赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“What happened to her?” Axel asked, wondering about the bandages and crutches.

“Once she had left the candy, the man that brought her hurried her along,” Saul replied.

‘Holden…’ Axel growled internally. ‘He must have allowed her to say goodbye…before he erased her. What a fucking prince…’

“Why haven’t you ever told me this before?” Axel asked.

“I didn’t know you didn’t remember, nor did I see a reason to share the story.”

Axel nodded, why would he think to share it? It was just a sweet moment between two injured children. An innocent moment. Knowing wouldn’t have changed the fact that his memory was blocked. Even if he had been told about the girl that left him a chocolate bar, it wouldn’t have changed anything back then.

Axel took a deep breath.

“To answer your question,” Axel sighed. “The chocolate bar was comforting. I was in pain; my thoughts and feelings were a mess. I was afraid of how others would see me from that point on. I felt very alone. But the chocolate filled me with warmth.”

“Perhaps you and that child were meant to meet. I wonder if you’ve ever come across her again,” Saul mused.

Axel looked away.

‘I need to think about something else right now,’ he thought.

“How has the transition been to the South?” Axel asked.

“Good,” Saul replied, never one to question a change in subject. “Pearl has decided to remain home with our pup until she is ready to attend classes. The move to the south made the decision easier on her. She was concerned about missing her work at the hospital.”

“I know Bell will miss her,” Axel said._.

“Yes, she did let us know that she was unhappy with our decision, while very happy for us as well.”

Axel chuckled.

“Richard reviewed most of the duties and responsibilities he carried out previously, over the people and the land. Some of which I feel we should discuss.”

They reviewed the finer details of the southern lands. The population of Winter was mainly in the north. Less than a quarter of their people lived in the south. But the territory that belonged to Winter was vast and largely uninhabited.

Many of the scouts and patrolmen would take shifts that would last weeks or months at a time in order to survey the entire area and then switch with another team who would take their turn.

Most of the southern territory was mountainous and considered largely uninhabitable. But it did have prime hunting.

Once they had gone over Saul’s concerns about managing such a large area, they spoke about how well the southern wolves had taken to the change in Betas.

“I’ve not had any trouble at this point,” Saul replied. “It hasn’t been long, but I have been welcomed and offered aid. I suspect that many of the wolves felt uncomfortable interacting with Richard and his family after what had happened.

Axel nodded. “Did you take care of what I asked?”

“Yes,” Saul answered.

“How did it go?”

“He was happy to accept the assignment,” Saul said. “And we received word from Alpha Jonas that Richard and his mate had arrived safely and immediately set to work aiding the Bustling Bush wolves in their relocation.”

“Good,” Axel said.

After the execution, Axel had told Richard that he planned to make Saul his Beta. There was no surprise or resentment from Richard, he thanked him for sharing the information directly instead of waiting for the official ceremony to announce it.

Axel had noted the defeated and haunted look in Richard’s eye, and then he had seen the way the other wolves in Winter looked stared at the former Beta.

After a brief investigation of the rest of the family, Axel decided it was best to give Richard an opportunity to aid the pack outside the Winter territory.

He reached out to Jonas, who was happy to accept the help. Stating that the weakness of Richard’s son would help him find strength in his people.

It seemed that Richard was proving Jonas to be correct.

“What about the girls?” Axel asked.

He had grown concerned about Richard’s two daughters and what they might be facing because of their brother’s mistakes.

“The eldest was married to her mate almost two months ago, they have moved to one of the smaller communities in the far north. He is a low-ranking berserker candidate. I approved the transfer myself.”

Axel nodded.

“The younger sister is a skilled archer. She was rising in the ranks of the scouts in the south, but, in recent months, there has been a downward trend in her ability and motivation.”

“She needs to be looked after,” Axel said. “Her brother’s crimes are not her burden to overcome.”

“I agree,” Saul replied. “In that regard, there is something that I would like your opinion on.”

“What is it?”

“I was considering assigning her to a northern scouting party.”

Axel paused mid-sip. He raised his eyes to Saul.

“You want to send her north?” he asked.

Saul nodded.

“To which scouting party?” Axel asked, suspecting he already knew the answer.

Saul lifted his brow.

Axel sighed.

“You want her to join his old team?”

“Actually… no, she wants to join his old team.”

“Why?” Axel asked, leaning forward. “What possible reason could she have to want that?”

“She said that her brother taught her how to shoot, he taught her how to track, and now he has taught her how to suffer. She knows coming to the north is a terrible idea, where she will be judged only as his sister… at first.”

Axel listened carefully.

“She said that staying where she feels comfortable is the surest way for her to become another of his victims.”

‘If you treat it like a weakness, that is how everyone else will see it,’ Alice’s soft voice from his Alpha ceremony whispered in his ear.

He sighed.

“Alright,” Axel said. “But will the scouts accept her? They were betrayed by him as well; they might misplace their blame.”

“About this, she has already spoken with them,” Saul replied.

“Oh?” Axel said.

“It is because they were betrayed that they will accept her. He used them to escape, it is a shame that they carry every day. And she is one of the few people in all of Winter that can understand how they feel, and they her. Together, they plan to overcome his mistakes, and make their own name more memorable than his.”

“Good,” Axel nodded. “I look forward to seeing them grow.”

Saul nodded in agreement.

“Make the arrangements.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Saul left the room to make a phone call.

***

“You Winter wolves think you are so much better than us!” growled Kayden, the Alpha of Frostbite.

“Keep your voice down,” Saul growled.

“Or what?!” Kayden growled.

Saul growled; Kayden growled.

Axel was getting a headache.

He thought back on the attempts to talk over the past two days. The Frostbite wolves were temperamental, easily agitated and offended. It was challenging to keep them focused on the conversation.

Each time they sat down to talk, he would ask what it was that they wanted, and each time it would lead nowhere.

They complained about Winter’s hold on all the northern territories, about the coldness with which they were received in previous discussions.

He knew they were angry, but they weren’t telling him what they needed no matter how many times or how many ways he asked.

As his father had taught him, he had tried being patient. He had tried listening before speaking. He had tried to flatter and welcome them as his mother would.

He had even considered trying to be as arrogant and all-knowing as Caleb was, but he just found it frustrating to think about.

In the end, he was sitting in this room with Saul and two wolves he didn’t really know or care to know. Everyone was aggravated. Everyone was loud. All he wanted was to get things moving forward.

“Can you all just shut the hell up!” Axel snarled.