Reiver

Hugh's panic was off the scale. What had started out as a perfectly normal day had in the blink of an eye descended into a nightmare. His mate was missing. How could she be missing? They lived on the most secure pack territory in the United Kingdom. Aisling had never even been off the pack lands in all her twenty four years so the fact she was missing was inconceivable, he tried constantly to reach her through the mind link but to no avail. When the pack nursery called to say that Aisling hadn't picked the pups up, he hadn't panicked initially, maybe she just got held up somewhere.

When he couldn't reach her he had gone to pick the children up himself. Lyall, his daughter was only three years old, she was happily playing on the floor but his son Lennox was five and much older than his years, his little brow was furrowed with concern as Hugh walked through the door.

Hugh took the children home and left them in the care of their nanny while he searched the house for her. He called her friends and her family but no one had seen her and by six in the evening search parties had been formed by the rest of the pack to find her. Hugh's panic was now stratospheric, he shifted into his wolf form and searched for her for hours blinded by the all consuming and desperate need to be with his mate. Wolf matings created a strong unbreakable life- long bond and wolves that lost their mate often never recovered from the loss and would grieve for the rest of their lives. Running the valleys and glens he was constantly sniffing the air trying to catch her scent until he was almost out of his mind with worry and exhaustion.

Aisling was found in the early hours of the morning by one of the tracker teams, her dismembered limbs scattered around the trail she liked to run. As an exhausted Hugh ran toward their location he heard the mournful howls of the trackers and searchers, howls that spread throughout the pack at the collective grief at losing one of their own. As he approached the scene his stomach lurched at the unmistakable stench of rogues mixed in with blood and Aisling's scent. There was another scent which filled him with horror, sex, he could smell sex. Fuck, they had raped her, his beautiful mate.

Hugh's anger grew until it burned white hot, nothing could stop him now. He ran with the trackers as they traced the rogues to a glen on the edge of the territory where he stalked towards them growling, his anger and grief taking over. The trackers stood back, afraid to interfere as Hugh tore each rogue limb from limb until the grass was slick with blood and entrails. He ripped, bit and tore, not even giving them a chance to defend themselves. A few tried to run but Hugh chased them down and showed no mercy, he ripped their throats as they tried pathetic attempts to beg for their lives, he disembowelled and decapitated them with his strong jaws and claws until there was nothing left to do but lift his head towards the moon and let out a long pain filled howl, his heart broken.

For the next week or so Hugh spoke to or saw no one, not even his children. Sat in his office, covered in the blood and stench of the rogues he drank himself into a stupor until he puked and then started the process again. He saw the darkest depths of his soul, paralysed by his grief, no longer wanting to exist in a world where his mate was dead. But still, how no matter how far he fell into the black hole of depression, no tears would come. In his desolation he considered the ways in which he could end his misery, shifters possess rapid healing so slashing his wrists wouldn't work, he would heal before he had the chance to bleed to death. He thought about taking an overdose, but with his wolf's fast metabolism his body would burn out any narcotics before they did any damage to his organs. The only thing that could really hurt a werewolf was wolfsbane and while he was considering where he could get some, there was a knock at his office door. He totally ignored it, he didn't want to see anyone. The knocking sounded again, louder this time and Hugh responded by throwing his whiskey glass at the door, shattering the crystal into a thousand shards.

Without him giving permission the door opened and his valet, Charles, entered the room.

“GET THE FUCK OUT”screamed Hugh through his drunken haze.

Charles stood in front of Hugh's desk unblinking, not at all fazed by the outburst.

“Your children need you.”he stated calmly, and with that he turned and left the room leaving the door open.

Hugh sat in stunned silence. Since losing his mate had he even thought about his children once, he was so wrapped up in his own grief he hadn’t given them or anyone else a second thought. The nanny walked through the open door with Lyall on her hip and leading Lennox by the hand as she gave Hugh a frightened glance. Both she and Charles were taking a chance here, never had either of them stepped out of line, done anything without permission or challenged their master, they were omegas and they knew their place.

“I need you to persuade Lennox to eat,”explained Charles calmly as he carried a plate of sandwiches into the room, “He's not eaten in a week." he said as placed the plate on Hugh’s desk. Hugh looked at his son, he'd obviously been crying and he looked tired and pale, his eyes mirroring his own pain. Tears pricked Hugh's eyes as his son let go of his nanny's hand and silently walked around the desk, climbed onto his father's lap and buried his face in his chest. Hugh instinctively wrapped his arms around his small son, his eyes closed as the dam finally broke and tears streaked down his face. Lennox didn’t move as Hugh hugged him tighter his grief crashing over him as Charles and the nanny left quietly leaving father and son to start the grieving process together. Hugh had no idea how long they sat there consoling each other but eventually he pulled back, looking down at his son.

“You hungry?" he asked gently, his voice croaky from crying. Lennox just shook his head.

“I'll make a deal with you, I'll eat a sandwich if you will.”

Lennox nodded so Hugh reached forward, grabbing a small triangle shaped sandwich off the plate and putting it into his son's little hands. Lennox looked at Hugh, waiting for him to get one for himself. Hugh reached over and grabbed one taking a bite. Without taking his eyes off his father, Lennox lifted his sandwich to his mouth and took a small bite, each time Hugh took a bite, Lennox followed and they continued this way in silence until the plate was finished.

The door opened and Hugh looked up to see Charles entering with a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of juice in the other. He saw pure relief flood Charles' face as he eyed the empty plate, placing the drinks on the desk, he collected the plate and Hugh saw tears brimming in his valet's eyes as he left the room.

Lennox watched as Hugh picked up the coffee and took a sip, then after a moment, Lennox picked up his juice and started to drink. Once the drinks were finished, Lennox touched his finger to Hugh's face, wiping some of the grime off.

“I guess I need a need a shower huh?”

Lennox nodded.

“Let's go and get cleaned up.” he said standing and carrying his son out of the room.

Chapter 1

“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the

Wolf is the Pack."

Rudyard Kipling

22 years later

Annie ran through the train station, swerving around the Friday rush hour commuters and school children as fast as she could. Trust her to be late, although to be fair, it had been a hell of a week at work with Fresher's week and all and she hadn't counted on her taxi finding itself in gridlocked traffic navigating the small Northern town where she had lived for the past twenty years or so. Jumping out of the taxi, Annie saw the train already idling in the station. Dashing along the platform, trying to find her carriage, her inner wolf's voice encouraged her to move faster.

“Hurry Annie…..wait it's this one, you've run past….go back.”her wolf urged in her head.

Annie skidded to a stop and turned about. Scuttling back to the carriage she'd just passed, she jumped on board and dumped her bags on the luggage rack. Checking the seat number on her ticket, she proceeded down the carriage until she found her seat. Luckily no one was sat in the other seats yet so she shuffled sideways into hers by the window, plonked herself down and gave a long sigh of relief. Soon the train filled up and Annie found herself surrounded by travellers heading to the airport with multiple suitcases and revellers travelling for a night out in Manchester.

“I'm looking forward to this trip”her wolf commented. She could sense her wolf's excitement but the feeling wasn't rubbing off on Annie. While she still felt part of the oldest wolf pack in Northern England, the Lunar Meadows Pack which dated back to Norman times, she had lived outside it for so long she no longer felt the pull to return. She had left when she was 20 years old when she could no longer stand the pitying stares, the stares that said‘poor Annie Lovell, her parents must be devastated'. Not that any of it had been her doing, but it continued to make her feel like a failure. Still, she loved her family and tried to visit a couple of times a year so it wasn't like she had gone rogue or anything, it was just… uncomfortable for her to be there. Annie had left, worked her way through university, teacher training college, and at forty- two, was now a senior lecturer in Ancient History. Even if she said so herself, she had made a pretty good life for herself in the human world, she had bought a house, had many friends and enjoyed an active social life. Humans were much more private about their personal lives, nobody in the human world batted an eyelid at an unmarked or unmarried childless forty-two-year-old and that was just how Annie liked it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the blowing of a whistle, doors being slammed shut and the lurch of the train as it pulled out of the station.

Once the train had left the urban sprawl and was wending its way through the green countryside, Annie continued her musings. At least they were only staying in her home town for one night she thought to herself, as Saturday morning she, her sister Amelie and brother Jacques, along with some of their pack would be driving up to the Scottish Highlands for her niece's wedding. This wedding was a big deal, Amelie's daughter Aimeé was marrying into the mighty Reiver Pack, the largest pack in Scotland. Packs from all over the country would be there but no one outside her own pack would know her, she would be just like any other wolf and hopefully, there wouldn't be any awkward questions like… ‘Why are you forty- two, childless and not yet marked?’

‘It's going to be fine Annie." soothed her wolf, sensing Annie's apprehension.

‘You get to wear a nice dress, eat great food and drink expensive wine… she joked, everyone knew how rich the Reivers were.

‘Thanks Sabine' she answered sardonically, suppressing a smile. That was the thing about being a Were in the human world, you had to be careful not to give yourself away. No reacting to conversations you were having with your wolf in your head or losing your temper and shifting into your wolf form the middle of the supermarket for example. There was no room for mistakes, it was a fine balance of skills which Annie had honed to a tee.

‘Promise me we can go for a run in the hills before we come home?’begged Sabine, ‘It's been a while’.

‘Sure we can, and you're right, it's been far too long since we really stretched our legs.' smiled Annie

Forty minutes later, Annie was lumbering off the train with her luggage at Manchester, navigating across the vast station to make her connection with the little local train which would carry her across the Yorkshire moors, back to the home she barely knew anymore. When she alighted at the station, Jacques was there to meet her with a big smile and an even bigger bear hug.

“Good to see you little sis”he grinned

“You too big brother”grinned Annie pulling him in to another hug. Jacques was forty- four, over six feet tall with the same chocolate brown hair as herself. Like Annie, he didn't look his age, looking about thirty with no sign of greying or thinning of his hair. His physique didn’t give his true age away either, he was as toned, strong and as fit as he had ever been.

Jacques loaded Annie's bags into his car and they began the 30-minute drive to the house. Whilst winding round the country lanes Jacques filled Annie in on all the wedding news. Aimeè, he told her, was already in Scotland, having been there since meeting her mate at the Moon Festival Ball a few months ago. Jacques' teenage daughters were also in Scotland as they were to be bridesmaids, so they had a free evening at Amelie and Patric's to have a drink and catch up. Once they had arrived and had hugs all round, it turned out to be a wonderful evening full of laughter and love. Annie's siblings had never judged her for the decisions she had made or the life she chose to lead, they simply loved her, as she loved them.

“So glad you could come.”Amelie whispered in Annie's ear as they hugged before turning in.

“Of course I came, I wouldn't have missed this for the world.”whispered Annie returning Amelie's hug.

Annie and her sister were very alike in looks but that's where the similarity ended. Annie was tougher than her sister, Amelie was a sensitive soul who had suffered the most when their parents died. Even once she had found her mate, Amelie had continued to live in the family home, persuading Patric to move in rather than moving to his town as was the norm. Their parents were aged and needed looking after especially their father and Amelie had felt she couldn't leave them. Annie's mother had been in her late thirties when she met her father, and her father had been almost fifty. They had spent all of their adult lives looking for each other, both of them thinking they would never meet their mate. Consequently, they had pups later in life, three in quick succession.

“See you all tomorrow.” Annie called to everyone and a chorus of ‘goodnights' followed her up the stairs leaving her with a warm feeling of belonging, something she hadn't felt in a while.

Annie awoke in her childhood bedroom to the scream of her phone alarm. Hitting the off button, she took in her old room. Amelie had re- decorated it since their father died some twelve years past. Until then, her parents had kept it just as it was, perhaps in the hope of Annie's return. However, whilst sad to see her go, Annie knew her parents understood why she had chosen to leave.

She sat up, her head throbbing from the copious amounts of wine her brother, sister and their respective mates had drunk the night before. They probably should have had an earlier night, but it had been an age since they were last all together and it had felt good to talk and to be part of the family again. As for the rest of the pack, well, she would have to wait and see. Not every pack member was going to the wedding, Annie's family were obviously going as the family of the bride, the Alpha of Lunar Meadows, Henri and his Luna Betina, their children, also the pack's Beta and Delta and their respective mates and children would also be in attendance. Annie glanced at the dress she had hung on the wardrobe the night before and smiled, she loved this dress with its matching shoes and bag. Midnight blue satin halter neck, which came to just below her knee, stilettos and clutch bag, which totally complimented her pale complexion. The toner she had put on her long brown hair earlier in the week had given her highlights which would look lovely when her hair was piled on top of her head in a classic style. As Annie climbed in the shower she realised for the first time that she was really looking forward to this wedding.

‘About time.' said a sleepy Sabine in her head.

By 7 am, they were on the road in Patric's people people carrier. The Alpha and his family led the way with the Beta, Delta and their families following in their vehicles with Annie's family bringing up the rear. While watching the countryside flash by, Annie began mulling over what she knew about the Reiver Pack. She had never been to their territory herself as she hadn't gone to the Moon Festival Ball this year. The Moon Festival was a major event in the werewolf calendar, a chance to give thanks to the Moon Goddess for their continued survival and prosperity. Each year a different pack would host the Festival Ball and this year had been the turn of the Reiver Pack. While many un-mated wolves used the Ball as an opportunity to try to find their mates, it was also a time to reconnect with old friends, make new ones, establish alliances and generally do business. Annie had missed the Ball this year (and most other years if she was honest), so had never met anyone from the Reivers but she knew of their reputation.

The Reiver Pack were originally known as The Border Reivers, as they lived on the border between England and Scotland, and the old Scottish word ‘reive’ meant to rob or plunder. The pack consisted of both Scottish and English wolves and they raided on both sides of the border with no regard for the nationality of their victims. There was certainly much written about them in human history books, but what Annie found perplexing was that not one single human seemed to have realised that the Reivers were wolves, no mention of them being extremely tall, muscular, vicious or violent, the things humans usually noticed about werewolves when seeing them in their human form. Human historians simply attributed their behaviour to the lawlessness of the border region allowing the wolves to keep the true nature of their species well hidden.

Reivers raided in family or Clan packs where blood ties were unbreakable and loyalty to the pack was everything. They had a blatant disregard for authority and would delight in outwitting the armies of both sides. Their success and growing numbers inevitably led to feuds between the Reivers themselves, leading to what the humans called Clan Wars. It seemed the Reivers were bloodier and more vicious with each other than they were with their human counterparts with murder, arson and pillaging common in raids upon each other. Their demise came with James VI accession to the throne in 1603 and the union of England and Scotland. Little mercy was shown to the troublesome and lawless Reivers and many relocated to the Highlands, the last part of Scotland to be brought to heel by the English. The Reivers remain there to this day and continue to grow and is the strongest, richest pack in Great Britain. It was not clear how they had become so wealthy but Annie had her suspicions that the source of their wealth was not entirely legal. Though they still feuded with neighbouring packs, they had successfully remained hidden from the human world.

Annie wondered if her niece knew exactly what she was letting herself in for marrying into this warrior pack. Aimeè had accepted the mate bond so she must be happy with the Goddesses' choice for her. Annie knew all too well that mate bonds while allegedly absolute, were most definitely not, although to reject a mate bond had serious consequences for both involved. Given the reputation of the Reivers, had Aimeè felt unable to reject this wolf even if she wanted to, worried that a rejection could start a feud with the most feared pack in Scotland? There was no way her little pack could possibly defend itself against the Reivers, her pack was small, only a couple of thousand members. Though all the warriors both male and female trained to protect the community and ran patrol like any other pack, in reality it had been at least one hundred years since any of her members had any reason to fight. No one had tried to take over the Lunar Meadows Pack as there was little to gain from a forest, a patch of land and a few towns in the middle of nowhere in North Yorkshire. Lunar Meadows territory was a pinprick in the landscape compared to other packs, so generally, they were just left alone.

“Annie, this is the last food and toilet stop before we get to the Reiver territory” Jacques voice cut into her thoughts.

“Yeah hang on, I'm coming”Annie replied snapping out of her reverie and climbing out of the vehicle.

“Well, I guess we will be there soon and we will find out for ourselves.” said Sabine

“That we will.” replied Annie, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach.