Savior of the Wolves

Aiden’s POV

My entire day felt off. I sparred this morning, helped Dad, and talked to Mom. Same day as the one before, but avoiding Jessica made me feel crazed. So, I skipped dinner. I wasn’t hungry and I knew Bailey would be waiting all night in there for me. Her obsessiveness lately was getting on my last nerve. I thought about talking to mom about it...but again, that would be uncomfortable. So, I thought I’d give it some time and let time sort it out.

I opted for the firm instead of dinner. I worked every muscle group to its breaking point. I almost needed the pain tonight. The distraction.

My aggressiveness to the workout began to build and my wolf almost turned. He wanted out tonight badly. I thought exhausting us both would help...but hardly.

***

I was stripping down to get into the shower when a force hit me as though it were a shock wave from an explosion. I fell to my knees, my palms pressed against the floor as I struggled to catch my breath.

“Dad. Something’s wrong.” I linked immediately.

“What is it?”

“I have no idea. Some kind of force Dad. It knocked me to the floor. Check on Josh.”

“I will.”

I ran over to the far side of my closet where I had thrown my clothes into the hamper, I was about to put them back on and the humming that I hardly knew began, grew instantly louder.

A scent captured my nose. I began to dig through the dirty clothes frantically, searching for the scent and realized that there were blood-soaked shorts at the very bottom of the pile. I held them to my nose and filled my lungs with her scent. The scent of her dried blood hadn’t bothered me in days but here it was, torturing me again. Tearing at my senses. Making me feel this insatiable need.

“Josh, where’s Jess.” I linked.

“I’m with dad. What’s Jess got to do with this?” He grunted.

“Where the fuck is she Josh?” I growled.

“In her room.”

I nearly broke the door from the hinges as I tore down the hall onto the third-floor hall where she was assigned a room with the detail families.

I began to beat on the door.

No answer.

I heard someone running towards me, “Aiden no.”

I looked at Josh and kicked as hard as I could, and the door flew to the floor in front of me.

“Brilliant brother,” he scoffed, dangling the key at me before I charged into the room, standing on the fallen door.

“Where the hell is she?” I stormed at him, looking around the empty room.

“I just left her here.”

“What happened? Was she going anywhere after you left her?” I urgently asked.

“No. She hugged me good night and said she was going to bed.”

I froze with a jealousy that felt deadly. She hugged my brother. My thoughts madly created a scene with their arms around each other. My eyes were searing him as I heard a rumble inside my chest and I was already holding Josh against the wall, back in the hall, with my wolf’s teeth exposed, daring him to challenge me.

“She fucking lied to you brother,” I growled at him.

“Stand down Aiden,” my father yelled, running towards us.

I let go of Josh instantly, against my own will. I had no choice. Alpha’s orders.

“What is going on?” Dad yelled at me, looking at the door.

I began to explain and as the words exited my mouth, I put details together that I had missed before.

The shorts had her blood on them. I felt the same intoxication from them as the first time I saw her...and the days following as she was still injured. Then I felt it again when she was working out the other day. I couldn’t keep away from her. And now! Her blood, her sweat...when it was outside of her body, I was feral. Every time.

This time...why did I smell her again?

Why was I out of control again?

Then it hit me like a sucker punch. “She’s running away!” I roared.

Josh looked hurt as I glared at him, angry with him for holding her seconds before she left us. I should’ve been holding her. I wouldn’t have let her go.

I was heading down the stairs as my wolf took over. I thought for the briefest second about stopping him, but he was right…he’s faster. We had to find her. She could be in danger. I found her scent in the air and it smelt distant. I roared into the air and ran into the darkness.

“Son…” my father began, and I turned off the link.

“No one is stopping me,” I growled to myself, trees hitting me in the face at a whipping speed.

Her scent was on the trails heading toward the cliffs. I opened the link, “I need a detail asap at the cliffs.”

“Son…” my father began.

“Dad don’t ask me to stop. I’ll never forgive you.” I begged through our link.

There was a short silence.

“Son, I’m on my way.”

I ran faster and faster. My legs felt no pain as I ran over rocks and debris. I knew a shortcut. I had to stop her. She might not see the cliff’s edge.

Her scent grew more fierce and new scents approached from my rear. I had the detail coming. But they weren’t close enough yet.

My heart felt as though it were outside of my body, fragile and begging for her to be okay. Like my life depended on it.

Then I heard her scream.

My wolf defied all magic that I knew and closed the distance in half the time than we ever had before.

I came to a sliding halt twenty feet away from her. She was pinned at the cliff’s edge.

In front of her, standing on his back paws, was a grizzly bear that had to be at least eight feet tall. His mouth was wide open as a low rumbling growl repeated over and over from deep in his throat.

I jumped in front of her. His growl grew deeper and louder as I crouched before him.

She gasped but froze directly behind me. My wolf turned to look at her, he needed to and a whimper escaped our mouth. She had tears streaming down her cheeks.

My eyes turned back onto the beast that flinched, telling my senses that the attack was imminent. I lunged toward him, to make sure our fight was further away from Jess.

I felt my teeth sink into his neck as his claws dug into my sides. I knew better than to let him grab me this way, but I was distracted. I had to get him away from her. I began to aggressively toss my head back and forth, tearing his neck apart. My teeth ripped through him as though he were liquid. I had an uncontrolled hatred for the beast that on any other day, I would gladly allow to live.

I released my jaw and he fell limp to the floor.

Then I heard the pack closing in, “No!” I commanded. I knew they would terrify her. I don’t need their help now.

“Threat secured,” I commanded, but it was a second too late.

Two of the younger wolves stopped nearly on top of her, causing her to slip on the rocks just behind her and I watched horrifically as she lost her footing and tumbled over the cliff’s edge.

Time stood still as her eyes locked onto mine…her body floating downward.

I jumped at her, knowing I couldn’t stop her descent, so I did the one thing I could do. I jumped after her.

My action was spontaneous. I reached for her with only one plan. I had to try to shield her with my own body. I knew not to shift to my human form. It would never survive that great of a fall, but I prayed that my wolf could.

She was screaming as I wrapped my body around her midfall. I turned us so that I was now falling backwards, her on top of me. I wrapped her into me, trying to make sure I had her surrounded as best I could.

And we fell.

She clung to me...to my wolf...and I fell completely in love with her.