up and she would talk to Kara.