An Alpha's Charge
Chapter 13

Meeting Lane

"Good morning, love; how did you sleep?"

"Slept OK; I woke up several times to use the bathroom; that was painful."

"I am going to run a hot bath for you and help you in, and while you are soaking and relaxing, I will cook you some breakfast. How would you like to have some company?"

"Who would visit me today? I do not know anyone here yet."

"I know, but it is time you start getting to know some members. I will introduce you to two later this morning. I will start your bath now." Ramiel kisses her on her head.

A few hours later, he made good on his promise to introduce her to a pack member. She was not too nervous, but Steven was extremely nervous as he would see his sister for the first time in twenty years. His palms were sweaty, his stomach was tied in knots, and he had to fight the tears back while walking to her home.

A knock on the door and Ramiel answered it while Lane was getting dressed. Ramiel nodded at Steven to come in and have a seat. Steven was nervous about meeting his sister, but he was excited to see her after being separated for so long.

"Lane, I want you to meet Steven; he goes by Duke or Bennett."

"Nice to meet you, Steven; how long have you been here?"

"I met Ramiel when I was sixteen years old in Seattle. We stayed connected, and when I finished school and had enough money saved, I moved here and went to college. I have a bachelor's in forestry conservation, a master's in forestry and business, and a doctorate in conservation."

"I have a bachelor's and master's in design, fashion, and forestry. I inherited three businesses, but one burned in a robbery. I fixed and sold it but I still own the other two and am ready to sell them. I do not want to live in Texas anymore. But that is not why I am here."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Seattle, Washington, but left when I was sixteen. How about you?"

"I was adopted around the age of seven or eight. We tried to keep each other together, but my adoptive parents did not want her. They changed my name before they even adopted me. They beat me within inches of my life for me to forget my real name. I bared with the abuse, rape, and neglect until I could leave. When I left them, I was sixteen and moved to Seattle, where I met him. The rest is history."

"Do you remember your sister?"

"A little, I always wondered how she was doing, but I could never replace her. My parents would not allow me to have a computer, so I could not look her up."

"I am sorry, too had a twin brother who was torn away from me, and I never knew where he was. I was in the same situation but abused, not rapped. The rape came when I went to college and started doing drugs and drinking. I left that scene, and Vye she was or is a mess."

"What was your brother's name? Or do you remember him?" he asked with hope and prayer she would remember at least his name.

"Yes, Steven Alexander. I missed him and always wondered if he was still alive."

"He is; however, he is not the same person anymore, Lane."

"What do you mean by that? None of us are the same as we were younger..."

She walked over to him, looking into his eyes and taking in his facial features as she gasped; she touched his face and felt the connection that only is shared with siblings that are twins.

She whispered his name and started crying, grabbing and hugging him as if she would never let go. He had tears streaming down his face hugging her tight as he could. Ramiel left quietly, closing the door behind him. His eyes had tears as he watched the scene unfold before him, and he did not want his mate and brother-in-law to see him cry.

"You OK, boss?" asked Garrett.

"Steven just found his sister, and they are there. We are going to leave them be for the day. They need this time to bond, it has been over twenty years since they have seen each other, and both been through hell."

"Yep, he has been abused in the worst kind of way. I hated his family, but they all met their punishment by the elders. I have never told him they were executed after their trial, but I know he would not care."

They walked away, not saying another word about either of them. Steven and Lane spent the entire day telling each other what had happened as they grew up and discovered that they worked in the same restaurant when they lived in Seattle.

"Do you have a mate? What do you want to be addressed? Steven or Duke?"

"You call me Steven. I am changing my last name back to Alexander, as they had beat that out of me to forget it, but I could never forget my first name. I do not remember my middle name; sorry to disappoint you."

"You never disappointed me. I have disappointed you and our family for what I did in college. Especially to Ruth and John; I do not think they even knew I was doing all those drugs and drinking all the time, mostly on the weekends. My classes were too important to mess up. I hated growing up without you. Guess it is better late than never?" Lane giggled.

They cooked dinner together and invited Ramiel back to the house, and Garrett tagged along. Garrett is a shifter but a lion, and he found his mate, a fighter and trainer. They thought it would be good for Lane to start training to protect herself once she healed from her broken bones.

Lane wore her workout clothes and headed to the training center with a walking boot on her left leg and a brace on her right arm. Ramiel and Steven were waiting for her and introduced her to the rest of the pack.

"Lane, you are not supposed to be here training; you are not healed yet and do not have the doctor's release."

"I feel fine, Ramiel, and I want to start my training now, please?" she asked, batting her eyes at Ramiel.

"Fine, sit over there and watch our moves and nothing else, understood?"

Lane nodded yes and was excited to be out of the house. She sat by herself, and those waiting for their turns to start sparing looked at her with an evil eye. She rolled her eyes, not understanding why they would be doing that. Of course, they were all females and wanted Ramiel as a mate. She giggled to herself at this notion.

Ramiel started the group with a thirty-minute run, then worked with martial art moves for an hour. Once they were done, they went into offensive actions. Lane knew she needed help, so she paid particular attention to Ramiel and Steven. She practiced hand and arm moves and pretended to make the leg moves without standing.

They trained for three hours, and everyone was drenched in sweat. Ramiel and Steven walked her back to her house. She invited them to brunch; they told her they would get a shower and all come back and cook together. While they were gone, she started coffee brewing and set up glasses for the juices and water bottles. They cooked a lovely big brunch together and talked about old times and getting to know each other.

Lane was finally in her happy place, being back with her brother Steven. Garrett confessed to Steven that the elders sentenced his entire family to death. He grinned, thanking the goddess that he no longer feared for his life, although he could kill them all without a problem.

Life was bittersweet for the siblings, but at least they have each other now. They wanted to replace out what happened to the rest of their pack and see if there were any survivors, and that was a job that Steven had to do now. The following week Steven got to work on his career now that things were starting to settle down with his sister.