Tyson

"Alpha, I honestly think you need to consider the greater good here. If you don't believe us, visit us next week after he's changed. You'll see that we're right. We have more than one prophet who has seen his significance and Alpha Daniel has already joined our side," I sit quietly, like usual, as Brayden explains to Alpha Paxton that helping us defeat my brother is in his best interest.

For what has to be at least the hundredth time tonight, Alpha Paxton's purple eyes scan me up and down, his face skeptical.

"Alpha Daniel?" his accent is gentle and formal, intimidating me slightly less than Daniel's. Brayden nods at his question. "And he's told you this?"

"Yes, he helped us find him," he gestures towards me.

We arrived in the Valentene Pack only an hour ago and I have to say, I'm not a fan. Brayden said it would be hot, but after the Obsidian Pack, I didn't think it could be any hotter. But instead of a sticky heat, like that of the Obsidian Pack, it's all dry. Brayden spoke on the way over of how the seasons change here, but I can't imagine it being cold enough for snow to fall.

I've never seen snow, but I hear the Malignity Pack is covered in it, being up in the mountains that surround half of the Obsidian Pack. No wonder Caine has had so much trouble keeping my brother out.

After experiencing the heat of the packs, which at times is hotter than Hawaii ever got, I think I'll be okay with the cold plush snow surrounding me.

"Who are the prophets speaking of him as an Alpha?" Paxton questions everything we tell him, but I would, too.

"One is of the Whitefire Pack, a man Daniel sent overseas to Hawaii for business with the humans. The other is my Luna, a gifted prophet if I do say so myself," Brayden speaks proudly of Amira, and it's obvious how close they are. I can't believe it doesn't drive Caine up the wall.

"I didn't know Caine had marked his mate," Paxton leans back in his desk chair.

"The specifics are irrelevant," Brayden tries to overlook the detail that Caine in fact hasn't marked Amira yet. Paxton returns the statement with an annoyed look.

"Not one for words, are you?" Paxton turns his attention to me and I immediately sit up straighter, a habit I found myself doing whenever I'm in Caine's presence.

"I have words when they're needed," I say and Alpha Paxton, once again, looks me up and down.

"Question is, do you believe the pen is mightier than the sword?"

"Depends on the situation," I hear Brayden huff next to me, indicating that I gave the wrong answer.

"What do you mean by that?" Paxton further questions me. I glance at Brayden, but he is looking at his fumbling hands.

"Some people don't respect words, and with those people other measures need to be used. You can't teach a man anything, you can only help them find it within themselves. Some people don't want to find it," Paxton takes in my words with a knowing look on his face. His tense posture relaxes.

"You're one for literature?"

"I've had some time on my hands," I reply. Brayden glances up at me, shocked, letting Paxton and I converse without intervening.

"Let me ask you this, then. Is war not a cowardly escape from the problems of peace?" His question makes me word my response carefully.

"War is what happens when language fails," I say, sitting up a little straighter. "The Obsidian Pack no longer has peace because of what my brother has done. For years Alpha Elijah has worked at peace with them, but has failed. Caine is taking necessary action, because, for Trenton, language has failed."

Paxton squints at me, tearing apart my response in his head. Brayden remains silent next to me, hoping that whatever I'm saying will work.

"Profit is sweet, isn't it? Even if it does come from deception," he still doesn't believe what we are saying.

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions," I state. Paxton is quiet again for a few minutes.

"Well, you certainly have me intrigued," he raises an eyebrow and stares at me. I somehow stay straight-faced under his intense gaze. "You can inform Alpha Caine that I will be stopping in sometime next week to witness the truth of your statements for myself. Until then, consider me a possibility," he sticks his hand out and I reach across the desk to firmly shake it. Brayden does the same after me.

"Thank you, Alpha," Brayden says.

"Don't be thanking me yet. I'll see you in a week."

Brayden speaks to me the instant we are back in the car and on the road back to the Obsidian Pack.

"What the hell was that?" I just shrug.

"I could tell he was one for literature, so I used it to my advantage," he chuckles at my response.

"You'll do fine as an Alpha, kid."

**************************************

Amira

I giggle again as Caine nuzzles his nose even further into my next. His arms pull me closer to his bare chest and I can feel the heat radiating off of his skin onto my own.

"Caine, stop!" I push out through my laughter. For some reason he thinks it's okay to blow raspberries all over my skin as if I'm a child. Unfortunately for me I'm so ticklish that I can't tell him to stop in a serious tone.

A knock on the door pulls him out of it and he quickly gets up with a blanket around his waist to answer it. He hides his body behind the door and sticks his head through the crack.

I hear a light elderly voice float through the door, "Pardon my interruption, sir, but I thought you might like to know that the Beta has returned."

"Thank you, I'll be down shortly," Caine thanks her and shuts the door before turning to me. "We've been in here for two days?"

"Oh my goodness, you make us sound like animals," I roll my eyes.

"We are animals, sweetheart," he winks and positions himself hovering over me on the bed. His lips dip to peck my mark yet again.

"Caine...."

"Hmm?" he doesn't remove his lips from my neck as his voice mumbles against my skin.

"Caine! Come on," I giggle as I shove him off of me. I stand from the bed, clutching a sheet around my body. "I'm going to go shower, you should go meet Brayden."

"How about I help you shower instead?" the sheet trails dangerously close to the bottom of his hips as he props himself on his elbow, still sprawled across the massive bed.

"I think I can handle it, thank you!" I shut the door on his offended face with a smirk and turn towards the mirror.

Releasing one hand from the sheet, I graze my fingers across the mark on my neck. It is barely noticeable in the dark, but as I move, the light from the bathroom makes it shimmer a pearlescent blue, revealing the symbol of a bow and arrow. The symbol of the Moon Goddess's Hunter.

My gaze floats up to my eyes. As I stare myself down, I admire the shards of broken glass in them. They now match those of my mate, icy blue, to signify my power and rank, and I'm obsessed.

I gawk at my new mark with a large smile on my face for a little while longer before I finally jump in the shower.

A few shorter minutes later I skip down the stairs and hear Brayden speaking in the kitchen. I turn the corner and, to my surprise, see Caine standing by the stove with a spatula in hand as Brayden and Tyson sit at the counter across from him.

"Brayden!" I walk over and give him a hug.

"Hey, fireball," he pulls me in for a tight embrace. "Woah," his fingers push my hair to the side, "What'd I miss?" He smirks at me as he examines my new mark. I lightly bat his arm and make my way over to Caine to see what he's cooking. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in to place a kiss on my temple.

"Hungry?"

"Very," I answer and move to take a seat next to Brayden.

"Wonder why that could be," Brayden smirks and I glare at him. "Come on, Amira, the whole house practically reeks of sex."

"Shut up!"

"Brayden," Caine warns, and I can hear the authority in his voice. Brayden just rolls his eyes. "How'd it go with Paxton?"

"He's stopping in next week to see the 'new and improved' Tyson, but I think we got him," Brayden uses his fingers to pick some of the scrambled egg out of the bowl that Caine set in front of us.

"We think I got him," Tyson makes it clear that Brayden obviously wasn't any help in the Valentene Pack.

"Oh yeah, Amira, did you know Tyson is a nerd? Just like you except a secret nerd," Brayden speaks with a full mouth and Tyson sends him a look that could kill.

"Just because I appreciate literature doesn't mean I'm a nerd. I think some reading would do you good," Tyson earns a chuckle from Caine with his statement.

"Speaking of changing," Caine changes the subject, "Are you ready for tomorrow night?"

"No," Tyson replies, "but will I ever be?"

**************************************

CREDIT:

"The pen is mightier than the sword." -Edward Bulwer-Lytton

"You can't teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself." -Galileo

"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace." -Thomas Mann

"War is what happens when language fails." -Margaret Atwood

"Profit is sweet, even if it comes from deception." -Sophocles

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." -Leonardo daVinci