Raul POV

I sat down watching Natasha do the laundry by the riverside, enjoying the beautiful hums of her voice. Something rustled in the bush nearby, forcing my senses to go on alert.

I turned around to see if I would find anything or see anyone, but there was nothing worth checking out. I wondered why I worried, though. No one came to this side of the woods. I heard another rustle, and this time, Natasha heard it too.

With my senses heightened, I tried to listen closely, but there was still nothing to hear. It seemed as though something was playing games with me, yet everything stayed still.

I shrugged my shoulders when Natasha used her eyes to ask me the obvious question. Her beauty shone under the sunlight, and when she turned to continue her work, my heart trickled.

The constant echoes of the rustling leaves lured me, and I stood up.

“I’ll be back. I have to check on something,”

I strode off, not waiting for a response from her to the front side of our makeshift dwelling, the sounds persistently calling my curiosity. I let my nose direct me to the bush paths, and before I could move further, a silhouette emerged from the woods revealing a figure I hadn't expected.

Gonzalo, a distant cousin of my pack, who had left home for years, was standing right in front of me. A smile flashed across his face, and I could see the usual mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hello, brother," he greeted.

I couldn't hide my surprise, "What are you doing here?"

He laughed, dragged me, and enclosed me in his body, "I'm back, Raul. I’m back for good," he declared with a mysterious smile.

His tone was very questionable, and every emotion I felt was all over my face at that point.

How was Gonzalo, of all people, appearing to me at such a time? The thought baffled me, and when I couldn't answer the pouring questions, I simply asked him.

“How did you find me here?” I withdrew from the hug, facing him eye to eye.

“Easy peasy, Raul,” he said, walking past me to the direction of the house.

“It was here we always came to play as kids, remember? The mini-fight games, the transformation practices...

“Mom’s death?” I continued with him. “You left, Gonzalo,” I said out loud, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

“Yes, I did. I had to, and I am unrepentant about it. Like it or not, it was for the benefit of the clan, and you will find out why. Soon enough,”

“So you walk in here, with these guts, and tell me that you left for a good reason, when we all needed you? Leave, Gonzalo. Leave now.”

“Hey, Raul, c’mon,” He turned back, walking in my direction. “I just came. I stopped by the tribe, and everyone said they hadn’t seen you in days. Just Derek, who says you normally disappear once a while, come back and tell him you had to clear your head, and I knew exactly where you would come for such a task. I am back for you, Raul. We will be stronger now,”

His words had compelling power when he needed them to, and I could feel my emotions swaying to incline with his.

“So which, are we going in or returning home?”

This question instantly reeled me back to reality. I could never allow Gonzalo to see Natasha.

It wasn’t about him recognizing her, which I doubted, but I trusted him far less than the rest of the clan.

“Can you hear me, Raul?” His blue eyes peered into mine, as he waited for my response.

“You may have to return alone now. I will catch up with you. There is a business I need to finish up here." I adjusted my composure to a rigid one.

“What business may that be? If I may ask, of course.”

“None of yours, Gonzalo. Welcome anyway, and do find a way to make yourself comfortable when you get back. I’m sure Derek can find some fair maids to make you good meat soup,”

“Wait, I smell something cooking here, Raul. Are you cooking?” He said, sniffing some more, and pacing around me. “Or wait. It doesn’t smell like food. It’s something else. It’s been here since I came, but I needed to get used to the environment before I could identify it. What is it, Raul?”

He could never know Natasha was here, no matter what.

“It’s nothing. Perhaps a meal from miles away calls to you, brother,”

“Perhaps, or perhaps, one nearby,” His eyes changed, and I noticed something odd immediately.

They were no longer the bright gold I had always seen, and grown used to. They were colored Steele blue, a little darker than his normal pair.

Wherever he had gone, whatever he had been doing, Gonzalo had either spilled innocent blood or he was now stronger than usual.

In a flash, he had zoomed in the direction of the house, and I immediately followed after him, trying to catch up.

He was faster, and before I got to the door, he was in and out already.

“Nothing’s on fire. So what is it I smell?” He asked, meeting me by the door.

“You have to leave now, brother,”

“C’mon, what are you hiding? A woman?”

I froze, caught unawares by his first suggestion. Has he picked up her feminine scent so quickly?

“A woman? No, there’s none of the sort here,”

“My senses can’t be so wrong, but I choose to believe you,”

“Best to do so, Gonzalo,”

“See you around, Raul,” He stretched his body, cracking his neck bone, like he was preparing for a race, and in seconds, he was in the woods

It was probably not necessary to show me all that, but I was glad he was gone. I stayed a while, looking around to ensure his scent was gone.

Then, I went in.

My first stop was the back; Natasha must have heard us talking and all. We had talked about days like this, and what she was required to do.

The riverside was clear; there were no clothes or signs of her anywhere. I whistled twice, and she emerged from inside the river. Her body was clad with the clothes she had been washing earlier, and she heaved in relief upon seeing me.

“He’s gone,”

“Who?” She asked, stepping out gradually from the river. One could easily take her for a river goddess, watching her walk out of the water. Her wet hair stuck to her face, and the freshwater must have brightened her face, making her more attractive to stare at.

“Gonzalo. An old-time family member left the clan some years ago. So, it was quite surprising to see him again. I feared he was dead at some point,”

“Then it must have been a very long time,” She was out fully now, and was closer to me, at arms length.

“Yes, ten years. I hate him for leaving, but he’s back now, and there’s something different about him that makes me concerned,”

“Or perhaps you just missed me?” I heard the familiar voice of Gonzalo ring from behind me.

Natasha jumps on my body, clutching her hands to my chest, as I try to shield her face from meeting his own.

“Am I missing something here, Raul? If not, why is the first daughter of the house of Miklaus in the company of the rebel leader?” The bass of his voice rose as his eyes glowed angrily at us.

At the same time, from all sides, the Alpha King guards troop out, glaring their claws as they howled at us.

I counted eight to ten of them, Gonzalo excluded. He will be the first to die at my hands for his betrayal, but I won’t be able to fight them off, and Natasha could barely stand a chance.

For all I knew, we were doomed.

The clouds crackled lightly, and soon the sky started to tear up.