The Alpha's Daydream

The night is growing darker and more sickly the deeper into the forest we run.

My feet are aching and my lungs burn with cold air as I pant, taking deep breaths and feeling it bite its way down my throat. But I can’t stop. I have to keep going. I get the strongest impression that many lives depend on whether I can get to Malachi soon enough.

Soon enough for what, I still don’t know. But I can’t shake the heavy feeling that everything is wrong and I have some power to stop it.

“Slow down! Not everyone can run as fast as you,” Luci puffs and heaves behind me, grasping for my shoulder in an effort to stop me.

I shake her off. “Not my fault you’re always checking out the guys at training instead of actually running. You’d be a lot fitter if you paid attention to the routines for once in your life,” I throw back over my shoulder, picking up my pace when I cross the border between territories and feel the familiar tug on my heart.

Like an invisible thread, a small connection still exists between my mate and I. I feel it growing stronger, more tangible, more urgent. Though it is accompanied by a deep pain and sense of emptiness, I grasp hold of the thread and follow it with every sense and every instinct I have.

Tree branches swish around me, scratching at my bare legs and tugging sharply on my coat, but I push through them and keep going. The gullies steepen and grow more inclined as I traverse the hill that I know leads to the Alpha’s mansion of DoubleEdge territory.

The fallen leaves and bracken underfoot crunch as Luci and Gabby follow behind me, keeping up as best they can. Straining my ears, I try and listen beyond us for any unwanted presence such as rogues. I know they are probably lurking nearby, daring to get as close as they can to the populated pack grounds. I also know the guards are doing their job well, but rumours of a planned rogue attack have plagued us for days. Their numbers have strengthened, and I believe the timing has to do with the full moon and blood eclipse.

And Malachi’s twentieth birthday.

This is probably a test of his strength, a final challenge of his leadership that everyone is eager to see the outcome of.

Tonight was supposed to be a celebration and perhaps something more. I’d been hoping he would formally accept me as mate and publicly proclaim me as Luna of his pack.

Instead he rejected me.

I haven’t accepted it yet, only prolonging the pain in my chest, yet I still believe I should hold onto what we have and see this night through.

Or die trying. A black presence nudges at my conscience, prickling the hair on the back of my neck and sending shivers down my spine. I recognise the feeling, yet I still pray that demons aren’t really nearby in this forest.

Rogues are dangerous enough. Demons are deadly.

“Are we almost there? And what exactly do you plan on doing once we get there? This plan to dash madly through a dark forest is utterly ridiculous.”

“Stop whining, Luc!” Gabby scolds her. “Aren’t you the one who’s always up for an adventure? Now just when this one counts for something, you act chicken and slow us down. Move out of the way.”

I try and dismiss the sounds of my friends bickering, then feel Gabby’s warm breath on my shoulder as she overtakes Luci.

“Whatever happens tonight, Ari, I’ve got your back.”

Her reassurance comforts me, and I smile in the eerie glow of the red haze coming from the moon. The shadow of the earth is halfway across its face, and I still don’t know what I’m running towards or what I’m meant to do when I get there. But knowing my friends are with me is encouraging, and causes warmth to fill my bones.

Just before I turn and tackle the final hill that Malachi’s estate sits atop, I am assaulted with the sounds of hushed whispers and shuffling footsteps. The glow of flaming torches can be seen through the trees, and I creep forward on silent feet.

Shadowy figures dart between the pine trees and dense brush. I can tell they aren’t dirty rogues. Their scents are clean and fresh, and they belong to DoubleEdge pack. I hurry from the shadowed safety of a trunk and intercept them.

“Ariella?”

My voice is called, a flame waved in front of my face to identify me, and I squint to see who is leading this secretive group of wolves through the forest.

“Hendrik…” I whisper when I see his face glowing in the torchlight. The bright orange flicker illuminates his brown eyes and worried expression.

“What’s happening? Where are you all going?” I look over the Gamma’s broad shoulder to the frightened faces behind him. Women, children, and a couple of warriors stare back at me impatiently.

“I could ask the same of you. I was so worried for you when Knight escorted you out of our territory. I’m sorry it had to end the way it did,” he reaches out and clasps my shoulder warmly. His touch is a spark of life in this deadened forest.

I brush it off and ask again, “Where are you going?”

“Across the north-western border, for safety. There are rogues surrounding the pack house and town, and our plan is to get the most vulnerable pack members out of here before the fighting starts.”

My face must pale at this information, because Hendrik holds his arm out and I grasp it for support. I see Devanshi step up beside him, holding a torch in one hand and a small baby against her chest. An elderly shewolf holds on to her elbow and peers at me with a stricken expression in her milky eyes.

“Hamilton is with the Alpha and the strongest warriors. They’ll be okay,” Hendrik explains as through he can see I’m worried for them. “No rogues can get past him.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” I begin, but know he’ll never believe me if I start explaining the otherworldly tug I feel towards my mate, and the sense of dread about what might happen. They’ve been training to defeat rogues, but are they strong enough to withstand the dark force I feel pressing in all around me?

“We have to go. Now,” Devanshi says with an edge to her voice as she looks to her Gamma furtively.

Hendrik winces, peering into the gloom around us before turning his full attention back to me.

“Come with us, Ariella,” he says quickly.

“What?” I gasp, stepping back from them and bumping into Luci and Gabby who crowd close behind me.

“Dang, he’s so hot! Just kiss him already,” Luci giggles in my ear. I see she is checking out his broad chest and bulging arm muscles. His toned body is of no interest to me however. I lift my foot and stamp on hers hard, wishing she would keep quiet and not embarrass me.

Hendrik goes on as if he never heard Luci. “We can keep you safe. I’ll protect you. There’s a region we are going to that is a safety zone for those in times of need. Hamilton and I planned this, should something ever happen…” he grimaced as his voice trailed off. I can see the dark thoughts in his head, the concern and anguish he feels over his pack being so vulnerable and open to attack right now. This is his last resort to protect his family.

I nod in understanding, “Thank you Hendrik, but I need to find my mate—“

His eyes flash, his jaw setting in resolution. “My Alpha doesn’t deserve you. He proved that when he threw you out with no sensible reason. Everyone agrees you only did what you needed to, to protect the female Alpha of ForgedHearts. Jasper’s death isn’t your fault, though Alpha might say it was.”

“I know it’s not,” I whisper as I look down at my feet, inwardly relieved to hear his kind words.

But I can’t agree on Malachi not deserving me. He is an Alpha, and I’m only the orphaned daughter of fallen warriors. He is too strong and prominent to be bound to an immature girl who still believes in fairytales. I should go to him only to appease the tugging and burning in my heart, then I will accept his rejection and release him to live his life fully.

At least, that is what I tell myself.

My heart is screaming otherwise.

“We need you, Ariella. The pack needs a Luna,” Hendrik implores me, his brown eyes round and full of hope.

I glance again at the now expectant faces of the women and children with him. They are being led by their strong Gamma and warriors. Why does he say they need me? How long does he envision they’ll be forced to stay in this safe zone, away from their homes, and without an Alpha to lead them?

When I don’t respond, Hendrik swallows hard and takes a step closer to me, his hand coming to rest on my arm gently. “Just come with me. You’ll be safe. I promise, we’ll keep you safe.”

I hesitate and bite my bottom lip as I think carefully, narrowing my eyes and staring into his own. I see the tenderness that has always been there, ever since he met me and even when he realised he could never have me. He is now offering me a home and protection when I have just been rejected and deserted. It would be so easy to accept his offer and have a place where I belong. But it just doesn’t feel right. “Malachi needs me.”

His hand tightens on my arm as he tugs me closer. “Malachi rejected you! Don’t throw your life away on someone who doesn’t care about you. Just please…consider my offer. It’s not often we’re given second chances.” He looks over his shoulder as a shrill howl cuts the silent air in two. With renewed fervour in his eyes, he grabs my hand, “We’re running out of time. Just come with me now. Please, Ari.”

I step back and shake my head, my voice catching in my throat. “I can’t. I’m sorry. Malachi is my first and second chance.”

Tears prick my eyes as I drop my gaze from his face and instead focus on the flaming torch in his hand. The flames flicker and spark, growing blurry and I blink to clear my eyes. Still, a stubborn tear slips down my cheek so I dash it away in a harried motion. My hand slips in my pocket and wraps around the watch Hamilton gave me. Pulling it out, I am reminded of what his father told him, and what his father told him before that many years ago—there is always time to stop, think, and do what’s right. It’s almost as if Hamilton was trying to tell me something when he gave me his watch. Taking a deep breath, I speak in a decided voice, “I’m not giving up on Malachi.”

Hendrik’s hand falls away from around my own, the warm sensation slipping away and leaving me cold, and I sense his posture stiffen. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Or offer you safety. I can’t guarantee anything if you choose to follow the foolish notion of going after your mate.” He spits the word, imparting his full disbelief into the truthfulness of it. He was there when Malachi sent me away, declaring he could never love me.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I shake my head again and take all the blame from him. “It is my choice. You need to go. If it’s as bad as you say it is…”

He nods curtly, and steps away. Devanshi throws me a pitying look one last time, then also turns and they disappear once more into the shadows of the forest.

“You should have followed him. It’s not every day a cute Gamma proposes—“

“Shut it, Luci!” Gabby and I both say, turning to her and glaring even though she can hardly see us in the dark. I once more head through the trees towards Malachi’s place, only this time a thread of doubt twists around my heart and squeezes it like a python does its prey. Did I make a huge mistake by not going with Hendrik and Devanshi? Doesn’t common sense tell me to run for my life and never look back, taking every new opportunity for love that I am offered? Hendrik would have been good to me…

I shake off the thoughts and focus again on the link between my true mate and I. He may have tried to sever it, but it still pulses and pulls me closer as though it has a mind of its own. I probably would have given up on him long ago but for the dreams and visions of us together that began before I even met him. Even the very marrow in my bones knows we are meant to be together. He is my destiny, and I will not stray from this path now.

“No, please! Don’t hurt me… Please, stop!”

I halt in the path and listen to the heart-wrenched cries that come from just up ahead of me. They are accompanied by muffled curses and harsh whispers.

“Let me go! Please, no, don’t do this!”

The broken sobs of a woman echo through the trees and I hurry forward to investigate. Something about the timbre of her voice is familiar, tugging on something within me like a suppressed memory. With a wildly beating heart, I try to still my breathing as I peer from around a tree and inhale the dirty smell of rogues. I see two or three of them carousing about a huddled form amongst the brackened forest floor.

“You ain’t good for nothing, no more. Jes’ a worthless whore. When we done with you, the rogue dungeons is where you’ll belong,” one of the rogues says in a deep and gravelly voice, sending shivers down my spine and making the woman sob even harder.

“Please—”

Her cry is cut off by an awful scream, and I can’t stand by silently any longer. “Let her go!” I shout and step out from behind the tree. Gabby tries pulling me back but I ignore her. Everything within me urges me to defend this woman.

Strange yet familiar, I watch as she is pushed down to the ground, a heavy boot pressed to her neck as she struggles under the weight of the rogue. Her dull black hair is splayed around, covering her face from me. But in the dim light of the veiled moon, I see bronzed skin etched in agony. A silent scream aching to be heard. A frantic and thundering heart singing to my own.

The rogues all look towards my sudden appearance, and I take a step closer. “I said, let her go!” I try to look as ferocious and dominant as I can, but it is hard when the Alpha’s rejection is still weighing heavily on my shoulders like a condemnation.

“And what’s the pretty little lady going to do? Throw her shoe at us?” one of them leers, and the others throw their heads back and laugh. At this distraction, the woman manages to scramble to her knees, but just as I catch a glimpse of her face, one of the men lurches forward and extends his claws.

“No!” I scream, just as her eyes widen and her lips form my name.

“Ariell—”

My feet feel like they are bound in steel bands of silver, anchoring me in the horrible position of watching as the rogue’s claws slice into her neck and release the blood that is her life. Her strangled scream echoes in my mind, her face that draws on my earliest childhood memories twisting into a mask of death.

“Mom! Nooo!” I watch as the woman who gave birth to me crumples to the dirt once more, blood pouring down her shirt and pooling in the mossy leaves. My heart feels like it has been ripped out again as I relive my most traumatic memory of seeing my own mother slaughtered before me.

But I am stronger now. No longer the defenceless little girl I was, I rush forward as soon as my feet receive the screaming message and lunge at the nearest rogue. He bats me away as if I were merely a flea, and I slam into the ground.

Another rogue comes up to me and pushes me back when I try to rise. His face leans close, and I see darkness swirling in his eyes, glints of red circling the black voids of his pupils. Dread snakes its way through my entire body.These aren’t normal rogues.

He shoves me further into the dirt, my head slamming down hard.

My face lands inches from my mother’s, but when I turn my head sideways, I no longer see her.

In her place is a grinning demon with pale skin and shiny hair, a beautiful figure draped in jet black wings. They hang like a mangy cape from her shoulders when she stands to her feet, her skin no longer torn open by rogue claws.

“Their minds are so weak. They fall so easily for any slight bending of perception. I almost pity the mere mortals,” she speaks with a fluid voice, soft as honey yet seductively poisonous like a vial of illicit drugs. When she bends over me and runs a finger along my cheek, I shudder at the cold touch. I am sure ice forms on my skin as her fingers scrape over it.

“So weak and worthless.”

“This one’s not so worthless. Feel how innocent she is? I’m sure our master can think of a need for her,” one of the male demons chuckles wickedly and brushes his knuckles down my arm. I squirm under his disgusting touch and earn myself a slap across the cheek.

“So she’s a fighter. The Prince will love her,” the other one wiggles his brows.

Oh, they haven’t even seen me fight yet, I think to myself. If I could only get my arm free and reach for the dagger in my dress, I’m sure I could take them on.

“Don’t even think about it, little wolf,” the female coos and looks at me tenderly, a condescending smirk playing on her beautiful face as if she is superior to me in every single way and I am merely a pet.

I refuse to be belittled by such vile creatures. Spitting blood from my mouth, I bare my teeth and growl viciously. With their eyes on my face, I extend my claws and slash at the arms that pin me down. When I am free, I reach for the knife and pull it out, brandishing it like a powerful sword.

I feel energy tingle up my fingers and wrists, down my arms and through my body as I lunge once again at the demon male who has his tainted hands on me. He jumps back with unnatural speed, but I don’t miss the shock in his eyes. Though I recognise they have superior strength and speed to the average mortal, I see the blade of the dagger slice into his chest and carve a black arc through his shirt. Liquid seeps out, staining his clothes in a deadly colour, and his eyes widen at the same time as mine.

But he hesitates a second longer than me, and I take that advantage to jump towards him again, sinking the dagger into his chest where I assume his heart is. Do demons even have hearts?

I’m not sure, but I feel a surge of satisfaction as his face contorts in agony and his body recoils in pain. Then his skin erupts in flecks of red dust, brightening to orange sparks before dimming to blackened ash. His form disintegrates and is blown away on the brisk edge of the wind.

The other demons stand stunned, but my veins are still surging with adrenaline and something else. Something dominant and powerful. Something surreal and almost divine, I think to myself as I launch at them and attack when they are distracted.

My body is tight and fluid, full of lethal grace and poise, moving in carefully sequenced steps that slice and stab. I feel a connection with the land beneath my feet, a raw instinct to protect this territory and its peaceful inhabitants.

I duck from a hideous claw of a demon then roll, before coming up again and twisting around to shove the dagger right between his eyes. It is gruesome, and I have never killed besides the one rogue, but I don’t feel any remorse or regret as the demons scream and fade to oblivion from my deadly blows. The female is the last to fall under my blade, her once beautiful face morphing into something too hideous to describe before she bursts into a million crimson sparks.

I stand panting for a moment, catching my breath before slipping the dagger back under my dress. I then press on towards Malachi.

Instead of scaring me, this encounter with demons, shadows of the Interealm, I am even more purposeful in reaching my mate and saving him from the dangerous creatures that have crawled from Hell.

“Girl, that was crazy awesome! You were like a ninja!”

I startle at Luci’s exclamation, and clutch my hand to my chest. “Oh, so you saw me fighting for my life? I don’t suppose you would have lent a hand if they were about to kill me,” I say sarcastically, my heart still thudding with the aftereffects of the adrenaline surge. My senses are still hyperaware, my fingers still clenched as if gripping a deadly blade.

“It was your fight, Ari. We couldn’t intervene,” Gabby says softly, catching me off guard.

Intervene?

Before I can ask what she means, a number of dark shadows surround us, and I instinctually run ahead, my friends right behind me. We are followed, their footsteps barely making a sound as the dark creatures remain on our trail as we crash through the forest together. A cold prickle of fear again crawls over my skin, but I refuse to give into panic now. I’ve come this far, and nothing is going to stop me from reaching my mate—

A hand clamps around my shoulder harshly, just when I can see the lights of Malachi’s mansion, and pulls me to an abrupt stop. My body lurches back and I stumble to my rear before I am pulled up to my feet. Rough hands grab at my arms and pin them behind me. I can’t reach the dagger, so I try twisting and yanking to free my arms, but it’s to no avail. I see Luci and Gabby are in a similar predicament.

“Stop moving and walk!” A steely voice demands as their fingers sink like sharp talons into my shoulder, making me cry out in pain. I drop to my knees and try heaving them over my shoulder, trying all the defensive moves Hamilton and Harlow taught me. But the demon at my back is stronger than anything I possess in me, and I feel the sharp edge of despair finally hit me when they clasp my wrists together with a cool metal. I can’t break it or even twist my arms slightly against them.

“Yeah, I figured that would restrain you. Such a feisty little shewolf. Our master is going to be so wrathful when he hears you killed his favourite warrior,” the demon breathes down my neck.

He pushes me forward and I stumble along, mumbling prayers in my head. My mind is racing, my heart is thundering like a freighter without an engineer to guide it, and my senses are assaulting me with the sulphurous stench of those holding me captive.

Soon I see more figures up ahead, pacing amongst the trees like predatory tigers. One steps forward, and his eyes glow almost violet in the crimson light from the moon.

“If that’s your master, tell him I’m going to rip his eyes out after I slash his throat in two,” I hiss, infuriated with the overpowering sense of helplessness that descends on me like a heavy cloak. The metal binding my wrists seems to sap my energy, draining me of all strength and adrenaline.

“Oh, no, that’s not him. But I sure would love to see you play with our master. Such a good sport, you’d be,” they mock me with cruel laughs and jests, making my blood boil.

“Austin, we have her. You won’t be pleased to hear that she killed Exina,” the demon holding me addresses the one with violet eyes, and I gasp as he steps closer and into view.

His body is built like a wolf warrior, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, thick biceps and massive thighs, rugged features and large hands that could crush rogue scalps between them.

“That’s too bad. I always knew she’d be a vicious little fighter. But are you really so afraid of her to be using elizenthium cuffs? Don’t tell me she’s stronger than you?” He laughs, and my eyes widen.

Elizenthium is a rumoured mineral that is thought to exist only in the past, and then only rarely. Its properties of attracting electrons, breaking molecular bonds and thus drawing all energy from whatever it touches were exploited, used in cruel torture devices for the most heinous criminal rogues. The fact that demons have obtained this element shouldn’t surprise me, but I am more than frightened that I am in contact with it. I feel faint, sick, and on the edge of unconsciousness.

I think I would already be at the complete whim of the demons that hold me captive if it weren’t for one thing keeping me wary and alert.

The demon leader standing before me, looking down and scrutinising me, is extremely familiar to me.

His thick russet coloured hair, the brown hues beneath the unnatural violet in his eyes, his name —Austin—and even his scent beneath layers of roguish grime, all scream impossible in my mind.

He can’t be real. This is just another trick of my mind and I shrink back when he kneels down and touches my face tenderly.

“Ariella…” he whispers softly, his rough voice catching in a manner I recall vividly. “My daughter, you have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day. To see you again...”

Then he gathers me lovingly in his strong arms, and I can’t help but believe that this man really is my father, back from the dead.