Beautifully Damaged Alpha Austin

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Elance's eyes drooped and she laid down the bulk of manuscripts she held in her hand to the bedside table, snuggling in deeper between the sheets. Being her father's daughter meant being prepared enough to finish off his sentences and perhaps make the same judgements as he would have, only of course without access to his thoughts. That's the only reason she was awake late into the night skimming documents that detailed their family history. A sudden clap of thunder and the howl of the wind had her scampering from underneath the duvet. The lights went out just as her feet hit the ground and Elance stood still for a second, just like she had been taught even as chills spread through her body. Goosebumps broke across every inch of her flesh. Something had gone horribly wrong. She remained rooted to the spot, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as the howling got louder.

This wasn't expected.

Her father, the Alpha of the Crystal Moon Pack had never said anything about strange howls in the middle of the night. It was unnatural for her kind to start a mourning cry without informing the Alpha about the death of the victim, and even then, no one's death was ever accompanied with noise of this sort.

With her teeth chewing on the inside of her cheek, she drew in a deep, slow breath and forced her legs to move to the window, pushing the windows open. It wasn't windy. What had happened had nothing to do with the weather.

The half moon cast silhouettes over the garden, giving the flowers distorted shapes. 'I have to get to Father. I need to get to him,' Elance thought, moving shakily away from the window. The noise had stopped. Just as suddenly as it had begun but the eery silence was not at all reassuring. She inched forward slowly.

Reaching the silver handle of the door which had been put as a precautionary move against the other ungodly creatures that roamed hallways at night, she pulled despite the pounding of her heart. It didn't creak.

She stepped out of the room as quietly as she could muster, letting her ears pick up the night sounds while sniffing deeply. There was no one in the hallway. Still she could not shake off the unease she felt. Today was one of the days she wished for the invisibility of the undead. There was no taking what waited at the end of the corridor even as she moved towards it hesitantly.

Being unprepared meant death and right now, she was unprepared as she could ever be not knowing what roamed their home. Elance leaned on the banister, her fingers wrapped around them tightly and let herself settle. She reached into the depths of her mind, her eyes gleaming in the darkness as she tried to communicate with her Father.

Nothing.

Unblinking, she reached out again with bated breath. Despite being trained all her life in preparation for the worst case scenarios, nothing prepared her for the radio silence she got. The mind link had been broken. She could not reach anyone. Not her father. Not the guards nor Treynor, the maid she had been assigned.

Her teeth chattered. Her eyes darted around the stairway and she wondered if to stay and face whatever it was or find her way out. Guilt clouded her thoughts and she didn't see him approach her stealthily.

"Elance?" He whispered. She froze at the sound of her name at such proximity. Hogwash's blue eyes gleamed lumiscently in the dark. His lips were stretched in a taut smile as he took note of her stance.

"Papa," She croaked, crossing the distance to stand beside him, underneath his shoulders. A wave of relief washed through her as they stood together on the stairs, watching the entrance silently. This was where she belonged and they would fight together to the death, if need be. There was no way she was going to lose another parent. She wouldn't survive the pain. Nor the responsibilities.

Hogwash tutted. His hands stroked the salt and pepper whiskers on his chin and his brows wrinkled, lost in his thoughts. Elance found her voice after what seemed like a lifetime.

"What's going on? There was howling earlier on. Then screeching. There is no one else in sight and the mind link has…"

"...been broken." Her father completed and she stared at him quizzically.