With Hell we Raise | ✔

|02|

The cabin felt even smaller with two large men filling the small space. The stranger looked around, his eyes taking in their home; Orion felt as if his eyes were heavy with judgement and she didn't like it. Just his presence was unsettling, Orion couldn't help feeling like everything was shifting below her, that her day was being uprooted by his presence.

Seth sat on the furs they had laid out beside the fire and the man, Vincent, joined him. Orion lingered to one side before moving to sit on the furs beside Seth, her fingers scratching at her wrist with her nervousness.

Both sat quietly as the visiting Alpha began to speak, sharing his story. Orion, even though she didn't like his intrusion, was still interested in his story about the different packs, and the horrible man named Damien who had been causing disputes, neglecting his pack and had even abused Vincent's mate.

Orion didn't know what a mate was, but the way Vincent seemed to get angered just by telling the story told her that it meant a lot. She didn't understand a lot of what he spoke of; Seth had never told her about packs, or mates, or anything about his past.

There were many times that she wanted to interrupt to ask questions, however she was much too afraid of the stranger. Besides, Seth was far too engrossed with what the man was saying to answer any of her questions.

Finally he drew to a close, looking at Seth with a determined yet stern grimace. "I don't want to force you to do anything, but this is your pack and you have a duty to, honour and right to know about the things that are going on."

Orion's thoughts came to a halt as she processed Vincent's words, was Seth truly the leader of a pack, whatever that meant? If he was then why was he here, what was going on? She looked at Seth in question, but he wasn't looking at her, he was deep in his own thoughts.

For the umpteenth time that day, Orion felt as though her entire world was unravelling at its seams.

Seth knew he had already made up his mind, a part of him knew that he had been waiting for this moment for the 17 years that he had spent in the wild. I wanted to tell Vincent that he was more than ready to assist, but this wasn't just about him.

He looked over to his mate, her frightened look softening his heart. He felt like a terrible mate; he never seemed to know how to help her, or was never able to give her what she wanted. He had to do better; he kept telling himself he would be a better mate but now he had to actually do it.

"I need to talk to my mate about this first."

"I'll give you both a moment," Vincent nodded in understanding before leaving. The door shut quietly behind him, and there was a silence as Seth gestured for the girl to come to him.

"Seth what is going on? What was that man talking about?" Orion questioned as she sat beside him, her hands clasping onto his forearms to steady herself. "What's a mate? And a pack? Why is this happening to us?"

"Little star, I need you to listen to me." He started, a lump forming in his throat as he realised his paradise was slowly crashing down on him. He would have to tell her about his past, about the other parts of werewolf culture he had neglected to mention before. "There's a lot for me to explain to you. I never expected that any of this would happen, I'm really sorry."

"I don't understand."

Once she stepped close enough for him to reach her, he pulled her to him, embracing her in a hug and pecking her on the forehead. It was the first time in a long time that he had willingly showed her affection so Orion basked in it. She had dreamt of moments like this since she turned 16, she couldn't really remember when she had first developed her crush on him but over the years it had turned to much more. It bothered her to think that he still thought of her as the little girl he found; he was more than just a protector, he was her best friend, he always had been.