Wolf
No no crazy lady. I don’t think you understand the danger I’m in if I get found. Besides, are you sure that you’re sane enough to be out in public?
“It’s about time you stopped hiding who you are.” Maria’s voice said, drifting through my head.
How are you able to talk to me like this? We aren’t connected as mates, pack, or even blood exchange...
Why do I feel like I’m going to regret the day that I ever met you? I sighed letting go of my hold on the others so they could function again. Why didn’t my alpha-ness work on you?
“It did, but because of my age and gifts I am not so easily forced into a physical act of submission. I am more than happy to allow you to be the Dama that you are, the others fought against your status and therefore were forced to show an act of submitting to your will.”
Okay, now I felt like an asshole for forcing them to recognize me as more dominant than they all were. What she said did make perfect sense though, when I thought about it. Even though I was the “wolf” brain some of the nuances of werewolf life needed to be explained.
“Now, if you want our help, we need to let our leader know what’s going on.
As an Elder to this pack or what you might know as a Wise Woman, Shaman, or Witch Doctor my requests and advice is always listened to.
They might choose to ignore me, but they will listen and that is all we need right now.
Come, we have a day’s journey to get where we are going, maybe longer if it keeps snowing. ”
Without even glancing back, Maria trotted out of the cavern and headed for the tunnel with the others right on her heels.
I groaned, shaking out my fur in frustration, feeling like I wasn’t understanding half of what came out of Maria’s mouth, but I wasn’t going to be left behind when there was a promise of help.
Maria led the pack, while Luis took up the rear to make sure nothing was sneaking up behind us.
I was placed in the middle with all the others surrounding me like guards keeping me hidden from view.
Neveah was to my left, her wolf a beautiful mixture of red brown and black fur, perfect for hiding in the shadows of the forest. Her mate was right beside her, keeping a careful eye on her, without trying to make it too obvious.
As for the others, they moved along smoothly, a perfect unit comfortable with this way of traveling, a true pack.
It gave me hope that one day I would be able to build this within my own pack on Kursar, but if the rumors were true and the Collective took over the island, then I wasn’t sure I had a pack to return to.
Would they be better off without me? Maybe the Collective was the right move and what was best for the pack.
I certainly had no clue what I was doing and without Astrid to guide me I wasn’t sure that I wanted to fill that role anymore.
Once I had Hope back, she was going to be my main priority— keep her safe, healthy, and happy.
My child needed to have the life I never did, with a loving parent who was present in their life.
Friends, birthday parties, school plays, and other simple things that I never got to enjoy.
It was then I realized that as I’d been thinking all of this Viv had begun to surface, being drawn to the dream that she was sharing with me of what our life could have been.
If you want to provide all that for Hope, it means that you are going to need to face the things you have been hiding from. Eventually, you are going to need to rejoin the world of the living.
At some point that will need to happen, but not yet... I need more time. You are handling things just fine without me... you even have someone to talk to besides me.
I growled at that statement. That is not the same as working with the person who shares a brain with me.
We are not two different people Viv, I am a part of who you are at your core.
To ignore that fact will shatter us eventually, I can hold us together for a little longer, but I refuse to let you ruin us.
Maybe it’s better if I’m not part of this anymore. I fail everyone I care about— most of them are now dead. There is no reason for anyone to rely on me for anything...I should just fade away...
Don’t you fucking dare. If you give up you kill us both, don’t you get that?
It would seem that we are at an impasse, because I just don’t care... I don’t know if I will ever be able to care again.
What about Hope? You just going to leave her with Jason and Vadik to be raised as some piece of meat to be sold off to the highest bidder?
You will get her back, then we can make sure she has a home, people that will love her and not fail her like I have.
I can’t talk to you anymore, just go back to wherever the hell you are hiding.
See I’ve even disappointed you... the other half of my soul.
Snarling, I shut the door on Viv, her words filling me with a new kind of rage, one that made me want to grab her by the neck and strangle her until she could see reason.
This was not Viv, she was stronger than this.
We’d been fighting all our lives to prove how we could do anything if we worked hard enough for it.
I know that losing Violet, and possibly our mates, was going to be a hard blow to deal with, but I never expected her to just choose to roll over and quit.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when the pack slowed to a halt.
Quickly, I scented the air and caught what they’d noticed while I was lost in thought...
blood. It was a sharp metallic tang in the air, and it was fresh.
Luis let out a short sharp bark that sent us in a wide arc crouched low to the ground as we approached the source of the scent.
Without breaking through the trees into the open space, I saw the splash of crimson across the snow making it more gruesome to look upon.
A woman lay there naked and gutted, the look of shock and horror still on her face as she stared lifelessly up at the sky.
Unable to scent anything else nearby, I approached the body, ignoring the warning growls of the others around me.
As I looked down at this woman, I couldn’t help but notice what had gotten her killed in such a brutal manner.
She looked as if she could be my sister, the same brunette hair, sea colored eyes that were more green than mine but still close.
It would seem that when whoever took her figured out that she wasn’t me, they’d killed her and feasted on her body, making it look like an animal attack.
“This is the work of one of Grayson’s men,” Maria said as she walked up next to me. “They believe that humans should be treated like animals, seen as lesser beings since werewolves are more advanced than they are. This, this is the battle that we are fighting against Dama.”
I don’t doubt what you are saying, but this woman died because they thought she was me.
“You might be right, but it still doesn’t change what I’ve told you.
He could have let her go, but instead he killed her and treated her like the prey he believes she is.
” Maria turned to meet my gaze. “Do you think Vadik will act any differently when he takes over the eastern hemisphere? Those two brothers plan to rule the world, sending us back to the dark ages when the Dark Moon pack was at its prime. We can not let that happen.”
What do you want me to do about it?
Maria let out a huff before she snapped at my ear. “Are you even listening to me, cachorro? You are the last female alpha, the true leader to any and all werewolves. It is your duty to help us with this matter and protect werewolves and humans alike.”
How do you expect me to do that when I can’t even protect my own child and the human side of me is giving up?. I growled baring my teeth at her. I never asked for this responsibility, hell I didn’t even ask to be created.
“Gods above, it’s a good thing I found you, because you need someone to swat you on the ass. Trust me, once we get a hold of Christian and he agrees with me that we need to help you. I will smack you out of this pity party.”
I am not having a pity party— Viv is.
“Cachorro I’ve been alive for far too long and raised too many children to not tell when someone is having a temper tantrum. You my dear, are in the middle of one on epic proportion.”
As she spoke she reminded me so much of Astrid I couldn’t help but be slapped upside the head.
“Come on, we aren’t too far from town. The faster we can get there the faster we can get working on returning your daughter to you.”
Without further argument, I left the dead woman behind and rejoined the rest of the pack.
Now that we were lower in the mountain, the snow wasn’t as deep so we could move much faster, and within a few hours signs of civilization started to appear.
Maria led us to a small cottage that had a large doggie door at the rear of the house that allowed us to slip in unnoticed.
Everyone started shifting back, grabbing clothes out of a dresser that was left in the living room I’m assuming for this reason.
Maria grabbed an old style cell out of a wall safe and plopped down at the kitchen table.
“Hello Christian, I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I? Sounds like you are out with people... Oh, you don’t say. Well as it so happens, I am looking right at her... well her wolf that is, Viv won’t come out to talk to us,” Maria drawled, raising a brow at me.
I let out a sneeze as I turned my back on her even though I was listening very intently to what was happening on the phone.
“Did she just say she is there with Viv right now?.”
Leaping to my feet I dashed over to Maria, putting my front paws on her lap so I could hear the phone better, because that sounded like Darius.
“Chill man, let me get the information before you attack me with questions. Sorry about that Maria, they are all a little high strung and we’ve been on the road six hours since we didn’t want to drive through Wyoming. What safe house are you guys at?” a man who I assumed was Christian asked.
“We are in Steamboat Springs,” Maria informed him, shoving me off her lap.
“Alright, it will take us another two hours to get there, unless they decide to not worry about getting a speeding ticket.”
“If it was Kate, would you care even if you did get a ticket?” Orion demanded.
I let out a whine upon hearing his voice and there was a collective rumbling coming from the other side of the phone.
“I would plan on seeing us shortly Maria, oh and you might want to warn the others these guys are a bit touchy when it comes to new people and their mate.”
“Trust me, I can’t wait to meet the men who Viv has picked in person. This is the most fun I’ve had in decades,” Maria chuckled as she hung up the phone. “See cachorro, all is well and working out just as it should, now we wait.”