Her Savior Alpha

“Why the hell have you been gone so long? You have a curfew, can you not adhere to it?” Dane was bellowing down the hall back at the country house. How could I tell him I’d had my bones caved in my Reily and his crew and needed time for recovery? He simply would have said it served me right. The lights were on in the kitchen and I was walking through to escape to the attic. I didn’t get too far before Dane caught wind.

“I had some stocking of supplies that I had to do over at the medical infirmary and there were some lockers that needed extra cleaning so I stayed back to make sure they were in tip top shape.” No chance of extra praise from Dane that much I knew. The only thing I would receive from him was an extra lashing.

“Hmpf. If I go over there and that’s not the case you’re going to wish yourself dead. You broke curfew regardless of your sucking up. You won’t get any brownie points from me on that front. You have house chores until the end of the week. I need the oven scrubbed and cleaned. I want the toilets and bathrooms taken care of as well. Think you can get that right at least?”

Dane’s reprimands were a welcome relief from his hands. “I can do that,” I quipped swiftly hoping to avoid further eye contact and slip away to my room. Grant was likely at her boyfriend’s house which gave me peace and time to recover from my wounding. It was a strange thing the way my body healed. I could feel the sealing over of the wounds when I applied the healing balm my mother taught me to make.

A funny tingling sensation would cover the site of the wound and a soft heat would travel through the inside of my body lighting it up from the inside. I used to travel with my mother deep into the forest to collect the four pronged leaves from the special tree. She would crush it for several minutes creating a paste with mortar and pestle. Once the paste was formed she would add a touch of vinegar and some other drops of things I had no idea about. That same plant and recipe she eventually showed me how to concoct led me to healing quickly.

Returning my attention to the present I observed Dane’s eyes on me. He knew I was lying, I could tell, he was looking straight at the wounds on my face and anyone with half a brain could tell I’d been beaten. The beating must have been bad because the latter half of it I had no recollection of.

“You should clean yourself up every now and then Vera.” Dane stalked away from the kitchen and into his quarters. I turned on my heel with my shoulders hunched in vowing I wouldn’t cry as I touched my tender cheek. Pity my face never stayed the same from day to day. I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself anymore so I thought about my upcoming birthday and how I was about to change and into adulthood, or rather wolfhood.

What would my fur look like? Would I be the same color as the pack? Would I have lots of fur or would I be as scrawny as I was in human form? I hoped I was as big as Dane. I fantasized about being the biggest, baddest wolf in all of Mount Hunter and biting each and every one of my bullies. I saw myself towering over them in my dream and ripping into their flesh. Not all of it, just enough for them to scream and want out. I wanted to inflict as much pain on them as they inflicted on me.

As my body burned with every step up the stairs I looked forward to the small moments. Soon I would be under the warmth of the shower and letting the wounds of the immediate past wash away down the drain. I would pray my grandfather would release me from the shameful bonds of the past, but if he didn’t I was growing tired of the beatings. I wondered if Thelma might be able to help me train. Even if I was a scrawny wolf I might have been able to get Archer to bring me enough fruit to fuel my system.

I got one wish, I made it to the shower and let the waves of water wash off the crusted up blood as it traveled down the drain. As soon as I got out of the shower I towel tried my hair and sighed knowing the rest of the week would be a tough one of additional chores and avoiding more beatings. Such was the life of an orphaned killer.

The next day I got started on my chores. I was in the kitchen as my hands shriveled up like a prune. I drew them out of the water and turned my hands over several times wishing for an alternate reality. One where my parents were still alive and I could put my hand in mother’s and skip along with her. I wanted to be back there and rewind the clock, but now I was still in this hell hole existence living under duress at the hands of my grandfather who hated my guts.

I still had the pantry to clear out. I was asked to clear the shelves and clean them down. A sharp pang of anxiety pierced through my body as I heard the clunk of Dane’s shoes coming in towards me. Simultaneously I heard a light pitter patter of feet coming my way. I swiveled my head in both directions as I didn’t know where to look. Thelma reached me first with a look of shock on her face. “Why are you in here doing dishes? Shouldn’t you be over at the barracks and don’t you have school today?” Sometimes Thelma came to the house with the others especially if there was a meeting in the private section of the space.

Sighing with a weariness that existed beyond my years I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t have time to get mad about it because Dane’s energy filled the room with its dimness.

“She is doing the chores I asked her to do. You don’t have time to worry about that Thelma. I need you in the meeting. You have a recon coming up and I need to you to be sharper than ever. Come with me now.” His command was enough to hypnotize most wolves. He would only speak once and everyone would follow him. He also was one of the largest most cunning wolves that existed generationally. Dane was a force not be tried. I’d been on the other end of his wrath too many times to count.

“Okay, but she has to go to school -” I felt my stomach tighten for a minute. Thelma please stop talking. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I wanted to tell her that Dane had a temper on him. He could send someone clean across a wall with one backhander. It was almost as if he was on the tennis court and the wolves who crossed him were the ball and being ping ponged over the net. I had no idea where he got the power from. He had a superhuman strength that was unheard of to me. His blows were even worse than Reily’s and his crew he did more damage with less.

“Thelma, you would be wise to follow me into the meeting room. We have much to discuss. Vera you won’t be going to school today. You have those chores to do and you won’t defy me. You will get them all done by nightfall. Don’t forget your duties over at the barracks as well. You have a lot to do Vera.”

“I know. Thanks.” If one of my syllables was off Dane would haul off and hit me.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “What did you say?”

“I said okay,” I said with a watery smile. Please leave me alone to my chores is what I wanted to say to him. I was growing tired of it all and if my father were here he would have stopped my grandfather. Did I really cause their death? Would it not have turned into a bloodbath anyway? Wasn’t it inevitable?

Contemplating the fight I got to work on the shelves in the pantry, I got into a rhythm and even turned on the radio that sat on the marble bench next to the dish rack. I found myself dancing and giggling. Something Archer said to me about dancing and being silly perked up in my mind getting me to groove a little. He caught me twirling around with the broom when I was sweeping out the weapons closet. Pockets of dust had collected in its corners and I’d tried to find joy in the small things in life at that point. It’s all I could manage to do.

“Vera Hunter I didn’t know you had moves. Nice. Maybe you can teach me to dance.” Archer’s face stared on in amusement as I gyrated around the broom, that was before he saw me. As soon as his pebble colored eyes landed on me I melted to mush and a girl flush of embarrassment.

“Busted, I’m not that good a dancer, I was trying to have a little fun I guess.” My bangs covered my eyes in shyness, or what I thought was shyness, but this feeling was different. There was a funny ache in the core of me when he came close. Goosebumps mysteriously found their way to my arms and whenever our paths crossed I wanted to see his face more. Archer represented calm waters, like the river near the thatched house I wished to escape to most of the time.

“You’re a very good dancer. It’s nice to see you smile Vera, I know things are hard for you.” His voice was smooth and velvety and at least I could enjoy the pleasures of listening to him and being part of his energy.

“Thanks, it has been hard. I guess all I can do is survive.”

“You can do more than survive Vera. You should be able to live your life. It’s yours. Your parents wouldn’t want this for you.”

Archer’s understanding along with Thelma’s alliance helped me feel less alone and gave me strength. If it wasn’t for them both I wouldn’t be able to stand the grind of the days I endured.

I let the memory fade away as I reached for a cookie jar at the top of the pantry shelves even with my arm fully stretched I wasn’t able to reach it. I bit my bottom lip in strain as I managed to inch the jar forward and it toppled towards me. I watched as the jar moved towards me, but I misjudged my timing and the barking sound of Dane entering the kitchen startled me and I dropped the glass jar watching in slow motion as the glass shards hit the floor.

“You fool! Pick that up!” One of the shards landed on the open flesh of my ankle. I could feel the glass digging in as I bent over and dragged the small sliver out of it. I winched as the blood spilled over to the tiled floor. I already knew this would come with the repercussions of a beating. I didn’t know how bad and now all was left to worry about was how long it would take to heal.

Skimming over the room I looked around for the broom and scooper to pick up the smaller pieces of glass. “Sorry, I thought I had it,” I mumbled without looking up. Oh shit. What would he do now?

“Clearly you didn’t, and now you have blood all over the floor. Clean it up now!” Dane screamed as I looked at the rage firing in his eye. Adrenaline flooded my system and the last thing I worried about was the blood streaming from my foot. Thelma stepped in to help me.

“Dane, stop. Her foot is bleeding she didn’t mean it.” Her voice was soft, and it was more of a suggestion because no-one challenged Dane. All the other wolves broke out of the meeting room and I heard them leave out of the front door quietly. If I was getting beaten nobody cared, it was the norm in the Hunter pack. I was simply the punching bag of whoever saw fit.

“Shut up Thelma! You answer to me. You will not defend her. You have your orders.” He scolded Thelma and I saw Thelma’s ears turn red along with her little cheeks. She was small, but she was mighty and courageous. Too courageous for my liking and this time it wasn’t just me who was about to get beaten. A loud thumping noise pounded through my broken body. Oh wait, that was my heartbeat. I was willing to put my life on the line for Thelma. She’d done the same for me on so many occasions.

I found the scooper and began sweeping up the glass. I’d never finished a task so quickly in my life. Dane stood tall and opened his chest as his fists curled into balls. They were so tight I could see the white of his knuckles. His jaw clenched down with suppressed anger as his onyx colored pupils burned a hole in Thelma. It was time like these I wished my Mindlink abilities would extend to her. To my pained surprise she rose to the challenge of Dane and tilted her chin upward with a smirk.

Dane responded by lunging at her with such quickness it made my breath catch in my throat as he pinned her to the ground. I heard the sickening thud of her back hitting the tile as the wind whooshed out of her lungs. She wailed in pain as she cried out while Dane knelt on her chest with his teeth bared. He was still in human form and my over protective instincts kicked in as I threw caution to the wind and flew at him with all the buried rage from all the beatings and the harrowing grief buried in my soul. The white of Dane’s eyes opened up as I threw him off center and he fell off Thelma. I saw her rise slowly out of the corner of my eye. She had a crippling walk as she held her back in pain. Dane fixated his attention to me now as he grabbed me around the neck lifting me off the ground. He held me in the air as my arms flailed to my air supply. Thick cord-like veins emerged on the side of his neck as he laughed with wickedness.

“You little shit. I could crush your windpipe with one squeeze. You’re no match for a wolf like me. You have aroused my anger and you’re a fool to do so.” Dane’s voice was deadly calm as he delivered the next onslaught of beatings. He released me from the air as I crumpled to the ground.

My legs crumbled underneath me as I laid on my side. Tears burned down my cheeks. Not tears of sadness or victimhood, but tears of frustration that I was powerless to fight him. I wanted to so bad. If I could have killed my grandfather then I would have. A blinding rage covered me, but I had not the power to do so. He kicked me in the side and heaved me over his shoulder as he threw me like a javelin across the floor.

My back banged against the wall as the back of my skull hit the wall. All my brains rattled around in my head like Skittles. “You took my children from me! My wife is gone already! I will never forgive you. You are nothing to me. You will die a lonely one.”

Distress covered me as the words set in and my stomach heaved from pain. My hands were white and shaking. Bones were broken for sure. Pins and needles pricked my body all over. Something in my spine was wrong and I didn’t know what. I would have to fix it. I didn’t dare move as my grandfather left the room. As he walked away he left his last request. “Clean up this mess.”

His boots crunched over the glass on the tile as the front door slammed as I jumped. Despite my pain I reached out across the room. I could see Thelma’s face. “Thelma are you okay? Please, Thelma. I’m sorry,” I sobbed.

It was time now for me to learn to fight. Enough was enough.