Chapter 14

Kenzie Hope

Brady and I had been with the boys for a week and a half. They were a wild crew, but they were growing on me and I was beginning to love each and every one of them. They each had their own quirks and it was wonderful. I had learned so much and met so many people that I was beginning to forget about Kaden- almost.

Jordan, who I learned came from a pack in Russia before ditching it for opportunities in the U.S., was becoming like an older brother to me. I learned that he was only close to a select few and he was very informal to them. Those who had joined, what he likes to call, his troop he was decently formal with and even though they weren't an official pack, everyone knew he was willing to risk his life for any one of them.

Apparently, Jordan had taken a liking to me. While he was kind to everyone, he was extra protective of Brady and I. He was even teaching the both of us how to fight. Brady, since he was newly shifted, needed training in wolf form and Jordan was very eager to help him out. Jordan was also very lenient in when we could shift, in fact he had no rules about it at all. Life with Jordan and the guys was very relaxed; it was everything I needed right now.

The guys were pretty cool, too. Generally, the ones we met our first night here weren't around because they were travelers that always made their way back here. There were three main guys that hung out with us and Jordan, they were Harrison, Dylan, and Carter. Each had their own different personality and I was surprised to see that they all got along.

So now, Jordan and I were training while the three of them watched. Brady had gone inside, claiming that 'this wolf shit is fucking exhausting'. Jordan was currently teaching me kicks and I felt like passing out any second. He was having me side kick him in the abs and if he couldn't feel it, I wasn't kicking hard enough. That was complete crap because I was kicking as hard as I possibly could. This guy was made out of metal or something because he didn't even flinch.

Each time I would kick, Dylan would cheer me on, yelling encouraging words and tips. He was so sweet and felt bad that Jordan was kicking my ass without even touching me. Eventually he was my saving grace when he declared that I needed to eat or I was going to die from malnourished. He, then, went to make me a sandwich using last night's leftover turkey.

I plopped myself on the grass, it was went since it rained less than an our ago. And yes, Jordan made us train in the rain. But now, it was hot and sunny- the perfect example of how bipolar Mother Nature is.

"Oh my Goddess, Z, that was hilarious," Harrison said, using my new nickname and tipping his bear bottle towards me. My head hit the ground with a soft thud as I laid down. I flipped Harrison off and he just laughed, enjoying how depleted I was.

"Harrison Michaels! Don't you dare laugh at her, she's had a long day!" Dylan exclaimed as he handed me my sandwich. Dylan sat down next to me and I scooted up to put my head in his lap. Soon Dylan was running his hands through my hair, trying to make me feel better.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to mess with your pup," Harrison replied sarcastically. Dylan ignored the comment while both Jordan and Carter chuckled. While Harrison was right, I was not Dylan's pup, Dylan did act like the mother of all of us. Eventually, when Jordan finds his mate, I'm afraid Dylan might have some trouble letting her be the mother figure.

"Z, I think if you put your hips into your kicks, you'll kick a lot harder," Carter advised after a while.

"I wasn't doing that already?" I asked, wanting to cry from just not getting it. Dylan smoothed back my hair and soothed me.

"Not really, but it's okay, it'll come with time," He commented and then went back to sipping his beer. Carter was more of a laid back people watcher than an active participant and that was okay. He was trustworthy and honest, something that I think really matters in a person.

Jordan excused himself to take a phone call and the rest of us started talking about what we wanted to do for the rest of our day considering it was only three.

"Let's go hunting," Harrison suggested. Dylan, who was still stroking my hair, shook his head.

"I don't think Brady is quite ready for that yet and he'll be heartbroken if you go without him," Dylan responded.

"My dad took me for a hunt the day I first shifted, I say we take him out. Plus, it would be good for this princess to get out," He responded looking at me with understanding eyes.

"I think that's a great idea. If nothing it gets Brady off his ass," I replied with a smirk, ignoring Harrison's last comment. Jordan walked in right after that with a solemn expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Dylan jumped in immediately.

"Man, don't tell me this is going to cancel hunting," Harrison pouted. Jordan shook his head and took a second to respond.

"We can go hunting. Get ready and I'll meet you in the front in ten, I just have to deal with somethings first." At Jordan's words, Harrison fist- bumped Carter and gulped down his beer before running off. Carter chuckled quietly at his best friend before getting up and walking after him. I stood up, as well, and told the boys that I had to go force Brady to get out of bed.

Ten minutes and a lot of complaints out of Brady later, everyone met at the front of the house, the same place that I met Jordan for the first time. There were a group of rouges there now, not the sames ones as the first time, and they were laughing and having a beer together. Jordan asked them to hold down the fort while he was gone and they eagerly shook their heads.

Jordan was the first one to shift, producing a majestic dark brown wolf, who was at least five feet tall. He turned back towards us and nodded at us, indicating he wanted us to shift. Harrison was next, producing a reddish brown wolf that was probably about four and a half feet tall. Immediately following him was Carter, four foot grey wolf with a white belly. I was next to shift into my five and a half foot, cream colored counterpart. Brady followed me, his wolf slightly smaller and darker than mine. Last was Dylan, who was a four foot brown wolf. We were all pretty large considering that the average wolf was in the two foot range, making all of us look intimating as hell.

My wolf was the largest, only beating Jordan's by a few inches, and the strongest by far. My human form may be the weakest, but with Alpha blood running through my veins, I was an unstoppable wolf.

We ran for a while, not finding anything until suddenly Harrison stopped. He motioned with his snout to go into, what he calls, sneak mode. We did as he asked and slowly approached him. When we got there, we saw a medium sized dear. Harrison pushed Brady towards it softly with his snout. Brady was confused for a minute until he realized Harrison was giving him this kill.

A glimmer shot through his ocean eyes before he ducked down and army crawled towards his prey. The rest of us stayed back, hoping he'd be successful. Once he was directly behind the deer, he pounced, jumping on to it's back. The deer tried to run away, but Brady held on. It wasn't the best attempt at catching a deer considering it took him a while to get to it's jugular and finish it, but it worked.

Brady was so proud of himself and the glint in his eyes brought so much happiness to me. I loved seeing Brady happy. It was what made the good days good and the bad days worth it. Brady was my everything- my baby brother.

We ate that deer right there because hunting was exhausting, but the older boys caught quite a few more and I caught two. We decided to be nice and bring them back for the other rouges to eat. It was quite a treat to have a fresh kill. We shifted into human form and carried our catches back to camp. I could only carry one so Brady had to carry my other kill, but the other boys carried two at a time, Jordan even took three. It was a sight to see as he had three deer stacked on his shoulders.

When we got back to camp, it was nearly eight and the rouges shifted quickly and began to eat their late diner. They women thanked us for the nice meal and the men nodded their heads in appreciation. It felt nice to be this wanted. If felt like how being Luna should have felt like.

After dinner, the boys and I sat around the campground with a few beers, Brady, of course, with a root-beer. We were talking and laughing and telling stories when Jordan got another phone call. The conversation went on and Harrison was going off about the time him and Jordan met. Apparently, Jordan had caught Harrison trying to sleep in his office. This was before the hotel was fixes up so Harrison really thought that it was run down. It was a funny story that ended with Harrison getting his ass kicked before they became friends.

Jordan came back from his phone call, but instead of sitting back down, he grabbed my shoulder in a fatherly way. "C'mon, Z," He told me. I didn't think much of it at the time. He lead to his office and sat down behind his desk, telling me this was a serious matter.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my concerns growing by the second. Jordan took a minute to response, he was having an internal battle with himself about the information he was about to share with me, making me even more worried.

"I-" He started but never finished.

"Jordan? What's wrong? You can tell me."

"Who are your parents?" He asked suddenly.

"David and Sarah Hope," I replied cautiously, "Where is this going?"

"David Hope as in heir to the Alpha title of the Moon Rise pack? In Russia?" He questioned harshly.

"Yeah, it is. Why? How do you know that?" I asked slowly and confused.

"Your grandfather is looking for you," He responded. My confusion only double at his answer. I had never met my grandfather before, how does he even know I exist? How does Jordan know my grandfather?

"W-What?" I stuttered. Jordan nodded his head slowly. Thoughts were racing through my mind at what he could possibly want from me. How did he find me? What the fuck was going on?

"He wants to meet you," Jordan told me quietly.

"How does he know who I am?" I asked, more to myself than him.

"I told him." Jordan rubbed his temples in an attempt to get rid of what I could only assume was a massive headache. I could feel one coming on too. Everything I knew about my grandfather was horrible. He had given my dad an ultimatum and then left him to die. For all I cared that man could go suck it.

"What? How? Why? I don't understand."

"Z, Z, listen to me," He started, "We're cousins." His words left my mouth wide open. How? Neither my mom or my dad said anything about siblings. This wasn't possible. I began to shake my head no, everything that I have know starting to be questioned.

"Hey, calm down. Being related to me can't be the worst thing," He laughed.

"How?" I questioned.

"Well, it all started a long time ago. When your dad was like 3, our grandfather had a continuous affair with someone who was not his mate. This hurt grandma really bad and eventually she fell into depression she just couldn't get out of and died not long after. Eventually his mistress got pregnant. Our grandfather kept the affair and the baby a secret from the pack because he was scared he would lose power because of it. He kept his mistress and the baby close by and told your dad that it was to keep them safe, which is was, but it wasn't the whole truth.

"Our parents were raised as siblings, but our grandfather constantly reminded them that they weren't siblings and to think of each other more like siblings. When your dad found his mate, he was exiled. It was hoped that my mom would find a strong man to be the next Alpha and all would be well. But a week after my parents found each other, my dad died in battle. My mom found out she was pregnant a while afterwards.

"Our grandfather then went crazy and my mom left for the states in hopes of finding your dad, but when she eventually did, it was too late and I was already born. It was a few years ago, maybe two or three, that she found out that your parents had died. She was too heartbroken to contact you and your brother. She ended up calling our grandfather and going back to tell him the news. I didn't want to go because I had a troop to take care of so I stayed here. She told our grandfather about me, but not you guys.

"He wanted me to take the title but I have my people here and I can't leave them. A few weeks ago she told him about you and your brother. I guess then that he tried to call your old pack, but you had already left. Then, a day later you stumbled into my troop. I didn't know it was you at first, but after spending time with you, it's very apparent."

Oh my Goddess, what the actual fuck?

"No fucking way," I told him, shaking my head.

"It's true," He replied, "I can go with you to meet him if you would like?"

I didn't know what to say. He abandoned my dad and, in turn, abandoned Brady and I. At the same time, he was my grandfather, the only living part of my father.

"Not right now," I told him quietly, unsure of what to do.

"You know, Z," He paused, "He use to be a really bad guy, a real shit."

I laughed, "Obviously, Jordan."

"He's gotten better. He understands he fucked up-"

"Majorly."

"I don't condone his actions, what he did was horrible, but he's trying to make it better," He continued. Jordan grabbed my hands and rubbed his thumbs in circles on the back of my hand. "What's the worst thing that could happen, Z? He says something messed up and you kick his ass like you did my men?"

I laughed again, "Kick his ass? He's an Alpha, J."

"An old Alpha. Old man Hope isn't going to last much longer. One of those infamous Kenzie glares and he'll be done for," He smirked and let go of my hands before going serious.

I took a minute to digest his words. This was suppose to be my legacy, my father's legacy. I should have been preparing to take this position my whole life. Now this guy needs someone to help him? After all the shit he caused?

"I suppose," I smiled and then sighed, "Can I just have some time to think about it? I don't know if I want to meet him, let alone become his successor."

"One of us has to. To be honest with you, Z, his pack isn't in great shape," He explained.

"What do you mean?" I inquired. As horrible as it sounds, I don't want to rule a broken pack. I have no loyalty to them and they have none to me. To walk into a broken pack and expect their loyalty and respect sounds like a death sentence.

"Since old man Hope is, well, old, the Beta has been taking control and he's not a good man. Any punishment is a death sentence," He informed with a low whistle. "Once Hope dies, the Beta will take over if one of us don't intervene."

"As selfish as this sounds, is that such a horrible thing?" I asked, "If we get your mom out of there, there's no reason for us to intervene."

Jordan sighed and paused, "I use to think that too. I don't anymore."

"Why?"

"If Beta Eric Maxwell takes over, it would be disastrous. He already has a plan to take over all the European packs, and it wouldn't be hard since they're all weak anyway. After he has them, America is next on his bucket list."

Jordan rubbed his temples in thought and his eyes closed. Opening his drawer, he pulled out a manila folder and opened it in front of me.

"This is everything I know," He said passing the folder to me. I scanned through the documents inside. There was quite a bit of them and I knew it would take me a while to get through them.

"Can I take some time to go through this? Then get back to you?" I asked.

Jordan nodded his head slowly before speaking, "It's your decision, Kenzie. It's a loaded question and I would understand either choice you choose. Just remember, no matter what you decide, there's always room here in my troop for you."

I felt myself tear up as both Jordan and I stood up. Jordan wrapped me up in his brotherly arms, hoping to comfort me.

"Thank you," I whispered.