Chapter 8 : War On The Horizon

*Mae* Mae had felt relieved when her father said he was going to talk to Henry's father and smooth things over. She imagined them finding a peaceful resolution. But Mae jumped up quickly and ran downstairs with April hot on her heels as soon as her father walked in the house, slamming the door. He made an awful wailing noise that frightened her a bit. The girls exchanged a glance but kept moving down the stairwell. "Father? Are you alright?" Mae called out. Her father was already storming his way into the kitchen when the girls reached the bottom of the stairs. He made a weird grunting noise but made no attempt to answer her question. They followed the sound of his anger. Mae wondered if perhaps it had been a bad idea to send her father to talk to Alpha Frederick so soon after the mating ritual. That had been a terrible night for everyone. Mae and April exchanged a glance and followed the agitated sound of their father until they saw him digging through their fridge in the kitchen. He had pulled a bottle of vodka out from the freeze and was taking long swigs. He hadn't even bothered with any kind of glass. The scene reminded Mae of the horrible moments after her mother died, and she shuttered. "Father, what are you doing?" April asked, sounding seriously concerned. Mae looked at her sister and back at her father. A new wave of panic rushed over her. She wasn't sure she could deal with any more problems. She wasn't sure she could handle her father relapsing into despair like he had done when her mother died. "I'm doing my best to try to relax," he finally muttered. Mae couldn't recall ever hearing her father sound so angry before. "Did the meeting not go well? What happened?" Mae demanded. "Was Henry there? How is he?" Suddenly, her mind rushed to the familiar and panicked thoughts about Henry. She imagined him doing well with his new mating, moving on from her. She imagined him in pain and falling apart. All of those thoughts brought her to the edge. Her father glared at her with deep disdain at the mention of Henry's name. "That… that boy. What a mess he's made. I only allowed your relationship with him to go as far as it did because he insisted, was certain, you two would match. Now he's letting everything fall apart. And Frederick, aww no wonder Henry is such a disappointment." Keith shook his head in disgust as he took another long sip from the bottle. Mae could feel herself shaking. She balled her hands into fists to try to calm her nerves. "Father, what happened?" April asked more fiercely and directly. She slammed her hands on the table and stared hard at him. Keith took a moment and looked up at Mae and April. The look in his eye frightened Mae and sent a shiver down her spine. "The meeting… did not go well. I don't see us reconciling this mess. There will be no uniting of our packs until Frederick changes his mind." "What do you mean? Changes his mind about what?" Mae questioned. Keith's wild gaze went back and forth between his daughters. Mae instinctively backed up a bit. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It doesn't matter, he's left me no choice. This means a war between our two packs. Tomorrow, I'll start preparing my warriors for battle," Keith answered. Mae couldn't believe how matter-of-factly he sounded about declaring war against her lover's pack. She felt her knees buckle momentarily. "What?!" Mae screamed. She couldn't believe what was happening. Only a week ago, she planned to be mated and married to Henry. Their packs would unite, and they could really start healing. Now, her father was talking about declaring war against Henry and his family. "Father, you can not seriously be thinking about going to war with them!" April added. "Hey! Last I checked I am still the Alpha of this pack! Frederick has left me no choice! Without this marriage, we are going to war!" Keith slammed the bottle on the table, and Mae was surprised it didn't shatter in his hand. "Father, no! You cannot do that!" Mae called out, hoping the pain in her voice might soften her fathers mind. "Mae, darling, I know you still have feelings for that boy, but without this wedding, there is no avoiding what needs to be done. We were not exactly on the best terms with them. Now, Frederick is refusing to be reasonable." Keith's tone was still too harsh and wild for his words to be any sort of comforting. Mae could feel the tears threatening to fall. "What do you want? You want us to marry anyway?" Mae asked, not fighting the tears. They came more intensely than she had anticipated. It hurt her deeply to see this had no effect on the rage in her father's face. "Yes, marry anyway! You children still love each other; it shouldn't be a problem," Keith barked. His tone made it clear that whether they were a match or not, he would be insisting on this marriage. "It shouldn't be a problem? Father, do you even know what you are asking?" Mae felt as if her heart were breaking for the second time in a week. "All I'm asking is for people to follow through with the plan we had all decided on! I don't understand what is the big deal! Why is everyone talking like this is such an impossible task?" Keith barked out. He took another long drink from the bottle and finished it off. "I didn't match with Henry! He's not my chosen mate. I want to marry him, aww so badly! I want to marry him. More than anything I want to be with him, but it is clearly against the Moon Goddess's wishes. Despite how much we love each other, it obviously isn't meant to be. This is already so hard for me! Why are you making this harder?" Mae cried. She hated how hysterical she sounded, but she couldn't seem to calm herself down. The pieces of her heart were pumping wildly and cutting through her like a knife. "Making things harder? I'm trying to offer you what you want, Mae!" "No, no, what I want is to be mated with him. I want it to be natural and in the design of the Goddess. Not like this. Not a forced marriage leaving our true mates behind," Mae whispered in sort of a whine. Her father narrowed his eyes and slammed the empty bottle into the sink sending shards of glass scattering about. Both girls gasped at the sight. "D*mn it! What do you think is going to happen if you marry Henry? That the Moon Goddess will smite you down? Everything will be fine. Our packs can be united, and you can be with Henry like you want!" "How can you be so careless?" Mae screamed. April reached over and held tightly to Mae's hand. She finally unballed it and released some of the pressure surrounding Mae. "Father, stop. Can't you see how upset you're making Mae? Let this go. Find another way with Alpha Frederick, please," April implored. "There is no other way! How am I the bad guy here? Even among my daughters?" Keith turned around and leaned against the sink. "Betraying the Moon Goddess is why Mother died! Now you're asking me to do it again? You're willing to risk my life so you get your precious union? Are you so childish and single minded that you can't find another way?" Mae cried out. Keith turned around almost quicker than Mae's eyes could follow. "Don't you dare speak to me that way! I am your father, and most importantly, your Alpha! The Moon Goddess did not kill your mother; that is utter nonsense! If you don't want to have this conversation like adults, then leave my sight!" Keith shouted. Mae glared hard at her father, both of them locked in a painful stare. But she felt April's gentle tug on her arm and let her sister start to guide her away. Before the girls walked out of the kitchen, Mae turned back to her father. His expression had softened but clearly not his resolve. "If you start a pointless war against Henry's family, I'll never forgive you." Mae didn't wait to see her fathers reaction or entertain his response. She followed her sister back up the stairs. Once Mae was back in her room with the door closed, she threw herself on the bed and cried into her pillow. She pounded her fists and tried to find some release for all she was feeling. She didn't care how loud she was being or who could hear her. "Mae?" She heard April's call from the door. "Mae, can I come in?" Mae's sobs calmed and she adjusted her feet to make room for her sister. April took the gesture as a 'yes' and moved to sit beside her sister. "I'm so sorry, Mae. I can't believe father would say that and act like that." Mae slowly sat up and wiped the stream of tears from her cheeks. New tears quickly took their place and started the flow over again. "How did things get so messed up? How did it get like this? A week ago, everything seemed perfect. I was going to be mated and married to Henry. Our packs could unite, and Henry and I could help heal the damage. Now, he's with someone else. Father seems out of control, and he's talking about a war?" April reached over and put an arm around her sister, trying to think of the right things to say. "I'm sure Father will calm down. Things did not go according to anyone's plan. He just needs some time to adjust. But he came to the arrangement of union through your marriage. I'm sure once he calms down, he'll be open to something else as well," April offered. Mae thought about it for a moment but couldn't help picturing her father's rage soaked face. It was worse than she's ever seen. She found herself shaking her head. "No, I don't think he will. Something is wrong. Something is really wrong. I think father is right: there's no going back now...." The tears poured faster from Mae's eyes as she leaned into April's arms. "I'm really scared, April. I don't know where we go from here." April took a deep breath, and Mae swore she felt her sister shiver with fear as well. They were silent for a long time. "I don't either...." The two girls sat together and cried through their hurt and panic. Neither of them noticed the shadow of their father listening in with a heavy heart.