Her Savior Alpha

“I have to get a message to Clive, maybe he can pass the message onto Grant. Surely, she won’t stand with your grandfather now. He’s mentally insane, and deserves to be locked up in a strait jacket.”

Vera jogged to the back room without answering and brought out her backpack.

“We leave tonight. It’s better if we leave then, my Lycan can see through better, I have a hyper sensitivity to the light of the moon. Are you ready?”

I retracted my face back from her as I sat at the kitchen table. I must have looked like I had a double chin in doing so. “No, I’m not ready, but I promised, I would stay with you. I’m with you all the way, win, lose or draw.”

Vera whipped her long ponytail behind her toned shoulders. “There is no draw. Not with Dane, it’s kill or be killed. You have to understand that. You come with me Archer knowing you can lose your life.”

Her words hit me in the heart, but it was bursting at the seams with the love I had for her. “I get it. It’s a chance I’m willing to take. Like I told you, I’m not your keeper. You’re a big girl.”

“Let’s go, let’s move now while the light of the moon is angling west. It will help us on the journey. We are over 100 miles out and it took as couple of days to get here, but if we travel at speed, then we can make good time.”

“Vera, you want to reserve your energy stores right? I don’t want to get there and have nothing left.”

Vera scoffed with a cocked eyebrow. “Are you talking about me or you? My Lycan can regenerate itself just fine. If you’re coming with me, keep up.” While her tone was clipping and cutting I took in the warning steeling my mind for battle.

Come on Archer, you’re the one that taught her the art of attack. The subtle offhanded attack and to sit in wait, believe in yourself. This is the pep talk I gave myself as I made sure we had enough human snacks and water for the journey.

Vera watched me with wry amusement. “You’re not going to need those snacks. We can eat as wolves. That ought to give us enough fuel to keep going.”

Feeling silly I left the snacks on the counter hastily. “Umm, yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m ready to go when you are.” I wanted to keep my fear in check, but my knees were knocking together in fear. I wanted nothing more than to hide in rinky apartment we’d set up in. I stole once last look around, because I got the idea we weren’t coming back any time soon.

“We’re going to win Archer. Stop worrying. We can make decisions on the way.”

That’s when the trip began and we walked at first, I wanted to call and get a message to Clive before we dropped out of cell phone range. “Hey I’ve gotta get this message to Clive,” I said to her as we hiked our way through the shadows. There was probably half an hour of light left and I knew we would be turning soon to make a run.

Vera had that same determined singular focus she had when hunting. She was staring into the unforeseen path as I rang Clive’s number hoping Dane wasn’t near him. I had to work quick as I was sure he would target Clive and Thelma next.

“Clive! Clive? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

Vera picked up her stride and I had to huff and move at the same time. “You’re breathing hard, what’s going on? Are you running from something?”

“Yes, we’re coming your way, through the night. We’re coming up to Mount Hunter. You have to get to Reily, Vera can feel him, he’s been trapped in the dungeon - Dane, it’s Dane.” In my head the sentences made complete sense, when speaking them out loud they came out in a jumbled mess.

“Okay, slow down. Say it again for me. Dane has Reily somewhere, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s got Reily in the same dungeon he locked Vera in. His arm is bleeding and it’s bad. Find Grant, Dane has gone crazy, he’s after Vera. We’re on our way, we should be there by morning light.” Relieved that I got out all I wanted to say I sucked in a deep breath as Vera began to run.

“Okay, I have to go. Dane has lost it. He’s been rampaging all day and it’s getting worse here. He’s making unnecessary demands on the soldiers and sending them out on hunts every other day to get to her. I will try to pave the way for you. Come through the east side of the barracks, the fencing isn’t finished there yet. It needs repair work still, that’s the one good thing about Dane’s rage, he’s been lax on the security in some areas.”

“Clive, do all you can. It’s serious. Get to Reily before it’s too late.”

“Already on it with Grant. She’s on side now too. She’s come to her senses. Be safe on your journey. Look forward to seeing you both.”

“See you soon Archer!” Vera called out as she shifted, quickly with her backpack around her neck. She was smart and had hooked around her before she changed. I had to work to keep up with her and mirrored her as we run through the night. We ran so hard and so fast with the illumination of Vera’s eyes guiding us. My fur was starting to sweat and Vera’s Lycan was in no mood to slow down. It was as if it had no stop button.

Are you tired? Vera’s Lycan questioned as it stretched forward on its paws stopping to capture a field mouse under its paw. She dropped it into her mouth as she dug and pulled another one out of its cubby hole under the brush flicking it over to me. I caught it in my jaw, crunching its bones and dropping down to sit in the dirt for a moment. Vera’s golden eyes stared back at me for a moment.

Come on, it’s time to run. We have to get back on track and get going. Vera’s Lycan was relentless and my tongue was dragging out my mouth. “The quicker we run the more chance we have of saving Reily.” This wasn’t Vera speaking, this was her wolf. A wolf I both adored and was deathly afraid of. I got up and Vera touched her wet nose with mine. Something magical happened. It was almost as if powers transferred from her Lycan to me. Energized and ready to run again I kept pace with Vera’s Lycan and we stopped twice to nap on two occasions. I guessed Lycan’s needed rest too.

Rustling noises in the forest increased as we approached the mountainous regions, more lush forests began to surround us as the barren landscape petered out. More places for the predators to hide in. I kept alert and circled behind Vera wanting to keep her safe. I saw sets of beading yellow eyes staring back through the oak trees, but as they came into view, I saw it was deer, baby animals and non threatening mammals.

Tensions ran high as the night faded gradually and the slow creep of the blue sky slowly filled in the skyline. We were close to the barracks and I thought it was a far off mirage, but when I saw the compound itself my wolf had to pee. Vera sat just outside the east side and sat down on her haunches watching for movement with her ears perked high picking up soundwaves. I stood directly behind her making sure the coast was clear. Three miles to go before we entered what I knew would be the fight of our lives.

Vera’s wolf moved through what was thick scrub gently making her way to a sizeable hole that required fixing. One paw in and a few wiggles later and she was through. My eyes were peeled for any cameras on the east side of the fence border, but none were found. Dane hadn’t the common sense to instal them. Immediately the fuckery began, as soon as we entered howling wolves indicated distress. I didn’t want to believe what I was hearing. A gnashing of teeth and bones grinding were what my ears landed on. Vera’s Lycan darted in and out of small open spaces to reach the back door of the barracks. If she changed now she would be naked, so I followed her lead. I assumed she would wait until she was on the inside for a change of clothes.

Vera, what are we going to do? Are you changing? I was so nervous I forgot there was a change of clothes in the backpacks we carried.

Calm yourself Archer. I’m changing now. It’s the only way I can enter. I remember the pin code off by heart. Vera’s Lycan spoke to me and instantly I felt a warm wash of calm flow through me. The energy exchange her Lycan had bestowed on me was still working.

The back door to the barracks was made of steel, but more importantly there was only one wolf guard stationed close by and his eyelids kept fluttering which told me he was falling asleep on duty. The relatively easy entry made me feel uneasy as we changed quietly behind the low level scrub on the right hand side. Vera hunched behind the tree as she roughly pulled her clothes on.

“Cover me while I punch in the code. It’s going to make noise. Why are their no guards?” Vera whipped her midnight locks into my face as I spat them out. We shared a quick giggle, and I knew it would be one of our last.

“You’re asking the same question I asked. I have no idea why, but it doesn’t feel good. Vera, be quick. Hurry!”

Vera punched in the code and I found my shoulders were up around my ears hoping the beeping sound wouldn’t cause alarm. Lucky the guard didn’t even look our way. Vera dropped and crawled on the floor as I found my cell phone and texted Clive. I was confident he would lead us through. I kept the message short and sweet.

Here. Is all I wrote. Vera and I moved through the barracks softly. I could see Vera’s intention was to get through to the other side. The only way to the country house was through the barracks and out the other entrance. She was going straight for Reily.

“I can feel him, he’s fading, his pulse is weak and he’s dehydrated. We have to hurry. There’s five guards on this side. We need Clive and Grant. Have you gotten any communication back?”

Vera was stronger now too when she spoke. There was a confidence, an air about her that steadied me. I pulled out my weapons ready to fight. I handed Vera a small knife. Enough to do damage if need be. “No, nothing yet. Let me try to call them.”

I rang the phone keeping watch as Vera tiptoed through the corridor to the front side of the barracks. The phone rang out and a feeling of dread crossed over my face. Vera whipped her head back to see the look on my face as the color drained from hers.

“It’s not good is it?”

“No,” I gulped down my fear as I tried to be brave. I flanked Vera as the eerie silence of the barracks sent dotted chills down my spine. We crept every movement calculated, with tight muscles. No opposition. Strange. Vera made it to the front door punching in the code and opening it to the outside allowing us access to the training grounds and a clear pathway to the main house. Vera let out a gruff, guttural sound holding her arm. “My god, it’s getting worse. Quick, we’re going to have to run. I can’t turn, they’ll see my wolf if I do.”

“No problem.” No time for small talk, but as soon as we hit the ground running to the fields in front of us I saw the reason for the lack of sound. Bodies lay in a row as we trudged through the grass. Closest to us and a quarter mile from the barracks was Clive. Vera drew in a sharp intake of breath as she looked down at his battered body. She dropped down to feel for his pulse as I did the same to Grant who was behind her twisted in an awkward position. Hers was faint along with mine as my eyes trailed over the grass. What I saw in front of us was a killing field. Wolves were strewn everywhere beaten, bloodied and dare I say dead.

“Archer, are you seeing what I’m seeing? This is crazy, Dane is really-” she groaned as she grabbed her arm again. “We have to -” she lost her breath for a moment as she staggered forward to her knees.

“Vera! Vera! Can you stop tapping into him. Come on. Stop! You can’t rest here, you have to get up. Call your Lycan, we have to go. We have to go now. We can’t stay here.”

“I know. I’m having a hard time, it’s because I’m so close to him. What about Clive and Grant, we can’t just leave them here.” I shunned Vera’s wanting to help and made the hard decision.

“He has a pulse right?” I breathed hard.

“Right,” Vera said breathily as her cheeks flamed a rosy pink. Even in battle she looked amazing. I wanted to kiss her right then, but I stopped myself. Dane was on the warpath and at any minute our lives could be over.

“Then Clive is strong enough to recover, come on, we gotta go and fast.” I pulled her up as my rogue survival days kicked in. We stepped over wolves and it got more shocking the deeper we were pulled towards the house, but we pressed on.

“If I die Archer I want you to-”

I cut her off from speaking and ran ahead of her as the burn from running so fast filled my lungs.

“Stop it Vera. You’ve survived everything, keep going. I’m with you now. We’re in this till the end.”

One thing was for sure and that was the Mount Hunter pack was in complete chaos.