Alpha Black

Nathaniel Black

Alice’s hand was laced within my own as I lead her to the car, Jamie had carried our bags down and we’d said our farewells, saying that some business had come up and we needed to depart earlier than planned.

But Alice just needed the break from all of this, so I thought we would spend a couple nights camping in the grassy fields of the midlands, the smooth rolling hills and the seas of yellow grass was sobering and calming. I knew because I spent a great deal of my youth running through the grass myself, trying to forget the first person I’d had to kill, the first family I’d banished. Trying to forget the burden of being an Alpha. I had hoped it would provide the same comfort to my mate.

She had barely said a word after Angel had confirmed our fears, that Alice was the white wolf. Alice was what was going to win us this war. But she couldn’t face it, I couldn’t make her face it, I didn’t want her to face it, I didn’t want her to be put into such danger, to have to kill people, to go through the trauma of her first shifting. I couldn’t do it, I never thought I would, but I wanted to leave with Alice, to run away, let my uncle take rule and leave in peace with my mate.

I let Jamie and a guard drive, as I sat in the back seat cradling Alice, trying to comfort her through the mate bond. She had stopped crying, but I suspected it was because she couldn’t cry any more tears, rather than because she was coming to terms with it. I let my fingers run through her shimmering hair and I wondered if it was the same colour as her wolf, or if it was whiter.

I wondered if it was her wolf that I had talked to, not a moon spirit, but her wolf.

“I will protect you, always,” I murmured, giving her a squeeze and kissing her the top of her head.

That’s when it happened.

A loud bang filled the air, my ears ringing and I snapped my neck to the window and I watched the artillery shooting through the air towards the guards’ car in front of ours, sending it off the road as it rolled, engulfed in fire. The second bang sounded and I was flying out the window of the moving car, Alice tucked in my arms, before I even knew it. Tucking Alice into my frame, we collied with the coarse asphalt road. The skin on my arm tearing like fabric as I skidded into the gravel ditch.

“Are you okay,” I said, letting Alice roll out of my arms, as she shook, looking up at me fear having filled her eyes.

“I’m okay,” she wheezed.

“Jamie!” I roared, standing, the torn muscles already healing, the clothes, well – they could be replaced.

“I’m fine,” Jamie said, bringing himself to his feet from the other side of the road. I turned to offer a hand to the guard who had landed near us.

“What happened?” Alice said, Jamie rushing to her side and wrapping an arm around her.

I could hear their whispers, through the grass, their feet against the dry ground, their skin and coats rubbing against the tall grass and wheat. “Stay with Alice,” I hissed at Jamie, and I let my wolf break free.

We had not run in days, not since hearing the news Alice had delivered to me herself. That she would be the difference between winning this war and loosing my pack, but this war seemed to be coming down in full force now. I could smell them, they trembled at the foot of the hills, I could taste their blood.

I heard my clothes shred as I leapt, transforming into a wolf mid-step with four paws hitting the ground running. I was filled with rage, they could have killed Alice, if she had gotten so much as a scratch, and I saw red.

A small red rouge, his scent poorly masked as he scouted ahead of his companions. My wolf had moved with such speed and deadliness that we’d ripped out his throat before he could realise what had happened.

The alarm was sounded by the time I was on the fourth wolf, he’d fought back for a second, snapping at me before I’d heard the cracking of his neck and he flopped to the ground lifeless. Two wolves flanked my sides, circling me and growling, but my wolf snapped and growled at them, their heads dropping with fear. They were apart of my own pack.

And the rage filled me like fire.

* * * * * * * * * *

I shifted back into my human form, the scratches and bites on my skin quickly healing as I sauntered back through the grass. The dry earth beneath me stabbed awkwardly into my feet, seeds, splinters and rocks as I brooded.

Their camp was well established, they had either been waiting, hoping that we would have used this road – sheer luck. Or someone had told them our travel plans, even then, out unexpected departure meant we were days ahead of schedule, no one had known until this morning that we were leaving Moon Lake.

How had they known where we would be?

The hot asphalt snapped me from my thoughts, and I looked around at the road, beholding the remnants of our party. Jack – the sole surviving guard had pulled the charred bodies of his companions out the first car, kneeling over their bodies, his shoulders shook as he mourned the death of his friends.

Jamie had tried to salvage anything from the two cars, but it was a fool’s errand. The shell of the car had been charred, the paint burned and melted, the seats still soldering, and the windows shattered and blown across the road. Realising there was nothing worth saving, Jamie had returned to Alice’s side where she sat on the side of the road, staring into the grass.

Her light blue jeans were covered in dirt and torn on one of her thighs, but the skin exposed was already healed. Her hair was amess and her eyes still stained red with tears, but she was fine. Yet I found my feet taking me towards her, falling to my knees, I embraced her from behind and let my arms wrap around her.

“I am so sorry,” I said, pressing my nose into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of books and flowers.

“I don’t think it’s your uncle who’s running the rebellion,” she said simply, Jamie snapping his head to face us.

“What?” me and my Beta said in unison.

I pulled out of the hug as Jamie threw me his jacket to cover myself, as I sat on the ground and stared at my mate’s intense gaze and furrowed brow.

“You told me, that the only people who knew, where exactly were going were your parents and the Beta and Elected of Central,” he said looking at me with such intensity.

Jamie nodded, “You think it’s one of them? You think it might be Nate’s parents?”

She shook her head, her light hair falling across her face, “I don’t think it was your parents, if they were going to challenge your right to be Alpha, they would have done it straight away, or off-ed your grandfather before you became of age.”

“So you think it’s Thomas or Darius?”

Her head bobbed and she looked back to the sea of golden grass in front of us, “either that or someone close.”

“Shit,” Jamie said, running his hands through his hair and looking up at the sky.

“Darius did tell me it was my uncle.”

“Thomas could have easily fed him that information,” Alice interjected, pushing herself up and standing, looking down at me. “There is no way to know at this point, but what you do know, is that we just left the central territory of our pack with one, or two traitors in charge of it.”

I stared into her deep brown eyes, the way they swirled was so mesmerizing and distracting. “It explains how the rouges were able to co-ordinate such an effective attack on Savage River, as Darius and Thomas would have both know which guards were on patrol and where they were. It would have been too easy really. Your system is flawed, to dependent on the honesty and loyalty of your Betas and Elected.”

“What do you think we should do?” I asked as I watched the flame begin to burn in her eyes.

“I think, we need to have a good old heart to heart, with your brother in law.”

I felt the wicked grin split across my face, reflected in Alice’s eyes, “Indeed.”