chapter 26. JOSIAH. AND, THE RESURRECTION.

"You..." Cronus gaped as he gazed at the male the humans call Anaconda with recognition. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I see you two know each other," Adeladin said as he entered behind Cronus into the bar. He took his seat beside Anaconda, "Your friend here also wants the same thing you do. To get rid of your leader. He is responsible for murdering your people in cold blood, but now your leader is on his tail, so he wants to get your leader off his back."

Anaconda paid him no attention. All his focus was on Cronus.

"Cold blood... Our crime rate is almost non-existent, and the only murder going on in Naturiah is serial killing by a psychop- Wait. You are the Wild Psychopath!?" Cronus's eyes widened with shock.

"And you must be The Changeling of The Facility. That's what they call you. You are the traitor of our people." He responded without batting an eyelash.

"You damn bastard! You have been killing off our people!" Cronus rushed to him and pumped him hard in the face. He was seething in anger.

Anaconda wiped the blood from his lips and looked at it, "Do not act like a saint, Werewolf. Saints do not dine with the devils," his eyes looking from Adeladin to Beloca, "You are also here to kill one of our own."

"You fucking psychopath, I am nothing like you!" Cronus rushed him again, but Beloca reached for him.

"People, please. We are not here to fight. We are here to work together for a common goal." Beloca ordered, separating the two changelings.

Cronus took several breaths to calm himself. The human was right. He found an empty seat and lowered himself to it. "You are right, you are right."

"Good. Now let's get to the business we are here for." Anaconda merely said, his feathers unruffled.

Cronus regarded him, "You are lower than the low, you know. The Alpha King trusts you, but here you are stabbing him in the back. At least, I was never in his circle of Alphas, but you? Hell, you are in the Council of Twelve. You are a leading Alpha. Yet, you kill our people?"

Anaconda took a long sip of his drink. "If you are done throwing your tantrums, let us start the meeting."

"I am done. We can start." Maybe, when all this is over, he will kill the male, Cronus thought.

He cannot have a psychopathic Alpha killer running around his world when he becomes Alpha King.

NATURIAH.

"We are going to visit that new world of yours, one day." Amelia, Ismena's mother was saying on the phone.

Ismena laughed heartily. Oh, she has missed this woman.

It's been weeks since she heard from her mother and her younger sister. Hearing her now on the phone, She wished she could see her mother again.

"I've invited you over and over again. You just don't miss me enough, I guess." She pouted.

"Stop sulking, you know I miss you badly. Just that work has gotten more hectic after the break I took, so I've been putting in more hours. Once I'm able to get another permission, I'll be calling you to come pick me and Valentina up. Besides I want to know more about that man of yours. You know that I wasn't able to get to know him better then, because of...uhm...you know why."

"Yes, I know, Mom. Don't worry, when you visit you will know all about him and his people. It's a whole new world out here." She has explained the basics about changelings and their world to her mother, but there was only so much Amelia can understand without her daughter seeming crazy.

"I always knew you were meant for greater things, my dear, but even I didn't know that you were meant to date a...uhm, what did you call him again?"

"A changeling."

"Right. I mean, it's so...unbelievable. From the looks of it, you are pretty serious about this man. I've never heard you look or sound like you do whenever you talk about him. Not to mention the body language I noticed when you came with him to the hospital..."

"Mother," she groaned.

"Yes dear, I still have perfectly working eyes for my age, thanks for asking." Her tone held amusement, "Anyway, I trust you, Mena. If you say he is the one, then he is the one. I am very happy that you finally found a man that makes you happy."

"Thank you, mom." Ismena smiled. She was standing at the west window in Wolfariane's bedroom, gazing out into the night with the phone pressed to her ear.

"Although, I feel like something is bothering you that you aren't telling me. You sound happy when you talk about your man, but if it's not about it, there's this...sadness in your voice that gets to me. I feel like there's something really bothering you, and just like always, you want to keep it to yourself."

Jesus. She always felt like her mother was psychic when she was going growing up. The woman was always able to pinpoint whenever she did something wrong or whenever she was sad. Maybe she IS psychic. After all, changelings exist too.

"I'm fine, mother." She lied. She wasn't fine. Now that she can finally be with Wolfaraine in every sense of that word, it bothers her that she would never be able to give him a child. With every passing day, it bothered her more than it did the previous day.

It was better not to know. It was better to keep trying with the hope that one day, you will conceive for the man you love than to have the factual knowledge that it is impossible. It's heartbreaking. She has been emotionally down for over a week now.

"I'm fine," she repeated, burying her pain deep inside, because she has no intention of telling her mom the problem. It will only hurt her poor mother.

"You are not. You just don't want to tell me. You know I'm always here for you, honey?" Concern dripped from her mother's voice.

"I know, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, baby. I love you too."

She changed the subject quickly, "So, how are you holding up? I hope you are taking it better now...? I worry about you, mother."

It was Amelia's turn to be quiet.

"I am better now. I'm doing fine too. But I don't think I will ever get over the death of your father, Ismena."

The pain-filled, whispered words broke Ismena's heart. "I don't think we can ever get over it either, mom but we do have to try. Dad is no more. Wallowing in grief will not bring him back. It won't make it possible for us to ever see him again."

"I know, I do know that." Amelia exhaled shakily, "But the heart does not seem to care about what the brain knows."

Long after the call ended, her mother's words still replayed in her head over and over again.

It was late at night, she was feeling sleepy, but she wanted to stay up and wait for Wolfaraine to come back. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with him before he travels to the leopard clan tomorrow for business which will take at least three days to complete.

To keep herself awake, she remained there by the window, stargazing. Memories of her father flooded her. She welcomed them.

God, I miss my father, so much. She thought sadly.

"I hope you found rest up there, dad. We all miss you." She whispered to the stars.

"Tell me about Josiah." Kassandra blurted out.

She was having a night walk with Alphose. They've been conversing like friends since the walk began an hour ago. Alphose engaged her with matters of his clan, he went ahead to tell her everything about the history of the cougar clan. She had listened with interest and asked questions on the part she hadn't understood, which in turn made Alphose tell her more and more. It was fun. Refreshing.

But all the while, that topic had disturbed her thoughts. The truth is, she has been very curious about his twin brother for a long time.

He stiffened visibly when she made the request and his steps faltered. But only for a second before he resumed walking, saying nothing.

"Alphose, please. I know he is the elephant in the room we don't ever talk about, but I truly want to know about him." She croaked, falling into steps with him again.

"Why?" A muscle ticked in his jaw, "Is it because he might be your mate?"

Her heart tightened so hard in her chest as if someone was trying to squeeze the life out of her. Just the thought of it hurts like the very devil.

"No," she gulped, shaking her head. "No, I am just curious to know about your twin brother.

Alphose exhaled, "Sorry. That was uncalled for. It's just..."

"It's okay, I understand." And she does. She really does.

They walked in silence for a couple of steps before his voice filled the air again.

"Growing up, Josiah and I were inseparable. We could feel each other's emotions differently. Our bond was very special. We did everything together. When we were little, some of our agemates then, called us mates because they said we were as 'tied to the hips' as mated couples are." He narrated, impassively.

"Wow," Sandra found it hard to believe that a bond like this ever existed between those two. It made her feel sad. Obviously, something happened to them. Something that broke the bond they had.

He continued, "Josiah and I are complete opposites. He was the rebellious one and I was the...'obedient' one, if I'm to quote our father. He did everything we were told not to do and he enjoyed doing it. It was fun, always watching him so... free. So happy. But then again, our father will scold him for the rest of the day. It never stopped him though. If anything, it worked like fuel to his fire."

"Then our father began favoring me over him. It started with little things..." His voice trailed off, like he was remembering something, "...then, it migrated to bigger things. Josiah was the older twin by twenty minutes, he was supposed to be the Alpha Leader of our people. But my father was training me to take over after him. Josiah behaved like he didn't mind, but I know he did. I felt the pain of rejection he tried so hard to hide."

"I told our father over and over again that I am not interested in being the leader of the clan, but it was like talking to a deaf man. I tried to defy him over and over again, but I couldn't quite manage it. The rebellion which came very easy for Josiah was so hard for me. I hated what he was doing, I tried to make up for it as much as I could, but it was never enough. As we grew, the things that came easy for me, Josiah had to work for them."

Sandra listened, feeling sad for both of them. "That's awfully sad. What about your mother?"

His face softened a bit, "Our mother loved us equally. Like me, she was always trying to make up for the love our father never gave Josiah. I love our mother dearly but Josiah? He loved her more than his own life. Mother was the only person he actually listened to. When she died, he was..." Alphose shook his head, "I don't think Josiah ever recovered from her death. Our father made it worse by blaming him for her death."

"What!? Why would he do that?" Sandra asked, horrified.

"He always told us to avoid the Caves of Hemar. The older ones always said it was dangerous, but the young ones always called their bluff. A lot of changelings in their twenties hang out there because it's a beautiful sight. Very peaceful. We went there all the time, for five years." He stopped talking. A muscle ticked in his forehead.

Sandra didn't interrupt. She waited patiently for him. Already she knows that she would not like this story. Judging from his dark features, he does not want to tell the story either.

"Ten years ago, when we were twenty-two, we were out there hanging out with a few other friends of ours when we were attacked by Wild Ones. Hundreds of them at once. Till today, I have never seen them attack in such a large pack before." His voice grave, his eyes reflected the painful memories, "We were only eight Alphas. But we fought them as much as we could. Three of our friends died in that battle. Josiah was gonna die too but our mother ran into the warzone like a mother hen."

"She found out we've dissapeared from the house, so she traced our scent to the Cave of Hemar, only to stumble upon the bloody fight. Mother saved both our lives, but she died there." He swallowed tightly, "Our father blamed us for her death, but Josiah took the greater mass of his anger. I tried to tell him that Josiah didn't force me to go with him to that cave, but he never believed I went willingly. We've been hanging out there for five years. No one forced me. But it was easier for him to point fingers at the twin he hated."

"That was very awful of him. He shouldn't be pointing fingers at all! None of you knew something like that would happen! None of you wanted your mother dead, it was a mistake!" You both would have died if not for her intervention. Why would he taint her priceless love for her sons and reduce it to something as meaningless misplaced as guilt!?" Sandra was fuming in anger.

Alphose shrugged, "It was easier for him to blame us-Josiah, I guess. Our mother saved our lives that day, but our father did not see it that way. You cannot blame him for that, her death was our fault anyway. I just hated that he was blaming only Josiah, making him suffer for the sins we both committed. Three months later, Josiah couldn't take it anymore. He met with the Alpha King and pleaded to be sent to the human world to work for NAALC. That was how he left."

"He worked hard to prove himself. It didn't take long for him to work his way up to the very top of the ladder as the CEO of the NAALC branch in Oklahoma. That place is-"

"Wait! our own Oklahoma...!?" Sandra gasped.

He nodded, "Ismena worked in his branch before she quit her job. When she was still running from Wolfaraine after pawning his ring, she ran into Josiah the day she was going to quit her job. He was the one that called the Alpha King and reported that he perceived Wolfaraine's scent on a human female. That was how the Alpha King tracked your best friend to Oklahoma."

"Woaaaah!!! Ismena told me all about that. Wow, so the infamous CEO of her company, Josiah Steele, is your twin brother!?" Her brain was whirling, "Of course. Your name is Alphose Steele. He IS your twin brother."

"He is." Alphose confirmed, "That is his own world now. Anyway, he never stepped foot in Naturiah again, not even when our father died. We became strangers to each other. Whenever I go to his branch on a business, we treat each other like the strangers we are. We can barely tolerate each other. Josiah hates me now." He deadpanned, his face neutral.

But, Sandra can see the pain he was hiding under that mask of indifference. She could almost taste it. "I'm so sorry, Alphose." She whispered, softly.

He averted his eyes, "I tried everything I could to stand with him in front of our father's rage and hate, but it didn't change anything. I was the coward that could never pull off the rebellious act. I think Josiah hated me for that too. It broke me when I woke up that morning and realized he has left for the human world."

"I sent all kinds of messages for him to come back. I pleaded. I begged. I escaped from home over and over again, tracked him down, and begged him to come home. But Josiah refused. I could never get through to him. The pain was immeasurable." He admitted, "Twelve months later, I escaped the last time and went to him. I was desperate. I told him that if he does not return with me that he was dead to me."

Sandra saw the remorse, the pain, and the grief in his eyes. She hurt for him. She hurt for the both of them.

"He chose the human world over me anyway. When our father's guards dragged me back to Naturiah, I was beyond heartbroken. I felt like I lost a huge part of myself. But that was our last friendly interaction with each other." For a few seconds, Sandra saw him drowning in grief right before her very eyes and it broke her heart.

But he blinked his eyes and it was gone. "Anyway, that is the story about me and my twin."

It was a heartbreaking story. Her happiness for the evening was long gone. She almost wished she never asked.

"When was the last time you saw him?" She inquired in a sad, gentle voice.

"Six months ago, when I was running a business errand for Wolfariaine. It was the first day we met, you and I. That day we bumped into each other, you remember? I was at a meeting with him and the shareholders an hour ago."

"Really!?" Sandra's eyes widened like saucers. That day was still as clear as the day to her. Ismena had bumped into Alphose on their way out of the mall where they'd shopped for the things Ismena would need for her wild vacation and her ridiculous To-Do list. "Wow, what a coincidence. What is he like now? Josiah?"

"Cold. As cold as ice." Alphose stated matter-of-factly. "Not just to me but to everyone, according to his workers. Oh, he can turn up the charm ninety degrees whenever he wanted to, but they are all facades. His eyes are as cold as an icicle and his emotions are almost non-existent. Our father succeeded in beating all his feelings away until a hard, unfeeling, ruthless male remained. When he's not turning up the charm, everyone in his world fears him. He has a way of effortlessly inspiring fear in people."

Sandra shivered just thinking about the image Josiah presented in her mind. If the male has the physiques Alphose possesses, she can understand the fear thing. Alphose is kind and calm, but his huge, muscled body and the frowning face of his bad mood are enough to scare people away.

If Alphose is that way, what will cold, ruthless, unfeeling Josiah be like? Sandra shuddered.

She truly hopes that she is not his mate, even though she feels sad about his story. No one deserves to grow up like that, but he is not the male she loves.

The male she is hopelessly in love with is the twin standing right beside her, staring into space with eyes that have recalled painful memories that were better left buried.

Although she was happy to know, she wished she never asked.

"Maybe we should allow him to rest, Alpha King," Degar suggested, quietly.

Wolfaraine stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes watching their patient. "No. His body is finally responding to treatment."

"But he has been like this for months now. I don't think he can ever fully regain consciousness again. Hell, the man died in every way a person both human and changeling does. If he was going to wake, he would have already done it by now. I think we are wasting our time...your blood on him. It's not looking like he will ever open his eyes again."

Wolfaraine said nothing. Everything the leopard Alpha said was true, so he did not bother to counter it.

"You are right, Degar. But I can't just give up on him."

"Is it because of your mate?"

"She misses him so much." He turned away, facing the door, "I have to get back. Let's give him two weeks more, if he does not wake after that, we can stop."

Degar nodded, turning to join him. Together they began walking out of the room.

They were almost at the door when they heard a sound, like the ruffling of the bedsheet. A groan came from behind them.

They froze.

Then they turned.

Alfred moved his body again, letting out another low groan.

Then slowly, his eyes opened.