Hidden Away

Rowan

I don't bother to care about the integrity of the office door as I swing it open, barging in on Bennett's conversation with the man before him.

"Where is she?" I shout, causing both men's heads to snap in my direction. Bennett stands and the other man, who I can't remember if I've seen before, turns to me.

"We don't know," Bennett says, his face as straight as I've ever seen it. My heart sinks to my stomach at his words. I've never seen him like this. His eyes are as heavy as ever, dark, purple bags decorating them. He looks like he's on the verge of tears as stress overwhelms him. Both from the betrayal of his brother and the disappearance of my sister.

I have no idea if I can consider this battle a win or not. Within the hour of Norah leaving the scene to tend to her wound, Levi commanded his army to retreat. Not because he was losing. To our surprise, the Destroyers were holding up well. But because they had what they wanted. Who they wanted. And I had prayed to the Goddess it wasn't my sister.

But Bennett's words prove my prayers unanswered.

"You don't know?" I ask, my tone challenging him to repeat himself. The other man excuses himself when I step through the threshold of the door and into the room, sensing the tension that has filled it. I can argue it's been here for days, looming over everyone. "You said you were going to get her."

His fists curl as his head bows over the desk. "I know, but by the time I was able to get away from Levi she was gone. No trace of her left behind."

A frustrated hand slides down my face. "I watched him do it," I confess. I pace around the room. I can't just sit down right now. Bennett's face falls even deeper as he understands what I'm saying. "I watched him stab her and I watched as she realized who it was that had done it." I will the tears that threaten to sting my eyes to disappear, but my attempt is useless. I wipe one away as it falls, hoping he doesn't notice.

The thought of what they could be doing to her now overwhelms me. Torturing her for information. To get back at Bennett. But I push those thoughts away. I'm sure we can expect to hear from Levi about what he wants in return for her. He can have whatever he wants. He can have everything. But I'm not sure Bennett agrees with me. We all know he wants to be king now. And I don't think Bennett would give up the kingdom so easily.

"I already have people looking for her," Bennett says.

"I'm going too," I reply instantly, stopping in my tracks. "I was wondering if I could borrow some men to come with me. Unless you want to."

He shakes his head. "I wish I could, but I have to stay here and plan in case they decide to attack anytime soon," he says. "I also have to appoint my new commanding general."

I can't help but feel terrible for him. Before he was king, it was relatively peaceful. But after being crowned, he was thrusted into the brewing war at the time, to now, the most evident, undeclared one. No amount of guidance and training from his father could have prepared him for what he must deal with now, and I can tell he's struggling with making the right calls and coming up with the best course of action.

"I had Levi to help me make all of these decisions and help me plan, but obviously he..." He trails off, his falling as he curses himself for not having seen it sooner. But how would he have? If I would have never suspected my own sister if positions were switched.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with this," I mutter. I have no idea what to say that won't make him more upset. "You don't deserve all of this."

He stands from his office desk, looking up at me. "This is nothing compared to everything you and Norah have been through. Mostly because of me."

I shake my head in disbelief. "What? No, Bennett this is not your fault."

"Isn't it?" he questions, his head snapping back up. He paces behind his desk, pushing his large leather chair out of the way. "This all started because of me. I begged her to give us a chance and she kept seeing me. The Destroyers found out about her because of me. They went after her and now your parents are dead because of me." He jabs a finger into his chest. His comment about my parents sends a painful chill down my spine. "You're helping us fight this war because of me. And now they have your sister because of me."

I feel bad that he blames himself for all of this, but I can't help but wonder how different our lives would be if we hadn't met him. But I don't wish we hadn't because perhaps in a life where we had nothing to do with Bennett, I wouldn't have found my sister.

"She's hurt and she's in pain because of me," he continues. "Because she's close to me." The look on his face fills me with dread. Because she could be knocking at death's door right now and we don't even know it.

"All we can do now is get her back," I mumble. There really isn't any use in moping around and feeling sorry for ourselves. "Before they do anything else they might not be doing to her right now."

"You're right," he straightens up over his desk. "I'm sorry."

My head shakes. "You're doing your best. You don't need to be sorry for any of this." I step toward his desk, my foot anxiously tapping against the dark stained hard wood. "Once you appoint a new Commanding General, we can get started on a plan to find her and bring her back to us."

"I want you to be my General," he says, not leaving any room to argue.

My bones go rigid and my heart drops to my stomach in shock. "What?" I ask.

"It's the least I can do," he says simply. "You were supposed to be the Alpha for your pack." No one has mentioned it since the death of my parents and the destruction of our pack. I haven't even dared to mention it, but the sound of what I was supposed to be sends a shooting pain through my chest, like Bennett himself is ripping my heart out from it.

"I don't think you should make me your commanding general just because you feel bad that I didn't get to become the alpha of my pack," I mumble. "You need someone who knows what they're doing."

"You do know what you're doing," he defends. "If you were qualified enough to be the alpha of the once most powerful pack to exist, you're very much qualified to do this job."

My heart pounds in my chest threatening to beat out of it. He's right. I can do this job, and there's no telling to the kinds of resources I'd have access to in order to help find my sister.

So, taking a deep breath, I say,

"Alright, Bennett. I'll be your commanding general."

___________________________________

Hi y'all!

I truly did not mean for this break to be as long as it has been... I'm sorry for that. College has been a true battle and as a recently declared creative writing major, I haven't had time to read or write my own things outside of class assignments and pieces. 

If I'm being completely honest, this story has been kind of pushed to the back burner as all the time I have had, which isn't a lot to begin with, I've used it to focus on writing the book I'm planning on publishing when I graduate. It's been quite the journey, so I think you should stick around to hear more news about that once it's done. 

That being said,  This chapter is something I wrote a while back that I never finished, but I figured I would give it to you anyway even though it is short. I like to think that anything is better than nothing, so I hope this suppresses cravings long enough for me to try and get another update out sooner rather than later. Regardless, I'll try to not be gone again for almost 9 months, but no promises, as always. 

Anyways, I'll see y'all in the next chapter!