Discovered

We met each other's gaze, pure panic and resignment simmering in our pine green eyes. I mean sure, we both knew that he was gonna find out about the dead alpha, and we knew he was going to assume it was us, because whenever anything like this happened, he assumed it was us. Which, to be fair to him, was right most of the time. Still, we hoped I would have healed up at least a little more before he got back and started accusing us.

"Ah shit, here we go again." Gwenna drawled, getting confused looks from both of us as Nate stood up and held out one hand to both of us.

"Right, let's go face the music. If he comes to us he'll be even pissier than usual." He sighed as I reluctantly set my food aside, letting him haul me to my feet and starting to un splint my arm. The bone had started to knit together, so it should heal fine without it, but that hand was going to be out of action for at least a few more hours. Next, I hitched up my shirt and had Gwenna help me unwrap the bandages from around my chest. There was nothing to be done about the stitches; they would dissolve soon, and unpicking them would cause more mess than it would get rid of.

"You say that like he won't be spitting fire anyway." I sighed, linking arms with Gwenna as we all made our way to a whole room at the centre of the ruins where da had set up his temporary headquarters for the camp. We were as quiet as a convict walking to their execution on the way there, especially as his anger rolled down the link and into mine and my twin's head. Gwenna had a link to him too, but she wasn't related by blood and so she didn't feel his emotions unless he was really trying to make her feel it. We arrived at the dark room that smelled of damp and wasn't lit well enough with a growing sense of trepidation and then proceeded to have an argument over the mind link over who would go in first. Unfortunately for Gwenna, myself and my brother were dickheads, and so we caught each others eye, saw the gleam of mischief, and dually decided to grab her by the arms and throw her into the room.

Next came an impromptu wrestling match between the two of us to try and determine who would go in next as betrayal rolled down Gwenna's link in amused waves. Worryingly, there wasn't a peep from da as we carried out our shenanigans, which was very unusual for him. Most of the time we'd at least get a long suffering sigh. Finally, Nate managed to overpower me, helped by my injuries I'd like you to know, and pushed me in.

Oh. This was very not good. Da was stood on the opposite end of the room, watching us with grey eyes that gleamed with anger. His salt and pepper hair looked like he had ran his hands through it again and again, a common habit for all three of us when we were angry. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face as Nate slunk in behind us, half hiding behind Gwenna. Which was laughable, given she was a good foot shorter than him.

"Hi da." I said quietly with a rueful grin, regretting it when he set his blazing gaze on me. I could feel his wolf in the forefront of his mind, angry and afraid because his pups had almost gotten themselves killed. Before my wolf submitted and told him the truth, I dropped my gaze, simply accepting the dominance while reaching through the mind link to Gwenna and Nathan. Mentally, their wolves ducked behind mine, letting me take the brunt of his anger so neither of them would snap and tattle. As the strongest wolf and leader of our little pack, it did fall to me to shield them when needed.

"The Nightstalker alpha is dead." He gritted out, spitting out the pack name like it was the filthiest curse he knew.

"Hey, that's good! Right?" Gwenna piped up, her voice cheery as she fixed her eyes on my father's shoulder, the closest she could get to looking him in the eye without challenging him.

"It would be good, if it wasn't the three of you who had done it." He roared, making us all flinch.

"We didn't." I lied, confirming details of our cover story over the link. He preyed on weakness, one element out of place, and he would tear us apart.

"Oh, you didn't, did you? So it's a coincidence that Gwenna commandeered the laptop for an hour before the alpha died? It's a coincidence that no one saw the two of you in the time span when the alpha was killed? It's a coincidence that two wolves, one black and one white, were seen running from Nightstalker territory in this camp's direction after the murder? Or is it also a coincidence that your bounty, Natalia, has been increased by the new alpha an hour after his father's death?" Well, when he put it like that, I supposed we did sound fairly guilty. Nate had gone deathly quiet, and I could feel Gwenna trying to make up excuses for all of us on the spot, but I knew when to give up the ghost.

"What's my bounty been increased to?" I asked quietly, relieved to see the slightest glimmer of humour in my old man's eyes, though his forehead was furrowed with worry.

"Five million." My eyes felt like they were gonna bug out of my head, mouth agape. Next to me, Gwenna and Nathan were having similar reactions. Bloody hell. My father's bounty had sat comfortably at a million for the past year and a half, and he had killed at least three alphas in his time. For me to kill one alpha and have a bounty that high- granted five million wasn't much at all for the billionaire alphas, but it still seemed a little extreme.

"What?" I croaked after a second, happiness and fear swirling uncomfortably in my gut. I knew I wouldn't get away with killing an alpha with no consequences, but I hadn't expected them to be so... severe.

"Five million. From one hundred and twenty thousand. So don't try and told me you got those injuries scrapping with a regular packling, because I know what you must have done to warrant that much inflation." He told me seriously, wrestling his wolf back under control so I could make eye contact with him. The three of us didn't speak, shocked and cowed into silence. There really wasn't anything to say; even apologising would ring hollow as da knew full well we'd do it again if we got a chance.

"Why would you do that? Put yourself in danger like that? Staying away from Nightstalker is the only thing, the only thing I have ever banned you from doing, and you couldn't even do that." He was right; when we growing up, nothing but trespassing on Nightstalker land being banned. If we wanted to climb trees, or swim in quarries, or explore crumbling ruins or go tombstoning or raid a pack just the three of us, he wouldn't tell us not to. Da had always been a big believed of letting us make and clean up after our own mistakes, no matter how dangerous they might be.

"Can you not understand that there are some things you shouldn't be able to do? You both could have been killed, and now Nat will be hunted like a dog." His voice was dangerously quiet, and I had nothing to say in response. Unfortunately, Nathan did have something to say about it.

"Someone had to avenge mam and Naomi. You weren't going to do it, so-" As soon as he started to say it, I started yelling down the link at him, knowing that prodding at da's exposed nerve like that wouldn't help matters.

"DON'T YOU DARE BLAME THIS ON ME!" He roared, slamming his hand against the table in the middle of the room. Gwenna whined low in her throat, shaking as his wolf steamrollered over hers, and I could feel regret panging from Nate. Da took a long, deep breath, getting himself back under control before he continued.

"You have no idea what I was or was not going to do, and it is not your place to judge me for either. And do you really think that's what either of them would have wanted? Granted, I can't speak for your sister, but this is not what your mother would have wanted. She wouldn't have wanted her children to risk their lives just to avenge her, so don't you dare dishonour her memory by suggesting it." His voice cracked at the mention of his long dead mate, it was the most I had ever heard him speak about her. After a long moment of letting that sink in and a muttered apology from my brother, he sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face, waving his hand.

"Right, go on. Get out of here." We swiftly moved to obey, the atmosphere distinctly uncomfortable, but he called after us. "Actually, wait a moment. I'm not done." We all grimaced and turned back around, none of us going further into the room, not when we'd been so close to escaping.

"First of all, if you ever do anything like that ever again while I'm still in charge around here, the three of you will spend the rest of your lives on latrine duty. Secondly, although I don't approve of what you did... at least you did it well. Good job." The praise was grudging, and undermined by the previous threat, but I appreciated it none the less. I nodded at him and smiled, turning and leaving the dark, poky room with my mini pack at my heels.

"Right, so, we heading into Silsden now? Get supplies for tonight?" Gwenna proposed.

"Sure thing. Let's head back to the den, see how much money we've got and dig out our fake ID's. I can't bloody remember where I put mine, so that should be fun." I muttered. Our den was constructed where a collapsed wall had fallen against the one opposite, creating a cosy but slightly unstable little niche beneath it where we laid our sleeping bags side by side. Despite how cold the nights could drop, we always stayed warm, huddled together like puppies in a litter. We'd run with each other since we first shifted, and that was the sort of bond that allowed you to sleep besides another wolf happily. Now we rummaged through our things, pooling our money with disappointed sighs. A crumpled twenty, two fives, and a large handful of assorted change.

"Well, we'll be able to get some stuff." Gwenna sighed, clearly disappointed. We'd usually drop at least fifty quid at the Aldi nearby, and then use our spoils to get well and truly shit faced, but this would have to do.

"Largest bottle of vodka available and snacks?" I proposed, getting happy nods in return. Even if tonight wouldn't be the level of celebration I felt we had earned, it was our birthday in a week and da usually pulled out all the stops. It would also be the moment of truth for two certain someone's... and me too, I supposed, but I wasn't that worried about finding my mate. I'd never really felt a pull towards anyone in particular, so I didn't have the wildest idea about who it was, but I didn't really care.

Half an hour later we had run as close to the little town as we dared, shifted back into our skins and gotten dressed. Me and Nate were waiting outside as neither of us could find our fake ID's, so Gwenna had been sent inside with a shopping list. The humans walking past us glared, some of them muttering curses in our general direction. They didn't know us; at best they'd seen us around a couple of times, but we looked like gypsies, and so they hated us. Humans were so damn weird. Gypsies were some of the nicest people I've ever met, the only humans who knew of my kind's existent, and they sided with the rogues. So all in all, my favourite people in the world.

While I was uselessly musing and Nate was doing handstands for no apparent reason, Gwenna had finished up the shop and come out, toting three large plastic bags. We both took one and set off, to our own personal party spot.