Her Savior Alpha

“Where the hell did that little mutt go?” Dane roared, crashing out the door. Reily luckily had managed to get away, but Archer and I were held back by the commotion Dane was created. He had absolutely snapped. Wood splinters pierced his fists as he quite literally tore through the door, his arm swinging and catapulting a guard that had stood nearby, outside his house. Archer and I surveyed the scene in horror from behind the corner of the house; with Reily gone, there was no reason to go back into the house.

“He’s gone off his rocker,” Archer murmured near me. I nodded, no words so say. My heart raced under my goosebump spotted flesh, as I watched the supposed Alpha of the pack throw pack members out of his way. Then, in the short distance across the house’s front yard, a group came marching, holding torches of all things.

“Shit,” Archer cursed, his intelligent gaze glued to the incoming group. I recognized some of Reily’s crew amongst them, faces still scratched from the old battle, but looking grim and resolute.

“What are they doing?” I wondered in a hush as they came closer.

“I think they are what Clive mentioned once vaguely; a group or a mob of sorts that gathered to get rid of you,” he explained.

My lips formed an O at the sinking realization. But what were they doing marching over to Dane?

One of the group, in front and center, moved forward a few steps when everyone stopped several meters from Dane heaving, furious form. Guards stood around him, some already moaning on the ground, others giving the alpha a wide berth around him to avoid getting hit by his strength.

“Alpha Dane,” the middle aged man, seemingly the leader of the group, projected his voice, letting the air carry it all around us. “We have gathered because we are unsatisfied with your leadership.”

“Yeah, we’re angry! You haven’t done anything you promised!” Another man shouted.

Eyes wide and face slack with shock, Dane said, “What is this? What have you all schemed?

A commander near the front raised a fist. “You’ve been locked away in your house for days, leaving the commanders with tons of work and confusion!”

“What happened to finding the Lycan?” The first man bellowed, mustache moving with every word. “We’ve made no progress under your guidance! We’re done watching and waiting!”

“We’re done with your authoritarian violence!” Another called out.

“Violence?” Dane roared with laughter. “You are all too fucking funny.” He scraped a bloody hand across his salt-and-pepper hair, which was already messy around his face. I had to admit, he looked like he was falling apart at the seams. “You really think all of you put together can stop me? You really think some complaints about how I run my pack can change anything?”

Within the span of a few seconds, Dane strode forward like a jet, thick arm snapping out to grab the leader of the group by the throat, raising him high in the air. I winced beside Archer, unable to stop myself from remembering how it felt to be choked by my grandfather.

The man in his grasp gurgled at the pressure, face turning even redder than it already was. A few squeezes was all it took for Dane’s veiny hand to close in on the guy’s throat, and a squelching snap rang across the space, making my stomach twist. All watched with wide eyes and terrified screams as their leader’s neck cracked. Like a ragdoll, the dead man fell from Dane’s hold. The front of the group scattered back like scared fish as the man laid with glassy eyes staring up at the sky.

“See this power? I’ve been holding out on all of you,” Dane cracked his knuckles, grinning garishly at his once loyal pack. “I took this pack from the ground up, bringing us honor and glory, and this is how you repay me?” He barked with laughter again, reminding me of stories of the rogue wolves who lost their humanity, becoming rabid and wild. “In case you fools haven’t gotten the message, I am the alpha, and there is a reason for it. Before, I didn’t show my power through violence. I dealt in information.” Suddenly, he pointed at the female commander who had spoken earlier. “For example, you Miss Daria, he snatched the commander by the arm, and she shrieked as his grip tightened. “I know you have been smuggling in drugs on your missions and selling them to other solders here. What a fine little empire you’ve created.” With a final snap, he left her arm bent at an unusual angle and her scream echoing around us.

My hands muffled my gasp; I couldn’t stare at the scene without reacting.

“Archer, we must do something!” I whispered.

“Not yet, Vera. Let’s see what he does first. It might be too dangerous since he’s unstable.” Archer’s voice was low and firm.

Dane was indeed not yet done. By now the pack was scattering back, many yelling. The alpha managed to grab yet another young man in guard clothing. “And you, Denzel, I know all about your secret outings with the girl from another pack. I wonder if your girlfriend would be happy to know.” His large fist came down fast, knocking into Denzel’s face, and his jaw shook from the pain, blood spurting from his mouth.

“I know things about all of you!” Dane’s voice boomed, his eyes livid. “I don’t need to do anything but let your secrets out for the world to see, for you families and friends to judge. I have been silent for long. None of you know my true power or the extent of my information that I have built up over years.” He paused to cackle, spooking many of the group when her leaned forward further. “I can ruin your lives with a few simple words, before you even dare retaliate.”

“Please, Alpha! We beg for your mercy!” An older woman in the midst of the group pleaded.

“We promise to lay low if you please return to your

“Oh no, I think it’s too late for that now,” he snarled dashing forward to knock into a few other wolves. He took two heads and bashed them together, the bodies falling limp and dizzy onto the ground.

“Guys, he’s not stopping. If you can fight, turn into your wolf forms!” Someone shouted.

“Hell no am I staying here!” Another whimpered, fleeing the scene.

Growls ripped through the air as countless pack members turned into wolves to defend themselves.

“Haha, you are all cowardly, pathetic wolves, transforming at the entrance of fear!” Dane laughed. “I don’t need to show you the extent of my power just yet. Not for such a weak pack as you.” Wolves of all colors slammed into him, one hanging by the slaws of Dane’s back while others snapped their maws at his front. He smacked them all around like flies, and for the first time, I truly understood Dane’s power. He could have shattered me to bits long ago; I wondered why he hadn’t.

I couldn’t keep watching any longer, not while hiding safely in the shadows.

“Archer,” I warned. “I’m about to do something.”

“Vera, wait!”

I ignored him, concentrating in my mind to make an announcement to the pack, all except for Dane, which actually took quite the effort.

Listen everyone! I know you are afraid. But if you find it in you, please try to get Dane to follow you into the woods.

The remaining standing wolves perked up at the sound of my voice, but not for too long, as they tried to maneuver between Dane’s continued assaults. He was whirling a wolf around by the hindlegs, knocking over any and all in its vicinity.

Who the hell are you to command us? An unfamiliar voice snarled.

I am Vera, also know as the Lycan. I know you have qualms about me, but I am not here to hurt you. I only go after those who deserve punishment, and I want to help you. Please trust me. If I don’t fulfil my promise to help, you can deal with me after this whole ordeal. But for you, listening to me is your only hope.

Silence rang through my mind as the wolves continued to fight, each trying to jump at Dane for a piece of him, most failing to land a single blow. Many ran the other way, if they were harmed or knocked down with a strike from Dane.

Fine, we’ll hold you to that. What would you have us do?

You must lure Dane far from here, where he cannot hurt those who are innocent. I want a small group of you to distract him, leading him into the woods, and I will follow soon after to face him myself.

What if he kills us while we wait?

Don’t involve him in a fight. Just run and keep his attention on you. I will come as soon as possible.

The wolves in the fray paused as they took a moment to recalibrate. Then, one large brown wolf jumped within a foot of Dane, swiping him only enough to annoy, but then pounced off. Dane was getting annoyed, it seemed, and he tried to leap onto the wolf.

“Oh, you all want to play that way? Just know that you baffoons won’t get my mercy until I get Reily back to me. This is just a game right now, but if you want to see my full power, then fine! I’ll give you exactly what you want!” He let out an animalistic howl, ripping his shirt off with his bare hands, exposing a defined chest and abdomen, revealing the underlying vigor rippling beneath the surface. In a flash, his morphed into a giant black wolf striped with gray and white, a signature white tuff at the top of it large head. Alphas did tend to be the strongest and biggest wolves of the pack, showing proof of their ability to rule, even though size had nothing to do with leadership skills. It looked to me like the pack was realizing this far too late.

Dane’s wolf howled again, shaking its head back and forth, mane and fur swaying with the movement. Then with a wide, grotesquely evil smirk, the wolf leaped on kangaroo-like hind legs, aiming for the group that had stayed to distract him. With yelps, they ran, heading straight for the woods nearby, half in an attempt to not get caught by Dane and half to actually carry out our plan.

I let out a whoosh of relief. Dane was finally gone, leaving behind him a wreckage of wolves and humans alike splayed out . It was like a battle zone, one within pack lines, a civil war with a single opposition: the pack’s very own alpha.

I turned to Archer, intensity in my eyes. “I have to go.”

“I’m coming with you,” he said it like I didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“Archer, wait... listen. Stay here, and help the pack,” I started, hand firm on his shoulder. He looked ragged and eyes tinged with dark circles from our nonstop run over here, but he still looked as beautiful as ever, longish tousled dark hair falling over his forehead stubbornly.

Right now those sharp eyebrows arched in indignation. “What? Vera, no way. I’m not leaving you to face him alone.”

I took hold of his broad shoulders, shaking him a little. “Archer, do you trust me? Do you believe I’ve gotten strong?”

“I — yes…of course.”

“Then do this for me. I have to go after him, and help the wolves who are trying to distract him. You stay here and help the fallen. There are so many young and innocents who got caught in the crossfire. Please, take them to the medical hall. Get the healers there organized.” My voice was firm and Archer must have seen the fierceness in my eyes because after a moment of starting deep into them, he nodded. Albeit he looked reluctant the entire time.

“Please Vera, be safe. Don’t you dare do anything stupid,” he said as my hands slid from his body, aching for more contact.

I grinned. “Have I ever done anything stupid?”

He pretended to think about it. “No comment.”

I punished him lightly in the chest, and he wrapped a hand around my fist, fitting it perfectly in his palm.

“I’m serious. And call me if anything — and I mean anything—goes wrong.”

“Of course I will Archer.” With a last smile, he let go of my hand, a wistful glint in his eyes.

He turned away from me and ran to the nearest wolf injured on the ground, a young girl with a scratch down her abdomen. Archer ripped a piece of his shirt and put it against the wound to staunch the bleeding, looking up as he did.

“You there,” he called out to a few wolves unshifted who were left standing and still relatively unscathed compared to most sprawled across the lawn. “Come help me take this one to the medical bay. Whoever is able to move, get into groups of two and carry the injured there. Let’s go!” He rose his voice so all in his vicinity could hear. I couldn’t help but appreciate his natural leadership abilities, the way he could compel others to do what he ordered, as certainly, the stragglers began helping out immediately, bringing makeshift stretchers and attending to the most critical wounds.

Knowing that Archer had it under control, I whirled around and ran to the woods,. Ugh, here we go again. After days of continuous travel through trees, trees, and more trees, the whole thing was getting old. But I did what I had to do. I decided not to shift until I could gauge the situation. I had to find Dane first and support those who had lured him away to protect the rest of the pack.

I ran with all the strength inside me, using my lung’s full capacity, practically sprinting full-force in the direction of wolf yelps and growls and thuds and trees cracking. It looked like Dane had already started the party.

The trees were sparse enough that I could see them from a distance. I found a light gray wolf whimpering at the bottom of a tree first, before looking up in time to see Dane tossing a wolf carelessly with his jaws. About three other wolves surrounded him, too shaken and scared to approach.

I directed my mindlink towards them. You guys did well. Thank you, I’ve got it covered now. As soon as you get a chance, run and help the others.

Then, flipping my hood over my head to reveal myself, and taking a deep breath in preparation to project my loudest voice, I said, “Dane. I’m the one you want.”

Almost as though someone paused a video, Dane completely froze in his act, zeroing his black, beady eyes on me instantly.

Ahh, the little girl who’s been running from the big, bad wolf. You’ve finally come, you fucking bitch. He growled in my head, the sound nearly making my flinch. I wanted to cleanse my brain.

As soon as he turned his attention from them, the other wolves made a mad dash away from the clearing, one stopping to throw the injured light gray wolf on his back.

Dane took a step closer to me and I fought the urge to run. This was just like all those other times, I was used to the routine. Only this time, I was out for blood too.

“I heard you were going crazy looking for me,” I said with a tense jaw. Sweat made my palms clammy and damp, and I wiped them against my jeans. “I thought you hated your granddaughter, you know, the one you blamed for the loss against Beartown?”

The air turned dangerous, like the moments before an airstrike during war.

Indeed. And now we now just how responsible you were for that battle. Who’d have known you’d be the true lycan? Who’d have known that my daughter died for nothing?

“You forget that Beartown was responsible for that battle,” I declared, voice ringng loud and clear. “As for me, I’ll be responsible for taking down the tyrant not fit to rule Mount Hunter.”