Alpha Tristan

We walked through the snow in silence.

Tristan's hand enveloped mine and we were side by side as we passed the unguarded gates. There were a thousand and one thoughts roaming through my mind and Tristan had his fair share of overlapping thoughts.

He was tense and I thought about what I wanted to do. It wasn't a decision any leader could make lightly but it was something I had thought about since the day I regained consciousness. I had to remind myself that every single person in the pack would feel the disconnection, and there would be a sense of discomfort that would come with it.

Sighing, I squeezed Tristan's hand and glanced at him. "How are you feeling?"

I could feel what he felt but it hardly made any sense to me. He was a complex man who felt a lot of emotions and I knew that everything that was going on was hard for him too.

"I've had time to think about all of this, Kara, and under all my anger and hatred for her, I'm hurt." He blew out a sigh and his forehead creased in frustration. "I'm hurt that she's forced me—us—into this position, and I'm hurt that for the past month, the pack has been hurting. I promised myself that I would always make them happy."

His dark blue gaze collided into mine and I noticed the weight that was pressing against his shoulders. The weight that I promised myself I would help ease for him. I frowned as we kept walking.

"It's not your fault, Tristan. And we can't change what happened." I brought his hand to my lips and pressed a soft kiss to his skin. "It's been a rough month but we can get it back together again. We'll be doing it together."

He stopped walking and gently c.a.r.e.s.sed the back of my hair. He looked troubled and I stepped closer to him as he lowered his head and kissed me softly.

"None of this was supposed to happen." His forehead rested on mine. "The pain was supposed to end with the old alphas."

I cradled his face with gentle hands. "The pain ends today. I'm alive. We're together. Mindy is going to be gone."

He sighed through his nose and nodded slowly. We stared into each other's eyes and he leaned into my right hand. Curling his nimble fingers around my wrist, he pressed a strong kiss to the palm of my hand and intertwined our fingers.

We began walking again and I breathed in the crisp air, feeling like the fresh air was doing me some good. During the past month, I couldn't do much active work since I had to let my body heal and that meant I was often inside.

Werewolves were outside creatures, we thrived in open spaces and with fresh air. I instantly knew that one of the reasons I didn't feel like myself was because I couldn't appreciate nature in its entirety. It had been a long time since I had shifted and felt the wind through my fur or the thick snow under my paws.

I missed standing under the northern lights and watching the sunrise. I missed watching the way colours blended into one another in the sky, painting a picture that deserved to be captured and framed. The icy waters would reflect the beauty above and it made me feel surrounded by nature.

Although I missed watching flowers bloom and tending to the fields back in London, I had come to love Greenland, and as soon as it became my home, I loved the nature here too.

I came to a stop when I saw a small group of children and teenagers playing in the snow. Tristan followed my gaze and cracked a small smile.

"There's Aama, Bea, Jakob and Laila." Tristan brought his hand up into a wave when they heard him and turned to him.

A small boy with short, auburn hair ran up to us first. He looked a lot like Markus and if I had to guess, I would say he was Markus' brother.

"Alpha!" he grinned brightly and waved back enthusiastically, glancing at me before he moved quicker than I had ever seen a child move before. His arms wrapped around my legs and he hugged me tightly. "Hi, Luna!"

Tristan said his name quickly in my mind and I brought my hand to Aama's back as I grinned at the sudden show of affection. "Hi, Aama!"

Aama's brown eyes stared up into mine and his eyes almost closed with his wide adorable grin. The other three came up to us too and waved shyly at me. "Do you want to build a snowman with us, Luna?"

I glanced at Tristan, knowing that Mindy could wait as I spent some time with the children. He nodded in agreement and I turned back to Aama. "Of course I do."

He stepped back and squealed in excitement, taking my hand from Tristan's and pulling me towards their work-in-progress snowman. Tristan chuckled and followed behind us and I glanced around. I greeted the others and the oldest there, Laila, crouched beside me as I began to gather snow in my hands.

"I'm really glad I finally got to meet you, Luna. I'm so happy you're okay again." She looked at me with sincere eyes and I smiled in return.

"Thank you, Laila. I'm going to be around a lot more now that I'm better. I have a lot to learn."

"I can help you with names, Luna!" Bea, the youngest girl who had long blonde hair and blue eyes, exclaimed, bouncing up and sticking some more snow to the snowman's midriff.

I laughed and copied Bea, shaping the snowman a bit better. Jakob came up behind me and placed a head on the snowman. It was a perfect circle and I could instantly tell that making snowmen was something the younger people in the pack did often.

Jakob pulled out two big buttons from his pocket and a bunch of small ones before handing it to Tristan. "Do you want to do the honours, Alpha?"

Tristan smiled and took the buttons from him, pressing it into the snowman's head. The buttons were a nice touch but the snowman was missing a nose. "You wouldn't happen to have a carrot in your pocket too, would you, Jakob?"

Jakob shook his head with a laugh. "I'm afraid not, Alpha."

Aama spoke up, jumping in the air. "This snowman doesn't need a nose. He's a snowman that's allergic to carrots!"

I grinned and crouched down to wrap an arm around his shoulders. "That's a pretty unique snowman, Aama."

He nodded enthusiastically and I loved how animated he was about a snowman. We all looked at it for a long moment before Jakob spoke.

"So what are we calling the snowman?"

Bea inspected it and it seemed huge compared to her small frame. She was only six years old. "Mr Frosty."

"Mr Frosty McFreeze," Jakob added with a small smile, glancing at me when I agreed.

Tristan pulled his phone from his pocket and lifted it to take a picture of the snowman. He smiled warmly and put it away again. "He looks great, well done guys." He reached down to hug Bea and addressed the rest of them. "Why don't you get to the hall? The quintuplets' birthday party starts soon."

"Are you coming with us, Alpha and Luna?" Laila asked.

Tristan shook his head. "We'll be there soon."

Aama frowned slightly and wrapped his arms around my neck to hug me tightly. "Thank you for building Mr Frosty with us. I know why January likes you so much."

The warmth bloomed in my c.h.e.s.t and I hugged him back. "No problem." I addressed all of them. "I'll see you later."

Aama took Jakob's hand and Bea took Laila's before they waved goodbye, walking away. I turned to Tristan and he watched me grin with a grin of his own.

"I love this pack, Tristan."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him and pressing his lips to my forehead. "They love you too, Kara."

We stood there for a few minutes before I sighed. We had business to get back to and I just wanted to get it over and done with. After everything that had happened, I wanted to move on with both Tristan and our pack.

Tristan took my hand and we made our way to the cells.

—————

Mindy g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain when the Hounds pulled open the door and let light seep through. Tristan flicked the light switch and she quickly brought her hands to her face to shield her eyes from the bright assault. Her eyes flickered between our shoes and her face twitched with every harsh blink.

I tightened my jaw at the state of her and gripped Tristan's hand tightly. Her hair had lost its vibrancy and instead fell passed her shoulder limply. She looked like a frail child and it was a stark contrast from the formidable fighter that almost took my life.

"Y-you're not real." She croaked as if she hadn't spoken in weeks. She g.r.o.a.n.e.d lowly as she hugged her legs tightly. "You're n-not real."

I watched her cautiously and Tristan spoke before I did. "We're real, Mindy."

She shook her head vehemently. "No! You always say that. You say you're real and then you try to kill me." Her breaths became laboured and she shut her eyes before unfurling her hands. She gripped the silver bars, uncaring of the way it burned the skin of her palms. "I'm not going to let you kill me!"

I gasped when I caught a glimpse of her hands. Her nails were broken and her palms were bloody. She looked like she tried to fight her way out.

"Mindy, you're hurting yourself! Stop!" I took a step forward and Tristan kept me from moving any further with his tight grip on my hand.

Mindy's glass green gaze snapped to mine and she recoiled, clasping her hands together and hissing at the pain. I stared at her in shock and she shook her head. "This is the part where you let me out…and then as soon as I turn around, you snap my neck." Her eyes were wide and it was like she was muttering to herself.

Her bloody hands held her head and she g.r.o.a.n.e.d lowly. "I'm losing my mind. I'm losing my mind." She repeated over and over, her voice cracking multiple times.

I glanced at Tristan and he was watching Mindy with a haunted glint in his eyes and a deep frown on his face. He wasn't moving and I moved my gaze between them both.

Mindy's blood dripped down her cheeks and I cautiously pulled my hand from Tristan's to approach the bars. I kept a small distance between us and crouched down. "No one is snapping your neck. Any visit before now wasn't real. We're only here now."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you!" she lurched forward and almost grabbed my shirt before Tristan quickly tugged me back.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he stopped me from stumbling. My heart began to race and I leaned into him as Mindy glared daggers at me.

"Mindy, believe me when I say this is real. I'm your alpha, you know when I'm really here or not." His deep voice permeated the thick tension in the room and I realised he made complete sense.

Mindy had never sworn her allegiance to me. She had been too busy trying to kill me. I wasn't her Luna but Tristan was her Alpha. It made sense why my head would hurt or feel weird when she spoke in my mind. She could because it was a pack link but it wasn't normal because we hadn't willingly formed that connection.

She focused on Tristan and inhaled the air softly. The breath caught in the back of her throat and she seemed absolutely terrified as she slowly backed herself against the wall.

"You're still going to kill me. You promised I would pay." Her voice cracked and the tears welled in her eyes. "Alpha, please don't. Let me out of here, please…"

He was silent and I glanced up at him, watching his facial expression. His gaze clouded over and seconds later, the Hounds walked into the room. One of them held a set of keys in their hand and I watched as they unlocked Mindy's cell door.

She tried to stand and failed, which resulted in the Hounds tugging her up. A shaky breath fell from her lips and she pushed any helping hands away from her as she forced herself to slowly walk. Her cell wasn't extremely small so it had walking space for her to at least pace. I figured she tried to walk in the beginning but realised it was futile pacing in a pitch-black room.

When she stepped out of the cell, she stared at us intensely. "This can't be real. You want to kill me." Her gaze zeroed in on Tristan's arms around me. "You would hold her in front of me to make me jealous."

Tristan held me tighter and squared his shoulders.

"You have no right to be jealous—" Mindy and Tristan spoke at the same time and my heart dropped. The day was beginning to be crazier than I expected it to be.

Tristan slowly unwrapped his arms from around me and remained calm. "Mindy. I've told you that before in real life. Not as a ghost or a figment of your imagination."

Mindy faltered and glanced at the Hounds behind her before turning back to Tristan. "If this is real life, I want to go back to my imagination. I know how it ends that way. I don't know what you plan to do."

I stared at her with an emotion I didn't expect to feel. Pity. "It won't end the way you think it will."

The disdain she had for me couldn't be wiped out so easily. She stared at me with cold eyes and tensed. "Every single time, you're the one to snap my neck. As revenge for what I did to you." Her gaze raked over me. "You think you're a powerful Luna."

Tristan's sharp voice cut through her icy glare and it forced her gaze back to him. "Watch what you say, Mindy."

She flinched at his tone of voice and murmured lowly. "There it is." In one swift moment, she bounded towards us, almost scratching my neck with her jagged claws.

Tristan caught her by the throat and slammed her into the ground before the Hounds pinned her down. "Mindy, snap the f.u.c.k out of it!"

She was weak already and she looked like she almost got the lights knocked out of her. Tristan was angry she tried to attack me and when she thrashed around in protest, I stepped forward before his emotions could get the better of him.

"Tristan! Don't kill her."

"Kara." He growled lowly. "She just tried to kill you again!"

"She's not herself anymore, Tristan." I countered. I asked the Hounds to hold her down completely as I tugged him up by his arm. "Look at me. Tristan, look at me." I forced his gaze to mine as I cupped his face in my hands. "We both know killing her isn't an option. This isn't us."

His anger slowly ebbed and the haunted look was back. "What if it needs to be done, Kara?"

I shook my head. "There's another option. One that doesn't leave blood on our hands. We're not like the old alphas, Tristan." I pressed a hand exactly against where his heart was. "You have a heart—you have me. If we kill her, the pack will feel it and we'll never be the same. It'll haunt us and you know it."

Mindy w.h.i.n.ed in protest and shook her head passionately. "Please, no…I'd rather die."

At the sound of her voice, the growl rumbled deep in Tristan's throat and I stepped closer to him. I held his gaze and dug my fingers into his hair. "You said the day your pack truly fears you is the day you become like Carew." A tumultuous storm brewed in his ocean blue eyes. "You could never be like him. You have a good heart, Tristan."

He gently knocked his forehead on mine and inhaled deeply. I knew he wanted to kill Mindy. It was something he would feel because he was so protective of me. But I had to remind him of how far he had come over the years. Even if I wanted her dead too, I wouldn't let Tristan jeopardise all of his progress nor would I have her blood on my hands.

If I killed Mindy, I would never forget it and I knew it had the potential to pull me back into the deep, dark hole where I would lose myself.

Tristan's gaze never wavered from mine and he gripped my wrists. "You are my angel, Kara Vasilakis. My beautiful beautiful angel."

I went to hug him but he guided my lips to his with delicate fingers on my face. He kissed me softly and breathed me in like I was his oxygen. Mindy began to quietly cry and Tristan deepened the kiss as he pulled me flush against his c.h.e.s.t.

When he pulled back, his stormy eyes lingered on mine before he glanced down at Mindy. "You don't deserve the kindness we're going to show you."

"Please…kill me instead." She cried, knowing just as well as us that what we were about to do would end the world that she needed, the world that all werewolves needed to thrive.

The sentinels restrained her as they stood her up. Tristan reached for my hand and we turned to her. We squared our shoulders and I spoke the words that would ensure my happiness in Greenland.

"I, Luna Kara, hereby send you, Mindy, into exile."

The pained cry tore from the throat and there was a strong tugging feeling in both my c.h.e.s.t and Tristan's. The line pulled taut until it snapped and just like that, the connection between Mindy and the pack severed.

She was a lone wolf.

Tristan looked deeply hurt. "You forced our hand, Mindy. You grew up in this pack. You were fiercely loyal to me but somewhere along the line, it blinded you." He shook his head and when he blinked, his eyes were cold.

He was no longer her alpha and he would only ever feel hatred for her.

"You are to leave Greenland completely. Every single alpha will be told of your crime and you'll never be in a pack again." His tone sharpened and he was stone cold. "If you return, my kindness will run out and I will kill you."

She sobbed loudly and her shoulders shook violently. She knew it was real because the pain was too excruciating.

Tristan turned his back to her and tugged on my hand to lead me out of the cells. We didn't look back once and the weight was lifted off my c.h.e.s.t.

Mindy was exiled and everybody knew that exile was a fate worse than death.