THE UNQUIET MORNING

26 FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, DAWN

"Ah, yes... yes... I'm alright... We were just talking." Roy said.

"Ah, as expected from our rogue king." Rogue 2 decided, "We worried for nothing."

"Ruby would be happy. After the massive fail this week." Rogue 1 said.

"What..." Roy looked somewhat stunned and then he growled lowly, "What did those two do this time?"

"We kidnapped a rogue pup for ransom..." Rogue 1 said, "Don't you remember, Roy?"

"Why would I remember? I was never told!" Roy fumed, "I told those two to lie low!"

"Oh." Rogue 2 said, "I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to kidnap pups."

"Why did you think?" Roy was furious now.

"Chill, Roy! I just thought we were really cash strapped or something." Rogue 1 said.

Roy groaned and rubbed his temple, "Where's Carl?"

Maybe Carl was the intelligent one.

"Dead." Rogue 1 shrugged, "Dale, F***er, and San too. All dead."

"WHAT? HOW?" Roy sounded panicked now.

"The trees jumped them." Rogue 1 said with a grin. He sounded quite proud of himself.

"The what? Why?" Roy sounded exasperated, "Were you guys smoking again?"

"No, no, no!" Rogue 2 protested, "Not us."

"Maybe just F***er though." Rogue 1 admitted.

Suddenly the door slammed opened again, "What is going on here? You fools! I told you not to disturb the king!"

It was Beta Lorent in the flesh - or at least in the decaying flesh. Ruby stepped out from behind him, her smile was like...The sight of it was like... urgh... You know I was never good with horror movies right?

I woke up, jolted awake by the icy fear that shot through my being. My hair flared and zinged metallic, my wolf ears popped out in alarm, I was quite sure my fear shot through more than one mindlink too. I grasped out for something, anything, and felt the crisp cool sheets. The other things, the tin box of love letters, the small leather pouch, the rolled up map, the book, and the crystal key rolled over the top of my bed.

I was so freaked out by the sight of those two zombified wolves, I didn't even scream. I was quite sure the air left my mouth, but it had come out as a gasp.

I covered my eyes trying to unsee what I had just seen.

These were the times that I wished I had human vision. Maybe then I wouldn't have seen so clearly, the blotchy colors of grays and purples on Beta Lorent's face, or how one of his eyeball bulged like it might pop out of its socket - just one. The other one looked okay, if you ignored the bluish grey eyelids. The skin around his mouth looked weird too, like he had pasted it on himself and it didn't fit quite right. His nails were purple too. Thank goddess that like all Lorent gentlemen, even with one foot in the grave, Beta Lorent was wearing a full suit, so I couldn't see much else.

Ruby looked better preserved, but it could've just been the make up. I had to purposely ignore the scar that went around her neck like a angry dark red necklace. Just remembering it made me feel like it was hard to swallow. The scar ran sort of at an angle, so I suppose the executioner didn't cut it perpendicular to the ground, but he did use a very sharp sword.

The thin lines of white scars were still present all over body, her slender arms being proof. She still wore red lipstick and nail polish, but I think it was the way her skin around the eyes looked loose, or her eyes were bloodshot, or the fact that her general coloring was an unnatural pallor even under the make up. Wearing red lipstick and revealing clothes did not help.

At least I couldn't smell them, so it did still feel a little like a horror movie, a 3D horror movie, but safely behind the screen of dream travelling.

Urggghhhh... goosebumps! I rubbed my arms and curled up my knees to my chin.

Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Why can't I stop thinking about it?

Grrr... I was the alpha! Alphas weren't supposed to freak out over a couple of zombies. I mean have you watched the movies? I haven't, but I had sat through them and if a bunch to teenage humans could save the world from hordes of zombies, should a powerful alpha like me be able to deal with a couple of crazy undead wolves?

I should have paid more attention to the movies. Maybe I would have picked up a few tricks, or at least not get this freaked out over just making eye contact.

Urghhh... so gross. I just wanted to forget it!

At that moment, my trusty alarm rang, it was time to wake up. For some reason, just at the exact same moment, my door was forcefully kicked opened.

I scary movie screamed. Not my most glorious moment.

In response, Bell rushed in snarling something rude in lycan and dragged me off the bed.

Ki was in the room in a flash, he searched the room and then the sliding doors for signs of trespass.

"What?" Bell growled lowly in my ear. I was pressed so tightly against him, it was not like I could answer. I struggled to break free.

Foot steps stomping up the stairs outside the opened bedroom door, and moments later, Dad storms in like King Kong gone mad. My hair flared up in alarm, "It wasn't me! Whatever it was, I didn't do it!"

It was a reflex response.

Dad stopped there in the middle of the room, "Let go of my daughter."

"Alpha, please let me explain." Ki immediately stepped forward.

Dad held his hand out to ward Ki off and bellowed at Bell, "What did you do to my daughter?"

Mum tumbled in, she had ran in her bedroom slippers, her nightgown wrapped around her, "Dear! Please... wait..."

Bell was growling lowly now, his arms were still around me, but I was able to wriggle around to face my dad now... my Dad who looked like he was about to murder someone.

"Dear, please, lets try to talk it out first." Mum tugged at Dad's arm. Dad growled lowly, without moving.

Wait, why was my dad and Bell suddenly having a standoff in my room?

"Let.go.of.my.daughter." Dad growled.

"Mine." Bell retorted.

Which totally wasn't helping.

"Stop!" I flared. WTH. I had a bad enough time at the Rogue King's place. I seriously didn't need this.

Harvey, Ben, and Beta Lucas were at the door by now. I could sense my other wolves outside at the waiting area. I knew I accidentally triggered a few mindlinks in my fear earlier - but not this many! But given the growling and alpha bombing happening right now, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the hoo haa generated in the house.

I wriggled out of Bell's arms, "I'm okay. I just had a nightmare, is all."

"What?" More than one person asked.

"Well, that would explain everything." Ki smiled his usual gentle smile.

"Then explain it!" Dad ordered. Dad was in a super bad mood. I don't remember him being this mad since the time Beta Lucas put me in the tree and forgot which tree.

"Hoo man, it better be a good explanation." Beta Lucas muttered.

Ki explained that he was in Bell's room taking his shift on treating Bell's arm.

"Wait, what happened to Bell's arm now?" I asked, I thought he was getting better? Why did it sound like he needed healing in ungodly hours of the night.

"Well, goddess... it's like this..." Ki hesitated to explain, "Luna Bell seems to be suffering a relapse."

"A what?" How did someone suffer a relapse in losing his arm?

Bell sighed, and pulled his hand out of the sling.

"You can move it!" I gasped.

"Yes, princess, but its like this." Bell showed me.

"Like this" was hard to explain with words. Bell's nails were black like he had painted them in black nail lacquer, which might be quite metro man in itself, but there was also a network of black lines running like veins down his hand. Bell opened his palm, it had black veins drawn all over it, like if you used a permanent marker and decided to draw a maze on your friend while he was sleeping. I squinted at the hand he held up. There was just a trace of black smog in his hand, I almost thought it was the lighting, or a weird shadow, or just my imagination.

"The black curse." Ben recognized it first.

Bell lifted a brow at me, as if waiting for my reaction. What? Was he expecting me to scary scream over something like that? I mean, yes, it was weird to have a webbing of black curse growing under your skin, but the black nails was actually pretty cool (I should ask Savy to do my nails in black next time we have a manicure session). And Bell was in only his joggers with his hair in its natural wild array... which I suddenly noticed was pretty hot.

{Powerful. I like. ~ ❤️ } Boo informed me appreciatively. Yeah, Boo was power hungry like that.

"What is the curse?" Dad asked, and then he sighed, "Someone report. What is going on here?"

So Ki had no choice but to report about Bell's brush with the curse at the Vampire's hidden lair, and how the curse was now in Bell's arm, constantly trying to invade the rest of Bell's body. Bell had planned to cut off his arm again (with Ki's help), when I had suddenly jolted a cold fear down our mating bond, and the beta links, and to my family too, apparently.

Naturally, it caused all off them to rush to my rescue.

Mum had to stop Savy and send her to watch over Sabre. Beta Lucas was awoken by Ben running out of the house and slamming EVERY.SINGLE.DOOR. And then, he felt Dad's alpha dominance and came up "to assist". Harvey was staying over in his room here, he had just woken up to start his day when my SOS was received... well, that was a nice way to put it.

Just say your wimpy alpha freaked out over the mindlinks like a scardy cat.

The others just came over to see what the commotion was about.

Dad raised his hand to stop everyone from talking, because by then, everyone including the ones outside was taking turns to tell their sides of the story. I could hear a lot of sound effects from EJ.

"What else are you not telling me?" Dad wanted to know.

There was a pause. And then Harvey turned to the wolves outside and said one word, "Leave."

"Yes, Beta!" The wolves stomped at attention, and then filed out. I shuffled my feet as I waited for their footsteps to fade. Harvey shut the bedroom door. Now it was just Mum, Dad, Beta Lucas, my three betas, Bell and me.

"What would you like to know first, Alpha?" Ki asked with his gentlest smile.

"What have you youngsters been up to?" Dad sighed and pointed at Bell's arm, "Let's start with that. Tell me exactly how you got that."

So now Ki was forced to elaborate on the vampire princess, and Bell carrying her off to Lord Edward's Ciara Coven, and Bell's hand in the mess at the Black Packlands right now.

I had to hand it to Dad. He took it pretty calmly.

"And the red packlands?" Dad asked, "How much of it was your doing, son?"

Bell looked my dad straight in the eyes, "All of it."

"I see." Dad sat down heavily at my dresser, facing all of us.

Another silence as Dad pondered. I shuffled my foot a little. It wasn't me - this was all on Bell, so why did I feel like I was partly to blame?

Bell on the other hand only shrugged and looked completely unbothered. He reached out his cursed hand towards me with a smirk, "Are you really not afraid of this?"

This made me laugh. I probably shouldn't have laughed in his face, maybe I should've been more tactful, pretended to be scared or something, but at the moment, I simply reacted honestly, "Please! Have you seen your uncle?"

Now dad looked up alarmed, "What did you say?"

Wait! Your "son" just got his arm irrevocably cursed, put two colored packlands in a state of emergency, and all you did was sit down and said "I see."

Meanwhile, I just make one remark and you act like I said the whole world was going to end?

"Sam, what did you do now?" Dad stood up again.

Dad was being unfair! I flared and shook my head.

"Sam..." Dad's tone took a warning edge.

I folded my arms and sulked. Dad was over-reacting again, but he wasn't the only one.

"Did my uncle come here?" Bell demanded.

"What?" Dad bombed alpha dominance. Bell bombed back, because when one male alpha bombed, every other male alpha had to bomb dominance to exert their authority too. Stooopid male alpha dominance.

"Oh!" Mum said, and pressed herself closer to Dad.

Dad seemed to realize he was suffocating everyone with his suppression and took a deep breath to calm himself, "Sam, we've checked Beta Lorent's grave. The ground had been tempered with. This is important. If you know something, you need to tell us."

Oh, right! I suddenly remembered, "Roy! Dad! I found Roy!"

And to my betas I announced, "And I know how to make River's secret mission work out now!"

I thought they'd be happy about the good news, but they just froze there like they've just seen a ghost or something. Hahahaha.

{So fun} Boo quite enjoyed scaring the s*** out of the ones she loved.