Opal walked as fast as she could in an attempt to keep up with her best friend. Keifer was quick, a lot quicker than her, and maybe it was the lycan in him, or his sheer will of force that drove him to new levels of insanity.

"Wait up!" She demanded roughly, but Keifer was already too riled up to be tamed. He was restless, and wanted to do something fun. Something reckless. Something totally against the rules.

Sometimes it was the only thing that kept him sane, his only comfort in life being his ability to break the rules. Rules were meant to be broken, as far as he was concerned. Where was the fun in doing what other people told you to do?

And spending time with Opal brought him peace unlike anything he'd felt. It had been a rough week for Keifer. He hated being the outcast of the pack. People only ever treated him well because he was the Alpha's son. But there were still snide comments, and lingering stares, hushed whispers.

He couldn't stand it. He had to get away at times.

The young lycan trudged through the thick woods quickly, leaving Opal in the dust, which amused him. Today was going to be a good day. A fun day. No more worries or pain. It all faded away when the best friends entered the woods together.

But Keifer was plotting something. Opal knew it. He was heading in a direction that was forbidden.

The cliffs.

They were supposed to stay away from the cliff sides. Especially being that they were young. But everyone was strictly prohibited from going to the cliffs, young or old. It was a rule.

Apparently Keifer was in the mood to break that rule.

It made Opal increasingly nervous as they got closer and closer to the cliffs. She, unlike her partner in crime, didn't want to get into trouble. Instead, she'd rather spend her time studying her nursing with Doctor Melbourne, couped up in their little office.

But she had to admit that she couldn't help herself when it came to spending time with Keifer. He was all she thought of sometimes, which distracted her from her work and studies. Opal has shifted for the first time a couple of years ago. She was 19. She was supposed to be the adult. It made her feel like she was responsible for him.

Her draw to Kiefer was becoming stronger, and she felt that without a doubt they were mates.

"Come on, we're almost there." He encouraged from ahead, looking back at her with a mischievous grin. It robbed her of breath.

Keifer slowed down to let the slow-poke catch up with him. He was excited to show her his recent discovery.

When they finally walked up on the drop off, Opal grabbed Keifer's arm for support. It wasn't an overly tall cliff. Maybe 20 feet or so, which was little in comparison to the others surrounding them. It was covered in plush moss, the rocks trickling droplets of spring water.

Keifer turned to look up at Opal, who was still a few inches taller than him.

"Cool, right? I found it the other day. See that ledge right there?" He pointed to a outcrop of rock a few feet away, and Opal nodded. "It's an easy climb over there. The water collects in this little bowl. I want you to see it."

Opal gulped, the ledge suddenly looking too far away.

But Keifer was already gripping the rock wall as if he'd done it thousands of times before. He made it seem simple.

"I don't know about this..." She hedged, wrapping her arms around herself to offer some semblance of comfort. It was early fall, and a light breeze already lifted the air.

Keifer's lithe, scrawny limbs carried him effortlessly to the ledge, shuffling over rocks and ridges until he landed on two feet. He shifted his blue gaze towards Opal, a grin splitting his face. He raised his arms in triumph, the ledge his new favorite place.

"See? It's fine. Come on over. Trust me." He urged.

Opal did trust Keifer, but this wasn't safe, and she knew it.

She shook her head once, feeling a chill pass over her spine when she looked at the forest floor below. It was too far down for her comfort.

Keife let out a frustrated sigh.

"Opal, come on, don't be a wuss. This was supposed to be fun. You're not trusting me. We're best friends, remember? I won't let anything bad happen to you."

He made a good point, but the pit in Opal's stomach disagreed. She took a few steps forward. She knew she was strong, knew that Keifer made it to the other side easy enough. Why couldn't she?

A part of her demanded that she do it. She didn't want to look weak, she already had enough of that being one of the only werewolves in a lycan pack.

She wanted Keifer to be proud of her. So, without another thought, she reached out and began climbing horizontally across the rock wall. Once her feet left the safe ground, Keifer let out a cheer. It made a smile grow on the young girl's face. She could do this.

Opal started to scoot her body slowly, holding tightly the the rock wall with her trembling fingers. She quickly realized that she had to be extremely careful, the surface was licked with water. It was slippery.

"You got it. You're almost here." Keifer encouraged, but it was in vain. Opal was shaking all over, absolutely terrified as it dawned on her what she got herself into.

She looked over, seeing the kindness and excitement in Keifer's eyes. It gave her strength. She was almost there, he was right.

As she pushed herself over, her hand pressed against a rock that was particularly drenched. It slipped out of her hand easily, slicing her palm in the process. Crying out, she tried to cling to the cliff, but it was too late.

She was falling.

Keifer screamed, but Opal didn't make another noise. The only sound that was heard was her body colliding with the ground. The lycan boy felt sick. He felt terrified.

After she collided with the ground, the silence was suffocating. Keifer couldn't move. He stared at Opal's little body. She was motionless.

Sorrow unlike any other assaulted him. It squeezed his heart. It was pure agony.

He didn't waste another second of time as he started to climb down the cliff side with practiced hands. His heart was racing. Salty tears dripped down his face, making it hard to see or think.

Once his feet hit the ground he was racing to her side. The red blood pouring from her head was terrifying. Keifer choked on a sob, trying to keep himself together.

He was only 16. He should be tough. He should be manly enough to hold back the shameful emotion. But his worries over tears were gone.

The person he loved more than anything was injured, because of him.

She could die. The idea has him crumbling to his knees beside her. He gathered Opal into his arms, his body shaking with sobs of terror and regret. He pushed her short hair out of her face. Her eyes were closed. Her head lulling to the side.

It was a mistake, a mistake he couldn't take back.

She was all he could think about. What had he done?

"O? O, please. Please be okay. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Wake up. Wake up, Opal." He begged, desperate for her to open her eyes and smile at him one last time. He sobbed as she remained too still. It wasn't right.

She looked so small and so pale, blood leaking from her scalp and across her forehead.

Opal was hurt. It was his fault. All his fault.

Keifer screamed into the air, daring to hope that someone would hear, that someone could fix this. Because he knew that he couldn't do anything to make it better.

He was a monster, and he deserved whatever happened to him.

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"What the hell were you thinking, son?"

Alpha Veiler was a terrifying sight when he was angry. 6 feet and 9 inches of muscle and fury that could rip anyone apart in mere seconds. He towered over Keifer as he leaned back on his desk, tree trunk sized arms crossed over his chest.

His red eyes and ragged scars only provided more intimidation to any soul he wanted to see cower before him, begging for mercy.

Keifer was not one of those souls. His dad was freighting, but it wasn't his Father's rage that he feared at the moment.

"Is she okay? Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she's alright." He demanded, tears still blinding him. He was shaking all over, terrified for Opal.

His mate is all he thought about. No amount of pressure or punishment could compare to her safety and well-being.

Cedric Veiler sighed, rubbing his temples. He honestly had no idea how to approach the situation.

Over the years Keifer had grown more reckless. His temper was growing as well. He was constantly snapping at his siblings and his Mother, it was enough to drive Alpha Veiler up the wall.

There were few options left to correct the dangerous behaviors. He was desperate to help his son in any way he could. Even if it meant something drastic.

"Opal will be fine. She's getting stitched up as we speak. Doctor Melbourne is confident she'll pull through, but it was a close call. What were you thinking?"

Keifer was finally able to relax, wiping his tears with the sleeve of his hoodie and sniffling sadly. He hated himself for what happened, he didn't even know if he could speak of it.

"I thought it would be fun. I... I wanted to show her.." He couldn't finish the sentence. The trauma of the morning was overwhelming him.

"You know that the cliffs are forbidden for this exact reason. Do you think that you're somehow above the rules? That I made up restrictions just for fun?" His Father demanded, his harsh voice echoing off the walls of his office.

Keifer shrunk into his chair. This morning, he did think that he was above the rules, and he thought they were useless rules meant to take the fun out of everything.

But, he wouldn't admit that.

He had learned his lesson in the worst way possible. He would never make that same mistake again. Especially when it came to Opal.

The enormous, lycan Alpha ran a hand over his face in frustration. He didn't know how to break the news to his adopted son, especially now of all times. It was clear that Keifer would shift any day now. His first shift would change him in more ways than one. But he couldn't risk having him in the pack for a second longer.

"I'm sending you away, until you can figure out how to control yourself. You could have gotten Opal killed today. I won't let that happen again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir." Keifer murmured, terror coursing through him at the idea of leaving home because of his mistakes.

But, he was willing to do whatever it took to make him better. No matter how long it was, no matter what he had to do, he was more than ready to make up for his mistake.

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If you're reading this, you are brave :)

Double update! Read on👇🏼