The Rider of Rosewood
Roses Are Red

Theo's eyes widened. If Pack Mother Luna is Rosalind's mother, it made perfect sense that Pack Father Gregorio would be her father. How did he not realize it sooner? "Why haven't you told her?"

Gregorio shook his head. "I haven't found the right time."

"If you don't tell her, I will because I won't keep secrets from her."

"I understand completely. You're a good boy, Theodore."

He sighed. "Please call me Theo. Only my mom calls me Theodore."

"Very well then, he took another step down the stairs and waved his hand signaling for Theo to follow.

"You're going to let me see her?"

He nodded. "The Pack Mother has business to attend to elsewhere. She'll return in a few hours. You have until then to speak with her."

"Thank you,” he whispered, astonished by Gregorio's willingness to help him. Without another word, He followed Gregorio down the dark staircase.

*****

Rosalind sat down on the leather sofa in the living room as she nibbled on her roast beef and

cheese sandwich. Her muscles ached from their training earlier that day. She leaned back in her seat and traced her fingers across the copy of Pride and Prejudice she'd found on the bookshelves. She'd skimmed the Sparknotes for school, but she hardly remembered anything about it. She felt like reading it properly this time.

She opened it to the first page and let out a sigh. She missed Theo. Though it wasn't the same, reading his favorite book made her feel a little closer to him. She breezed through the first few chapters. So far, it was an interesting read. Even if there weren't enough explosions for her taste. Chandler plopped down beside her with a sandwich in his hands.

"How nice of you to sit with me, she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm only here because I couldn't stand the smell of Heath's breath any longer. I don't like you or anything."

Rosalind raised her hands in surrender. "That's fine with me."

The pair sat in silence as Chandler proceeded to eat only the meat out of his sandwich and left the bread behind. Rosalind reopened her book and continued to skim the pages.

"What are you reading?"

She closed the book and showed off the flowery cover.

"I don't know why we keep all these dusty books around here."

"You don't like to read?"

"I'm dyslexic." he confessed.

Heath crashed on the other couch beside them. "What's up, dudes?" He pointed at Rosalind's book. "Hey, Chandler watches that all the time!"

"Shut up, Heath."

"We watch it on his birthday every year," Duke confirmed.

Rosalind raised an eyebrow. "The one with Keira Knightly or the one with Colin Firth?"

"The one with Colin Firth," Duke and Heath answered in unison.

"You guys are the worst," Chandler muttered.

Rosalind attempted to change the subject. "So, do you think my brother will be at the banquet?"

Chandler fiddled with the strings in his hoodie. "I don't know."

Duke raised an eyebrow. "I know for a fact he'll be there. It's mandatory for him to attend."

"What's the big deal about this banquet?" she questioned.

"All the alphas from the nearby packs will meet here during the full moon because that's when werewolf magic is strongest. Then they'll decide if you and your brother are fit to become the next alphas." Duke explained.

Before she could ask any more questions, she was distracted by a strange scent drifting through the air. It was unidentifiable yet familiar.

All three of the boys stood up.

"Mixedblood," Chandler growled.

"You and Heath stay down here, Chandler and I will investigate."

"That's not fair, she protested. "What if you need backup?"

Chandler scoffed. "There's not much you can do, your training has only just begun. We'll call you if we're desperate."

The wall opened up, the boys hurried up the stairs, and the wall slammed itself shut behind them.

There went her chance to escape. Now she was alone down here with Heath. She might as well make the most of it. "Did you know Chad Kenneally?"

"Never heard of him," he said.

"Oh, Chandler said he was in your pack."

"Listen, I've been here my entire life, and I've never met anyone named Chad. I never forget a person, it's one of my many talents."

Was Chandler lying to her about her brother? Was anything he said true? Why would he lie about it? "Are you sure he was never here?"

"Positive."

She took a whiff of the surrounding air. The scent was getting stronger. The wall opened up once more and out stepped Duke, Chandler, Gregorio, and..."Theo?" She blinked rapidly to make sure this wasn't a hoax. Sure enough, he was standing in the center of the room, clutching a bright red rose in his hands. Chandler and Duke glowered at him, daring him to make a wrong move.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I missed you."

"That's the reason you came back here?"

"Yes," he answered.

"You risked your life to see me?"

Theo nodded.

She slapped him across the face. "Did you listen to anything I said? I told you to go be free! Why would you come back here?"

"I thought you'd be happy to see me."

She sighed. "I am! I'm just mad at the same time!"

Gregorio's phone rang. "I need to take this," was all he said before he shut himself in his room.

"What was that about?" Rosalind asked.

"The Pack Father's private business is none of ours," Duke said.

"I guess that's fair." she conceded.

Theo tucked the rose into her hair. "There's so much I need to tell you."

"Like what?"

"I'm moving," he told her.

It was true. His mother had called him yesterday. She told him that his stepfather wanted a separation, and he was kicking them out. That's one of the reasons why he was so desperate to speak with Rosalind. He didn't know what to do.

"What? When did this happen?"

"My stepfather couldn't cope with the fact I'm a werewolf, so he and my mother are separating. Which means we're moving out. My mother wants to move somewhere far away from here, but I'm not sure if I'm going with her."

"What do you mean you are not going with her?"

He squeezed her hands. "What if I stayed in Rosewood? I'll be turning eighteen next month, which means I don't have to stay with her anymore."

"Where are you going to stay?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet."

Rosalind trifled with the rose. "Listen, I know why you're here."

"You do?"

She caressed his cheek. "I like you too, but we can't be together. I'm a werewolf, and you're a human, remember? It's forbidden!"

He glanced down at the locket. "You're right, it was stupid of me to come here."

"Yeah, it was...but I'm happy to see you again."

He smiled.

"You didn't happen to bring slushies, did you?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm afraid not," he confessed.

"That's too bad, I could use one, my mouth hurts like crazy."

Theo gave a sympathetic nod. "Your fangs must be growing in. I remember how painful it was when I got mine. Don't worry, it gets better."

Theo glanced at the huntsmen, who had moved on to other tasks but were still keeping a watchful eye on him. He leaned in close, so they wouldn't hear him. "There was another reason I came here, I found a picture of you and your brother in the locket and I wanted to give it to you, but it was confiscated." He gestured towards the closed door. "Perhaps you could replace a way to sneak in and take it back."

"I thought my mother destroyed them all! Why would Gregorio take a picture of me and my brother?"

Theo didn't respond.

Almost on cue, Gregorio stepped outside his room now wearing formal attire.

"Hey, what's with the suit?" Heath asked.

"The Council of Alphas has decided to arrive earlier than we originally planned. I'm on my way to meet them now."

Duke's face flushed with dread. "Why are we only hearing about this now?"

It was a last-minute decision, even I didn't know until an hour ago. I'm sorry to leave you all on such short notice." He placed a hand on Chandler's shoulder. "I'm counting on you to handle the preparations."

Chandler nodded. The Pack Father disappeared again without another word.

Duke ran his hands through his hair. "They weren't supposed to be coming so soon. I'm not ready to face him again!"

Chandler grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "You need to pull yourself together! None of us are happy about this, but we don't have time to freak out. I need you, okay?"

Duke nodded hesitantly.

Chandler turned to Theo. "We'll deal with you later. For now, stay out of trouble."

Theo rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't dream of inconveniencing you."

Chandler shot him a dirty look. "You're on thin ice, Mixedblood." The three huntsmen scurried in different directions leaving Rosalind and Theo alone in the living room.

She glanced at the door to Gregorio's room then back at Theo. He winked and the duo snuck into the room and carefully shut the door behind them.

This room was much larger and more cavelike than the one Rosalind was staying in. The only light in the room came from a cedar-scented candle on the nightstand. Most of the space was taken up by a wide mattress with a mahogany bed frame and a burgundy silk blanket.

On the wall hung a map of the world with nearly one thousand red dots on it, along with a bunch of notes in Spanish. The letters were so small there was no point in trying to read them even if she could understand Spanish.

"You need to come here," Theo said as examined the nightstand. The floor creaked as Rosalind approached him.

Beside the candle, there was a vase full of white roses dyed red with what smelled like...blood. There was a note attached to the bouquet written in what she recognized to be her mother's handwriting. All it said was, “You know what you have to do…”

The bloody flowers and ominous note were not what disturbed her the most. The drawer was filled with pictures of Rosalind and her brother along with a few pictures of Gregorio with the Silver Huntsmen but not a single one with her mother in it. Why did he have all the pictures of her? It was creepy. She shivered. "Do you see the picture he stole?"

Theo shook his head. He rubbed her shoulder gently. "We can leave if you're not comfortable."

"I'm fine." That was a lie, but she wasn't ready to give up their search.

"Very well, then."

Next, they searched the desk on the right side of the room. Her hands shook as she opened the bottom drawer, afraid of what else she might replace. To her comfort, there was nothing besides files of the huntsmen. The photo probably wasn't in here, but it couldn't hurt to check. She flipped through the files. Heath McNamara born January 2nd, 1997, Duke Kingsley born May 31st, 1996 and Chandler Charles Kenneally born July 6th, 1997.

She froze in her tracks. She tried to process this new information. It must be a coincidence that Chandler had the same last name as her! Maybe he's a long-lost cousin or something... A cousin with the same birthday as her brother. She tore open the file, desperate for more information.

Gender: Male

Height: 5,9

Race: Mixed

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Status: Pureblood Runt

Known Illnesses/Disorders: Dyslexia

Known Family: Luna Kenneally (Mother) Gregorio Alvarez (Father) Rosalind Kenneally(Sister)

Known Aliases: Chad or Charles Kenneally

Potential:???

Notes: Chandler has a difficult temperament, is extremely impulsive, and has a bad habit of drinking on the job. Yet, he is quite devoted to our cause and not afraid to do our dirty work. Time will tell if he's Alpha material.

Rosalind dropped the file on the ground. She couldn't trembling. What? How? No!

Just as she was beginning to process this new information, Someone kicked the door open. "Get out! Nowstop!