Chapter 14: Ghost of Samuel's Past: Part Two

**Benjamin**

"I should've killed him for that," my dad interjected, frowning as he squeezed my mother's hands tighter. "I wanted to, but he was my brother, and I felt responsible for everything that happened. He became deranged because I took the only person he ever loved from him. So out of guilt, I spared his life, and instead of death, I had him exiled and warned him never to come near my family again.

He went rogue, and a few years later, reports came to me that Sam had found his mate, another rogue wolf like him. We learned that they even had a son, and we thought he had finally found happiness, but we were wrong.

Sam was already too far in his hatred of life for even his mate to bring him back. So he entered our territory one night with an army of rogues to try and kill us all, but luckily we were the better-trained fighters," my father glanced at Ronan, whose head nodded slightly. 

"We fended them off real easily, but Sam slipped away," he continued.

"He broke into the packhouse to kidnap you, thinking that if he could kill my first child and the next Alpha in line, he'd win against me. But I tracked you both inside the woods, and before he could hurt you, I snapped his neck in half," my dad said, his lips pressed together to show no emotion. 

The room fell silent after his speech, and we could hear only Roxanne's faint cries in the deep quiet. She was curled up in her seat, knees to chest, and I could see how devastated she truly felt through her watery green eyes. 

Like Ryan, who stood over her, struggling between reaching out or staying put, I wanted to comfort my sister's pain, but like her, I too was at a loss, frozen in my seat by my own grief and disbelief. 

Everything said tonight was so hard to hear and would have been even harder to believe if not for the crumpled piece of paper in my hands. Samuel Miller did live, and though I had no memory of him or of that fateful night in the woods, I had no doubt his ghost finally came to avenge the past.

"Who's killing in his name?" I said first, asking a question that didn't need to be asked. 

For everyone present here, there was only one person who came to mind, Samuel's son, my cousin; the one whose anger, scorn, and need for revenge were predictable and almost even understandable. 

"If our previous reports were correct, his son should be around twenty-three or a bit older," Ronan answered nevertheless. "He would certainly be old enough now to command a pack of rogues and orchestrate the attacks on us."

"Right," I sighed, running a shaky hand through my hair, struggling with nerves. "And how many of us died last time?" I asked, posing yet another question to which we all knew the answer.

"Seven," Ryan replied, his eyes still fixed on Roxanne.

"That's seven too many," I whispered as I stood up. "And according to this," I said, jerking the menacing note into the air. "He'll keep coming after Blackwoods until he gets to all of us."

"We'll find a way to stop him, Benjamin," my dad replied, standing up in turn. "We stopped his father before."

"You mean your brother?" I asked without thinking, instantly rueing my words as I watched a brief look of pain cross his face. 

"Yes, my brother, the man who was going to hurt my family," he replied harshly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you and Roxy about him sooner, but what I did Benjamin was necessary to protect this family and this pack. Do you understand?" he asked me, and although I did, I could not answer.

I knew my father well and knew what kind of ethical man he was in all aspects of life. The former Alpha even disliked the idea of killing unless necessary. Still, despite wanting to reassure him that I understood, my voice died out, buried under my shock and reluctance to accept the things shared tonight.

"Benji?" Ronan suddenly spoke, breaking through the tension-filled air. "What about the borders' inspection today? Did you boys find anything useful?" he asked.

I shook my head no and sighed. "It doesn't make any sense; every inch of our territory is well-guarded. I don't understand how they could've passed our lines."

"Did you speak with Craig?" 

"Yes," I nodded. "He's going to double our guard with his teams," I said, putting a comforting hand on mother's shoulder. "And I asked Sheila to look into recruiting more werewolves to fight. Then she and Jason will boost Delta training until we're strong enough to handle another rogue attack."

"Do you think that'll be enough?"

"I'm not sure, Ronan, but I also don't know what else we could do. I don't suppose you have any suggestions?"

"What about Alpha Zayn or even Alpha William?" the former Beta said to my amazement. "We could put aside our differences with River Creek and-"

"And what?" I cut him off with a louder voice than expected. "Might I remind you who caused those differences?" I asked, glancing between him and my father. "We don't even know how many rogues we're dealing with and until we do, Blackwoods will not be reduced to begging. Especially not to River Creek."

"Benji…." 

"Mom, please," I sighed. "I understand the need for more solutions, but I don't- Woah!" I let out, my stomach suddenly sinking.

And before I knew it, I was suddenly and violently screaming, hands pressed into my chest as one of the worst pain I've ever felt slammed into me out of nowhere. My core temperature skyrocketed to the point that I could almost feel my insides burning, and because of the pain, I could barely make sense of the excruciating feelings of loss now overwhelming me. I was covered in sweat, doubled over with anxiety, but still, I heard the despairing howls of my wolf and only then did I understand the source of my sudden distress. My newly discovered mate was outside the pack's limits and leaving town. 

My Mina was fucking leaving me.

"Where the hell is she going?" I yelled, furiously heading towards Roxanne. "What happened? You said she was asleep! Why is Mina leaving?" I screamed again, struggling against Silas as he pushed for control. 

"Back off, Benji," Ryan warned, suddenly placing himself between us. "You need to calm down."

I ignored Ryan and my entire family as I glared at my sister past him and asked, "What did you do?" growling out every word.

"I- no, she- she asked for the truth about us. She said she wanted to know everything. So I told her we were werewolves, but then she didn't believe me, so I, umm," Roxanne said in a panic. "I shifted in front of her but not everything, just my hands! But she still got scared and hit her head. I didn't think she would try to leave. Goddess, I'm so sorry, Benji," she cried, trembling.

"You did what?" I screamed at the top of my lungs, losing my mind at the thought of Mina hurt and terrified. 

"Wait, Benjamin!" my father called out to me. "Your sister was trying to do the right thing."

 "Yeah, she didn't know, alright? Relax, man," Ryan also shouted, protecting his mate. 

I bothered with neither of them and decided to leave instead, rushing past everyone to my truck. For reasons that were beyond me and beyond logic, I was desperate to find my mate, get her back and save my heart from breaking even more. At this moment, her being human no longer mattered, and rejection was the furthest thing on my mind. I simply needed her safe with me.

"What the hell?" I yelled out as Ryan and Roxanne uninvitedly followed and jumped in my car with me. "What do you think you're doing?" 

"You're gonna need Roxy's help to convince your mate to stay," my friend yelled back, pointing to my sister. "And there's no way I'm letting mine deal with you alone, so shut up and drive!"