Before I Rise
The Absent Father

Em’s POV

The sun was set low in the west, casting a warm orange glow across the land. A slight breeze was causing colorful leaves to fall from the trees around us. According to Julie most of the trees will be bare in the next few weeks. Apparently it happens during this time of year. I thought it was magical in its own way.

“It’s so pretty out here.” I said to her, as we headed back to the pack house from the daycare center we were just at.

I started following Julie and Alicia around learning the Luna duties ever since the picnic Marcus and I had two weeks ago. I actually enjoyed most of it, including visiting the children at the daycare center and the ones in school. The only thing I didn’t really like was all the event planning the Luna had to do. It wasn’t that I couldn’t, it was more like I didn’t really care what kind of color the tablecloth needed to be and so on. Julie and Alicia said that they could keep on planning the events since they liked it. All I had to do was give my stamp of approval at the end of it. Those two are life savers.

“You think this is pretty? Just wait until you see what it looks like when it snows here. That’s my favorite time of the year.”

“What’s snow?” I asked her.

Julie shook her head and let out a chuckle. “You’ll know soon enough! Now come on, there’s somewhere else I want to show you before we go back home.” She linked her arm with my arm and off we went.

After a few minutes of walking we arrived at a very tall building that had zero windows in it. It was painted midnight black with a blood red door that two pack members were guarding.

“What is this place?” I asked Julie.

“This is where the training takes place during the fall and winter months. In the spring and summer pack members train outside in the morning. The Elite Warriors train in this building all year round and during the mid afternoon time. There’s also an underground level and that’s where we keep the dungeons and interrogation room.” She said as one of the men standing there opened the door for us.

“Jules, are you taking me to the dungeons?” I knew I was going to be Luna, but there were just some things I didn’t necessarily feel that I needed to see or be a part of.

Julie let out a snort before answering me. “No Em, I am definitely not taking you down there. I don’t think Alpha Marcus would be pleased with me if I did. I actually brought you here because some of the Elite Warriors are training right now and so are both of our mates. I thought maybe you would like to watch a little bit of it.”

I nodded my head in agreement and followed Jules through the narrow hallway. I wasn’t going to say no to seeing my mate in action, hopefully shirtless and sweaty.

We walked straight through the hallway before coming into a circle shaped room. There were about 50 rows of bleachers that lined the walls and overlooked a sandpit that was smack dab in the middle of the room. There was a group of around 100 or more men standing in the sandpit when we walked in. I followed Julie down a few rows and sat down next to her, waiting to see what exactly they were going to do.

They all circled around my shirtless mate and another man that were walking towards each other. They shook hands and immediately backed up a few steps away from each other and got in a crouching position. After a few seconds, the man yelled and charged at my mate. Marcus didn’t move a muscle until the very last second, sending the man flying and landing face first in the sand. It was amazing!

Another man stepped into the circle and approached my mate, shook hands, and took the same stance as the last one. Of course, he didn’t stand a chance against Marcus. They repeated this process multiple times, a few got their hands on Marcus but it didn’t last long before they were on the ground.

“So, what do you think?” Julie asked me. I was so focused on what was going on, that I had completely forgotten she was still sitting next to me.

“This is the coolest thing I have ever seen!” I told her in awe.

“We literally turn into animals, and this is the coolest thing you have ever seen? You are an odd one Em.” Julie shook her head in complete disbelief.

“Yeah I guess I am.” I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders, before turning my focus back onto the fighting below us.

“You are actually taking this pretty well for your first time.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Most girls come watch their mates fight here for the first time and can’t stomach it for more than five minutes. I flipped out when I watched Jacoby fight here for the first time. I cried and everything. Most mates don’t want to watch their mates get beat up. You haven’t even flinched once since we got here. I’m impressed!”

I took a minute to think about what she said. She was right, I hadn’t flinched once since we got here or felt scared for Marcus at all. Honestly, watching all this fighting excited me in a way. The way all the men moved almost looked like they were dancing. A very aggressive dance, but still it was sort of beautiful to see.

“Julie, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do Luna’s train as well? Will I be able to train like this if I want to?” I asked her.

For the past two weeks that I have been following Julie and Alicia around, I felt like something was missing. Like there was something else I could be doing. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the Luna duties that they have been showing me, but I haven’t found anything that I really click with. Until now.

“I know that Luna Annie had some training, more like defensive training, but I’m not sure about other Lunas. Most packs rely on the Alpha to fight and the Luna to lead the defenseless pack members to safety. You’re honestly going to have to talk to Alpha Marcus about that.”

“Talk to me about what?” I turned towards the sound of the voice that asked the question. He was standing right next to me, very shirtless and very sweaty. I realized I haven’t been blessed before this moment of seeing my mate shirtless. He looked like the Gods themselves carved him into existence.

“Like what you see, Love?” He asked me with a smirk plastered on his face.

I immediately closed my mouth, realizing it was hanging wide open.

“I guess you look okay. I feel like I have seen better.” I shrugged and kept my face blank as much as I could.

Marcus leaned down till we were nose to nose. “Is that so, little mate?” He asked me.

“Yup.” I said, emphasizing the p at the end.

Marcus smirked again. “Tell me Love, are you perhaps… ticklish?” He asked me.

“What do you mean?” Confusion filled my body. What an odd question to ask someone.

Marcus stared at me for a few more seconds before a mischievous look spread across his face. He launched his hands towards me and started to tickle my sides. It felt like torture!

“ST.. STO… STOP! JULES HELP!” I could barely get the words out. Apparently I was in fact very ticklish.

“Say that I am the sexiest man alive and I will!”

“Eww gross I am so out of here. I’ll see you guys at dinner.” Julie said as she got up and left. So much for helping me.

Marcus continued to tickle me, not letting up no matter how much I begged for the torture to end. I wonder if they do this to the prisoners?

“OK OK OK! I GIVE UP!” I shouted.

“Say it then.” He said.

“You are the sexiest man that I have ever seen.” I finally confessed.

“See, was that so hard?” He asked me as he pulled me up to stand.

“Kind of, my stomach hurts now.”

“Would a kiss make it feel better?” He asked me as he leaned down again.

“It will a little bit.”

“Just a little bit?” He asked me as his lips touched mine. It was a soft kiss that gave me butterflies.

“Well I was wondering if you are free right now, maybe we can go to your room and watch a movie or something?” I asked him when we separated from the kiss.

“Yeah I have some free time before dinner. I can take a quick shower while you pick out a movie.”

“Yay! Let’s go.” I grabbed his hand and dragged him out of there.

It took us about 30 minutes to get to his room. Walking with Marcus usually means a short walk will turn into a long one due to pack members stopping us to talk to him. I liked the fact that they felt comfortable enough to approach Marcus at any given time.

“What do you feel like watching?” I asked him as we walked into his room.

I thought my room was huge, it’s nothing compared to his room. It takes up half of the fourth floor. He had a king size bed in the middle of the room with the bathroom and closet on the right side, and a couch with a large TV over a fireplace on the left side of the room. There was also a set of white French doors by the bed that led out to a pretty decent size balcony overlooking the forest in the back of the pack house. The walls were painted a dark grey that went well with all the white furniture in the room and black couch. The bedspread was also white with black sheets and pillows.

“Surprise me.” He said while kissing my cheek. “Why don’t you grab some snacks in the kitchen for us as well.”

“Ok deal!” He chuckled and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

I walked to the kitchen that was on this floor. Other than the bedroom and kitchen, there were three more doors on this floor and a small living room. Apparently two out of the three doors were bedrooms that our kids will stay in if we have any, and a smaller office than the one Marcus uses on the second floor. The fourth floor had everything we would need after we complete the mate bond and live together.

I grabbed some water bottles and some chips with dip, before heading back into his room and picking out a movie for us. Marcus had an intense movie collection. I swear he owns every movie that was ever made. Going through all of them, I finally settled on one when I heard him walk out of the bathroom. He was wearing a white T-shirt with some grey sweatpants that hugged him in all the right places.

“Did you choose one?” He asked me as he sat next to me one the couch.

“Yeah, I think you’ll like it!” I pushed play as he opened the bag of chips.

The movie started and he immediately stopped. “This one again?”

“I love this movie.” I said, putting a slight pout on my face.

“Why? It’s just a bunch of cats running around and singing. Plus, you always cry when the dad dies.”

“But, I love this movie.” I said again, pouting even more. He was right though, I do always cry when I watch this movie.

Marcus sighed and got up, disappearing into the bathroom and coming out again with a box of tissues in his hand. “Well, at least I’ll be prepared this time.” He sat the box of tissue on the table in front of us and sat back down even closer to me, while pulling a blanket on top of the both of us.

“You are so sweet.” I kissed his cheek and cuddled up next to him.

We sat there watching the movie together, and sure enough I cried when the dad lion died. Marcus held me of course and even wiped a few of my tears away with the tissues.

“It’s just so sad when his dad dies.” I said, while trying to keep the tears at bay.

“Nah, he can survive without his dad, his mom dying on the other hand would have been bad.”

I took a second to contemplate what he had just said. I never even considered how Marcus would feel while watching a movie in which the main character loses a parent. Not to mention, this is the third time I have picked it for us to watch. I felt like an idiot.

“I’m sorry Marcus, I never even considered how you would feel about watching this.” I confessed to him.

“What do you mean?” He asked me, as he positioned himself so he could see my face better when talking to me.

“Just with everything you went through as a child, and how it makes you feel when watching a movie where something similar happens.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “I lost my mom, not my dad. This movie doesn’t bug me love. Trust me on that.” He gave me a reassuring smile and cupped my cheek in his hand.

“Can I ask you something that has been bugging me for a while?” I asked him.

He nodded his head and waited for me to ask my question.

“I hear people talk about your mom and you have talked about her as well. But, you never really talk about your dad. What really happened to him?”

He took a few seconds to think, before he paused the movie and took a deep breath before he talked.

“After my mom died, he just completely lost it. I remember him locking himself in his office and never really coming out unless it was to pee or grab a new bottle of hard liquor. He started to interact more with the pack when I turned ten, but I wished he would’ve stayed locked up in his office.

I remember one time I was in his office waiting for him to come in, I hadn’t seen him for almost a month and I just wanted five minutes with him. He walked in and saw me sitting in his chair. I ran right up to him and hugged him and told him how much I missed him. Instead of hugging me back, he pushed me away and started screaming at me about how he wished it would’ve been me that died that night instead of her. He just kept screaming at me. Dave, Jacoby’s dad and Beta at the time, had heard him screaming at me and intervened. After that, I avoided my dad the best that I could. Anytime I would run into him, he would just glare and walk away. It broke my heart. I loved my mom but my dad was my best friend when I was young. I felt like I didn’t just lose one parent that night, I had lost both of them.

Dave started training me when I reached fifteen, behind my dad’s back. Honestly, Dave was running the pack as my dad drown himself in alcohol. The day I turned eighteen, the pack was passed onto me and my dad left immediately after the ceremony. I guess he told Dave that he was going to go look for the bastard that started the attack on the pack that night my mom died. Nobody has seen or heard from him since then.” He stopped talking to wipe away the tears that were streaming down my face.

How could anyone ever say that to their child? My heart broke for all Marcus had to endure. But I was also filled with rage towards his so-called father.

I cleared my throat and took a few deep breaths to get it together. “Did he ever replace the guy?” I asked him.

Marcus shook his head and a smug look appeared on his face. “No. I actually got to him first.”

“You did? How?” I asked him in shock.

“After I took over as Alpha, the Rogue War happened and their leader was the guy who orchestrated the attack against my pack that night. In a twisted way, I got the revenge that my father had been planning to achieve for years without having to go looking for it. It actually, in a way, helped me heal from my mom’s death.” He confessed to me.

“I’m glad it helped you. I’m sorry about your father. It wasn’t your fault for what happened to your mom that night. There was nothing you could’ve done and your father has no right to ever throw that up in your face.” I said, trying to control the anger in my voice.

Marcus just looked at me, before pulling me into a passionate kiss. We kissed for a while before we both ran out of breath.

He pulled away till our lips were barely touching and stared into my eyes.

“I love you.” He whispered to me for the first time, making my heart beat erratically with hearing his confession.

I blinked away unshed tears and looked back into his warm brown eyes.

“I love you too.” I whispered back, before pulling him back in for another passionate kiss.