reign reyna

He hadn’t had a cigarette in two years, but hey–this seemed like the perfect opportunity to start back up again.

“i told you.” walking up with her hands behind her back, not wanting to start any trouble. she knew that one of her former pack members murdered a jasper, it was well known throughout the packs by now. she dealt with ignacio, the evidence still resting above her eyebrow. a speck of dried blood she had neglected. her eyes fell upon the open box of cigarettes, shaking her head. "i know me and you have our differences, but i want you to know...ignacio has been taken care of...if blood is what you are after."

these types of events always left rose feeling uneasy. despite being an alpha, she wasn’t a psychic. she couldn’t predict when something like this would happen again. && the tension between packs wasn’t helping this problem. she needed to get away from it all. just for a second. which is how she ended up sitting alone in this coffee shop. laptop open with an article about lilah mcpherson’s death. 

“so, she lives.” her hand rested on the back of the other alpha’s chair. eyes stared down at rosalina. a smirk played on her lips as she sat down. using the tip of her acrylic finger nail, she closed the laptop. “let’s talk.”

"i guess." her hands folded into each others. "no one understands. the difficulty of being an alpha." she whispered under her breath, yet still audible to olivia's ears.

she wasn’t sure whether or not she believed reyna, but she certainly wanted to. adelaide knew she was supposed to be angry, that she should cast reyna aside, and tell her to take a long walk off of a short pier, but she didn’t. it was clear to her that the woman before her wasn’t her enemy, not really. reyna had saved her life the night before, so maybe they weren’t all as awful as she made them out to be. “he was a friend,” she said after a while, “a good—good friend. family.” shaking her head, she cleared her thoughts, continuing, “well, hunters are seemingly everyone’s problem now. they’re calling in the tylers… they’re wolf hunters.”

"and i understand that. it was not my intention for any of this to happen. like i said, ignacio will repay his wrong doing." she looked down for a second, eyes glued to the ground below as she thought of the next thing to say. she knew that addy could up and leave at any second, regret their friendship, and go back to the distrust. but reyna needed her to know, nearly pleading. reyna was not her enemy. she never was. they had a bigger fish to fry, the fish being the tylers. they were going to come in groups, in their own packs ready to destroy each and every wolf until answers were given. "i know. we're going to protect our packs."

titus snorted as he neared his sister. “i hope those are rhetorical questions,” he laughed, waltzing towards her with his hands in his pockets. “of course i’m not going to do any of that. why would i? i mean… i never even liked ignacio. swear he ate the last cheese-its that one time.” wrapping an arm around his sister’s shoulder, he made a note to make sure she felt at ease. he could understand that being an alpha, unable to please everybody, wasn’t an easy task — especially with their pack. frankly, she was doing a much better job than he ever could. titus didn’t really give a fuck what anyone else thought. “you good?” he asked.

"i'm fine." she began, her eyes looking over her brother before shaking her head. he would never understand, the dificulty of being an alpha in a pack such as crimson. with strong personalities, learning pups, and complicated pack members, the stress was beginning to get to her. but of course, she would never say that. she needed her second hand, needed her second in command. she was no where to be found. "this isn't about ignacio. stop talking about him. he was a weak link, our one way ticket to seeing death himself. i don't have time. either you're here to give me information or you go find your girl and make sure she doesn't end up in the same FATE."

“no.” she said, her tone oddly matter of fact. adelaide touched her shoulder, the bandages around her wound making it sting as it stretched under her hand. she approached reyna, folding her arms in front of her, “what happened? why’d he do it?” her questions weren’t loaded, nor were they targeted as some sort of attack; but her heart ached for ivan, a member of her pack, someone she had grown to know as family. “you guys weren’t supposed to show up and start offing us.”

“come on, addy. you know i had nothing to do with that. after i killed my father, i changed the rules. humans were not our targets. the only humans that are worthy to succumb under our wrath are hunters. ignacio will be dealt with by me in a timely manner.” she whispered, hoping others wouldn’t hear. “i’m sorry for what happened to ivan, that was not my intention to have him killed. he was a nice boy, even to those he wasn’t supposed to be nice to. i know his only duty was to protect.”

she wished he would run, take her warnings and run—but she also knew he would never survive it. she was in a deadly state, he was the prey and she was predator, ready to strike at any given moment. reyna wasn’t going to stop her—why would she? the crimson pack believed in violence, that’s why she would never cut it as one. this wasn’t her, doing it would damage her beyond repair, and she knew it; but she didn’t stop. she couldn’t. eyeing him, she could even see the beds of sweat drain his face. his fear radiated off of him like light, and she could see right through him. don’t make any sudden movements, she thought. i’ll kill you if you do. she wished he could hear her, see that she didn’t want to harm him, not really. but he didn’t, he was too human, too proud. as he took a step back, crunching another branch under his foot, adelaide blacked out, and for all intents and purposes—she lunged.

no. --- the only word she could completely think of upon seeing adelaide finally lunge. she knew jumping in would not only hurt her chances of survival, but possibly adelaide’s. standing back, she began to back up as she watched the smaller wolf attack from a distance. in an instant, the human man’s fear caused reyna’s nostrils to flair along with the trickle scent of gunpowder. lifting a hand from his back in a surprise motion, the human began to run from the female wolf. looking back, he could see yellow eyes beaming at him. in an instant, he began to think: maybe this was the only option for survival. gripping the handle of his gun, crouched down to allow himself enough time. getting the pistol ready, almost in slow motion he raised it with a turn of his body. lifting the silver machine, he sent three bullets from the chamber. one hitting the tree behind near reyna. another, past adelaide’s ear. one more in her front shoulder. with those shots, reyna appeared from the bushes what seemed like immediately. her crimson eyes took on a darker, blood hungry color. her growls only heard for a split second. pouncing on the human, her teeth began to ruthlessly attack his flesh. rabid roars and sharp canines sent a message to him. 

her gaze was fixated on the man, never breaking for a moment. ignoring reyna, she took a step closer. then another… then another, until she was closer to him than she wanted to be. turn back, adelaide. she thought to herself. turn back. another growl, deep rooted and angry, full of a fiery intensity; it certainly got his attention. he whipped around in circles, searching for the origin, until he finally settled on the glowing yellow eyes filled with hunger from behind the bushes. adelaide emerged, stepping nearer to him, and circling him like prey. intruder… she thought, over and over again. my territory. her thoughts were at war, going back and forth unable to settle. the animal side, the human side, both wanting total control—and one was losing out. another growl, and fear stricken eyes met hers. it would be so easy, to kill him. so… so easy. the full moon radiated in the sky, and adelaide wished for it to fall, but it didn’t. she was going to attack him. she was going to kill him.

the larger wolf sat on her hind legs as she waited for the smaller one to make her move. with narrowed eyes, she took deep breaths. adelaide was going to lose control and reyna could sense that. crimson eyes studied the scene. the man obviously helpless, his only chance of survival lying in the actions of reyna. the alpha stared, waiting for the right moment. she knew adelaide, she knew she was territorial and he was going to be her prey tonight. a shame, but it was the only way he would learn. her senses were heightened when she finally stood on all fours, keeping her distance in the bushes. trying her hardest, she continued to telepathically connect with the humanity in adelaide, hoping she would stand down. 

there she was, trapped inside of her own body as she traversed through the woods. this wasn’t her, not adelaide. she was the one with control. she was the one who never let that animal side overtake her. she was—stuck. her paws clicked against the dirt, moving in silence while she ran, her yellow eyes scanning the horizon for something… anything. she wanted to scream, to shout, she hated who she was when the full moon beat down on her. she hated the side of her. she hated it. ` over here! ` came a voice, causing the wolf to stop in her tracks completely. she was deep in the woods, attempting to avoid other packs and other—people. a growl, one rooted deep within her hollow chest, escaped the blackened fur that lay on her body. no, she thought, as she walked towards the voice. no, she crouched lower, as if ready to strike. don’t do it, adelaide. don’t— she crept, a young man with a flashlight in his hand dropped from a hill, crunching the branches beneath his feet. she was so close, adelaide could smell him as if there was only a few feet between them. territory, my territory. the wolf thought, intruder… intruder on my territory.

the full moon had risen to its full potential as the gray wolf padded through the woods. deep crimson eyes stared out towards the woods as her pups howled in the distance. she had lost a couple of them and sent her best pack members to search for them. her ears acted like antennas as she heard the echo of the words. humans. others. through the various scents that filled her nose, a familiar one rang through. adelaide. with a soft grunting sound, the alpha began to run through the deeply rooted woods. her focus on adelaide to warn her. although they were of different packs, reyna couldn’t help but feel the instinct. upon finding adelaide, she growled to get her attention. “you’re going to get yourself caught!” the words were hollered telepathically. “don’t pick a fight, not tonight when they’re looking for that...girl.” 

“i could’ve assume, but you know what they say about that. are you relocating to the outskirts of town for the night?”

“that seems like the plan. the river, the best area.” 

“i’m trying! i’m trying to control my emotions better! it’s just… it’s so fucking hard! everything makes me mad here!” juju sighed, raking her hands through her hair.

“your strength is defined by your ability to control it. not by constantly lashing out.”

&& - her scent caught his attention even before the teasing tone of her voice. turning slowly, as if scarcely impacted by his change in partners, he turned to meet reyna’s eye. she was vicious, it was plain in the way that she looked at him and the stance that she took, and jack knew better than to let his guard down for an instant. “much as we’d like to, my people do not travel from place to place to celebrate birthdays. we are not an attraction.” his tone was cool. he had plenty of experience with hardened, territorial alphas and while he knew better than to act without caution he was not going to tuck his tail between his legs. her order did not draw a reaction. “you’ve strayed from your territory,” he remarked. “by choice or by force?” 

“i stray from nowhere, nor am i ever forced. i make my own choices.” she replied simply, taking the drink that was sitting on the bar for her. holding it near her lips, she rose her brows. “always so serious, jack. lighten up a bit. i know you and your coven seem to always look at the world in the most pessimistic way possible, but for me, please?” she bit her lip with a chuckle, sipping the cool whiskey. 

“i do most of the time… but you took me away from my home for a reason you still haven’t let us know. and now we are stuck in  a place where everyone around hates us. we aren’t the top dogs, we’re outsiders. it’s not fair. i could never leave the pack, but this place just… puts me so on edge i can’t stand it!”

“CALM DOWN. we’re here for safety and you know it. the only way we will be safe if you keep your emotions at FUCKING bay and if you keep them at BAY you’ll be just fine. i won’t always be there to protect you.you need to learn control and you need to learn how to ADAPT.”