A Beta Before An Alpha

Zac's Point of View I look at the time and realize I lost track of it. I planned on heading down to Peggy's an hour ago. It's 9:40 pm. It'l take me 10 minutes to get there, so I'l still be there before Lauren's shift ends, but I wanted to be there earlier to meet her Mom. did get a ton of work done though, so that feels good. I rush to get to my car, I don't want Lauren to think that I forgot about her so I send her a quick text, “On My Way!” when 1 pullin, it's 9:52pm. I hop out of my car, and right away I can smell an unrecognizable wolf scent, which doesn't alarm me because Joan's here. When I walk into Peggy's, I smell a scent that isn't the same as the one outside. That wasn’ Joan's scent I smelled outside. Peggy is sitting with Joan, and she’s waving me over, but I don't see Lauren. “Malcolm, where is she?" ask. Panic is starting to set it and, I completely ignore Lauren's Mom and Peggy. “She just went to the kitchen, to get an order, he answers. I rush to the kitchen, and the same scent I caught outside fills my nose. There is no sign of Jerome and no sign of Lauren. My heart is beating out of my chest. I hear the heavy steel door close, and I'm filled with dread. I run as fast as I can, and roar rips through my chest. SHE'S GONE- I mind link Malcolm and my warriors. I swing open the door and I see three men, two of which are carrying an unconscious Lauren to a white van. What the f** shift probably faster than I ever have before and run as fast as I can to them. The one guy not holding her shifts, and charges towards me. I can see the other two start opening the van door and start to put her inside, and it only intensifies my need to stop them. They can't get her out of here. I make contact with the wolf in front of me, and I tear into him so fast it barely slowed me from my mission to get to that f**++*g Van. He's dead on contact, and I have no remorse. I continue barrelling towards the van and I hear the thundering of paws behind me, which fills me with even more confidence. Both guys look panicked, as they try to scramble to get her completely into the van. One of them opens the driver's door and tries to get in, but he isn't fast enough. When my teeth sink into him, relief flooc me. I sink my teeth into his leg and use all the force I can to throw him away from the Van and to the ground. I turn to ma sure my warriors have the last guy, so I know Lauren's safe and no one is going to drive away with her. When I see them attacking, I bring my attention to the man in front of me. I'm so consumed by rage, and adrenaline that as I stalk over to him laying on the ground, 'm looking forward to what I'm going to do next. His leg is clearly dislocated. He's bleeding everywhere because of the damage my fangs have done already. I snarl as I inc towards him slowly. His eyes are filled with fear, and that's what I want. I want him to be scared, and I want him dead. “Ym sorry. Please. He made me do it. Please, don't,” he begs but I have no sympathy, and I show him no mercy as I lunge : his throat. My grip is tight, and for a second I hold it, listening to him howl in pain; enjoying the sound. Then I shake my head hard ripping him apart. His blood spills from his emotionless body, and L let out a ground-shaking growl. I force myself to let the anger go, as I shift and rush to the van where Lauren lay. Part of me wants to go total Jack Lavard on his a*s, and rip him to shreds, but I need to make sure Lauren's okay. I pick her up gently cradling her in my arms. She's unresponsive but I can feel that she's breathing, but it's so shallow, it's scary. “Call the doctor," 1 yell. All 1 can think about is, what if she’s not okay? I just found her, and the thought of losing her... f**k. I lean my head to her: “Please baby. Please. I need you. I love you," I repeat as I rock her in my arms. I'm a f****g wreck. If she's not okay. I'l los it. 1 already am. I feel like I'm losing my f*****g mind. I need her and I don't want to live without her. I can't. After what feels like forever, but I know it hasn't been that long because the doctor isn't even here yet, she starts to make sounds. My body tenses, and my eyes study her, looking for any movement. She lets out a groan and her cute little nose scrunches up, I let out a sigh of relief. She's going to be okay, and I pull her into my arms tightly. “Zac?” she mumbles, and I loosen my hold on her so I can see her face. Her eyes flutter, and she looks confused. “What's going on?” she asks. “You don't remember?” I see her brows furrow, and she takes a few seconds to think, and it's like I'm suddenly aware of ti fact that I have people all around me. Lauren's Mom, Peggy, Jenny and my guys. I was so wrapped up in Lauren, I didn’t notice. “You were working, you went into the kitchen for an order, Malcolm tries to jog her memory. She shakes her head, “I don't remember,” she sits up, and her hand moves to her neck with a wince. “What is it?" I ask. “It's burning she admits. I look and I see a small bead of blood, and notice the skin is red. “I think you were given a needle.’ “Wolfsbane?” Jenny asks. “How bad is it?" I press with concern. “I doubt it's wolfsbane, it's not that bad. This feels like scratching a bad sunburn,” she explains. “Nathan's guys drugged you and tried to abduct you” I explain and her eyes are wide with shock. “This is all my fault, they must have followed me," joan says. “Mom, you couldn't just stay there for the rest of your life. Everything is okay, I'm fine” Lauren comforts her. Even in her state, she's still worried about other people. She's so good. “You didn't do this, Nathan did. Don't blame yourself” 1 add. “ll run to your car to get you some shorts, Alpha,” Malcolm offers, and I nod appreciatively. I'm still naked, but Lauren's covering the goods, as she sits on me, Still, it's not the best way to meet my mother-in-law fo the first time. I think I might have made a s**t first impression. “What happened? They weren't successful obviously?” Lauren asks. I explain what happened. “Wow, thanks for helping save me,” Lauren looks at Jenny and the guys. They smile and nod. “It sounds like it was a close call. How did you know when you first came in?” she peers up at me through her thick lashes “I noticed a wolf scent I didn't recognize outside, and I assumed it was your mom's, but when I got inside she didn't smell anything like it. Then I didn't see you, and the panic set in," I admit, and pull her into me tighter, to soothe myself from tf thought of losing her. “Ym okay. I'm safe, You saved me," she whispers as she cups my cheeks in her hands. I enjoy her warmth, and hold her ga She's trying to make me feel better, and I appreciate it. “Ym glad I wasn't any later. I wouldn't give up. Never! But they would have gotten to Nathan before I did. I... I don't even want to think about what would have happened,” I admit. We both know what he wanted to do to her. I knew I should hay attacked him after our phone call. should have protected her better. “Don’t. You weren't too late. I'm fine,” she reassures me. The doctor shows up, so I get up and put on some track pants and a t-shirt Malcolm got in my trunk. We always have spar clothes in our trunk, because you never know when you'll need them. Now that I know she's okay, and 1 don’t have her in my arms, I am filled with rage again. I f*****g warned him. “Ym going to make a call baby, I'll be right back," I say and give her a kiss. “Guys, search the Van, see if you come up with anything,” I order, as I walk away from everyone to get privacy. Lauren's Point of View “Ym going to make a call baby, I'll be right back," Zac says. He tells the guys to search the van, and then he stalks off to the other end of the parking lot to make a call. “Are you okay, hun,’ my Mom asks, and Jenny sits beside me rubbing my back. I nod. “I'm fine, I can just see Zac is really upset. I'm worried,” I admit. “Oh, 1 get where he’s coming from. I can see how much he loves you. You're everything to him. I know he’s just worried an mad, and he has every right to be," she says. “Ym s0 glad you're okay,’ Jenny says. “What's this?” One of the guys asks, holding up a tablet. “It's a map with 2 blinking targets, one... here and the other is in... Frankfurt, like 1300 km's away,” he concludes. “That's where Julien is. They were tracking us?” My Mom gasps. “How? On our Cars?” She asks. “It's in an app. Let me look it up,” Malcolm says. We all wait, watching him. “You'd have to have the app on your phone,” he explains, showing her the name of the app. “I've never heard of that," she says defensively. She opens her phone and starts looking through it. “Look... i's not there,” she says and hands her phone to Malcolm. Malcolm goes through it. After a minute he hands it back. “It was in your utility folder. Did anyone have access to your phone since Lauren Left?” he asks. “Alpha had them for hours the other day, waiting for Lauren to call. But I was with him, and I didn't see him on them. He just left them on his desk,” she explains. “Well he added it,” he adds. You must have been distracted or something. “Ym 50 sorry, Lauren,” she pleads. She looks so heartbroken. “You didn't know, Ma. It's okay. Please don't beat yourself up about this. I'm okay," I assure her. The doctor is done looking at the injection site and asks me some questions. After a few minutes, he concludes it was probably just a reaction to a drug called propofol. “Burning at the injection site is a possible side effect, and the fact that you woke so quickly, seems fitting for that drug” “Doctor, I know you're a pack doctor, but can you look at one of my guys. He got hit with the same thing, but he seemed t have hit his head on the way down. Can you check him out, see if he's okay?” Peggy asks. Doc nods and follows her inside zac walks back, “What did Doc say," he asks, pulling me into him. “Ym fine. The burning is just a reaction to what they used. I'm fine though,” I say, making eye contact. “I'm fine,” I say again. He gives me a small smile. “I know. 1 don't want you to worry either, okay. I'm going to take care of this. You are not going to live in fear he assures me. He seems to have a sense of calm about him now. “What do you mean? It's taken care of. He didn't succeed,’ 1 rebut. “Come on, it's cold out here, let's get you and your Mom home,” he looks to my Mom and smiles. “Babe?” I question. He pulls me in, so we're face to face, and bends his head down to mine. “It's not over. I'm sorry, I can't do nothing anymore. I warned him. He's not getting away with this” he answers. He lays a small kiss on my lips and then picks me up, bridal style. “What are you going to do?” I ask, now I'm starting to panic, I don't even think to argue about him carrying me like this. “We're going to go and get your coat and bag, and then get you home,” he answers. “And after that?” I plead. “And then after that, I am driving to Claw Moon and I am killing Nathan,” he deadpans. My Mom gasps, her hand flies on her mouth. “Please, don't go. Don't. Zac, please; I beg. I don't want him to get hurt, or anyone else. “Ym not going alone, I'm going to be fine," he comforts me. “zac, please,” I plead. “Baby, I'm sorry. When I told him that I would kill him and anyone else who tried to lay a finger on you, I wasn't lying. You MY woman. No one +s with you and gets away with it," he says. I can tell he’s trying to hold back his anger because he’ talking to me, but the vein in his neck is popping out. I do the only thing I can think of to calm him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself up. Zac sees I'm trying to change positions, and lets me. He's carrying me now one hand holding my a*s, the other on my back with my legs wrappe around him. I hug him tight, breathe him in, and hope he does the same for me. “I love you,” I whisper. “I love you too, baby. More than anything and he uses his hand to rub my back and holds me tighter. I was supposed to comforting him. I lean back to look at him. “I wanted to calm you, but you're calming me down,” I admit. Then I see a genuine smile from him. That damn smile gets me every time. When we get inside, he puts me down, and grabs my coat, and puts it on me. He grabs my bag. “Ym walking now; I say before he has the chance to pick me up again. He opens his mouth to protest but closes his mout and nods. I look to my Mom and she's smirking at us. “Sorry Joan, I was hoping the first time we officially met, I'd be less... homicidal." She smiles, “I appreciate it. I'm glad my baby is taken care of" she says. He wraps her in a hug, “I'm going to protect her,” he adds. “I know." I see Jerome sitting on a stool while the doctor checks him out. “How are you, Jerome?” I ask. “Sore head, but other than that I'm alright” he admits. “Ym glad you're okay." “Babe, we should get going. Everyone is going to be waiting for us," Zac says. My Mom gets in her car, to follow and I get in Zac's. The guys are staying behind to have the mess cleaned up. Once we st driving, I grill Zac about his plan. “How many of your warriors are you bringing?” I ask. “All of them,” he states. “All of them? On a 10 hour drive?” He nods. “I don't know how many of the members are warriors. Are you bringing enough people? Nathan's pack is a little bigger th yours,” I question. “Ours. It's our pack, not just mine. And I called Julien, got all the information I needed about Claw Moon,” he answers. “50 that's who you called,” I think out loud. “I called a few people. I felt like I was going to lose my mind until I had a plan in place,” he admits and gives my hand a squeeze and a kiss. “Well, what about the fact that I know a lot of those people. Aside from Nathan, and maybe his officials, they are good people,” I counter. “If they stand for him and his behaviour, they die,” he states bluntly. “Well, what if they don't know what they're standing for?" “Ill try to give everyone an opportunity to walk away. If they put themselves between me and him, they'll die,” he states. “I don't like this. I don't want anyone to get hurt, or die.’ When we pull in, there are people everywhere, standing outside in the dark. “Do they know already?” I ask. “Yeah, one of the phone calls I made," he forces a smile. “I don't like people risking their lives for me either," I plead. There are so many aspects to this that don't like. “Everyone adores you here, and this is about more than just you. This shows disrespect to everyone in this pack. If Natha thought that all of us would just lie down and take such an act of disrespect to any one of our members, let alone our Luna, he’s wrong! f**k, is he wrong! Everyone will be outraged. Trust me, come on,” he adds and gets out of the car. He rur around and gives me his hand while I get out. Zac pulls me in front of the crowd, and I usher my Mom to follow. “I made the call to be ready for battle. You have all gathered yourselves and made yourselves ready. Thank you. You all must be wondering who we're fighting, and why. Something Lauren and I haven't disclosed, is I am Lauren's second chan mate. She was mated to the Alpha of her old pack at Claw Moon. He treated her badly, so she rejected him. Once he foun out that she had found her second chance mate, he was filled with jealousy and wanted her back. He had the intention of finding her, abducting her and raping her. I spoke with him the other day and warned him. Tonight an attempt was made. They drugged her and were putting her unconscious body in a van when I found them. If I would have arrived just second later, she wouldn't be standing beside me right now,” he explains in a hard tone. Audible gasps are heard all over. “They made an attempt on our Luna. I won't stand for that. Will you?” He yells, and the crowd is screaming. He looks at me and squeezes my hand. “They think they can get away with this, and not suffer the consequences? They think we'll roll over and accept this disrespect?” He raises his voice again, and the crowd is hollering. “Anyone who wants to fight with me, meet me here in a half an hour. Grab a change of clothes. It's a long drive, and we won't be home until late tomorrow night, at the earliest,” he adds. People are starting to disperse, but I have people around me everywhere asking if I'm okay. I assure them all that I am an thank them for their concern. Then Zac grabs my Mom's bags and carries them to her room for her. Even with all this going on, he’s still a gentleman. “Mom, your place will be ready in a few days, so we'll set you up in one of the single rooms for now," I explain. She nods happily. “A toom is always fine, I don't need a house,” she explains. “Yes you do’ Zac cuts in. “Ill let you get settled a little Mom, and I'll come back in a bit," I explain. “Sounds good. Hey, be safe, Zac. Get back here in one piece,’ my Mom orders. He smiles and nods, “Yes Ma'am!” zac packs a change of clothes, and I sit on the bed. Maybe it's the drugs, but I feel almost out of body. Is this happening? He's leaving? What if something bad happens? I don't want anyone getting hurt. What if I never see him again? I feel my heart beating hard, and I'm struggling to breathe. I lay back and close my eyes to try and calm myself down. “Lauren?” Zac calls. “Yeah?” “I can feel your emotions. For the first time, I can feel them. Calm down,” he says and lays beside me, and hauls me into him, wrapping his big strong arms around me. I can feel myself calm a little. “I always feel so safe in your arms,” I whisper “Ym glad. 1 want you to feel safe everywhere else too. This has to be done. I'm sorry, I hate to do this without your suppor but 1 have to.” “Why don't you call your brother after we leave and ask him to call his warrior friends and spread the word that Nathan's goons drugged you and tried to kidnap you. Then when we attack tomorrow, if I can, I'll give everyone the option of walki away from the fight. If they fight for him, then at least you know who they really were, and you'll know you tried to save them,” he suggests. “That's a good idea. Thank you... I'm going to miss you. You'll be gone for 24 hours, maybe more,” 1 frown. “ll miss you so much,” he admits and gives me a kiss. “Do you feel better?” He asks. “A little. It's cool that the bond is getting stronger. You could feel my emotions, I admit. “It was faint and flickering, but when I looked at you I could tell it was you. Only 25 more hours and we'll feel the full effects.” “I can’t wait until we can mark each other, and it is official,” I need it to be official. I need him coming home to me. “When I get home... Something to look forward to” he grins. He kisses my head and pulls me up. Then he grabs his bag, a wraps an arm around me. “Come on, I need to get to the kitchen’ In the kitchen, Zac instructs the staff to bring coolers and coolers of prepared food and drinks outside. I guess he called the kitchen staff earlier too. We head outside, and people are hanging around chatting waiting to go. “Alpha, how far is Claw Moon?” a woman asks, and Zac looks to me. “Depending on traffic when you go through the cities, around 10-11 hours," I say and they look surprised. “We'll take shifts driving so when we get there in the morning, we'll all be well-rested,” Zac explains. “How many warriors do they have?” Another warrior asks. “Lauren's brother was a warrior there, and he said they have about 220 warriors," Zac answers. “But Alpha, we only have around 150 warriors, they out num-" everyone stops talking because we see headlights in the distance, shining through the dark and peaking through the trees. “Who's that?” I ask.