Before I Rise

Marcus’s POV

“...and that’s about it. Nothing new to report.” Jacoby said, as he took a seat on one of the chairs in front of my desk.

I rubbed a hand down my face as my frustration grew in hearing his report. Dave and I have spent the last three days trying to come up with a plan on how to capture a live rogue without getting ourselves hurt. However, according to Jacoby’s report on night patrol, there has been very low rogue activity. The day time has been worse. We haven’t seen one rogue since they last showed up. I wished that would calm me down, but it did the complete opposite. My gut was telling me this was just the calm before the storm, just like what happened to Alexis’s pack. If we weren’t able to capture a rogue before they attacked, we might as well start digging our own graves.

“Damn, I feel like we are getting nowhere with things. This is starting to feel like a losing battle before it’s even begun. Does anyone have any ideas they haven’t shared yet?” I asked, looking at Dave and Jacoby with false hope.

“We could always pray to the Moon Goddess to send the White Wolf to help us.” Dave said.

“What?” I asked him, wondering if he was starting to lose his mind.

“Nothing, dad is just being dad. He keeps going on and on about the ’White Wolf” even though it’s practically a bedtime story.” Jacoby rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.

“It’s not a bedtime story, it’s more like a legend. In fact, the majority of the legends out there have some truth to them. You young people drive me crazy sometimes, only believing in things you can see and touch. Have some faith.”

Jacoby and I both looked at each other, unsure on what to say after Dave’s little rant.

Have you heard of a white wolf before? I thought they were extinct. I asked Xavier.

They are and have been for quite some time. I’m not sure where Dave is going with this, but I am curious on what this supposed legend is.

“I thought white wolves were extinct.” I said, still not sure if I actually wanted to spend valuable time talking about something that may or may not be true.

Dave smirked at me and let out a small devious chuckle. “Oh they are. I’m not talking about any plain ol white wolf, I’m talking about The White Wolf.”

Jacoby groaned again. “Not that I’m bored of this, but I just got off of a twelve hour night shift. Is there any way I can leave and go to bed, or do you need me here for this?” He asked me.

I shook my head at him, “No. Go ahead and go, I’ll let you know if I need you for anything. Enjoy your day off.”

He sighed in relief and quickly ran out of the office before his dad had a chance to stop him.

I turned my attention back to Dave. “How legit is the legend? Do you actually believe it, or are you just messing with me?” I asked, still wondering why in the world he was bringing this up now?

Dave rolled his eyes at me in annoyance. “Weren’t you the same little boy that asked his father to tell him the same bedtime story over and over again?” He asked me.

“Yeah, I was like four or five years old then. I don’t necessary believe in it now, it was just a stupid story my dad made up. It was just a stupid bedtime story.”

“Oh come on, you were obsessed with it. When you stayed with us for a while after your mom died, you asked me every night to tell it to you.”

“Yeah maybe the first few nights I was there, but you butchered it so badly I had you stop.” I felt bad for bringing that up. I know Dave and Lilly both did their best when they took me in, but five year old me was not impressed with Dave’s story telling.

Dave let out a small chuckle. “Yeah sorry about that. I guess bedtime stories aren’t my thing. However, I am pretty good at telling our people’s legends. It’s important that they get passed down from generation to generation. You should know our legends Marcus, one day they might help you.”

“Okay then, what does this legend say about the White Wolf?” I asked, finally accepting the fact he wasn’t going to drop it until I asked about it.

“The legend says that throughout our history, when our existence has been threatened the Moon Goddess will send Amarie, the White Wolf, to save us. Legend states that Amarie is the Moon Goddess’s wolf. She was the first of our kind. She can help heal us and has the strength of three Alpha wolves combined. She is able to directly communicate with the Moon Goddess. They say if Amarie is seen by an Alpha, it means the Moon Goddess has blessed him and his pack for greatness.”

I waited to see if Dave was going to continue or if he was done. After a few minutes of us staring at each other in awkward silence, I realized that he wasn’t going to add any more information.

“That’s… that’s it? How the hell is that supposed to help me?”

Dave shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know, I just felt like I needed to tell you.”

I stared at him in disbelief. I had absolutely no idea what to do with this information. Part of me didn’t care about it, the other part of me grew even more curious about this supposed great white wolf.

“What about the other white wolves? I thought they were just normal before they went extinct.”

“Oh they were. However, they were hunted down by people that assumed they possessed similar powers to Amarie. Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess saw this and stopped blessing people with white wolves. Hell, some packs went to war over white wolves, but they were normal just like you and I.” He explained to me.

“Do you really believe it?” I asked him.

Dave shook his head, “Yeah. I mean, what’s the harm in believing in it? It brings some hope to me, believing the Moon Goddess would help us in our great time of need.”

It made sense that Dave would believe in the legend. He was always the glass half full type. He could find a little bit of hope in the middle of a shit storm.

“Well if it’s true, how do we ask the Moon Goddess to send Amarie to us?”

I still didn’t believe in it, but at this point I was willing to try anything to protect my pack and my mate.

“Nothing, you do nothing. The Moon Goddess will decide if Amarie helps us or not.”

I let out a loud groan of frustration. “Great, super helpful.”

“You could always pray and ask the Moon Goddess for help.” Dave said with a slight chuckle.

“The Moon Goddess and I are not exactly on speaking terms.”

Dave’s eyes grew in sadness. “You still pissed at her?”

I nodded my head without any hesitation, “Yes. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her for taking my mother and putting me through hell with my father.”

Dave let out a sad sigh. “Marcus, the one thing I have learned from my time on earth is that everything happens for a reason. You may not see that reason right away, but everything works out in the end. I remember one time your mother said that she believed with her entire heart that you were destined for greatness. The more time I spend with you, the more I see it to be true. Your mother dying and your father going off the deep end has shaped you into the person you were meant to become. I feel that you are about to embark on a bigger journey than you realize, son. Have some faith.”

“I’ll think about it.” I said, mostly to get him to not go further into this sensitive subject.

“Good, I think it would do wonders for you if you managed to forgive the Moon Goddess. Forgiveness is good for the soul.”

It took all my strength not to roll my eyes at him. I just simply nodded my head. I wasn’t sure if I could ever forgive the Moon Goddess for taking my mother from me. The anger I held towards her burned deep in my soul.

“Well if that’s it, I’m going to go. I promised Em I would take her out for breakfast.” I said as I stood up from my desk.

“Okay, do you still want to meet later today with Jensen and I to work on trapping a rogue?” He asked me.

I nodded my head, “Yeah. Meet me back here in two hours. I want to have a plan formed by tonight. I think our best shot is to set up something this evening and capture one during the night time, since they seem to be more active after the sun goes down.”

“Sounds good.” He said, as we both walked out of my office. “See you later kid.” He patted me on the shoulder and went down the hallway towards the front of the house.

As I was climbing up the stairs to go find my mate, I started to really think about the whole ‘everything happens for a reason.’ Perhaps he was right, everything does happen for a reason. Though, I wasn’t so sure everything would work out in the end. This was reality, not a fairytale. A happy ending wasn’t guaranteed.